Bulldog Sports Round-up, May 26, 2016
- Published: May 26, 2016
Track and Field
According to YSHS track coach John Gudgel, the district track meet held last week at Welcome Stadium in Dayton represents “the good, the bad and the ugly” of track competition. The girls team finished in fifth place out of 17 teams while the boys earned a hard-fought tenth place. Individuals and relay teams that finished in the top four will compete in the regional meet to be held on Wednesday and Friday at Memorial Stadium in Troy.
Julie Roberts won the 300-meter hurdles for the second year in a row, speeding down the track in 47.64 seconds. Also winning district titles were seniors Oluka Okia in the high jump, with a leap of 6´ 3˝ and Kaner Butler, who crushed the 110 hurdles with a first-place time of 15.59 seconds. Butler, who also had one of the fastest times in the state in the 300 hurdles, was disqualified after a questionable false start. Their finishes will take them to the regional meet this week.
Also earning trips to the regionals were Ayanna Madison, Dy’Meisha Banks, Charlotte Walkey and Julie Roberts, who took second place in the 1600 relay. District third-place finishes included Walkey in the 800 meters, Banks in the 200 meters, Madison in the 400 meters, Olivia Brintlinger-Conn in the 300-meter hurdles and Amani Wagner in discus. Jude Meekin took fourth in the 3200 meters.
Numerous other players scored points for the Bulldogs. Payden Kegley took fifth in the pole vault, Wagner sixth in shot put, Jasmine Davidson seventh in shot put, Hannah Lawson eighth in high jump, and Madison, True Hall, Kayla Brown and Stacia Strodes eighth in the 1600 relay. For the boys, Butler, Joe Plumer, Noah Krier and Jonah Trillana snagged eighth in the 1600 relay.
As coaches, “we are very excited with the large contingent of athletes who qualified for the regionals and the prospects of earning a trip to the state meet,” Gudgel said. “We also were most impressed with the efforts of the entire team at the district meet.”
Tennis
Local tennis phenom Augie Knemeyer represented YSHS and the entire Dayton North section at the Southwest District tennis tournaments held in Centerville last week. Knemeyer was the number-three seed out of 42 players from his section. According to YS tennis coach Donna Silvert, Knemeyer played a “very serious” tennis player named Carlos Estrada Sanchez of Chaminade Julienne High School. While Knemeyer ultimately lost his two matches 6–2, 6–2 and was eliminated from the tournament, Silvert maintains Knemeyer played a great game and “hustled down balls that [Silvert] was sure Carlos thought he could get easy points off of.”
Tennis players and staff were honored at last week’s spring sports award ceremony as well. Knemeyer received the Ohio High School Archie Griffin sportsmanship award, a reflection of his conduct and the fact that he was “always a great ambassador for the school and the community.” Knemeyer was also voted First Team by a consortium of Metro Buckeye Conference coaches. The coaches, from a notoriously “tough tennis conference,” also bestowed the honorarium of Second Team on players Dylan Dietrich, Kasey Linkhart and Gabriel Day.
“The Yellow Springs tennis team and its individual players are gaining more respect for their accomplishments,” said Silvert.
Coach Peter Day also received the local coach award for his flexibility and hard work, said Silvert. Silvert herself received a “Coach of the Year” award for tennis coaches, an honor she maintains is a “reflection of the great team we have in Yellow Springs.” She credited the tireless help of assistant coach Stacey Knemeyer and community members Bob Huston and Mike Zwart for making the year as great as it was.
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