w/ Jim Field

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The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors, Monday, approved the fees for Summer Recreation Programs, and a local Eagle Scout’s project to improve the Sunnyside Park Disc Golf Course. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring asked for, and the Board approved, no change in rates charged for swimming at the City Pool. Herring says they will also be offering punch cards again this year, which, if you plan to be a frequent user of the Sunnyside Pool, will save you some money in the long run. The punch card allows you to buy 15 punches for $50. That’s a savings of $10 over the daily rate of admission.

Herring says sponsorship rates for the Men’s slow-pitch softball program will also be unchanged from last year. The cost of sponsorships went up last year from $150 per team to $300 to increase revenue and break even expense-wise. An incentive to the sponsors came in the form of a banner, and their sponsorships were tax deductible. Herring says while that resulted in a decrease in the number of teams from 10 to 8, it increased the cost savings to the Parks and Rec Dept. and reduced the amount of red ink in the books.

Atlantic Eagle Scout Nick Podhajsky speaks before the Atlantic Parks & Rec Board. (Ric Hanson/photo)

In other business, the Parks and Rec Board heard from Atlantic Eagle Scout Nick Podhajsky, who proposed a bridge replacement project near hole number 7, for the Sunnyside Park Disc Golf Course. The current bridge was built by course designer and facilitator Frank Saddlemire, and while functional and fits the natural environment, is also a potential liability to the City, because of its undersized main supports…small, and widely spaced decking branches, and single rails on each side.

Podhajsky proposed upgrading the bridge to incorporate: utility poles for the main supports; treated 2×6 lumber for the decking; and treated 4×4 posts to support three rails on each side. It would be very similar to the design used for the bridge near the Sunnyside Schoolhouse. Donations and supplies for the project would come from local groups, companies and individuals, with the labor for construction and installing the bridge to come from the Scout and other volunteers.

The Board gave approval for Podhajsky to proceed with the project, which could be completed by the end of June.

The Northern Iowa men were scheduled to host North Dakota tonight (Tuesday), but the CollegeInsider.com Tournament game has been postponed to tomorrow (Wednesday) because of a blizzard that’s delaying UND’s trip from Grand Forks to Cedar Falls. The Panthers are playing in a postseason tournament for the fifth straight year, but Coach Ben Jacobsen is upset his team’s in the CIT rather than the NIT. “We should be in the NIT,” Jacobsen said Monday. “There are a couple of teams that got in (the NIT) that didn’t do as much as we did throughout the course of the season.” But, Jacobsen said regardless of the tournament, the Panthers are excited to be playing another game.

“Well over half the teams in the country are done and (our team) understands that,” Jacobsen said. “Whether it’s the NCAA, the NIT or the CIT, we have the opportunity to play for a couple more weeks and we have the opportunity to win a championship.” The Panthers finished the regular season at 18-14. North Dakota enters the game with a 16-16 record, including a 72-47 loss to UNI back in November. Wednesday’s tipoff in the McLeod Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Chris Carpenter realizes his baseball career may be over. The 37-year-old right-hander made a surprise appearance at the St. Louis Cardinals’ spring-training camp Monday and said he’s still dealing with numbing and tingling sensations in his pitching hand, arm and shoulder. Asked if he wanted to continue pitching, the former Cy Young Award winner said, “I do. I just don’t think I can.”

w/ Jim Field

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The Atlantic boys biggest highlights include Kray Lukehart placing 3rd of 66 in the long jump with jump of 20′-06″, Kray placing 14th of about 300 in the 55 meter dash with a time of 6.74 seconds.  Alec Hayes tied for 11th place in the high jump with a best of five feet eight inches and Skylar Svoboda placing 20th of 132 in the shot with a throw of 41′-06″.

The Atlantic Girls’ Track team opened the season with an indoor meet at Central College in Pella, on Saturday, March 16th. Thirteen AHS girls competed in events throughout the day. Over 30 schools from across the state were in attendance at the meet, with two schools from the Hawkeye 10 represented (Atlantic and Creston). I was very pleased with the results of the competition. We turned in some great finishes in the field events this year for the first meet of the season, especially considering how limited our time outdoors working on them has been due to weather. Tetta Askeland opened the year with 28′ in the shot, enough for a 34th place finish in the shot (improving over a foot from last year’s indoor meet) and Darien Mills opened with a 44th place finish and a distance of 26’11”. Tiffany Williams came out impressively in the high jump with a jump of 4’8″, matching her best jump from last year and clearing each height on the first attempt. On the distance races, Savannah Sorensen placed 11th in the 3000m with a time of 12.58.53 and Justice Parker finished in 22nd. Parker also placed 42nd in the 1500m. In the 55m, Kristin Johnk improved her time from last years indoor meet, finishing 33rd with a time of 7.91s. Other finishes in the 55m included Brandi Smith, Erin Shannon, and Tori Phippen. Aly Siggins was our leader in the 55m hurdles, with a time of 11.21, with Laeni Pelzer and Brandi Smith finishing as well. The 4×800 team of Aly Siggins, Macey Schmitt, Brie Steffens, and Tiffany Williams finished competitively at 11th with a time of 11.32.00. The 4×200 team of Williams, Smith, Shannon, and Johnk finished 30th, and the 4×400 team of Steffens, Schmitt, Sorensen, and Williams finished 34th. In the open 400m, Siggins ran for 20th place and in the 200m Johnk was the leader with a time of 30.92. Other runners in the 200m included Phippen, Pelzer, Sorensen, Shannon, Steffens, and Schmitt. This indoor meet was a good opportunity to get us out on the track and really see where we are going to be at this year and what we need to work on. We were able to see some competition from the H10 (Creston) and also match up against some teams we don’t usually see throughout the year. It was impressive to see how times have dropped for the girls who competed last year, and now we have a better base to go off of for our newer team members. We will continue working on adjusting our lineup and some of our relays to find the best combinations of girls for each event in order to drop times and finish competitively at the upcoming H10 meets. The next meet for the AHS girls will be Tuesday, March 26th, in Carroll for the H-10 ND meet at 4:30pm.  (courtesy of Carrie BreDahl, head girls track coach)