The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, July 4, 2018 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Misses Forrest Wood Cup berth by two places By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net John Voyles, of Peters- burg, finished 46th in the FLW Tour's Angler of the Year standings – just two spots away from advanc- ing to the Forrest Wood Cup – by placing 51st in a season-ending tournament held at Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township, Mich, this past weekend. At Lake St. Clair, the 41-year-old Voyles caught five bass weighing a total of 17 pounds on Thursday, June 28 – placing him 94th overall – before adding a sack of five bass weigh- ing a total of 20 pounds, 5 ounces on Friday, June 29, to finish with a total of 37 pounds, 5 ounces – plac- ing him 51st overall – to win $ 9,200. "Going into the tourna- ment, between me and the guys that I stay with and some of the other guys that I talk to, we thought 17 pounds a day would be a check, and 18 to 18 -1/2 (pounds) would probably make the cut," said Voyles. "I only caught 17 (pounds) the first day and, as I was going in, I thought, well, I'd be sitting right around the 60 mark. I figured I'd be in the top 40 to make the For- rest Wood Cup." On the tournament's first day, however, a total of 32 professional anglers caught limits of 20 pounds or more, led by a 25 -pound, 13-ounce bag by Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn., who ultimately won the four-day tourna- ment with 20 bass weigh- ing a total of 97 pounds, 8 ounces. "I think that kind of dumbfounded everybody, what the weights were going to be there," said Voyles, who ended up 94th on the tournament's first day. "I caught one four-pounder the first day and I thought, 'Well, I've got one big one, I'll at least be kind of where I needed to be.' When I was looking at the weights, I was, like, 'Oh my goodness.' Every- body I talked to couldn't believe it." "A fter I saw all the weights, I really just scrapped pretty much ev- erything I'd found in prac- tice, and I just went fishing on day two," Voyles said. "And I caught a lot better on the second day." Voyles' second day to- tal of 20 pounds, 5 ounc- es ranked as the 33rd best among the pro field, but still left him a total of 1 pound, 13 ounces shy of making the cut. "It was probably good that I maybe only caught 17 pounds on day one, be- cause, in my mind, it really freed me up to just go fish- ing on day two," Voyles said. "Had I caught 18 to 18 -1/2 (pounds) and been right around 60th, I might have spent a lot of my sec- ond day in the same water and stuff like that." "Five years ago, it would have scared me to death to kind of scrap everything and just go fishing," added Voyles, who has compet- ed professionally on the FLW Tour for 10 years. "But now, I'm at the point, that's what I do. The ma- jority of the time, when I just do that, I have a lot bet- ter days." Voyles ended the 2018 season with a career-high total of 919 points, finish- ing six points behind Todd Castledine of Nacogdo- ches, Texas, whose 44th- place finish – with a total of 925 points – was just enough to earn a berth in the Forrest Wood Cup, which will be held Aug. 10 - 12, at Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark. "Going into Lake St. Clair, first and foremost, I just wanted to cash a check, and then if I made the cut, great," Voyles said. "It was just kind of a per- fect storm, because there were guys that were 33rd or higher in the points that had a pretty good cushion, and then there was a group of us –from 35 to about 60 – that were pretty close to- gether. There were three or four guys that made PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather See VOYLES on 2 VOYLES FINISHES 46TH IN FLW TOUR'S ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS John Voyles Ava Stilwell takes a swing at the ball while practic- ing her backhand during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Caleb McCain gets ready to hit a forehand during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Wednes- day, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Piper Thompson gets ready to hit a backhand during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Kinley Blackwell (right) prepares to hit a volley at the net as Claire Neel (left) looks on during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Braxton Maxey hits a backhand shot during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Wednesday, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Blake Houchin gets ready to hit a backhand shot during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Wednesday, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Calleigh Wibbeler hits the ball while practicing volleying at the net during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Eli Keeker reaches for the ball while practic- ing his forehand during the Pike Central Ten- nis Camp on Wednesday, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Nathan Deffendoll pre- pares to hit a backhand shot during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Wednesday, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Selene Elenbaas reaches for the ball while hitting volleys at the net during the Pike Central Ten- nis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Claire Neel follows through while prac- ticing her backhand during the Pike Cen- tral Tennis Camp on Thursday, June 28. Ed Cahill photo Dylan Mattingly gets set to hit a backhand shot during the Pike Central Tennis Camp on Wednes- day, June 20. Ed Cahill photo Entries sought for Southern Indiana Wiffleball Classic The Southern Indiana Wiffleball Classic at the Zoar Mosquito Fest will be held Friday, Aug. 3, and Sat- urday, Aug. 4. Divisions are Youth (11 or younger on January 1, 2018), Ju- nior (15 or younger on January 1, 2018), and Adult. Younger players may play in the older divisions, but no older players may play in the younger divisions. The tournament is double elimi- nation. Games will begin on Friday evening and continue on Saturday. The entry fee is $75 per team for each of the divisions. For entry forms or for more in- formation, call Gaage Fetter at 812-639 -7910 or T.J. Reese at 812- 639 -7957. Entries must be submit- ted by July 31. Three Frog Nights It's been a tough couple of days. Summer is in full swing, and if we get a high temperature in the low 80's, it's a big relief. The yard is be- ginning to dry up, and when I mowed this afternoon, dust flew, clinging to my sweaty legs and coating the back of my throat. But now as I sit on the back deck, heavy clouds approach slowly from the west, darkening the sky. The leaves in the woods hang limply in the humid air and not even a song bird moves in the stillness. In the distance thunder gently rumbles. Soon I begin to feel air moving over my skin as the tree leaves shake and wave. Coming behind the wind are hesitant raindrops that hit the deck and bead up into tiny balls of water. The rain smells of fresh earth and wood. Soon the drops thicken, so I re- treat into the house, shutting the back door but leaving the window open so I can hear the rain. I sit near the window and read a novel as the rain builds and drums steadi- ly against the roof. But the shower is short lived, and after 10 minutes, the wind dies down and all is quiet again. The woods drip greenly in the cool evening air. Over the noise of the steady drip- ping comes a sharp trilling sound. It's a high pitched trill that trails off after a few seconds before start- ing up again. The dripping and the trilling coming from the woods after the noise of the storm remind me of "Taps" being played at the end of the day on a military base. All is quiet, all is restful. The sound is coming from a gray tree frog. Gray tree frogs are small frogs and are found common- ly in southern Indiana. In mid-April through late July males call in the evenings to attract a mate. Gray tree frogs are active most- ly in the late evening and night and feed on small insects. They inhabit hollow trees and rotten logs with wa- ter nearby for egg laying. They are good climbers, using their large toe- pads which secrete mucus, making them extra sticky. They are so ad- ept at climbing they can easily climb a glass window pane. Even after breeding season is over, male frogs will call on a damp summer night. Outside my open window, night is sneaking into the woods. The small songbirds that call just before going to their roosts have all gone quiet. But the tree frogs are still calling. And I don't mind. For to me, their call is almost as refreshing as a cool rain storm on a hot summer night. WE ARE PROFFESIONAL GRADE uebelhorgm.com 1-800-937-8721 Jasper, IN BOYS' AND GIRLS' TENNIS CAMP