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The COUntV PaDer, Est. 1923


levyjournalonline.com


Big collision


highlights night


at Bronson track
Story and photos by Terry Witt
Staff Writer

 Bronson Motor Speedway slowed down at intermission Saturday
 for a Mother's Day children's bicycle race, with the youngest driver
 a two-year-old boy.
 In the category of six years and under, Cole Peters won .first,
 Ashton Wilkerson second and Chase Peters, the two-year-old, won
 third place.
 In 12 and under girls, Amber Welder was first, Haley Jerrels
 second and Toniah Bowers third. Twelve and under boys was won
 by David Rosado, with second going to Todd Henderson and third
 to Jordan Jabbar.

 Dangerous Collision
 The racing for adults was a bit wilder.
 A crash on the first lap of the Pure Stock feature sent Don Welter
 into the wall on the back stretch. He nearly turned over before
 slamming into his brother Larry Welter, Sr. and pushing him off the
 track and into a dirt pile.
 Don Welter said his axle broke, but he wasn't sure whether it
happened before the crash or after he hit the wall. It didn't appear
anyone hit him from behind.
 "When I hit the wall I was looking at asphalt." he said.
 X Welter was pn two wheels momentarily. He saw the track below
 him through his driver's side window.
 His brother had a different view.
 "I saw the roof of his car and next thing I'm hit," Larry Welter,
 Sr. said.
 The' two brothers, regular drivers at the track, agreed that the'
 potential for a worse outcome had been there. Don Welter had a
 broken axle. Neither car was drivable.
 Steve Hise of Citrus County started second in the race but took
the lead in the first lap and never gave it up. He Won first place..
 "You've just got to stay in your groove and stay smooth," he
said.,
 The 23-year-old roofer said he races in Inverness and Bronson.
He likes the Bronson Motor Speedway the best because it is faster.
 He said the win was his fifth in about eight starts at the Bronson
Speedway. He has three second place finishes.
 Hise said he didn't see the crash from his position out front but he
knew something had happened when he went around the track and
saw the dust.

Bowers Wins Sportsman
 Shelton Bowers, a Chiefland racer and a favorite with young fans,
won the Sportsman Feature, a 25-lap high speed chase involving his
buddy Matt Blum.
 Bowers didn't have his radio for the race and consequently didn't
have anyone to tell him if he had someone on his tail. He had a
special earpiece made but didn't get over to ,his friend's house in
time to pick up the device.
 See Race, Page 2B


'Hope springs

eternal for

CHS Indians

Story, photo by Rick Burnham
Editor

 As in years past, conditioning
 and development are the keys to a
 successful spring for the Chiefland
 High School football team. And,
 as in years past, numbers will not
 exactly be in the favor of next
 year's Indians' squad.
 But there is optimism, too, as
 the team begins its third week of
 spring practice. Optimism spurred
 by a very large junior class, one
 short on experience but heavy on
 enthusiasm and grit.
 "They are the core of this
 team," said Head Coach Ajay
 Ulmer. "There doesn't seem to be
 anything they won't try. They are
 very competitive."
 Despite that sizeable junior
 class, next year's Indians' team will
 be small in terms of the number
 of players, requiring many to suit
 up on both sides of the ball. As a
 result, Ulmer'said, conditioning is
 a must.
 "We are focusing our efforts
 this spring on conditioning and the
 toughness factor," he said. "We
 want to set the tempo and the tone
 in spring, so that they are better
 prepared for what they will face in
 thefall."
 What they will. face is a new
 conference, one that is void of the.,
 juggernauts the Indians faced in the
 past. Ulmer said the new alignment
Swill ultimately benefit Chiefland
High School.
 "These are all public schools
 our size," he said. "We feel like
 we'll have the chance to win and
 get in the playoffs. We will be real
 competitive."
 A critical stretch of games will
 be the key, he said. The Indians
 play six conference games in a
 span of seven weeks.
 But, first things first. The Indians
 face off against Fort White in their"
 spring game May 22 at C. Doyle
 McCall Field at Wayne Pridgeon
 Stadium. Game time is 6 p.m.


Ready for some


football?


Marquis Greene goes up to make a catch over VJ Days during
a practice session May 7. The team will continue practice
through May 22, when they face off against Fort White in the
annual Spring Game.


Williston road ends in Keystone


Story and photos by Rick Burnham
Editor

 A hit A wild pitch. A base hit over third.
 A season with twists and turns and ups and downs
came to a very sudden stop for the Williston High
School baseball team Friday. The Red Devils fell 5-4 to
Keystone Heights in the Region 2-3A semifinal, marking
the second consecutive year Williston has fallen to the
Clay County team. Keystone nipped Williston 12-11 in
a regional semifinal matchup in Williston last May.
 The 2009 version was just as close, with the winning
run coming home in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Keystone's Clayton Mosley slid under the tag of
Williston catcher Chris Morrow, and a wave of Indians
poured onto the field to celebrate.
 Mosley bounced a one-out single up the middle off
Williston starter Derick Milam before advancing to
second on a wild pitch. After Bobby Dugard walked,
Brett Anderson hit a high chopper over a leaping
Andrew Poupard, scoring Mosley with the winner.
 Williston led the game early on, getting a second


Second baseman Tyrie Boyer throws out a
Keystone Heights runner.
 4


inning run and adding another in the top of the fifth.
Morrow led off the second with a walk, and pinch runner
DJ King advanced to third on a, hit by Brandon Scott.
Tyrie Boyer then drove home King with a groundout to
second.
 Connor Clayton led off the fifth with a walk and
advanced to second on a groundout by Milam. Freshman
Max White then drilled a pitch from Mosley to the left
center-field wall, scoring Clayton.
 But Keystone came roaring back, getting two runs to
tie the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Red.Devils
contributed to the rally, committing three errors in. the
inning. Ryan Latner's single, just past the outstretched
glove of Boyer at second, drove home one of the runs.
 Keystone scored twice more, an inning later, to take a
4-2 lead and did so with a pair of squeeze bunts. Dugard
singled and Anderson bunted him to second. Dugard
advanced to third on a passed ball before Lee Lambert
walked. One out later, Tyler Jolley laid down a perfect
squeeze bunt, scoring Dugard. Zak Davis then duplicated
the feat, scoring Lambert.
 But Williston battled back in the top of the seventh,
scoring twice to tie the game. Three consecutive walks
- by White, Damon Ming and Morrow began the rally,
with King coming in to run for Morrow. One out later,
Boyer lined a hit into right field, scoring White and
Ming.
 That brought up Poupard, who lofted a fly ball into
short center field. Mosley, now playing center, caught
the ball on the run and fired the ball into home, narrowly
getting King at the plate.
 That set up Mosley's heroics in the seventh.
 The Journal congratulates the Red Devils and coach
Jim Smith for a successful 2009 season.


May 14, 20zu


Chris Morrow watches a ball fly c
against Keystone Heights.


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