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The 2012 Little Panthers K-2 boys were at it again last Saturday 1-28-12.  Thanks Coach Snyder and the high school team for their involvement in the future of Parkway's Jr High through varsity players.  Somewhere in this group of kids you'll see them, we will just have to wait a few years to see who they are. The coaches are teaching these kids to jump stop, chin the ball, follow through on a shot, dribble, and Barna even gave a lesson in dunking! (Although none of the little guys could get that one quite right yet). Click below for more great shots of the boys!

https://picasaweb.google.com/113913976620504942533/LittlePanthers012712

Little Panthers Basketball Team Plays
Thank you for sharing James and Jill Leighner
The little Panthers were back at it again on Saturday, 1-14-2012.  They have got a lot of kids coming out the year, at it looks as if they are all have a very good time.  Thanks again to all the coaches and this year’s Freshman team for
volunteering their time to coach. Click below for more pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/113913976620504942533/LittlePanthers011412
 

The little panthers K-2 basketball kicked off Saturday with High School coaches and players helping the next generation of Panthers learn and have fun playing the game.  Starting with some fundamentals and progressing to dribble war, then splitting into teams.  The kids love it! Thanks to all the coaches and players that taking their time to come out and
be involved. It means more to these little guys than you may realize.   GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!      

Click here for more of their pictures on picasaweb.   

First Grader at Parkway Wins Rookie 1^st Place at Mac-O-Chee
Seven-year-old Race Car Driver, Taylor Gruss Takes the Wheel
by Sheila Baltzell, Parkway Independent 1-9-2012

The racing circuit has opportunities for girls as well as boys, and one tough little female is making a name for herself on the asphalt in quarter midget racing. Taylor Gruss, daughter of Brian and Lindsay (Bell) Gruss of Mendon, is just a Parkway first grader, but she has been racing for two years.  This year she won her very first race in the Blue Rookie Class and recently took 7th place in the Junior Honda class at Mac-O-Chee Quarter Midget Club in West Liberty, OH near Bellefontaine, Ohio . She was honored at the year-end banquet in November and is quite proud of her many trophies including this one.

According to Lindsay Gruss (Parkway grad 1999), Taylor races a miniature sprint car called a quarter midget which is ¼ the size of a sprint (hence the name quarter midget) . The cars usually run on asphalt. Her dad, Brian Gruss, who has raced stock cars (a Chevy Monte Carlo) since he was 15 years old, is her mentor and mechanic. (Brian is a 1996 graduate of Parkway). Grandpa Ron Gruss is also track-side to help at her events. Brian has taught her everything since she first insisted on driving a miniature 4 wheeler when she was just 2-1/2 years old. “She’s fearless,” said her mom.

In the Junior Honda class, these cars run 30-35 MPH, and some places Taylor competes include: Mac-O-Chee in West Liberty, the "Indoor Winternationals" at the Ohio State Fairground in Columbus; and Xenia ’s  Miami Valley Raceway. At Xenia , where she raced this past summer, she took the track record in the Red Rookie  class. She traveled at 25 MPH on the 1/20 mile track and finished the lap in 8.259, setting a new best. She has now moved up to the competitive class of  Junior Honda where she will race until she is 8 yrs old. Someday she will be old enough for the 9-16 year-old-class. One race that is particularly fun is the annual  Beauty Bowl race where the Mac-O-Chee Club has  Hall of Fame induction ceremony of previous quarter midget drivers that got the sport started for these "young guns" at Mac-O-Chee.  She admits that she used to get nervous before races. Now she generally knows her competition and just wants to go “faster”.

When asked about how long her race car will last her, Brian said they bought it in Indianapolis, and it should last her for a while yet. He can adjust the pedals and the seat as Taylor grows taller. They have been running the same Honda engine for two years although it has been rebuilt. “Quarter midgets can use the same engine in this class up to age 16,” said Brian. Other engine names are Briggs and Deco.

She has her own fan club in Grandpa and Grandma Gruss and Grandpa and Grandma Bell, cousins, and her new baby sister, Kinlee. When asked is she has ever wrecked, she explained that once she came together with another car where her front-end went up, but they were able to back-out from the collision. She was not hurt and was not deterred.

This winter she and her family plan to spend Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays traveling to different tracks including the new Versailles 1/10 mile long indoor dirt track. Brian will simply change her tires to dirt runners if they make it to that one or the Eldora Track ~ Little E this summer. They belong to the United States Auto Club but she is not required to have a specifically assigned number on her car.

Taylor is a dedicated student who is a great speller and is considering the spelling bee competition at Parkway. She is in Rocket Math as well as Advanced Reading for Accelerated Reader. She loves school as much as racing where she has taken many victory laps with the checkered flag. She and her family also thanked her sponsors: Grier’s Power Digging, Belna’s and P & G MiniMart. If you are interested in sponsoring, too, contact Brian.

Brian can be reached at cell phone number (419-733-1473), and email (tracker96bg@yahoo.com) for anyone with further questions.

Click on smaller thumbnails below to see Taylor's family, trophies and and her car up close.

Local 11 year-old Wins 4^th Place in Young Guns Racing Circuit

Quiet, yet confident, local Parkway student, Gage Etgen, son of Leah (Gage) and Ben Etgen is as fierce a contender as any of them in the tough Young Guns CHAMP racing circuit. Traveling the tri-state area, for four years now, Gage recently won the 4^th place honor, under his reserved racing number of 99 against a field of kart racing veterans.

It all started when Gage, age 7, and his dad went to watch go-kart (karting) races at an indoor venue at the Ohio State Fairground Racetrack in Columbus, Ohio. Even though no one in the family had ever raced or worked on race car engines before, Ben jumped right in when Gage fell in love with the sport and wanted to try it on for size. Ben purchased a flat go-kart with enclosed wheels and an open cockpit. And, they were off to the races at Eldora, Waynesfield, Cridersville, State Line and more as they followed the karting series. He took the title of Rookie Champion in 2008 at the age of 7. He enjoyed the fun, but once found himself pinned underneath another go-kart that wrecked on top on him. He was not injured. But, Ben and Gage began to investigate the next step up in racing for youth because of safety and also because of the increased competition: CHAMP which resembles midget car racing without suspension, and is actually a go-cart with open wheels (like Indy cars) and a protective roll-cage. There is a seat belt, arm-restraints and a full-head “Hutchin’s” device to keep Gage’s head and neck from bending. Gage longed for that competition.

So they bought a CHAMP racer with the same engine and entered the Young Guns circuit with a pool of 65 racers in the 4 state area of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.  Gage’s pool of competitors numbers 25 at any given race he attends. There are three age levels with boys and girls both racing: Junior Sportsman CHAMP, ages 8-12; Junior CHAMP, ages 13-15; and Senior CHAMP 15 & up. Still reserved as #99 in the Junior Sportsman Young Gun Series circuit, last year and part of this past summer, Gage did very well and learned a lot about racing. He usually came in 2^nd. But he and Ben knew what was needed to boost him into the winner’s circle ~ a better engine.  And they made that change in July 2011.

When deciding on an engine, they had to look at several things.

Gage could race in up to 4 features with 2 heats on short spirals to determine his poll position (much like horse & sulky racing). There are 6 to 8 races a heat with 14 cars max in a feature. Surfaces range from concrete in Columbus, to dirt at Eldora, to asphalt at Baer Field and Fremont. A fast track can find Gage reaching speeds of 65 MPH. The ten CHAMP series races for Gage include: New Castle, IN, Columbus, Eldora, Baer Field, Cridersville, Jackson, Akron, IN, Bryant, IN and Edon, OH. Ben said he knew that he had to have a top-notch builder, and he chose the $1600  “Animal” engine from the Excalliber Company in Evansville, IN. It runs on alcohol fuel, as all race engines do. “It holds the brakes longer, speeds up faster when I floor-it, and other engines can’t pass me,” said Gage. “I needed the ‘Animal’!” Ben, although not a mechanic, has learned how to tear the engine down. The raceways do what is called a cheat-check, and he had to be prepared to do this.

Gage, whose favorite subject in school is Science, admits he had some getting used-to with the speed of his new “Animal”, but his skills improved quickly. He won 8 races before the circuit ended in September: 3 at Cridersville, 1 at Bryant, IN, and 4 at Eldora. Gage finished 4^th place overall in the Young Guns Series and had 6 top fives. A recent banquet where he was awarded an awesome trophy and medals brought an end to the season for the racers.

Gage spoke candidly and said he has wrecked, but has never rolled his kart. Ben says they have seen others roll, though, where they get started and don’t want to stop rolling. Gage thinks it is cool that his little sister Grace likes to get out on the racetrack and turn laps (in his first go-kart) to get used to the track. She has not decided if she will become a go-karter herself, but at age 8 she has a year to think it over.

Although he has never met a famous race car driver in his racing travels, Gage's favorite ones are Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart (owner of Eldora Speedway). Some of Gage's over favorite people are his sponsors, the good people at Michael Tires Plus, Trick Connection, RPM Graphics, and May Painting.

Gage has been mentioned in articles on CHAMP racing in the Chase’n Race’n Magazines from September 2010 and October 2011 which include pictures of him “in the pack of racers”. The magazine’s website can be viewed at www.chasenracen.com if you’d like to learn more on the CHAMP and other series.

Even though the Young Guns series is over for 2011, Gage will continue to race this winter. He is really proud that he has been asked to drive for another team at the indoor dirt track in Versailles. Ben said that the entry fees range from $25 to $50, but top 3 finishes help pay the expenses of racing and traveling. Above all it has become a family affair with the 4 of them involved, and Grandma and Grandpa Etgen and Grandma and Grandpa Gage cheering him on in the stands.

Remember to click on smaller thumbnail pictures below to enlarge them.

Two race cars; a family hobby	Most Improved driver award	99 is a variation of a gage & is his registered number.	Gage took 1st place and got to drive the victory lap with the checkered flag.	Gage honored for 4th place in the 2011 Young Guns CHAMP series.
Gage in the yellow go-kart.	Tracks are made of different materials.	Close quarters.	Restraints & a roll cage for safety.	Looking to make the move.
Last minute instructions	Neck and neck to the checkered flag	4th Place 2011	Messy conditions.	Leading by a nose

NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Competition Winners Announced
by Ryan Sipe

The Rockford Recreation Association was a local host for the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition that was held at Panther Stadium on Sunday, September 18, 2011.  We had a total of 42 participants.  The first place winners in each age group will be moving on to the sectional competition that will be held in Trotwood, OH on Sunday October 9, 2011.  Good Luck to all 1^st place winners at the Sectional Competition!

Results:

6/7 Boys:  1^st Roman Leszinske  2^nd Noah Purtee  3^rd Eddie Nichols

6/7 Girls:  1^st Gabrielle Stober  2^nd Aaliyah Baxter

8/9 Boys:  1^st Liam Ferroggiaro  2^nd Gavin Stober  3^rd Gabe Schaaf

8/9 Girls:  1^st Kelsey Nichols  2^nd Bo Bates

10/11 Boys:  1^st Jack Wehe  2^nd Conner Lyons  3^rd Bailey Parris

10/11 Girls:  1^st Grace Rogers

12/13 Boys:  1^st Dan Purtee  2^nd Hayden Lyons  3^rd Clayton Agler

12/13 Girls:  1^st Bailey Bates  2^nd Abby Sutter  3^rd Mackenzie Sipe

14/15 Boys:  1^st Hayden Abromavich  2^nd Connor Morton  3^rd Dakota Schaffner

14/15 Girls:  1^st Samantha Wehe

Thank you to Linda Hawk for sharing these pictures and the write-up.

The Parkway Little Panthers JV football team traveled to Elida to take on the Thunder.  The battle of the unbeatens was won by Parkway by a score of 19-8.  Parkway, with a record of 3-0, will take on Van Wert at home on Sunday.      
 
 
Click Here for Linda's action shots