Athenian Track holding fall and winter practice sessions
Athenian Athletics Track Club invites athletes ages 7-18 to participate in our fall and winter practice sessions to prepare for the 2008-2009 Cross Country Season as well as continue to practice for the upcoming track and field season.
Practices will be held on a voluntary/drop-in basis Monday through Friday. Club participants will have the option of competing for either (or both) AAU and USATF Cross Country events.
For practice time and location, visit www.athenianathletics.com or call Coach Rik Richardson at 518-9356.
PK puts BUSC U11 on top
Ballistic United U11 took the title for its age group in the Ballistic’s 40th Summer Classic Tournament on Aug. 1.
The U-11 United team scored on a penalty kick by Cameron Ritchie in the first half of the championship game and held on in a tightly contested game against Modesto Ajax United.
The first half was an even battle and both teams had chances at goals. Ballistic’s Ryan Racer was everywhere in the midfield and Max Gershman was strong defensively, while the trio of Cameron Owens, Jackson Still and Michael Anastassiou in the front line kept the pressure on the Modesto defense.
The second half was a different story as Modesto pushed forward, trying to get the equalizing goal. Ballistic was forced to drop back and defend for long periods of time. Goalkeeper Jacob Guzman made an amazing save stopping what looked like the game tying goal.
The save lifted Ballistic’s spirit and Jeffrey Klei and Sam Molz became a wall on defense for the final minutes. The game ended with Ballistic completing its championship quest 1-0.
U11 White hot at warm up tourney
The Pleasanton Rage U11 White team finished the Pleasanton Soccer City Warm Up tournament with a 1-0 win over the FC Fremont Fusion. The team went 1-2-0 in the tournament held Aug. 23-24.
The White goal came on a penalty kick by Makenna Elias. Shots on goal were also taken by Jenna Crawford, Lisa DeFeo, Julia Densmore and Nicole Tsuno.
The defensive back line of Jasmine Dessouky, Christina Echavia, Megan Martin and Megan Shackley also played strong, holding Fusion scoreless.
Goal keepers Juliet Allen and Bryanna Schreiber had multiple saves during the tournament to keep the team in the game.
LaX new player festival
Pleasanton Lacrosse Club is holding a New Player Festival for girls in first through eighth grades. The festival will be held Sun., Sept. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at Hart Middle School.
Girls getting started in lacrosse and interested in the event should register now at www.pleasantonlacrosse.com. Participation costs $39, which includes stick and ball.
Contact Kelly French with any questions. She can be reached by cell at 989-0940 or through email at troynkelly@aol.com.
Spring 2009 registration for the club opened Sept. 1.
One goes 8-1 in Cooperstown
Team One, a 12u travel baseball team, traveled to Cooperstown, N.Y. this past week to compete in the National American Tournament of Champions (NATC). The NATC consists of 98 teams from all over the United States and Canada.
Team One opened with a 14-8 victory over the Walden Vikings from New York, then beat the NJ Mendham Generals 14-5. On day two, Team One faced two New York teams, beating the Long Island Prospect 10-9 and the Greenville Spartans 11-2. A 5-2 victory over the Loudon Bulldogs from Virginia started off day three, followed by a 7-4 night victory over the Middleton Mavericks from New Jersey that ended with a walk off grand slam. Day four started off with a 22-7 victory over the Newburyport Clippers from Massachusetts.
At the end of pool play, Team One earned a 7-0 record and an 11th out 98 teams seeding. Based on that eleventh seed, Team One received a bye and started single elimination bracket play in the third round.
Team One opened up with a tough game against the Los Alamitos Angels as they pulled out an 8-7 victory. Starting their third game of the day at 10 p.m., Team One faced the Camarillo Pirates and battled back and forth until 12:30 a.m. when they finally fell short losing 9-8.
In the skills competition Team One placed eighth in the Around the Horn event losing out by .5 seconds. The event tests the ability to make perfect throws and catches around the diamond to all nine defensive positions on the field.
Team One ended the tournament with an 8-1 record. Eight of the 11 players hit home runs, and 10 of the 11 pitched at least a few innings. Team One players include: Alex Zwingle, Andrew Taylor, Grant Soyka, Matt Shackley, Camden Reynolds, Adam Kimmel, Ethan Glenn, Jared Chan, Ben Case, Evan Anderson and Ryan Alley. One coaches are Jason Alley, Dan Soyka and Dave Kimmel.
Seahawks info night
The Pleasanton Seahawks, a competitive swim team, is holding its annual information night at the start of the new season on September 15 at the Dolores Bengtson Aquatic Center.
The Pleasanton Seahawks swim team has received the prestigious silver Medal of Excellence for its swim program by USA Swimming for the past eight years. In recent years the Seahawks have sent numerous high level swimmers to both National level swim meets and the Olympic Trials.
For more information or to schedule a try-out with one of the coaches, visit www.Pleasantonseahawks.org or call 847-7946 or drop by on Sept. 15 at the Aquatic Center on Black Avenue to pick up an information package
U-17 fights hard, breaks even
Despite fighting through injuries at the goalie position and still struggling to score goals, the Pleasanton Rage U-17 AC team battled to a 1-1-1 record at the California Rush Open Tournament in Sacramento this past weekend.
The Rage opened the tournament dropping a tough 1-0 final to the Walnut Creek Strikers, with goalie Dani Paxton turning in a sensational game in the goal.
With Paxton out of action for the second game, Suzanne Bateson, playing her first game in the goal, helped the Rage to a 1-0 win over the Diablo FC Revolution. Breahna Berry got the lone goal for the Rage, which also got great play from Sarah Ramirez on defense.
In their final game of the weekend, Bateson and Jill Johnson–also playing her first time in the goal–played very well, and the Rage ended with a 0-0 final against the Placer United Gold.
Kira Capaccioli and Brit Carrolan played well throughout the tournament for the Rage, who begins league play next weekend.
U-16 takes championship in San Diego
Rage U-16 won the championship in San Diego last weekend thanks to some well played soccer. Excellent bracket play led the Rage to the championship game.
Rage U-16 AC had their work cut out for them in the championship game as they faced Cypress FC, who they tied 1-1 in bracket play. Rage had most of the offensive opportunities in the championship game, but couldn’t put the ball in the goal during regulation.
Cypress came close to scoring when goalie Lindsey Smith came out to pressure the striker. The striker attempted a shot that hit Smith’s hand and started to bounce to the goal. Blair Stiers immediately covered goal and cleared the ball inches from scoring.
After a 0-0 tie, Smith mentally prepared for what was to be an exciting PK performance by the Rage kickers. The first two kickers for both teams scored easily. The Cypress kicker missed the third shot, hitting the crossbars, while Rage made theirs. Smith then made two game winning blocks, capping a stellar performance for Rage.
Pleasanton/Livermore/Dublin PONY fall ball registration
Registration is open for Pleasanton/Livermore/Dublin PONY baseball’s fall ball. PONY is for ages 5-14.
Fall ball games are played Sun. afternoons in Pleasanton and Livermore starting Sept. 21.
For more information or to register visit www.pleasantonpony.com.
U-15 leaves Huntington Beach winless
Buoyed by their recent second-place finish in the Ballistic Summer Classic, the Ballistic United U-15 squad headed to Huntington Beach over the Labor Day weekend to test their mettle against SoCal’s finest in the NHB Cup.
On Saturday morning they faced the Aztecs, ranked fourth in the nation and were schooled in the art of ball movement as the Aztecs scored four goals before halftime. Ballistic did prevent the shutout when Toby Harvey crossed for Dane Shaffar to fire home but it was mere consolation as the Aztecs finished winners by a score of 5-1.
On Saturday afternoon, Ballistic proved to be much more competitive against the LA Rampage however a mental lapse in the form of a botched goal-kick led to the only goal of the game as LA’s right winger pounced on the weak clearance and fired it into the roof of the net to secure a 1-0 victory for his team.
On Sunday Ballistic wrapped up their tournament versus Real So-cal. They had the worst possible start when they conceded a goal from the opening kick-off. Poor marking by the BUSC defense allowed a Real player to beat their keeper to a ball played into the penalty area. He made no mistake, slotting the ball home for what would prove to be the game’s only goal.
3rd place for U-19 in Roseville
The Pleasanton Ballistic Black U-19 boys team had a strong showing at the Roseville Invitational, finishing third with a 3-1-0 record over the weekend.
In the consolation game, Ballistic eventually defeated the Yuba Sutter Stealth 2-1 in penalty kicks (5-4). Nathan Roberts headed in a cross by Justin Dorsey, giving Ballistic a brief 1-0 lead. The Stealth quickly tied the game and sent it into over time and penalty kicks.
Tyler Copeman, Patrick Yee, Dorsey, Mason Ridgway and Niko Lecco all converted on their penalty kicks, and Lecco blocked the first PK by the Stealth kicker putting Ballistic on top.
Solid team play through out the tournament by the Ballistic only allowed two goals. Leading the way were Eric Brunnett, Kevin Phillips, Steven Ralowski, Brandon Lee and Jon Ramirez.
Brian Johnston and Ridgway scored in a 2-0 win over the Sunrise Crews to start the tournament. Ballistic dominated the second game but came away with a 1-1 tie against the Greenhaven Spartans. David Norton scored the only goal for Ballistic.
Ballistic won their flight with a 5-0 win over Rancho Cordova United. Aaron Lek scored two goals, Ridgway, Dorsey, and Norton rounded out the scoring.
