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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-07-13, Page 17135 8 FK ATI GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 1983 SECOND SECTION Ch pionships attract top riders By Rod Hilts They came from Rawdon, Quebec. They came from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Some travelled 50 hours by truck to get there. Last weekend, the Canadian Senior National Motocross Championships at Hul- ly Gully, attracted over 300 of Canada's best riders. "We drove day and night to get here," said Rod Huseby of Black Falls, Alberta. "We blew two tires, a radiator and had problems with the transmission but we finally made it." Twenty -two-year-old Huseby is a member of Team Radical and has been motocross racing for five years. His part- ner, Craig Lewin, 17, of Red Deer, Alberta, has three years of racing experience. Prior to the race, both riders were confi- dent they'd do well on the Hully Gully course. "It's a lot different here," said Lewin. "In Alberta the tracks are softer and flat- ter. It looks like I'll have to get a good start if I want to win here." Some riders came to the National Cham- pionships with the dream of being number one while others boasted of being number one before the races began. Confidence in your riding ability is essential in motocross racing. "I'm going to win it, no problem," said eighteen -year-old Martin Degraaf of Red Deer, Alberta. When asked what his strategy to winning the 250 class at the National Champion- ships would be, Degraaf gestured toward his right hand, which was holding an in- visible throttle wide open. Riders like Gary Filby of Winnipeg have learned that holding the throttle down isn't necessarily the key to victory. Last month Filby suffered some injuries while racing at Portage La Prairie. "Flippy" as his fellow riders call him, throttled his 250 Honda out of the starting. gate into the. front of the pack. His bike then veered into a fence before half the other riders ran over him. After that race, Filby changed his style. "I'm a little more cautious off the start now. I stay in the middle of the pack and work my way up," said Filby. According to Filby, the key to being a successful motocross rider is attitude. He said riders must have the attitude to go out and win. He also stressed thatlraining is important. "Last year I went to the Suzuki Motocross School in San Diego, California. I learned a lot there. They taught us about a proper diet, weight training and jogging to keep our stamina up," said Filby. Filby is presently ranked first in the 250 open class in Manitoba. Andy White, 18, of Dollard des Omeaux, Montreal has been active in motocross racing for four years. White travels to over 26 races a year and last year was ranked number one in Quebec in the Junior 250 class. Despite suffering a broken collar- bone and two broken ankles over the past two years, his confidence in his racing ability remains high. "I hope to crack the top 10," White said before the race. "I want to get a good start in the race, I hope to be first out of the gate. When I get out front, I hope to hold on and ride it out." Over the past winter, White participated in the 13th annual Florida Winter Series, where he finished 12th overall in the Amateur 250 B class. When he's not racing, White is a motor- cycle mechanic at Motorsport Plus in -Mon- treal. He is also enrolled in a machining course at Dawson College. While some riders. at this year's Na- tionals had four or five years experience on the Canadian Motocross circuit under their belts, others had minimal ex- perience. For Mike Montgomery, 16, of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, the Na- tionals represented his first exposure to national competition. This year Montgomery has won 19 out of 20 races he has entered in the Senior 125 class. He felt that other riders at Hully Gully will have experienced more tracks than he has, giving them a definite advan- tage. "I hope to make the top 10. A lot of guys have more experience than I do. If I get lucky, I'll be in the top 10," said Mon- tgomery, with a trace of doubt in his voice. After all the dirt and dust has settled, it can be said that the riders involved in this year's Canadian National Motocross Championships have competed in the greatest motocross event of the year. Winners Senior 125 Class -champion, Steve Luyks of Dorchester, second, John Snow of Langley, B.C. and third, Sean Van Dongen of Clinton; Senior 250 Class -champion, Tim Ming of London, second, Winston Byblow of Windsor and third, Randy Kerenyi of Edmonton (he also won the Good Sportsmanship Award); Senior Open Class -champion, Ed Mendenhall of Toronto, second, Martin De Grafe of Red Deer and third, Chris Bonneaw of Calgary; Veteran Class -champion, Zoli Berenyi Sr. of Edmonton, second, Bob Underhill of Surrey, B.C. and third, Mel Snow of Langley, B.C.; and Junior 125 Support Class -champion, Kevin Moore of Sudbury, second, Darren Ming of Pickering and third, John Trip of Oakville. Kevin Moore (number 3) of Sudbury crosses the finish line to win the Junior 125 Support Class at the Canadian National Motocross Championships held at Hully Gully last weekend. (Photo by Rod Hilts) Christine ine Phillips of R ._ _. quickly making a namef:. running circuit. Last weekit stn that the 13 year old placed. first In the under 19 category at the Strathroy Festival Turkey Trot road<race. This Past weekend, Christine wap the top female runner aceoss the finish line at the Greater Canadian 10 Kilometre Classic Road Race in St. Thomas. Not only was Christine the top female runner with a time of 45.54, she also won the wider 16 grouping, ++ And speaking of running, the Goderich 10 Kilometre Fun Run and Read Race will be held Saturday, July 23. The popular amateur run will begin from the town hall w a '10 km... cow, Virel,,,,:- Ghdetleh. Details are availa at recreation office. +++ The month , of July is also a busy' slowpitch month in Goderich and area. Two. major tournaments will be held at Agriculture Park as the Goderihh Ladies'. Slowpitch League holds its annual tour. nament July 22,23 and 24. The following weekend, the Goderich Men's Slowpitcb League holds its annual tournament over four days on several diamonds in town. Play begins Friday, July 29 an 'continues, through Monday; August 1. Most of the games, in two divisions, will be played on two diamonds at Agriculture Park. Hat'ter's emerges as second place in Fastball Lea This past week was no different than any other this season in the Goderich In- dustrial Fastball League as six teams continued to move up and down in the stan- dings between second place and seventh place. When the week was over, Hayter's emerged as the second place team, using a high-powered offence to defeat Denomme's 10-3 and Lakeport Steel 13-7. Dennis Williamson led Hayter's 12 -hit at- tack with three and was followed by Jim Ginn, Dave McDonald and Dave Scholl with two each. Chris Connor and Doug Smith each had two of Denomme's seven hits. Hayter's outhit Lakeport Steel 16-8 in the victory. Hayter's Dave McDonald raised his league -leading batting average to .537 with a perfect 4 for 4 night with_ five RBIs. Jim Ginn and Chris Pitre diad three hits and Dennis Williamson and Warren Watt had two hits for Hayter's, who had five bunt singles. Ron Miller had two 'hits cfbi- Lakeport. Doc Miller and Lloyd Tigert each had long three -run homers to account for six of Lakeport's seven runs. Kirkey's Kar Kare dropped to third from second. They split their two games, losing 5-2 to Bedford and defeating the Orioles 9- 2. Against the Orioles, Ron K1ags and Paul Kelly had three hits each to lead Kirke 's to vieto ►Rik Pettipaslted a "t`ti ivn' "homey fogAtitheYa'" eci Meriam had three hits for the Orioles. Terry Johnston scattered seven hits in picking up the victory. Dana Doherty had two of Bedford's five hits as they remain in first place. Pitcher Rob Plunkett had a no-hitter until the seventh inning when the opposing pitcher, Johnston, singled. Plunkett settled for a two -hitter when Kelly doubled home Johnston. Lakeport Advertising moved up two not- ches to fourth, winning two games, both by scores of 4-3 over Lakeport Steel and Canada Company. Simon Langlois and Jim Fritzley each had two hits in the victory over the Steelers. Carman Fielder hit a home run for one of Lakeport's six hits off Langlois. The next night, Langlois had three hits and Al Sygrove two to pace Lakeport to the eam gue victory. Canada Company scored their three runs in the first when Mark Frayne doubled with the bases loaded. Glen Tigert had three hits for C.C. and Greg Beacom added two. At one point in the week, Canada Com- pany were in a tie for second but finished in a tie for fourth. Despite losing to Lakeport Advertising, C.C. defeated French Cleaners 2-1 and Dernomime's Ar- rangers 1-0. Against French, Dean Doher- ty pitched a six -hitter while Mark Frayne F -n drove in one run and scored the other with the aid of two hits. Jim Martin had two hits for French. ' C.C. then moved into second teinporari= ly, just one night, when they defeated Denomme's 1-0. C.C. had just four hits off pitcher Paul Corriveau; two of which came off the bat of Brian Shewfelt. Mark Somer- ville gave up five hits in the shutout. Earlier in the week, Denomme's defeated the Orioles 7-4. Steve Berry led Denomme's offensively with . two hits. Daryl Beattie had three hits for the Orioles' while Roy'Fisher, Bob Graham and Kevin Meriam each had two hits. Despite the Orioles outhit Denomme's 12-9, but were outplayed by the more -experienced Denomme's team. Finally, the upset of the year saw the last place Orioles defeat the first place Hotel Bedford tea nS Fred Fellow pitch ed' Sri~ex�eellesttwe=e�fe `r--tff"e�'iri'+o`fes_ Brian Sowerby had both hits ' off Pellow. The Orioles had five hits and five runs, all of which came in the third inning. The inu- ing was highlighted by the back-to-back homes by Steve Haggitt and John Warr. Entering the game, Bedford had lost just two while the Orioles had won just two. G.LF.L.Standings (As of July 6) GP W L 17 13 3 15 8 6 15 8 7 13 7 5 16 7 8 14 6 7 15 6 8 14 4 9 13 3 9 Hotel Bedford Hayter's Kirkey's Lakeport Ad. Canada Co. Denomme's French Cleaners Lakeport Steel Orioles T P 1 27 1 17 0 16 1 15 1 15 1 13 1 13 1 9 1 7 Brian Moody of the Port Albert Bulldogs looks pleadingly In the direction of the umpire after safely sliding into second base hi the championship game against London Used Appliance hi the Port Albert slowpitch tournament Sunday. In the other photos, Moody watches as his throw is a little late hi getting the runner on the second leg of a double play attempt and a London batter takes a healthy ripple during the game. London won the me 74 to win the tournament championship. (photos by Dave Sykes) London team wigs tournament There's something about the Port Albert ball field that suits London Used Appliance's game. London built up a four -run lead and hung on to defeat the stubborn Port Albert Bulldogs 7-6 to win its third straight Port Albert Tournament championship on the weekend. The win was the fourth straight of the tournament for London and the second over the Bulldogs. , They opened the tournament with an 8-6 win over the host Port Albert Pirates in a repeat of last year's championship game. Later Saturday they overcame a four -run deficit to defeat Goderich Auto Sales 12-6 and they advanced to the championship final with a 6-1 victory over the Bulldogs, Sunday morping. In the final game, London held a 7-3 in the final inning and watched as Port Albert fourght back with three runs but the rally fell one -run short. The Bulldogs ripped Lanes 13-6 in the opening game and came up with a spirited performance in a '13-5 win over the Bears. They hammered Kingsbridge 12-2 in the third game before losing 6-1 to London Sunday. The Bulldogs reached the final with a 9-0 win over Goderich Chrysler in mythe semi-final. The Chryslers 'finished third in the tournament after falling to the Bulldo, in the semi-final. The Chryslers lost to Goderich Auto in a Friday nightame and then racked up a string of four straight vitories over Nile, Goderich Auto, Bears and Kingsbridge, to advance to the semi- finals. The host Pirates lost to London in the first game Saturday but rebounded with an 11-7 win over the Wingham B and T Bookies. They were eliminated Sunday morning in a 9-2 loss to Kingsbridge. The Carlow Country Trophy, given in the name of Peter Dougherty to the most sportsmanlike player, was presented to Larry Littlechild of the Port Albert Bulldogs. 4