Axsom's Army Invades Empire State

Three of Axsom Dojo's competitors traveled to New York City in early October to compete in the NY Open Karate Tournament in Valhalla, NY. 

The tournament was held at the Westchester Community College, and the divisions of competition were Kobudo (Weapons forms), Kata (Empty Hand Forms), and Kumite (Fighting). Below are the results:

Austin Galeski (18-34yo Male Advanced Division) GOLD in Kobudo,  Kata, and Kumite + 3rd Place in Grand Champion Champion Kata division, and 2nd in Grand Champion Kumite division. He is our dojo's Team Captain for the Bull-Moose Competition Team.

Jessica Sigsbee (16-17) Female Advanced Division) Bronze in Kumite. 

Ryan Sigsbee (14-15) Male Advanced Division) Silver in kata.

Smithfield Hog Jog 5K Results - October 12, 2019

Johnny Babyak - Hog Jog 5K Winner

Smithfield High's Johnny Babyak, 17 and Lydia Wilson won the men's and women's races at the Smithfield Hog Jog, sponsored by the Peninsula Track Club, and held in early October.

                18th ANNUAL SMITHFIELD HOG JOG 5K RUN/WALK

                    Sponsored by Smithfield Foods, Inc.

                          Downtown Smithfield, VA

                    Saturday, October 12, 2019 9:00 AM

                       A PENINSULA TRACK CLUB EVENT

TOP OVERALL MEN

    1     1 JOHNNY BABYAK               17 SMITHFIELD VA        16:09
5:12     
    2     2 TAYLOR PRICE                15 SMITHFIELD VA        16:25
5:18     
    3     3 VICTOR H FLEMMING           40 SMITHFIELD VA        16:44
5:23  
   
TOP OVERALL WOMEN

    1    15 LYDIA WILSON                22 SMITHFIELD VA        18:45
6:02     
    2    24 NICKY MILLER                34 RALEIGH NC           19:46
6:22     
    3    42 MADELYN BERRY               12 SMITHFIELD VA        21:34
6:57     

TOP MASTERS MEN

    1     6 TOBY WORM                   46 SMITHFIELD VA        17:38
5:41     
    2    12 BRIAN KERSHASKY             46 SUFFOLK VA           18:23
5:55     
    3    16 ERIC BERGE                  40 NEWPORT NEWS VA      18:45
6:03  
   
TOP MASTERS WOMEN

    1    66 CARLA CLINE                 53 NORFOLK VA           23:21
7:31     
    2    77 KAYE GREEN                  51 SMITHFIELD VA        23:59
7:44     
    3    87 AMY BALKA                   45 SUFFOLK VA           24:42
7:57     

World Class Gymnastics Named Virginia Program of 2019

At the Virginia State Meeting in September, World Class Gymnastics was awarded the following RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE:

2019 Program of the Year (for the second year in a row.)

Tami Harrison's gym also won:

1st Place 2019 Virginia Optional Club of the Year

1st Place 2019 Club of the Year

4th Place 2019 Virginia Compulsory Club of the Year

There are 69 Member clubs in VA so WOO HOO to the athletes and coaches of the 2019 Compulsory and Optional Teams for World Class Gymnastics!!

The following week, an invitation from USA Gymnastics for Jamison Sears and Ava Siegfeldt to come to National Team Training Camp this month.  (Yes, THE National Team training camp that Simone Biles goes to.)  Both Sears and Siegfeldt performed well in the US Championships in August in the Junior International Elite division, so they were invited to National Team Training Camp.  

Sears and coaches Tami and Rex Harrison will be going to the United Kingdom to compete as part of the Region 7 All-Star team.  Jamison earned a spot on the Region 7 All-Star team by her excellent performance at Region 7 Regional Championships and Junior Olympic National Championships.  Jamison's performance at Nationals earned her a spot on the JO National Team.

World Class Freedom Run 8K and 5K Results, Williamsburg

5^th Annual

World Class Freedom Run 8K, 5K and One Mile Fun Run

Lois Hornsby Middle School, Williamsburg, VA

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix Event

141 finishers in 8K/5K run/walk combined.

29 finishers in one mile fun run/walk.

** Age group record (5-year age groups)

8K Run/Walk

Men Overall

**1. Andrew Carlin, 21                        Quinton                                    25:18

[new course record, and all-time CRR 8K record for men 20-24, old records 26:15 by Andrew Osborne, 23, Seaford, in 2017]

2. Logan St. John, 25                           Newport News                         30:15

3. Jonathan Torres, 29                          Newport News                         30:30

Women Overall

1. Sorenna Jean, 17                              Williamsburg                             34:24

2. Kara Woody, 38                              Williamsburg                             35:31

**3. Cannon Jean, 14                           Williamsburg                             38:54

Men 14-and-under

**1. Isaac Lamprecht, 13                     New Kent                                31:47

Men 15-19

1. Thomas Hall, 19                               Hampton                                  35:02

2. Juan Ballesteros, 17                          Pozoblanco, Spain                    49:54

  

Men 25-29

1. Eric LaMastro, 29                            Williamsburg                             42:22

Men 30-34

1. Benjamin Kaurich, 31                       Newport News                         33:40

Men 35-39

**1. Chris Novakoski, 37                    Chesapeake                              31:19

2. William McCallister, 36                    Lanexa                                     38:56

Men 40-44

1. Jason Miller, 42                                Williamsburg                             31:05

2. Matt Chism, 44                                Carrollton                                 40:54

3. Juan Antonio Ballesteros, 44             Williamsburg                             49:54

4. Christopher Tucker, 40                     Chesapeake                              56:12

Men 45-49

**1. Greg Lynn, 45                              Hayes                                       30:56

2. Robert Murphie, 45                          Williamsburg                             37:44

Men 50-54

1. Paul Pelletier, 54                               Williamsburg                             31:11

2. Robert Jean, 53                                Williamsburg                             43:41

Men 55-59

1. Pete Conrad, 59                               Newport News                         41:47

Men 60-64

1. Will Murray, 63                                Williamsburg                             36:03

2. Thomas Barry, 61                             Williamsburg                             38:16

3. Chris Abelt, 63                                 Williamsburg                             38:46

4. Tom Robinson, 61                            Williamsburg                             41:11

Men 65-69

**1. Jim Thornton, 65                          Toano                                       33:31

[all-time CRR 8K record for men 65-69, old record 34:16 by Tom Ray, 65, Kitty Hawk, NC at 1999 Ford’s Colony 8K]

2. Rick Platt, 69                                   Williamsburg                             39:52

3. Jim Gullo, 65                                    Williamsburg                             40:13

4. Jimmy Blount, 69                              Williamsburg                             52:30

5. George Dever, 66                             Newport News                         59:34

Men 70-and-over

**1. Ronald Kellum, 75                        Hampton                                  50:51

2. Randy Hawthorne, 74                       Williamsburg                             54:04

3. Stephen Scudder, 71                        Virginia Beach                          1:10:08

Men Walk (awards 5 deep)

1. Alexey Popov, 36                             Newport News                         58:18

2. John Strassberger, 75                       Williamsburg                             1:01:22

3. Bob Curtin, 66                                 Hampton                                  1:18:09

Women 20-24

1. Rebekah Mason, 20                         Williamsburg                             56:12

Women 35-39

1. Jennifer Vess-Morgan, 36                 Hayes                                       42:47

2. Rachel Novakoski, 36                      Chesapeake                              46:03

Women 40-44

1. Jeanette Primich, 43                          Williamsburg                             47:03

2. Nicole Powell, 43                             Yorktown                                 53:31

Women 45-49

**1. Susan Hagel, 46                           Norfolk                                    40:59

2. Michele Nordeen, 47                        Newport News                         58:18

Women 50-54

1. Maggie Pat Rafferty, 50                    Gilbert, SC                               41:54

2. Deelyn Robinson, 54                        Williamsburg                             44:20

3. Tara Dress, 51                                 Newport News                         55:07

4. Criztina Jean, 51                               Williamsburg                             58:14

Women 55-59

1. Norma Phillips, 59                            Williamsburg                             41:53

2. Geri Foster, 58                                 Newport News                         52:38

3. Carol Bryan, 57                                Fairfax                                      53:30

Women 65-69

1. Patricia Travis, 68                             Williamsburg                             50:52

2. Martha Gullo, 66                              Williamsburg                             52:41

3. Brenda Mitchell, 69                          Williamsburg                             1:11:41

Women 70-and-over

1. Roswitha Goossens-Winter, 71         Williamsburg                             58:02

Women Walk (awards 5 deep)

1. Cathy Kaurich, 63                            Williamsburg                             1:06:31

2. Nancy Byrd, 65                                Toano                                       1:07:01

3. Karen Schenck, 65                           Ark                                          1:13:02

5K Run/Walk

Men Overall

1. Nicholas Schuff, 22                          Yorktown                                 19:02

2. Greg Summerlin, 50                          Carrollton                                 20:25

3. Sam Bittle, 13                                   Gloucester Point                       22:45

Women Overall

1. Laura Nielsen, 42                             Yorktown                                 21:44

[new 5K course record, old record 22:00 by Svetlana Goncharova, 20, Williamsburg in 2018]

2. Lauren Elliott, 14                              Williamsburg                             23:03

3. Amaya Cooper, 13                           Hampton                                  23:39

Men 10-and-under

1. Jacob LeGrand, 9                             Hampton                                  32:23

2. Lincoln Tschida, 8                            Yorktown                                 33:55

3. David Lucas, 7                                 Suffolk                                      36:05

4. Colton Bodlove, 8                            Newport News                         36:28

Men 11-14

1. Gene O’Hallarn, 11                          Williamsburg                             26:02

2. Jacob Runkle, 14                              Toano                                       34:39

Men 30-39

1. Adam Montalvo, 37                         Carrollton                                 25:16

2. Allen Torres, 38                               Hampton                                  29:18

3. Ran Reeves, Jr., 34                          White Stone                              32:26

Men 40-49

1. Scott Jenkins, 40                              Newport News                         23:45

2. Brandon Garner, 43                          Yorktown                                 27:58

3. Joey Martin, 40                                Yorktown                                 31:46

4. Maurice Cooper, 42                         Hampton                                  31:47

5. Kevin Runkle, 43                              Toano                                       33:14

6. Brett Ballou, 49                                Newport News                         1:06:36

Men 50-59

1. Chris Hall, 54                                   Hampton                                  29:45

2. Carlus Waller, 58                             Yorktown                                 33:08

Men 60-69

1. Dwight Hopkins, 62                          Newport News                         51:49

Men 70-and-over

none

Massaponax P.A. Matt Kreitz Earns National Award

For the past 17-plus years, there have been three constants to Massaponax High football.

The first is their coach, Eric Ludden, who has led the team, after arriving from Courtland High in 1998.

The second is a winning tradition, instilled by Ludden. Since 2002, the Panthers have posted a record of 163-49 and made three appearances in the Class 5 Final Four, including a championship game berth in 2003.

The other is their public address announcer. And for Matt Kreitz, his tenure as the voice of the Panthers has been unique. Over the past 17 years, Kreitz has developed quite a following, as evidenced by the 1,866 people who follow his ‘Ponax Announcer page on Twitter.

And earlier this week, Kreitz may have scored one of the largest crowning jewels in Massaponax football history when he was honored with the most prestigious award offered by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers – as the winner of the 2018-19 Bob Shepherd P.A. Announcer of the Year.

The selection process is an arduous one. There are two awards given, one for college and one for high school. To be considered, a school’s athletic director submits an announcing resume, which outlines all of the P.A’s achievements. This includes an audio clip which includes specific portions of the game – a welcome announcement, National Anthem, starting lineups, game situations, and other general announcements. The nomination form, resume, letters of recommendation, and audio clips are then sent to a committee made up of former and current professional announcers from the NFL and Major League Baseball, as well as other high profile industry leaders.

Said Kreitz, “It was definitely a surprise to win this award. (Even with) 17 years, there are many people in this industry who have been doing it a lot longer than I. To be recognized at this level is an incredible achievement, and I am grateful to everyone who has supported me.”

But Kreitz is not ready to sit on his laurels. “It is my goal to be able to do this full-time somewhere, whether it’s at the college level, professional sports, or anywhere in between. If I could do this as a full-time career that would be the ultimate goal.”

And even with 17 years behind the mike, Kreitz is youthful, having benefited from an early start.

“The school opened in 1998, and I graduated from Massaponax in 2003. During the first five years, we didn’t have a regular P.A. announcer for the football games. Instead, a couple of different teachers announced the games. The summer after I graduated, I approached the principal and athletic director and expressed interest in announcing some of the football games, and getting in rotation with the teachers. They were both hesitant to put the microphone in the hands of an 18-year-old “kid,” so they offered to allow me to announce a scrimmage and see how it went. I have been the P.A. announcer ever since!”

Not that his day job lacks suspense. “I own the National Executive Protection Agency, a federal government contractor that conducts investigations for the government.”

If you want to hear Kreitz live from Massaponax, don’t head to the school tonight, as the Panthers have a bye week. But, at 8-2, the Panthers are hoping for a home game in Region 5B.