GYMNASTICS

Brookline’s Merryman wins bronze at Nationals

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Clear sunny skies and sandy California beaches served as the backdrop for Level 9 gymnast Nicholas Merryman of Brookline.

The Granite Stater placed third overall on the pommel horse after three consecutive days of competitive meets at the 2011 Junior Olympics National Championships in May.

After the first day of competition, Merryman was ninth on the pommel horse and 10th on the still rings, which qualified him to complete on those two events at the semifinals the following day. He finished strong, placing sixth on pommel horse qualifying him to advance to the Junior Olympics Event Finals on the closing day of competition where he took the bronze medal – missing silver by less than 0.1 points.

Merryman was one of only two first-year Level 9 gymnasts to stand on the podium for the top three places across six events.

During the 2010-11 season Merryman was selected to the U.S. Junior National Development Team and practices 24 hours each week at Gymnastics Village in Amherst. He is coached by Igor Kniazev, and is a seventh-grade honor student at Hollis/Brookline Middle School. He was the top All-Around Level 6 and Level 7 gymnast in New England in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

SWIMMING

Locals shine at Rotary Invite

The 43rd annual Milford Rotary Invitational swim meet saw 550 swimmers – between 5-19 years old – take to the pool at Keyes Park over a span of two days.

Locals placing first in three events were: Katie Mahoney (12-years-old, Nashua Swim and Tennis, 200 IM, 100 Free, 100 Breast); Aiden Daudier (9, Hampshire Hills Seawolves, 50 Back, 100 Free, 100 IM); Bryan Li (12, Nashua Y Storm, 50 Back, 100 Free, 50 Fly); Nico Laborera (14, Nashua Y Storm, 100 Back, 50 Free, 100 Fly); Kyra Chen (8, Jasper Valley Swim and Tennis, 100 IM, 25 Free, 25 Fly); Zoe Daudier (11, Hampshire Hills Seawolves, 200 Free, 100 Free, 50 Fly); Thomas Pappas (13, Nashua Swim and Tennis, 100 Back, 50 Free, 100 Fly); and Kaitlyn McManus (14, Hampshire Hills Seawolves, 200 IM, 200 Free, 100 Breast).

BASEBALL

Cardinals win MYA AA title

The Cardinals went from a fifth seed following the regular season to championship team by season’s end. The Cards rolled through the playoffs, capping things off with a 10-9 victory in the title game to win the Merrimack Youth Association’s AA Championship.

Members of the championship team are: Jonathan Forhan, Joseph Peavey, Nolan Cummings, Sean Morrilly, Eric Griffin, Zachary Doyon, Jacob Gardner, Evan Whaley, Alyson Von George, Kaleigh Blades, Adam Ellis, Matthew Dagan, Logan Patch, assistant coach Chuck Ellis, assistant coach and team sponsor Bill Cummings and head coach John Blades.

Milford 9s win Western District

The Milford 9-year-old All-Star team knocked off Keene, 9-3, to win the Western District tournament and earn a spot in the State Tournament. Milford won four straight games to win the district title, and will take to the diamond of Roger Allen Fields in Rochester today.

Colonials place second at New England AAU Tourney

The New England Colonials Baseball Club U14 team capped off a successful spring season in which the team compiled an overall 32-5 record with a strong second place finish in the U14 New England AAU Tournament the weekend of July 8-10.

The Colonials compiled wins over the Quincy Future Stars, Plympton Crush, Cape Cod Buccaneers, Saugus Silver Hawks and the Triple Play All Stars before losing in the championship game to the Uxbridge Green Monsters.

After completing the regular season with a 12-0 conference record and earning the No. 1 seed, the Colonials hosted the opening pool play round at Alvirne High School on Friday and Saturday.

In an 8-5 win over the Plympton Crush, Tyler Butler and Zach Byers each pitched three strong innings. A sensational running catch in right by Sawyer Trask highlighted the strong defense. Andy Williams went 2 for 4, scoring two runs setting the table for the rest of the line-up. Greg Emanuelson led the team with strong defense behind the plate and added a key RBI hit in the four-run, third inning.

In the Game 3 win over the Cape Cod Buccaneers, Sawyer Trask and Derek Hudson combined to pitch five innings giving up only one earned run. Eric Damphouse threw some leather with a diving catch in center field and pitched in with his bat with a triple to center and then scored on a throwing error. Tyler Butler hit a key two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning to solidify the win for the Colonials.

With the No. 2 seed for the playoffs in hand, Sunday brought a trip to Uxbridge, Ma. First up in the quarterfinals were the Silver Hawks from Saugus, Ma. The Colonials were ready early, jumping out to an 8-1 lead after the first inning and finishing with a strong 11-5 win. Derek Hudson pitched a complete-game five-hitter. Drew Sanborn paced the attack with two hits and three RBIs. Brett Shiffer added two hits and Mitch L’Hussier added a hit and solid infield defense.

The All Star Triple Play were next in the semifinals. With the temps in the 80’s and low 90’s the Colonials battled hard coming from behind several times throughout the game to an improbable 10-9 win in eight innings. The Triple Play got out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. Relief pitching took over from there, limiting the damage to just one run over the next five innings. The Colonials battled the whole game, chipping away at the lead with two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and two in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to an extra frame.

Highlighting the comeback in the bottom of the seventh was a triple by Adam Floyd followed by perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Mitch L’Hussier with two strikes on him and two outs in the frame. With the game tied at 7-7, the Triple Play scored three in the top of the eighth. Then on came the Colonials in the bottom of the frame.

By rule extra innings begin with runners on first and second with no outs. The Colonials scored four runs in hits by Derek Hudson, Zach Byers, a sacrifice bunt by Greg Emanuelson and a bases-loaded walk by Adam Floyd to win the game.

In the championship game, which began 20 minutes after the final out of the previous game, the Colonials were obviously physically and emotionally drained from the contest before. The team from Uxbridge, Ma., built an early commanding lead and never looked back.

The season will culminate with a trip to the University of Pittsburgh the end of July to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Championships.

SKATING

Synchro Stars hold award ceremony

The Synchro Stars synchronized skating teams 2010-11 season culminated with an award ceremony on June 4 at the Nashua Country Club.Both Synchro Stars teams were presented awards from United States Figure Skating for their final ranking in the Eastern Sectional Challenge Series. The Beginner 3 team was presented gold medals for ranking first in their division.

Team members are: Jackie Knight, Emily Fleming, Jessica Hanifan, Dari de la Rosa, Olivia Gomez, Caroline Mandeville, Emilyann Nault, Anne Nyland and Kiara Chase.

The Beginner 1 team was presented ribbons for their fourth-place ranking. Beginner 1 members are: Amanda Gedrich, Kathleen Hendriks, Hannah Goldthwait, Danielle Zajchowski, Kaylee Ouellette, Katya Johnson, Alexa Clark, Heather Goldthwait, Shanni Zhou, Ashley Raiff, Lydia Lewis, Isabelle Gates and Arianna Concepcion.

All team members were also presented with trophies for their participation this year as Synchro Star members. The Synchro Stars represent the Gate City Figure Skating Club and skate at the Cyclone Arena in Hudson.

CAMPS

Wrestling

Liberty University coach hosting clinic on Tuesday

Tuesday at 8 p.m. during Gate City Wrestling’s normal Tuesday night session at the Nashua Boys and Girls Club, Liberty University wrestling coach Jesse Castro will run a 90 minute clinic for high school and middle school wrestlers. The cost of the clinic is $10 per wrestler (all middle school and high school wrestlers are welcome), but free for Gate City Wrestling Club members. Coach Castro, recently named the NCAA East Regional Coach of the year, compiled a 101-20 record as collegiate wrestler. As a college coach his teams’ combined dual meet record is 217-113-6, resulting in five straight NCAA East Region championships. He has coached 24 qualifiers for the NCAA Division 1 tournament. As a high school coach, he trained several All Americans and state champions, compiling a 124-29 dual meet record. For more information on coach Castro, visit http://www.liberty.edu/campusrec/clubsports/index.cfm?PID=23467#Castro.

No pre-registration required. E-mail Joe Laplante at joseph.laplante@comcast.net with any questions.

TRYOUTS

Softball

Fall Ball tryouts on Aug. 6

Fall Showcase League is holding tryouts for the 2011 Fall Softball Showcase League Aug. 6 at 10 a.m. at Roby Park in Nashua. For more information about the Fall Showcase League and to register for tryouts, visit www.showcaseleague.com, players can also register at the tryout.

Comets tryouts set for Aug. 13

The New Hampshire Comets will be hosting tryouts for the 2012 Season. The NH Comets is an independent Junior Olympic FastPitch Softball Organization entering their 14th year in existence playing at the highest level of competition. The Comets primary purpose is to provide a supportive environment for female athletes to improve their softball skills and participate in quality tournament play.

Tryout date has been set for Saturday, Aug. 13 (rain date of Aug. 14). Tryouts will be held at Hanson Park, 50 Albin Rd., Bow. Times slots are as follows: U10 from 9-10 a.m.; U12 10-noon; U14 noon-2 p.m.; and U16/U18 2-4. Players should arrive 20 minutes early to complete paperwork and go through a proper warm up. For more information about the NH Comets Organization, visit nhcomets.org.

Hurricanes picking players during first week of August

The Northeast Hurricanes ASA Softball Program in Salem will be holding tryouts for the 2011-12 teams starting the first week of August from 6-8 p.m. at the Soule School Field (173 South Policy St.). Tryouts for U16 and U18 on Monday Aug. 1, U10 on Aug. 2, U14 on Aug. 3, and U12 on Aug. 4. Go to www.nehurricanes.com for more details.

Baseball

Hurricanes tryouts set for Aug. 14, 20

The Northeast Hurricanes AAU Baseball Program in Salem will be holding tryouts for the 2011-12 teams at Michele Park (190 Lawrence Rd., behind Queen of Peace Church) starting on Sunday, Aug. 14: U9 and U10 at 9:30 a.m.; U11 at 11; U12 at 1 p.m.; and U13 at 3:30. Saturday, Aug 20 is the scheduled tryout date for U14 players at 9 a.m. and underclassmen at 11. Go to www.nehurricanes.com for more details.

Soccer

MYA fall registration now open

Register now for the fall soccer program and get the early bird discount of only $45 (before July 31). The Fall Season kicks off on Sept. 10. For more information or to register, visit www.myasoccer.org.

CONTESTS

Greater Nashua Elks Soccer Shoot scheduled for Aug. 20

The Nashua Lodge of Elks No. 720, with the cooperation of the New Hampshire Cobras of the Nashua Soccer Club, will be holding its 12th annual Greater Nashua Soccer Shoot contest on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Main Dunstable Soccer Fields (Rte. 111-A) in Nashua (near Main Dunstable School).

Prizes will be awarded to the top three in each of the eight groups (four boys and four girls). First place winners will compete in the Elks State Soccer Championship Shoot in Dover on Oct. 15.

The Elks Greater Nashua Soccer Shoot is a two-stage contest that best represents the skill levels of four age groups: U8, U10, U12 and U14. The participant’s age on Aug. 1, 2011 is used to determine the contestant’s age division. The Five-Goal Contest is a succession of separate smaller ground level goal targets for the U8 and U10 participants (15 kicks). The Grid Goal Contest uses the penalty kick distance to challenge the older U12 and U14 participants (15 kicks).

This year’s Soccer Shoot will be run in conjunction with the EDP Summer Scorcher Jamboree that will be sponsored by the NH Cobras of the Nashua Soccer Club. Professional Cobra trainers Peter Jean and Bryan Scales will be on hand to offer a series of coaching clinics as a part of the day’s festivities.

The Elks Shootout and the Cobra clinics are open to all interested boys and girls from area towns including Hudson, Litchfield, Amherst, Brookline, Hollis, Merrimack, Milford, Wilton and Nashua. All participants must register prior to their participation. Registrations will begin at 8:30 a.m. There is no charge for participating in either the Elks Greater Nashua Soccer Shoot or the Cobra Soccer Clinics.

In the event of a rain cancellation, the programs will be rescheduled on Sunday, Aug. 21 at the same location and times. For additional information, contact Al Savage, Elks Youth Chairman, at 888-0064 or visit the NH Cobras website at www.nhcobrassc.