Sports
Kennedy High’s head track coach Carl Sumler knew his girls’ 4×100 relay team, and sprint hotshot Takkarist McKinnley would need quick and easy access to physiological energy reserves when they lined up against the nation’s best runners last weekend in Los Angeles. So before they jumped in their vans and headed south down Interstate 5, Sumler went out and stockpiled his suitcase with Oreos, chocolate chips, fruit juices, noodles, salami, mustard and cheese. The sugar rush worked, as the girls…
Kennedy High special education teacher Salvatore Morabito has seen plenty of powerlifters. The 71-year-old Belgium-born weightlifter has been pounding iron since he was eight years old. And now, at the crowning point of his career, the schoolteacher for students with severe disabilities has found the perfect training partner—someone who can out bench press him. “I taught weightlifting for many years,” Morabito said in his subtle European drawl. “[And] as you might guess, I am a strong believer in weight training….
While most high school students were out on spring break working on their suntan, St. Patrick/St. Vincent senior pitcher Austin Fitzpatrick stood tall on Kennedy High’s mound and threw a complete game no-hitter. The Bruins went on defeat the Eagles 14-0. Kennedy’s best chance to score came with two outs in the first inning when Fitzpatrick loaded the bases on walks. But Ernie Timoteo was picked off third base and thrown out at home plate by the third baseman. For…
Kennedy High’s track team is about to experience the wind in their hair SoCal-style. And some stiff competition. Eagles’ head coach Carl Sumler said the girls 4×100 meter relay team, and sprint specialist Takkarist “Takk” McKinnley will travel to Los Angeles this weekend and compete in the 3rd Annual Tiger Invite at South Pasadena High School on Friday, and then lace ’em up again the next day for the nationally recognized 46th Annual Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High School. “There’s…
Play Rugby USA, a nonprofit organization focused on the wellbeing of school children in disenfranchised communities, is getting a jumper in Richmond by piloting an after-school rugby program at Washington Elementary School in Point Richmond. According to Stuart Bagshaw, the executive director of Play Rugby USA’s California branch, the program is now in over 200 schools in New York and in 60 schools in Los Angeles. Students, both boys and girls, wore red and yellow Velcro belts Friday after school…
Last week, BART officials launched a five-day pilot program to see if bikes and people could fit comfortably onto its trains at all times. Now they are asking the public to complete an online survey that seeks to measure whether the experiment was a success.
The Kennedy Eagles baseball team traveled to Hercules Thursday evening and lost to the Titans 17-8. After a disappointing loss to Richmond High last Friday, the Eagles (0-8) jumped on the Titans (8-3) early for a 3-0 lead. By the bottom of the third inning things looked promising for the team in mismatched hats, pants and leggings, as they held a 6-2 lead. But that’s when the wheels fell off the bus for Kennedy, as Hercules sent 13 batters to…
A synchronized swim team known for sending athletes to the Olympics gave Richmond residents a treat Friday as they performed several of their routines at the Richmond Plunge. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts, founded in 1968, has had more than 30 Olympians swim for its team, eight of them going on to win gold. Coach Kim Probst said about half of the team hails from near Walnut Creek, while the other half come from all around the country to train with…
The Richmond Oilers’ baseball team defeated the Kennedy Eagles 6-5 on Friday to win a baseball game for the first time in three years – since the average price of gasoline was $2.81 per gallon. Now it looks as though the high school on 23rd Street has refueled its tank. After the game Oilers’ head coach Rob Collins mustered his team of Spanish-speaking players in left field and said, “Gentlemen, si se puede!” The coach’s declaration got a rousing ovation…