Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
ALLENTOWN – Sam Lux was exactly where he wanted to be on the first Monday in May – give or take 20 yards.
The Jim Thorpe senior was playing in the District 11 Class AA Tennis Tournament at West End Racquet and Fitness Center. But instead of playing for the district title and a berth in the state tournament, Lux had to settle for a berth in the consolation match.
One court removed from the television cameras and the big crowd following the gold medal match, Lux was determined to make the most of his bronze medal showdown against Wilson’s Mike Nester.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
Jordan Nowacki’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Tamaqua to a 10-9 come-from-behind victory over visiting Jim Thorpe.
Julia Mason helped the Olympians’ build a 9-5 lead after two and a half innings of play. Mason sparked the attack by delivering a RBI single in the second and a RBI double in the third. Teammate Rhiannon Milliard chipped in with two singles, a run scored, a walk and a RBI.
Nowacki pulled the Blue Raiders within one in the fourth by drilling a two-run homer. The Blue Raiders’ Sarah Zehner added a run-scoring double in the sixth to tie the game at 9-9 and also had a triple earlier in the game.
Jim Thorpe 036 000 0 – 9 8 2
Tamaqua 321 201 1 – 10 11 4
A. Tillou, Caufman (5) and Milliard; Wagner, Bates (5) and Zancofsky. W – Bates. L – Caufman. HR: Jim Thorpe – none; Tamaqua – Nowacki (4th, one on).
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
SOUTH WHITEHALL – Sam Lux and Zach Ligenza don’t play a lot of doubles tennis.
But it didn’t show Friday in the first round of the District 11 Class AA doubles tournament at West End Racquestball Club.
The Jim Thorpe seniors disposed of both their opponents in two sets and are headed to today’s quarterfinal round.
“This is kind of new,” said Lux, a district singles semifinalist and the Olympians No. 1 singles player the past two years. “Doubles is interesting to say the least. It’s not what I’m used to, but I can defnitely appreciate doubles. It’s a different game than singles. I’m lucky I have a good partner. It makes it a lot easier when you have a good partner.”
Lux and Ligenza, the No. 2 seeded pairing in the tournament, won their first round match 6-0, 6-4 over Wilson’s Roth Healey and Michael McLaughlin. They beat Bethlehem Catholic’s Stephen Rossi and Frank Shi in the second round to advance to the quarterfinals.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Republican-Herald:
JIM THORPE – Ben Stermer and Dane Ciaverella combined on a four-hitter as Jim Thorpe stunned Pine Grove 5-2 in a Schuylkill League Division I contest Thursday.
Stermer went the first 4.1 innings to get the win, and Ciaverella went the rest of the way to get the save.
Daniel Russo had two hits for Jim Thorpe, while Patrick Janecki hit a key two-run single in the third.
Ryan Boyer struck out 11 in taking the loss for Pine Grove.
Pottsville 9 Panther Valley 8
Kevin Miranda had two hits, including a two-run homer in the fifth inning to put the Tide in the lead for good, as the Pottsville came from behind to down the Panthers in a Division I contest at 16th Street Field.
Miranda, one of three Pottsville players to hit a home run in the game, turned a one-run deficit into a 9-8 advantage.
Eric Leymeister added a three-run blast in the fourth, while Trey Hook hit a two-run shot in the fifth.
Panther Valley had two homers in the game. Jeff Corby hit a two-run shot in the first and Zach Stanko added a solo shot in the third.
Read more Schuylkill League baseball stories here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Republican-Herald:
Jim Thorpe won the boys’ team title with 102 points, while Millersburg (96) took second and Upper Dauphin (70.5) third.
Jim Thorpe’s JaAshia Page had a hand in three of the new meet and stadium records Friday as she won four times.
Page was first in the 100 in 12.9 seconds, breaking the old mark of 12.98 set by Tamaqua’s Erika Barron. Page took the 200 in 26.5, eclipsing the 26.89 set by North Schuylkill’s Rachel Hughes. Page also teamed with Mylena Gilkes, Ashley Nicola and Amelia Herman to break the Olympians’ 400 relay mark of 52.52 with a 51.0.
Page also won the triple jump in 36-2½.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
SOUTH WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP Four and a half hours of tennis is a lot on any day under any conditions.
With District 11 tournament hopes riding on each match and with the tempurature rising near 90 degrees Saturday on West End Racquetball Club’s macadam courts, it turned out to be just a little too much tennis for Sam Lux.
The Jim Thorpe senior fell in the semifinals of the Class AA District 11 Tournament, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Central Catholic’s Labario Obeid.
“He just ran out of gas today,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Norb Lienhard. “That’s what happened. He had a long first match in this heat.”
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
It doesn’t matter what the records are when two rival baseball teams get together.
It may sound a little cliché, but when the two schools are separated by a mere eight-and-a-half miles – the saying reigns true.
Although it did make some mistakes, Jim Thorpe did not play like a one-win team in its Schuylkill League match-up with Panther Valley on Thursday. Still, the miscues the Olympians did make cost them dearly, as they fell to the Panthers 8-5.
“Jumping out to a four-run lead was nice,” said Panther Valley head coach John Cooper. “But Jim Thorpe battled back. It doesn’t matter what the records are. When you play a backyard rival you are going to get a good game. Jim Thorpe came to play today. (Corey) Cinicola kept it in check and allowed them to get back in the game.
“I am just real happy with the way we responded. The two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth were key and allowed us to have some breathing room.”
Panther Valley took control early. The Panthers scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning thanks to two errors and RBIs from Jeff Corby, Zach Stanko and David Marouchoc.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
It was an hour that the Jim Thorpe boys tennis team would definitely like to forget.
The majority of the Olympians walked off the court in under 60 minutes as they suffered a 4-1 loss to powerful Moravian Academy.
Jim Thorpe head coach Norb Leinhard and all seven of his starting players will take in this regular season matchup as a “lesson learned” to prepare themselves for this year’s District 11 Class 2A Team Tournament, which is less than two weeks away.
“They’re going to learn from it,” Leinhard said. “They’re going to come back tomorrow and practice hard. They all know what they did wrong and now we all feel we definitely can stay with them. This score was 4-1, but we were a better team than what today’s score showed.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Times-News:
Despite being awarded the No. 1 overall seed in last year’s District 11 AA tennis tournament, Sam Lux’s run at the title was short-lived.
Lux fell to Catasauqua’s Shanore James, 7-6, 7-5, in what was somewhat of a controversial pairing. Since Catty did not field a team during the year, James had no record and was not seeded for the tournament.
James turned out to be much better than his 0-0 record. In fact, James went on to win the tournament and never lost more than four games in any set after facing Lux.
“It is something I still think about,” admitted Lux. “I like to think about all of my losses and see what I could have done different. I still had my opportunities to win the match. I thought I matched up with him well. He just played better than me that day.
Read the full story here >>.
Posted By bqschwartz
From the Republican-Herald:
JIM THORPE – The Jim Thorpe boys’ track and field team dominated, especially on the track, during its own invitational Friday evening.
The Olympians won nine events, with senior Carl St. Hill (100, 200, 400 relay, 1,600 relay) earning four of them, as Jim Thorpe took the team title at the second annual Olympian Invitational at Jim Thorpe High School.
The Olympians finished with 127 points, 40½ ahead of runner-up Lehighton (86½). Palmerton was third with 86.
Read the full story here >>.
