NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Siefert wins two YMCA national titles, sets national mark
INDIANAPOLIS — Hank Siefert, 16, of Xenia earned two national championships in swimming, Aug. 5-6 at the YMCA National Long Course Swimming Championships.
Siefert won the men’s 200-meter freestyle final in a time of 1:52.64 on Aug. 5. He had placed 24th in the event in 2014.
On the following day, the Xenia High School student-athlete turned in a YMCA national record time of 3:58.37 to win the men’s 400-meter freestyle final. That time qualifies Siefert to compete in the Olympic Trials, June 26-July 3 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb.
HIGH SCHOOL
Tennis
Sidney 4, Xenia 1
SIDNEY — Xenia’s Aly Landis claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win at first singles, but host Sidney won the other two singles matches and swept both doubles matches to win Tuesday’s girls high school team tennis match.
Savannah Puckett lost her second singles match by a 6-3, 6-3 count, and Jodi Collier fell 6-0, 6-0 at third singles.
In doubles, the Buccaneers’ first doubles duo of Abby Friend and Taylor Stovall lost a tough three-set battle, 1-6, 6-0, 6-7 (4), and the team’s second doubles tandem of Kalee Beck-Grace McClelland fell 6-3, 6-2.
Xenia (0-1) returns to action Tuesday when they’ll host Springfield at 4 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds tennis courts.
MLB hosting free, one-day umpire camp
Major League Baseball will host a free, one-day umpire camp at the P&G Cincinnati MLB Urban Youth Academy on Saturday, August 15th. Staff for the event will include many accomplished former MLB Umpires, current MLB Supervisors and Observers, as well as Minor League Baseball officials. Among those participating will be Bruce Froemming, Randy Marsh, Charlie Reliford, Ed Rapuano, Rich Rieker, Cris Jones and Dusty Dellinger.
This is MLB’s fifth free, one-day umpire camp of 2015 for anyone interested in umpiring in baseball and softball, including those aiming to begin professional careers. In total, six events will be held in 2015, culminating with the MLBUC Professional Mini-Camp in Ft. Myers, Florida in December.
COLLEGE
Soccer
WSU mens soccer ranked
The Wright State men’s soccer recruiting class for the upcoming season appears in the Top 50 rankings by College Soccer News. Earlier, CSN gave the class a three and a half star out of five rating.
In this class, head coach Bryan Davis added two two-time NJCAA All-Americans, a Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year, an NSCAA High School All-American, two Ohio First Team All-State Members, a transfer from a Pac-12 school and an international player with a successful pedigree. Joining the Raiders for the 2015 season are Jeff Rhodes, Kaique Fernandes, Jackson Dietrich, Tristan Lyle, Mathias Hegeland, Eric Hutton, David Jeffries, Austin Manthey, Austin Kinley, Will Lukowski and John Achor.
“It’s always a great honor when the program is recognized nationally,” said Davis. “The coaches and team have worked extremely hard to get the program to the place it is and therefore all of the credit goes to them. I am very excited to see our newcomers and returners all together on the field this week!”
Lyle, who played at Beavercreek last season, was selected as a 2014 NSCAA High School All-American as he tallied 66 goals and 31 assists over four years with the Beavers. He was named to the Ohio High School Division I first team and was the Greater Western Ohio Conference Offensive Leader last fall when scored 26 goals and collected 14 assists as a senior.
The 2014 Miami Valley Scholastic Soccer coaches Player of the Year and first team three times, he was also named the November Penn Station Athlete of the Month, three-time first team GWOC, two-time team MVP and two-time team captain. He played club ball for Ohio Galaxies FC.
The Raiders, who finished 12-7-2 and advanced to the Horizon League Championship Match in 2014, also return the league Player of the Year in former Bellbrook Golden Eagle Eric Lynch, who led the nation in assists last season with 13. Also back is junior forward Peguy Ngatcha, who was named First Team All-League, defender Austin Polster, who was selected to the All-Freshman Team, and junior goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer, who posted a league-leading 0.42 shutout average and a 1.07 goals against average.
After two exhibition matches on the road, Wright State opens the regular season at the Bert and Iris Wolstein Classic in Columbus, Ohio, August 28 and 30, facing Binghamton and Cal State Fullerton. The home opener for the Raiders will be at 6 p.m. September 7, as WSU hosts Cincinnati at Alumni Field.
Football
32nd Circle City Classic to be featured as ESPN3 Game of the Week
WILBERFORCE — ESPN has announced that Central State University will be featured in ESPN3’s “Game of the Week” when the football team faces rival Kentucky State University at the 32nd Circle City Classic on Sept. 26.
The Marauders and Thorobreds will continue their longstanding rivalry inside the state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Stadium located in the heart of Indianapolis, IN. The CSU-KSU rivalry dates back to 1947 with the Marauders owning a 35-19-1 advantage in the all-time series. With CSU joining KSU as competitors in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2013, the game also carries heavy implications in the SIAC West Division standings.
This year marks the sixth time CSU will compete in the Circle City Classic dating back to 1986. CSU is 3-2 all-time in the Classic with wins coming in ‘86, ‘87 and ‘92. It will be the first time a Marauder athletic event has been shown on ESPN3.
