Opening Thoughts

As many of you probably know, former Everett athlete Natalie Dell was recently selected to the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team, and she will race in the Women's Quadruple Sculls competition in London in a couple of weeks. This is an amazing accomplishment for her, as she did not take up rowing until she went to Penn State and felt like she wanted to be a part of a team after competing in soccer and track in high school.

It's even more amazing that the Everett/Northern Bedford corridor of Bedford County has produced an Olympian in back-to-back Games, as NBC grad Brian Sell finished 22nd in the men's marathon in Beijing four years ago. Sell and Dell are the only two countians to take part in the Summer Olympics.

For me, after Dell was named to the team, what could have been even better personally was having someone from my hometown reach it too. That was a distinct possibility with men's 400-meter hurdler Justin Gaymon. Gaymon attended the same high school I did, Phillipsburg NJ. (remember, that's Phillipsburg with two L's, not like Philipsburg, PA). Gaymon set many records in high school and went on to the University of Georgia, where he also excelled. Flash forward to 2012, where he took part in the Olympic Trials in Oregon. He had the fourth fastest time in the 400 hurdle heats before the finals, but wound up fifth in the final, two spots out of qualifying. Still, I have no doubt that Justin will be back trying to make the team that goes to Rio in 2016.

Sam Shuss' column about finding your niche in Tuesday's Bedford Gazette applies to everyone. For me, talking and writing about local sports is my niche. I was not gifted enough to be a great athlete, but I loved being part of teams growing up, and I was lucky to be a part of some pretty good ones. I have used that passion for high school athletics in my writing, and I hope that comes through to those of you out there that read my stuff.

Today is the first day of the double elimination Cambria County American Legion Tournament. Here is a look at the schedule. All games are seven innings and will begin at 5:30 p.m.

(8) Richland at (1) Somerset
(5) Meyersdale at (4) Patton
(6) Stoystown at (3) Bedford
(7) Cernics at (2) Claysburg

The top two teams in the tournament advance to the Region 7 Tournament in Latrobe beginning on July 21.