The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/912793
B-4 Sports Wednesday, December 6, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Knox started late in the third trapping the first pass and that was something that really put a hurt on us. We have to get our confidence back handling the pres- sure." "Overall, the girls played great defense and worked really hard to scrap and fight for the ball," Knight added. "We just need to knock down some free throws and cut down on the unforced turnovers." In the seventh grade con- test, Pike Central was held scoreless during the first half in an 18 -9 loss to North Knox. "We are struggling to bring the ball up the floor," Lady Chargers head coach Rachelle Johns said. "As a result, we committed 15 turnovers. When that hap- pens, it's difficult to score." Kahle Young scored four points while Chloe Williams added three points to lead the Lady Chargers. Emma Saucerman netted eight points to pace North Knox. "My girls have lost con- fidence in themselves, but I haven't lost confidence in them," Johns said. "This group has potential. As a coach, it is my responsibili- ty to recognize and improve our weaknesses. That's ex- actly what we will do in the next few practices. When the girls believe in them- selves again, we will be back on track." Pike Central, which played at Wood Memorial on Tuesday, Dec. 5, will host Heritage Hills on Thursday, Dec. 7, starting at 6:30 p.m., and Dubois on Saturday, Dec. 9, starting at 9:30 a.m. The Lady Chargers will then play at Forest Park on Monday, Dec. 11, at Prince- ton on Wednesday, Dec. 13, before returning home to host Owensville on Thurs- day, Dec. 14, starting at 6:30 p.m., and traveling to Barr- Reeve on Saturday, Dec. 16. Splitting firewood and the cost of living with kids It's a quiet Sunday af- ternoon. We've gone to church, eaten dinner and the kids are busy playing in the yard. Since I have a hard time sitting still for long, even on a Sunday af- ternoon, I decide to head out to the wood pile. I grab my splitting maul and a couple of splitting wedges and soon split piec- es of wood lay scattered around me like fallen dom- inoes. Some of the logs I can split easily while oth- ers require the use of my splitting wedges. This is the first win- ter I've used the wedges and I've found them very handy. By starting the wedge (made of iron with a flat head that tapers to a sharp blade on one end) with a small hammer and then pounding it into the log with a sledge hammer, one can split even the most knotted pieces of wood. It's more time consuming then using a splitting maul, but the wedges offer more con- trol and require less exer- tion. I grab a log that looks like it might be difficult and start a wedge. The wedge goes deeper with each hit of the sledge. The rhyth- mic sound of metal on met- al rings through the neigh- borhood as if I'm building a railroad in my backyard. And then it happens. On my last swing, the log splits in half, driving the wedge down toward the sheet of plywood I'm work- ing on. The force of my swing causes the wedge to bounce off the plywood and fly through the air. The whirling wedge comes my way with its razor sharp blade spinning like a buzz saw. I can't move away in time and it slices the mid- dle of my index finger as it flies on past. My finger im- mediately starts a steady flow of blood. "Dang it," I say out loud in the now si- lent evening air. When I walk into the house, Rena asks what hap- pened and I tell her I cut my finger. In the bathroom, I clean the wound, which is deep and about a half-inch long. "You should proba- bly go to urgent care," Re- na says. I look at the wound and see that it is a clean cut and seems to be stay- ing closed on its own. "No, I think it'll be okay," I re- spond. In addition to the condi- tion of the wound, there is also the fact that our health savings account has been used and abused this year due to several minor mis- haps with the kids (one broken arm, one busted tooth and several treat- ments for a cough that just wouldn't quit, to name a few). I bandage the wound and sit down on the couch to recollect myself. Saving money by burn- ing wood and learning to bandage minor injuries is all part of being a father of three. When things are going good and the health savings account is final- ly starting to build back up, something unexpect- ed always pops up with the kids. Our adult minds are too removed from child- hood to even fathom some of the things kids do ( jump- ing out of a tree to impress your aunt and breaking your arm in the process, for example). I recall a recent trip with the kids to the gro- cery store. The four of us had gone to town to get some supplies for a birth- day party. A fter pulling in- to a parking spot, I carried Esther in my arms as we walked towards the store. Eva walked next to me and Eli brought up the rear. As we neared the store front, Eli decided to run in front of me. I tripped on his feet and since I had Esther in my arms, I couldn't do anything but fall straight forward. And so down I went, falling directly on top of Eli. I managed to roll Es- ther off to the side before we landed, but Eli went face down into the hard pave- ment under me. Eva, the only fami- ly member left standing, stared in bewilderment as the rest of us lay on the ground sprawled out in a pile as if we were in a war zone and hit by a stray mortar round. I quickly got back to my feet, pulled the two crying kids off the ground and walked in- to the store like nothing happened. Luckily the fall didn't result in an urgent care visit, but Eli had to go to school the next day with a skinned-up forehead and a black eye. One minute you're walk- ing into a store with your three kids, the next min- ute you're face down in the parking lot. What goes on in a kid's brain? Why would you think it would be a good idea to run in front of Daddy and cut him off when he's carrying one of your siblings? My brain is too old to even begin to fathom the inner workings of a six-year-old's mind. As I lay on the couch, I try not to let my mind fo- cus on my wounded fin- ger. Even a small injury can shake a person up and make them slow down a bit. I think of what I did wrong with the wedge (driving it into a sheet of springy plywood and not wear- ing gloves, mainly) and how next time I'll be more careful. I think of how if the wedge had flown closer to my body, I'd likely be at the ER. I'm certainly grateful that although this injury was a minor incident, it served as a good wakeup call for how important it is to be safe. With my home doctor- ing skills saving a trip to ur- gent care, I'll have a little bit more in the health sav- ings account, which, odds are, will be put to good use when the next unexpected kid adventure goes awry. PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather PCMS Continued from page 2 time of 1:25.13; and sopho- more Lily Frederick-Rice in the 100 -yard freestyle with a season-best time of 1:10.20. Placing third in indi- vidual events for the Lady Chargers were Bailey in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 29.34 seconds; freshman Charlotte Duden- hoeffer in the 100 -yard but- terfly with a time of 1:27.03; senior Shania Cremeans in the 100 -yard backstroke with a time of 1:23.24; fresh- man Audrey Keepes in the 100 -yard freestyle with a season-best time of 1:12.58; and senior Gretchen Mc- Crary in the 200 -yard indi- vidual medley with a time of 3:00.64. Placing fourth in individu- al events for the Lady Char- gers were Frederick-Rice in the 200 -yard freestyle with a season-best time of 2:37.48; McCrary in the 100 -yard breaststroke with a time of 1:33.56; and se- nior Courtney Frederick in the 500 -yard freestyle with a time of 7:19.85. Placing fifth in an individ- ual event for the Lady Char- gers was Frederick in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 34.72 seconds. In addition, the team of Dudenhoeffer, Freder- ick-Rice, Keepes and Meyer placed third in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a sea- son-best time of 2:08.69; the team of Keepes, senior Miki Feldpausch, sophomore Jaci Potts and freshman Neeley Correll placed third in the 400 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 5:50.74; the team of Cremeans, Dudenhoeffer, McCrary and Meyer placed fourth in the 200 -yard med- ley relay with a time of 2:26.65; and the team of Frederick, senior Emillee Halderman, sophomore Em- ma Russell and freshman Libby Stone placed fourth in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:21.59. As a team, Pike Central – which placed first in six events – scored 135 points. Boonville finished second with 115 points. Gibson Southern was third with 64 points. SWIM Continued from page 1 Natalie Bohnert breaks own school record in 100-yard butterfly Junior Natalie Bohnert broke her own school re- cord in the 100 -yard but- terfly as the Pike Central High School girls' swim team placed first in a three- team meet hosted by the La- dy Chargers on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Bohnert placed first in the 100 -yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.18, besting her previous school-record time of 1:05.92 she set during the 2016 -17 season. In addition, Bohnert placed first in the 100 -yard backstroke with a sea- son-best time of 1:00.87. Also placing first in indi- vidual events for the Lady Chargers were senior Quin Bailey in the 200 -yard free- style with a time of 2:29.29; senior Cass Conder in the 100 -yard breaststroke with a season-best time of 1:25.33; and freshman Jenna Mey- er in diving with a six-dive score of 163.75 points. Bailey, Bohnert and Cond- er also teamed up with se- nior Brittany Young to place first in the 200 -yard med- ley relay with a season-best time of 2:09.62 and first in the 400 -yard freestyle relay with a season-best time of 4:18.18. Placing second in indi- vidual events for the Lady Chargers were Bailey in the 100 -yard freestyle with a time of 1:04.98; Young in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 28.78 seconds; fresh- man Charlotte Dudenhoef- fer in the 500 -yard freestyle with a time of 7:08.14; se- nior Courtney Frederick in the 100 -yard breaststroke with a time of 1:33.99; and junior Hallee Stephens in diving with a six-dive score of 161.70 points. Placing third in individu- al events for the Lady Char- gers were Conder in the 200 -yard individual medley with a time of 2:56.77; Young in the 100 -yard butterfly with a time of 1:19.63; se- nior Shania Cremeans in the 100 -yard backstroke with a season-best time of 1:22.67; and sophomore Lily Fred- erick-Rice in the 200 -yard freestyle with a season-best time of 2:41.17 and in the 500 -yard freestyle with a season-best time of 7:11.62. Placing fourth in individu- al events for the Lady Char- gers were Dudenhoeffer in the 50 -yard freestyle with a time of 33.05 seconds; Mey- er in the 100 -yard freestyle with a time of 1:16.72; and senior Gretchen McCrary in the 200 -yard individual med- ley with a time of 2:59.43. In addition, the team of Frederick, Frederick-Rice, Meyer and freshman Au- drey Keepes placed third in the 200 -yard freestyle re- lay with a time of 2:11.98; the team of Dudenhoeffer, Frederick-Rice, McCrary and Meyer placed fourth in the 200 -yard medley re- lay with a time of 2:27.99; the team of senior Emillee Halderman, sophomore Emma Russell and fresh- men Neeley Correll and Libby Stone placed fourth in the 200 -yard freestyle re- lay with a time of 2:25.57; and the team of Frederick, Keepes, senior Miki Feld- pausch and sophomore Ja- ci Potts placed fourth in the 400 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 5:40.37. As a team, Pike Cen- tral scored 143 points. Evansville Central was sec- ond with 135 points, while Evansville Bosse was third with eight points. Above: Pike Central High School freshman Jenna Meyer swims the butterfly leg of the girls' 200-yard medley relay during a three-team meet hosted by Boonville on Thursday, Nov. 30. Dudenhoeffer teamed up with seniors Sha- nia Cremeans and Gretchen McCrary and fresh- man Jenna Meyer to place fourth with a time of 2:26.65. Ed Cahill photo Right: Pike Central High School freshman Charlotte Dudenhoeffer swims the backstroke leg of the girls' 200-yard medley relay during a three-team meet hosted by Boonville on Thurs- day, Nov. 30. Dudenhoeffer teamed up with se- niors Shania Cremeans and Gretchen McCrary and freshman Jenna Meyer to place fourth with a time of 2:26.65. Ed Cahill photo Right: Pike Central High School senior Cass Conder swims the backstroke leg of the girls' 200-yard individual medley during a three-team meet hosted by Boonville on Thursday, Nov. 30. Conder placed second with a season-best time of 2:52.06. Ed Cahill photo Below: Pike Central High School senior Gretch- en McCrary competes in the girls' 100-yard breaststroke during a three-team meet hosted by Boonville on Thursday, Nov. 30. McCrary placed fourth with a time of 1:33.56. Ed Cahill photo PCHS boys', girls' swim teams place first in Tecumseh Relays The Pike Central High School boys' and girls' swim teams both placed first in the Tecumseh Relays held on Saturday, Dec. 2. BOYS: The Chargers won 10 of 11 events and scored a total of 112 points, while Tecumseh – which won one event – placed a dis- tant second with 68 points. Gibson Southern was third with 61 points followed by Vincennes Lincoln with 36 points. The team of seniors Jacob Bohnert, Ty Cassitty and Lu- kas Hill and sophomore Jer- sey Mills placed first in the 200 -yard medley relay with a time of 1:51.77. The team of Jacob Bohnert, Lukas Hill and se- niors Gavin Diggs and Jacob Dudenhoeffer placed first in the 400 -yard medley relay with a time of 4:18.08. The team of Cassitty, Mills, Theising and soph- omore Coleman Henson placed first in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:49.19. The team of Cassitty, Diggs, Jacob Dudenhoeffer and junior Colt Carpenter placed first in the 200 -yard stroke/freestyle relay with a time of 1:55.65. The team of Jacob Bohnert, Diggs and Lu- kas Hill placed first in the 150 -yard butterfly relay with a time of 1:22.57. The team of Henson, Mills, Theising and soph- omore A.J. Hill placed first in the 1,000 -yard distance freestyle relay with a time of 12:34.65. The team of Jacob Bohnert, Jacob Dudenhoef- fer and Lukas Hill placed first in the 150 -yard back- stroke relay with a time of 1:26.17. The team of Carpenter, Cassitty, Henson and Mills placed first in the 400 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 4:11.68. The team of Diggs, Jacob Dudenhoeffer and Henson placed first in the 150 -yard breaststroke relay with a time of 1:45.63. The team of Carpenter, Diggs, Henson and Mills placed first in the 400 -yard freestyle depth relay with a time of 3:30.57. The team of Carpenter, A.J. Hill, Theising and fresh- man Garrett Boyd placed second in the 250 -yard free- style relay with a time of 2:43.65. The team of Boyd, A.J. Hill and Theising placed fourth in the 150 -yard back- stroke relay with a time of 2:09.09. GIRLS: The Lady Char- gers placed first in nine events while scoring a to- tal of 128 points. Tecum- seh placed second with 68 points, followed by Gibson Southern (61 points) and Vincennes Lincoln (36). The team of seniors Quin Bailey, Natalie Bohnert, Cass Conder and Brittany Young placed first in the 200 -yard medley relay with a time of 2:10.57. The team of senior Mi- ki Feldpausch, junior Hal- lee Stephens and freshmen Audrey Keepes and Jenna Meyer placed first in the 250 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:03.15. The team of Conder, se- niors Shania Cremeans and Gretchen McCrary and freshman Charlotte Duden- hoeffer placed first in the 400 -yard medley relay with a time of 5:35.25. The team of Bailey, Cond- er, Charlotte Dudenhoeffer and Meyer placed first in the 200 -yard stroke/freestyle relay with a time of 2:14.63. See FIRST on 5