Area Sports Digest: Boardman’s Liggitt to wrestle at MUC

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Boardman’s Liggitt to wrestle at MUC

ALLIANCE — Recent Boardman High graduate Jeff Liggitt will continue his academic and athletic career at Mount Union College in the fall where he will participate in wrestling.

Liggitt, a four-year letterwinner, was a two-time team captain and had 100 career wins. In addition, he was a two-time All-Eastern Ohio Wrestling League recipient. Liggitt was also awarded three-time All-Federal league honors and placed eighth in the 2008 Division I state tournament.

Mount Union is an NCAA Division III member of the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Fall schedules requested

The Vindicator requests area high school athletic directors to submit 2008 fall varsity sports schedules.

They can be sent by mail to Vindicator sports department, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown, 44501; fax (330-747-6712) or email (sports@vindy.com).

Huddle is July 27

WARREN — The Warren Sports Hall of Fame Coaches Huddle will take place July 27 at DiLucia’s.

Doors open at 6 p.m.; high school football coaches will make their presentations beginning at 7.

Participating schools will be Brookfield, Champion, Girard, Howland, Hubbard, LaBrae, Liberty, Mineral Ridge, Newton Falls, Niles, Warren Harding and Warren JFK.

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Monmouth feature

OCEANPORT, N.J. — Call My Bluff ran off to an easy win in the $70,000 Battlefield Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday, beating Presious Passion by 81‚Ñ4 lengths.

Trained by Derek Ryan and ridden by Pedro Cotto Jr., the 6-year-old gelding covered the 1 1-8 miles over the sloppy main track in 1:50 4-5.

The race was planned for the turf course but was switched after strong storms moved through the area, causing four of the eight horses to be scratched.

Call My Bluff — who won for the sixth time in 28 career starts — returned $10 and $3.60, while Presious Passion paid $3.20.

I’m Only Laughing was 53‚Ñ4 lengths back in third, while Ballonenostrikes was nearly 10 lengths farther back in fourth.

VanDam wins 14th Bassmaster event

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. — Kevin VanDam won the Bassmaster Elite Series’ Bluegrass Brawl at Kentucky Lake for his 14th BASS victory, hauling in 16 pounds, 9 ounces Sunday to hold off Tim Horton.

VanDam, who took over the angler season series lead, finished with a four-day total of 81-13. He won by just a pound over Horton, who hauled in 24-11 on Sunday to make it close. The victory is VanDam’s fourth in Elite Series competition this season — the most of any angler since the format was created in 2006.

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Cycling in review

LA TOUSSUIRE, France — Alejandro Valverde won the Dauphine Libere on Sunday, putting the Spanish cyclist among the favorites for next month’s Tour de France.

Kazakh rider Dmitriy Fofonov won the seventh and final stage, completing the 79.5 miles from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Grenoble in 3 hours, 17 minutes, 20 seconds.

Nadal wins 1st grass-court title

LONDON — Rafael Nadal claimed his first career grass-court title Sunday, defeating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Queen’s Club final to become the first Spaniard to win on grass in 36 years.

It was the French Open champion’s third win in the last three tournaments over the second-seeded Djokovic, following semifinal victories in Hamburg and at Roland Garros. Andres Gimeno was the last Spaniard to win on grass, at Eastbourne in 1972.

Racing injuries

JEREZ DE LA FRONTERA, Spain — Two riders received serious leg injuries Sunday in a high-speed crash during a 125cc practice session.

Axel Pons of Pons-Aprilia fractured both bones in his lower left leg and was taken to the Puerta del Mar hospital in Cadiz, track officials said in a statement.

Pons fell during early training laps for a race and was trying to move off the track when he was hit by other motorcycles.

Team Machado rider Carlos Ferrando broke his left thigh bone and was taken to the SAS hospital in Jerez.

Team KTM rider Edgar Garcia and Josep Rodriguez of TMR had shoulder injuries in the same incident but did not require hospital treatment.

Vindicator staff/wire reports