Another busy weekend has me trying to gather my thoughts for this column. We spent Thursday afternoon and evening in New Albany to watch a grandson’s 14-U baseball games; Friday on to Akron to the Greenville Lady Wave’s D-III state semifinal softball game; then Saturday to Fremont, Ohio for great friend Rex LeJeune’s, Greenville High School Class of 1977, induction into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame. Kathy and I called it the grand tour of central, northeast, and northwest Ohio, all in a little over 48 hours!
Let’s begin with girls’ softball action as the Lady Wave fell short in a bid for a second state title, losing 2-1 to eventual champion Carroll Bloom-Carroll. A large and enthusiastic following from Darke County couldn’t help Greenville overcome a great pitching performance by the Lady Bulldogs Emma Brandt. As Wave coach Jerrod Newland was quoted as saying, “It’s our fifth Final Four, we’ve played in twelve regional championships. I guess we’re the Buffalo Bills (who lost four straight Super Bowl games) of high school softball.”
With only two seniors graduating in Kendall Cromwell and Lily Brubaker, odds are that the Green and White will have a good chance of returning to Firestone Stadium next spring. And how about 22 consecutive years of 25-plus wins! Congratulations to the Lady Wave on yet another great season!
Also, hats off to Miami East, who had an outstanding season before losing in the D-V semifinals to now eventual two-time champion Wheelersburg, and to Tri-Village’s continued excellence in seeking to defend last year’s state title before falling by one run in the regional D-VI finals to state winner Dalton. And a special mention to Springfield Kenton Ridge, who clinched a second straight title in D-IV, stretching their consecutive game-winning streak to 64 games!
High school track and field state finals were held this weekend in Columbus. For a complete listing of results and area performers, go to the OHSAA website and click on Athletics.net. But special mention needs to be made to a few teams and individuals: Ansonia’s boys, led by juniors Bennett Lehman and Cade Shellhaas, finished a close second in D-V with Lehman winning gold in both the 1,600 and 3,200 events. Chaminade-Julienne’s girls were second in D-II, the Minster girls took a second in D-V, the Oakwood girls won another title in D-III, and the Wayne boys defended their D-I title.
Noteworthy were the tea championships in D-V by both the Columbus Grove boys and girls as their longtime coach is retiring after this season. And how about senior Sophia Szolosi of Athens winning the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 runs in D-III before taking her talents to Duke University next fall!
Every year I list the best times, heights, and distances of all 17 events at the state meet regardless of division—this year D-I boys claimed six “bests”, D-II six, D-III two, D-IV and D-V one each with a tie in the high jump at 6’9”. On the girls side it was D-I with nine, D-II one, D-III five, and D-IV with one with a tie in the high jump at 5’7”. Great performances throughout the weekend at Jesse Owens Stadium!!
The “World’s Greatest Sporting Event” takes place beginning Thursday throughout Canada, the US, and Mexico as the World Cup is up for grabs with 48 countries competing for honors. The popularity of the sport has certainly captivated the world over the years, with the US gradually becoming more enthusiastic about the games. Here’s to good competition and avid fans throughout the next few weeks. I admit that I’m not a knowledgeable bystander, but will probably sneak a peek or two as the field narrows!
In the NBA Finals, the Knicks hold a 2-0 advantage over the Spurs, claiming two wins in San Antonio as the series moves to Gotham City. No team has ever lost the first two games at home and come back to win the title, so good luck to the Spurs, they’ll need it!
Meanwhile, in the NHL, the Golden Knights of Las Vegas have a 2-1 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals. If you haven’t tuned into the matches, you’re missing out on some exciting action, even if you don’t know the difference between a blue line and a red line!
JT Poston won the 50th edition of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Sunday in a two-hole playoff over Ryan Gerard. Host Jack Nicklaus, as always, had the course in immaculate condition even after Saturday’s storm forced a halt in play until Sunday. Always a great trip to Dublin, if only to walk the course, if not really into golf!
A tale of three teams—the Guardians, Reds, and Padres all rank in the bottom five of MLB squads in team batting averages and runs scored, yet Cleveland leads the AL Central by two games while Cincinnati is almost ten games back in the NL Central. Meanwhile, North Star native and Versailles graduate Craig Stammen, in his first year as a manager at any level, is trying to pull San Diego out of a funk in the past few weeks as they’ve fallen eight games behind in the NL West.
Finally, a few items of importance from World War II that might interest some of you history buffs occurred this first part of June—in 1940, 338,000 Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk, France, and taken safely to England. Also in ‘40, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared in a speech to the House of Commons: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” One of the truly memorable speeches of history; what an example of leadership!!
And in 1942, the Battle of Midway took place in the Pacific Ocean. The turning point of the Pacific conflict saw US carrier planes sink four aircraft carriers of the Empire of Japan in a period of five or so minutes. I take a particular interest in this as my Uncle Bob Gibson flew a dive bomber from the carrier Yorktown in the event. While rearming to go back into battle, the Yorktown was damaged beyond repair, and Bob, along with thousands of others, abandoned the sinking ship to be picked out of the water by a nearby destroyer. Bob later won a Navy Cross for his actions at Guadalcanal while flying from the carrier Enterprise. Hard to believe that was 84 years ago!! Have a great week!!
