56°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Las Vegan Schulte wins Pahrump Spring Open horseshoes tournament

Mike Norton is always looking to see new faces at Nevada Horseshoe Pitchers Association tournaments, even if the new face is an old one.

And while he might not have won the Pahrump Spring Open, 90-year-old Fred Kennedy of Las Vegas was pleased with his performance.

“I won two, tied two and lost one,” Kennedy said Saturday at Petrack Park. “Not bad for the first time.”

Not only did he finish third in the middle group at his first tournament, he only picked up the game seriously four months ago.

“I enjoy the game. It’s a lot of fun,” Kennedy said. “I’ve always liked to play horseshoes at a family picnic or whatever. Gives me something to do.”

Even if it means making the drive over to Pahrump for his first NHPA tournament.

“I came with two guys I play horseshoes with in Las Vegas all the time, Dan (Dunn) and Ray (Leavitt),” Kennedy said. “It’s a good tournament. A lot of nice guys, too.”

The tournament champion was another Las Vegan, Neal Schulte, who went undefeated in Class A.

“I won one last year,” said Schulte, who said he has been pitching with the NHPA since 1992. “Mr. Weaver always said if you pitch your average you’ve got a really good chance of winning the tournament. May he rest in peace.”

The late Don Weaver was a 2007 inductee into the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association Hall of Fame. Schulte’s ringer percentage going into the Pahrump Spring Open was 30.18, and he pitched to a 31.25 on Saturday.

Schulte, a Nebraska native, said he makes two or three of the tournaments held in Pahrump each year. On Saturday, he was one of 16 competitors.

“We’ve had more than 16,” Norton said, surveying the day’s spread that included tri-tip sandwiches. “We should have 18, that would be about right. But it was a good turnout today. If we keep feeding them like this, they won’t stop coming.”

Mark Kaczmarek and Dave Barefield finished tied for first in the Class B, with Barefield winning in a playoff. Mike Nicosia went 4-0 to capture Class C.

Norton said the prize money was $35 for first, $20 for second and $15 for third in each of the three divisions.

The next tournament on the schedule is the Don Weaver Memorial on April 6 in Las Vegas, with the next tournament in Pahrump the Best of the West on May 4 at Petrack Park.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Trojans home run isn’t enough for win

A home run from Madison Rodriguez (6) wasn’t enough for the Pahrump Valley softball team to beat the Sports Leadership & Management (SLAM) Bulls in a conference game on Wednesday.

SOFTBALL: Trojans top Moapa, fall to Needles

The Trojans softball team suffered their first loss this season against a school from a neighboring state on Monday, but it also added a win in a weekend game against Moapa Valley (2-1) at home.

Muckers baseball off to 1-3 start this season

By the end of the weekend, the Tonopah Muckers had played four games, where they scored over 17 runs.

Muckers start softball season 1-3

Tonopah softball started their season over the weekend with four games on Friday and Saturday.

RODEO 2024: Here are the winners

The Nevada State High School Rodeo was in Pahrump last weekend where junior and senior high school students from around the state came to compete after their winter break.

Trojans girls basketball moves on to the quarterfinals

After Avery Moore stole a pass from the Sports Leadership and Management (SLAM) girls basketball team she passed the ball to Paris Coleman who ran up and scored the team’s fourth two-pointer in less than two minutes.

Pastor opens boxing gym for Pahrump youth

Pastor Ruben Bajo, of Full Armor of God Ministries in Pahrump told the Pahrump Valley Times that decades ago the sport of boxing saved his life and kept him off the streets of Los Angeles.

Trojans struggle in nail-biting 4th quarter against Chaparral

It was all up to No. 14 Daxton Palmisano from the Pahrump Valley boys basketball team with less than 10 seconds on the clock to score a three-pointer to get the Trojans into overtime in a hard-fought game on Wednesday.