Numerous local swimmers are competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials, which start Saturday in a pool constructed inside Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
In the women’s 100-meter butterfly Saturday, two swimmers from Virginia Beach and Tide Swimming will compete. The University of Georgia’s Callie Dickinson is seeded 24th and Nikki Venema 36th, according to the “psych sheet.”
Kellam High graduate Nikki Venema, shown competing for Princeton, will swim in the U.S. Olympic Trials. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Dickinson, from Norfolk Academy, is in her third trials, while Venema, a former Kellam High and Princeton standout who will use her final year of eligibility with Northwestern, is in her second.
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Stanford teammates Kayla Wilson and Samantha Tadder, Maddy Hartley, Sophia Knapp of national champion Virginia and Virginia Tech’s Emily Claesson are set to compete later in the week, as is the Florida Gators’ Bobby DiNunzio. Hartley has transferred from Arkansas to Kentucky. All are representing Tide Swimming.
LOCAL BASEBALL
Yard Gnomes knock Pilots out of East lead
The last-place Greenville Yard Gnomes cooled off the Peninsula Pilots on Thursday night, beating them 5-0 at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.
Henry Garcia had two of the four hits by the Pilots (11-6), and Cam Pittman drew two walks. Their second consecutive loss dropped them into second place in the Coastal Plain League’s seven-team East Division, behind the Morehead City Marlins (10-5).
Greenville’s Matthew Jenkins pitched the first four innings, winner Charlie Horne threw the next 2 2/3, and Andrew Hanson, Cole Kenyon and Todd Kniebe completed the shutout. Greenville pitchers struck out 13.
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Meanwhile, Yard Gnomes catcher Grayson Ashe was 3 for 3, needing only a triple for the cycle, and scored three runs for Greenville (4-13). Gage Griggs was 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Jack Herring was 3 for 5 with a solo home run.
Longtime Pilot Trey Morgan, VMI’s all-time leader in games played, took the loss. He gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) in 3 2/3 innings, walking four and striking out four.
The Pilots were to play Friday night in Colonial Heights against the Tri-City Chili Peppers.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ODU LB Henderson named Preseason All-American
Old Dominion linebacker Jason Henderson was named a Preseason All-American in Phil Steele’s preview magazine.
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Six Old Dominion players were named to the Athlon and Phil Steele preseason All-Sun Belt teams, the magazines recently announced.
Linebacker Jason Henderson earned first-team honors by both magazines and was named a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele. Defensive tackle Denzel Lowry earned first-team honors by Athlon and second-team from Phil Steele.
Tight end Jalen Butler was named to the fourth team by Phil Steele, while offensive lineman Santana Saunders earned fourth-team honors from both organizations. Isiah Paige earned fourth-team honors as a punt returner by Phil Steele and third-team by Athlon, and was a fourth-team wide receiver by Athlon. Incoming transfer Patrick Smith-Young received fourth-team honors from Athlon at defensive back.
Eleven James Madison players were named to Phil Steele’s selection, including first-team punter Ryan Hanson.
JMU’s second-team Phil Steele honorees were running back Ayo Adeyi, defensive lineman Eric O’Neill, linebacker Jacob Dobbs and cornerback Chauncey Logan.
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The third-teamers were receiver Cam Ross, offensive linemen Cole Potts and Pat McMurtrie and long snapper Logan Ketcham, while Washington transfer quarterback Dylan Morris and linebacker Taurus Jones garnered fourth-team distinction.
COLLEGES
Tribe hires key staff member
William & Mary athletic director Brian Mann announced the hiring of Andy Rowdon as the Tribe’s executive associate athletics director for external operations, effective July 10.
Rowdon will oversee brand management, marketing, media relations, broadcasts and streaming, donor and fan experience, creative services, and ticketing and sales. He has spent the last seven years in a similar role at Eastern Michigan.
A Fredericksburg native who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2002, he was the assistant athletic director for marketing at Old Dominion in 2011-12.
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Old Dominion’s athletic department finished ninth in the nation in community service hours (7,645), as announced by the organization Helper Helper.
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Knee injury forces UVA guard to miss season
Virginia coach Tony Bennett announced that sophomore Elijah Gertrude will miss the 2024-25 season.
Gertrude injured his right knee in a scooter accident April 30. He underwent successful surgery to repair the knee May 17.
Gertrude, a 6-4, 185-pound guard, averaged 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 16 games last season.
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W&M adds guard
Guard Luke Kinkade, a 6-foot-2 guard from Neuqua Valley, Illinois, has signed with William & Mary as a preferred walk-on, according to Verbal Commits. The left-hander averaged 14.3 points for the Breakaway team on the Under Armour circuit last summer and frequently takes 3-pointers.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Tribe’s Knowles makes A-A third team
William & Mary junior pitcher Nate Knowles’ latest honor was being chosen to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America third team. He compiled an 8-3 record while ranking ninth nationally with a 2.48 ERA.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S SOCCER
ODU hires graduate assistant
Old Dominion coach Angie Hind completed her staff with the announcement of Hope Stacker as a graduate assistant coach. Stacker will be the primary goalkeeper coach. She was a three-time NAIA All-American selection for Indiana Wesleyan, where she set a school record with a 0.879 goals-against average.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Rain & storm chances are returning later in the week and it’ll really heat up next week.
TUESDAY EVENING/NIGHT:
Mostly sunny during the evening with fair skies and comfortable conditions overnight. Lows will be in the 50s for the 2nd night in a row.
WEDNESDAY:
Partly cloudy skies overall with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s for most of Central Indiana. While most of the day should remain dry, there is a chance of a few showers & storms during the evening.
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
Partly to mostly cloudy. Chance of a few showers & storms. Lows in the low to mid 60s.
THURSDAY:
Variably cloudy. Chance of a few showers & storms. Highs in the lower 80s.
THURSDAY NIGHT – FRIDAY:
Scattered rain & storms are looking more likely. Some heavy rain is possible and early projections suggest another 1-3” could fall across parts of Central and Southern Indiana. We’ll continue to monitor for some severe weather potential, but as of Tuesday afternoon no part of Indiana is in an official outlook from the Storm Prediction Center. Temperatures may only be in the upper 70s on Friday if we end up with more clouds and rain/storms.
WEEKEND:
Warm temperatures in the 80s are on track along with a chance for a few showers & storms both days. Humidity levels will be rising and the heat index by Sunday afternoon could be well into the 90s.
NEXT WEEK:
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A hot and humid weather pattern is likely going to establish itself again over the Great Lakes region. While there could be a few stray storms from time to time and perhaps even a storm complex or two rolling in from the west, the main storyline will involve hot & muggy air. Highs are expected to push into the lower 90s with heat indices in the 100 to 105 range.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We’re in for a much better Tuesday, after all of the recent wet weather. High pressure is bringing us sunshine and comfortable temperatures today, but don’t get too used to it—rain and storms are heading back our way by Wednesday night, and we’re tracking a flooding threat heading into the weekend.
Today:
Finally, a day to enjoy! High pressure is firmly in control, giving us plenty of sunshine and comfortable conditions.
Highs today will be pleasant, ranging from the mid-70s across northern Indiana to around 80 degrees in the south.
Tonight:
Clear skies continue with lows dropping into the mid-50s to lower 60s.
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Wednesday:
Another nice day as high pressure continues to dominate. We’ll see plenty of sunshine with highs climbing into the low to mid-80s. Humidity will remain low, making it feel comfortable despite the warmer temperatures.
Wednesday Night into Thursday: Heavy Rain Threat
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop Wednesday night as moisture increases significantly. There will be much more moisture in the atmosphere by the evening hours, which opens the door for heavy downpours overnight.
Thursday should be mostly dry during the day as weak ridging builds in behind the overnight activity. However, another round of storms could develop late Thursday ahead of a warm front moving in.
Thursday Night through the Weekend: More Heavy Rain
A storm system will move through Thursday night, bringing moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Rainfall totals could exceed 2 inches in many locations, raising flash flooding concerns.
The big concern is training storms. When storms repeatedly move over the same areas, rainfall totals can quickly add up, leading to localized ponding and minor flooding. Low-lying areas, poor drainage spots, and areas near creeks and streams will be most vulnerable.
Sunday and Beyond: Heat and Humidity Return
Rain and storms will finally push northeast of the area by Sunday, giving us a break. But the break from rain comes with a price—heat and humidity.
By Sunday, high humidity and southerly breezes will boost afternoon temperatures near 90 degrees. Heat indices could approach mid- to upper 90sby early next week.
Rahal says Indy has a worsening crime problem, with shootings and unsafe events.
He wants to create job opportunities for inner-city youth to address the issue.
Rahal challenges the city to come together and provide more opportunities for change.
Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS–Indycar driver Graham Rahal says Indianapolis has a crime problem and it has to be dealt with.
On June 19th, Rahal said in a tweet that Indy has turned into a complete dump and it’s sad to say the least. He also said that there was a car event and security guarding the cars wouldn’t stay because they didn’t feel safe as there were numerous kids running around with guns.
“We have a problem that has increased and gotten worse and worse and worse. And to be silent about it and to be deaf to it is a major issue. And what’s scary in today’s society isn’t left, right, or center, contrary to what people believe. It simply is acknowledging when there is a problem and doing what we can to correct the problem,” said Rahal in a Monday interview with Query and Company on 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan.
He said there were at least four shootings in one weekend after his tweet went out.
“So people can get mad at me. When you have four shootings in one weekend, that’s unacceptable. And we cannot be tone deaf to the fact that this isn’t a Democrat, Republican, whatever issue. This is a societal issue that we all need to come together,” said Rahal.
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Rahal says if a change isn’t made culturally, then Indianapolis and the surrounding areas will have further issues.
“I had my building shot last year. Okay. Cost me $31,000. I couldn’t prosecute the kids. They were juveniles. They would never turn over their identities to me. I said, I don’t want to prosecute them, bring them here and I’ll give them a job. We’ll put them to work. They can earn the windows, but also hopefully build pride working for our companies and hopefully build a future for them too. This wasn’t to take a shot at them. It was to create an opportunity of change, bring them here,” said Rahal.
Rahal said looking at him as the “villain” in this scenario doesn’t help.
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“How about we all come together? We find a way to create a solution, left, right center, provide opportunity, provide places in the workplace, like at GRP, like at my buildings for inner city kids to come get an opportunity to change their lives, to work for something, to have pride in something. I’m all in on doing it, but I challenge everybody in the city to do the same things. We can’t continue to be tone deaf to what’s gone on,” said Rahal.
