Banner Graphic, Volume 9, Number 263, Greencastle, Putnam County, 13 July 1979 — Page 7

Star tracking

By STEVE FIELDS Banner-Graphic Sports Editor Eric Wood of Greencastle and Chet Clodfelter of North Putnam are on opposite ends of their high school track careers. Wood has left his mark and Clodfelter is just beginning. Wood graduated from Greencastle High School in May and has a full page of high school honors alone. Clodfelter will be a junior this year at North Putnam and has a good start on his page of Cougar history. Basically the two-thinly clads have endeavors: (1) Wood runs track and cross country while Clodfelter plays football and basketball along with track. (2) Wood runs the mile and twomile and Clodfelter pole vaults, high jumps and long jumps. BI T WOOD IS BOUND for college, just as soon as he is .finished with 4-H for this year and as soon as he decides where to go. The blond headed athlete has narrowed it to three schools: University of Kentucky, and Indiana State University are the four-year schools and Southwestern Michigan, with one of the top junior college track and cross country programs in the country. Woody has achieved such things as back-to-back trips to the state championship track meet, the WCC mile and two-mile records, two straight firsts in the IHSAA two-mile run of the sectional and three straight Putnam County cross country titles. While preparing for his college running career, Wood is running 15 miles a day, five miles at three different intervals. Now that's not easy if you’ve ever seen him stretch those long legs across the streets and sidewalks at a rate that clocks a 4:25.9 mile. Add to this. Wood works all day, he’s not sitting at home in airconditioning. Wood flags for the state highway department and mows five yards a week through his neighborhood. “I just want to save some money for when I’m in school,” he says bashfully. ERIC STARTED RUNNING when he was in the seventh grade. Former teammates remember those years. Greencastle track and cross country coach Charlie Dobson was once teaching a biology class when a student raised his hand and said, “Mr. Dobson, I used to beat Eric Wood.” But after running track and cross country in junior high. Woody was going into football when he was a freshman. "I was all signed up to play football. I had my physical and everything. Then Jeff Stevens told me all about high school cross country, so I went out for the team. ” As a freshman Woody was third or fourth runner, but all of that changed his sophomore year. As a sophomore Wood finished seventh in the WIC meet, was fourth in the county meet and 23rd in the sectional. When track season came Wood finished second in the twomile run of the WIC meet, won the county and placed fifth in the IHSAA track sectional in the two-mile. As he learned more about running and ran AAU meets and Freedom Runs through the summer and winter, always training and in shape, his progress and honors mounted his junior year. In the 1977 WCC cross country meet, Woody was first, he won the county meet also and placed third in the IHSAA sectional. COME TRACK SEASON after running in McAnally Center all winter with some individual meets scattered into that con’ditioning program, Wood set records in the mile and two-mile runs of the WCC track meet, 4:30 in the mile and 9:46.6 in the two-mile. Wood won the sectional that year in the two mile and did likewise in the regional. ! As a junior he finished 12th in the IHSAA state championship meet. Now the tendency here would be for an athlete to become complacent. It happens all the time, a high school athlete has a great two or three years, then relaxes his senior year and especially in spring sports. But Woody didn’t let up. His rival from Cascade, Dave Helton, beat him for the second straight year in the WCC cross country meet, but Eric came right back to win the county title for the second straight year, won the sectional, finished second in regional competition and 17th in the state championship meet. ", Come spring time, thoughts of graduation, parties, college

Dairy Queen wins two Dairy Queen won two games this week and Mendenhall, one in Greencastle Girls Softball League play. Dairy Queen defeated Reelsville II 6-3 Monday, despite being out hit 12-7 in the game. In DQ’s second outing of the week. Alexander Construction was a 27-0 shutout victim of a 23-hit Dairy Queen attack. Monday night Dairy Queen meets McDonald’s for the third time at 6 p.m. this season with the series being tied at one game each. Mendenhall Construction scored four runs in the third inning Wednesday night to defeat 1-7 Nu-Image 5-3. Dawn Sutherlin hit a three-run home run for Mendenhall in the deciding inning. Open house scheduled The North Putnam Weight Training Program will hold an open house for parents and all friends of North Putnam High School. July 16 from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. During the one hour program athletes will go through their regular lifting drills under the direction of coach Gene Roe. North Putnam’s training program has been in effect all summer, lifting three times a week. The open house is designed to give parents and all persons interested some insight into the program. Immediately following the open house there will be a meeting of the Football Dad’s Club. Forms available Any Greencastle High School student, girl or boy, planning to participate in athletics during the 1979-80 school year should pick up an IHSAA physical form and insurance form at the school office. These forms must be filled out in order to participate in the first practice of the season. The physical is good for the entire school year, but those participating in fall sports of football, volleyball, cross country, men’s tennis, women’s golf and women’s swimming need these completed before August practices open. Local bowling Men’s Summer l.ragur Team 1 8 II 6-20-79 Team 4 6 If W L Team 6 5 1! Team! I» 5 Hl|?h Team Game: Team 7,572 Team 1. ... . . I* ( High Team Series: Team 7,1603 Team 8 16 8 High Ind. Game: Eugene Uebert. 243 Team 2. 14 10 High Ind. Series: Eugene IJebert, 570 T( , am |j 12 II Series over 500: K. Uebert, 570; R. Dun--13 II can, 569; G. Cofer, 560; F. Middleton, 547; Team 10 .. " .12 12 B Stout, *•*: C. Alex. 53H; JO. ream 12 12 12 Swearinger. 529; G. Cofer, 521; B. Parrish. 9 h |g 516; B. Stuart, 514: D. Kumley, 502.

Wood has left his mark in county track,Clodfelter making his

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Eric Wood bound for college team

enrollment papers and prom all interfere with the high school athlete’s concentration. AGAIN, NOT WOOD. Eric won both the mile and two mile of the WCC, setting a two mile run record at 9:36.2. He won the county two-mile title in 9:38.7, another record, he won the sectional and regional, then turned in his best performance ever to finish fifth in the IHSAA state track meet. Wood ran a 9:16.4 in the state meet, but it wasn’t good enough. “I thought my time was all right, but I thought that if I got down under 9:16 I might get as high as third place,*’ Wood said remembering that meet. His fifth place finish darned him an invitation to the Meet of Champions, held annually at Ft. Wayne with athletes from four states competing. Wood finished sixth in the meet of champions. CHET CLODFELTER likes the feeling of bending the pole, flying up over the bar in the pole vault and hopes coach Phil Myers will let him concentrate his efforts in that event next track season. But Clodfelter is getting into the AAU circuit himself. Recently the North Putnam High School three sport athlete finished second in the 14-15 year old age group of the AAU Junior Olympic six-state regional at Hammond. This sounded a little out of Chet’s class at first, but he did well in every event, proving his is strong, fast and quick.

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Brian Christy (20) takes the ball to the hoop for South Putnam as North Putnam Al Gray (11) comes flying across, reaching for the ball, but finding a wrist instead. The two athletes will be freshmen this fall at

Clodfelter ran the 100-meter dash in 12.5 seconds; long jumped 5.44 meters (18 feet, two inches); put the shot 10.61 meters (36 feet); high jumped 1.73 meters (five feet, eight inches); ran the 400-meter dash in 58.22 seconds; ran the high hurdles in 18.15 seconds; threw the discus 28.80 meters (94 feet); pole vaulted a personal high of 3.96 meters (13 feet, three inches), threw the javelin for the first time ever 34.32 meters (113 feet) and ran the 1,500 meter run in 5:20.1, totaling 5,095 points for the decathlon. Most of the events Chet participated in for the first time ever. But the pole vault is his forte and his vault of 13 feet, three inches made all the hot, lonely afternoon workouts worth it. PRIOR TO THE VAULT at Hammond, Clodfelter’s best was 12 feet, seven inches. Besides the workouts in the afternoon, ( het is a regular in the North Putnam Weight Training program and track is one area outside of football where the program is helping. “I’ve gotten stronger,” said Chet. “When I started I was bench pressing 135 pounds, now I’m up to 225 pounds.” Strength through the chest and shoulders is important for a vaulter. A vaulter can improve upon his speed down the run way very little. He can improve his technique, but more important is his strength. It doesn’t take long to notice the difference in the strength either, Clodfelter has been lifting only since March.

their respective schools and are participating in summer basketball camp activities right now. (Banner-Graphic photo by Steve Fields).

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Chet Clodfelter working for title

IMo-hit game and victory slips away at same time

For six innings Wednesday night it looked as though Legion would earn its first win of the season in the Greencastle Babe Ruth League. In fact, for six innings righthander Perry Siddons had Moose eating out of his hand. And for 5 2/3 innings he pitched no-hit baseball. But with victory just three outs away and Legion owning a 5-1 lead, the sleeping Moose awoke. Eight runs later the final score was 9-6 Moose. IN THE HEAT and humidity of one of the summer’s hottest days Siddons lost the strike zone in the top of the seventh. The first three Moose hitters walked and one run came home on Brent Elkins’ single to right, only the second hit of the night. Moose first baseman Chris Leer then unloaded on a two-

Williamson tied for 3rd

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - If Lebanon attorney Kent Frandsen battles nervousness in the courtroom as effectively as he does on the golf course, his clients have little to worry about. Frandsen finished his 72 holes at 294 in earning his second state championship. The 28-year-old finished first in 1974 with a record 16-under par 272. Soley, a Ball State senior from Cedar Lake who held the lead after three rounds, finished at 295 after a round of 39-37 on

July 13,1979, The Putnam County Banner Graphic

When he first got involved in the decathlon, Chet wasn’t thinking much about winning any national title, but he is now. “Nationally, I’m going for it,” he said confidently. “Next year I’ll be with the 16 and 17 year olds and won’t be as well off as I am now.” Throwing the javelin 113 feet the first time he ever picks one up is not something to forget Clodfelter is trying now to find a javelin to practice with for the national meet August 4 and 5 in Bozeman, Mont. CLODFELTER WOULD rather pole vault than do anything else in track. “I was nervous,” Chet said about facing the competition at Hammond. “Some events I would really get nervous about, except in the pole vault.” During the high school track season, North Putnam’s most successful ever, Chet won the pole vault 12 times and the high jump four. He placed sixth in the Terre Haute sectional, now that puts him on course with the progress of Eric Wood in the two mile. Wood, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Wood of 803 Stadium Drive, and Clodfelter, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Clodfelter, Route 1, Roachdale, are part of a rich Putnam County track tradition, one still rising, the other on his way to a longer race.

strike pitch, swatting a fastball over the head of Legion left fielder Billy Pettit. Leer slid into third with a game-tying, three-run triple. A walk and Tony Judy’s base hit brought in another run, and Ron Branham chased home another with an infield out. Three more walks and Pete Meyer’s infield hit scored two more. LEGION WAS well in control of the game until the final inning. Coach Ron Johnson’s club played errorless ball for the first five innings as Siddons continued to set the Moose down without incident. Legion took a 1-0 lead in the second when Brad Sellers singled, stole second and third and scored on a wild pickoff attempt. They made it 3-0 in the fourth when Siddons tripled

the 7,115-yard Otter Creek golf course. “I felt just as nervous when I won in 1974," said Frandsen. who battled the tough course with rain falling most of the day. “My glasses get wet in weather like this. It makes it absolutely impossible for me to see," he said, adding, “This is the best round I've ever played in these conditions." Tom Inskeep of Fort Wayne made a strong effort to capture top honors for a third con-

home Mark Nichols, who had walked, and then scored on Pettit’s single to right. John Duncan’s double, a walk, a wild pitch and Sellers’ sacrifice fly made it 5-0 in the fifth. MEANWHILE, Siddons was breezing along, working on the second consecutive Legion nohitter. (He and Sellers had combined to no-hit Elks in a 4-0 loss two weeks ago). But Judy, the Moose pitcher, broke that up with a line double just off the tip of center fielder Matt Sage’s glove. The first Moose hit scored John Wells who had walked. The win pushed the Moose season mark to 3-4. Legion is still winless after seven starts.II E Moose 000 001 K-9 5 3 I .egion 010 220 !•« 9 2 Judy and Frazier; Siddons and N'ichols. WP ~ Judy <3-1 >. I.P - Siddons <O-l>.

secutive year with a 74 in the final round. That left the 23-year-old tied for third with Dave Williamson tSouthmont football coach) of Crawfordsvilleat297. Marion’s Jim Gallagher, who won medalist honors with a first round 69. Jay Frye, formerly of Greencastle, fired a 310 for the tournament with rounds of 77s 79. 74. 80. placing in the finql standings. Frye, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Frye of Greencastle. was tied with seven others.

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