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Post 86 Bowlers Score At Tourney
Gaffey Places Second At Keystone Games
By Tom Robinson
State high school pole vault champion Amber Gaffey of Thompson finished second in the 15-16-year-old Female Division at the Keystone State Games in York.
Gaffey, who won the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA title as a sophomore at Susquehanna, cleared 10 feet to finish tied for second in a field of 14 pole vaulters at the state games.
Nicholas Staats of Montrose cleared 12 feet in the 17-18 Male Division to finish 10th out of 16.
In masters swimming, Charles and Marsha Kime of New Milford were busy in many events again this year.
Charles Kime competes in the 70-74 Male Division where he won the gold in the 50 freestyle with a time of 33.01 seconds, almost six seconds better than the second-place finisher out of three in the event.
Charles Kime won a total of two golds, a silver and two bronze medals. He won the 500 freestyle unopposed.
Marsha Kime captured three golds in the 65-59 Female Division, swimming unopposed in the 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke and 50 breaststroke.
In baseball, Benjamin Phillips of Springville was part of the Junior Division Pocono Region baseball team that captured the gold.
Team sports competitors have to make it through a tryout to represent their region at the Keystone Games. The Junior Division is for players entering ninth and 10th grades.
Pocono edged Delaware Valley, 1-0, before losing to Capital, 10-0, in baseball Wednesday. The team bounced back to defeat Lehigh Valley, 4-0, and Metro, 6-3, to finish 3-1 in its pool and earn the spot in the final on a tiebreaker over Delaware Valley.
Pocono then edged previously unbeaten Nittany, 2-1.
In girls' basketball, Susquehanna's Hannah Price and Christy Glidden played for the Pocono Region Junior Female Division team that reached the bronze medal game before falling.
Pocono went 3-1 in round-robin play with Price leading the team to a fast start.
Price shared team scoring honors with 14 points in an opening 72-35 victory over Nittany Tuesday. Glidden added two points.
Price led the team with 14 more and Glidden added five in a 65-27 win over Great Lakes to start Wednesday. The team added a 65-57 win over Lehigh Valley later in the day with Price scoring six points and Glidden adding three.
Delaware Valley handled Pocono, 64-28, in the final game of pool play Thursday. Price had two points and Glidden was held scoreless.
In the bronze medal game, Pocono fell to Capital, 60-46. Price had four points and Glidden added three.
In boys' basketball, Mountain View's Nick Stoud was on a Pocono Region Scholastic Male Division team that had a tough tournament, losing its first three games by a combined margin of 141 points.
The move from Wilkes-Barre to York this year reduced the number of total participants from the County.
About a dozen local athletes competed.
The Keystone Games entry list showed Robert O'Malley of Montrose and Nathan Pease of New Milford competing in track and field and Barry Ruane of South Gibson competing in shooting events. As of Monday morning, the Keystone State Games office had not compiled results from their events.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Altoona Curve buried the Binghamton Mets in last place in the Eastern League North Division with a four-game sweep last week.
Montrose graduate Rich Thompson made just one start and one other appearance for the Curve in the series. Thompson went 1-for-3 as the leadoff hitter in a 4-1 win Tuesday. He pinch ran and moved into the game in left field in Monday's 5-4, 12-inning win.
Thompson is batting .245 with Altoona.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Susquehanna lineman Chris Cavanaugh was selected to play in Wednesday's Scranton Lions Club Dream Game, but will have to miss the game because of complications from a broken hand.
The injury leaves Susquehanna County without a representative for the football all-star game.
Neither Montrose nor Susquehanna have a player in the game.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.
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NASCAR Racing
By Gerald Hodges; The Racing Reporter
Sorenson Claims Second Win Of Season
Madison, IL – Rookie Reed Sorenson claimed his second win of the season, as Missouri natives Mike Wallace, and Carl Edwards finished second and third at their “Home” track.
 Reed Sorenson
With a sellout crowd on hand for the Wallace Family Tribute 250 at Gateway International Raceway, it was only fitting that a Wallace brother would be in the spotlight.
At the same time as 19-year-old rookie Reed Sorenson claimed the second victory of his young NASCAR Busch Series career, it was St. Louis native Mike Wallace who stole the show with a second-place finish, while brothers Kenny and Rusty finished 24th and 37th, respectively.
Just as it was a great night for Sorenson and Mike Wallace, it was equally a heartbreaker for David Stremme. Stremme, who led 54 laps, had an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 193 that relegated him to a 22nd-place finish. Likewise for defending NASCAR Busch Series champion Martin Truex Jr., who was overtaken by Sorenson on Lap 168 after his car finally gave in to bad handling.
Truex, the Busch Pole winner who set a new track qualifying record, had rallied from two laps down early in the race to capture the lead on Lap 139 until misfortune struck late. He finished 26th.
Another Missouri native, Carl Edwards, rebounded for a third-place finish after starting in the back of the field due to an engine change. Edwards qualified fourth. David Green, the 1994 NASCAR Busch Series champion, followed up his win last week with a fourth-place finish and unofficially moved up to seventh in championship standings. With his fifth-place run, Paul Menard recorded his sixth top-10 finish in his last seven races.
Sorenson remains in third place in the NASCAR Busch Series point standings, 84 points behind the leader Truex. Clint Bowyer, who finished eighth, stays in second, only 70 points behind Truex. Edwards (fourth) and Kenny Wallace (fifth) round out the top five.
Top-10 Busch Series points leaders: 1. Truex-3096, 2. Bowyer-3026, 3. Sorenson-3012, 4. Edwards-2852, 5. K. Wallace-2760, 6. Hamlin-2697, 7. D. Green-2487, 8. Lewis-2450, 9. Stremme-2438, 10. Menard-2404.
Let’s Rumble At Indianapolis – After the final off week of the season, the Nextel Cup Series returns to the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 on Sunday, August 7.
Having grown up in the towns of Rushville and Columbus, Ind., - 45 minutes from the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway - and having raced in all the feeder series that should bring a successful young racer to the starting grid of the Indianapolis 500, the 2.5-mile oval known as the Brickyard is the cornerstone of Tony Stewart's career. From the time he first strapped himself behind the wheel of a go-kart at age seven in nearby Westport, Ind., Stewart's eyes have been set on Indy.
Now at age 34, Stewart has competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, while this year will mark his seventh Brickyard start. Stewart feels at home at Indy, but that home has shown him some tough love over the years.
He has led a total of 122 laps in his five Indy 500 starts, but victory has eluded him.
His NASCAR tenure at Indy hasn't been any kinder. In the 2001 Brickyard 400, Stewart was a threat to win for all but the last 23 laps. There, he glanced off the turn two wall as he raced with Dale Jarrett toward the lead.
"I was just trying too hard," admitted Stewart. In 2002, he scored the pole with a new track record and led four times for 43 laps before finishing a disappointing 12th. And in 2003 victory was again in Stewart's sights as he led three times for 60 laps, but a slow final pit stop and an ill-timed caution late in the race combined to give the Indiana native another 12th place result.
"Take the one thing in your life that you're the most passionate about and you'll have a good understanding of what Indy means to me,” said Stewart. “There's at least something in everybody's life that they're very passionate about, and for me that's winning at the Brickyard. The fact that it comes around only once a year is the hard part. It's not like everyday you can work to accomplish that goal. I only have one chance out of every 365 days to win at Indy.
“If I could give away my (NASCAR) championship and just get one win at Indy, I would do it in a heartbeat. Two years ago we led a lot of laps and just fell off the pace there at the end. I don't care if I lead one lap at Indy - just as long as it's the right one. That's how much it means to me.
"You can let it monopolize your mind, but at the same time, that has also helped me get to this level of my career. Preparing and focusing on the objectives is what's gotten me to where I am today.
“As every year goes by you learn how to deal with situations better and you learn to prepare better, but that can also put you in a situation where you can over-prepare. What we've tried to do this year is just simplify things and go back to the basics of why we got here, and that's to have fun."
IMS Race Winners: 1994-Jeff Gordon, 1995-Dale Earnhardt, 1996-Dale Jarrett, 1997-Ricky Rudd, 1998-Jeff Gordon, 1999-Dale Jarrett, 2000-Bobby Labonte, 2001-Jeff Gordon, 2002-Bill Elliott, 2003-Kevin Harvick, 2004-Jeff Gordon.
WEEKEND RACING
All three of NASCAR’s major touring divisions will be racing in the Indianapolis area. The Craftsman Trucks and Busch Series will be at the nearby five-eighths mile Clermont track, while the Nextel Cup cars race at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Friday, August 5, Craftsman Truck’s Power Stroke Diesel 200, race 15 of 25, 200 laps/137 miles, 8:30 p.m. TV: Speed Channel.
Saturday, August 6, Busch Series Kroger 200, race 23 of 35, 200 laps/137 miles, 8:30 p.m. TV: TNT.
Sunday, August 7, Allstate 400, race 21 of 36, Starting time: 2:30 p.m., 160 laps/400 miles, TV: NBC.
Racing Trivia Question: Which Nextel Cup team does Mike Wallace drive for?
Last Week’s Question: Which driver has been in NASCAR racing longer, Mark Martin or Rusty Wallace? Answer. Martin broke into the Winston Cup in 1981. Wallace joined him in 1984.
You may read additional stories by the Racing Reporter at www.race500.com. You may write him at P. O. Box 160711, Mobile, AL 36616.
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Post 86 Bowlers Score At Tourney
By Lou Parrillo
On May 14 and 15, three American Legion bowling teams from Susquehanna American Legion Post 86 invaded Sunbury, PA to take part in the State Legion tourney. Several of the bowlers came out “winners.”
Two members of the Legion team – Roger Williams and Dave Gelineau – placed 32nd in the singles event, with identical scores of 688 (with handicap).
The Sons of the American Legion (SAL) fared real well. In the singles, Mike Kuiper (scratch) bowled 729 for first place and a plaque. In the handicap division, Matt Frailey was 16th with 711. In the doubles, Matt Frailey and Jeremy Wayman placed 12th in the handicap event. In the All Events, Matt Frailey placed 15th with 2016 pins.
The Ladies of the Auxiliary also participated in the tourney. We understand they did “real good,” but did not place.
Top lady in the singles event was Rebecca Fox of Post 299, Scranton, with a 715 total.
Congratulations to all.
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