DILLON – The Butte Central boys won eight events and placed second in the team standings Friday at the Dillon Invitational high school track meet held at Vigilante Field.
The host Dillon program won both team championships with the Beaver boys scoring 138.40 points and the girls totaling 284.
With two wins each by Danny McCarthy and Keefer McGree and wins also by the relay teams, Will McGree and Justus McGee, the Butte Central boys stacked 127.20 points for second place in the team standings. Whitehall was third in the nine-school meet with 78.33.
The McGrees are first cousins.
The girls’ team competition saw Leadore, Idaho, scored 47 points to finish as distant runnersup to Dillon. Whitehall was third with 41 and Butte Central was next with 34.
McCarthy won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in 11.4 and 24.0 seconds, respectively. Keefer McGree came in first in both hurdles events, clocking 16.0 seconds in the 110-meter highs and 42.5 in the 300-meter intermediates. Will McGree sprang a 35-foot, 9-inch landing to take the triple jump and Justus McGee marked 19-7 ¼ for first place in the long jump. The 400-meter relay team won in 45.3 seconds and was made up of Keefer McGree, Patrick Stimatz, Palmer Kellicut and McGee. The 1,600-meter quartet of Will McGree, Grady Button, Burkley Lakkala and Teghan Sparks clocked 3:55.2 in its win.
Stimatz was a close second to McCarthy in the 100, Ayden Abraham placed sixth in the 200, Kellicut placed second to McGree in the intermediate hurdles and third in the highs. Michael Peck threw to fourth-place finishes in both the shot put and the discus. Will McGree was fourth in the javelin and McGee placed third in the high jump.
Eighth-grader Evyn Tippett placed in the sprints for the Butte Central girls, taking second in the 200 and third in the 100. Morgan Hardy placed sixth in the 800-meter run. Two Maroons placed in the girls’ 1,600-meter run as Lexa Thompson came in fourth and Nicolina Galindo fifth. Galindo was also fifth in the 800. Their 400-meter relay squad placed fifth. Caden Tippett was the runnerup in the girls’ shot put and Molly Peck was sixth for Butte Central in the discus.
Place-winners follow:
Boys
Team scores – Dillon 138.40, Butte Central 127.20, Whitehall 78.33, Twin Bridges 41.20, Townsend 33, West Yellowstone 24.20, Leadore, Idaho 16.33, Manhattan 15, Sheridan 11.33, Lima 11.
100 – 1, Danny McCarthy, Butte Central, 11.4. 2, Patrick Stimatz, Butte Central, 11.6. 3, Brooks Ressler, Whitehall, 11.9. 4, Canin Christiansen, Dillon, 12.0. 5, Jrney Mataafa, Dillon, 12.1. 6, Iverson Wiggins, Dillon, 12.2.
200 – 1, Danny McCarthy, Butte Central, 24.0. 2, Levi Maunu, Dillon, 24.9. 3, Noah Flores, West Yellowstone, 25.4. 4, Tripp Lefdahl, Dillon, 25.5. 5, Mason Reynolds, Manhattan, 25.6. 6, Ayden Abraham, Butte Central, 25.9.
400 – 1, Kalen Martinell, Lima, 58.1. 2, Abrams Clark, West Yellowstone, 58.9. 3, Gavin Greene, Townsend, 1:01.8. 4, Morgan Andren, Whitehall, 1:03.4. 5, Briggs Munns, Sheridan, 1:04.1. 6, Keaton Cavasos, Townsend, 1:04.6.
800 – 1, Mateus Brown, Leadore, 2:15.3. 2, Gabriel Huber, Dillon, 2:19.5. 3, Alex McElderry, Whitehall, 2:25.1. 4, Gavin Greene, Townsend, 2:27.8. 5, Avery Charlton, West Yellowstone, 2:31.6. 6, Hunter Grimm, Twin Bridges, 2:37.5.
1,600 – 1, Gabriel Huber, Dillon, 5:06.2. 2, Gavin Greene, Townsend, 5:20.4. 3, Avery Charlton, West Yellowstone, 5:27.6. 4, Alex McElderry, Whitehall, 5:31.6. 5, Porter Hopman, Dillon, 5:32.1. 6, Remi Jorgensen, Twin Bridges, 5:35.5.
3,200 – 1, Porter Hopman, Dillon, 12:27.5.
110 hurdles – 1, Keefer McGree, Butte Central, 16.0. 2, Cody Hopper, Dillon, 16.6. 3, Palmer Kellicut, Butte Central, 16.8. 4, RJ Aragon, Whitehall, 16.9. 5, Ty Wellman, Twin Bridges, 18.4. 6, Simon Powner, Manhattan, 21.0.
300 hurdles – 1, Keefer McGree, Butte Central, 42.5. 2, Palmer Kellicut, Butte Central, 45.8. 3, Flint Janzen, Twin Bridges, 47.7. 4, Ty Wellman, Twin Bridges, 48.7. 5, Mateus Brown, Leadore, 50.4.
400 relay – 1, Butte Central (Keefer McGree, Patrick Stimatz, Palmer Kellicut, Justus McGee), 45.3. 2, Dillon 46.5. 3, Butte Central “B” 47.9. 4, Dillon “B” 48.5. 5, Twin Bridges 49.5. 6, Townsend 52.3.
1,600 relay – 1 Butte Central (Will McGree, Grady Button, Burkley Lakkala, Teghan Sparks) 3:55.2. 2, Twin Bridges 4:01.4. 3, Dillon 4:04.2.
Shot put – 1, RJ Aragon, Whitehall, 39-8. 2, Trace Giomi, Townsend, 39-4. 3, Landen Miotke, Whitehall, 39-1. 4, Michael Peck, Butte Central,, 38-3. 5, Jared Ramsey, Leadore, 37-7. 6, Ethan Babcock, Twin Bridges, 37-5.
Discus – 1, Landen Miotke, Whitehall, 128-6. 2, Canin Christiansen, Dillon, 117-11. 3, Trace Giomi, Townsend, 113-9. 4, Michael Peck, Butte Central, 107-4. 5, Braxton Marxer, Leadore, 107-0. 6, Kalen Martinell, Lima, 106-10.
Javelin – 1, Flint Janzen, Twin Bridges, 137-0. 2, Kyler Theis, Sheridan, 135-6. 3, Cooper Abbey, Dillon, 134-0. 4, Will McGree, Butte Central, 130-2. 5, Brooks Ressler, Whitehall, 119-4. 6, Charles Larsen, Sheridan, 117-2.
High jump – 1, Cody Hopper, Dillon, 5-10. 2, Tucker Huckaba, Whitehall, 5-8. 3, Justus McGee, Butte Central, 5-6. 4, Joseph Dzenga, Dillon, 5-4. 5, Abrams Clark, West Yellowstone, 5-4. 6 (tie), Kyler Theis, Sheridan; Wyatt Foster, Leadore; and Lain Radliffe, Whitehall, 5-2.
Pole vault – 1, Cody Hopper, Dillon, 11-6. 2, Mason Reynolds, Manhattan, 11-0. 3, Canin Christiansen, Dillon, 10-0. 4, Kiowa Haynes, Manhattan, 10-0. 5, Levi Maunu, Dillon, 9-6. 6, Lain Radcliffe, Whitehall, 9-0.
Long jump – 1, Justus McGee, Butte Central, 19-7 ¼. 2, Canin Christiansen, Dillon, 19-5 ½. 3, Tucker Huckaba, Whitehall, 19-4. 4, Levi Maunu, Dillon, 18-7. 5, Cody Hopper, Dillon, 18-5 ¾. 6, Brooks Ressler, Whitehall, 17-8. Also, 7, Keefer McGree, Butte Central, 17-5. 8, Will McGree, Butte Central, 16-9.
Triple jump – 1, Will McGree, Butte Central, 35-9. 2, Jax Schuller, Whitehall, 35-6 ½. 3, Jay Mullaney, Twin Bridges, 35-4 ½. 4, Tripp Lefdahl, Dillon, 35-3 ¼. 5, Reece Hofer, Whitehall, 32-7 ¼.
Girls
Team scores – Dillon 284, Leadore, Idaho 47, Whitehall 42, Butte Central 34, Twin Bridges 29, Lima 14, West Yellowstone 14, Sheridan 10, Manhattan 8, Townsend 2.
100 – 1, Tatum Nagle, Dillon, 13.5. 2, Juliet Baker, Dillon, 13.9. 3, Evyn Tippett, Butte Central, 14.2. 4, Emma Bray, Whitehall, 14.3. 5, Tycie Davis, Sheridan, 14.4. 6, Kembri Schmidt, Manhattan, 14.5. Also, 7, Isla Bengston, Butte Central, 14.9.
200 – 1, Fayth Clarno, Dillon, 27.6. 2, Evyn Tippett, Butte Central, 30.2. 3, Tess Tash, Dillon, 30.8. 4, Jentry Dorvall, Whitehall, 31.6. 5, Alethia Martin, Whitehall, 31.7. 6, Sophia Boyd, Manhattan, 33.0.
400 – 1, Faye Holland, Dillon, 1:03.6. 2, Ava Graham, Dillon, 1:05.5. 3, Jentry Dorvall, Whitehall, 1:12.5. 4, Ashlynn Gray, Whitehall, 1:16.4. 5, Sierra Sherrard, Townsend, 1:22.2.e
800 – 1 Faye Holland, Dillon, 2:36.0. 2, Natalie Salinas, West Yellowstone, 2:58.0. 3, Kiersten Bernard, Lima, 3:17.8. 4, Gwen Kruse, Manhattan, 3:25.0. 5, Nicolina Galindo, Butte Central, 3:32.0. 6, Morgan Hardy, Butte Central, 3:56.2.
1,600 – 1, Azelynn Jones, Leadore, 5:41.3. 2, Ashlynn Gray, Whitehall, 6:15.8. 3, Natalie Salinas, West Yellowstone, 7:05.1. 4, Lexa Thompson, Butte Central, 7:06.2. 5, Nicolina Galindo, Butte Central, 7:50.6.
3,200 – 1, Azelynn Jones, Leadore, 12:34.0. 2, Elisa Roden, Lima, 18:10.6.
100 hurdles – 1, Riley McCoy, Dillon, 16.2. 2, Fayth Clarno, Dillon, 16.4. 3 (tie) Reine McCoy, Dillon, and Ava Graham, Dillon, 16.5. 5, Yeraldin Walton, Twin Bridges, 17.1. 6, Carli Wood, Twin Bridges, 18.8.
300 hurdles – 1, Reine McCoy, Dillon, 49.3. 2, Carli Wood, Twin Bridges, 51.9. 3, Yeraldin Walter, Twin Bridges, 52.0. 4, Valerie Smith, Dillon, 53.7. 5, Azelynn Jones, Leadore, 54.1. 6, Chapin Graham, Manhattan, 1:00.4.
400 relay – 1, Dillon (Fayth Clarno, Riley McCoy, Tatum Nagle, Reine McCoy) 51.0. 2, Dillon “B” 55.7. 3, Whitehall 56.2. 4, Twin Bridges 57.3. 5, Butte Central 59.4. 6, Manhattan 59.5.
1,600 relay – 1, Dillon (Juliet Baker, Ava Graham, Valerie Smith, Kenleigh Graham) 4:36.6. 2, Twin Bridges 4:46.9.
Shot put – 1, Olivia Maunu, Dillon, 31-8. 2, Caden Tippett, Butte Central, 31-3. 3, Shior Mataafa, Dillon, 30-8. 4, Lexi Bird, Leadore, 29-9. 5, Kenleigh Graham, Dillon, 29-2. 6, Haylee Bird, Leadore, 27-9.
Discus – 1, Haylee Bird, Leadore, 102-7 ½. 2, Kenleigh Graham, Dillon, 97-7. 3, Lexi Bird, Leadore, 91-8. 4, Clara Nittinger, Dillon, 90-3. 5, Shior Mataafa, Dillon, 77-1 ½. 6, Molly Peck, Butte Central, 75-7 ½.
Javelin – 1, Olivia Maunu, Dillon, 101-7 ½. 2, Tycie Davis, Sheridan, 98-1. 3, Juliet Baker, Dillon, 94-4 ½. 4, Brynna Gibson, Dillon, 91-8. 5, Lexi Bird, Leadore, 86-2. 6, Tess Tash, Dillon, 83-1.
High jump – 1, Amber Santos, Dillon, 4-6. 2, Violet Rhodes, Dillon, 4-4.
Pole vault – 1, Riley McCoy, Dillon, 10-7. 2, Amber Santos, Dillon, 9-6. 3, Kira Kemph, Dillon, 9-0. 4, Reine McCoy, Dillon, 7-6. 5, Juliet Baker, Dillon, 7-6. 6, Violet Rhodes, Dillon, 7-0. Also, 7, Brynna Gibson, Dillon, 6-6.
Long jump – 1, Reine McCoy, Dillon, 15-8 ½. 2, Tess Tash, Dillon, 15-2. 3, Amber Santos, Dillon, 14-11 ½. 4, Emma Bray, Whitehall, 14-9. 5, Ava Graham, Dillon, 14-7. 6, Kembri Schmidt, Dillon, 14-1. Also, 7, Meika Boyer, Butte Central, 14-0.
Triple jump – 1, Tess Tash, Dillon, 31-10. 2, Kira Kemph, Dillon, 31-1 ½. 3, Scarlett Garrison, Dillon, 30-10 ½. 4, Alethia Martin, Whitehall, 29-9. 5, Azelynn Jones, Leadore, 29-3.

A study by Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and Waseda University warned that without a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, many areas of the country will become unsuitable for youth sports in the late afternoon – when school club activities like baseball, athletics and football typically take place.

The findings, published in the Environmental Health journal on March 10, highlight what researchers say is a looming crisis for children’s health, as Japan’s intense summer heat merges with a deeply ingrained sporting culture, creating conditions that could pose serious risks.

The issue is of particular concern to Takahiro Oyama, a researcher at the NIES Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and lead author of the report.

“When I was at school I did track and field sports through the summer and I experienced heat illness several times,” he told This Week in Asia. “At that time, around 20 years ago, our teachers did not realise that it was such a problem, although that has changed now and people are more aware.”

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir will hold a special youth football camp on Saturday, May 10, at the Canisius High School Robert J. Stransky Memorial Complex.

Registration is $199 and includes professional instruction from Shakir and staff, giveaways for a one-on-one rep with Shakir, and camp autographed merchandise, a limited edition Shakir camp shirt, kindergarten through fifth grade football fundamentals, or sixth through eleventh grade football-specific drills by position. 

The MVP Package ($349, limited to 50) also includes a private meet-and-greet and photo with Shakir, five action shots during the camp, an autographed photo of Shakir, and priority registration.

Kids ages six to 16 can register and the camp is limited to 200. Those interested can register at gamedayyouthcamps.com. 

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – The Wallen Sports complex is celebrating its 68th anniversary with a new entrance created in honor of the park’s founder Sal Madrid.

Wallen sees thousands of young baseball and softball players come to play on their diamonds each year. The first young athlete back in 1958 was Madrid’s son, Michael, who through the help of his company contributed funds to make the new entrance a reality.

“We can’t hardly contain ourselves,” Michael said. “This is a big day. What I really appreciate is the fact that the management here, when I presented this to them and Tim, they were 100% behind it. I can’t say enough good things about the group that is now running this facility.”

“I’m about giving respect to the old tradition, and Mike is that tradition because this park was built for him and his dad was that dream,” Wallen Complex’s president Tim Mosbrucker said.

The park opens for the spring season on Saturday, May 3.

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As John Fogerty famously said in his song “Centerfield”, we’re born again and there’s new grass on the field. Many baseball and softball players have heard that song at some point. The song was played for boys and girls upon their arrival at Bulldog Park to set the tone for the City of Crown Point’s Ball Diamond Sports Festival. 

The celebration took place on Saturday, May 3, opening with a parade that featured the players throughout downtown Crown Point. The players then made their way to Bulldog Park, where they had an opportunity to play games and try out exciting activities.

Paul Waisnora, athletics director of the PACE (Parks, Athletics, Communications and Entertainment) Department for the City of Crown Point, admires how the residents of this community can come together to celebrate the kids getting back into the swing of things on the field.

“This is our third annual Ball Diamonds Sports Festival,” Waisnora said. “We have vendors show up, along with our opening day parade for our girl’s softball and our Cal Ripken Baseball League. The parade has been going on for a while, but we just started doing the festival in recent years.”

Crown Point Mayor Peter D. Land has been a lifelong resident in the Crown Point community. He has looked forward to this celebration for years, ever since he was walking the same route for the parade.

“This is a big day for us,” Land said. “This has been a long standing tradition, dating back to when we called it the Little League parade. A league like this takes a lot of people working together all year round, and we have a dedicated group of great people.”

Between tossing bags, corn dogs, and an opportunity for kids to practice their pitching, this family friendly event had something that everybody could enjoy.

“You’ve got food vendors, you’ve got pretzels, the Great Lakes Sports Hub, and face painting for the girls,” Adam Graper, chief admin of PACE Department, said. “You’ve got a little bit of everything, even for the families with people who play multiple sports.”

As this celebration has continued to grow every year, the City of Crown Point worked together to ensure that this year it would be the best edition of the event. Graper recognizes how important sports are in this community, and it was imperative for them to make this day special.

“This is truly a great community,” Graper said. “No matter what we do, they’re always behind us on everything. There’s nothing stronger than youth sports in the Region, especially in Crown Point. To have an atmosphere where you can go out, walk with the kids, and be a part of the community, it makes this city a great place to be.”

While the Cal Ripken Baseball League has already kicked off its season, the girl’s softball teams will get started on Monday, May 5. Tom Hadt, president of the Cal Ripken Baseball League, has seen several baseball players come through this program and become a better player as a result.

“Something that I’m very proud of is that of the 23 rostered Crown Point High School varsity baseball players on the current team, 19 of them play in the Cal Ripken Baseball League,” Hadt said. “Four of those kids are going to be Division One baseball players. Some of them are going to Indiana University, one is going to Tennessee University, and one is going to get drafted.”

Despite the success that many players have had after playing in the Cal Ripken Baseball League, Hadt is adamant on making sure this experience primarily aims to create fun memories for the kids to cherish for a lifetime.

“I can’t stress enough that, at this level, it’s about letting them have fun,” Hadt said. “There are no MLB scouts or college sponsors here. We’re making great memories here, and that’s the most important thing for us.”

John Stroia, activities director of the PACE Department, has seen similar growth to the girl’s softball programs in the Region. He credits the volunteers who have helped play a part in making the level of participation higher than ever before.

“Our volunteers do a phenomenal job,” Stroia said. “We have 54 teams in our league with over 150 people helping out, volunteering and coaching this year. We are very thankful for that solid foundation in making our program a success. This year, we have an all-time high of 61 sponsors. What’s most exciting for me is when the City of Crown Point took over the girls softball program, there were 240 girls playing in the year before. Including our recreation division, our travel division, and our women’s softball division, we have 76 teams and over 850 girls playing softball.”

Many people consider baseball to be America’s pastime. This event is the ultimate party for boys and girls in Northwest Indiana to soak in the moment. From stolen bases to double plays, the Crown Point community is on the edge of their seats, as this season is sure to be a grand slam.

“The look on the kids’ faces when they do the parade is so overwhelming,” Waisnora said. “They always look forward to celebrating the start of the season. Spring is here, the summer is coming, and we’re ready to play ball.”

The City of Crown Point is appreciative of the vendors that have supported this event. Booths for various organization filled Bulldog Park at the festival including Meraki Hospitality Group, Great Lakes Sports Hub, Buffalo Wild Wings, Skin Colour Pro, Kevin’s Pretzel Factory, Chippopotamus Golf, Crown Creamery, Damo’s Dogs, Play It Again Sports, The Ruvoli Group, Lake County CornDogs Baseball, and a Crown Point merchandise shop.

For more information on the City of Crown Point, you can visit crownpoint.in.gov.