Year in Review: Sports
JANUARY:
Marathoners Meb Keflezighi, 36, of Mammoth Lakes and Ryan Hall, 29, formerly of Mammoth became two of the three men on the U.S. Marathon Team at the Olympic Marathon trials in Houston, Texas.
With 38 attendees, including 23 active service personnel, Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra welcomed its biggest group of Wounded Warriors.
The winter sports community mourned the loss of Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke, who died after crashing at the bottom of the superpipe during a training run in Utah.
MARCH:
Mammoth Biathlon founder Dr. Mike Karch managed to stage the fifth annual Mammoth Winter Biathlon, bringing much-needed excitement to an otherwise humdrum winter.
The Sheet profiled Crowley Lake resident Clint Johnson, a Class of ’04 Mammoth High School grad, who has gone on to become a professional “fly-in mechanic” for the exotic, very high-tech cars that run the American LeMans road racing series.
APRIL:
Eastern Sierra peace officers entered a team in the 28th annual Baker to Vegas bike race. Inyo and Mono county teams have entered since 1999. This year, Team Eastern Sierra was made up of officers from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, CHP-Bishop Area, CHP- Mammoth Lakes Resident Post, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, Mono County Sheriff’s Office and the National Park Service in Death Valley.
Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol hosted the 3rd Annual California Ski Patrol Olympics last week at Mammoth’s Main Lodge. Ski patrols from Squaw Valley, June Mountain and Mammoth Mountain competed for regional bragging rights.
Mammoth High School Junior runner Toby Qualls traveled to Carpinteria, Calif. to compete in the prestigious Russell Cup Invitational in the 3,200 meters, and strode away with a win.
MAY:
The Lee Vining High School Softball Team set a school record for wins (18) and hosted a 2nd round CIF playoff game for the first time.
Mammoth Lakes High School athletes Amanda Kirkeby, Jody Meads and Toby Qualls competed in the Desert Mountain League Track & Field Finals at Antelope Valley College. Meads finished first in both the 1,600 m and 3,200 m events. Qualls finished second in the 1,600m and first in the 3,200 m events. Kirkeby finished seventh in the 1,600 m run with a time of 6:27, seventh in the long jump, with a personal best mark of 12’-10,” and fifth in the high jump, with a jump of 4’0.”
JUNE:
Paraplegic athlete Jeremy McGhee embarks on and completes “the Drop-In Project,” a two-day climb to the top of Bloody Couloir, followed by a ski down from the summit.
JULY:
Fellow UCLA sports alums, Olympic medal-winning marathoner Meb Keflezighi and NBA basketball legend Bill Walton, had an impromptu summit meeting during a reception for Eastern Sierra Land Trust’s Lands & Legacy Weekend at the home of Steve Marenberg and Alison Whalen. When told Meb weighed just 122 pounds, Walton quipped, “I was bigger than that when I was born.”
AUGUST:
In London, Mammoth’s Meb Keflezighi might not have medaled in the 2012 Olympic Men’s Marathon (he just missed the podium with a 4th place finish), but the race did secure him a place among the most accomplished marathoners in Olympic history.
Mammoth’s female runners, who trained locally in the run up to the Games, also put on strong showings. Amy Hastings finished 11th in the Women’s 10,000 meters but was the #1 U.S. finisher. And Morgan Uceny had to go through two qualifying rounds (quarterfinals and semifinals) in order to be one of two Americans in the 1,500 m finals.
Local runner Tomas Rodriguez and the No Runner Left Behind Scholarship Foundation granted 15 scholarships to graduating Mammoth High Class of 2012 Seniors, marking the third year Rodriguez and his benefactors have given out the awards.
Ryan Ghelfi and his partner, ultramarathon icon Jenn Shelton made an attempt at a 3-day, 219-mile run along the John Muir Trail. Their goal was to complete the run in 72 hours. The run started just after midnight on Aug. 14, and according to Shelton was stopped after 76 hours at mile 165.
SEPTEMBER:
This year’s Fall Century Bike Ride competition saw a large increase in participants and some changes to the course.
NOVEMBER:
The Sheet profiled snowboarding superstar Kelly Clark, focusing in part on her Kelly Clark Foundation. The non-profit has provided more than $42,000 in scholarships to young student snowboarders in the last two and a half years, and held the Kelly Clark Foundation Wine Auction and Dinner at the Westin.
Mammoth Youth Football finishes the regular season 7-1-1 and reaches the Antelope Valley Super Bowl vs. Boron.
