(PHOTO: Johnny Robinson-Pettus)  Navarre senior Elijah Appel finished second in the Andrews Invitational triple jump last week in Gulf Breeze, bounding 42 feet. Not bad, considering the competition and the fact that Appel hadn’t competed in the event this season.

Read more...

MOBILE, Ala. – Navarre has excelled in middle-distance running events most of the 2013 track season. On Saturday, April 6, the Raiders’ 4 x 800-meter relay tested its mettle in the Mobile Challenge of Champions invitational meet and finished fourth.

“That’s not bad,” coach Tom Lintz said of the finish. “That’s fourth against 11 of the best teams in the South; it’s an invitation-only meet and they invite the best.”

The foursome of Trent Beck, Jonah Griego, James Mullin and Tanner Wilcox finished in 8 minutes, 16.75 seconds. First-place finisher Baton Rouge, La., Catholic ran a blistering 7:59.65, McGill Toolen Catholic of Mobile was second in 7:59.73 and Niceville finished third in 8:07.56.

Navarre’s weren’t the only area athletes represented at St. Paul’s School in Mobile, site of the event. Austin Droogsma of Gulf Breeze, a senior committed to competing for Florida State University, won the shot put and discus events. His shot put covered 60 feet, 9 inches, a full 17 inches further than the second-place competitor. Andy Fryman of Mason County, Ky., holds the event record of 62-10, set in 2003.

Droogsma hurled the discus 176-1, almost 28 feet more than the next-best throw.

Other area athletes included:

n Johnta’ Whitaker, Pine Forest: 300-meter hurdles, first, 42.42; 100-meter hurdles, second, 13.73

n Lamia Miller, Pine Forest: shot put, first, 40-9; discus, second, 119-11.5

n Nicolas Morken, Niceville: one-mile run, second, 4:20.7

n Thomas Howell, Niceville: two-mile run, second, 9:26.94

n Sifa Finau, Pine Forest: discus, third, 147-5

n Loren Moorer, Pensacola: 400-meter dash, third, 57.69

n Christina Wiggins, Pine Forest: pole vault, third, 11-6

n Jessie Droogsma, Gulf Breeze: discus, fourth, 118-3.5

n Pine Forest girls 4 x 400, first, 3:54.70

n Niceville girls 4 x 800, third, 9:46.34

CROSS COUNTRY

UWF coach to resign

The University of West Florida announced last week that Argonauts cross country head coach John Bergin will resign at the end of the season, his fifth with UWF. In his time as head coach, Bergen was named Gulf South Conference Women’s Coach of the Year in 2011 and 2012. Bergen led the UWF women’s cross country team to the program’s first NCAA national championship appearance in 2011 and again in 2012. The two-time conference coach of the year also led the Argonaut women’s cross country team to back-to-back Gulf South Conference championships.

For more information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.

HOCKEY

The Pensacola Ice Flyers swept Mississippi in two games in the first round of the Southern Professional Hockey League’s President’s Cup playoffs last week and will face the Knoxville Ice Bears in a rematch of last season’s semis.

Game 1 will be played at 6:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, April 4, in Knoxville, Tenn. Game 2 is scheduled at 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Pensacola. If Game 3 is necessary, it will be played at 6:05 p.m. Sunday in Pensacola.

The Ice Flyers are encouraging fans to wear white to "White Out the Hangar" for each home playoff game. White semifinal playoff t-shirts will be available for $10 each near the end of the week in the Ice Flyers' office and at the game.

Fans can watch Game 1 live at New York Nick's on South Palafox Place in downtown.

Tickets for Games 2 and 3 in Pensacola are available now at the Pensacola Bay Center Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com.

Fans that purchased tickets for Game 3 of the first round can use those tickets for Game 2 Saturday in Pensacola.

MISC.

Homeschool PE classes

The Fort Walton Beach Family YMCA will offer physical education classes from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Fridays in April for home-schooled children ages 5-14. Classes in April, taught by YMCA program coordinator Bob Grant, will feature baseball, softball and t-ball. Grant has taught homeschool PE for more than 25 years. Cost is $20 per child per month. For more information, call 863-9622.

Table tennis tournaments

The Pensacola Table Tennis Club recently announced it will host Pensacola’s USO Open starting at 9 a.m. April 13 at the Fricker Community Center, 901 North E St. in Pensacola. For more information, call 436-5195.

RUNNING

The Pensacola Sports Association is accepting registrations for the Pensacola Marathon, which will be run Sunday, Nov. 10. The 2012 marathon sold out for the first time in its history with 1,500 runners competing in the marathon and 800 running in the half-marathon.

The race begins and ends at Veteran's Memorial Park on the Pensacola Bay front, then winds its way along a 13.1 mile circuit of the city for the half marathoners and a full 26.2 loop for the full marathon.  The course features historic neighborhoods, the downtown district, scenic water views, cliffs, bands, and cheering Pensacolians.  The finish line is next to Pensacola Wall South, the only replica of the National Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

For those runners still needing to qualify for the Boston Marathon, the Pensacola Marathon is a quality certified course. For full details on the race visit the Pensacola Marathon website at marathonpensacola.com or call (850) 434-2800. Runners can register online at www.marathonpensacola.com, by completing and returning the form printed from the website or in person at Running Wild in Pensacola.

SOFTBALL

Adult softball

The City of Milton is accepting signups for adult spring softball leagues. Spring softball league play will include a coed league on Mondays, church league on Tuesdays, a men’s league on Wednesday, and a church co-ed league on Thursday’s. Cost is $350 per team with play getting underway April 8. For more information, call Robert Arnold at the Milton Community Center at 983-5466 or go to the city’s website, www.ci.milton.fl.us.

Navarre’s Lady Raiders’ softball team played three games in three days last week and won come-from-behind victories against non-district foes from Phenix City, Ala., and Gulf Breeze, but could not rally back against district-rival Milton. (PHOTO: Crystal Evans)

For the complete story, see the April 4 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.