Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Spring sports season a blur

Chelsea and Dexter high school sports are quickly coming to a close. The spring season is always one, big blur.

Starting in mid-April and ending normally in early June, the spring sports campaign is a dizzying array of doubleheaders, quad meets and endless invitationals all crammed into barely one and a half months.

Add on Little League baseball, recreation sports and youth soccer and it's a hectic time to say the least.

I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd rather be busy and working at warp speed, rather than sitting around twiddling my thumbs and listening to the clock tick.

Thankfully, Chelsea and Dexter have plenty of top teams and skilled athletes to make my working life interesting and exciting.

Over in Chelsea, an individual who's starting to turn heads is junior hurdler Evan Carpenter. Just a junior, the speedy track standout has set school records in the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles in the past two weeks. One of the records he broke had stood for over 40 years.

Staying on the track, Dexter senior Dan Jackson, who'll run next season for the University of Notre Dame, is one of the state's best distance runners. Look for Jackson to compete for a state individual title in anything from the 800-meter run to the 3,200-meter run at next month's Division II state meet.

Oddly enough, Jackson's stiffest competition for an individual state crown will more than likely come from junior teammate Bobby Aprill. Last fall, Aprill edged out Jackson by a blink of an eye for the Division II cross country individual state title. As one might expect, Aprill is also one of the state's best in distance races on the track.

Though crazy and hectic, the spring sports season is headed toward a fantastic finish.

Don Richter
Chelsea Standard/Dexter Leader

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Hello Chelsea and Dexter sports fans. Welcome to my blog.

This is the place to spout off about Bulldog and Dreadnaught athletics.

What’s on your mind?

What’s your beef?

I want to know what you think about our sports coverage. How can we improve? What stirs your passion regarding Chelsea/Dexter athletics? What are some of your favorite Bulldog and Dreadnaught sports memories? Who was the best local athlete you ever saw or competed against? Tell me.

It truly is amazing the wealth of talent churned out each year by both Dexter and Chelsea athletic programs.

What other communities the size of Chelsea and Dexter can claim the number of top-flight, big-time athletes in all sports that our two towns produce?

What makes Dexter and Chelsea athletes special? Let me know. Give me an ear full.

I look forward to writing about my experiences covering Chelsea/Dexter athletics and hopefully providing you, the reader, a different and unique look at local sports other than the usual scores and statistics.

E-mail me at drichter@heritage.com and let me know what’s on your mind concerning Dexter and Chelsea athletics.

By Don Richter