Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Emilio King hit .293 for Lexington. (Legends photo/Mary Lay)

The Houston Astros’ player development department has announced Most Valuable Player award winners for its eight minor-league affiliates, including the Lexington Legends.

Outfielder Emilio King is Lexington’s MVP.

Emilio King

King, 22, was promoted from extended spring training to the Legends on May 7.

A former catcher, King hit .293 (106-for-362), with nine homers, 24 doubles, 42 RBI and 50 runs in 98 games. He was the team’s offensive and defensive player of the month in August, when he hit .337.

King homered in his first two games with the Legends and finished May 30-for-75 (.400), with 12 RBI in 21 games. In Lexington’s final game of the season, he threw out a runner at the plate for his 14th outfield assist.

A native of the Dominican Republic, King signed with the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in July of 2006.

Before coming to Lexington, he played four short-season stints in the organization, totaling 159 games. During that time, he hit .214 with four homers and 44 RBI.

On the last day of the season, Manager Rodney Linares called King “hands down” his most improved player.

“He rose to the occasion and … became probably my best player, my team MVP,” Linares said. “When you look at the numbers, they’re not big numbers. But, overall, he was the guy that helped us win more games — defensively, offensively had a lot of big hits.”

Houston’s other minor league MVPs:

Anderson Hernandez — Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA) infielder. Hit .300 for 136 games, including a franchise-record 30-game hitting streak (10th-longest in Pacific Coast League history). Played 2B, SS and 3B, with six HR, 52 RBI and 21 SB.

Jimmy Paredes

Jimmy Paredes — Corpus Christi Hooks (AA) infielder. The former Legend, now playing for the Astros, hit .270 with 22 2B, 10 HR, 41 RBI and 29 SB in 93 games, earning Texas League all-star honors.

Austin Wates — Lancaster JetHawks (High-A) outfielder. Hit .300 with 23 2B, nine 3B, six HR 75 RBI and 26 SB.

Matthew Duffy — Tri-City ValleyCats (Short-season A) third baseman. A New York-Penn League all-star, hit . 298 with 20 2B, a homer, 37 RBI and two SB.

Jordan Scott

Jordan Scott — Greeneville Astros (Rookie) outfielder. Scott, who also played five games with Tri-City and 14 games with the Legends, hit .337 with 12 2B, a homer, 31 RBI and 11 SB for Greeneville. Overall totals at three levels included .323, 15 2B, four 3B, 43 RBI, 79 games.

Yonathan Mejia — Gulf Coast League Astros second baseman. Hit .329 with eight 2B, 25 RBI and two SB in 40 games.

Teoscar Hernandez — Dominican Summer League Astros outfielder. Hit .274 with 13 2B, seven 3B, seven HR, 35 RBI and 16 SB over 65 games.

Mark Michael in control with Calgary

Mark Michael

Former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky pitcher Mark Michael recently wrapped up his ninth season of minor-league ball.

Michael finished 8-2 in the regular season, 1-0 in the playoffs for the Calgary Vipers of the North American Independent League. He finished fourth in the 10-team league with a 4.17 ERA, third in wins and 15th in strikeouts (69) – leading his team in all those categories. Over 15 starts, he worked 82 innings.

Former Legends pitcher Rory Shortell shared the league lead in regular-season wins, 11 to help the Edmonton Capitals to a championship.

A tip of the hat to Adam Revelette, general manager of the Lexington Hustlers, for the following information.

The Hustlers are set to begin their second season in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate (Baseball) League on Tuesday.

The Hustlers, who will play home games primarily at Lexington Catholic High School, will be in the GLSCL South Division, with the Cincinnati Steam, Hamilton Joes, Southern Ohio Copperheads and Xenia Scouts. The GLSCL  North is made up of the Grand Lake Mariners, Lake Erie Monarchs, Licking County Settlers, Lima Locos and Stark County Terriers.

The league all-star game is scheduled July 13 at Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds.

The GLSCL prides itself on providing collegiate student-athletes an opportunity to compete against nationally elite players. As a non-profit organization, it was the first league to be sanctioned by the NCAA and receive funding from Major League Baseball. Now in its 24th season, the GLSCL has had more than 70 players who went on to reach the major leagues.

The Hustlers will begin their 46-game schedule Tuesday with an exhibition against the Kentucky Baseball Club, set for 4 p.m., at Transylvania University. A full schedule and season-tickets sales are available via the team website: www.lexingtonhustlers.com

In their inaugural season, the Hustlers featured 24 players from Kentucky. This year, the team has 22 Kentuckians.

The roster includes three pitchers from Eastern Kentucky University (Chase Greene, Matt Harris and Brent Cobb); Georgetown pitcher Jason McGinnis; Kentucky pitcher Sam Kidd and multi-positional J.T. Riddle; Louisville catcher Kyle Gibson; Morehead State’s Noah Smallwood (pitcher), Eric Bainer (catcher) and Bud Morton (infielder); Northern Kentucky outfielder Taylor Russell; St. Catharine pitcher Josh Jillson; and Western Kentucky outfielder Tanner Smith.

Adam Revelette

“We are very excited about our second year of operations with the Hustler,” Revelette said. “We have a fantastic group of players and are looking forward to providing them with a great experience this summer. Our goal this year is to improve everything, great and small, and I’m certain we’re on our way in doing that. Our current focus is establishing host families for our out-of-town players. Since our roster will be changing all summer long, it’s important that we have the luxury to add players from outside the Central Kentucky area if necessary.”

Ways to support the team include sponsorships, contributions, purchase of merchandise and/or tickets, and board membership.

For more information, see the team website: www.lexingtonhustlers.com

For information on becoming a host family, contact: lexingtonhustlers@gmail.com 

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The start of the boys’ 3,200-meter run, won by Highlands’ John Michael Griffith in lane one, in 10:29.96.

Paul Laurence Dunbar swept the boys’ and girls’ team titles Satuday in its Bulldog/Bearcat Invitational track and field meet.

Dunbar topped Lafayette 125-99 to win the 10-team boys’ competition. Lexington Catholic took third with 93.

Dunbar’s girls piled up 170 points, followed by Highlands with 124 and Scott County with 102.

Amanda Hancock

Dunbar’s Amanda Hancock was the lone individual to win two girls’ events, taking the 800 (2:28.18) and 1,600 (5:27.62).

Other wins for the Lady Bulldogs came from Indya Raglin in the 100 (12.75), Sydney Jones in the 200 (26.34), Kierra Mohammed in the triple jump (33-9), Sierra Guy in the shot put (35-0 1/2) and two relays. Tyria Martin, Aube Linda Jolicoeur, Mohammed and Raglin combined in the 4-by-100 (51.67). Jones, Trina Thomas, Raglin and Jolicoeur ruled in the 4-by-200 (1:49.17).

Dunbar’s boys closed the day with Bart Denham, Myles Pressley, Wade Evans and Lamont Johnson winning the 4-by-400 relay (3:35.27).

The Bulldogs’ other victories came from Pressley in the long jump (20-6 1/2), Johnson in the high jump (6-4) and David Tooley in the shot put (45-9 1/2).

Killian Timoney

“The boys’ team came on really strong late in the day,” said Killian Timoney, coach of the Bulldogs. “Things were going kind of as planned. We had a lot of our workhorses kind of doing their thing, but we had some individual guys kind of focus on their events to do well. We had a lot of bright surprises. Some of our younger kids really stepped up.

Dominique Norris

“Our girls, we were without Megan Klein; she ran in the steeplechase (Friday) night in the Eastern Relays. But Amanda Hancock definitely is more than capable of filling in. And our sprint girls are really getting it done. But the details – Reba Woodall (former Bryan Station coach) told me early in my career that you win state championships with field events — and we’ve got Allison Grewe that scored 21 points and we’ve got Kierra Mohammad that I can put in nine different events and she makes a state contender in every one of them. So it always makes for a fun day to see how they do.”

Scott County senior Dominique Norris was the lone winner of two individual boys’ events – the 110-meter hurdles (15.37) and 300-meter hurdles (41.07). Teammate Chris Montoya captured the 100 (11.23) and ran on the Cardinals’ winning 4-by-100 relay (44.73).

More than 100 clubs and 1,000 runners are expected Saturday at Masterson Station Park for the 12th annual USA Track & Field National Club Cross Country Championships.

The meet features the nation’s top post-collegiate club teams. The total prize purse of $30,000 includes $25,000 going to the top teams. Men will race a 10,000-meter course, while the women will cover 6,000 meters.

Thomas Morgan

Racing begins at 9:30 a.m. with a 6,000-meter community run. Then: Women’s masters 6K, 10:30 a.m.; men’s masters 10K, 11:30 a.m.; women’s open 6K, 12:45 p.m.; men’s open 10K, 1:30 p.m.

Defending club champions in the open divisions are ZAP Fitness (Blowing Rock, N.C.) in the men’s division, Boulder (Colo.) Running Company/adidas in the women’s race.

The ZAP roster includes former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky standout Thomas Morgan. Teammate David Jankowski leads a ZAP team that is gunning for its third title.

Other leading contenders for individual honors include Sergio Reyes and Phil Reid of Asics Aggie Running Club (Martinez, Calif.), plus Lucas Meyer of the Boston Athletic Association.

Aggies, Club Northwest (Seattle) and 2000 champion (Madison) Wisconsin Runner Racing Team are expected to be top threats to ZAP.

As for the women, World Championships marathoner Tera Moody leads Boulder’s effort to repeat as team champ. The Boston Athletic Association will try to win its fourth title, and McMillan Elite (Flagstaff, Ariz.) also should contend.

Top individual threats to Moody include Kasie Enman of Boston and Lindsay Allen of McMillan.

Leading teams in the men’s masters (age 40 and up) include Front Line Racing Team (Allen Park, Mich.), Dirigo R.C. (Falmouth, Maine), Genessee Valley Harriers (Rochester, N.Y.) and Fleet Feet Boulder (Colo.) Racing Team.

Top women’s teams include Impala Racing Team (San Francisco), See Jane Run (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Club Northwest (Seattle).

Entrants in the men’s 60-64 age group include Amby Burfoot, Runner’s World editor and winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon.

Former Villanova standout Bobby Curtis, who dominated Kentucky high school track during his days at St. Xavier, is keeping busy at a variety of distances this season.

Bobby Curtis

Thursday, at Minneapolis, Curtis placed third in the inaugural USA 1-Mile Road Championships.

Curtis, now based out of Ardmore, Pa., and Darren Brown hung with Jon Rankin as they broke from the pack at 1,200 meters, according to reports from USA Track & Field.

Also lurking, though, was David Torrence, who overtook Rankin to run the first sub-four road mile ever in Minnesota and earn a bonus of $10,000. First-place prize money, before the bonus, was $4,000.

Torrence, from Oakland, Calif., was timed in 3:59.3. Rankin took second in 4:01.7, followed by Curtis in 4:02.0. Brown was fourth in 4:08.0. John Richardson, the former Southeastern Conference champion for Kentucky, placed seventh in 4:10.1. 

Shannon Rowbury, the Olympic Trials 1,500-meter champion, took the women’s mile in 4:33.4. Sara Hall was runner-up in 4:39.1, followed by Sara Vaughn in 4:41.3.

Just about two weeks before heading to Minnesota, on April 24, Curtis turned in a sensational 5,000-meter victory in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational at Berkeley, Calif.

Curtis, sponsored by Reebok, clocked 13:29.12. Ben St. Lawrence (New Balance) edged Jorge Torres (Reebok) for second, 13:30.18 to 13:30.65, followed closesly by Scott Baughs (adidas) in 13:30.85. Further back in the international field was former Lexington Catholic and University of Kentucky standout Thomas Morgan (ZAP Fitness), 18th in 14:31.16.

Morgan’s ZAP teammate, former UK runner Allison Grace, took seventh in the women’s 5K (16:12.50).

Spanning the globe

Reese Hoffa

Danielle Carruthers

Louisville native Reese Hoffa was among several American winners Friday in the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix at Doha, Qatar.

Hoffa, the 2007 World Outdoor champion and a two-time Olympian, took the men’s shot put with the longest toss in the world this season, 71 feet. Poland’s Tomasz Majewski, gold-medalist at the Beijing Olympics, took second (69-7 1/2). Two-time Olympic silver-medalist Adam Nelson of the U.S. placed sixth (64-10).

Dannielle Carruthers, a former Indiana University standout and Kentucky high school champion out of Paducah Tilghman, placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles (12.73).

As for the other American winners:

* Brittney Reese, the NCAA and Olympic Trials champion out of Ole Miss, also won with a world-leading season-best — 22 feet, 11 1/4 inches in the women’s long jump. That also tops her all-time personal best of 22-9 3/4.

Allyson Felix

* Allyson Felix, a two-time World Outdoor champion and two-time Olympic silver-medal winner at 200 meters, doubled the distance to win the 400 at Qatar. Her time of 50.75 is fastest in the world this season.

* Travis Padgett, the NCAA 100-meter runner-up last year, took the Qatar century in 10-flat. That ties Olympic teammate Walter Dix for the fastest time in the world this season. Dix clocked 10.00 on April 11.

* Olympic bronze-medalist David Oliver repeated as the Doha champion in the 110-meter hurdles, although not as quick as last year (12.95). Still, his time of 13.09 is best in the world this year, topping his previous mark of 13.19.

For more details and results, see www.iaaf.org.