SPORTS Sunday, August 11, 2013 PAGE 9 TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post | Scott Francis and Lou Belgio finished off their first three Potentate Tournament opponents early, closing matches at either the 15th or 16th holes at Irem Temple Country Club to reach the championship match. Once in the final, Francis and Belgio used the 15th and 16th to end the match and secure their first championship. Playing from the 15th fairway after hitting his Rice shot long and left, @ stuck his 127- yard approach shot about a foot from the hole at 16 for the deciding birdie needed to close out three-time Potentate champions Jim Blinn and Brian Corbett, 3 and 2. “I don’t mind going over there, as long as you hit it far enough,” Francis said. “You have a good look at the green.” Corbett Scott Francis looks over hole No. 6 during the championship flight. Francis looked at a 127-yard shot, slightly uphill and upwind. He hit a 9-iron just past the hole, spinning it back to within inches of an eagle before settling near the hole where Blinn and conceded the Brian Corbett watches his ball after teeing off on hole No. 7 of the championship flight. birdie. They each had one desperate attempt left at their own birdie to extend the match further after putting together birdies on 13, 14 and 15 to rally from five holes behind. “] soon as I hit it, 1 knew it was going to be Wilkes Barre campus. Freedom. Run for the Fallen, a 5K Run/Walk to honor fallen soldiers, will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at the PSU- The event honors all soldiers who have lost their lives serving our country. It began as a national event in which run- ners ran across the country placing mark- ers at every mile to honor the soldiers who had lost their lives in Operation Iraqi The local event is being coordinated by the Dallas High School cross country team and proceeds will benefit the 1st Lt. Run for the Fallen is Aug. 21 Michael Cleary Memorial Fund. Michael J. Cleary is a Dallas High School gradu- ate who lost his life in military action. His foundation aides charities who support families and causes of soldiers who have lost their lives or were wounded defend- ing our country. Registration is $15 per participant or $50 for a team of four. T-shirts will be given to the first 100 registrants. For a registration form, contact Marjorie Adams at Adams8PA@aol.com. Registration will also be held begin- ning at 5 p.m. the night of the race. Lewis finishes second In Huntsville Golf Club mem- ber Sam Lewis shot an even- par, 144 for 36 holes Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 12 and 13 at the Country Club of Scranton to finish second in Amateur Championship. Lewis shot a 73 to come out of the first day in a four- way tie for ninth place. He shot 71 Tuesday for one of only two under-par rounds Amateur Championship Robin McCool shot the best score Tuesday with a 69 for a three-stroke victory over Lewis. Lewis closed the tourna- ment with a birdie on the 502-yard, par-5, 18th hole. the 85-player field at the 54th on the day. He had two birdies and just annual Pennsylvania Senior Tournament champion one bogey Tuesday. SPORTS BRI EFS roster for the upcoming be held on Saturday, Sept. 7 RAIDERS INVITE season. at the Back Mountain Little PARTICIPANTS Tryouts will be held League Field. Kingston Township chil- from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 13 Games times are 10 a.m. n between the ages of 5 at Kobeski field (corner of for 9-10 year-olds, noon for and 11 are invited to attend ~~ Church and Wylam Avenue) the Home Run Derby and Kingston Township Raiders in Moosic. Tryouts on Aug. 1:30 p.m. for 11-12-year football practices between 14 and 15 will be at Kirby olds. 5:30 and 7 p.m. Monday Park in Wilkes-Barre. Registration fee is $50 for through Friday at the Center For additional informa- each father/son team which Street Park. tion, contact Steve Loyack includes a t-shirt for both For more information, call at 332-0564, Ed Bienkowski father and son. Children Stacy Wydra at 301-8841. at 417-1119 or Steve must be league age 9, 10, SOFTBALL TRYOUTS Armstrong at 417-7217. 11 or 12 years old to partici- Wyoming Valley Vipers FATHER-SON pate. fastpitch travel softball TOURNEY SCHEDULED Registration deadline is organization will host 10U, The Cook’s Pharmacy Aug. 24. Registration forms 12U, 14U and 16U tryouts Second Annual Father Son may be dropped off or for their 2014 season. The Baseball Tournament and mailed to Cook’s Pharmacy, Vipers are looking to add a Home Run Derby to benefit ~~ 1909 Memorial Highway, few skilled players to their Shavertown. the Dallas Foundation will Francis and Belgio secure their firs Potentate Tournament championshi uo finishes ofl first three opponents early, closing matches at either the 15th or 16th holes to reach championship match at Irem Temple Country Club good,” Francis said. Both teams that reached the finals tied for sixth during quali- fying Aug. 2, shooting 70s to make it into the 16-team championship flight. Francis and Belgio never saw the 17th and 18th holes again while winning two matches each Aug. 3 and 4. The toughest match of the weekend for the champions may have been in the Aug. 4 morn- ing semifinals when they battled past Earl Thompson and Gary Sagan Jr., 3 and 2, with the help of a strong front nine by Belgio. “They probably shot 3- or 4-under and they didn’t get to play 17,” Francis said. The early part of the championship match played out differently. Blinn-Corbett led by one hole until Francis- Belgio won three straight from 4 through 6 and again from 9 through 11 for the five-hole lead. Belgio rolled in a putt from the lower tier on 6 and Francis set up an up-and-down with a long drive on 11 for the only two birdies to that point. “Rarely are both us playing really well at the same time,” said Francis, a Dallas resident who has been teaming with Belgio, of Harding, in the tournament for eight years. “When you look back over the course of the tournament, it wasn’t often where we both had it going for four or five holes together. “It was definitely a team effort.” The tournament marked the first of three straight champion- ship weekends at Irem Temple. The Ladies Club Championship was scheduled for Saturday and today. The Men’s Club Championship will FRED ADAMS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Lou Belgio chips onto the seventh green during the championship flight. be Aug. 17-18. The Potentate Tournament drew a field of 76 better-ball teams, each with at least one member. The medal play quali- fying determined the 16 teams in the champion- ship flight and 16 more for the first flight. Bob Lipski and Gary Neupauer made it through four match play rounds to win the first flight. The remaining players were split into four-team flights — second flight through 12th flight. Those winners were Walt Kuharchik-Ron Pieczynski, second; John Baranowski-John Baranowski Jr., third; Frank Pinnacoli-Jeff Hodorowski, fourth; Bill Yoh-Rob Pilgert, fifth; Tom Stitzer-Ken Pollock, sixth; Ryan Holthaus-Chad Kelly, seventh; Bob Edgerton- Bill Mainwaring, eighth; Denny Wengryznick- Henry Simoncavage, ninth; Paul Detwiler- Bryan Ferguson, 10th; Sal Shandra-Mike Shandra,11th; and Mike Borchert-Chuck Simalchick, 12th. The players eliminated from contention Aug. 3 had consolation competi- tions Aug. 4. The Beaten 12 from the championship flight played a medal round that was won by Charlie Gelso- Greg Mascioli with a 65. Jim Breck-John Mulhern shot 70 to win the Beaten 12 of the first flight. Other flights from teams beaten Saturday were won by Larry Brown- Joe Ryan with a 75; John Kennedy-Jack Zarno with a 77 and Ky Saitta-Alex Brogna with a 76. First day closest-to- the-pin awards went to the teams of Pete Johnson-Ed Dorward and Dr. Charles Brand-Joe Weiscarger. Brand-Weiscarger medaled, qualifying with a 5-under-par, 67. Locals contribute to Rock Solid’s second place at State Games TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Three players and a coach from the Back Mountain made key contributions when the Rock Solid AAU basketball team finished sec- ond among girls’ teams for incoming ninth-graders and younger at the State Games of America in Hershey last weekend. Chad Lojewski, who has served as a Dallas Youth basketball coach along with his contributions with Rock Solid, coached the team. Sara Lojewski, the coach’s daughter, and Courtney Devens were team members from Dallas. Sarah Sabaluski from Lake-Lehman was also on the seven-player team. Rock Solid went 3-0 in pool play to reach the cham- pionship game where it fell to the Lancaster Wave, 43-28, to settle for the silver medal. The ninth-grade divi- sion included four teams from Pennsylvania along with one each from Texas, Colorado and Los Angeles. Rock Solid took advan- tage of the State Games of America, which is held every two years, being in the east for just the second time since its debut in 1999. The Olympic-style competition included 29 sports this year. “‘'m extremely proud of the girls,” coach Lojewski said. “We always try to com- pete at a high level to chal- lenge the girls and this was no exception.” Sarah Holweg, from the York Thunder, 23-21. Rock Solid AAU eighth-grade girls recently won the silver medal at the 2013 State Games of America in Hershey. From left, first row, are Alexis Pyzia, Nanticoke; Sarah Holweg, Wyoming Area; Sara Lojewski, Dallas. Second row, Courtney Devens, Dallas; Jess Durnin, Lehigh Valley; Hailey Silfies, Lehigh Valley; and Sarah Sabaluski, Lake-Lehman. Wyoming Area, was the team’s leading scorer with more than 14 points per game. Sabaluski was the team’s leading rebounder with 21. Devens led the team in offensive rebounds with two per game. Lojewski led in steals with three per game and also contributed 2.5 assists. Rock Solid opened the tournament by winning a defensive battle from Devens blocked three shots while Lojewski had a team-high five rebounds and Sabaluski contributed five points and two assists. Devens had a team-high seven rebounds in a 33-19 win over the Mid-Penn Motion. Sabaluski had four rebounds and Lojewski hit a 3-pointer. Lojewski led the team with five steals and Devens led with 10 rebounds in a 44-20 victory over Advanced Hoops from the Cumberland Valley. Sabaluski added five rebounds and four steals. Holweg had a dominant offensive effort with 27 points. The championship game was tied at halftime before Lancaster broke away for the win. Sabaluski had eight rebounds and four steals. Lojewski had five steals and four assists. The team’s roster also included two players from the Lehigh Valley and one from Nanticoke.
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