SPORTS sports roundup By
SPORTS sports roundup By Steve Stein Ninth time no charm for Gorges Boxer Andre Gorges fought in about 150 amateur bouts after he joined the Windsor-based Border City Boxing Club in 2001, winning an estimated 125 of them. Since turning professional in 2008, Gorges has had nine bouts. The 24-year-old welterweight has fought all over the world in the past eight years: The United States, Canada, Iraq, the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Scandinavia. But he’s never experienced what happened to him July 3 at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. Gorges lost a unanimous decision to Abdan Lozano of Las Vegas, dropping his professional record to 8-1 with six knockouts. It isn’t the loss that has the Windsor resident scratching his head. It’s the way he lost. “I came into the bout in the best shape of my life, but I had my worst performance,” he said. “I don’t know what happened. I couldn’t do anything. Lozano (6-0, 1 KO) wasn’t that great. I could have gone six more rounds against him. Maybe I trained too hard and got burned out. I don’t know. My coach [Josh Canty] said that wasn’t me in the ring that night.” Gorges said he prides himself on outsmarting his opponents because his speed and power are okay. That’s why his mental letdown against Lozano was particularly disappointing. He hopes to find out what went wrong in Vegas and correct it. “I love to fight. It‘s in my blood,” Gorges said. In the meantime, he’s taking a realistic look at his future. Even though he loves boxing, he knows he can’t make a living in the ring forever. “And it’s a dangerous sport,” he said. He plans to enter St. Clair County Community College this fall and take carpentry classes. Many of his boxing opponents will be glad to see Gorges hammer something else besides their noggin. Troy’s Atchoo is state’s best … Mike Atchoo thrust himself into the state prep track and field spotlight this spring when he won the 1600-meter run at the Division 1 state meet in 4:07.71. It was the fastest time run in the race in any division at a state final. The spotlight on Atchoo became even brighter this summer when the Troy High School senior-tobe was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Michigan Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Athletic and academic excellence and exemplary personal character are needed to earn the honor. College coaches know all about Atchoo; he’s dealing with a flood of calls from them this summer. His parents and coaches have promised to help him through the just-beginning recruiting process. Winning the 1600 in an all-division record time was only one of Atchoo’s accomplishments at the state meet, held at East Kentwood. What he finds “so cool” is that he eclipsed the former all-division record of 4:08.08 set in 2000 by Rockford’s Dathan Ritzenhein, who went on to become an All-American at the University of Colorado and a U.S. Olympian. Ritzenhein finished ninth in the men’s marathon last summer in the Beijing Olympics. “I didn’t have a goal of breaking Dathan’s record,” Atchoo said. “Besides trying to win, of course, my goal was to run under 4:10.” It was the first prep state championship for Atchoo, who finished second in the cross country state meet last fall. What are his goals for senior year? “For cross country, I’m looking to break 15 minutes,” he said. “As for track, I really haven’t thought about that yet.” … So is Marian’s Sarkis Only one goalie is named to the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association’s Girls Soccer Dream Team each spring. Birmingham Marian senior Whitney Sarkis was that goalie this year. Sarkis “pitched” a shutout in Marian’s 1-0 victory over East Grand Rapids in the Division 2 state championship game at Troy Athens. While that was impressive enough, her spectacular save with about seven minutes left in the state semifinal game against Fenton at Farmington Hills Harrison may have saved Marian’s season. Sarkis’ stop on a blistering shot headed for the back of the net kept the match scoreless and opened the door for the Mustangs to win 1-0 in overtime. It would be safe to say Sarkis saved her best for Left: Andre Gorges in happier times. Right: Whitney Sarkis makes a game-saving save vs. Fenton in the Division 2 state semifinals at Farmington Hills Harrison. last in her high school career. Pun intended. “It was so sweet to walk off the field in my final high school game with the state championship,” she said. Marian coach Barry Brodsky said he’s going to miss Sarkis, who was the Mustangs’ starting goalie for most of her three years on the team. Marian was 38-3-3 the past two seasons, including 22-2-1 this spring. Besides the state championship, Marian won three Catholic League titles during Sarkis’ career. She was an All-State selection as a sophomore. “Whitney will be tough to replace,” Brodsky said. “You get spoiled having a goalie of that caliber on your team. But while Whitney is a great keeper, she’s an even better person.” Sarkis is continuing her soccer career at Oakland University. 30 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST 2009
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