Free girls basketball clinics/new coaches
MI Girls Basketball (MIGB) is offering free clinics in August for girls in grades four through eight. Fourth, fifth and sixth-grade clinics will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Aug. 21 and 7-8:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the MI Boys and Girls Club. The clinics will be run by the fifth and sixth-grade select team coaches. At the clinics, MIGB will be introducing Jennie Rondel as the new fifth-grade coach. Coach Rondel played college basketball at Santa Clara University and coached Lake Washington High School varsity girls basketball team last season. Also running the clinics will be sixth-grade Select coaches Matt Price, former MIHS men’s varsity player and record holder, along with Dawn Wilson. Both have been coaching MIGB for the last two and three years, respectively.
The seventh and eighth-grade clinics will be from 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 19, at Islander Middle School and 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 26, at the MI Boys and Girls Club. The seventh and eighth-grade coaches will run the clinics. Brad Knowles, the seventh-grade coach this year, will be on hand. MIGB will also introduce Sean Barton as the new eighth-grade coach. Coach Barton has been coaching with the Junior NBA and Junior WNBA program and is currently the Athletic Director at the French American School. These clinics are free and open to all Mercer Island girls or those who are enrolled in the MI School District. For more information, call Christa Lilly at (206) 818-7622.
Brothers win gold
Islanders Eric and Emerson Schulz, running with the Cascade Striders of Bellevue, just returned from Omaha, Neb., where they competed in the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Nationals. On their way to Omaha, at the Pacific Northwest Regional meet in Spokane, July 12-13, Eric and Emerson Schulz brought home gold medals in all six of their events.
At nationals from July 22 to 27 in Omaha, Eric Schulz, 12, won his heat in the midget boys 800-meter prelims, which was a gut-busting race. In the 800-meter final, he surged to the front with 200 meters to go, leading the pack and the pace for an exciting finish flanked by three accompanying challengers. He held on to finish fourth with a personal record of 2:16.96. He also anchored his team’s midget boys 4×800-meter relay, which finished ninth.
In his first nationals appearance, Emerson Schulz, 10, anchored his team’s bantam boys 4×400-meter relay, which finished 10th. He ran against 47 bantam boys in the 200-meter dash, finishing 11th overall. His strongest races were the 400-meter dash prelims and finals. In an impressive performance in the 400-meter dash finals, he raced to the front with 120 meters to go and fought off a strong field of challengers on the final straightaway. He held on to finish second, setting a personal record of 1:02.16.
