The Press-Dispatch
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B-4 Sports Wednesday, April 13, 2016 The Press-Dispatch SALE CARHARTT TUESDAY-FRIDAY 9-6 • SATURDAY 9-4 "Your complete hunting outfitters" 812-482-GUNS 4 8 6 7 317 Southgate Center, Jasper CARHARTT SPRING ITEMS SHORT SLEEVE SHIRTS • JEANS SHORTS • T-SHIRTS • OTHER SPRING ITEMS 40% OFF GOLD COAST STRAW HAT $ 5 EACH HUGE ASSORTMENT VALUES TO $30 Men's & Women's Styles YOUTH, WOMEN'S AND MEN'S FINISH Continued from page 1 Duck watchers It's a cold late winter day and since the breakfast dish- es are all cleared away and washed, the children and I pause for a moment in front of the glass doors where you can look down at the river from our cabin. They stand close to the doors and soon their breath steams up the panes. With their index fin- gers, they make smiley fac- es and squiggly lines on the fogged glass. I spot some ducks and ask the children if they see them. They pour all their concentration into "eye spy- ing" the ducks and soon one announces, "I see them," quickly followed by the oth- er, "I see them, too, Daddy." Our bird dog Annie occu- pies the viewing space be- low the children but instead of duck watching, she anx- iously scans for a squirrel. The ducks are Buffle- heads and the white feath- ers on their sides and be- hind their eyes gleams bright against the brownish green waters of the river. We watch as they swim up- stream, diving under water and then popping to the sur- face like a cork. Even though the current continually push- es them down stream, they stay in the same general area by swimming up river after a dive. I think of how there must be something under the water like a large rock or log that holds the mussels, crayfish and water bugs the birds prey upon. My eye catches move- ment a little further down river as two Canada Geese swim proudly into view. The geese, with their black heads and white rumps, swim steadily up river, pumping their heads back and forth. They cut through the mid- dle of the diving ducks and are soon out of sight. I look down and notice that Annie has spotted a squirrel and is eagerly watching its every move. Next to attract our atten- tion is a group of mallards occupying a shallow area on the far side of the river. I watch the green iridescence of their heads and the way it changes with different an- gles of sunlight. At one mo- ment, it's a dark purple or perhaps blue and the next it's a shiny emerald green, changing colors like some kind of duck head kaleido- scope. The mallards swim in little circles, stopping to tip up and dabble small bits of plant material off the riv- er bottom. The children are still with me, looking and talking, and I notice Annie is starting to shake and quiver with excitement as the squir- rel approaches the bird feed- er. One of the mallards gets out of the water and stands on a log. I notice its legs are brighter than a fresh orange peel. Mallard legs and bills turn brighter shades of or- ange as breeding season approaches because of hor- monal changes brought on by the approach of breeding season. Once breeding sea- son passes, they will fade back to a more normal color. As we watch the mallards, a mixed group of hooded mergansers and common mergansers splashes down on the river surface. One of the male hooded mergan- sers unfolds the white feath- ers on the back of his head the way a poker player un- folds his hand. The birds' common name stems from this group of feathers which resembles a hood. Females have hoods, too, but, instead of white, their hoods are a rusty brown color. I feel a bit of excitement about seeing the common mergansers since this is a first sighting for me. The birds are quite a bit bigger than the hooded mergan- sers and with their white sides, orange bills and for- est green heads, they pres- ent a flashy spectacle on the river surface. The mergan- sers, like the buffleheads, dive and hunt for aquatic life, including small fish. The children begin to lose interest now and wander away from the doors in pur- suit of other Saturday morn- ing projects. I get my binoc- ulars out and closely study the ducks before deciding I, too, must move on from the glass doors. Only one watcher re- mains. By now, the squirrel has made its way to the bird feeder and is stuffing itself full of sunflower seeds. An- nie's head remains steady and pointed at the squirrel, but the rest of her is shak- ing and trembling like a tightly wound spring. I creep back to the door and ever so slightly crack it open. The squirrel catches the move- ment and makes his dash as I open the door and An- nie crashes down the steps after it. It runs about 10 feet up a tree trunk before paus- ing to look back at her. Down on the river, the ducks are still diving and dabbling as the cold waters move silently past our cabin. PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather time of 59.01 seconds; Ri- ley placed third in the 200 -meter dash with a sea- son-best time of 24.08 sec- onds; and the team of soph- omores Jacob Bohnert, Ca- den Armstrong and Chris- tian Benson and senior Earl Townsend placed first in the 3,200 -meter relay with a season-best time of 10 :11. Armstrong also posted season-best times in the 1,600 -meter run (5:28) and the 3,200 -meter run (11:59). Freshman Jade Johnson posted a season- best time in the 1,600 -meter run (6:27) while sophomore Lane Ridao posted a season- best time in the 3,200 -meter run (14:06). Owens placed third in the 100 -meter dash with a time of 11.53 seconds; Riley placed third in high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inch- es; sophomore Zach Pan- cake placed third in discus with a toss of 98 feet, 1 inch; the team of Benson, Kirby and freshmen Jacob Vest and Austin Dixon placed third in the 1,600 -meter re- lay; and Earley tied for third in pole vault with a leap of 9 feet, 6 inches. Wilkison placed fourth in long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 6 inches; and senior Noah Scott placed fourth in the 100 -meter dash with a time of 12.49 seconds. As a team, Pike Central scored a total of 44.5 points, 35 points behind first-place Sullivan's 79 points. South Knox was third with 43 points. "We had many improve- ments in a lot of the events," Chargers head coach Chris Kramer said. "We had some guys doing an event for the first time and had some de- cent results." Pike Central will compete in the Dubois/Pike Invita- tional at Jasper on Thurs- day, April 14, before re- turning home to host South Spencer and Wood Memori- al on Monday, April 18. Powers leads Lady Chargers to second-place finish in three-team meet Junior Halley Powers placed first in the 100 -me- ter high hurdles and the 300 -meter intermediate hurdles as the Pike Central High School girls' track and field team finished second in a three-team meet hosted by South Knox on Thursday, April 7. Powers won the 100 -me- ter high hurdles with a time of 18.48 seconds and the 300 -meter intermediate hur- dles with a time of 54.58 sec- onds. Powers also teamed up with senior Ivy Sullivan, junior Kaitlyn Foster and freshman Lillie Pancake to place first in the 1,600 -me- ter relay with a season-best time of 4:46. In addition, sophomore Taylor Deffendoll placed first in high jump with a season-best leap of 4 feet, 6 inches; freshman Alys- sa Jenkins placed first in shot put with a throw of 27 feet; senior Mikaila Mason placed first in the 800 -meter run with a season-best time of 2:52; and senior Cheyan- na Padgett placed first in pole vault with a leap of 7 feet, 6 inches. Placing second in indi- vidual events for the Lady Chargers were Padgett in high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 4 inches; Pancake in the 100 -meter dash with a time of 14.21 seconds and in the 800 -meter run with a season-best time of 2:59; and Sullivan in the 300 -me- ter intermediate hurdles with a time of 55.63 seconds. Placing third in individu- al events for the Lady Char- gers were Foster in the 400 -meter run with a time of 1:14; Pancake in pole vault with a leap of 7 feet; and ju- nior Abby Hillyard in the 3,200 -meter run with a sea- son-best time of 15:08. Placing fourth in individu- al events for the Lady Char- gers were Deffendoll in the 100 -meter dash with a time of 14.99 seconds; and Sulli- van in the 200 -meter dash with a time of 30.41 seconds. In addition, the team of Deffendoll, Jenkins, Padgett and freshman Erin Craig placed second in the 400 -meter relay with a sea- son-best time of 54.62 sec- onds, while the team of Hill- yard, Mason, junior Selena Carpenter and senior Can- die Miller placed third in the 3,200 -meter relay. As a team, Pike Central scored a total of 58 points, just six points behind first- place Sullivan's 64 points. South Knox was third with 44 points. "Yet again we participat- ed in another extremely cold meet," Lady Chargers head coach Ryne Biesterveld said. "I am very proud of my girls for performing as well as they have in the first two meets. It is no easy feat to run, jump and throw in temperatures that are near freezing." Pike Central will compete in the Dubois/Pike Invita- tional at Jasper on Thursday, April 14, before returning home to host South Spen- cer and Wood Memorial on Monday, April 18. Pike Central VS Shoals Pike Central High School senior Alex Tredway takes a swing at a pitch during game action against visiting Shoals on Wednesday, April 6. The game was stopped because of inclement weather with two outs in the top of the fourth inning with the Chargers leading 10-0 and will be resumed from that point on Monday, April 18. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior Colton O'Neal delivers a pitch during game ac- tion against visiting Shoals on Wednesday, April 6. The game was stopped because of in- clement weather with two outs in the top of the fourth inning with the Chargers leading 10-0 and will be re- sumed from that point on Monday, April 18. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior Chase Davis is greeted at home after belting a two-run home run to give the Chargers a 10-0 lead over visit- ing Shoals on Wednesday, April 6. The game was stopped because of inclement weather with two outs in the top of the fourth inning with the Char- gers leading 10-0 and will be resumed from that point on Monday, April 18. Ed Cahill photo SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 812-354-8500 We're not afraid to shed some light on the truth.