Jump

It's hard to pinpoint why Sydney Robinson can jump farther than other girls her age, though her quirky choice of socks may be one factor. Sure, the Amateur Athletic Union gold medalist is tall for a 9-year-old at 5 foot 1. And she's fast, always able to outrun kids in a footrace or a simple game of chase. According to Sharron Smith, who has coached the Pointers Run Elementary School fourth-grader for two years in the all-girl Elite Track Club, what it really boils down to is dedication and desire.

Hammond's Jermika Miller had long wanted to win a state title. The triple jumper finally got one Friday - in her last high school meet. Miller won her event in Class 3A at the state championship meet at Morgan State on a day that featured weather more suited for football than track. The senior turned in her second-best jump of the season to win on the first day of competition for Class 3A and 4A schools. The No. 6 Digital Harbor boys lead in Class 3A (23 points), thanks to a win from Michael Francis in the long jump and Corey Mendez's second-place effort in the high jump.

Raconteur caught Hakama in the final jump to win the $100,000 Private Terms Stakes, the feature offering on a springlike Saturday at Laurel Park. Raconteur raced behind the first four runners into the turn, then launched his bid four wide into the lane, slowly edging toward Hakama until the shadow of the wire, winning by a head. Brimstone Island finished an additional 13/4 lengths back in third. Chris DeCarlo rode the A.P. Indy colt to victory in 1 minute, 37.69 seconds for the mile distance over the fast main track.

As I assessed the situation at the Baltimore City jail, and the subsequent indictments that came down because of the corruption of a few, I realized that while the rosy portrait painted by Gov. Martin O'Malley may not have been as bright as he would have liked the public to believe, it certainly was nowhere near as gloomy as your recent editorial portrayed it ("O'Malley can't spin his way out of the jail scandal," April 30). It's easy to point the finger after the hard work has been done; as they say, "hindsight is 20/20.

I am writing in response to The Baltimore Sun's January 17th article, "Community rallies around teen accused of killing father. " I believe the women attempting to help Robert C. Richardson III are doing the right thing. They are looking past the charges the teenager faces and standing up for him after the horrific event. Maybe the boy just needed support and someone to be there for him. These women aren't jumping to conclusions or only seeing the negatives in this situation, which is what more people should do. Wouldn't you want someone to take action and support you?

Some 25 feet in the air, standing on the top of a wooden pole looking down at a few of his Archbishop Spalding rugby teammates, Zach McCloskey is ready to take what Clive Felgate calls "The Leap of Faith. " It has nothing to do with matrimony, or some far-flung business opportunity similar to the one Felgate took when he bought Upward Enterprises from its original owner a little more than five years ago after working as the operations manager since May of 2001. McCloskey, an 18-year-old senior from Annapolis, seems confident despite an admitted fear of heights.

Colleges Maryland's Barbiasz takes fifth in high jump at NCAAs Maryland junior Dwight Barbiasz finished fifth in the high jump at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Barbiasz cleared 7feet, 21/2inches to garner four points for the Terps. cruised through his first four jumps and needed only one extra attempt to clear 7-21/2 before ultimately tripping up at the 7-33/4 mark, his personal best. Baseball: Towson has signed two more players to its baseball recruiting class — outfielder Richie Blosser of North Caroline (Md.)

Pub Date: 4/21/97

When Dwight Barbiasz attempted the New Hampshire state-record high jump, the entire track meet halted to watch. Normally, with more eyes comes added pressure. For Barbiasz, it was extra motivation. He nailed it. "He told me he wasn't nervous," said Chris Barbiasz, Dwight's father. "He said it helped him jump higher. " The younger Barbiasz isn't one to shrink from a challenge. Coming out of Milford (N.H.) High School, he had plenty of high-profile suitors for his leaping services.

On May 8, 2006, DOROTHY R. JUMP, of Severna Park, MD; beloved wife of G. Lawson Jump; loving mother of Robert L. Jump and Karen L. Guest; dear sister of John Ruark, Edgar Ruark, Joyce Deems and Vernon Ruark; devoted grandmother of five grandchildren. Family and friends are invited to BARRANCO & SONS, P.A. SEVERNA PARK FUNERAL HOME, Ritchie Hwy at Robinson Road, on Wednesday 2-4pm and 6-8pm. Memorial Services will be held Thursday, 12 P.M. at Severna Park United Methodist Church. Interment will be private.

Del. Ron George, a Republican who operates a jewelry store almost under the shadow of the State House, will go for the political gold as he makes a run for governor in 2014. George, who represents Anne Arundel County, confirmed Tuesday that he has made up his mind to enter the Republican primary race. The two-term lawmaker, who is 59, becomes the second member of the House to signal an intention to run for goveror next year, when Gov. Martin O'Malley cannot run because of term limits.

An armed man in camoflauge jumped the counter of a post office in Fallston and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash on Saturday morning, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. The armed robbery, which occurred at the Benson post office about 11:30 a.m., came just hours after an attempted armed robbery of a bank about five miles away in southern Bel Air, according to the sheriff's office. At the post office in the 100 block of Connolly Road, a man wearing camoflauge and holding a handgun entered, announced a robbery and then jumped over a counter before taking the cash and fleeing on foot toward the 1800 block of Harford Road, the sheriff's office said.

I woke up to the news that a man had taken his life by jumping off an overpass on I-795 ("Man dies after jump from I-795 overpass; hit by multiple cars," April 2). Sadly, this is not the first, nor will it be the last time an incident like this happens. It's what happened after this man jumped that has me particularly concerned. The man's body was struck by several cars. The particularly galling aspect to this tragedy is twofold. A human being loses his life, and no one stopped. That is truly a perverse and unnerving thought.

A Reisterstown man was struck by multiple vehicles and killed on Interstate 795 late Monday night after he appeared to jump from a highway overpass in Owings Mills, according to Maryland State Police. The drivers of the vehicles that struck him did not stop. Troopers from the Golden Ring Barrack responded to the highway at Pleasant Hill Road about 11:36 p.m. for reports of a man having jumped from the overpass into oncoming traffic and found Ronnie Sherrod Lewis, 43, fatally injured, police said.

A man jumped from a second-story window of an East Baltimore home that had caught fire Wednesday morning, escaping serious injury, according to the Baltimore Fire Department. Firefighters responded to the home in the 2200 block of E. Preston Street in the Broadway East neighborhood about 7:30 a.m. and found heavy smoke showing, said Capt. Roman Clark, a department spokesman. They discovered a fire in the basement had spread smoke through the home, and the man had jumped out the window to escape, Clark said.

As gas prices soared toward $4 per gallon, Fred Price has sought out the best deals at the pump. Even so, the self-employed handyman who drives to jobs throughout Baltimore is feeling the pinch of a more than 40-cent-per-gallon jump in the last month. "I have to cut back on my traveling, and I'm using less help," Price said Monday as he pumped another $30 worth — about half a tank— into his Ford F-150 pickup. "I'm trying to keep up with it, but it's making it really hard to buy gas. " A gallon of regular gas cost 44 cents more on Monday than a month ago — an average of $3.78 up from $3.34 nationwide, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

When top-ranked Loyola and No. 3 Maryland meet Saturday at Ridley Athletic Complex in Baltimore in what is being billed as a rematch of last year's national title game, one interested observer who won't be actively involved in the proceedings is Kevin Warne. Warne was the defensive coordinator responsible for aiding the Terps' back-to-back appearances in NCAA tournament finals, but on August 14, he agreed to succeed Dave Urick as the head coach at Georgetown. The move wasn't surprising - what assistant coach doesn't dream of helming his own program?