Community notebook: Reeder wins drift racing event in St. Louis

Vancouver native Travis Reeder is atop the Formula Drift Pro2 standings after a victory at St. Louis over the weekend.

Reeder, 25, a graduate of Columbia River High school, placed first by beating his friend Dylan Hughes of North Bend in the final round.

Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motor sport with an emphasis on car control. In the Formula Drift series, drivers compete in knockout heats on a closed course, sliding sideways in trials judged on speed and style.

Reeder just made it into the bracket, qualifying 14th out of 16 drivers. Hughes qualified ninth.

Reeder, the 2017 rookie of the year, was coming off a third-place finish at Atlanta in the first race of the four-race Pro2 season.

Next stop is Fort Worth, Texas, in September, and the season wraps up at Irwindale, Calif., in October.

More tennis opportunities in Vancouver

With the Vancouver Tennis Center closed for renovations, tennis-playing options might seem limited in the area.

But in fact, more tennis courts just became available.

The VTC Foundation has completed its second renovation project as the two courts at Lincoln Elementary School on NW 44th St. are ready for play.

The Firstenburg Foundation grant of $25,000 went toward resurfacing and repairs to the courts that had not been resurfaced in at least 20 years.

New nets have been put up and lines for four Pickleball courts were also drawn.

Grant money also went toward purchasing tennis and Pickleball equipment for Lincoln Elementary.

This project is the second of four the VTC Foundation has undertaken. Last year the courts at Marshall Elementary were refurbished. Next on the wish list is the Oakbrook neighborhood courts.

Yamaguchi fastest at Leverich run

For the second time in three weeks, Shun Yamaguchi, 17, of Vancouver, was the fastest runner at a Clark County Running Club event.

Yamaguchi completed the first of two Leverich Park 5K runs in 17 minutes, 21 seconds. Steve Hammond, 37, was second in 18:00, and Alan Roy, 25, of Vancouver in 18:45.

The first women’s finisher was Amy Campbell, 36, of Vancouver in 21:44 (12th overall). Michaela Bruns, 21, of Vancouver was second in 21:49 (14th), and Kaitlyn McKinney, 24, of Vancouver was third in 22:38 (18th).

The second Leverich Park 5K is 7 p.m. Wednesday. It is being hosted by the Prairie High cross country team.

Ellertson nets win as coach of USWNT U-14s

Tina Ellertson’s second stint with U.S. Soccer has thus far been victorious.

Ellertson coached from the sidelines as an assistant as her under-14 U.S. Women’s National Team, playing up a year, beat Mexico 3-0 to win the under-15 CONCACAF championship Monday at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Ellertson will return to start training camp for her fifth year as head coach of the King’s Way Christian’s girls soccer program.

A forward in her playing days, the Hudson’s Bay and University of Washington graduate went on to make 34 appearances with the U.S. national team over four years, including the 2007 World Cup.

Since then she’s completed her A-level license, the highest credential U.S. Soccer offers and is in her second year coaching with U.S. Soccer.

Ellertson was jubilant describing her experience coaching the top talent in the country.

“Because I was a former player, they want players who have been there,” she said.

Clark County athletes medal at Transplant Games

Clark County was well represented in the Team Northwest medal count at the Donate Life Transplant Games of America in Salt Lake City, Utah, which ran from Aug. 2-8.

Twenty-three athletes from around Oregon and Washington brought home 57 medals. The five-day event had 3,200 athletes from around the country participating.

Local medalists included:

• Lee Golden Jr. (men 40-49), bronze, 5K run; gold, pickleball; gold, 1,500 racewalk.

• Jeff Scheer (men 40-49), silver, 5K run; bronze, 1,500 run.

• Laura Ellsworth (women 40-49), bronze, 500-yard freestyle swim; silver, 50 breaststroke; gold, 200 free relay; silver, softball throw.

• Jennifer Browing (women 40-49), gold, 200-yard freestyle swim; gold, 50 backstroke; gold, 100 free; gold, 50 free; gold, 200 medley relay; bronze, shot put; gold, softball throw.

• Thomas Nam (men 60-70), gold, table tennis.

• Laurie Scheer (women 40-49), gold, shot put; bronze, discus.

Local wrestler wins All-American honors

Jon Schoenlein, 11, won dual All-American honors at the USA Wrestling Kids Freestyle and Greco-Roman Nationals last month in Atlanta.

Schoenlein, who will be a sixth-grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, placed fourth in the Novice 108-pound division in freestyle. He placed sixth at Novice 108 in Greco-Roman.

This spring, Schoenlein earned All-American honors at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals in Iowa and the Flo Reno Worlds in Nevada.