Burtie, Hoopaholics, LaSport among stars in National Senior Games
Burtie Smith-Griffin, the Hoopaholics and LaSport brought medals from the National Senior Games back to North Louisiana after the dust settled in Cleveland, Ohio in mid-summer.
Burtie, making her fifth appearance in the Nationals, won a silver medal in the 50-meter dash for women 85 and older, with a time of 12.92. She crossed the finish line behind Josephine Stewart of Manassas, Va. (11.34). The 86-year-old from Haughton also finished fourth in the 200-meter run with a time of 1:20.66.
The Hoopaholics age 60-plus team captured a silver medal in women’s 3-on-3 basketball, compiling a perfect 3-0 mark in pool play and then finishing 4-2 in the medal round. They opened the medal round with a one-point loss to Madison, Tenn., and worked their way through the losers bracket before falling by 41-38 to a team of New York-Pennsylvania players to decide the medal finish. Mary Parsons, Lin Gamble, Donna Shields, Judy Emberton, and Marjorie Heath comprised the 60-plus Hoopaholics.
The 55-plus Hoopaholics team had a rough go in a tough pool, losing three games. That placed it in a consolation bracket where it won three games to claim a gold medal. MaryNell Hawley, Cay Evans, Glenda Cooper, Pam Eakin, Holly Kidd, and Shard Rivard were on the 55-team.
In slow pitch softball, the LaSport team claimed a bronze medal in the 50-plus age bracket. The team included Gayle Pearce, Mary Sallas, Janet Walton, Karen Kushner, Debbie Sites, Ginger Streeter, Kathy Perry, Renee Dean, Judy Hurst, Cindy Higginbotham and Joan Stadtlander.