Area sports digest

area

Prep track

KENT — The Boardman High girls track 4x800 meter relay team took first place at the Kent State Univ. Open Meet.

Team members Katie Heney, Lea Byers, Lauren Agnew and Tricia Haff ran in 10:17.17.

Heney also placed fifth in the 3200 meter run with a time of 12:36.57.

Presidents on top, 5-3

BOARDMAN — Washington Jefferson College won the 2007-08 College Hockey Mid-America Playoff Championship on Sunday at the Ice Zone, defeating West Virginia, 5-3.

Jim Pasquine of Poland is a sophomore member of the W J team.

Youngstown State was the host team for the tournament.

McDonald girls district champion

WICKLIFFE — The McDonald girls bowling team won the NEO district tournament, while the Austintown Fitch girls and boys teams were among those also qualifying for state tournament this weekend.

McDonald rolled 4,634 for the top team score, while Fitch’s girls were the fourth qualifier with 4427, followed by Hubbard (4419) and Struthers (4415).

Individually, Lakeview’s Amanda Foreman had the top series of 717, while McDonald’s Rachael Lepor was runner-up with 671.

McDonald’s Melissa Wasser and Niles’ Trisha Bernard were tied with a fourth-best 639, while Boardman’s Ciarra Moran had 628 and Fitch’s Gina Cheff 612. Foreman, Bernard and Moran advanced based on their status as individuals not on a qualifying team.

Along with Fitch’s boys team, which had total pinfall of 5,159, Boardman also advanced after rolling 5017.

Girard’s Clayton Cupan had the second-best series of 738, while Fitch’s Vince Viglio had 699 and Boardman’s Andrew Watterson 693.

Cupan is the lone area boy who advanced individually.

With a 16th-best 667, LaBrae’s Corey Hines just missed the cutoff.

The state tournament for boys is Friday at Tiki Lanes in Lancaster, while the girls are in action at Tiki on Saturday.

Sled dog review

YOUNGSTOWN — Musher Alyson Smith took first place in the International Sled Dog Racing Association’s Tug Hill Challenge Sled race in the Junior 2 Dog Speed.

Smith finished the 4.6 mile course at Lorraine, N.Y., in 15:31. Musher Trent Swan took second (19:29).

Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club was the event host.

Soccer club tryouts

STRUTHERS — The Simon Futbol Club is holding tryouts for soccer players of all age groups at Valley Sports in Struthers.

Teams from this club will play indoors through the end of March and then outside for three months.

They are scheduled to play in several tournaments.

For details call Neil Fowler at (330) 207-9750 or e-mail him at geordie57@aol.com.

Beeson-Ferrara USBC leaders

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —¬†Joe Beeson of North Jackson and Mark Ferrara of Hubbard moved into the doubles lead during the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

Beeson-Ferrara rolled 1,347 last Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, knocking Scott Quinn of Lewis Run, Pa., and Kevin Quinn of Bordentown, N.J. from the lead. Quinn-Quinn had been on top with 1,328.

According to the website: www.USBCopen.com, Beeson-Ferrara have been bowling doubles together at the USBC championships since 1996, and many times one has bowled well, while the other went home feeling like he let his partner down.

Ferrara led the way with a 704 series, the highest set of his 14-year open championships career, while Beeson contributed 643.

“We’ve bowled together long enough to be able to line up off of each other, and when he started striking, it got me going too,” said Ferrara, a 40-year-old right-hander who added 591 in singles and 527 in team for a 1,822 all-events total. “We both ended the second game with a string of strikes and that really motivated us to finish strong and put up a good score.”

Beeson made his 16th open championships appearance and added 548 in team and 534 in singles for 1,725.

For more, visit www.USBCopen.com

O.J. case update

LAS VEGAS — First the suspects in the O.J. Simpson heist case turned against each other. Now it’s the alleged victims’ turn.

A memorabilia dealer who initially said he was robbed at gunpoint by Simpson during a deal gone wrong is now suing the collectibles broker that arranged the meeting.

Alfred Beardsley claims he was set up and defrauded by Thomas Riccio.

“Mr. Beardsley feels the whole thing was set up by Mr. Riccio, and he was lured out there to a false news event,” said Jack Neil Swickard, a lawyer in Newport Beach, Calif., who filed the lawsuit Tuesday.

Clemens case in review

WASHINGTON — Roger Clemens should know by the end of the week if Congress will ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the star pitcher or his accuser made false statements under oath.

Clemens’ lawyer says they knew long ago that is where things probably were headed.

Vindicator staff/wire reports