SPORTS DIGEST || Area athletes receive scholarships

Area athletes receive scholarships

COLUMBUS

Fourteen area high school athletes who received scholarships from either the OHSAA or the Northeast District Athletic Board. The scholarships range from $500 to $1,000.

Champion's Alayna Fell and Western Reserve's Dom Velasquez were both named OHSAA Scholar-Athletes.

The following athletes were named NEDAB Scholar-Athletes: Tavish Burd (Warren Harding), Jackson Deemer (Howland), Allie Holmes (Grand Valley), Alexis Hughes (Western Reserve), Vivian Kellar (Warren Harding), Cierra Latronica (Springfield), Corenna Maynard (Warren Harding), Ryan Miller (Wellsville), Satyam Patel (Canfield), Kirsten Plocher (West Branch), Richard Wetzel (Ursuline) and Emma Wukelich (Hubbard).

Columbiana to host Cross Country Series

COLUMBIANA

Columbiana will host the 20th annual Clipper Cross Country Series on Aug. 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 7 p.m.

The races will take place at the Ward Athletic Complex at Columbiana High School.

The middle school will host the Aug. 1 and 8 races while Aug. 15 and 22 will be at the high school.

Registration the night of the race begins at 6 p.m. and cost is $6 per runner. Funds raised support the Clipper Cross Country and Track Programs.

Contestants that compete in all four races will earn a series T-shirt.

For more information: Contact either Race Directors Donald Groubert at (330) 718-3237 or Head CC Coach Crystal Siembida Boggs at (330) 482-9105 or email donald.groubert@columbianaschools.org or crystal.boggs@columbianaschools.org.

Steelers draft pick Rivera dead at 57

Gabe Rivera, the College Football Hall of Famer who was paralyzed in a car accident while a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has died. He was 57.

Texas Tech, where Rivera was an All-America defensive lineman, confirmed Rivera's death on Tuesday. He had been living in San Antonio with his wife, Nancy, who told KENS-TV her husband had taken ill last week and died Monday night.

Rivera, nicknamed Senor Sack, had five sacks and 62 tackles as a senior in 1982 for Texas Tech.

He was selected 21st overall by Pittsburgh in the 1983 NFL draft. He had two sacks in his first six games, but in October of that year he was in an automobile accident that left him a paraplegic.

Usain Bolt attempting to play pro soccer

SYDNEY

Usain Bolt is making a run at professional soccer in Australia.

The Olympic sprint great has long expressed his love of the game. Since his retirement from track, he has tested himself with Germany's Borussia Dortmund and the Norwegian club Stromsgodset.

Now, at 31, he will try out for six weeks with the Central Coast Mariners starting next month. If all goes well, he could play for a season in Australia's A-League.

Australian agent Tony Rallis said Monday the Mariners and Bolt have a deal in principle,"subject to a couple of benchmarks."

Rallis said the eight-time Olympic gold medalist would have to go through a tryout, and the Football Federation Australia would have to support his salary.

"Once the FFA comes back and says that they'll be part of the process, we're going to the trial," Rallis said.

The agent said the Mariners would guarantee 70 percent of his salary and the FFA would be expected to pay the rest.

Van Avermaet holds lead in Tour de France

LE GRAND-BORNAND, FRANCE

Julian Alaphilippe claimed the first mountain leg of this Tour de France on Tuesday, while Greg Van Avermaet kept the overall lead for a seventh consecutive day.

Alaphilippe, a French rider for Quick-Step, won the 158.5-kilometer (98.5-mile) ride from Lake Annecy that included climbs over four major Alpine passes before a descent to Le Grand-Bornand in around 41/2 hours.

Staff/wire report