Sebastian Cimoch from Forest City played well enough throughout the junior season to qualify for the Anthracite Golf Association Tournament of Champions where he finished tied for 13th out of 27 players.
Cimoch shot 81 in the first round July 28 at Fox Hill Country Club and followed it up the next day with an 87 at Huntsville Golf Club for a 36-hole total of 168.
Carbondale’s Chris Cerminaro repeated as champion with 73-72—145.
Cimoch’s play on the AGA Junior Tour was highlighted by a tie for fifth out of 62 players July 14 at Elmhurst Country Club when he shot a 79.
Tyler Salak from Clifford Township tied for 16th at the Tournament of Champions with a 79-90—169.
Colton Tyler from Meshoppen in the Elk Lake School District, Adam Kowalewski from Richmondale in the Forest City Regional School District and Dylan O’Dell from Forest City also qualified for the Tournament of Champions.
Tyler was tied for 23rd with 92-87—179; Kowalewski was 25th with 87-95—182; and O’Dell was 27th with 85-106—191.
Salak and O’Dell joined Cimoch in the top 10 at Elmhurst.
Salak was third with a 77 while O’Dell was tied for ninth with an 81.
O’Dell had the best finish by a county golfer on the tour this season when he took second with a 77 at Frosty Valley Country Club July 7. Kowalewski was third with an 80.
All five of those golfers competed in Division I, which was for players 15-18 and, other than the TOC, conducted 18-hole events.
The AGA Junior Tour also features nine-hole events in Division II. Montrose Country Club hosted the final Division II event of the season, drawing 15 players July 22 for an event that was won by Logan Paczewski from Dallas with a 42.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Lackawanna Football Conference held its annual Media Day August 5 at the Regal Room in Olyphant.
In conversations with coaches, Delaware Valley was established as the Division 1 favorite over Scranton. Defending champion Scranton Prep is also regarded as a possible contender.
Dunmore rated the edge over Lakeland in Division 2, which again includes Montrose after the Meteors moved up following two years in Division 3.
Defending champion Old Forge and Lackawanna Trail are considered the top teams in Division 3 but Susquehanna is regarded as a possible contender. Mid Valley moves down from Division 2 to Division 3, trading places with Montrose.
Second-year coach Kyle Cook, quarterback/linebacker Austin White and wide receiver/cornerback Craig Stanley represented the Sabers at the event.
New coach Lou Cella represented Montrose, along with running back/linebacker Billy Hewes and quarterback/defensive back Patrick Parks.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The first Lackawanna League sporting events of the 2014-15 school year will be held Monday, August 18 when Elk Lake is at Dunmore, Riverside is at Forest City, Carbondale is at Mountain View and Montrose is at Mid Valley in Class AA Division golf matches that involve Susquehanna County schools.
Those eight schools are joined in the AA Division by Blue Ridge, Holy Cross, Old Forge, Lakeland and Lackawanna Trail.
Tennis opens the following day.
Montrose is at Abington Heights and Scranton is at Elk Lake in openers Tuesday, August 19.
Montrose and Elk Lake compete in the Class AA Division, along with Scranton Prep, Valley View, Honesdale, Western Wayne, Mid Valley, Holy Cross, Dunmore, Riverside, North Pocono and West Scranton.
In youth sports, the world’s top youth sporting event makes its annual stop in Pennsylvania when the Little League World Series begins Thursday in Williamsport. The series, televised by ESPN, continues through August 17.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.
UNDERDOG ALLMENDINGER WINS
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.—AJ Allmendinger has always been considered an underdog in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. At times, he has been the butt of jokes among drivers and news media. But Sunday, he put a whipping on all of NASCAR’s big boys, including Saturday’s Nationwide winner, Marcos Ambrose.
AJ Allmendinger greets fans prior to Sunday's Cup race at Watkins Glen, which he won. Furnished by NASCAR
“We won! We won! I can’t believe we won a Sprint Cup race,” said Allmendinger. “I just wanted it bad. Getting through those last restarts was the hard part. He (Marcos Ambrose who finished second) didn’t try to wreck me. It was just hard and fun.”
Allmendinger led 30 laps of the 90-lap race, and held off the rest of the field on three different restarts in the last 23 laps.
On the last two restarts, Ambrose and Allmendinger battled each other for nearly half a lap, with Ambrose briefly gaining the lead, before Allmendinger regained it. Finally on the last restart with three laps to go, Ambrose realized he had given it his all, and could not hope to pass the swifter Allmendinger.
“He was really good,” said Ambrose. “I did everything I could. He had a really fast race car and drove a great race. I congratulate him.”
Kurt Busch was third, followed by, Kyle Larson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Brian Vickers.
Polesitter Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet developed an electrical problem on the track during lap 50, and he had to be pushed back to the garage area. He led 28 laps during the early part of the race but finished 34th.
During lap 55, Greg Biffle appeared to get into the rear of Ryan Newman’s car, sending him hard into the inside guard rail. Newman’s No. 31 spun back across the track and was struck by the No. 95 of Michael McDowell, who then hit the outside railing. While these two cars were sliding and spinning, several other cars ran into them and received damage.
“I’m not sure what happened,” said McDowell. “I saw there was a problem ahead of me, but at the speed we were running I was too close to avoid it. I got banged pretty hard by the 31-car.”
The accident caused the race to be red flagged for one hour, 21 minutes while speedway crew repaired the rail damage and cleaned up the track. There was a second red flag period late in the race after Denny Hamlin crashed into some sand barrels at the entrance to pit road.
Top-10 leaders after 22 of 36: 1. Earnhardt-773, 2. Gordon-768, 3. Kenseth-703, 4. Keselowski-696, 5. Logano-671, 6. Edwards-658, 7. Johnson-650, 8. Harvick-645, 9. Newman-645, 10. Larson-635.
AMBROSE GETS NATIOWIDE WIN
Marcos Ambrose overcame an early race spin, and went on to lead 48 laps in winning the 80-lap Nationwide race at Watkins Glen ahead of Kyle Busch. It was his fourth Nationwide victory at the Glen since 2008.
“We run one Nationwide race a year,” said Ambrose. “We have a part-time crew chief, and part-time crew. Here we are in victory lane. How special can you get?”
Ambrose and Busch got together early in the race and both spun, but they were able to keep racing.
Joey Logano was third, followed by Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Elliott Sadler, Ty Dillon, Paul Menard, and Brian Scott.
Top-10 leaders after 21 of 33: 1. Elliott-752, 2. Smith-750, 3. Sadler-739, 4. T. Dillon-739, 5. Scott-707, 6. Bayne-704, 7. Gaughan-601, 8. C. Buescher-601, 9. Reed-570, 10. J. Buescher-567.
STEWART INCIDENT KILLS SPRINT CAR DRIVER
Tony Stewart did not race in Sunday’s Cup race at Watkins Glen after he struck and killed 17-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. during a sprint car race on Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, just outside Rochester, New York.
The following accident report was issued by the Ontario County Sheriff’s Dept.:
“There was an on track incident at the exit of turn-2. The race was in lap 14 of the 25-lap feature. One car lost control and spun coming to rest along the outside retaining wall. The race was immediately put under caution, slowing the cars on the track. The driver of the car that was spun, exited the race car and walked down the track onto the racing surface. Two race cars traveling in tandem approached as the driver continued down the track, gesturing to the two approaching cars. The first car swerved to avoid the driver out on the track. The second one, operated by Tony Stewart, struck the driver.”
Adam Dulaski, who witnessed the accident, told the Rochester, N.Y. Democrat: “Coming out of turn-2, Stewart's car squeezed Ward's car up into the outside wall, turning it around. Ward's car had a flat tire as a result, and he exited the car to show his displeasure with Stewart's move. He marched down the track and was pointing at Stewart's car as he approached on the ensuing caution lap. Stewart's car then clipped Ward, who was run over and thrown down the track.
“Tony came around ... the back end slid out, and he definitely caught him. The body made contact with the car and went sliding across the track. It was the worst thing I've ever seen.”
When sprint drivers get on the gas on a dirt track and attempt to slide through a corner, the right rear of the car kicks out and this is what appeared to happen.
Ward was struck by the right side of Stewart’s car and not directly head-on.
Had Ward stayed in his car, the accident would not have occurred. Whether Stewart did not see Ward, expected him to jump out of the way, or was just showing off is known only to Tony Stewart.
Stewart had been involved in a July 2013 accident at the same track. The incident involved 15 cars and left 19-year-old Alyssa Ruggles with a compound fracture of her back.
Stewart only returned to sprint car racing in July, after breaking his leg in a crash in September 2013 in Iowa.
The race at Canandaigua was not a major event. The race in which the accident occurred, had a purse of only $3,000. This is the type of sprint races Stewart has been in lately, with few top-name drivers participating.
He returned to NASCAR racing in February 2014, but has not won any races this season. He can still make the Chase if he wins one of the four remaining non-Chase races. (Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, or Richmond).
Greg Zipadelli, team manager for Stewart, called the death a "tragic accident." In a statement released Sunday morning, he said, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”
Weekend Racing: The Truck and Cup teams are at the 2-mile Brooklyn, Michigan Speedway, while the Nationwide teams travel to the Mid-Ohio sports car road course in Lexington, Ohio.
Sat., Aug. 16, Truck Series race 12 of 22; Starting time: 12 noon ET; TV: FoxSports1.
Sat., Aug. 16, Nationwide Series race 22 of 33; Starting time: 2:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN.
Sun., Aug. 17, Sprint Cup Series 23 of 36; Starting time: 12 noon ET; TV: ESPN.
Racing Trivia Question: How many Cup teams does Michael Waltrip Racing operate this season?
Last Week’s Question: Who won the 2013 Watkins Glen Cup race? Answer. Kyle Busch claimed his third win of 2013, after favourite Marcos Ambrose suffered a late-race accident and crashed with six laps remaining
You may contact the Racing Reporter at: www.hodges@race500.com.
Colby Thomas
The leadership of Colby Thomas during the past two autumns helped make Mountain View the best small school boys’ soccer team in the state in 2012 and the best in the eastern half of the state in 2013.
During the summer, Thomas helps the Lehigh Valley United ‘95s rank among the best club teams in the country in their age group.
Thomas was a major contributor when the Lehigh Valley United ‘95s made the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the fourth time in five years. For the third time, he was chosen to the tournament all-star team as one of the Best 11 at the national championships.
His latest efforts have once again made Thomas the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month.
Thomas was also Athlete of the Month on his way to Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Year honors for both 2012 and 2013.
The recent high school graduate is likely to continue his pursuit of national championships when he reports this month to Messiah College, which is the defending NCAA Division III national champion and has won 10 titles total.
“I think at Messiah, that’s always the main goal, to compete for a national title,” Thomas said.
Thomas scored goals in three straight games during nationals while helping the Lehigh Valley United ‘95s to their best national finish ever, taking second place in the Under-18 Division. Thomas scored goals in the last two pool play games when the team went 3-0, then added another during the semifinals.
“All we were shooting for in group was to make the top two and we ended up coming in first in our group,” said Thomas, who ranks fourth in Pennsylvania high school boys’ history with 171 goals, while also adding 47 assists during his four-year career at Mountain View.
Just making it through state and regional tournaments placed Lehigh Valley United ‘95s in the top four or eight in the country in each of its national trips. Santa Barbara FC White won the final, 3-0, avenging a loss to Lehigh Valley United ‘95s in group play.
“To say that we made it there out of 10,000 teams is an unbelievable accomplishment,” Thomas said. “Credit goes to that team, they were really special.”
Playing club soccer helped make Thomas more dominant on the high school level and helped prepare him for his college career.
“Club has definitely exposed me, more or less, to the next level,” Thomas said. “It showed me there is something else out there.”
At Messiah, where he will major in sports management, Thomas will concentrate at soccer. While at Mountain View, he was also an all-star baseball player the past two years and finished his career this summer playing at PNC Field in Moosic for the Lackawanna League in the Field of Dreams all-star game.
Colby is the son of Roger and Robin Thomas of Harford. Roger Thomas is the head coach at Mountain View and served as assistant with Lehigh Valley this summer.
