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netunleashed-blog · 6 years

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European Championships 2018: Hannah Miley wins 400m IM bronze in Glasgow

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=30333 European Championships 2018: Hannah Miley wins 400m IM bronze in Glasgow - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=30333 Hannah Miley wins bronze in women's 400m medley 2018 European ChampionshipsVenues: Glasgow and Berlin Dates: 2-12 AugustCoverage: Live across BBC TV, BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra plus the BBC Sport website with further coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app.GB's Hannah Miley produced a strong finish to win bronze in the women's 400m individual medley at the European Championships in Glasgow.The 28-year-old Scot was down on the leaders until the breaststroke leg when she moved into medal contention to the delight of her home crowd.Fantine Lesaffre from France took gold, Italy's Ilaria Cusinato won silver and Briton Aimee Willmott was fourth.Britain's Adam Peaty and James Wilby reached the 100m breaststroke final.Glasgow-born Wilby recovered from a poor start to win the first semi-final in 59.23 seconds before Olympic champion Peaty recorded 58.04 to win his race.Miley told BBC Sport: "To come away with a medal is really, really nice."It was really hot in the pool, very hot for Glasgow. But it's a great atmosphere to be part of."Wilby, the Commonwealth 200m breaststroke champion, said he was using these championships to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."I've been refining a couple of things, just fine-tuning some things and getting a good set up for Tokyo," he said. "Hopefully I will get some good results."Peaty said he was not content with his time in his semi-final - the Englishman holds the world record, which stands at 57.13."I was trying too much, my subconscious knows it is a semi-final, so it doesn't mean that much. I will bring my 'A' game into Saturday's final," he said."It was quite a quick turnaround from the heats, but I'm happy with that win. "Who knows what will happen tomorrow. When you come to something like this it is all about the win and that's what I'm going for."Disappointment for Rossiter and Cook in rowing Oliver Cook and Matt Rossiter finished a disappointing fourth in their semi-finalBritain's men's eight qualified for Sunday's final after coming second in their repechage but Oliver Cook and Matt Rossiter failed to reach the final in the men's pairs after finishing fourth. World and European bronze medallist Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne is through to the final alongside her team-mates in the women's quadruple sculls, while the women's four and women's pair are also through. Jamie Copus and Zak Lee-Green will bid for a spot in the men's lightweight doubles sculls after booking their place in the semi-finals with victory in the repechage with Ellie Piggott and Fran Rawlins already through in the women's event. Peaty goes for breaststroke gold - day three preview Adam Peaty won three gold medals at the 2016 European Swimming ChampionshipsGold medals: 21 in rowing, gymnastics, cycling, synchronised swimming and swimming12:30 - Rowing: Men's quadruple scullsThe men's coxless four is usually GB's flagship boat but British sculling is enjoying a purple patch at the moment, and the men's quadruple sculls look to be the best hope of gold. Peter Lambert suffered a back injury just before the race at last year's World Championships. Even with a last-minute reshuffle, they took silver - but they will want gold in Glasgow.15:54 - Track cycling: Women's points raceGreat Britain have a wealth of talented cyclists to pick for this race, and may well opt for Elinor Barker. The Welsh rider won the Commonwealth points title in April, and is also a former world champion in the discipline, having taken gold in Hong Kong in 2017.17:13 - Swimming: Men's 100m breaststrokeOlympic champion Adam Peaty won his semi-final on Friday as he bids to extend his four-year unbeaten run in this event. Four is the magic number for Peaty in a European context given that he won four gold medals in Berlin in 2014 and in London two years later. The number in Peaty's mind in this race will be 56 - referring to Project 56, the 23-year-old's much-publicised aim to take his own world record below 57 seconds. Team-mate James Wilby won his semi-final but Ross Murdoch will not be racing despite being the third fastest swimmer in the heats.19:42 - Track cycling: Women's individual pursuitGreat Britain have not yet confirmed who will ride which race in the track cycling but it will be a surprise if Katie Archibald does not get the chance to win a fifth straight European title in this event.The Scot won the Commonwealth title in April although her season since then, in her words, has "gone a bit pants" after she broke her collarbone in the Tour de Yorkshire road race in May.Network coverage: 09:00-13:15, BBC Two; 13:15-18:40, BBC One; 19:00-21:00, BBC TwoFurther coverage: 08:45-13:00 & 17:30-21:00, swimming and track cycling, BBC Red Button & 09:00-21:00, uninterrupted coverage, Connected TV and online. Source link

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ohioguru03 · 7 years

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Has it been 20 years?...

It seems like yesterday we were riding a chartered bus to Bill Davis Field on the campus of the The Ohio State University listening to “I’ll be Missing You” by Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, and 112.

I’m referring to our (St. Clairsville Baseball) unforgettable run to the Division II State Baseball Final Four. It was all so surreal and it was hard to fully realize what was happening in the midst of the trek to Columbus.

I was just a sophomore, but played quite a bit on a team that was a perfect mix of talent and grinders. I was mainly used on the mound, and finished the season with a (2-0) record, which included getting the win over Bellaire St. John’s (a regional participant). The win over the Irish broke the school-record for most wins in a season at 24. We would eventually finish the year (26-4).

Other than being an all-star in pre-game infield practice that is about where my part of the story ends. Well, I almost forgot, there was the heckling that the sophomores would do to the opponents. Ironically, we were numbers 26, 27, 28, and 29. We thought we were pretty funny and a big part our success. Basically, we were loud mouthed jerks, but effective.

We started the season with a victory, but lost our home opener to Martins Ferry (6-5). The crazy thing, we had our ace on the mound (Shane Valigora) and dropped a game to a team far less talented than us. Valigora would go on to win an incredible 10 games on the season and single handily pitch us to the Final Four. He earned the nickname “horse” for a reason. He had a high 80′s fastball and a nasty curve ball. He was as mentally tough as any pitcher I’ve been around.

Following the loss to Martins Ferry, we went on a long winning streak. I can only speak for me personally, a pretty knowledgeable sports guy, but it never even crossed my mind that this team could accomplish some of things we did. It wasn’t like we were expecting to make a big run.

During the winning streak, it just seemed like everything went our way. Even in games we got behind, we found ways to comeback no matter what inning it was. After awhile, we started developing the attitude that we can’t lose. It didn’t matter what the situation, we were going to find a way to win. Games with Union Local and Alliance stick out to me where this was the case.

We finally dropped a game to Zanesville where we rested a lot of starters. We quickly bounced back and got rolling once again. Then, it happened! We were playing in the OVAC Championship Game at Steubenville’s Vaccaro Field against a game Barnesville squad.

See, for many, many years, this game was treated as a state championship game for legendary coach Richard “Lefty” Hall. He was often accused of caring more about the OVAC Tournament than the State Tournament. Only he could answer that, but he must of had a feeling this was his best chance to reach Columbus before he retired a few years later.

He didn’t start Valigora in the OVAC Title Game, but instead opted for our number two man Brian “Bucky” Richardson. The game was a laugher as we quickly jumped out to a (19-1) lead. We were literally laughing in the dugout thinking this was going to be over in five innings and we could put another trophy in the case en route to Columbus.

I remember the great Barnesville coach Brad Wilson (a great friend of Lefty) saying hey “a couple hits we’re right back in this.” I remember thinking is this guy nuts. The Rocks are going to be fortunate to hold us under 30 runs in this game. However, he was right, one hit led to another and one error led to another, and Barnesville was inching closer.

Richardson was pulled for yours truly. I came in and quickly got a double play ball, but the late Derek Hoffman fielded a grounder at first and threw the ball into center field trying to get the force out at second base. The 6-foot-7 lefty was as good as they get at first base, which made it even harder to believe.

I was then pulled and quite frankly I don’t remember who came in next, but I do recall Valigora dropping a pee wee league pop up at third base. Yes, another strange happening. Eventually, Richardson reentered on the mound, which I didn’t even know you could do that. It was absolutely crazy. Long story, short, Barnesville eventually won the game (this is exactly what we needed to cool our ego), and to Hall’s credit, he never brought Valigora in the game.

The tournament would start and we barely escaped the opener against Beaver Local. The Beavers hurled a very good pitcher, and we used a generous bounce to win a close one. Game two was a blowout of Indian Creek before playing River View at its field in the district.

Josh Bowman, who was a stud left-hander, couldn’t find the plate walking several of our hitters. The game ended up in another lop-sided victory.

Regional play would take place at Ohio University Lancaster’s Beaver Field. We played Logan Elm and pitcher Wayne Rossiter in the semis. It wasn’t easy, but we eventually pulled away for an (8-3) win.

We were scheduled to play Richmond Edison the next day, but after driving back to Lancaster, the game never started as rain washed out the contest. The regional final would move to Vaccaro Field in Steubenville on Monday evening.

It was the largest high school baseball crowd I’ve seen. Onlookers were standing on picnic tables to get a glimpse of a classic. Edison, a heavy favorite with Valigora not expected to pitch, jumped on us early with a grand slam by Nate Cline off Richardson. We would eventually claw our way back and take the lead. Enter Valigora! Edison would also bring in their ace (Rusty Bendle). To this day, I’ve not seen or been part of a better game. The Red Devils eventually triumphed, 6-5, sending Hall and our team to its first state baseball Final Four.

The feeling can’t be described. It was like a fog. The hair on the back of my neck was standing up and it was like everything was happening in slow motion as our team was storming the field. I remember assistant coach Bobby Vincenzo parading his son (our batboy) around his on his shoulders. I will never forget the moment.

The state semifinal didn’t go the way we would’ve liked, but Valigora once again was stellar on the hill. We dropped a tough (3-0) decision to a very good Canton Central Catholic team led by lights out lefty Josh Haupt. We fought and battled like we did all year, but just couldn’t get to the big fella.

Random Thoughts:

-It was the best “team” I’ve been apart of. It was a true team with a couple studs in Valigora and Richardson. The latter being the best all around baseball player I had the privilege to play alongside. He could do it all.

-This team just didn’t make errors, which was a big reason for our success. The infield was flawless with Richardson at SS and sure-handed Ryan Mellott at 2B. Matt Banal was as tough as they come at 3B and Hoffman was automatic at !B (other than his heave into CF when I was pitching, lol). Nate King was our catcher, though he rarely threw runners out, he was a wall behind the dish.

-The outfield was serviceable with Craig Lipniskis in RF, who could really hit the ball out of the cleanup spot. Justin “Buba” Rector was everywhere in CF. Rector, an incredible musician, covered so much ground in the outfield. He was a great bunter and saved us on the mound many times. The right fielder was one of my best friends, Matt Lucki, the only sophomore starter was playing out of position but he managed quite nicely. Lucki, who eventually played for Youngstown State, was a streaky hitter that could swing for power.

-I vividly remember the leadership shown by the three seniors on this team. They led by example and kept all of us in line.

-It was a joke that none of our guys made all-state.

-It’s crazy to think this was 20 years ago. I’m really surprised St. Clairsville didn’t honor our team this past spring, but maybe 25 years?

-I enjoyed spending time with our bench crew, which featured Danny Olinski, who played a lot more than the rest of us, Justin Clifford (led Harrison Central to the state baseball Final Four in 2013 and is the head basketball coach), Matt Turkoly, and David Pugh. We sure did have a lot of laughs usually at the expense of the other team and ourselves.

-I honestly don’t know where some of these guys currently reside, but I would want them to know, it was an honor and a pleasure to be a small part of what was an amazing ride. It was the crowning moment of my athletic career and I will never forget it. There is just something special about being part of a team and trust me, this was a selfless club.

-Thinking about this happening 20 years ago makes me realize how short and precious life is. It’s such a gift by God! It makes me realize how fast time evaporates. We are constantly anticipating things in our life, and before we know it 20 years have gone by.

This reminds me of James 4:14, which says “...Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.”

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