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.

