Edd Merritt, Contributing Editor

Machavern sets a track record at Indianapolis
Appropriately, Dillon Machavern, whose father was also a racecar driver, honored his dad by setting a record at the Indianapolis Speedway on Father’s Day during the TransAm Series presented by Pirelli Round Muscle Car Challenge. A native Charlotter and recent High Point University graduate, Dillon followed the INDY tradition of having a champagne shower and drinking milk afterward. Finishing second overall for the day in his Heritage Ford Mustang, Dillon posted a new track record by covering the 2.5-mile course in just over a minute and one half. He was interviewed by CBS sports and will appear on the CBS Sports Network at noon on July 15. Next month takes him to Watkins Glen, New York, Brainard, Minnesota, Bowmanville, Ontario Canada and Lime Rock, Connecticut.

CVU’s Tyler Marshall named Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year
CVU senior Tyler Marshall joined Rice’s Sonia John as Gatorade Track Athletes of the Year . It is the second year in a row that Tyler has earned this recognition. A middle- and long-distance runner, he swept the state championships in Division I, winning the 800-, 1,500-and 3,000-meter races. His times in the latter two races are among the top twenty in the nation. Tyler is also an accomplished Nordic skier who will attend UVM in the fall on a scholarship.

Decathlon calls upon many skills
The Decathlon calls upon athletes to compete in ten different track and field events including 100-meter dashes, long jumps, hurdles, discus throws, pole vaults, mid-range runs, shot puts and more. CVU sent a men’s and women’s contingent to UVM for the forty-second state decathlon championships. They finished events in many different places along the way. Nearly 100 high school athletes from around the state participated. Among the CVU men, Cole Casale and Kevin Veronneau were top-ten finishers at 100 meters and in the high jump respectively. Cole missed out by one place, finishing eleventh at 400 meters. Kenneth MacKillop also finished among the top quarter of the pack in the 100-meter dash. The women did several steps better with Caroline Hill sixth in the 100-meter dash and fifth in the discus and the 400-meter dash. Riley Wells, Lauren Johnson and Carly Alpert also competed.

American Legion Baseball stays in the dugout
Rain and baseball don’t mix, as the CVU-centered S.D. Ireland team has discovered this year. Growing up, this author had Mississippi River fish flies that caused us to slip in the outfield and, thus, cancel games. Here in New England, it’s the rain we’ve experienced this summer. Hopefully, things will dry out and the season can get going in full swing. So far, Ireland stands to win some more games. In its Punch Out Tournament for Cancer, played on the CVU field, it defeated a team from Brockville, Ontario, before losing to Clinton County, New York and White River Junction.