Athletes

An Anne Arundel County judge handed the Key School a victory Tuesday, allowing the 55-year-old Annapolis private school to go ahead with plans to turn the 70-acre Annapolis Golf Club into an outdoor campus for athletics. A request by residents of the surrounding Annapolis Roads community to block the proposed landscape of playing fields, tennis courts, parking lot and a maintenance facility was turned down by Circuit Judge Paul G. Goetzke. An appeal, however, is possible. "This is an important day for us," said Marcella Yedid, head of the school, noting that the school has been working with Anne Arundel County on the site plan.

Frostburg State took all the guesswork out of its placement in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament, thrashing Wesley, 17-9, last Saturday to capture the No. 4 seed. Not only did the Bobcats improve to 11-5 overall and 3-3 in the league, but they earned the right to play host to Mary Washington (8-6, 2-4) in a first-round game in the conference tournament for the first time in school history. Had the team lost to the Wolverines Saturday, Frostburg State still would have earned the No. 4 seed thanks to its head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles.

Former MLB player Bill Ripken will headline a new charitable gala in Columbia May 9. The Grand Slam Gala also will include live and silent auctions, and athletic challenges. The Baseball Factory, a Columbia-based player recruitment and development operation, launched the gala event to support its Factory Foundation, a nonprofit designed to assist underprivileged student athletes. Dress is casual, and attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite jersey or hat. Food will be provided by Clyde's, with desserts from Elkridge Furnace Inn, Georgetown Cupcakes and Milk 'N Cookies.

The senior attackman helped the No. 12 Owls remain undefeated with two victories over Carroll County opponents last week. Drenner scored two goals and added two assists as Westminster cruised to a 14-1 victory over Liberty on April 16, but the team captain's best performance came two days later. In a surprisingly easy 18-5 victory last Thursday over defending county champion Winters Mill, Drenner outscored the Falcons by himself. He had six goals and four assists, including five points (two goals, three assists)

The senior All-Metro shortstop led the No. 2 Gladiators (13-0) to three victories over ranked Howard County teams last week, going 6-for-10 with an inside-the-park home run. In a 5-4 win over then-No. 6 Hammond on April 15, Allen was 1-for-3 and had a stolen base. She was 3-for-4 with a stolen base in a 3-2 victory over then-No. 15 Mount Hebron last Wednesday. In a 4-1 win over then-No. 12 River Hill last Friday, she went 2-for-3 with a single and an RBI on the inside-the-park home run. Allen, last season's Howard County Player of the Year, leads the Gladiators in batting average (.522)

The latest fitness craze, FloYo (stand-up paddleboard yoga) has come to the pool at Bel Air Athletic Club, in cooperation with Ultimate Watersports. FloYo is a fusion of yoga and Pilates; the class blends the fundamentals of each discipline while incorporating the added core challenge of balancing on a standup paddleboard (SUP). Both core and flexibility training are used to lengthen and strengthen the body. If you have mastered your downward facing dog and sun salutations on the mat, you will be pleasantly surprised by the challenge of trying these same poses on the unstable surface of a SUP. Because the poses are being performed on a moving surface, you will be engaging muscles that you would not normally, and because the poses have to be aligned just perfectly for even weight distribution on the boards, you will not only be benefiting from a challenging class but you will also be improving your in-studio yoga practice as well.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the NFL draft wasn't on Corey Fuller's radar. Without a football scholarship offer during his senior year at Woodlawn, Fuller went to Kansas to run track and compete in the triple jump. After two years there, he abandoned his scholarship, transferred to Virginia Tech and paid his tuition out-of-pocket for one year - all for the opportunity to walk onto the football team as a wide receiver. In his first season of eligibility, Fuller played just 57 offensive snaps and had two catches for 19 yards.

The disappointment of St. Mary's 15-4 loss to No. 5 Salisbury, the reigning Division III national champion, last Saturday has given way to the excitement surrounding the team's upcoming home contest against Capital Athletic Conference foe York this Saturday. The Seahawks (9-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference) are battling the Spartans (12-3, 4-1) for the No. 2 seed in the CAC tournament, which begins next Wednesday. A victory would give either side a first-round bye in the six-team field and at least one home game.

The senior led the No. 4 Lions to a second-place finish - one point behind No. 2 Milford Mill and three points ahead of No. 1 McDonogh - at the Pikesville Track Classic on Saturday. London established a meet record in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.34 seconds, won the 300 hurdles (44.53) by more than two seconds and also ran on Howard's winning 400 relay team. Her times in both individual events are the best in the state so far this spring. Next week, London is scheduled to run in the 400 hurdles at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia.