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RC’s Huffman puts on show in DC’s meet WEST UNION — It didn’t take much for Ritchie County’s Jon Huffman to get ready for the Cline Stansberry Meet on Friday at Doddridge County High School. Just knowing his two running events were back-to-back got his competitive juices flowing. “I had good day and got pumped up at the start of the meet when my coach told me my running events were back-to-back,” Huffman said. “With that, my adrenaline started to flow.” Huffman won the 100-meter dash and 110 high hurdles, then captured the high jump and finished second in the long jump in leading Ritchie. His times in the 100 (11.2 seconds) and 110 hurdles (14.3) and his height of 6-foot-2 in the high jump set new meet records. Thanks to Huffman’s performance, Ritchie held a 21-point lead over Williamstown. University was third, and Bridgeport was fourth. Bridgeport’s Amy Miller won the 100 with a time of 13.1 seconds and placed third in the long jump. Miller also won the 200 and was part of the 4x100 relay team that finished first. “It’s good to get my time in 100 back down,” Miller said. “It was higher in my last couple meets than I’m used to running.” Still, Miller admitted she was disappointed in her long jump performance, citing cold weather as a hindrance. At press time, Doddridge was leading the girls competition, followed by Magnolia, Williamstown, Grafton and Bridgeport. Due to deadline and the length of the meet, final results will be published in the Clarksburg Exponent and Telegram’s Sunday Edition. Prep Softball BRIDGEPORT 10, University 0: Beth Guzzi tossed a
one hitter, striking out nine and Angie Handschumacher went 3-for-4 with
an RBI in Bridgeport’s rout.
College Softball CHARLESTON 3-5, Salem-Teikyo 2-6: S-TU (19-29, 10-10
West Virginia Conference) lost the first contest when its seventh-inning
rally fell a run short. Jamie Watkins was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Sunshine
Aiello had a RBI for Salem-Teikyo. In the second game, Christina Pittman
picked up the win.
College baseball DAVIS & ELKINS 13-6, West Virginia Wesleyan 0-14:
Jimmy Lane improved to 5-1 by limiting West Virginia Wesleyan to just four
hits in the opener, before Wesleyan exploded for 14 runs in the nightcap
to earn the split.
East stars shine in 2OT by Mike Nutter SPORTS WRITER SHINNSTON — What it lacked in defensive intensity, it made up for in entertainment value. In all, 12 players reached double figures as the East All-Stars topped the West All-Stars 160-154 in double overtime in the 9th Annual Winner’s Choice West Virginia Colleges All-Star Game on Friday at Lincoln High School. Fittingly, it came down to the East’s predominantly Fairmont State College roster versus the West’s Salem-Teikyo University duo of Demetrius Van Syckle and Donald Harrison. Fairmont’s Elbert Newton scored five points in the second overtime to help his East team secure the win. Van Syckle led all scorers with 32 points for the West. S-TU teammate Harrison added 27. “Both teams really wanted to win,” Van Syckle said. “But the main thing here was to have fun. We moved the ball around a lot and as you could tell, there wasn’t a whole lot of defense being played.” While Van Syckle hopes to further his career in basketball, the game marked one last moment in the sun for West Virginia University’s Tom Beynon, a walk-on who found himself thrust into the limelight this season. Playing for the East All-Stars, Beynon finished Friday’s game with 12 points. More importantly, Beynon found vindication for last season’s Mountaineers. Six Mountaineers — fresh from an appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s “Sweet 16” — played in the game but were defeated by inspired West Virginia Conference players. “We really wanted to redeem ourselves from last year,” Beynon said. “We had six seniors who lost to these guys because they weren’t playing hard..” Beynon will finish his finance degree in May at WVU and eventually attend law school. Former Fairmont Senior and Marshall standout Carlton King captured the slam-dunk championship at halftime with a reverse-baseline dunk. Fairmont State’s Dewayne Richardson received the senior player of the year, while Salem-Teikyo’s Jun Okayama, Charleston’s Ricky Boone and Fairmont State’s Jibri Carter each received sportsmanship awards. King finished with 20 points for the West, while Terrell McKelvy scored 17 and West Virginia Tech’s Jamie Riggs added 12. Shepherd’s Duane Harris had 21 points for the East. Glenville State football program under investigation GSC head coach Ruggiero reassigned during second probe by Chris Errington SPORTS WRITER For the second consecutive year, Glenville State College’s football team will be investigated for possible NCAA violations during preseason drills. Jack Barr, Glenville State Director of Public Relations, said the school-directed investigation into questions regarding adherence to NCAA by-laws in the conduct of spring football practice will be led by athletic director Steve Harold and completed by April 23. “There are a number of questions we want answered, and I want to wait until the investigation is over with before we get into any specifics,” Barr said. “This is not a case where the NCAA came in and called for an investigation. (Interim) President Bruce Flack had some questions and decided (Friday) morning on the course of action that would be taken.” A fax released by the school on Friday said head football coach Warren Ruggiero has been reassigned from his coaching duties for the duration of the investigation. However, Ruggiero will continue his teaching assignments and other non-football athletic responsibilities. Ron Crook, an assistant football coach, has been assigned to replace Ruggiero for the time being. Spring practices were cancelled on Friday and the school has ordered a meeting on Monday to discuss the schedule for the rest of Glenville State’s spring drills. A year ago, the football program was placed on probation by the West Virginia Conference for illegally contacting another team’s player. That player turned out to be Fairmont State quarterback and former Liberty High School standout Bryan Harman. Originally the probation prohibited Glenville State from competing for the conference title, but that penalty was overturned following an appeal. Barry Blizzard, commissioner of the West Virginia Conference, said the conference won’t take any action until the investigation’s completion. “Anytime something like this happens to a conference school, you’re concerned,” Blizzard said. “For right now, we’re just sitting and waiting. There’s no way I would do anything until they are done.” Efforts to reach Ruggiero were unsuccessful. Hagedorn uses hard work, skill to thrive in pool by Mike Nutter SPORTS WRITER It may seem absurd to think any coach would take state titles for granted, but thanks to Chris Hagedorn, Robert C. Byrd swimming coach Louie Nardelli can just about do that. What may even seem harder to believe is Nardelli’s predictions were made good before Hagedorn had competed in his first state meet. But in February, Hagedorn captured first place in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100 fly at the West Virginia State Swim Meet in Morgantown. And Hagedorn wasn’t even close to being finished. Since then, the freshman standout has continued to prosper on the state and national swimming scenes. In March, Hagedorn competed in the United States Swimming Short Course Championship in Morgantown, where he participated in seven events. Hagedorn won three events, breaking the state records in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free. His performance earned him high point total for the 13- and 14-year-old age group and assured Hagedorn of a top-16 national finish in his class. Hagedorn doesn’t get caught up in all of his achievements. Instead, he remains focused. “There’s really no time to think about all that stuff,” Hagedorn said. “My main goal is to improve on all of my times in every event. “I don’t worry about the other swimmers or where I’m going to finish in the race. I know I have to go out there and swim my race and let what happens happen.” And what has happened so far has been pretty impressive. After the Short Course Championship, it was off to Indianapolis to compete in the Great Lakes Y-Zones Championship. With more than 1,200 swimmers competing, Hagedorn once again claimed high point honors with wins in the 50, 100 and 200 free. “He’s the only swimmer I know of in this area to reach the level that he has attained,” said Nardelli. “I’d say that for someone his age, he might be the best in the state. “He has the potential to be very competitive nationally.” Hagedorn and Nardelli know what that will take. In addition to the regular-season and off-season events, Hagedorn practices nearly two hours, six days a week. “That’s the thing,” said Nardelli. “He knows there is always someone better. Not only has he got the natural ability, but the work ethic to go with it. “Honestly, I think he’s only going to get better. He’s going to surprise himself when he finds out how good he is.” Following the Y-Zones Championship, Hagedorn competed in the Y-Nationals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Of the 200-plus swimmers in a 14-19 age division, Hagedorn finished 64th. Great for most, but still a little disappointing for Hagedorn. “I was happy to do as well as I did, but I could’ve done better,” said Hagedorn. “I didn’t have the times I wanted. Right now, getting back to the nationals next year and improving my times is one of my biggest priorities. “But there’s still a lot of events left for me this summer.” In June, Hagedorn will swim in the National Long Course Swimming Championship in Athens, Ohio, and the Long Course Zone Championship in Atlanta. After that, it’s off to the University of Maryland for the Long Course Nationals. Although Hagedorn, acknowledges it’s tough at times to keep from getting fatigued or suffer from burn out, striving to meet his personal goals keeps him going. “At this point, there aren’t many meets ... mostly just practice,”Hagedorn said. “But if I want to get back to the nationals, I know I have to keep practicing and stay focused,”he said. Nardelli says nothing Hagedorn has accomplished surprises him. He has seen Hagedorn swim for the Stealey swim team prior to competing at Robert C. Byrd. He says Hagedorn’s intensity is a key. “Chris is a very humble kid,” said Nardelli. “But when people swim against him he seems to get better. When he’s in the pool that humble kid sort of disappears and he turns into a different person. “He wants to win ... badly.” And as for his prep career, Hagedorn says he can’t overlook it. He still has titles to defend and new ones to win. “I think you have to have the same approach in every race,” said Hagedorn. “Sometimes that may seem tough, but it’s something you have to do. “On any race someone can be better than you.” But in Hagedorn’s case, not many have. So Bulger’s human, after all by Dan Shrensky CORRESPONDENT MORGANTOWN– The perfect spring is over. Marc Bulger is a mere mortal, after all. Bulger, WVU’s senior quarterback, not only threw a few incomplete passes during a 90-play scrimmage Friday, but – gasp! – also threw an interception. During last week’s scrimmage Bulger completed all 14 of his attempts. Safety Gary Thompkins, who intercepted Bulger, was only too happy to bring his teammate back to earth. “He came up to me in the locker room and was like ‘Iwas 14-for-14 for 218 (yards),’” Thompkins said. “I was like, ‘You weren’t 14-for-14. You’ve got to be kidding.’ Then I see it in all the papers. “This week, we really wanted to let him know that he’s going to be playing against a good secondary, a much better one than he’s seen in the past,” Thompkins said. The offense was ineffective all day, partly due to the blustery conditions at Mountaineer Field and partly because of a lack of offensive depth, said WVU coach Don Nehlen. “The defense is doing too many things for this young of an offense,” Nehlen said. “We can’t catch up with them. Any time they move and bring people, it’s very difficult for these guys who haven’t been in the action.” James Davis, Thompkins’ backup, intercepted a Brad Lewis pass and returned it for a touchdown. The scrimmage was a turnaround from last week’s, when the offense dominated. “We could have done it again, but Mother Nature got involved and gave it to them,” said Bulger, his tongue planted firmly in cheek. “But they played better,” he said. “The defense had a lot more fun than the offense (Friday). I guess if there were a score, they would have beaten us pretty good.” As has been the case this spring, Lewis and Andy Keating saw considerable time under center. But playing behind reserve offensive linemen meant lots of scrambling and improvising. Nehlen was particularly sympathetic to Keating, who missed a month of practice last year because of a viral infection and never fully recovered. “We’ve got to go step by step,” Nehlen said. “You’re looking at 300-400 repetitions that he would’ve had.” TRUTHISOUTTHERE: There are no secrets when it comes to the NFLDraft, says John Thornton. “Everybody knows everything about you,” he said. “Everybody takes their shot at you and you’ve got to take it.” An April 14 draft preview by Mel Kiper Jr. had Thornton as the sixth-best defensive tackle. ButThornton doesn’t put much stock in those projections. “I look at all that stuff, but it doesn’t have any validity to it,” Thornton said. “If someone has you ranked high, you look at it and go, ‘Oh well.’ If someone has you low, you’re like ‘They don’t know what they’re talking about.’” W.Va. Mohawks gain No. 1 seed for YBOA Championship this summer From Staff Reports The West Virginia Mohawks continued to roll through
play in AAU competition by capturing the YBOA West Virginia Regional last
week in Huntington and improving to 16-1 on the season.
Bridgeport Little League PRESCRIPTION SHOP 13, Kiwanis 0: Jeremy Gum went
3-for-4 with a double and a home run, and teammates Greg Ross, Ryan Compton
and Thomas Izzo each added two hits to lead Prescription Shop over Kiwanis.
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