Congratulations to the Arab Encore Athlete of the Month, Benjamin Clark! Ben is a multi- sport, sophomore, athlete at Brindlee Mountain High School. He has played on the Varsity Baseball and Football teams for 3 and 2 years respectively and wears jerseys #5 and #72. He has won the All-County Football award and the Gavin Brooks Award. Benjamin is the son of Johnny and Kim Clark.
AHSAA BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Third-round pairings/Results
(Best 2-of-3 series for 1A-6A; Second round for 7A.)
CLASS 1A
J.U. Blacksher 5-10, Maplesville (23-7) 1-6 (J.U. Blacksher (23-10) wins series 2-0)
Brantley 2-17-16, Ragland (22-11) 11-2-6 (Brantley (25-10) wins series 2-1)
Decatur Heritage (23-11) 7-10, Cedar Bluff (16-19) 0-0 (Decatur Heritage (25-11) wins series 2-0)
South Lamar 6-1-6, Athens Bible (31-13) 3-2-5 (South Lamar (25-11) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 2A
Houston Academy 8-2, New Brockton (26-7) 1-1 (Houston Academy (30-7) wins series 2-0)
Mobile Christian 6-5, Reeltown (23-13) 0-0 (Mobile Christian (22-12) wins series 2-0)
fyffe 1-19-23, Gaston (17-13) 2-0-6 (Fyffe (19-10) wins series 2-1)
Mars Hill Bible 1-6-9, Randolph County (28-8) 12-4-5 (Mars Hill Bible (31-12) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 3A
American Christian 14-12, Geneva (18-11) 3-2 (American Christian (29-5) wins series 2-0)
Gordo 8-3-8, T.R. Miller (29-10) 6-6-7 (Gordo (31-5) wins series 2-1)
Westbrook Christian 7-4, Pisgah (24-7) 2-2 Westbrook Christian (26-10) wins series 2-0)
Madison Academy 4-11, Winfield (31-14) 2-0 (Madison Academy (31-16) wins series 2-0)
CLASS 4A
Bibb County 1-12-1, Saint James (23-12) 10-5-0 (Bibb County (19-23) wins series 2-1)
UMS-Wright 7-12, Montevallo (24-14) 3-0 (UMS-Wright (29-9) wins series 2-0)
North Jackson 9-14, Cleburne County (19-17) 2-5 (North Jackson (28-8) wins series 2-0)
Oneonta 3-10-2, Brooks (27-22) 10-3-1 (Oneonta (28-9) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 5A
Rehobeth 7-13, Demopolis (18-10) 4-10 (Rehobeth (30-9) wins series 2-0)
Faith Academy 3-2-6, Helena (36-14) 6-1-0, game 2, 11 innings Faith Academy wins series 2-1)
Russellville 3-12, Alexandria (19-20) 2-1 (Russellville (44-6) wins series 2-0)
Corner 6-6-5, Randolph (37-8) 10-3-1 (Corner (30-21-1) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 6A
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 6-8, Opelika (26-14) 1-3 (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (36-10) wins series 2-0)
Hueytown (37-6)6-0-5, Baldwin County (23-17) 5-4-1 (Hueytown (38-6) wins series 2-1)
Southside-Gadsden 3-5, Walker (27-16) 2-3 (Southside-Gadsden (31-15) wins series 2-0)
Cullman 0-10-8, Oxford (37-11) 4-1-5 (Cullman (39-12) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 7A
Auburn 14-5, Central-Phenix City (27-14) 1-4 (Auburn (30-11) wins series 2-0)
McGill-Toolen7-3, Davidson (21-15) 3-2 (McGill-Toolen (28-9) wins series 2-0)
Hewitt-Trussville 6-0-7, Oak Mountain (30-14) 5-6-5, Game 3, 9 innings (Hewitt-Trussville (32-11) wins series 2-1)
Sparkman 3-8, Huntsville (30-21) 2-5 (Sparkman (35-7) wins series 2-0)
Congratulations to the following teams who won Outdoor Track and Field State Championship Titles this past weekend!
BOYS – 7A Auburn, 6A Opelika, 5A St. Paul, 4A UMS-Wright, 3A Winfield, 2A Cold Springs, and 1A St. Bernard
GIRLS – 7A Hoover, 6A Homewood, 5A St. Paul, 4A UMS-Wright, 3A T.R. Miller, 2A LaFayette, 1A Whitesburg Christian
At State Track Championships in Cullman – Winfield High School and Whitesburg Christian won state track championships for the second year in a row as the 92nd annual AHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded at Cullman Saturday.
Coach Steve Reaves’ Pirates totaled 97 points to win the Class 3A boys ‘ title. Montgomery Academy scored 64 to finish second and Greensboro (50) was third. Whitesburg Christian’s girls, coached by David McConnell, won their second consecutive Class 1A outdoor title with 109 points to edge Westminster of Oak Mountain, which totaled 103. St. Bernard was third with 98.50.
St. Bernard, coached by Steven Calvert, also captured the boys’ state title with 138 points. Marion County finished second with 98, and Linden was third with 53.50. Claiming the Class 2A boys’ championship was Cold Springs, coached by Claborn Campbell. The Eagles had 139 points and runner-up Falkville had 109.50. LaFayette was a close third with 102.
Coach Corey Thornton’s LaFayette took home the Class 2A state crown scoring 110 points. Falkville had 96 to finish second and Mobile Christian was third with 83. T.R. Miller, coached by Eddie Brundidge, was the Class 3A girls’ champs scoring 89 points. Cottage Hill Christian was second with 70.75. It was the third state title for T.R. Miller since 2011.
Winfield junior Trey Cunningham shattered his own Class 3A 110-meter hurdles record (14.18) set in A015 Friday with a 13.42-second time in the prelims. Saturday, his winning time of 13.50 seconds in the finals fell just shy of the prelim time but gave the Pirates standout the best three Class 3A times in the event’s history. The 13.42 now ranks as the fastest in the AHSAA state meet in any classification.
He also breezed to the 200-meter dash win with a winning time of 21.82 seconds, and leaped 22-08 to win the long jump – giving him 40 points and four golds for the state meet.
Shades Mountain Christian senior distance runner Dylan Pausic also broke a 31-year old Class 1A record with his 9:39.78 time in the 3,200-meter run Saturday morning. Athens Bible’s Jeff Harwell set the previous mark (9:51.06) in 1985. Pausic, 5-foot-6, 135 pounds, also won the 1,600 meters on Friday to give him a sweep of the 1A distance events.
Piedmont senior Karri Green, who set the 3A state record in the 400-meter dash Friday, won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.90 – just missing the record (14.23) set in 2005 by Leeds’ Bridget Rose. She followed with another record-setting effort in the 200-meter dash. She ran 24.97 to eclipse the previous record (25.10) by Simone Pugh of Cottage Hill in 2009.
Some other highlights from Saturday’s 1A/2A/3A competition at Cullman included:
At State Track Championships in Gulf Shores – UMS-Wright captured is eighth straight AHSAA Class 4A state boys’ track title in a row Saturday as the 92nd annual championships concluded at Gulf Shores Sports Complex.
Coach Pat Galle’s boys posted 86 points to edge runner-up Dadeville (82) by four points in what turned out to be one of the most competitive outdoor state track and field meets in the AHSAA’s long history.
The Bulldogs now have 22 boys’ championships. UMS-Wright’s girls also won the 4A girls’ title with 138 points. Brooks was second with 89. It was the Mobile school’s 15th overall and sixth in the last seven years.
Hoover won the Class 7A girls championship scoring 171 points – doubling runner-up Mountain Brook’s 84 points. Coach Devon Hind’s Lady Bucs have won the big-school state crown sixth of the last seven years and own both 7A titles. Homewood, coached by Thomas Esslinger, won its third 6A state girls’ championship in a row scoring 102.50 points with runner-up Pelham right behind with 98.50. Walker was third with 82.50. St. Paul’s Episcopal’s girls, coached by Jim Tate, took first place in Class 5A with 123 points. Beauregard finished second with 90.
On the boys’ side, Coach Dan Norton’s Auburn Tigers won the 7A state championship for the second year in a row outscoring runner-up Hoover 130-95. Hewitt-Trussville was third with 94 points. Opelika, coached by Jimmy Johnson, also won the 6A boys’ title for the second straight year. The Bulldogs had 113 points and runner-up Homewood, 70.
Thompson High School senior Emmanuel Tait captured firsts in the 110-meter hurdles, 300-meter intermediate hurdles and 100-meter dash – besting his own Class 7A records in each event. He won the 110 hurdles with a winning time of 14.0 seconds – 12/100ths of second better than the 14.12 time he had last year in the 7A competition. He broke that record Friday, however, in the prelims with a 13.90 time.
He broke his own 7A record (38.83) in the 300 hurdles with a 37.90 time in Saturday’s finals. Triaon Poellnitz of Auburn (38.27) and Marion Humphrey of Hoover (38.30) also bettered Tait’s 2015 record to finish 2-3. Tait clocked 10.93 to win the 100-meter finals Saturday – giving him 30 points personally in three individual events.
Brittley Humphrey of Hoover tied her own 7A record with her 42.46-second winning time in the 300-meter hurdles, and broke her own 7A record (13.74) in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 13.49 seconds. Teammate Caitlyn Little was a close second at 13.79.
We are proud to provide sports medicine for these 6 State Championship teams!
Congratulations to the Hayden Encore Athletes of the Month, Kellyn Calvert and Peyton Waugh! Kellyn and Peyton are both athletes at Corner High School in Dora, AL.
Kellyn Calvert is a junior and plays on the Lady Jacket’s Tennis team. She has a 4.14 GPA and will graduate in 2017. Kellyn is 2nd seed in singles and 1st seed in doubles for three years now. She has been tennis runner-up in the sectional tournament and also in the county tournement. After she graduates high school, Kellyn plans to major in pre-dentistry and go to dental school. She is the daughter of Jeff and Amy Calvert.
Peyton Waugh is a senior and has played on the Boys Tennis team for 3 years as well. He has been the 1st seed for singles and doubles for all 3 years and was runner up in the sectional tournament for singles and doubles in 2015. Peyton has a 3.4 GPA and plans to attend Bevil State, then transfer to UAB where he will major in business. He is the son of Rodger and Tonya Waugh.
Congratulations to the Hamilton Encore Athlete of the Month, Luke Hall! Luke is a junior at Hamilton High School. He has been a member of the varsity baseball team for 3 years and loves the game. After high school, Luke plans to attend a 4 year college to major in Engineering. He is the son of Mark and Jeanette Hall. Keep up the good work, Luke!
Congratulations to the Fairfield Encore Athlete of the Month, Dahlia Hendon! Dahlia is a senior, multi-sport athlete at Fairfield High Preparatory School. She has been a member of the varsity Lady Tiger’s Basketball, Track, and Softball teams for 2 years now. Her sports awards consists of the 2015 AHSAA 5 A State Finals, Outdoor Track 100M Dash, 400M Dash, 100M Relay, and Basketball “Pride and Supreme Dedication” awards. After graduation this Spring, Dahlia plans to attend Bethune-Cookman University to major in Biology. Dahlia is the daughter of Denisha Hendon.
Congratulations to the Citronelle Encore Athlete of the Month, Paige Reach! Paige is a senior athlete at Citronelle High School. She has been playing Varsity Softball for the Lady Wildcats for 4 years and wears jersey #5. Paige has obtained quite a few sports awards in the past 4 years – Bryant-Jordan Scholarship nominee, Offensive MVP, Defensive MVP, and team captain for the softball team. She has a 4.43 GPA and plays to attend Alabama Southern Community College where she received a softball scholarship and will major in nursing.
Paige is the daughter of Tommy and Christy Anderson. Good luck in softball this season, Paige! We are proud of you!
AHSAA BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
First-round pairings/Results
(Best 2-of-3 first-round series for 1A-6A are Apr. 22-23; for 7A, Apr. 29-30 unless otherwise noted)
CLASS 1A
Billingsley 14-9 , Verbena (4-6) 3-8 (Billingsley wins series 2-0)
Maplesville 25-27, Loachapoka 0-0 (Maplesville (21-3) wins series 2-0)
J.U. Blacksher 21-20, McKenzie (10-10) 2-3 (J.U. Blacksher (18-9) wins series 2-0)
Pleasant Home 11-14, Ellwood Christian 1-4 (Pleasant Home (10-7) wins series 2-0
Ragland 11-14, Wadley (8-7) 1-0 (Ragland (17-9) wins series 2-0)
Victory Christian 9-2, Shades Mountain (10-15) 2-0 (Victory Christian (14-5) wins series 2-0)
Brantley 16-18, Fruitdale (11-10) 0-1 (Brantley (18-8) wins series 2-0)
Millry 4-10, Kinston (8-14) 2-6 (Millry (17-10) wins series 2-0)
Cedar Bluff 7-7, Woodville (5-9) 0-0 (Cedar Bluff (14-15) wins series 2-0)
Coosa Christian 11-10, Skyline (6-10) 0-0 (Coosa Christian (22-2) wins series 2-0)
Meek 11-2, Donoho (4-13) 0-1 (Meek (16-9) wins series 2-0)
Decatur Heritage 15-12, Jacksonville Christian (9-9) 0-0 (Decatur Heritage (23-8) wins series 2-0)
Athens Bible 14-11, Covenant Christian (12-6) 4-1 (Athens Bible (26-8) wins series 2-0)
Hackleburg 15-13, Shoals Christian (28-11) 5-3 (Hackleburg (20-11) wins series 2-0)
Marion County 10-12, Berry (0-2), (Marion County (14-11) wins series 2-0)
South Lamar 9-18, Lynn (12-7) 0-3 (South Lamar (21-9) wins series 2-0)
CLASS 2A
Elba (15-5) 11-8 vs. Luverne (13-7) 10-12 (Game 3, Mon., 4 p.m.)
New Brockton 5-6, Highland Home (15-8) 4-1 (New Brockton (24-5) wins series 2-0)
Providence Christian 12-5, G.W. Long (26-8) 7-4 (second game, 5 innings) (Providence Christian (22-10) wins series 2-0)
Houston Academy 9-10, Ariton (12-9) 3-4 (Houston Academy (26-7) wins series 2-0)
Reeltown 17-7, Francis Marion (5-9) 3-0 (Reeltown (21-9) wins series 2-0)
Horseshoe Bend 16-2-14, Holy Spirit (9-11) 4-6-10 (Horseshoe Bend (10-18) wins series 2-1)
Mobile Christian 1-12-7, Sweet Water (22-10) 3-1-3 (Mobile Christian (16-11) wins series 2-1)
St. Luke’s Episcopal 9-8, Washington County 3-3 (St. Luke’s Episcopal (21-6) wins series 2-0)
Fyffe 15-10, Falkville (15-16-1) 5-0 (Fyffe (13-7) wins series 2-0)
Section 10-2-9, Cold Springs 0-5-4 (Section (14-12) wins series 2-1)
Gaston 6-10, Southeastern (13-16) 2-0 (Gaston (14-10) wins series 2-0)
Sumiton Christian 6-14, West End (9-13) 1-0 (Sumiton Christian (18-15) wins series 2-0)
Mars Hill Bible 2-23-6, Hatton 7-2-3 (Mars Hill (28-11) wins series 2-1)
Phil Campbell 6-6-4, Red Bay Red Bay (17-14) 8-5-0 (Phil Campbell (22-15) wins series 2-1)
Randolph County 6-7, Fayetteville (18-6) 0-2 (Randolph County (22-6) wins series 2-0)
Vincent 3-0-9, Ranburne (7-8) 0-4-2 (Vincent (17-13) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 3A
American Christian 10-18, Prattville Christian (9-19) 0-1 (American Christian (25-5) wins series 2-0)
Montgomery Academy 13-10, Hale County (11-15) 3-7 (Montgomery Academy (15-10) wins series 2-0)
Wicksburg 8-12, Dale County (14-17) 2-6 (Wicksburg (16-11) wins series 2-0)
Geneva 16-23, Pike County 0-9 (Geneva (16-9) wins series 2-0)
Lamar County 17-4, Fultondale (11-13) 7-3 (Lamar County (14-15) wins series 2-0)
Gordo 11-14, B.B. Comer 0-1 (Gordo (22-4) wins series 2-0)
T.R. Miller 4-6, Cottage Hill Christian 0-2 (T.R. Miller (25-7) wins series 2-0)
Bayside Academy 0-12-7, Opp (17-11) 2-2-1 (Bayside (22-6) wins series 2-1)
Pisgah 5-5, Sand Rock (12-15) 1-1 (Pisgah (22-5) wins series 2-0)
Plainview 2-2, New Hope (19-10) 1-1 (Plainview (12-11) wins series 2-0)
Piedmont 5-6, Ohatchee (13-15) 3-2 (Piedmont (20-10) wins series 2-0)
Westbrook Christian 3-3, Pleasant Valley (9-17) 2-1 (Westbrook (22-9) wins series 2-0)
Colbert Heights 0-12-10, West Morgan (21-15) 4-5-1 (Colbert Heights (22-4) wins series 2-1)
Madison Academy 11-13, Lexington (18-14) 2-1 (Madison Academy (25-15) wins series 2-0)
Oakman 5-6, Hanceville (17-11) 1-4 (Oakman wins series 2-0)
Winfield 18-25, Vinemont (13-15) 0-0 (Winfield (27-10) wins series 2-0)
CLASS 4A
Bibb County 3-10-17, Dadeville (9-23) 2-11-4 (Bibb County (15-21) wins series 2-1)
Holtville (20-12) 5-2, Sipsey Valley (21-13) 2-12 (Game 3, Monday, 4:30 p.m.)
Saint James 17-10, Clarke County (7-15) 0-0 (Saint James (20-8) wins series 2-0)
Trinity Presbyterian 7-6, Thomasville (19-7) 0-0 (Trinity (21-11) wins series 2-0)
Oak Grove (12-20) 4-8, Handley (17-6) 10-2 (Game 3, Mon., TBA)
Montevallo 11-13, Childersburg (6-20) 0-7 (Montevallo (22-11) wins series 2-0)
Andalusia 11-4-9, W.S. Neal (13-8) 10-9-8 (Andalusia (15-16) wins series 2-1)
UMS-Wright 14-7, Headland (18-14) 0-3 (UMS-Wright (25-7) wins series 2-0)
Haleyville 9-5, Priceville 1-1 (Haleyville (25-11) wins series 2-0)
North Jackson 10-4, Danville (24-14) 0-1 (North Jackson (23-8) wins series 2-0)
Cherokee County 5-4, Jacksonville (22-8) 4-2 (Cherokee County (22-5) wins series 2-0)
Cleburne County 6-6, Hokes Bluff (16-7) 5-5 (Cleburne County (17-13) wins series 2-0)
Wilson 9-7. East Lawrence (17-21) 6-4 (Wilson (23-17) wins series 2-0)
Brooks 10-9, Deshler (24-8) 3-6 (Brooks (23-19) wins series 2-0)
Oneonta 10-16, Curry (20-15) 0-4 (Oneonta (23-8) wins series 2-0)
Fayette County 11-1-15, J.B. Pennington (14-8) 2-2-2 (Fayette County (12-25) wins series 2-1)
CLASS 5A
Demopolis 6-1, Alabama Christian (19-12) 1-0 (Demopolis (16-8) wins series 2-0)
Marbury 7-24, Dallas County (10-11) 0-0 (Marbury (21-7) wins series 2-0)
Charles Henderson 5-4, Tallassee (26-9) 4-3 (Charles Henderson (25-8) wins series 2-0)
Rehobeth 9-4-11, Beauregard (17-9) 4-10-9 (Rehobeth (24-8) wins series 2-1)
Jemison 6-4, Central-Clay County (13-8) 3-3 (Jemison wins series 2-0)
Helena 8-2, Sylacauga (12-12) 0-1 (Helena (31-12) wins series 2-0)
St. Paul’s Episcopal 3-11, Jackson (11-14) 0-1 (St. Paul’s wins series 2-0)
Faith Academy 20-14, Escambia County 0-0 (Faith Academy wins series 2-0)
Russellville 12-10, Boaz (15-17) 1-0 (Russellville (34-6) wins series 2-0)
Lawrence County 5-10, Guntersville (24-12) 0-6 (Lawrence County (18-21) wins series 2-0)
Alexandria 1-19-8, Moody (26-13) 5-3-6 (Alexandria (16-16) wins series 2-1)
Mortimer Jordan 2-10-11, St. Clair County (9-16) 5-0-0 (Mortimer Jordan (25-18) wins series 2-1)
Madison County 6-3, East Limestone (26-11) 4-1 (Madison Academy (24-10) wins series 2-0)
Randolph 5-2-4, Ardmore (23-14) 2-6-2 (Randolph (31-4) wins series 2-1)
Corner 16-11, Wenonah (13-7) 0-0 (Corner (25-18) wins series 2-0)
Pleasant Grove 7-3, Ramsay (22-12) 5-0) (Pleasant Grove (18-21) wins series 2-0)
CLASS 6A
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 9-19, Wetumpka (17-17) 1-3 (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (32-9) wins series 2-0)
Chilton County 14-7-13, Park Crossing (20-12) 3-9-1 (Chilton County (21-12) wins series 2-1)
Opelika 10-8, Dothan (8-20) 0-0 (Opelika (24-11) wins series 2-0)
Benjamin Russell 5-2-2, Northview (29-10) 3-11-1 (Benjamin Russell (22-9) wins series 2-1)
Hueytown 11-4-8 , McAdory 1-5-4 (Hueytown (33-5) wins series 2-1)
Northridge 2-15-9, Pelham (10-28) 4-0-4 (Northridge (22-13) wins series 2-1)
Robertsdale 11-13, Citronelle (12-19) 1-1 (Robertsdale (27-11) wins series 2-0)
Baldwin County 5-6-7, Saraland (25-15) 6-2-6 (Baldwin County (19-14) wins series 2-1)
Scottsboro 2-10-3, Arab (20-19) 3-2-1 (Scottsboro (24-19) wins series 2-1)
Southside-Gadsden 0-11-4, Brewer (17-16) 1-0-2 (Southside-Gadsden (26-11) wins series 2-1)
Walker 3-9, Pinson Valley (22-18) 1-4 (Walker (25-12) wins series 2-0)
Clay-Chalkville 4-1-6, Gardendale (25-12) 0-16-2 (Clay-Chalkville (19-16) wins series 2-1)
Hartselle 3-10, Florence (31-15) 2-9 (Hartselle (33-18) wins series 2-0)
Cullman 3-13, Muscle Shoals (29-10) 2-4 (Cullman (35-9) wins series 2-0)
Oxford 6-6, Briarwood Christian 0-2 (Oxford (34-8) wins series 2-0)
Homewood 5-2, Pell City (21-18) 3-1 (Homewood (18-12) wins series 2-0)
CLASS 7A
Congratulations to the Mobile-Providence Encore Athlete of the Month, Lacey Fincher! Lacey is a Sophomore at Faith Academy in Mobile, AL and plays on the lady Rams varsity softball team. This season, she had 13 home runs in first 16 games, and her two year varsity percentage averages are a 0.475 batting average, 0.517 on-base percentage, .826 fielding percentage and 40 RBIs. Lacey has verbally committed to the University of Georgia on softball scholarship. Her parents are Bo and Jennifer Fincher. Good luck the rest of your high school career Lacey! We are proud of you!
Congratulations to the Monroeville Encore Athlete of the Month, Lane Powell! Lane is a junior multi-sport athlete at Monroe Academy. He has been playing varsity football and baseball for 3 years now and wears jersey number 8. Lane has been coming to our clinic for physical therapy on his arm. He chose Encore because of his good relationship with our PT, Matt Moorer, and past experiences.
Lane hasn’t let his injury stop him from working and striving to become a better athlete– he just received his first college scholarship offer to play baseball and is waiting to see others offers to make a college choice. Keep up the good work, Lane! Proud of you!!
