So how did Southern Maryland go?

[Mike Wills]

Does anyone know the top distances/throwers for the events? What did the top 5 look like?

[bjketchem]

Hey Mike...beautiful day , great atmosphere and some excellent throwing! thank you to Mckenzie, cawley (sp?), malcolm, stephanie, alex and anyone else I forgot (my apologies) for putting on a great event!It was awesome to be on the field with such a great group of people.

Top Five Overall Open: very close battle for the top 4-things I can remember
1- Kirchen-15'6 WOB and 103 H. hammer
2-Collins-one of only two people to turn the long arse caber, the usual great throws in everything
3-Dickens- 36' something in HWFD,
4-Grammar-Won the caber with solid turn
5-Me (BJ) a very distant finish from Grammar

Excellent job again to everyone, lots of PR's set from lots of people.

Not sure exactly for the other classes, but I know there where great tosses.

[bjketchem]

oh yeah, and GREAT job to DWood for the announcing! He was getting the crowd all fired up!

[miked]

First off: All hail Drew. He is a freak. We are not worthy. Particularly impressive were the 49+ stone and 103+ hammer. Dang.
It was a pretty awesome comp. for so early in the season.

Drew, John, and Sam looked good in the sheaf. So did BJ, until he started thinking about how high it was getting once we hit 26'

Thanks to the MASA staff. You guys are awesome and we appreciate you guys providing us the opporunity to compete.

Not too sure about the other classes except Frank went pretty high in the WOB, 16 or 17 feet, and Gene is a hoss.

Oh yeah, I went 15 in the WOB, which was pretty sweet.

[Jeff Storey]

Sounds like an awesome comp guys! Sounds like everybody had a good games too.
Congrats to Drew, gettin back on the horse so fast! Crazy...
What about the Masters?

[FrankH]

Great to see everyone again! It sure is great when the season gets underway after a 6-month layoff. With rain predicted in various reports with 30-80 percent certainty, we dodged it completely. A little warm and humid, but not too far from a perfect day. We threw from a new location-- nice big (and safe) field, and with Dan Wood handling the microphone we had a bunch of spectators. Gene Flynn brought his usual big throws, (remember the VSG at Delaplane?) and won 5 events. Bryan dug deep for a big (40+) throw in the HWFD on his final throw-- pretty awesome. Tim Ross had a big throw in the light hammer, low-90's is all I can recall, taking a second-place medal. Lots of good throws by a master's class of a dozen or so, with the final three being Gene, me and Bryan. Not sure about PR's, although the Gunny must have had the most at 7 since it was his first games. I had one in the WOB at 16'6"; others who PR'd please weigh in and brag a little. Pat Parker took the "Super" Masters class.

Thanks to Dave and his great crew-- Alex, Jim, Steph, Jen, Kristen, Kevin Anderson and anyone I forgot (sorry) -- and to Malcolm and Pat for their hard work. A really great start to the season. Next week-- Bridgeport and the World Championships! Woo hoo!

[Sheaf daddy]

Gene Flynn was a Monster! Frank proved why he is the MAster's world champion and prevented Gene from Sweeping. I PR'd in the WOB for a standing 15'er and tagging the bar at 16. I also tagged my leg pretty good! But overall I had a crap day. I could blame it on a number of things but frankly I was not mentally sharp and that is really all it takes.

Tim R took second in the Hammer!!
Al Duncan got third in the Caber!!

Frank gave me a beeeyootiful dirk from Dunedin. I can't thank him enough. Our ability to compete on the field and remain friends is a testament to him and the games. This is what it is all about. oh yeah and it was Africa hot!

congrats to the PRs and I hope my hip will be ready for Bridgeport. If not, I am still coming to film.

And Drew proved once again how much a freak he really is. We had 4 of the top 10 ams in the country battling it out. I Know the top three were seperated by 1.5 pts each. Drew's wob was sick. Everyone was in the hunt all day long.

[dWood]

As the annoucer trying to cover over 45 athletes in 3 seperate fields it was tough to know exact numbers but here is my recap///
Women...12 women between junior women and open women(3 of the women are ranked in the top 6 in the world-so right there you have a world class comp)Kate mason-looking solid with all her throws winning the comp...Lacy Johnston-much improved from 2007..big pr in wob at 14-6 and nice PR in sheaf-watch the lines in the lwfd and you will go farther...terri james started out solid but got felled by the heatstroke bug(thanks for your help kate and Lacy)....Pat Shema-love her attitude,love her geezer-jock shirt and she usually responds with spirited throws..Kristin Wood(19) no weight training for 5 months and no practice but she looked good and PR's in sheaf & hammer..Lori McAlister this lady impressed me solid form and in her first comp a very promising thrower(i know she was happy with her medals)...junior comp..wow 4 kids Jessica,Kaitlyn,Amelia,Lauren, all showed great promise and I am stoked to see youngtsers getting the chance to prove themselves

Masters-while their was a solid class of 15..3 men had a shootout and pushed each other all day.Gene Flynn looked solid(and thick) had a nice wob(17) sheaf(30 feet) and hwfd(47) and light hammer (103)
Frank henry impressed the crap out of me and had a nice day but a remarbale duel with Gene in wob and ended with 16-6..Bryan McClain as usual was class and backed it up with solid numbers he kissed the bar at 16-0 in the "side saddle" standing wob and a nice 40+ in 42 wfd,Tim Ross also was solid all day hitting huge hammer of 90+ and nice caber tosses

Amtr Open-another stocked class with some top studs gunning for the top prize..Sam Grammar-was off in some of his throws from what he usually does(but as 2007 #1 amtr-he's got a tough resume to live up to!!)but as usual delighted the crowd with some nice caber tossing( said it during the comp-but put Sam as one of my top 6 caber tossers in the world-regardless of pro or amtr..say I have to put money on it..done..he's got my support..can falt out toss the stick!!! )...Mike Dickens-love the energy this guy oozes-it's friggin contagiuos..solid day all around with a 36+ in 56wfd and a nice 15 in wob-classic celebration afterwards falling to knees looking up to the skies(ala Andre Agassi)...John Collins-the dude has a solid game and while I know he hit 30+ in sheaf didn't get the rest of the numbers-he is so solid its scary(45+ in stone)...drew Kirchen first time meeting this young man and man did he impress me and numerous others(one of my favorite moments was after the games ,as I was talking to Drew,people came up to him to congratulate himand thanks him not for his awesome athletic performance but his service to our country..class move by the fans! he looked solid all day and seemd to tap into some strange turbo speed to kick it in for 3rd attempts..real explosive wob ..and stone..the rest of the class was solid and looked good..Tim Forrester solid and great interaction with the crowd,Bj Ketcham-solid day and heck of a nice guy..lots of things I sure missed but kudo's to the masa crowd

[dWood]

also major brain fart in not mentioning the great throwers were slighted in my previuos post..what was once described as senior masters has a new term"Super Masters" they will not answer to senior any more only super...Malcolm Doying who did double duty-manged to pull thrower and organizer togeter and performed outstanding work..Fred Eutomose who defies age and impresses all the young bucks with his throws while maintaning that cigar..Pat parker who can throw a sheaf,toss a caber,and toss the weight with the best of them,also rounding this great class was Gene McCaleb and a true wariior and real friend Chuck"after parts"Wagner..way to go guys when I grow up I want to be just like you guys!!

[Malcolm Doying]

Next year Fred and I need more support from the Heavy Athletes at the Ceilidh. We had a hard time out drinking and partying the Rugby bunch. But we did it! Fred was part of the show singing and dancing on stage with two of our Junior Women doing some great fiddling. Tim Ross, you have a reputation to uphold after your MWC antics in Kansas! Next year Let's Rock The House!

[Clancelt]

Man, I am bummed I wasn't there. I'm glad our first timers made an awesome showing! Lori, I told you you were good! Nice! I'm sure Gunny will have 7 more PRs at the next game Well, I'll see some of you at Bridgeport. I can't wait! Congrats to all of those who brought home the shiny stuff.

This is what I had to bail out on SM for, and it was worth every minute This was on the way to the dojo for the belt test. As you can see she was a little excited. She owned the test by the way and now is a orange belt. That's my girl.

[randy]

glad to hear of a great day!

huge numbers for so early in the season...dang!

r

[miked]

Eric, that is awesome.

[Steph Riley]

This is what I had to bail out on SM for, and it was worth every minute This was on the way to the dojo for the belt test. As you can see she was a little excited. She owned the test by the way and now is a orange belt. That's my girl.

Haha! Totally worth missing us, Eric...what a cutie! Next time bring her with.

What a great starting day for 2008 season. Perfect weather, if a bit warm. It was great to see all my old friends again, even though the staff had little time for socializing. Thanks to Adam B for the great addition of the real live Sheaf Gnome...that added a real smile to my face at a time when I had some very bad news from home and didn't feel smily. I'll post an update on my bad news on the Off Topic board.

So great to be back with you all again!

[FrankH]

Cute photo, Eric-- you have a real charmer on your hands!

[CelticElf66]

I have sent the scores to Mike Wills to post on NASGA, so they should be up soon.

Thanks to all for a fabulous day. We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day or setting.

It was fantastic to see everyone and we did miss those of you not able to make it, but I know we will be catching up over ths summer.

Alex
OPEN
Drew Kirchen 1
John Collins 2
Michael Dickens 3
Sam Grammer 4
B.J. Ketchem 5
Adam Brahosky 6
Chris Cunningham 7
SSG Tim Forrester 8
Joseph Hamlette 9
Charles Fleming 10
Aaron Miller 11
Matthew Albert 12

MASTERS
gene flynn 1
Frank Henry 2
Bryan McClain 3
Patrick McNamee 4
Tim Ross 5
Alford Duncan 6
James Justice 7
Dan Jackson 8
Richard McClain 9
Mike Melia 10
Sam Falk 11
Adam Guasch-Melendez 12

WOMEN
Kate Mason 1
Lacy Johnson 2
Heather McKenzie 3
Lori McCallister 4

JUNIOR WOMEN
Lauren Brenzo 1
Amelia Youhn 3
Jessica McCallister 2

MASTERS 60+
Malcolm Doying 2
Fred Eutermoser 1

MASTERS 50+
Gene McCaleb 2
Charles D Wagner 3
Pat Parker 1

[FrankH]

Alex-- thanks for certifying and forwarding the scores to Mike so fast. And thanks for doing the data entries, Mike! With a big field like we had it's a big job, and much appreciated!

[CelticElf66]

You are very welcome. It is good to have Mike's eyes on teh list too as he is catching thigns that got missed. Now waiting on Malcolm and Pat to confirm some of the weights of the women's implements and we should be good to go.

[Mike Wills]

I have entered everything I can...not sure what to do with the Sr. Masters (Alex, those weren't included in the spreadsheets), Jr. Women, and Sr. Women.

[CelticElf66]

Check your in-box

[chirolifter]

Man, what can I say.... It was such a beautiful day, GREAT Athletes, huge field... Special thanks to the CREW, you all kept everything moving very smoothly, you all worked very hard, Thank you... D Wood, excellent job on the mic, you kept the crowd into it... BTW, my WFD was only 42 something, perhaps 47 this season if I can just open up at the end... I had a great time and all the masters did an excellent job... Bryan nice to see ya open up on that 42, and Frank your a beast- you need to start Olympic Lifting.... I had a pr in the WFH... I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Bridgeport...
Rest and Recover,
Gene

[Gunny]

7 pr's for the event, 7th place in Masters, and 78th place in points for Masters in the year.
Lucky 7's

I guess if I want to be first, I should only set 1 pr.

[FrankH]

You had a real nice first games, Gunny-- well done!

Somehow I missed out on breakfast though-- can I put my order in for B-Port?

[Gunny]

I did bring donuts and beagles.

If there's a Waffle House or Denny's nearby, Teresa and I will treat you and Lee at Bport.

[hmckenzie]

It was great seeing everyone again! Malcolm it was a great games and I was super impressed by the women's class! Really nice to meet new people. Dan thank you for announcing and I am glad to hear Terri is feeling better. A big thanks to everyone.

[CelticElf66]

Mike - Please post Frank's stone as 39'10". Typo on my part.

My apologies Frank.

Thanks,
Alex