Update on ultrarunner Mitchell
Brad Mitchell, 37, of Hailey is a new member of the Montrail Ultra Running Team. Mitchell captured first place March 24 in the Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50-kilometer trail race at Syracuse, Utah. Of the 37 finishers in the 50k event, Mitchell led the way with a time of 4.17:52.
Pro-Pro golf tournament at Twin Falls Muni
Valley Club head pro Stoney Brown teamed with Todd Bindner of Boise's Hillcrest Country Club to tie for fourth place with a 62 in last Monday's Rocky Mountain PGA Snake River Chapter Spring Pro-Pro golf tournament in Twin Falls. Winning the title on the third playoff hole at Twin Falls Municipal Golf Course were Jim Brown of Ridgecrest Golf Club in Nampa and Benjamin Bryson of Banbury GC, Eagle. They shot 59, as did second-place Travis Hofland of Twin Falls Muni and Jeffrey Taylor of SpurWing CC in Meridian.
Freeman wins North Championships giant slalom
Sun Valley Ski Team racer Jake Freeman was the fastest of 61 two-run finishers in the Intermountain Division Northern Championships boys' giant slalom March 17 at Brundage Mountain near McCall. Freeman was a .13-second winner over runner-up Derek Thompson of Bogus Basin. Placing third and fourth overall were Sun Valley's Christopher Nalen and Connor Farrow.
Other overall GS finishers for Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and Hailey Ski Team locals in the Idaho/Wyoming race event for the J3 (13-14) through J6 (7-8) age classes were:
7—Cole Caulkins. 13 (tie)—Colin Waycott and Gardner Cord. 19—Tanner Josey. 21—Michael Weaver. 23—William Harder. 25—Benjamin Parker. 36—Kyle Maxwell. 37—Yuri McClure. 38—Gray David. 44—Finn Isaacson. 54—Thomas Gillespie.
Watanabe posts his best season in SBX
Wood River High School graduate and 2006 Olympic snowboarder Graham Watanabe, 25, of Sun Valley has just wrapped up his best-ever World Cup season in snowboardcross. The former Sun Valley Snowboard Team rider was second overall in the Jeep King of the Mountain Series but he also did well on the World Cup tour.
Watanabe (11th place with 910 points) was the third-ranked American on the 2006-07 international tour. Ahead of him were Olympian and Sandpoint native Nate Holland, 28, of Squaw Valley, Ca. (2nd place with 2,426 points) and reigning U.S. SBX champion Nick Baumgartner, 25, of Iron River, Mich. (5th with 1,264 points). The tour champion was Olympian Drew Neilson, 32, of Canada (1st with 3,600 points).
In his previous five seasons of World Cup SBX, Watanabe had placed 90th, 58th, 88th, 20th and 36th in the SBX standings.
Atkinson Park field user meeting
Representatives of teams and groups planning to use the city of Ketchum's Atkinson Park this spring, summer or fall are asked to attend the park's annual Field User Meeting Wednesday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the Atkinson Park Rec Center. For more details contact Kirk Mason 726-7820.
B+ Playoffs for senior hockey players
The local Senior Hockey B+ League staged its first-round playoffs April 1 at Sun Valley Skating Center. Results:
Canadiens blanked Wings 4-0 on third-period goals by Elizabeth Youmans, Jim Laski, Baba Street and Curtis Martin;
Chris Petersn's three-goal hat trick, two coming in the third period of a tight game, lifted Bad Dogs over Bruins 3-2. Bruins scorers were Casey Mills and Brian Dirksmeier;
Blues advanced into the April 15 title game with an easy 10-3 win over Sharks. Blues scorers were Rod Watson (5 goals), Doug Wilson (2), Rob Santa (2) and Craig Maxwell. Sharks goals came from Clark Shafer (2) and Patrick Berry.
Here is the B+ playoff schedule for Sunday, April 8:
6:30 p.m., B+ playoff matching Wings and Bruins; at 7:45 p.m. B+ playoff featuring Canadiens vs. Bad Dogs; and at 9 p.m. B+ playoff with the Sharks playing the winner of the Wings-Bruins preliminary.
And the schedule for the final Sunday of games, April 15: 7:45 p.m., Blues vs. winner of Canadiens/Bad Dogs; and at 9 p.m., loser of Canadiens/Bad Dogs vs. winner of Sharks vs. Wings/Bruins.
Fifth District boxing smoker
Support your local high school rodeo cowboys and cowgirls by attending the 15th annual fifth District High School Rodeo Boxing Smoker Friday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Gooding High School gym. Tickets may be purchased at the door.
