34 | FEBRUARY 20 • 2020 quick hits There are openings for athletes and artists who want to represent Detroit this summer at the JCC Maccabi Games & ArtsFest. San Diego, California, and Pace University in Westchester County, New York, are the Maccabi Games sites. ArtsFest will be held in San Diego. Detroit will be sending golfers, boys and girls tennis players, and boys soccer and girls volleyball teams to San Diego. Pace will have 14U and 16U boys baseball, 14U and 16U boys basketball, girls competitive dance, girls soccer and ice hockey teams, plus boys and girls swimmers from Detroit. San Diego will be a host from Aug. 2-7. About 1,700 athletes and artists are expected. Pace will be a host from Aug. 9-14. From 700 to 800 athletes are expected. Athletes must be ages 13-16 and artists must be ages 13-17 as of July 31 to participate. Interested in becoming a Maccabi Games athlete or art- ist? Email Detroit delegation head Karen Gordon at karengordon44@icloud.com or go to maccabidetroit.com. BY STEVE STEIN Jeff Ellis continues to dominate in weightlifting at the Michigan Senior Olympics. The certified public accountant from West Bloomfield won another gold medal Feb. 9 at the Senior Olympics Winter Games in Plymouth with a bench press of 260 pounds in the age 60-64 198-pound division. It was Ellis’ 18th gold medal in the 20 times he’ s competed in weightlifting at the Senior Olympics. The 60-year-old also has a silver medal and a bronze medal in weightlifting. Ellis wanted to break his Senior Olympics age group record of 270 pounds set last year at the Summer Games when he competed earlier this month, but he fell short at 275 pounds. The West Bloomfield resident also holds the Senior Olympics record in the age 55-59 198- pound division. That record is 286.1 pounds. Junior Achievement West Bloomfi eld High School freshman is a competitor in American Ninja Warrior Junior. STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER R yan Krauthamer is a warrior. An American Ninja Warrior, to be exact. The 14-year-old West Bloomfield High School freshman is one of about 50 competitors in the age 13-14 division in the second season of American Ninja Warrior Junior on the Universal Kids cable channel. The show airs on Saturdays at 7 p.m., premiering Feb. 22. It isn’ t known if Ryan is in the opening episode. And how did he do in the competition? That’ s a closely guarded secret. Ryan can’ t say anything publicly until an episode with him in it airs. Neither can his family members. What Ryan can say, though, is he had a “blast” competing on the American Ninja Warrior Junior obstacle course in a downtown Los Angeles venue in July, even with 50 cameras recording the action and about 1,000 Ryan Krauthamer takes a break on the set of American Ninja Warrior Junior in downtown Los Angeles. sports HIGHlights ROY KRAUTHAMER Benji Jacobson has earned himself a spot in the Tulane University men’ s tennis team’ s lineup. Jacobson is playing No. 3 doubles. In five matches through Feb. 8, the redshirt freshman from Bloomfield Hills had won once, lost twice and had two matches go unfinished because Tulane had already picked up a team point for winning doubles. “I didn’ t start in our season opener against Stanford, but I’ ve started every time since then,” Jacobson said. “Four of the teams I’ ve faced are top-30 teams. My partner and I were about to beat Mississippi State (when the match was stopped) and we beat Texas Tech. So far, the season has been good, and I’ ve been playing very well.” Jacobson was an All-American and Michigan Division III “Mr. Tennis” while at Cranbrook- Kingswood High School, and he was a 2018 Jewish News Male High School Athlete of the Year.