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Koloski Sprints, Jumps To Three Wins; Leads Montrose To Third-Place Finish
By Tom Robinson

Julie Koloski won the 100-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump Friday night to help Montrose to a third-place finish in the girls’ division of the Wyalusing Lasagna Invitational.

In a preview of the Jordan Relays, Lackawanna Track Conference championships and District 2 Class AA championships that are all ahead in the next two weeks, three teams from Susquehanna County produced strong finishes in the girls’ field at Wyalusing.

Montrose edged Blue Ridge for third place, 62-56, out of 20 teams. Elk Lake took sixth with 40 points.

Mountain View scored six points to finish 18th.

Koloski won the 100 in 12.46 seconds. Elk Lake’s Caitie Good was sixth in 13.31, while also taking third in the 200 in 27.50.

In the long jump, Koloski won with 17-11 3⁄4. Mountain View’s Alexandria Lynn was sixth.

Koloski took the triple jump with 37-6 3⁄4. Blue Ridge’s Meghan Ragard was second and Montrose’s Sarah Kimsey was fifth.

Kimsey got her own win by clearing 5 feet in the high jump.

Elk Lake’s Maria Trowbridge won the 1600 in 5:25.31 and took third in the 3200 in 11:54.33.

Blue Ridge’s Kaitchen Dearborn threw the javelin a winning distance of 122-3.

Montrose also picked up a win when the 400 relay team of Angela Short, Alexandra Lewis, Jacey Blom and Allegra Spero finished in 50.98 seconds. Blue Ridge was seventh in 54.16.

Montrose’s Christy DiMichele finished second in the pole vault. Blue Ridge’s Katie Drake was fifth.

Allison Hall of Blue Ridge finished less than a second behind Brittney Martin of Abington Heights to take second in the 800 in 2:20.04. Elk Lake’s Kim Caines was third in 2:26.68.

Blue Ridge’s Lauren Findley was second in the 400 in 1:00.86. Elk Lake’s Cassie Van Etten was sixth in 1:02.59.

The Lady Raiders, who have already clinched at least a tie for the Division 3 title, had second-place finishes in the 1600 and 3200 relays behind Lackawanna Division 1 champion Abington Heights.

Dearborn, Findley, Hall and Ragard formed the 1600 team that finished in 4:05.06.

Findley, Ragard, Hall and Megan Kleiner finished the 3200 relay in 9:54.48.

Elk Lake’s team of Kim Caines, Kelsie Hermick, Stephanie Schuler and Cassie VanEtten was third in the 1600 relay.

Mountain View’s Olivia Zick took second in the discus.

Montrose also beat out Blue Ridge for the top finish by a county team in the boys’ team standings. The Meteors were eighth with 38 1/2 points, Blue Ridge was ninth with 37 and Elk Lake was 10th with 30.

Montrose’s Cody DeBoer won the long jump at 23 feet and finished in a dead heat to share first place in the 100 in 11.55 seconds. Teammate Andy Burgh was sixth in the 100, one spot ahead of Blue Ridge’s Jordan Green.

DeBoer was also seventh in the 200 in 24.29.

Blue Ridge was successful in the throws.

Dan Kempa won the javelin, while Eric Onyon and Jared Conklin each had a third-place finish. Onyon was third in the shot put and seventh in the discus. Conklin was third in the discus and eighth in the shot put.

Mike Rihl of Montrose took second in the pole vault by clearing 13 feet. Teammate John Maurey tied for seventh.

Ryne Carney of Elk Lake was second in the 3200 in 9:47.30 while Sean Carney was third in the 400.

Blue Ridge’s Zach Kruger was third in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 100 hurdles.

Montrose’s Burgh was fifth in the high jump.

Elk Lake’s Tyler Williams (800) and Josh Ralston (discus) added sixth-place finishes.

Elk Lake had the best relay finish with the team of Mike Bedell, Ryne Carney, Williams and Bryan Grosvenor placing third in the 3200 in 8:19.25. The Warriors were also fifth in the 1600 relay.

Montrose was seventh and Blue Ridge eighth in the 400 relay.

Abington Heights, coached by Susquehanna native Frank Passetti, finished second in both team races.

Athens beat the Abington Heights boys, 86-82, and Lake-Lehman edged the girls, 102-101.

Justin Passetti, the coach’s son, won the high jump at 6-4.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Brooke Darling threw a four-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Elk Lake held on to sole possession of second place in Lackawanna League Division 3 softball with a 6-2 victory over Montrose.

Gabby Baltzley had three hits and drove in three runs.

The Lady Warriors, who trail only unbeaten defending champion Blue Ridge in the division, went on two win three times in three days. They also topped Lackawanna Trail, 10-0, and Forest City, 8-2.

Montrose bounced back with two straight wins.

Brittany Bartok went 5-for-5 with eight RBIs in a 16-2 rout of Forest City.

Andrea Hinds had two hits, including a homer, and Abbey Hewitt struck out nine in a 5-4 win over Mountain View.

In high school baseball, Blue Ridge finished the week 6-0 for a full game lead on Elk Lake and Lackawanna Trail, both 6-2.

In boys’ volleyball, Mountain View and Western Wayne share the Lackawanna League lead at 5-1.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-2, Friday night to win their first-round Calder Cup playoff series, four games to one.

COLLEGE CORNER

Jocelyn Dearborn went 3-for-3 with a home run in the second game of an April 19 doubleheader to lead Fordham to a 7-1 victory that completed a sweep.

The sophomore third baseman from Blue Ridge leads Fordham in doubles with 12 while ranking second in home runs (seven) and RBIs (34).

Dearborn has started every game for the Lady Rams, who are 10-4 in the Atlantic 10 and 31-17 overall. She is batting .264.

As a freshman, Dearborn made the Atlantic 10 all-rookie team after leading Fordham with nine homers and 51 RBIs while batting .333.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Jordan Relays are scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. at Scranton Memorial Stadium, kicking off the track and field postseason.

In softball, Elk Lake is at undefeated Blue Ridge Monday in a meeting of the top two teams in Lackawanna Division 3.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins begin their second-round playoff series Saturday night in Hershey. The series continues Sunday at 5 in Hershey.

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

Keselowski Clips Edwards For Wild Win

TALLADEGA, Ala.,--Brad Keselowski got his first career Sprint Cup win Sunday in dramatic fashion in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. congratulates Brad Keselowski after his Sunday win at Talladega

“Wow, how about this team,” said Keselowski. “I want to thank all the fans for coming and apologize to Carl Edwards for wrecking him, but man, the rule is you can’t go beyond the yellow line. He blocked me and I wasn’t going below it.

“I don’t want to wreck a guy, but you’re forced into that situation. There was nothing else I could do.”

With four laps to go in the 188-lap race, Keselowski was running eighth behind Edwards.

One lap later, Edwards was third and Keselowski was fourth.

Keselowski continued to push Edwards toward the front.

When the white flag was given, signaling one lap remaining, Edwards and Keselowski had passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman for the lead.

Keselowski remained right on Edwards rear bumper. As the two cars exited turn four and headed to the finish line, Keselowski pretended to move up the track. Edwards moved up to block, then Keselowski went low. Edwards attempted to block him again, but this time the nose of Keselowski’s No. 1 James Finch Chevrolet was under Edwards.

Edwards’ car spun sideways and then went airborne, and into the grandstand chain link fence. Ryan Newman, who was running third, had the roof of his No. 39 torn off as he passed under Edwards’ flying car.

Edwards climbed from his burning car and jogged across the finish line.

“I didn’t know if it mattered, but I wanted to say I finished the race,” said Edwards. “I’m very fortunate that I didn’t hit the wall where it would crush my roll-cage down on my neck. NASCAR just puts us in this box. We’ll race like this until we kill somebody and then we’ll see what happens.

“I congratulate Brad on his win.”

Talladega officials said there were at least eight relatively minor injuries caused by flying debris from Edwards’ car. Track medical director Dr. Bobby Lewis said a woman suffered an apparent fractured jaw and a mouth laceration. She had bloody smears across the front of her shirt as medical workers treated her near the accident site.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. It was his first top-5 finish this season.

“We were staying close together, and I was thinking there is no way anyone is going to catch us there at the end,” said Dale Jr., “They were smart enough to move up into the higher lane, which had been easier and faster all day.”

There were two big wrecks. The first one came just seven laps into the race and involved at least 14 cars. Nine of the cars went to the garage area. Five did not return to the track.

Drivers that had heavily damaged cars included Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, and AJ Allmendinger.

The second one occurred during lap 180 and involved nine cars.

The top-10 finishers: 1. Brad Keselowski, 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3. Ryan Newman, 4. Marcos Ambrose, 5. Scott Speed, 6. Kurt Busch, 7. Greg Biffle, 8. Brian Vickers, 9. Joey Logano, 10. Jeff Burton

Top-12 Chase Contenders after 9 of 36: 1. Kurt Busch-1299, 2. J. Gordon-1294, 3. Johnson-1235, 4. Stewart-1232, 5. Hamlin-1193, 6. Kyle Busch-1124, 7. Edwards-1119, 8. Bowyer-1098, 9. Burton-1092, 10. Biffle-1081, 11. Reutimann-1077, 12. Kenseth-1063

RAGAN TAKES TALLADEGA NATIONWIDE RACE

David Ragan made a last lap pass on Ryan Newman to win Saturday’s Aaron’s 312. The top-10 Points leaders after 8 of 35: 1. Ky. Busch-1219, 2. Edwards-1157, 3. Ragan-1139, 4. Leffler-1082, 5. Logano-1058, 6. Brad Keselowski-1041, 7. Keller-925, 8. Lagasse-886, 9. Allgaier-885, 10. McDowell-879

NASCAR BANQUET MOVES TO VEGAS

NASCAR announced last week that Las Vegas formally becomes the “Official Host City of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week.” NASCAR’s annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony will be held at the Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. The move to Las Vegas provides for greater flexibility for driver and fan events.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events will be combined and held at the Loews Miami Beach on Monday, Nov. 23.

NASCAR had held the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in New York City every year since 1981. After exploring several options, NASCAR formed a partnership with Las Vegas Events, making the change of venue a reality.

“I can’t say enough about the warm reception from Las Vegas,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “Las Vegas really made it a priority to get the awards ceremony moved there. We were able to come to an agreement on reasonable room blocks, banquet facilities, and approvals to hold fan activities on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

“I also want to thank New York City and especially the Waldorf-Astoria for being such an important part of NASCAR’s history over the years. We look forward to a continued presence in the Big Apple where we have so many dedicated fans.”

STATE OF THE CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

The Camping World Truck Series numbers appear to be holding steady, but hard times have forced several teams to scale back operations. Some top teams have been unable to secure full sponsorship and others struggle just to keep going as the economy suffers.

There was a time when NASCAR’s Truck Series was a natural place for young drivers to develop their skills, with an eye toward reaching the sport’s higher levels. That time appears to be gone. The question is if it will ever return.

With a shortage of sponsorship dollars, a lack of monetary compensation relative to NASCAR’s other major touring series and an identity more personified by older veterans than up-and-comers, the Truck Series is at a crossroads after 15 seasons.

“I’m worried about it,” three-time Cup champion Darrell Waltrip said on NASCAR.com “It’s good racing. We talk about competition and the [car of tomorrow] and racing’s not that exciting [in Sprint Cup], but truck racing is as exciting as it gets most every week, and still they are having a hard time.”

Rick Crawford, who fields the No. 14 and 10 Truck teams has been racing in the series since 1997.

“I think if this series can survive the next two years that it’s going to be around for quite a while,” he said. “The next two years is going to be survival point for the American people. It’s going to be a survival point for our government. It’s going to be a survival point for our automakers. It’s going to be a survival point for a lot of business, but not only the businesses, it’s going to be survival for the American public.”

The sluggish economy that has created ripple effects in all of NASCAR’s national series has taken a particularly difficult toll on the trucks. While teams have smaller budgets than their Sprint Cup and Nationwide counterparts, their race earnings are also substantially less.

Next Week: Will Mikey Hang it up After This Year.

Weekend Racing: The NASCAR Cup and Nationwide teams are at the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway. The Camping World Trucks are off until May 15.

Fri., May 1, Nationwide Series Lipton 250, race 9 of 35, Starting time: 7 p.m. (EST); TV: ESPN2.

Sat., May 2, Sprint Cup Crown Royal 400, race 10 of 36, Starting time: 7 p.m. (EST); TV: FOX.

Racing Trivia Question: Where is Mark Martin’s home town?

Last Week’s Question: Who will AJ Allmendinger drive for in 2010? Answer: He will continue to drive for Richard Petty Motorsports.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net.

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