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Locke Thrilled By National Titles

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

For Chamberlain High rising senior and the Matrix Track Club's Dentarius Locke, there was only one thing that could have made his two gold medals at the National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships any better.

"I was hoping to go 20-point in the 200 meters, but I just couldn't get it," Locke said after a stunning week of competition at Eastern Michigan University in Detroit. Thanks to his two titles in the 100 and 200 meters, Locke won the AAU Joel Ferrell Outstanding Performance award.

"I didn't expect it," Locke said of the award. "There are so many athletes out there who got a lot of medals like I did, but I was happy to get noticed."

Locke opened Saturday's finals day with a time of 10.49 in the 100 meters, edging out Garren Hendricks of Florissant, Mo., by 0.13 seconds. Gunning to break the 21-second barrier in the 200, Locke finished in a time of 21.03, again beating Hendricks.

"After going to regional events, I was expecting the same type of competition," he said. "I wasn't nervous of being in a very, very big event."

Locke almost added a third gold medal in the 4x100 relay, with Matrix teammates Lindsey Lamar, Terrance Mitchell and Christopher Watson, but they were forced to settle for silver as the St. Louis Express squad edged them out by 0.01 seconds in a time of 41.12. Matrix coach Gary Watson said he couldn't believe Hendricks ran down Lamar on the final leg.

"It was very disappointing," Watson said. "We all know Lindsey Lamar is one of the top sprinters in the state of Florida, and I saw Lindsey Lamar get run down. The kid from St. Louis Hendricks ran him down, and it was astonishing. Everyone on our team was in disbelief."

Plant's Hamrick Proud To Be Part Of History

As the U.S. Junior Women's 8 crossed the finish line in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, Plant High's Molly Hamrick and the entire crew started celebrating. They had just become the first U.S. Junior 8 to win gold in World Junior Rowing Championship history.

"It was amazing," Hamrick said. "Crossing the finish line knowing we had won a world championship was the coolest feeling in the world. I've never experienced anything like it before."
Hamrick and her teammates won the 2,000-meter race in a time of 6 minutes, 31.63 seconds, a little over two seconds ahead of defending champion Romania. Before heading out to race, Hamrick said U.S. coach Steve Hargis had emphasized the necessity for them to concentrate on what they wanted to do, not what other boats were doing.

For those like Hamrick, who had won a bronze medal in China last year, defeating the Romanians had been at the forefront of their minds.

"I've been wanting this gold medal since last year after we didn't get it in China," Hamrick said. "I wanted to beat the Romanians, I wanted to beat the Germans, I did not want to have the same feeling I had last year crossing the finish line."

Skyway Squad Headed To RBI World Series

While other teams from Little League parks in Hillsborough County compete to reach their respective World Series this week, another squad from Skyway Park is headed to Compton, Calif., for a championship of its own.

The team managed by Chris Chism reached the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Junior Division World Series with an 11-4 win against Montgomery (Ala.) in Jupiter. Josciel Veras went 3-for-3 and scored twice, capping a strong tournament-long hitting performance by the team as a whole.

Skyway qualified for the final by going 2-1 in pool play. It opened with a 14-4 win against Atlanta, as Michael Fahrman hit the first of two home runs in the tournament, while Chris Louth went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs.

A 7-3 win against Miami followed as Alberto Benehan went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and a run, rendering a 15-8 loss in Skyway's first game against Montgomery in its last pool game academic.

Pitchers Javaris Reynolds and Benehan turned the tables on Montgomery in the final, Benehan striking out three in two innings of scoreless relief.

The team heads out to California today with hopes of continuing that success.

"They're very pumped up," Chism said. "It's a chance for them to excel, and be the baseball players they really want to be."

Citrus Park Returns To World Series

Citrus Park Little League will head to the Big League softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Mich., which begins on Monday, with four members of its squad looking to become two-time champions.

Three years ago, Morgan Grove, Khrystyne Ely, Trisha DeBold and Morgan McGuire were part of the Citrus Park team that won the Senior League title. Grove was pivotal to the team advancing to this year's series, recording a five-inning one-hitter and hitting a game-ending grand slam as Citrus Park defeated the District 12 All-Stars 12-0 on Sunday afternoon.

For the other nine members of the squad, some of whom were there when their predecessors won the World Series, advancing to the World Series has been a long time coming.

"We've tried for so long to go," catcher Mya Anderson said. "It's really big for me. I've never been out to another state, so this is really going to be big."

Manager Al Bowman, who managed the Senior League World Series winners, said his current team has had a lot of close calls before finally reaching this year.

"It's been a lot of work," Bowman said. "This group of girls has had a lot of runner-up finishes, so to finally reach that goal is an unbelievable feeling."

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