Mallender Hall of Fame Induction

By Submission For The Southside Times

Southport High School girl’s basketball player Linda Mallender, daughter of Chuck and Tina Mallender, will be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame April 24. Mallender is Southport High School girl’s all-time leading scorer with 1,364 points – a record she has held for 29 years. She was a starter on the 1980 State Championship team and named to the 1981 Indiana All-Star team. She was named first team All-American and attended Miami of Ohio University on a full scholarship. During college, Mallender set many records including most assists, blocks and points per season. She was named Mid- American Conference Player of the Year three times, All- Ohio honors, and was voted female athlete of the year in 1981 and 1982. In 1982 she was selected to the sports festival junior national team. In 1983 she was invited to the Pan American trials. Linda ended her career 1984 at the Olympic Trials. Coach Marilyn Ramsey and teammate Amy Metheny will be hosting a reception in the Cardinal’s Nest at Southport High School on April 23 from 5 – 8 p.m. All are invited to attend.[caption id="attachment_5926" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Linda Mallender"][/caption]

Beech Grove High School wrestler honored

By Submission For The Southside Times

Beech Grove High School wrestler Steve Duncan has been named the Edward Jones Investments Scholar Athlete of the Month. Duncan is pictured receiving his medal from representative Bryan Denbo. Duncan became the 25th wrestler in the history of BGHS to advance to state finals on multiple occasions. He is a four-year letterman in both wrestling and golf. [caption id="attachment_5740" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Steve Duncan receives his medal from Bryan Denbo. Submitted photo."][/caption] As a golfer, he is defending ICC individual medalist. He ranks 15th in his class with a grade point average of 3.35 and has been named Academic All State as a wrestler. He is the son of Jeff Duncan and Robert and Michelle Morris.

2010 Golf Guide

By Submission For The Southside Times

We asked local professionals: “What’s your favorite golf course?” Ben Walker: Hulman Links golf course in Terre Haute is my favorite golf course. It is the course where I really learned how to play the game of golf. It is very challenging, fun and affordable. I especially enjoy the challenge or, depending on the day, frustration of the elevation from tee to green on many of the holes and the large, undulating greens. [ad#single-post] Ed Aide: My favorite golf course is Caledonia. It is located in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, which is just south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. This course is on the Waccamaw river and over 200 years ago was a rice plantation. The main entrance is lined with tall live oaks and hanging moss that when driving into this paradise you almost go back in time. There are no homes on this course which adds to the natural beauty of the surroundings. Greg Hubler: Covered Bridge in Southern Indiana is the course I get the greatest opportunity to play. It is enjoyable to me because it is most familiar to me. As it relates to visiting a course, or watching golf, there is no better place on earth than Augusta National. This year’s Master’s Tournament will be the seventh time I have attended. The course condition is absolutely perfect. Scott Rinear: My favorite course is Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Harbour Town Golf Links requires perfectly positioned shots, accuracy and perfect club selection on the part of the player. Its tight fairways, postage-stamp greens, and many hazards are just a few of the challenges you will face. I highly recommend playing it if you get the chance! James Gilbert: Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course is nestled in the Rocky Mountains on the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho. Each hole offers players a challenge at their individual ability level. The 14th hole is the world’s only par 3 floating island with the green 150 yards off the lakeshore. Upon completion of your round of golf, you are treated with a custom bag tag engraved with your name, a gift to remind you of the best golf experience in America. A MUST PLAY!!! Dawn Cox: Torry Pines golf Course, San Diego, California is my favorite course. The views of the Pacific ocean are amazing. Stephen Ford: My favorite golf course is Sugar Loaf Mountain golf course just outside Orlando, Florida. It is the highest point in the Florida peninsula, so you can see for miles around. It is just a beautiful course. Greg Lewark: I’ve had the most fun playing Gatlinburg Country Club in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The course is on the side of a mountain and all of the holes have names – Sky High, Bowling Alley. It’s open to the public and I recommend you play it. Scott Larson: My favorite is Valhalla in Louisville. It’s a beautiful course and it’s fun to play a course that the pros play.” Ann Miller: Rock Creek Golf Course in Fairhope, Alabama. I love the natural beauty of the course.

Saint Roch annual wrestling awards banquet

By Submission For The Southside Times

Saint Roch Catholic School, 3603 S. Meridian will be holding the annual Wrestling Awards Banquet on April 12. The Little Guys wrestlers, from kindergarten to fourth grade, will celebrate their many wins including the City Tournament Trophy won at Ritter High School in March. [caption id="attachment_5723" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Pictured (left to right) are coach Todd Brown, coach Lee Lowry, head coach Joe Hansen, wrestler Frank Anderson III, head coach Mark McGuire, coach Joshua Bangert and videographer Zack Pasley. Submitted photo."][/caption]

Athletes recognized at sports award program

By Submission For The Southside Times

Beech Grove student athletes honored. [caption id="attachment_5710" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Several Beech Grove High School athletes received All Indiana Crossroads Conference honors recently. Pictured (left to right) are Cody Pinkiston, Anthony Jehn, Clint Schmith, Sam Woehler, Seve Duncan, Joey Garcia, Katie Wolfe, Adam Decker, Kacie Farmer, Nick Roberts, Kayla Brown, Joe Mueller, Kelly Boyle, Patrick Stogsdill, Alise Vuskalns and Alex Louzon. Submitted photo. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_5709" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Athletes receiving four-year letterman plaques are (left to right) Jasmine Thomas, Seve Duncan, Brittany Utterback, Kelly Boyle, Kacie Farmer, Kayla Brown and Alise Vuskalns. Submitted photo."][/caption]

Southside Tsunami swimmers advance to state competition

By Submission For The Southside Times

Swimmers from the Southside Tsunami Swimclub qualified and competed in the Divisional Championships this month. Advancing to the Age Group State Meet were Justin Barriger, Noelle Dalman, Nolan Dalman, Brontie Wright and Deanna Ford. [caption id="attachment_5595" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="From left: (front row) Jacob Sampson, Tatiana House, Jordan Voegerl and Brian Miller. (middle row): Natalie McKinnley, Deanna Ford, Heidi Carpenter, Cierra Thomas, Anne Kendall and Brontie Wright. (back row): Coach Mark Madden, Jackie Mead, Kevin Miller, Ashley Anderson, Justin Barriger, Nick York and Coach Heze Clark. Not pictured: Quentin Lord, Erika Shellenberger, Noelle Dalman, Nolan Dalman, Alex Updike, Sierra Chupp and Drew Shellenberger. Provided by Angela Kendall."][/caption]

Beech Grove High School athletes recognized

By Submission For The Southside Times

Brooklyn Baker and Jarad Holmes received special recognition as sportsmanship award winners at the annual winter sports award program. [caption id="attachment_5403" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Pictured are Athletic Director Kevin Stephenson, Brooklyn Baker and Jarad Holmes. "][/caption]

Cardinals make the most of two-a-days

By Kevin Kane

[caption id="attachment_3963" align="alignleft" width="459" caption="Southport’s Junior quarterback Treavor Gebhart orchestrates a running play during practice. Photo by Kevin Kane"][/caption] Practicing football twice a day in the August heat isn’t the way most high school students would choose to spend their final week of summer vacation, but the players and coaches of the Southport High School football team didn’t mind. The Cardinals finished the 2008 season with a 9-2 overall record and a Conference Indiana championship. Last year’s success, combined with the team’s sudden turnaround after a 1-9 finish in 2007, put heightened expectations on the upcoming 2009 campaign. After losing several starters — including eight on offense — duplicating or exceeding last season’s achievements won’t be an easy feat. Head coach Bill Peebles said the team’s making strides, but with much work to be done, he and his players didn’t mind spending all of last week on the practice field. “We’re trying to get back to where we were last year,” Peebles said. “But we have a long way ahead of us.” Peebles said he expects the Cardinals to be undersized and physically disadvantaged in most games, as they were last year. However, he added that, with so many new faces in the starting lineup, the overall speed of the team may not be what it was a year ago, so the 2009 Cardinals will simply have to be more efficient. [ad#single-post] “We’re not going to be bigger than everybody,” he said. “We’re going to have to execute and make very few mistakes.” The Cardinals are working with an overhauled lineup in which many new starters are trying to find their respective roles and the coaching staff is still pinpointing the team’s identity, Peebles said. That factor, combined with the team’s emphasis on execution, left no time to waste during last week’s practices. As the team spent hours practicing plays and simulating game situations, players were required to sprint to huddles and the line of scrimmage. The team also had conditioning scheduled for each day, ranging from running to tossing medicine balls across the field, but with so much to be done during last week’s practices, lack of adherence to team rules or effort during practice could add to the day’s conditioning. After one offense player committed a penalty during a simulation, for example, he was told to perform seven pushups. In a real game, he said, the penalty would have killed the team’s drive and taken seven points off the board. The punishment was minor, but its purpose was to make the player realize the larger effect of his mistake and be more aware in the future. What happens during two-a-days, Peebles said, sets the tone for the rest of the season. With only a few days before the start of the season, the week of practices is the last chance to both correct mental mistakes and evaluate the team’s standing. “You go through so much adversity during two-a-days,” Peebles said. “It’s the first true test they have before the rest of the season.” From that adversity, however, senior linebacker Joe Gilliam said there was more to be gained than football skills alone. After a week of practicing all day under the mid-summer sun, a team develops toughness and other personal traits that will be critical during the season, especially when facing a deficit. “What it takes to come back in the fourth quarter is character,” Gilliam said. “Two-a-days build character.” Gilliam’s teammate, junior quarterback Treavor Gebhart, said the long days at practice also helped strengthen the team’s already strong camaraderie. When not together at practice, they’re at one another’s houses, and that helped to keep the serious practices a bit lighter. “We always have fun,” Gebhart said. “All of us are friends, and that separates us from a lot of teams.” They spent their last week of summer vacation sweating, bleeding and hitting in the heat and humidity, but the team has high expectations for itself this season. Now, the Cardinals are anxious to see if that hard work will pay off when they start the season against a local rival. “We’re looking forward to playing Roncalli on August 21,” Gebhart said.

Southport American wins the District 7 Championship

By Submission For The Southside Times

[caption id="attachment_3838" align="alignleft" width="459" caption="Submitted photo"][/caption] Southport American beat Southport National 12-10 to win the District 7 Championship. They advance to play District 6 in the Section Tournament. Pictured are (backrow, left to right), coach Elvis Turkovich, coach Robert Ottolino, manager Tim Messenger, (middle, left to right) Haley Messenger, Abby Hickson, Paige Sheean, Brooklyn Skinner, Rachael Barnhorst (front, left to right) Cameron Johnson, Abby Curtis, Alice Ottolino, Lindsay Freije, Cassidy Turkovich, Caroline Chappel and Macy Arnett. Also on the team, but not pictured, is Carly Stevens.

Indianapolis holds on for 9-5 win over Pawtucket

By Submission For The Southside Times

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Every Indianapolis Indians batter collected at least one hit led by a 3-for-5 effort by second baseman Shelby Ford, while starting pitcher Ian Snell held the PawSox to just one unearned run in 6.1 innings as the Tribe defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-5 Thursday night at McCoy Stadium. With the win the Indians improve to 42-49 on the season and 21-26 on the road, while the Red Sox fall to 43-45 overall and 21-22 at home with the loss. With the victory Indianapolis takes a 3-2 season series edge over the PawSox, while the loss is Pawtucket’s sixth in-a-row and ninth in their last 10 games. [ad#single-post] The Indianapolis offense came out of All-Star break on a tear, scoring a run in each of the first four innings before adding five more in the final two to capture a 9-5 victory. Each Indians’ batter collected at least one hit and seven of the nine total hitters turned in a multi-hit performance. Ford, who entered the contest having not homered since his first game with the Tribe this season back on April 14, belted a solo shot in the fourth and scored in each of the final two innings to post one of his best offense efforts of the year. The Indianapolis infielder also added two doubles later in the game to post his fist three hit game of the season, while joining SS Brian Bixler (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI), LF Lastings Milledge (2-for-3, 1 RBI), C Robinzon Diaz (2-for-6, 2 R, 1 RBI), 1B Steve Pearce (3-for-5, 2 RBI), RF Tagg Bozied (2-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI) and CF Chris Barnwell (2-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) who all turned in multi-hit performances for the Tribe. With the offense getting the Indians out to an early lead, Tribe hurlers Ian Snell and Mike Koplove held down the Red Sox and helped Indianapolis earn the series opening victory. Snell (6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 SO) was brilliant yet again for the Tribe as he allowed just one unearned run on two hits in 6.1 innings to lower his ERA to 0.34, while Koplove (1.2 IP, 1 BB) continued to prove he is one of the most clutch relievers in the International League as he got out of a key bases loaded jam in the seventh on his way to his team-best eighth hold of the season. Indianapolis took the early lead after Bixler led off the game with a single, moved to third on a base hit by Milledge and came plateward on a RBI groundout by Diaz. The run was Bixler’s team leading 49th of the season, while the RBI for Diaz was his first for the Tribe since April 14 as he was playing in his first game for the Indians since being optioned from Pittsburgh prior to the All-Star break. Later after Barnwell extended the Tribe lead with an RBI double in the second, Walker would plate Diaz in the third with an RBI single in what was his first game back with the Tribe after spending just over a month on the disabled list. Ford followed in the fourth with his long ball that extended the Indians’ lead to 4-0, before Pawtucket finally got on the scoreboard in bottom of the frame on a walk, a single and a Tribe miscue that allowed LF Paul McAnulty to score, However, Indianapolis would put the game out of reach with important insurance runs in the final two frames, including three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Milledge began the scoring in the eighth with a sacrifice fly that brought home Ford, before Pearce capped the frame with a two-run double that brought home both Barnwell and Diaz. The double was one of three hits on the evening for Pearce, who remains red hot for the Tribe having hit safely in each of his last five games and batting .470 (8-for-17) with four runs and eight RBI during the stretch. Following Pearce’s RBI base knock, the Tribe would plate their final two insurance runs in the top of the ninth when Bozied launched his first long ball in an Indians’ uniform this season and Bixler brought home Ford with a two-out RBI base hit that gave the Indians a commanding 9-1 lead. Though the Red Sox would rally with four runs in the bottom of the ninth off Indians’ closer Chris Bootcheck (0.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER) it wasn’t enough as Tribe reliever Denny Bautista (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) slammed the door with an inning of scoreless relief to give the Tribe the 9-5 victory. Pawtucket starter Kris Johnson (5.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) took the loss after allowing four runs and tieing an Indians’ opponent season high by surrendering 11 hits to fall to 3-10 on the season. Indianapolis continues their four-game series with Pawtucket on Friday at 7:05 p.m. LHP Tom Gorzelanny is scheduled to start for the Indians, while RHP Charlie Zink is expected to get the nod for the Red Sox. The contest will be carried by WXLW-950 AM and www.IndyIndians.com with Howard Kellman and Scott McCauley. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m.