PAGE B-10


June 9-15, 2010


CASS GIRLS win first title in ten years.


MUMFORD BOYS win another PSL title. PSL Track Champions: Mumford boys, Cass Tech girls


By Leland Stein III I’ve played in and as a journalist covered almost every sport


the Detroit Public School League (PSL) participates in, but my belief is that none is more exciting than track and field.


On a sun-drenched day at Renaissance High School, the


annual PSL Track and Field Championships did not do anything that would lead me to change my mind.


COMMENTARY The beauty of the event is that it is the only sport where hun-


dreds of boys and girls compete in the same event over two days. On one day, as has been the case more times than one can re- member, the Mumford boys edged Cass Tech in a very close en- counter 154 to 152 to win its 10th consecutive title and the Cass Tech girls outlasted Renaissance and Mumford to win its first title in ten years, piling up 152 points to 119 and 116, respect- fully.


“This was a beautiful performance by our girls,” said Cass


Tech Girls’ coach, Chris Wright. “It has been a while since we have broken through and won the title. At the start of the season I told the girls we had a shot. We may be a young team but we have a lot of talent. Still, you have to go out there and com- pete and get it done, and that’s what these girls did, they got it done.”


Leading the way for the Technicians was sophomore sprinter


Kyra Jefferson, who corralled the 100- and 200-meter dashes and anchored the winning 400 and 800 relay teams. Jefferson’s prowess ended Renaissance’s run of four straight girl’s titles.


In a way, Jefferson’s effort was business as usual for her.


After all, her father, Thomas Jefferson, won a bronze medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in the 200 and her mother, Michelle, was an All-American sprinter at LSU. Kyra went out and proved that fruit does not fall far from the track tree.


“I’ve been running since I was 6,” she said. “I won the state


title in the 200 as a freshman, so I really went to work to get even better for my sophomore year. I knew I had more to give on the track. However, out of everything in track I like the 200 best, because you have more time to catch up if you make a mistake in the blocks.”


On the boys’ side, in spite of the gallant effort from Cass junior Kishon Wilcher, who won both the 100 and 200 with a


GIRLS 400 finalists: Kenyatta Thomas (left), Janika King, Ravyn Baxter, Debonie Lofton, Asaundra Dalton, Lexus Mitchell and Nicole Lynch.


sore hip that kept him out the relays, the Mumford Mustangs Boys grinded out an exciting two point win. The Mustangs se- cured the PSL title by placing third, worth six points, in the meet’s final event, the 4x400 relay.


Mumford coach Robert Lynch has transformed his school


into a PSL and state powerhouse. Every year he seems to win with a different strategy. One year with a superstar athlete, an- other with middle distance people, and other years with field events and relays. The results are always the same, a PSL Track and Field title.


“Winning never ever gets old,” Lynch said after the close vic-


tory, “and it is simply exciting to see the kids achieve our team goals. We did not get all we wanted out of our sprinters, but that is why this feels so good, because it took a real team effort to beat an excellent Cass Tech team.”


Leading coach Lynch to yet another PSL title was senior


Marcell Jones. He won the 110 hurdles, ran a leg on the 4x100 winner and finished second in the 300 hurdles.


“As a team, before the start of the season we said we were


going to do everything possible to win,” Jones said. “Personally I wanted to win both hurdles; I got one and second in the other race. I do not feel too upset because I know I put the work in and


CASS TECH’S 4x200 champions: Ravyn Baxter (left), Janika King, Erica Hobson and Kyra Jeffereson. – Andre Smith photos


left it all on the track.” Said Cass coach Thomas Wilcher: “We had as good a shot


this year as any year. We had guys fall down in races and in- juries kept us from being the best we could be. However, this team went out and put the effort in and we just came up a little short.”


Other PSL students who won titles were Justin Bullock of


Renaissance, who ran in the four longest events. He won the 2-mile (10:39.52) and ran on the winning 3,200 relay. He placed second in the mile and third in the 800.


Vorri Zanders of Mumford was a double winner, winning the


2-mile run and the mile. Joshua Harris, a senior from Commu- nication and Media, won the 300 hurdles and qualified for the state finals in the 300 hurdles, high jump and 1,600 relay.


PSL Track and Field 2010: Great events, solid performances


and down-to-the-wire team finishes. Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.


DPS SUPERINTENDENT Teresa Gueyser and School Board member Tyrone Winfrey flank Cass’ 4x100 relay winners.


RENAISSANCE, Cass and Mumford runners blast down the straight away.


MUMFORD BOYS won the 4x100 relay. From left: Lavonté Darby, Marcus Stewart, Darryl Gray and Marcell Jones.


Kelser, former PSL star, uses basketball to mentor youth


By Leland Stein III Detroit Public Schools’ former Henry Ford


High basketball star, Gregory Kelser, is a shin- ning example of achievement.


Rocking with Magic Johnson, Jay Vincent


and Ron Charles, just to name a few, he was an integral part of the first Michigan State Universi- ty NCAA national title basketball team in 1979. A game that still rates as the top viewed tele- cast in Final Four histo- ry. Who can forget that mome n t ? Especial ly me, being an MSU alumni and living in LA at the time.


I In the Game By Leland Stein III


I ran around the block a couple of times un- l e a s h i n g yells of joy after the


game. Kelser, who has graduated from that special


moment in time for many, has transferred his basketball skills to the television booth. Kelser


had found a solid life after basketball, he’s in his 13th season as analyst on Fox Sports Net- work’s coverage of the Detroit Pistons and he has also done Big Ten Network and other NCAA basketball games.


All the accolades are fine with Kelser, but he


has a genuine heartfelt need to be more than just an athlete in the athletic world. I remem- ber asking him to come to Mackenzie High to speak to my journalism class and he was there bright and early greeting the students and shar- ing his knowledge.


That is why his basketball camps are some


of the more successful in the area, because parents and participants can tell he’s sincere.


Kelser will produce a number of camps this


summer, and it is will be his 18th year working with area youth.


The Gregory Kelser Basketball Camps 2010


will take place at West Bloomfield High School on June 21-25, July 12-16 and Aug. 9-13, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.


He will also conduct a camp at Grosse Pointe


North High School on July 26th to July 30th Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.


The camps are for boys and girls ages 7 thru 17.


“I have been running basketball camps since it seems like forever,” Kelser said. “I


Gregory Kelser


started in 1978 and we went through 1982. Then I picked it back up in 1993 and we have been going strong ever since.”


He said one reason


he has been able to endure is that the camp is about more than just basketball.


“Some of our major


components are teach- ing life skills and em- phasizing the value of education,” he said.


“Sure the kids come to play basketball and my coaching staff and I try hard to teach them and improve their skills while stressing the funda- mentals of the game.


“But if that was all we did I’d have missed a


great opportunity to stress how important edu- cation is to any of their basketball dreams and their life goals, too. We want them to exercise the mind and the body at my camp. The parents really seem to appreciate that we view sports as more than just dribbling and shooting.


Kelser also noted that the camps provide an


opportunity for the kids to bond with others. “The diversity of the camps is a beautiful


thing,” he said. “It is one of the better things about sports, the fact that competition and teamwork breaks down barriers and makes people work together to achieve common goals. As coaches we try to do the same things to as models for the kids.”


Kelser was selected First-Team Academic


All-American in 1979 and was captain of MSU’s 1979 NCAA Championship team. He has always been a leader and he has not shunned the re- sponsibility that comes with being a public figure.


This interview would not be complete with-


out asking about the Pistons’ future. “I have to believe that Joe Dumars has the


ability to turn this team around,” Kelser said. “He has done it before, so why not think it is possible to do it again? However, I realize the turnaround will not happen as fast as it did before. We have some solid pieces in place, but it will all have to fall in place with the upcoming draft and the free agents that are available.”


What we know will fall into place is that


Kelser will be there all summer sharing his wisdom and knowledge with your youth at his 2010 basketball camps.


For information, call Kelser, Inc. at (248)


342-2735 or (248) 865-6462. Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@


aol.com.


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