area

area

Chine moves up

ST. LOUIS — Eric Chine, a fifth-year senior for the Kent State University wrestling team from Austintown Fitch High, split a pair of matches Friday in the 197-pound class wrestle-backs at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

Chine, who also split a pair of matches Thursday in the opening round, defeated Charles Silber of American Friday in the consolation third round before losing to Eric Lapotsky of Oklahoma 6-2 in the consolation fourth round of the double-elimination meet. Chine ended the meet with a 2-2 record.

Chine’s win Friday moved him into the No. 5 spot for most career wins at Kent State, passing Kurt Gross.

Chine, who qualified for his first NCAA meet as a wild-card selection by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee, got off to a strong start Thursday when he spilled 12th-seeded Brent Jones of the University of Virginia, 7-6, in the afternoon.

Kaminski selected

The Central Hockey League has selected Mississippi RiverKings Head Coach Kevin Kaminski the 2008-09 Central Hockey League Coach of the Year award following balloting among all 16 CHL head coaches.

Kaminski was the Youngstown SteelHounds coach from 2006-08.

The award is presented annually to the Central Hockey League coach adjudged to have contributed most to his team’s success.

In his first season with the RiverKings, Kaminski earned 10 of 16 first place votes and appeared on all possible ballots (coaches could not vote for themselves).

Kaminski helped direct the RiverKings to the Northeast Division title and has them in contention for the Governors’ Cup (regular season champions) with a 42-16-3 record.

nation

Transitions golf

PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Nick Watney is playing so well that he doesn’t even realize it.

Coming off a wrenching one-shot loss to Phil Mickelson at Doral, Watney kept right on rolling Friday with a 4-under 67 at the Transitions Championship to share the 36-hole lead with Steve Stricker.

“I guess I’m playing very well, but it really seems like this is just what I’m supposed to be doing,” Watney said.

Iditarod concludes

NOME, Alaska — Mushers are straggling into Nome in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

As of Friday morning, 23 mushers had crossed the finish line, two days after Lance Mackey won this third consecutive title

Samuelson snaps record

LANDOVER, Md. — Former Olympic marathon champion Joan Benoit Samuelson has broken the U.S. women’s indoor 3,000-meter record for runners 50 and older.

Running in her first competitive meet in six years, the 51-year-old clocked 10 minutes, 22.69 seconds on Friday at the USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships. She lowered the record of 10:23.84 set by Kathryn Martin of Northport, N.Y.

The 57-year-old Martin finished second on Friday.

world

Klitschko aims to impress US fans

STUTTGART, Germany — Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko hopes to impress the lucrative American market when he defends his WBC title against Cuban defector Juan Carlos Gomez today.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian’s bout is being shown live at 5 p.m. EDT on ESPN in the United States, the traditional home of boxing’s signature division where interest has waned since Lennox Lewis retired five years ago.

Klitschko, whose younger brother Wladimir holds the WBO and IBF versions of the heavyweight title, is making a mandatory defense against the 35-year-old Gomez, who is based in Germany.

Madeira Islands Open

PORTO SANTO, Madeira Islands — Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland had six birdies in a 5-under 66 that gave him a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Madeira Islands Open on Friday.

The former British amateur champion looking for his first tour title birdied four of his first six holes and made the turn in 32. He finished at 7-under 135 after two birdies and a bogey on the back nine of the Seve Ballesteros-designed Porto Santo Golfe course that features 500-foot sea cliffs.

Mastercard Classic

HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico — Lorena Ochoa normally comes home to Mexico in March and faces a course that befuddles her: the scrubby, rugged BosqueReal carved into the mountains outside of Mexico City.

The LPGA’s No. 1 player got the best of her nemesis Friday, shooting a 7-under 65 to tie the course record and take a two-shot lead in the Mastercard Classic, the first of three tournaments in Mexico this year.

Ochoa has always struggled on the hilly course, and has yet to win this tournament in four attempts. Last year, she opened with a 4-over 76 — her worst score in nearly a year — and ended up tying for eighth.

Vindicator staff/wire reports