“Former Dogs stars head Ga. Sports Hall class (AccessNorthGa.com)” plus 3 more |
- Former Dogs stars head Ga. Sports Hall class (AccessNorthGa.com)
- Big weekend of prep sports ahead | Erick Walker (Covington Reporter)
- London 2012 organizers get planning permission for basketball, shooting, gymnastics venues (WHNT-TV Huntsville)
- Freeland gymnastics team finally finds 'home' advantage for a meet (The Saginaw News)
| Former Dogs stars head Ga. Sports Hall class (AccessNorthGa.com) Posted: 18 Feb 2010 08:25 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. ATHENS -- Former Georgia two-sport star Larry Rakestraw and former gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan will be inducted Saturday into the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame during annual ceremonies at the Macon City Auditorium. They were chosen from an eligible pool of 252 nominees as individuals who best exemplify the tradition of sports excellence in the State of Georgia. During her 26-year tenure as Georgia's gymnastics coach, Yoculan guided the Gym Dogs to an NCAA-best 10 national championships, including the last five in a row, 16 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Regional crowns. Yoculan's teams placed in the nation's top three in 21 of the last 22 years. Yoculan's work was recognized by her peers as she was chosen as the National Coach of the Year five times (1987, '93, '98, 2006, '08) and the SEC Coach of the Year eight times. (1986, '87, '99, 2001, '02, 04, '08, '09). She ended her career with an overall record of 836-117-7. In 19 of her 26 years as head coach at Georgia, Yoculan led her team to either an SEC title, an NCAA title or both. That means she won a championship in more than 70 percent of her tenure, and also finished at least third in the conference, the nation or both all 26 years. Yoculan produced 37 NCAA individual champions and 58 Gym Dogs with 306 All-America honors. Under Yoculan, the Gym Dogs enjoyed as much success academically. In 2009, seven Gym Dogs earned a place on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and two were chosen for the Academic All-America Team. Rakestraw is a native of Atlanta where he was a four-year letterman in baseball and football and a three-year letterman in basketball at West Fulton High School. In 1959 he was named to the high school football All-State team and was selected as the Back of the Year by the Atlanta Touchdown Club. He was a two-sport star at the University of Georgia where he was named MVP of the baseball team in 1961. As a star quarterback, he threw for 407 yards against Miami in 1963 to break the NCAA record for passing yards at that time. As a senior, he led the SEC in passing completions and yardage. In 1963 he passed for almost 1,300 yards and accumulated more than 1,400 yards and 11 touchdowns. For his career he passed for 3,665 yards and 26 TD's. Following his senior season, Rakestraw was named Most Valuable Player in the Blue-Gray all-star game and also played in the Senior Bowl. He went on to play professional football for the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons and has won numerous amateur golf tournaments since his retirement from the NFL. The other five individuals who will be inducted include Al Ciraldo, Edward Everett, Ernie Johnson, Sam Mitchell and Ronald Simmons. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Big weekend of prep sports ahead | Erick Walker (Covington Reporter) Posted: 18 Feb 2010 01:24 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. A big weekend is ahead of us, gang. In fact, on a yearly basis, this particular weekend — when district basketball collides with state wrestling gymnastics and swimming — has traditionally been the busiest in the prep sports world. Before we go forward, however, I need to quickly touch on a few items regarding the local prep scene that has been rattling around in my empty head of late. • A few weeks ago, Kentwood High boys basketball coach Michael Angelidis informed me the Conquerors might be better "because" of the early season injury to star Josh Smith. While it sounded strange at the time, it also made complete sense. While Smith spent a month out of action, the rest of the team was forced to rely on one another. "When Josh went down, it allowed us to play a little bit differently," Angelidis said. "We had to play more as a team, move the ball." The results? After Smith returned last month, Kentwood won 7 of its last 8 league games, going from sixth to second in the standings and emerging once again as a state contender. What makes the Conquerors more dangerous this season than the past two, as Angelidis noted, is the fact that they're playing together. Everybody is contributing. Put a different way, Smith led the Conquerors in scoring in 24 of their 26 games last year and Kentwood just missed a state berth. During Kentwood's late-season surge against league opponents, it was led in scoring by Smith four times, Tre Tyler twice and once apiece by Jason Boyce and Alec Wilson. Something tells me this group is finally going to break through that state barrier during the next couple of weeks. And when they do, look out. • The South Puget Sound League announced its All-League basketball teams last week and a few items made me a bit curious. First off, Angelidis was named the North's Coach of the Year. I have no qualms with Angelidis' selection. Without Smith much of the season, he's done a lot of good stuff with that team. However, in virtually every other sport in every other league, the person who is chosen as Coach of the Year typically comes from the first-place team. Federal Way boys basketball coach Jerome Collins guided the Eagles to a share of last year's North crown and a state title. Collins and the Eagles won the North again this winter and they're currently ranked No. 1 in the state. Yet, when awards came out last week, the FW coach was left behind. Something tells me he didn't win over too many fans with that 137-70 debacle-of-a-win over Kentlake. • The big surprise in regards to the All-League team, to me at least, was Kent-Meridian's Briana Shannon being named a second-teamer. Shannon, a 5-foot-4 senior, tied Kentwood's Kylie Huerta for the North lead in points-per-game (18.9). Huerta was named the North's co-MVP with Auburn Riverside's Mercedes Wetmore. While Shannon didn't deserve MVP honors, she certain deserved to be listed among the league's top five players. As for Huerta, it was good to see her earn a share of that MVP honor. Kentwood's sparkplug is deserving of such an honor and has followed nicely in the footsteps of Lindsey Moore and Courtney Vandersloot, who combined for the previous four North Division MVPs. Like Moore and Vandersloot, Huerta possesses both a ton of talent, but a ton of class as well. I attest she's the most entertaining player — male or female — to watch in the area ... signature headband and all. • I'm sure by now everyone has heard about the potential re-alignment of the South Puget Sound League North 4A, which currently consists of the four Kent School District schools, Auburn and Auburn Riverside, Federal Way and Jefferson along with Tahoma. Well folks, somebody is leaving town. Yep, we're heading to another re-shuffling. Auburn and Auburn Riverside stepped out a few years back, when each was in the SPSL 3A. This fall, either Federal Way or Thomas Jefferson will be making an exit. Last week, the two schools were supposed to decide between one another which would shift to the SPSL South. That plan, however, didn't work out as well as SPSL principals would have liked as neither school wanted the change primarily due to the additional travel expenses it costs for each to be part of the South. In the North, schools are located relatively close to one another, especially for those in Kent. That's not the case in the South, where league rivals include Curtis (University Place) and Bethel (Graham) among others. Which school is leaving won't be decided until March 1, when the next meeting among SPSL principals will be held. The re-alignment doesn't end there. It appears imminent that Mount Rainier High, which currently resides in the Class 3A Seamount League, will be moving to the North. "We align very, very well in like-type programs with Mount Rainier," SPSL commissioner Dave Lutes said. "It's a four-year school like we have in Kent and things matchup, including geographically." I was a bit surprised when I first heard of Mount Rainier moving to the North, then I looked at the numbers. Mount Rainier has 1,572 students, which is more than Kent-Meridian (1,450) and Kentlake (1,474), both of which have spent the past decade in the league. A school must have an enrollment of at least 1,304 students to be considered Class 4A, so it seems like a no-brainer. Will MR be able to compete with the likes of the rest of the North? I wasn't sure at first since the Seamount League on a yearly basis tends to struggle at the state level in many sports. "Overall, they have some outstanding programs," Lutes said. After talking with Lutes and doing a little homework, I realized Lutes was right. MR's baseball team has advanced to state in 7 of the last 8 years; its boys basketball team has moved on in 3 of the last 4 years while girls basketball, swimming and fastpitch remain rather strong. Will MR take over the North? Not likely. I'd suspect the Rams will take their lumps here and there, but overall will be plenty competitive across the board. • Finally, I spent Feb. 6 at the SPSL sub-district wrestling tournament and have to say Kentridge opened my eyes. The KR program has been thin on numbers and talent for years, but it became clear to me that the Chargers are unquestionably on the rise. Kentridge advanced four wrestlers to this past weekend's regional tournament — Nick Aliment, Billy Johnson, Jeff Seid and Chris Bailey. What intrigues me about this bunch is the fact that, assuming they all stick with the sport and don't move out of the Kentridge boundary, each will be back next year. Aliment, a two-time league champion, and Seid were particularly impressive. Seid, a sophomore who took second at the league tournament, is a young kid competing in a relatively high weight class for his age. This typically spells doom for young wrestlers, but Seid gave K-M standout Nick Lemmon all he could handle, falling 7-4. I'd be surprised if Seid didn't emerge next year as a league champion at either 160 or 171. "We have a really young team," said coach Jason De La Rosa. "Next year, we're probably going to be one of the teams to beat." Covington Reporter News Erick Walker can be reached at ewalker@kentreporter.com or 425.432.1209, ext. 5052.Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Posted: 18 Feb 2010 11:15 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. LONDON (AP) — London 2012 organizers were given permission by local governments on Thursday to develop venues for basketball, shooting and gymnastics. The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich and North Greenwich Arena need additions including extra seating for spectators but organizers said work on the temporary facilities would begin early next year. "The Royal Artillery Barracks will be a fitting venue for the shooting events at the London 2012 Games and our temporary works will help us deliver the best possible facilities for athletes," said David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority. "Securing planning permission (from Greenwich Council) is an important step forward and keeps us on track to start installing the temporary measures on site early next year." Woolwich and Greenwich are neighboring districts on the south bank of the River Thames to the east of central London and a short distance from the site that includes the Olympic stadium. The news was welcomed by London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe, who was in Vancouver for the Winter Games. "This is very good news and a vital step forward in our preparations for the games," he said. "These venues are an important part of the cluster of sports being staged in Greenwich." As well as hosting the Olympic shooting events, the 7,500-capacity Royal Artillery Barracks will stage Paralympic shooting and archery. The temporary facilities will include four indoor ranges and three open air ranges for the Olympic qualifying rounds and finals. The 18,000-seat North Greenwich Arena will host artistic gymnastics, trampoline gymnastics and the basketball finals, followed by wheelchair basketball. Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.  Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Freeland gymnastics team finally finds 'home' advantage for a meet (The Saginaw News) Posted: 18 Feb 2010 07:11 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. , This homecoming is long overdue, yet worth the wait. Freeland's gymnastics team last hosted a meet roughly a decade ago, and will do so again at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Freeland Sports Zone. The recently constructed building is home to Mid-Michigan Gymnastics, which extended an invitation to the school team to be its home base for the foreseeable future. The Falcons host Vassar and Sturgis in a tri-meet Saturday. Vassar has been Freeland's home away from home, but will travel to compete against the Falcons this time. "They've accommodated our team and all of theirs. That's our home," Freeland coach Suzy Weldon said of the generosity both Freeland Sports Zone and Mid-Michigan Gymnastics have shown. "The community finally gets to see what these kids have been working for." For the families that do go on the road to support their daughters, travel has always been more of a burden than it will be now. "We used to have to drive 20 minutes just to practice in Midland," said Freeland senior Mariah Elliott, a co-captain of the team along with the team's only other senior, Sara Schram. "Now don't get me wrong, we loved it there, but this is much less of a drive." Elliott admits to being both nervous and excited, especially since the meet will double as senior/parent night. "We usually just know our parents (in the crowd)," she said. "My parents and most of my friends are coming, and it's really great that the school will be able to see what we can do." Freshman Sarah Elliott, Mariah's sister, is just one of seven underclassmen on the team who will benefit from a new gymnastics facility in the future. "I hope it continues to grow," said Mariah of the direction of the program. Freeland's gymnasts have been practicing at the Freeland Sports Zone since the end of the summer, and will now have the opportunity to show off their skills in competition. Next year's schedule may include more home meets, with the ultimate goal being to earn the distinction of being recognized as a top program in the state. Perhaps one worthy of hosting a regional like back in the good ol' days. "Our goal is to see how this one goes, and maybe in the future host an invitational," said Weldon. "Freeland used to have one of the biggest invitationals in the state and host regionals." One of Saturday's opponents, Sturgis, finished fourth in the state last year and Vassar is much improved, said Weldon. "They will give us some good competition at home, which is what I wanted to do," said Weldon. Saturday's meet brings Freeland just another step closer to regionals, set for Saturday, March 6, in Haslett. The top three teams advance to states on Friday, March 12, in Rockford. The Falcons finished six tenths of a point out of the running last year, but are currently ranked 14th in the state by their peers and boast a Division 1-level competitor in freshman Taylor Spitz. "The goal is to get at least four kids qualified individually (for the Saturday, March 13, individual finals in Rockford), and our ultimate goal is to qualify as a team," said Weldon. "The girls are increasing their skill levels to try and accomplish that." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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