Local girls softball team gets bid to national tournament
12/3/2008A local 14-and-under fast pitch softball team has qualified for a national tournament.
The 14U Wizards Gold Elite Girls Fast Pitch Softball team received a bid to the 2009 Amateur Softball Association (ASA) national tournament next summer.
The team, which practices in Holland and has players from northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, earned the bid by placing second in two tournaments this fall.
The Wizards received an "A" bid to play at the ASA nationals in Sterling, Va., July 29 through Aug. 2.
The team took second place in the Harvest Fall Classic held at Scott Park in early October. The team also finished as the runner-up at the Ohio Wave Rip-It Tournament held in Greenville, Ohio, later in October.
The 14U team competes in tournaments throughout Ohio and the surrounding states.
The team has players from Oregon, Perrysburg, Napoleon, Waterville, Metamora, and Bedford.
The Wizards are coached by Jeff Eisenbrandt and Bill Dhondt.
The team members are Lindsay Mondragon and Abbey Herrera (Clay), Ty Wilson, Felicia Eisenbrandt, and Sarah Dhondt (Perrysburg), Brianna Megyesi (Anthony Wayne), Leslie Ducat and Megan Mosiniak (Evergreen), Haley Holmes (Bedford), Brittni Collins (Whiteford), and Alyssa Showman (Napoleon).
SWIMMING AND DIVING: The Bedford High School girls' swim and dive team finished sixth at the state meet last month in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The Mules have just six competitors but had one champion and four top-five finishes.
Junior diver Cheyenne Cousineau won her second straight title in the 1-meter dive. Cousineau set a new state record with 483.80 points.
Kirstin Stark finished third in the 100-yard freestyle (51.76 seconds) and took fourth in the 50 free (23.95). Stark set new school records in both events.
Nici Frackowski finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.70) and was 12th in the 200 individual medley (2:11.62).
Bedford's 200 medley relay team of Stark, Frackowski, Shannon Heasley, and Annie Pennington finished seventh overall with another new team record (1:51.59).
The Mules' 400 free relay team of Stark, Pennington, Frackowski, and Zoe Hopkins finished fourth overall and established another school record (3:36.72).
Cousineau and Stark also received consideration for All-American status.
BOWLING: The Toledo AMVETS Bowling Tournament for Special Olympics will be held on Saturday at the New Glass Bowl Lanes.
The tournament starts at 11:15 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. About 125 bowlers are expected to participate.
Author Barb Holdcroft also will be signing her book I'm Katie's Mom: Pointers for Professionals and Parents of the Disabled. Proceeds from the book benefit the Lucas County Special Olympics.
New Glass Bowl Lanes is at 5133 Telegraph Rd. For more information, contact Linda Baranak at 419-381-5254.
MOTORSPORTS: Dakota Bell of Bowling Green won the prestigious World Karting Association Triple Crown championship recently.
Bell won three national season titles in the 2008 Hortsman Gold Cup Series and was one of only two junior drivers in the history of the series to win the award.
On Nov. 6, Bell ended the season by winning all three class features at the WKA Hortsman Gold Cup Grand Nationals in Concord, N.C.
Bell has now won more than 20 WKA national events and five national championships.
SWIMMING: The Greater Toledo Aquatic Club has been selected as a national partner with USA Swimming's Make A Splash Program.
GTAC's Swim School was recognized for reaching its goals of water safety education, prevention of drowning, and promotion of diversity in the sport. The GTAC is one of only four programs nationally that have been recognized as Make A Splash liaisons.
The GTAC Swim School, which has been in operation since 2001, annually teaches more than 500 children and adults. The GTAC Swim School is located at St. Francis de Sales High School.
The local swim school also is the teaching site for the local Special Olympics swim programs. The club also offers instruction through the Josh Project. The national initiative, which was started by Toledoan Wanda Butts, provides free swim lessons to central-city children and those who cannot afford swim lessons.
The Josh Project was honored by USA Swimming and other national organizations for its efforts in lowering drowning rates among urban children and increasing awareness of water safety.
For more information about the programs go to http://swimfoundation.org or call Cindy Millen Roberts at 419-344-2424.