For many of us, this quick transition from winter to what felt like summer last week is a welcome change.
It’s unbelievable what a couple of 80-degree days can do to the New England landscape, as trees suddenly turned green, bushes began to bloom, and the sound of lawn mowers became increasingly familiar.
Winter seemed to hang on for an extra few weeks this year, much to the delight of Punxsutawney Phil — that famous fur ball who predicts the weather each Groundhog Day and did see his shadow three months ago. That was not what many people were probably hoping for, although there are some who revel in the wintry weather.
One person who may be lamenting the change of seasons is Leyden’s Rebecca Rodgers. You may recall from a story back in January that Rodgers is making a name for herself nationally in the sport of curling. The Pioneer Valley Regional School senior competed in several national championships over the past few months, and did very well representing her home rink of Petersham Curling Club.
In fact, Rodgers did so well at the national championships that she now has her sights set on getting into the High Performance program, which is where the Olympic athletes train. That facility is located in Stevens Point, Wisc., which is about 90 minutes away from the University of Wisconsin Au Clair, which is the college that Rodgers will be attending beginning this fall. Rodgers is going in undeclared, but is leaning toward majoring in biology or pre-pharmacy. Rodgers has applied for the high-performance program, which has one opening for the upcoming year.
“I’m hoping to make the high-performance team,” Rodgers said. “There is one spot on the women’s team this year, but, of course, there are lots of people vying for that one spot.”
Rodgers should be considered, based on her winter performance. Rodgers finished tied for 11th in the Mixed Doubles National Tournament, which pitted her and her partner against 21 other teams of mostly adults back before Christmas, and she then finished one win away from playing for the gold medal at the Under-21 National Championships in January. Those two matches were written about back in January.
Since then, Rodgers has had two more major competitions. She went to Bemidji, Minn., in February to compete at the Under-18 National Championships, where her team competed against 11 other teams from across the country. Rodgers’ team went 5-0 in pool play, then won its semifinal playoff match to advance to the finals to face Team Yavarow (each team takes the name of the skip, or captain of the team). The championship match was tight throughout the first half, but team Yavarow pulled away late for a 8-4 win, leaving Rodgers with the silver medal.
“Our goal was to at least medal and I was happy to win silver, but it was also a little disappointing to finish second when you come so close to getting gold,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers thought that was going to be it for her major tournament schedule for the year; however, the team that won the Under-21 National Championships went to Scotland to represent the United States at the World Championships. That team had also qualified for the Women’s National Championships, but the conflict left an opening in the eight-team field. Organizers reached out to Rodgers’ team to fill the void, and Rodgers’ team of high school players traveled in March to Fargo, N.D., where it finished 3-4 overall against the top women’s teams in the country to finish fifth.
“That was very, very exciting,” Rodgers said. “It was pretty cool. We played in a big hockey arena.”
Part of that tournament included Rodgers’ facing Team Sinclair, named after skip Jamie Sinclair. That team finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials and was the defending national champion. Rodgers’ team was tied with Team Sinclair at 4-4 after eight ends, but in the ninth, Team Sinclair scored three points to win 7-4.
“We went toe-to-toe with the defending national champions and the team that finished second at the Olympic Trials,” Rodgers said. “It was such a great experience. Getting to curl against the top women’s curling athletes in the country and getting to play against women who I look up to and strive to be like was an amazing opportunity. It showed that we could hold our own at such a big, elite-level competition.”
Rodgers is now done curling until the fall, when she will pick it up in Wisconsin. She will not be eligible for Under-18 next year, but hopes to still compete at the Under-21 and Mixed Doubles National Championships, as well as possibly qualifying for the Women’s Nationals again.
Her ascent in the sport, like the sport itself, continues to trend upward.
If you have ever met Mike Markol, you probably have a Mike Markol story.
For those who don’t know the man affectionately known as “Mike the Mouth,” he is a boisterous supporter of Turners Falls athletics. Son Brody Markol was a football and baseball star at Turners Falls before graduating in 2014. People may also recognize him as the Coca-Cola distributor who was always talking to people at area grocery stores.
Sadly, Mike was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and immediately began undergoing chemotherapy. It’s a sad situation for someone I enjoyed sparring with on the sidelines over the years.
Finding Mike Markol at a game was never hard to do, thanks to his gift of having one of the loudest voices of anyone I know. I still remember being a young reporter and standing on the sideline for one of my first Turners Falls football games. I was startled when someone hollered from behind me.
“Hey, Butynski,” the mystery person yelled in a gruff-sounding voice.
I turned around to see Markol smiling, and every time I covered a Turners Falls event I was sure to hear him holler my name. Over the years, we developed a friendship through our time spent at games. His outrageous personality always made him an attraction at sporting events, oftentimes to the detriment of opposing teams. He is a free spirit, who was never embarrassed. I still remember him donning a headdress and running the sidelines with a flag to get the Turners crowd excited (when the team still had its old nickname).
But Markol has always been more than just a cheerleader. When involved in the Newt Guilbault Community League for over a decade, he was instrumental in getting one of the fields named after long-time league president Frank “Soupie” Campbell. Markol was also a longtime umpire in the area, helping out with everything from high school games to youth leagues, where his trademark pipes were an asset.
That has inspired some local teams to take action. The Greenfield Minor League will have a bucket at the concession stand for donations, and the league will match the amount donated up to $400. Pioneer Valley Regional School softball coach Sue Fuller also reached out to say that her team will be honoring Markol by dedicating a game to him and his recovery, and the team will tie periwinkle and blue ribbons to their backpacks and other items in support of him.
A GoFundMe page named “Mercy for Mike” has been started and as of Monday night over $7,200 has been raised for him. A Facebook Page entitled “Mike Markol Fan Club” has also been created for people to share stories.
Thoughts and prayers to the Markol family at this very trying time.
Jason Butynski is a Greenfield native and Recorder sportswriter. His email address is jbutynski@recorder.com. Like him on Facebook and leave your feedback at www.facebook.com/jaybutynski.