Entries for 'K.Webster Sports Director'

Keith Decker shot 14-under 58 on Saturday at The Homestead's Old Course in Hot Springs. Decker now owns the course record at four Virginia courses. (Bulletin file photo)

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

By PAUL MONTANA - Martinsville Bulletin Sports Writer

After shooting a 58, most golfers would probably call everyone in their address book to gloat about it. Not Keith Decker. “I didn’t call anybody,” Decker said Tuesday, three days after shooting a course record 14-under par 58 at The Homestead’s Old Course in Hot Springs. “Well,” he added, “I did make my usual phone call to my wife, but that’s all.” Decker’s course record was quite a shock. His 58 from the white tees (par 72, 5,816 yards) shattered the old record of 62 by course pro Mike Fry. “I’d be jumping up and down, holding the card in the air — look at me, look at me!” said Mike Haley of Martinsville, one of Decker’s playing partners that day. “But again, he’s very modest. He’s never gonna self-promote. He’s from the school that, the scores speak for him. And if you look at his scores, they speak volumes.” Decker chuckled at the notion of bragging about his record. “That’s not my nature there,” he said. “I appreciate all the attention and everything, but that’s just not my nature.” And plus, course records are old hat for the state’s top amateur player, who could certainly play on the Senior PGA Tour if he so desired. He owns the course record at two local courses — his home course, Chatmoss Country Club (59) and Forest Park Country Club (62) — and another at the Royal Virginian in Gordonsville (64). On the other hand, legendary golfer Sam Snead didn’t frequent those courses like he did The Homestead. Snead played there “hundreds of times,” Decker said, but never reached that mark as far as anybody knows. “That means more to me than just about anything,” Decker said. So how does one shoot a 58? First, you don’t realize that you’re close to a mark like that. Decker said the other golfers in his foursome — Haley, Hunter Morin of Fredericksburg and Gregg Smart of New Jersey — didn’t change the way they treated Decker throughout the round, even though they had a handle on what he was shooting. “The guys I was playing with, they didn’t change,” Decker said. “They were reacting as always from the start of the round. That really helped, and it didn’t put the focus on it.” That’s in contrast to a round Decker played earlier this year at Chatmoss, when he had a shot to beat his old record of 59 but came up short. “We quit talking to each other, everyone was real quiet,” Decker recalled. “It was sort of like a no-hitter in baseball, they were leaving me alone and all that stuff. “It sort of put the focus on it, and made me start thinking a little bit more, and made me start pressing to get it done. And when you’re pressing, it usually isn’t gonna happen.” Brian McArthur, the golf pro at Lynwood Country Club in Martinsville, agreed. “If you realize you’re shooting that low, your head starts getting involved, and usually that’s gonna cause trouble,” he said. He also said it takes a certain confidence to be able to shoot a 58. Decker certainly has that. “The type of player he is, he probably feels like he could shoot that every day,” McArthur said. “It’s just a matter of the putts going in the hole.” “I’ve seen rounds like that,” said Jerry Wood, who played professionally overseas and on the Nationwide Tour for 10 years. “Sometimes a guy gets on a roll, and sometimes it doesn’t stop.” It certainly never stopped for Decker. He had 10 birdies and eight eagle putts — and that’s not counting his 35-foot chip-in for eagle on No. 17, which Decker called his shot of the day. “As soon as I hit it, I felt like I hit the exact right distance,” Decker said. “It started rolling like a putt, and it just went right in.” He also had a 10-foot birdie putt on 18 that could have given him a 57, but it only grazed the edge. And only then did Haley, who was keeping track of Decker’s score in his head, say to Decker, “Nice 58.” Decker’s reply: “Basically, he just said thank you,” Haley said with a laugh. “That wasn’t his first 50s score.” Decker might not have been eager to let people know about his record scorecard, but they found out soon enough. “I’ve had a lot of phone calls. People that I haven’t talked to in a long time have called,” Decker said. “It feels nice to get that recognition and to do that. “The biggest thing for me is, it’s really nice having the course record up there, because that’s one of my favorite places to go.”

 
Patrick Henry Community college will be hosting the 2011 NJCAA Region X Division II Softball Tournament at Martin Field on May 6-7. Therapy Direct has been named the official sponsor of the Region X tournament. This will be the first ever Division II Softball tournament in Region X history. The winner of the Region X Tournament will travel to the winner of Region 24a to compete for a District Championship on the 13th – 14th of May. The following schools will be participating in the Region X Tournament: Patrick Henry Community College (VA), Pasco Hernando Community College (FL), Stanly Community College (NC), College of the Albemarle (NC), and Surry Community College (NC). Patrick Henry Community College will be the number one seed followed by Stanly Community College, Pasco Hernando, Surry Community College and the five seed will be occupied by College of the Albemarle.

PHCC witnessed the impact of the baseball tournament hosted at Hooker Field last year and hopes the surrounding community will see the effect of the softball tournament as well. This is a great opportunity to come out and support your Patriot Softball team and see some quality college softball action. “We are pleased to host this event this year and we are looking forward to an excellent turnout,” stated Athletic Director, Christopher Parker.

PHCC will be providing concessions, photography, and tournament t-shirts at the tournament. Daily admission will be $7, while a tournament pass is available for $12. In addition, ESPN radio will be broadcasting the games live on ESPN 1160 or www.espnsouthsideconnection.com

PHCC To Host Softball Tournament

Patrick Henry Community College will be hosting the 2011 NJCAA Region X Division 2 Softball Tournament at Martin Field. This will be the first ever Division II Softball Tournament in Region X and we are very proud to be the host site. The tournament dates are set for May 6th-8th , with. This past year’s baseball tournament was a huge success and brought a lot of great business and exposure to the Martinsville/Henry County Area as well as to PHCC. We hope this tournament will do the same for the local economy and the surrounding areas.

Special Thanks To Tournment Sponsor Therapy Direct Inc.

The Patrick Henry Community College softball team swept Louisburg College on Monday, winning Game 1 3-0 and Game 2 4-3 at Martin field.

 The Lady Patriots won Game 2 in come-from-behind fashion against Louisburg, who play in Division I of the NJCAA. Trailing 3-1, PHCC got back-to-back home runs from Amanda Warley and Kayla Spurgeon to take a 4-3 lead.

 Spurgeon also had a RBI double in the first inning.

 Jessi Chandler got the win in Game 2, going six innings while allowing three runs. Rachel Hawks pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts for the save after she had just shut out LJC in Game 1.

 Hawks threw a complete-game shutout in Game 1, striking out two and allowing just three hits. Brooke Chewning went 2-for-3 with a homer in the opener, and Danielle Santos also went 2-for-3.

 PHCC (34-10 overall, 13-1 Region X) will play its final series of the regular season against Southeastern Community College on April 29.

By BULLETIN STAFF REPORTS

Jamie McMurray Saturday afternoon when he won the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

McMurray turned a lap of 96.509 mph in his Chevrolet to earn the top starting spot for Sunday's race. He enters Sunday’s race ranked 28th in the Sprint Cup Series standings and with a season-best finish of 18th in the opener at Daytona.

''This is really big for our team,'' said McMurray. ''We've had some really good cars, and for the most part, the short tracks is where we've run the best. But we got caught up in that wreck at Phoenix and at Bristol ... got caught up in a wreck. It just seems like we've had really bad luck. But I hope this turns around for us.''

Ryan Newman qualified second with a lap of 96.342 in a Chevrolet. Kasey Kahne qualified third in a Toyota and was followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and three-time defending race winner Denny Hamlin.

“I just couldn’t get off the corner as good as I wanted to,” said Newman

AJ Allmendinger was sixth in a Ford, and was followed by Bobby Labonte, David Reutimann and Kevin Harvick. Regan Smith rounded out the top 10.

Five-time Martinsville winner Jimmie Johnson qualified 17th.

The Goody’s Fast Relief 500 starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Good seats remain for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 and the speedway ticket office has plenty of options to allow easy ticket purchase right up until the start of the race.

Fans may call 877.RACE.TIX to purchase from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Tickets may also be purchased online by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com. Fans may also opt for a print-at-home option when buying tickets.

 This is a list of the games that BTW21/ESPN will be covering this season. The games will be recorded and photographed on Friday’s and will air on Monday night. Please tune in to BTW21/BTW21.com for our LIVE stream. COME EARLY FOR OUR TAILGATE PARTY SPONSORED BY TAYLOR'S SUPERMARKET!

2009 Piedmont District Football Game of the Week Schedule:

Franklin County’s J.T. Edwards isn’t shy about shooting the ball, that’s for sure.Edwards scored 14 of his team’s 18 points in the first quarter as the Eagles (3-0) topped Bassett 67-47 on Tuesday in Bassett.The senior shooting guard finished with a game-high 25 points. He converted 10-of-18 shots (4-of-8 from 3-point land) and made his only free-throw of the night.“You get a good shooter hot, it’s hard to cool him down,” said BHS coach Tom Hering.Edwards’ 3-pointer from the left wing gave his team a 9-7 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. He then pulled up for a mid-range jumper from the top of the key for an 11-7 lead, and following an offensive rebound and layup from teammate J.L. Tyree, Edwards drained a deep 3 before driving to the hoop with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter for a contested layup.

 “He’s just got a lot of confidence,” Franklin County coach Doug Conklin said of Edwards, “and sometimes when he gets hot, he can stay that way for a while.”To be fair, Franklin County wasn’t entirely a one-man show. The Eagles got 18 points from Chris Tyree and 12 from D.A. Reynolds.Anton McGill and James Turner scored a team-high 13 points for Bassett.Franklin County out-rebounded a bigger Bassett team 33-25 on the night and 17-14 on the offensive end. Bassett also had 17 turnovers, compared to the Eagles’ 12.Hering wasn’t pleased with the effort from his team.“They (FCHS) wanted it more, especially in the first half and the beginning of the second,” he said.“We talked about controlling three things, and we didn’t do any of them in the first half.”Hering had asked his team to focus on controlling the game’s tempo, winning the rebounding battle and keeping possession of the ball.The Bassett coach has added some Princeton-style sets to his motion-based offense, but he wasn’t pleased with the team’s execution of those Ivy League plays, saying, “It’s not even close to where it needs to be.”That’s not to say it can’t get there.The Bengals (2-1) showed flashes while operating out of the Princeton sets — an offense that relies on back-door cuts and non-spoken adjustments to the defense’s actions.The Bengals scored the game’s first basket on a nice cut to the hoop by Matt Chitwood and got their next-to-last score on a backdoor layup from Vershaun Norman.There wasn’t enough of that in between, however, as BHS was unable to control the tempo.Franklin County’s guard-heavy lineup pressed full court after most made baskets and pushed the tempo in transition.“That’s the way we want to play,” said Conklin, “up-tempo because of our (lack of) size.”Hering emphasized that his team has the tools to be successful this season, noting that he’s “gonna keep being patient,” while his team works on execution and focus.The Bengals will look for the season’s third win at Patrick Henry on Friday night.

By JOHNNY BUCK - Bulletin Sports Editor

Photo By- BTW21 Sports

 The Patrick Henry Patriots Men's Basketball team picked up their first win of the season in their first NJCAA sanctioned game, a 82-55 decision over former VCCS rival Southside Virginia Community College.

Anthony Wooten led all scorers with 21 points for the Patriots, who turned a six point 37-31 lead at the half to a 82-55 rout. Marvin Brooks and Marlin Cribbs scored 14 and 13 points respectively and were joined by Lamar Ricks with 10 points as the four Patriots to score double figures on Opening Night.

Things got off to a slow start for the Patriots as Southside jumped out of the gates early as the visitors scored the first seven points of the game. "We started four freshman and just one sophomore so there were some nerves there at first," said Patriots Head Coach Chuck Moore. "Once we got settled down and started executing on defense, we wore them down and took advantage," added Moore.

The Patriots would rally just minutes later after Southside took the early lead. Anthony Wooten's three pointer with 12:10 remaining in the first half gave the Patriots a 16-13 lead, a lead that they wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the game. PHCC opened up a 31-20 lead with seven minutes left in the first but Southside would turn up the heat and closed to within six to end the half.

The second half was all Patriots as they outscored Southside 45-24 and cruised to the win. Antron Fowlkes scored 16 points to lead Southside in scoring. "Southside has a very strong team with some good guards and some size in the middle, they should do very well in the VCCS," added Moore.

The Patriots travel to Nashville, Tennessee this weekend to play Volunteer State and Columbia State in the Volunteer State Invitational. "This weekend will be a big test against two division one teams with all scholarship players, it will be a good measuring point to see where we are early on in the season," said Moore.

By DOUG GIBSON - PHCC Sports Information Director

Fisherman get out your rod and your waders the state has stocked the river today. The truck was full of nice size trout today at around 10:30 when stocking began. The Philpot dam reported that they will make power today and tomorrow starting at 12:00 noon until 3:00PM so get up get out and go fishing.  You can get power generation schedule by calling 276-629-2432

BTW21 Sports

2008
Daytona 500

Would you believe the money that Nascar driver’s make for the 500. Take a look at this

$18,689,238 (was $18,386,023 in 2007)
1st - winner, minimum of: $1,445,250 2nd minimum of $1,044,400
3rd $752,400
4th $598,450
5th $471,500
43rd/last $233,865

• Past Purse/Race Awards (2007): $18,386,023; Winner [#29-Kevin Harvick] got: $1,510,469; 2nd; $1,102,258; 3rd: $819,216; 4th: $615,658; 5th: $529,350; and 43rd: $334,931; lowest payout: 42nd, Kyle Petty at $248,050
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2006): $18,029,052; Winner [#48-Jimmie Johnson] got: $1,505,124; 2nd; $1,095,766; 3rd: $796,116; 4th: $684,076; 5th: $537,944; and 43rd: $269,882; lowest payout: 40th, Hermie Sadler at $245,633
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2005): $17,623,980; Winner got: $1,497,154; 2nd; $1,106,138; 3rd: $828,796; 4th: $643,896; 5th: $533,579; and 43rd: $276,444
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2004): $15,972,313; Winner got: $1,495,070; 2nd; $1,096,070; 3rd: $758,839; 4th: $610,792; 5th: $472,189; and 43rd: $216,997
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2003): $14,030,129; Winner got: $1,419,406; 2nd: $1,027,101; 3rd: $707,526; 4th: $569,630; 5th: $444,609...and 43rd got: $195,663
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2002): $12,314,505; Winner got: $1,327,030; 2nd: $928,100; 3rd: $631,500; 4th: $479,075; 5th: $353,175; 43rd: $114,236
• Past Purse/Race Awards (2001): $11,049,049; Winner got: $1,303,826; 2nd: $905,700; 3rd: $608,050; 4th: $452,600; 5th: $334,650
• Past Purse/Race Awards (1959): $53,050; Winner [Lee Petty] got: $19,050; 2nd $7,650; 3rd $4,600; 4th $2,525; 5th $1,875; last 59th $100

Info from: jayski

Picture from: The New York Times

Three of the top five players in the state of Virginia, and 14 of the top 25, highlight a football recruiting class composed of 31 student-athletes who signed letters-of-intent with Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

"I congratulate my staff. I think they've done a great job of evaluating and recruiting not only talented kids, but good character kids ... players who overall put a priority on academics," head coach Frank Beamer said. "I think this class will turn out to be a really good class. These are all student-athletes we feel good about and we're happy with our success in the state. But then you have to look at the players we were able to attract from out of state. I think that group is the most talented group, outside of the state we've ever had."

After signing 19 players combined from the Commonwealth over the past two years, the Hokies inked 21 high school players from Virginia this year, including 14 of the top 25 prospects according to The Roanoke Times. Highlighting this year's in-state group are three talented players - Dyrell Roberts (#3 by Roanoke Times), Ryan Williams (#4 by Roanoke Times) and Vinston Painter (#5 by Roanoke Times) - who all earned SuperPrep All-America honors.

Roberts, who is projected as a wide receiver, is ranked the No. 27 athlete in the country by Rivals.com. The Windsor native became just the fourth running back in Bay Rivers or Peninsula District history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark (2,236 yards) in the regular season. Williams, from Manassas, is rated the No. 26 overall player by ESPN.com, the No. 3 running back in the country by Rivals.com and was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Painter, from Norfolk, is rated the No. 4 offensive guard in the country by SuperPrep.

Ten players from out-of-state signed with Tech, highlighted by five highly rated prospects from North Carolina. Nick Becton (Wilmington) is rated the No. 26 offensive tackle in the country by ESPN.com, while Michael Via (McLeansville) is ranked the No. 31 offensive guard in the country by Rivals.com. Eddie Whitley (Matthews) is rated the No. 16 cornerback in the country by ESPN.com, while Fayetteville's Lorenzo Williams is ranked the No. 11 safety in the country by the same outlet. Jarrett Boykin, from Matthews, rounds out the quintet and is ranked the No. 81 wide receiver in the country by ESPN.com.

Eleven other players from the state of Virginia are ranked in the top 25 in the state by The Roanoke Times. They are: Virginia Beach quarterback Marcus Davis (#9), Maidens wide receiver D.J. Coles (#11), Virginia Beach wide receiver Randall Dunn (#15), Amherst athlete Peter Rose (#16), Highland Springs defensive tackle Antoine Hopkins (#18), Stafford defensive end Isaiah Hamlette (#19), Amherst linebacker Derrick McCoy (#20), Virginia Beach linebacker Lyndell Gibson (#21), Ashburn rover Jeron Gouveia (#23) and Falmouth linebacker Jake Johnson (#24) and Richlands athlete Austin Fuller (#25)

The large in-state class also features seven others ranked in the top 38 by The Roanoke Times: Virginia Beach defensive end Joe Jones (#27), South Boston linebacker Allen Stephens (#28), Virginia Beach athlete Xavier Boyce (#29), Alexandria wide receiver Ben Barber (#30), Virginia Beach running back Tony Gregory (#31), Richmond quarterback Joseph Clayton (#33) and Woodbridge tight end Eric Martin (#38).

Virginia Tech has had a strong presence at Hargrave Military Academy over the years and picked up three more players from there this year. Leading the way is defensive end Leon Mackey, who is originally from Delaware. He is ranked the No. 25 defensive end in the country by SuperPrep. Also re-signing with the Hokies were linebacker Quillie Odom and athlete Kendrick Pressley, who signed with Tech last February. Odom, originally from Osbourn Park High, is ranked the No. 5 prep school player in the country by Rivals.com, while Pressley, from South Carolina, is ranked 26^th.

The Tech staff put heavy emphasis on the receiver and linebacker positions, led by linebacker Bruce Taylor, from Myrtle Beach, S.C. He is ranked the No. 12 inside linebacker in the country by Rivals.com and earned All-America honors from PrepStar. Painter and Ryan Williams also earned All-America honors from PrepStar.

"Wide receiver had to be a priority for us," Beamer said. "We think we've got a couple of guys who could fit in there next year. And at linebacker, we lost some good players there and feel good about the group of linebackers that's coming in here."

The Hokies used commitments from athletes in five states to complete their class, grabbing one player from Delaware (Mackey), one from South Carolina (Taylor), five from North Carolina and one from Florida in defensive tackle Dwight Tucker. Tucker, from Oviedo, is ranked the No. 22 defensive end in the country by ESPN.com and the No. 45 defensive tackle in the country by Rivals.com. With his signing, it marks the 18^th year since 1988 Tech has signed a player from Florida.

In total, 15 signees earned first-team all-state honors this past season, including 11 from Virginia's three classifications, three from North Carolina and Taylor from South Carolina.

2008 Virginia Tech Signing Class

Article from hokiesports.com