Rockport runner Hawkes competing on world stage
The three-point stance is the only thing that gives it away for 19-year-old runner Sabra Hawkes.
A mild case of cerebral palsy affecting the left side of her body, she gets down in the stance so she can keep her balance. Once the gun goes off, she's dusting people.
"Because it was something I was born with, it really doesn't affect the way I think about running," she said.
Hawkes will be among hundreds of the world's top paralympians in Rio de Janeiro this week to compete in the Parapan American Games, with its opening ceremonies set for today.
The Rockport native runs the 100- and 200-meter sprints, with personal bests of 14.99 and 30.17 seconds, respectively. She'll compete in both events in Brazil, and even though this is her first trip to the games, Hawkes says she likes her chances.
"I've never gone," she said. "I've never experienced. I don't know what it's going to be like. But I've heard that it's a really awesome competition. I have pretty high hopes for what I have to do."
Hawkes, heading into her sophomore year at Keene State College in New Hampshire, ran a little cross-country in middle school but didn't seriously pick up the sport until high school, when her mother was searching online and found a meet in Canton for athletes with disabilities. She hasn't stopped running since, hiring a running coach and training every day except Sunday, doing sprint drills and hitting the weight room.
"When I first started, I had no idea," she said. "I had no idea if I was going to run well. I really just went out there because I liked to run. I had no idea it was going to turn into this. Like a long-term thing."
Last year, running took Hawkes to the Netherlands, where she finished seventh in the 200-meter event at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships.
"I'm definitely happy with what I've accomplished. I get to be on teams, and I get to travel, and it's a really good opportunity. And I get to meet a lot of really awesome people, really inspirational people by doing this. And I want to do it as long as I can."
Swampscott sticks with plan for American Legion tourney
If anything, Swampscott's American Legion baseball coach Jeff Newhall was prepared.
The Mariners had been the medicine ball of the American Legion postseason, busting up the bracket on their way to the state final Wednesday night in Hudson.
Swampscott was able to watch and wait, as Milton and Brockton played the early game to see who would advance to the finals to meet the Mariners.
Despite the tight schedule of the Legion postseason, the many arms on Swampscott's heavily loaded pitching staff were all fairly rested.
The Mariners kept their series with teams from Peabody and Billerica short and sweet, sweeping both in two games, averaging 11 runs a game.
Newhall said at the outset of the tournament that it was important to play as few games as possible.
Two Phillips Exeter rowers earn berths in Beijing event
A pair of Phillips Exeter Academy's finest spent last week in Beijing for the FISA World Rowing Junior Championships.
Ian Winthrop and Jeremy Bernstein earned spots on the 23-man team that made up the US Junior National Rowing squad.
The event was scheduled to wrap up yesterday after four days of competition in the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, the same spot that will host the rowing, canoeing, and kayaking events at the Summer Olympics next year.
Bernstein competed on the junior men's four-seat with coxswain boat, while Winthrop rowed on the junior men's eight.
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com. 