31 compete in Highland Games

31 compete in Highland Games

BY MICHAEL ARMSTRONG

STAFF WRITER

The 2014 Homer Highland Games on Saturday brought 31 athletes to compete in traditional — and a few untraditional — Scottish Highland Games at Karen Hornaday Park. Winning the Amateur Men’s category with first place rankings in eight out of nine events was Jody Potosky of Anchorage. Potosky won all but the 56-pound heavy distance event. In the caber toss, he got a perfect 12 score — flipping the caber, a tapered wooden log, so that it landed in the 12 o’clock position.

Homer athletes led in two other categories. Jeremy Guest won the Amateur Men-Novice category, closely followed by Ian McCormick. Ivan Wolfe of Homer won the Masters category. Wolfe took first place in all but one event, the 56-pound Braemar stone put. Wolfe won the 42-pound weight over bar event, and then took an extra throw to beat the record, throwing the weight over a bar 16-feet 3-inches high. In the Amateur Women’s event, overall winner Sylvia Whipple of Anchorage won four out of seven events followed by Jessie Duke of Wasilla in second.

In the Kilted Mile, visiting Indianapolis University students Cody Bergen, Jonathan Ragins and Sam Routtebush finished together in first place with a time of 5 minutes, 23 seconds. The students were part of a team of volunteers working for Alaska State Parks this summer.

Sponsored by the Kachemak Bay Celtic Club, the Highland Games challenge athletes in events in which they throw for distance weights and hammers. In the weight-over-bar event, they throw weights for height. Using a pitchfork, athletes also throw a sheaf over a bar. In the caber toss, athletes attempt to flip a caber end over end so that it lands in a 12 o’clock position. None of the athletes were able to toss the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers challenge caber, which weighs 118 pounds.

In events special to Homer, athletes threw a 50-pound halibut — a weighted canvas halibut made by NOMAR — and a golf bag. They also competed to win a bottle of single malt whisky in the Homer stone open challenge.

For more photos, visit the Spotted gallery at
www.homernews.com.

Kachemak Bay Celtic Club Highland Games, Homer

Overall points (lowest score is best)

Amateur men
1) Jody Potosky 10

2) Mark Eppihimer 24

3) Justin Moore 35

4) Timothy Dommek42

5) Justen Gobbi47

6) Charles Knefelkamp 48.5

7) Joel Haag 61

8) Ben Haag 63

9) Daniel Werth 74.5

Amateur men, novice

1) Jeremy Guest 21.5

2) Ian McCormick 23.5

3) Joseph Sallee 25.5

4) Cody Krause 42.5

5) Cody Anderson (tie) 43.5

5) Max Sensenbach (tie) 43.5

7) Matt Grubb 57.5

8) Dennis Krone 71.0

9) Aaron Taliesium 76.5

Amateur women

1) Syliva Whipple 15

2) Jessie Duke 24.5

3) Breanna Love 25

4) Jeni McDaniel 26

5) Jennifer McLaughlin 36

6) Sarah Eppihimer 53

7) Katie Jo Brock 54

8) Diane Kellar 54.5

Masters men (over 40)

1) Ivan Wolfe 12

2) Dave Rasmesson 18

3) Robert Anthony 24

4) Richard Clayton 37.5

5) Hal Shepherd 43.5

Scores are calculated by adding place in each event entered: the Braemar stone, the open stone, light weight for distance, heavy weight for distance, light hammer, heavy hammer, weight over bar, sheaf toss and caber toss. The women did not compete in the light hammer throw.

Jack Decorso, right, plays the bagpipes as his sisters Annabelle, center, and Sylvia, left, dance. The children are from Fairbanks.-Photo by Michael Armstrong, Homer News