Next to chasing a breaking news story, there was nothing the late Ron Bender would rather do than hit the racquetball courts at the local YMCA for a noon workout.

The longtime Rapid City Journal news editor, who died in a car-pedestrian accident in Maryland in November, spent many of his workweek lunch hours competing against friendly foes on the YMCA's second-floor racquetball courts.

And that's exactly where Bender's fellow racquetball players held the inaugural Ron Bender Memorial Racquetball Tournament on March 27-29.

Bender would have been happy to see that the tournament bearing his name and honoring his love of the sport drew 52 entrants, an impressive turnout for the first event.

"We were very pleased and next year we hope to make it a six-day tournament," organizer Dan Linde said. Linde predicted the annual tourney would continue to grow. "There was a great spirit out there. Lots of people were fired up to play for Ron."

One of them was YMCA Executive Director Roger Gallimore, Bender's longtime tournament doubles partner. As a tribute to his late friend, Gallimore competed in this tourney using Bender's racquet. Bender would have been touched by that gesture, even if it didn't help Gallimore win.

He would have been thrilled that another good friend, Connie Suto, won the Spirit of Ron Award. Suto was chosen as the player who best exemplified the four core values of the YMCA - caring, respect, honesty and responsibility.

But most all, the editor in Bender would have wanted to get the winners' names, spelled correctly, in the paper. They were:

Open Singles: 1. Shannin Rudman; 2 Pat Sigler; 3. Paul Jermolenko

Open Doubles: 1. Paul Jermolenko and Shannin Rudman 2. Willie Gonzales and Pat Sigler; 3. Randy Saunders and Kenny Harrison

A Doubles: 1. Scott Husted and Scott Plumb; 2. Ken Campbell and Allan Berreth; 3. Rob Hammerquist and Terry Hill

B Singles: 1. Mike Campbell; 2. Jason Stuen; 3. Gene Waterson

BC Doubles: 1. Connie Suto and Darrell Slone; 2. Brad Junek and Jason Stuen; 3. Jamil Higgins and Su-mei Higgins

C Singles: 1. Jeff Hoffman; 2. Jon Dahlstrom; 3. Kelly Smith

Mixed Doubles: 1. Dave Osborne and Vickie Larson; 2. Darrell Slone and Connie Suto; 3. Jamil Higgins and Su-mei Higgins

Junior Champion: 1. Trevor Kautzman; 2. Chris Suto

Congratulations to all of the winners, kudos to the tournament organizers and special thanks to its sponsors: Black Hills Power, Western Dakota Insurers, Haggerty's Musicworks, Piece of Cake, Coca Cola, Quiznos, Alex Johnson Hotel, Dakota Sports and the Journal.