ysu

June 2, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

ysu

Merrill sets record

LOUISVILLE — YSU junior Aaron Merrill finished in eighth place with a school-record distance of 17.93 meters in the shot put at the NCAA Mideast Regional.

Merrill’s throw was just three spots shy of automatically qualifying for national meet in Fayetteville, Ark.

Freshman Kiplangat Tisia finished 15th in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 9:07.63, while senior Joe Lahmon finished in 22nd in the hammer throw with a distance of 56 meters.

Lahmon is one of only three throwers in school history to rank in the top 10 in all four throwing events, including holding the school record in the hammer throw.

Camp availability

YOUNGSTOWN — There are still vacancies in the YSU women’s basketball camp series.

The camp series features four different options, beginning with the Varsity and Junior Varsity Team Camp on June 13 and 14.

Also there will also be a Half Day Camp June 15-18, an Elite Camp on June 16 and June 18 and a Full Day Camp June 22-25.

area

Sixth straight

POLAND — The Poland High School boys tennis team captured its sixth consecutive league title, sharing the crown this year with Canfield High.

This is Poland’s first league title in the AAC; their previous five titles were in the MAC.

Mercer Raceway

MERCER, Pa. — At Mercer Raceway Saturday celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Craig Folmar-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Jimmy Holden-Approved Toilet Rentals Modifieds, David Scott-4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models, Steve D’Apolito-GM 602 Stock Cars, Alan Knepper-Big Daddy’s Speed Center Mod Lites and Lee Lehnerd-M&D Paving Mini Stocks.

In addition to the racing, 500 comics books were given to the children.

Folmar scored his first career “410” win at Mercer on April 25 and five weeks later picked up his second.

Sharon Speedway

HARTFORD — Sharon Speedway will have a pre-race ‘Alzheimer’s Awareness Autograph Alley’ prior to the running of the inaugural Boardman ‚Ñ Diamond Steel Lou Blaney Memorial Classic on July 7.

The race is being staged to honor the memory of long-time Hall of Fame short-track racer Lou Blaney, who passed away in January.

NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Dave Blaney, along with All Star Circuit of Champions title holder Dale Blaney will participate in a one-hour autograph session from 5:30 until 6:30 p.m.

The session is to help raise awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease and benefit the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

state

Dungy to appear

CANTON — The All-Pro Father & Kids Experience returns to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend.

Former NFL head coach Tony Dungy will be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Friday to host a special book signing in the hall’s store from 5-6:30 p.m.

He will be on hand to sign his newest best-selling books, “Uncommon”, “Quiet Strength” and “You Can Do It”, a book for children.

For more information, call (800) 956-8300, ext. 309.

nation

TV viewership up

NEW YORK — TV viewership is up for the NBA playoffs.

Ratings for the Western Conference finals on ESPN increased 32 percent from the network’s conference finals coverage last year.

The Eastern Conference finals on TNT were up 30 percent from its conference finals coverage in 2008.

For the entire playoffs, TNT’s ratings were up 19 percent.

Mouse Davis retires

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State offensive coordinator Mouse Davis is retiring after more than 50 years of coaching football.

The 76-year-old Davis, is known for the run-and-shoot offense he developed at Portland State during his first stint with the Vikings in the late 1970s.

Vindicator staff/wire reports