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Reinwald’s team takes third, Zurkamer
comes in sixth in competition abroad

[AUG. 28, 2001]  Lori Reinwald stole home for the only run to lead her team to third place in People to People Sports Ambassadors competition in Haarlem, The Netherlands, while Luke Zurkamer, 18, placed sixth in decathlon at the Deaflympics in Rome, Italy. Both international competitors are from Lincoln.

American teams took all three medals in the People to People softball competition. The Titans, Reinwald’s team, played two German, one Dutch and two American teams. She played center field in all five matches, clocking as much game time as any Titan.

[Lori Reinwald (right) with her People to People friends, Thierry (Cherry) from the Netherlands and Leeanne England from Ottawa, Ill.]

Reinwald was chosen for the program in part for her bunting ability and used it to get on base and to move players around the bases. She was also the fastest runner on her team and stole several bases. In the match against Hamburg, Germany, for third place, she stole home for the only score in the game.

Although practices were less demanding than Reinwald expected, she said her coach, Bill Callaghan, was "really good" and she "actually learned a lot in five to six days." She improved her bunting range, with emphasis on drag, slap and left-handed bunts.

[Lori Reinwald with her team.  Reinwald is located in the far back right corner.]

The German teams used slow pitch and Reinwald found it "harder to hit a slow pitcher." "There was good competition," she added; "the games were close." In fact, her first two games went into extra innings.

Zurkamer’s best events in the Deaflympics decathlon were the throwing competitions and 1,500-meter run. In javelin he bested his qualifying time of a year ago by 30 feet to about 157. In discuss he improved from 96 to 110 feet and in shot put from 34 feet, 10 inches to 35-1. In the 1,500 he ran his lifetime best of 4:48.

[Luke Zurkamer]

Results are approximate because the Deaflympics, affiliated with the international Olympics, was slow to notify him of results. At the event about 5,000 athletes from 70 nations competed from July 21 to Aug. 1. The U.S. team had 290 members. The 70 in track and field won 12 gold and many silver and bronze medals.

In June 2000 when he qualified for the U.S. team, Zurkamer scored a total of 4,200 in the 10 events; in Rome he improved to 4,500. His coach, Nancy Benson of Maryland, also coached the women’s heptathlon. The teams practiced in Washington, D.C., beginning July 7.

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Overall, Reinwald rated hers a good experience and found it "neat to hang out with" the other American and European players. She experienced no communication problems because everyone spoke English. All 10 teams plus the boys in People to People Sports Ambassadors baseball competition attended a barbecue and disco party.

About half the 11-day trip (July 29-Aug. 8) was spent touring with a Dutch-born guide. Reinwald said the group took "lots of canal cruises and bus tours," saw the Anne Frank house and the World War II monument in Amsterdam and a mini Holland layout in The Hague, and viewed "cathedrals and neat old buildings" in Cologne and elsewhere. She was impressed with the amount of bicycle traffic. "The bikes will run you over," she said.

[(Left to right) Decathlon competitors from France, 
Germany, USA (Zurkamer), Italy and Bulgaria] 

Zurkamer, 18, had only one free day to tour Rome. His father, Mark Zurkamer, said Luke had some trouble communicating because there are 14 sign languages, and the foreign athletes did not sign as he does. Still he enjoyed trading parts of his American uniform, including the coat to a German and the vest for a German hat. He also returned with a couple of international T-shirts. Mark and Carmen Zurkamer traveled to Rome to form the cheering section. 

Luke hopes to try out as a wrestler for the next Deaflympics, to be in Melbourne, Australia, in January or February 2005. His father said Luke is actually a better wrestler than decathlete but was recruited for the track-and-field team at the 2000 Central State Deaf Track Meet.

Zurkamer left Aug. 14 for Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., to practice for the football team. He is a freshman at the university.

[Lynn Spellman]

[AUG. 28, 2001]  Saturday was a great day at the races with 23 soap box cars and drivers testing their limits on the South Kickapoo Street hill. Sgt. Ken Greenslate and Chief Rich Montcalm from the Lincoln City Police Department lent their support, serving about 200 delicious grilled hot dogs from the DARE-Neighborhood Watch Wagon at the event site. Thanks to the work of Rod Steele, many area youth enjoyed a new adventure.

Winners by age and division:

7- to 9-year-olds

Stock

1. Tyler Hartman, Mount Pulaski

2. Justin Knauer, Mount Pulaski

3. Ryan Amieon, Mount Pulaski

Super stock

1. Cole Awe, Mount Pulaski

2. Charles Aylesworth, Mount Pulaski

3. Caleb Painter, Lincoln

Custom

1. Mackenzie Oberreiter, Mount Pulaski

2. Will Wernsing, Mount Pulaski

3. Jonathon Oberreiter, Mount Pulaski

Masters

1. Nathan Lilly, Mount Pulaski

10- to 15-year-olds

Stock

1. Ethan Taylor, Latham

2. Nathan Treuthart, Lincoln

3. Ryan Gibbs, Mount Pulaski

Super stock

1. Kelsey Oglesby, Lake Fork

2. Christine Presswood, Lincoln

3. Jonathon Clevenger, Mount Pulaski

Custom

1. Mary Jane Letterle, Mount Pulaski

2. Kody Letterle, Mount Pulaski

3. Ethan Taylor, Latham

Masters

1. Kody Letterle, Mount Pulaski

[Click here for an earlier report on the derby]

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[AUG. 28, 2001]  At the Sky’s the Limit 5K run hosted by the Lincoln Park District on Saturday morning, Jackson Johnson, 20, was the overall first-place runner in the male division. Barb Bowlby, 40, was the overall first-place runner in the female division. Runners and their times in order of finish are listed below.

Jackson Johnson, 15:16.91

Greg Collingwood, 17:53.58

Rob Flatner, 19:29.16

Bob DeHart, 20:15.62

Barb Bowlby, 21:10.18

Jeff Schleder, 21:32.57

Ryan Seggelke, 21:45.26

Jim Winter, 21:48.79

Kent Birmingham, 22:08.08

Doug Ebelherr, 22:19.26

Rod Lewis, 22:40.82

Stacey Douglas, 22:42.71

Jim Stahl, 23:00.22

Chuck Bernardes, 23:24.88

Don Johnson, 23:41.62

Lanny Lobdell, 23:41.62

Roy Ballinger, 25:00.74

Earl Thayer, 25:03.86

Don Shull, 25:11.83

Tom Phillip, 25:52.66

Kate Ruggless, 25:54.74

Steve Barmes, 26:03.07

Sheri Taylor, 26:41.14

Brenda Phillis, 26:14.41

Amy Madigan, 26:43.44

Amy Zachary, 27:18.33

Anne Saggins, 27:48.66

Marsha Perring, 28:25.86

Kelly McCraith, 29:40.54

Dawn Lanning, 29:40.54

Dave Hawkinson, 32:29.33

Beth Thomas, 33:51.63

[AUG. 27, 2001]  The second day of the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival kicked off with the balloon fest’s first derby organized by the Lincoln Soap Box Downhillers. This peculiarly American tradition thrives on our universal passion for anything that goes fast, even when driven by gravity.

Spectator Henry Johnson of Lincoln stated, "This is really nostalgic for me. My brother and I made our own soapbox car out of milk crates and old wheels many years ago, but it looked nothing like these."

A group of area 7- to 13-year-olds, their family and friends, gathered at 9 Saturday morning on South Kickapoo Street to try their luck. Drivers were divided into a 7- to 9-year-old age category and a 10- to 13-year-old category. Each age group was further divided into three classes: stock, super stock and custom.

[Looking like a pro, Mackenzie Oberreiter from Mount Pulaski focuses on the course before her.]

The stock division is designed to give the first-time builder a learning experience. These simplified cars are built from kits that assist the derby novice by providing a step-by-step layout for construction of a basic lean-forward style car. The super stock division gives competitors an opportunity to expand their knowledge and build a more advanced model. Both of these beginner levels make use of kits and shells available from the All-American Soap Box Derby Association. Many of the cars racing Saturday had been purchased second-hand from a supplier in Rockford who recycles cars that have already appeared in two national competitions, the limit for an individual car.

The third class is intended for custom-built racers designed using other materials. Mike Oberreiter from Mount Pulaski said that his son’s custom car was "built from plywood and stuff we already had in the garage!"

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Every builder has his own theory on the best style, fastest color of paint and most efficient wind design. Some builders go so far as to take cars to wind tunnels to experiment with a better aerodynamic design.

Oberreiter’s speed theory was more basic. He directed his son to continue spinning the racer’s wheels while waiting for his turn to race, stating: "It’s all in the wheels. If you keep spinning the wheels, the bearings stay warm and the car runs faster."

The sport has certainly come a long way since Johnson and his brother pushed each other up and down the block.

In addition to the three Oberreiter drivers, many of Saturday’s racers were Mount Pulaski youngsters who are pursuing a renewed interest in the sport triggered by local competitions in their community since 1998.

The Lincoln competition was based on double elimination, guaranteeing each racer at least two chances to fly down the wide sloping street in their gravity-powered creations.

[Judy Rader]

[Click here for race results]

Announcements

[JULY 17, 2001]  A 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be part of the Delavan Fall Festival on Saturday, Sept. 1.

There will be numerous divisions for males and females age 8 and up. This is a double-elimination tournament with awards to first-, second- and third-place teams in each division. Each player will also receive a T-shirt.

The tournament will include 3-point contests and free-throw contests throughout the day, with prizes awarded.

For more information or to obtain an entry form, call Jack Wheeler at (309) 244-9881 or Dennis Moehring at (309) 244-9241. Entries must be received by Friday, Aug. 17.

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