McGuffin adds to medal tally
Three former Florida Senior Games State Championships Athletes of the Year won gold medals in the basketball competition Friday at the Estero Community Center.
Andy McGuffin (2005) of Umatilla and Claudette Braswell (2007) of Lake Wales were golden in all three events. Harry Carothers of Pinellas Park captured two gold medals.
McGuffin’s three gold medals raises his career medal count to 35 earned since 1994. He has won 12 free throw shooting, 12 spot field goal shooting and 11 timed field goal shooting golds.
Three free throw shooters on the men’s side hit a total of 29 of 30 shots. Bob Short of Gainesville, Carothers and Donald Jeppsen of The Villages each were one shy of a perfect score to win gold medals. Short (60-64 age group) missed his seventh of 30 shots and responded with 23 consecutive made. Carothers (65-69 age group) connected on his first 22 shots before a miss, then hit the next seven. Jeppsen (75-79 age group) missed his eighth shot and then made 22 straight.
Braswell’s overall high total on the women’s side of 27 included 14 consecutive made shots to win gold in the 70-74 age group.
Peter Smith of The Villages had the high score in spot field goal shooting, making 14 of 15 shots. He came up short on his final attempt, missing from the top of the key.
En route to 146 total points in the timed field goal shooting, Carothers connected on 28 shots from three-point range during three 60-second intervals. Carothers’ gold medal, in the 65-69 age group, is his 10th in a row in the event since 1999. The total of 146 is six points shy of his all-time best score of 152 in the 2005 Games.
In men’s tennis doubles, Scott Makela of Anna Maria and Bradley Taylor of Bradenton won their third consecutive gold medal in the 50-54 age group. Jeff Jordan of Englewood and William Gibbs of North Port won doubles gold medals for the third straight year, this time in the 65-69 age group. The past two years, the pair won the 60-64 age group.
Jordan’s medal is his second of the 2008 Games. He won the men’s singles gold in the 65-69 age group.
After tennis was cancelled on Thursday due to rain, all matches were played in eight point, pro set format.
Saturday is the eighth day of competition with the 5K road race and 5K race walk set at Rotary Park in Cape Coral. Also, mixed doubles tennis is at Florida Gulf Coast University, shuffleboard at the North Fort Myers Community Park, field events of the track & field meet at South Fort Myers High School, 3-on-3 basketball at the Estero Community Center, singles billiards at Diamond Billiards in Cape Coral and racquetball at the Naples Fitness Center.
For complete results of these Games, logon to the official Web site at www.flasports.com.