SPORTS
A6
Community Journal
June 1, 2011
| YOUTH | Editor Melanie Laughman | mlaughman@communitypress.com | 248-7573 HIGH
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JOURNAL
Trojans lose heartbreaker to Mason By Scott Springer
sspringer@communitypress.com
On the day they had been listed as the No. 4 team in Ohio, the Glen Este Lady Trojans fell short in their quest to make it to the state semifinals in Akron with a 2-0 loss to Lakota West. The tournament games that began on May 11 with an 18-0 opening win over Winton Woods, ended two weeks later at Mason High School. It was just their fifth loss of the year and second shutout. “It just wasn’t our day,” coach Tim Gregory said. Oddly enough, the Lady Trojans had blasted the Lady Firebirds 11-0 back on April 2. Unfortunately, Glen Este fans have to live with the fact that Lakota West knocked out both the baseball and softball teams from the postseason. It won’t make Gregory or his girls feel any better, but 24 wins is quite an accomplishment. It’s one better than last season and matches 2009’s regional run. It’s also Glen Este’s fourth consecutive 20-plus win season. “That’s the way it goes,” Gregory said. “The girls had a great year.” The Lady Trojans featured Kaylin Steinmetz,
BRANDON SEVERN/ CONTRIBUTOR
Kaylin Steinmetz of Glen Este makes the throw from third as the Lady Trojans took on Lakota West in the District I regional semifinal at Mason High School. It was a rough day at the plate for Glen Este as they were shutout by Lakota West’s Alex Caudill 2-0. Steinmetz led the FAVC in hitting, home runs and runs batted in and will continue her softball career at NKU with teammate Kelley Benhase.
Glen Este senior shortstop Kierstin Gregory throws to first in the Lady Trojans’ 2-0 regional semifinal loss to Lakota West. Gregory is the daughter of coach Tim Gregory and the sister of freshman second baseman Kayla Gregory. Both girls were key contributors in Glen Este’s 24-5 season.
who took the Fort Ancient Valley Conference “Triple Crown” with a .560 batting average, 10 home runs and 43 runs batted in (prior to the Lakota West game). On the mound, Kelley Benhase was second in the FAVC in wins with 18, second in strikeouts (240 in 133.1
innings) and had a 0.40 ERA. Benhase also hit .421 with a homer and 18 runs batted in. Steinmetz and Benhase will next take the field for the Northern Kentucky University Norse. In terms of unsung heroes, Gregory need look
BRANDON SEVERN/ CONTRIBUTOR
no further than his own family. Senior Kierstin Gregory and freshman Kayla Gregory played together this season and hit .432 and .398, respectively. Kierstin Gregory was second on the team in runs batted in with 27. Her philosophy at the plate was simple. “I try to hit it hard,” Kierstin Gregory said. In their one season together Kierstin hit third, after younger sister Kayla (who led Glen Este in steals with 17). Kierstin played shortstop, Kayla second. Naturally, as sisters, the Gregorys didn’t always agree on things “She fights with me,” Kierstin Gregory said of Kayla. Before being handcuffed by Alex Caudill of Lakota West, the Gregory sisters had differing opinions on the toughest pitcher they had seen. “Probably, Sarah Pearson (Lakota East) last year,” Kierstin Gregory said. “I didn’t do so good against her.” Kayla Gregory reflected back on an FAVC opponent. “Probably the Kings pitcher,” Kayla Gregory said. (Casey Murdoch of Kings beat Glen Este 1-0 and lost 2-0.)
BRANDON SEVERN/CONTRIBUTOR
Freshman Kayla Gregory of Glen Este fouls one back for the Lady Trojans in their regional semifinal against Lakota West. Glen Este was handcuffed by Alex Caudill of Lakota West on three hits and fell short May 25 2-0. Kayla and her senior sister, Kierstin were the No. 2 and 3 hitters for their father/coach Tim Gregory. Glen Este’s season ends at 24-5. The sting of losing in the tournament is still fresh, but the softball team won a league title and allowed just nine runs to score in FAVC play while scoring 123. “Last year, I wasn’t sure if our team was going to be this good,” Kierstin Gregory said. “It surprised me that we were.” The Lady Trojans return eight from this squad, including six freshman. Of
those, Bailey Miller and Kenzie Hall both cracked home runs this season and Miller was Kelley Benhase’s back-up with a 5-2 record and 1.62 ERA. She also hit .384 and was third on the team in runs batted in. Freshman outfielder Katelyn Maynard chipped in at .308. In other words, the 2011 door is closed, but the 2012 cupboard is far from bare.
Track athletes advance to state By Nick Dudukovich ndudukovich@communitypress.com
GEOFF BLANKENSHIP/CONTRIBUTOR
Williamsburg senior Kyle Donthnier earned second place in the long jump with a mark of 20-2.25 at the CHCA Invitational, May 4.
Local track teams competed in regional track competition throughout southwest Ohio during the week of May 23. Wildcat speeder Clayton Scheidler led the way for Williamsburg after posting a third-place, state-qualifying time of 11.18 seconds in the 100-meter dash at Troy Memorial Stadium, May 27. Scheidler also qualified in the 200 with a third-place time of 22.89 seconds. In the long jump, senior Kyle Donthnier will join Scheidler at the Division III state meet after posting a third-place finish with a mark of 21 feet, 9.75 inches in the finals, May 24. The winning mark was set by Locklands’ Tariq Sanders (22-01.50). In the discus, sophomore Michael Posey finished his season on a strong note by placing fifth in the discus with a mark of 143 feet, 6 inches. The winning throw was tossed by Maverick Long, of Anna (156-07). The 4x100-meter relay team of Donthnier, Charlie Oliver, Jason Zavislak and Scheidler will also run in
GEOFF BLANKENSHIP/CONTRIBUTOR
Williamsburg’s Jason Zavislak (right) ran anchor in the 4x200-meter relay for the Wildcats. The team of Charlie Oliver, Nick Heilman, Kyle Dontheir and Zavislak placed third in the event with a mark of 1 minute, 36.88 seconds. Columbus after posting a third-place time of 44.04 seconds. For the girls, sophomore Elizabeth Meisberger placed 11th in the shot put with a mark of 30 feet, 0.75 inches, while Ainsley Guess finished 14th with a distance of 28 feet, 5 inches. Several boys and girls from New Richmond High School represented the Lions at the Division II regional meet at Dayton’s
Welcome Stadium, May 25 and 27. The Lions got strong performances from two freshman girls at during the qualifying heats. In the 400-meter dash, Olivia Behymer placed fourth with a time of 59.59 seconds to qualify for the final heat. In the high jump, freshman Hannah Hall tied for eight with a mark of 4 feet, 10 inches.
The Division II meet – which included a strong showing by McNicholas track teams in the preliminaries – was not finished before Community Journal holiday deadlines. To view results, please visit Cincinnati.com/blogs/presspreps. The Amelia and Glen Este track teams will each have a representative at the state meet in Columbus. For the Barons, freshman Madison Terry finished fourth in the regional meet in the 1,600 meters with a time of 5:09.02 (top four in each event go to State). At Glen Este, senior Michelle Thomas returns to the state meet as she won the regional title in the 3200 meters at Dayton's Welcome Stadium with a time of 10:40.54. Thomas will now run on the same Jesse Owens Track she'll be competing on next season as an Ohio State Buckeye. The 2011 track and field championships will be June 3-4 at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University. For more coverage, visit Cincinnati.com/blogs/pressprep s
Sportsman of Year voting nears end for 2011 Voting ends for the third-annual Community Press Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year online contest at midnight Monday, June 6. The award – whose winners are determined online by newspaper readers – recognizes studentathletes of the highest caliber who show excellence in the classroom, community and in their sports. On the ballot for the Community Journal are: Justin Andler, Amelia; Michael Bouley, Glen
Este; Corey Goedde, Glen Este; Tim McBride, Glen Este; Jacob Prindle, Batavia; Austin Warden,
New Richmond Sportswomen – Kelley Benhase, Glen Este; Shelby Engle, Amelia; Erin Hancock, Amelia; Ali Hock-James, Amelia; Rachel Meisberger, Williamsburg; Kaylin Steinmetz, Glen Este; Michelle Thomas, Glen Este. You can reach the ballots by clicking on any of the links designated for each of the three counties in Northern Kentucky and 12 Ohio ballots attached to specific Community Press newspapers.
Schools covered by that newspaper are listed below the newspaper name. These names were derived from about 250 nominations received online from the readership, coaches and athletic directors. Voting runs until midnight Monday, June 6. Top vote-getter wins. Voters can cast up to 150 votes per day. The winners will be announced publicly online and in print June 22-23.
Voters will need a cincinnati.com user account to cast a ballot. Sign up by using the link at the top, left-hand corner of cincinnati.com or the link attached to your desired ballot. Contact Jordan Kellogg at jkellogg@communitypress.com for assistance to get your account set up. For all other questions on the Sportsman of the Year, contact Melanie Laughman at mlaughman@communitypress.com.