Ness passes Kobiskie in fall trainer standings
Jamie Ness moved ahead of Dane Kobiskie atop the Laurel Park fall trainer standings with three victories Wednesday afternoon. It was the ninth multiple-win day of the stand for the 36-year-old conditioner and for his owner, Midwest Thoroughbreds Inc. Yes He Did ($3.80, second), No Crossing Lane ($3.80, fifth) and Hidden Bay ($4.20, eighth) were winners on the eight-race card. Ness, who ranks second in North America with 309 victories, has won 30 races from 94 starters during the fall meet. Kobiskie has been victorious 28 times from 85 starters. Abel Castellano was aboard all three of Ness' winners Wednesday. He ranks fourth in the rider standings for the meet with 42 first-place finishes, trailing only Sheldon Russell (49), Julian Pimentel (47) and Horacio Karamanos (44). Russell and Kobiskie have wrapped up the year-round titles at the major Maryland tracks with eight live racing days remaining in the calendar year. Russell has 120 trips to the winner's circle at Laurel and Pimlico Race Course, 23 ahead of Pimentel. Kobiskie has saddled 57 winners, 22 more than Dale Capuano.
Debut: Retired jockey Charles Forrest saddled his first runner as a trainer in Wednesday's seventh race. Jons Master Dancer finished third behind Dylan Ray and Target the Gold in the $12,000 claimer. Forrest, 45, spent 23 years as a rider, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic, from 1988 to 2010.
Indoor soccer
Toss it to Ravens' T.Smith in Blast's halftime event Friday
Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (Maryland) will attend the Blast's home game against the Missouri Comets on Friday night and will host a Throw to the Pro event at halftime. Game time at 1st Mariner Arena is set for 7:35 p.m., and all fans in attendance will be able to enter to win the chance to participate in the halftime event with Smith. Also on Friday night, the first 1,000 fans 14 years old and under will receive a free Pat Healey replica jersey T-shirt.
Et cetera
Terps' Meharg receives 14th Coach of the Year honor
Maryland coach Missy Meharg was named the Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Meharg earned the region's honor for the 14th time in her 24-year career and second straight year. This year, Meharg led a young Terrapins squad to its eighth national title and a 19-4 overall record. The Terps entered the NCAA tournament unseeded and beat the No. 3, 2 and 1 seeds to win their seventh title under Meharg.
Women's college lacrosse: Maryland seniors Brittany Dipper and Karri Ellen Johnson (Broadneck), as well as juniors Iliana Sanza (St. Paul's) and Katie Schwarzmann (Century), were named to the 2012 Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America first team. Maryland was ranked second in the publication's preseason poll behind 2011 national champion Northwestern.
College football: Six Salisbury players were named to the D3football.com All-East Region teams. Senior guard Alex Smith was selected to the first team, and quarterback Dan Griffin (North Harford) was named to the second team. Superback Randal Smedley and offensive lineman Christian Emezie (Poly) were both named to the third team. Senior linebacker Jamey McClendon and sophomore cornerback Andre Carter picked up third-team honors.
College basketball: Towson will host a Toys for Tots Drive during the men's game against UMBC on Saturday and the women's game against UMES on Tuesday. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation will accept toys to be distributed by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. … Frostburg State's men's game against Penn State Altoona on Dec. 20 has been changed to a 5 p.m. start.
College swimming: St. Mary's junior Kelly Heyde was named Capital Athletic Conference Women's Athlete of the Week for the third time this season.
College track and field: Frostburg State senior Wes Jacobs (Aberdeen), Stevenson freshman Derrick Mayfield and Salisbury senior Jay Drenner (Mount St. Joseph) were selected as the CAC Men's Athletes of the Week. … Salisbury sophomore Kara Tolson (Patterson Mill) and Frostburg State sophomore Samantha Taylor were named CAC Women's Athletes of the Week.
—From Sun staff and news services
Varsity soccer: Seven area teams were given a National Team Academic Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2010-11 academic year. Nationally, 350 soccer teams (135 boys, 215 girls) were honored. To qualify, a team must have a minimum average GPA of 3.25 for the academic year. Catonsville's boys and girls soccer teams were honored, as were the Mount Hebron girls and the boys teams from C. Milton Wright, Broadneck, Eastern Tech and Mount St.Joseph.
—Todd Karpovich