Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert scored 28 points and pulled down 6 rebounds but it was not enough as her Georgetown Lady Tigers lost in two overtimes to the University of the Cumberlands 92-90. Georgetown will host West Virginia Tech University Thursday night.
If Friday night’s contest between the Middlesboro Lady Jackets and Clay County is any indication, this year’s 13th Region tournament may be the best one ever. The Lady Tigers got a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Danielle Fox with 25 sconds left as they pulled out a 49-47 win. Gemma Gray led the Lady Tigers with 19 points.
Middlesboro was led by sophomore Samantha Coleman, whose 26 points were the most she had ever scored wearing a Lady Jacket uniform.
Middlesboro had a chance to win it, but Shaleesha Coleman’s three-point try hit the front of the rim and rattled out. Fox came away with the rebound with seven seconds left and Clay was able to run out the clock. Coleman hit 4-of-7 three pointers in the game and finished with 14 points. Samantha Coleman scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the second half.
The Colemans combined to score all 25 second half points for the Lady Jackets and led a furious comback from ten points down early in the third quarter. A three by Fox and basket by Gray stretched the Clay County lead to 32-22 with 5:25 to play in the third. Following an MHS timeout, Samantha Coleman hit a 14-foot jumper then stole the inbounds pass and laid it in to bring Middlesboro within six at the 5:00 mark.
A three from Shaleesha and two more baskets from Sam cut the Lady Tiger lead to 36-33 with 50 seconds to play in the third. Gray hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds to go, then Shaleesha was able to let the inbounds pass roll to mid court before picking it up and dribbling to the 3-point line. Her 3 at the buzzer brought the Lady Jackets to with two entering the fourth.
Middlesboro took the lead on three occasions in the fourth quarter: 39-38 on a Shaleesha Coleman thee with seven minutes to play, 45-43 after Samantha Coleman scored three baskets in 25 seconds with 4:45 to play, and 47-46 on Samantha’s layup on a strong feed from Sophie Robinson at the 2:16 mark.
The Lady Jackets scored the first six points of the game on two baskets by Brooklynn Jimison and a layup by Samantha Coleman. Middlesboro hit 5-of-7 shots from the field in the first quarter and led 12-8 after one. MHS led 21-17 with 3:20 to play in the second quarter, but Clay closed the half on a 10-1 run to take a 27-22 lead.
Second chance points were a big help for the Lady Tigers as they hit 12-of-26 shots in the first half compared to Middlesboro’s 9-of-15. Turnovers were even at eight each, but Clay held a 15-6 rebounding edge.
The Lady Jackets out-rebounded Clay 7-6 in the third quarter, but for the game the Lady Tigers held a 33-17 advantage on the boards. One reason why may have been that Middlesboro senior forward Ashley Williams played through the pain of three kidney stones. Green said the ailment was revealed on an MRI after Williams doubled over in practice Thursday.
He added that a few mental lapses such as not getting off screens and leaving too many open jump shots were things that were correctable between now and the regional tournament.
MIDDLESBORO (47): Samantha Coleman 26, Shaleesha Coleman 14, Brooklynn Jimison 7, Sophie Robinson 0, Ashley Williams 0, Shanice Gilbert 0, Katie Maiden 0.
CLAY COUNTY (49): Gemma Gray 19, Daneille Fox 12, Sarah Burchell 6, Jordan Phillips 6, Belle Jackson 4, Ashley Hinkle 2, Jessica Mosley 0, Blake Smith 0, Tiffany Smith 0, Alicia Mitchell 0, Kayla Smith 0.
Clay shoots down Jags in 49th District opener By JOHN HENSON, harlandaily.com
D.J. Wilson and Codi Roberts may not yet be familiar names for 13th Region basketball fans, but it could be only a matter of time before they are if Monday's performances in the 49th District Tournament are any indication. Wilson, a sophomore forward, hit four of six 3-pointers and scored 18 points, while Roberts, a freshman forward, connected on four of four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points as the Tigers advanced with a 72-53 win over the host North Laurel Jaguars.
"That's the best offensive game we've had as far as executing," Clay County coach Kevin Spurlock said. "We didn't shoot many bad shots, and we did a good of getting to the paint and scoring. When we did get cut off, our shooters knocked them down - Codi Roberts and D.J. It was a good overall team effort."
Clay hit nine of 12 from beyond the 3-point line and connected on 25 of 44 shots overall for 57 percent, earning a semifinal matchup on Wednesday against Oneida Baptist.
"We played well tonight, but we don't want to have a letdown against OBI Wednesday," Spurlock said. "We saw that happen last year with North getting a big win and kind of let up Wednesday and got knocked off. We'll try to guard against that."
Junior guard Josh Seidel poured in 27 points to lead North Laurel (17-12). Senior guard Nick Shannon added 10.
CLAY COUNTY (18-10) Ryan Lee Smith 3-8 4-5 10, Justin Hobbs 3-6 3-4 9, Kendale Reed 4-9 0-2 8, Codi Roberts 6-9 1-1 17, D.J. Wilson 5-7 4-4 18, Matthew Mitchell 4-4 1-2 10, Todd McDaniel 0-1 0-0 0, Jeremy Garrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-44 13-18 72.
NORTH LAUREL (17-12) Nick Shannon 2-9 4-5 10, Josh Seidel 9-16 5-6 27, Adrian Wardrup 4-5 0-2 8, Josh Tiller 0-1 0-3 0, Luke Dalton 1-3 1-1 3, Raymond Shears 0-2 0-0 0, Phillip Cottongim 1-4 0-0 2, Derek Couch 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 18-43 10-17 53.
3-point goals: Clay County 9-12 (Roberts 4-4, Wilson 4-6, Mitchell 1-1, Reed 0-1), North Laurel 7-20 (Seidel 4-7, Shannon 2-7, Couch 1-3, Wardrup 0-1, Tiller 0-1, Shears 0-1). Rebounds: Clay County 22 (Wilson 7), North Laurel 20 (Shannon 5). Turnovers: Clay County 9, Jackson County 13. Fouled out: North Laurel (Dalton). Technical fouls: North Laurel (Wardrup).
Alice Lloyd ends regular season with win
Will Jones
Former Clay County Tiger Will Jones finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds as his Alice Lloyd Eagles closed out the regular season with a 77-75 win over Spalding University. The Eagles next action will be in the KIAC Tournament February 28 through March 1 at Asbury.
Trojans falter as Tigers roll late By JARROD SHERMAN, harlandaily.com
Over the last 10 years, Anthony Nolan has been more at home in Bobby Keith Gymnasium than most of his 13th Region coaching counterparts, leading his Cawood Trojans to three wins and an overtime loss in the notoriously unfriendly confines. His magic ran out about three quarters into Friday's game.
D.J. Wilson twice buried 3-pointers to fend off the Trojans after Clay's lead was cut to one, and the Tigers blew the game open in the fourth quarter to claim a 56-37 victory in the final regular season matchup between the two teams.
"He had a nice game tonight - a good bounce-back game for him," Clay County coach Kevin Spurlock said. "He has some things on his mind right now, and we're glad to see him break out of that. I thought we responded well to them getting it down to one, and we had a nice fourth quarter."
Wilson, a sophomore forward, scored a game-high 17 points to lead Clay County (17-10). Senior guard Justin Hobbs added 13, along with five rebounds and five assists. The final period belonged to the Tigers, who scored the first seven points and never looked back. Hobbs scored a basket inside and added a pair of free throws in the run, and Codi Roberts knocked down a 3-pointer.
Clay will face host North Laurel on Monday in the first round of the 49th District Tournament.
CAWOOD (10-18) Adam Rhymer 2-8 2-2 7, Dillon Cain 3-3 1-2 7, T.J. Green 1-4 1-2 3, Brandon McCoun 3-4 0-0 7, Brad Howard 3-5 4-7 10, Tim McCoun 1-3 0-0 3, Aaron Watkins 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Lemar 0-0 0-1 0, Blake Saylor 0-1 0-0 0, Larry Williamson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-28 8-14 37.
CLAY COUNTY (17-10) Ryan Lee Smith 2-4 1-2 5, Justin Hobbs 4-8 5-5 13, Kendale Reed 3-13 0-0 6, D.J. Wilson 5-8 4-5 17, Codi Roberts 3-8 0-0 8, Matthew Mitchell 3-6 0-0 6, Todd McDaniel 0-1 0-0 0, Jeremy Garrison 0-3 0-0 0, John Vernon Hooker 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Gilbert 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 20-51 11-14 56.
Sophomore guard Danielle Fox hit a three with 22 seconds left to help push No. 17 Clay County to a 49-47 home win over Middlesboro.
MIDDLESBORO (24-3) — Jimison 7, Sh. Coleman 14, Sa. Coleman 26, Robinson, Williams. CLAY CO. (20-7) — Gray 19, Burchell 6, Jackson 4, Phillips 6, Fox 12, Smith 2.
BOYS - ALLEN CENTRAL 90, RED BIRD 74
RED BIRD (13-11) — Davis 35, Sizemore 3, Fogleman 13, Roberts 9, Hacker 12, Nance 2. ALLEN CENTRAL (19-8) — Hammonds 19, Crum 21, Prater 13, L. Crowder 9, H. Crowder 10, Turner 4, Cole 12, Stumbo 2.
GIRLS - JUNE BUCHANAN 58, RED BIRD 31
RED BIRD (9-14) — Dickerson 11, Elam 2, Fogleman 5, D. Smith 2, Mantz 5, Hamilton 2, Berry 2, Kreitzer 1, R. Smith 1. JUNE BUCHANAN (20-5) — Centers 10, Short 10, Hovee 8, Slone 9, Pratt 9, Griffie 4, Adams 4, Roark 2, Henderson 2.
Jackson named WYMT-TV Player of the Week
Whitney Jackson
Clay County freshman Lady Tiger Whitney Belle Jackson was named the WYMT-TV Player of the Week as she led her team to wins over three of the top four teams in the Mountain Top Ten this week.
Lady Skins rout OBI in finale By JOHN MIDDLETON, harlandaily.com
The Cumberland Lady Skins got off to a hot start and never looked back in their final regular season home game Friday as they routed visiting Oneida Baptist 69-48 for their fifth straight victory. Cumberland started the game with a 12-0 run thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Kendra Russell, who led the Lady Skins in the first period with eight points.
Oneida Baptist's Lyndsay Willis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap an 11-3 run that brought the Lady Mountaineers within six at the end of the first.
"There was a tremendous crowd tonight. My girls got off the bus asleep, and we got blown out in the first quarter," said Oneida Baptist coach Marvin Leuschke.
The Lady Mountaineers outscored Cumberland 12-8 in the fourth quarter as Bond used his reserves extensively in the period.
Oneida Baptist finished the regular season with a record of 4-20, including an 0-17 mark against 13th Region opponents. The Lady Mountaineers will travel to North Laurel to face the Lady Jaguars in the 49th District Tournament on Tuesday.
Clay County snaps Lady Cardinals’ nine-game win streak By Jimbo Collins, thetimestribune.com
South Laurel and Clay County have been mentioned as two of the elite teams in the 13th Region the entire season. The Lady Tigers continued to feast on 13th Region opponents and defeated the Lady Cardinals Monday, 52-49. Clay County (19-7) led by as many as 10 points in the second half and held off a late South Laurel rally to win what possibly could have been a preview of a region tournament game. The loss snapped an impressive nine-game winning streak for the Lady Cardinals.
Clay County (52) - Gray 22, Burchell 3, Jackson 8, Phillips 5, Fox 10, B. Smith 0, Mosley 3, A. Hinkle 0, K. Smith 1.
South Laurel (49) - Wombles 27, Sizemore 1, Arthur 0, Justice 5, Dean 9, Walker 0, Davidson 2, Burchett 1, Johnson 4.
BOYS - RED BIRD 59, OWSLEY CO. 54
RED BIRD (14-10) — Davis 23, Sizemore 10, Fogleman 4, Roberts 7, Hacker 5, North 10.
Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help her Georgetown Lady Tigers to a 88-60 homecourt win over Northwestern Ohio Sunday evening. She also had 16 points in a 76-73 overtime win over Campbellsville. Georgetown will travel to Pikeville Thursday.
Hobbs nets WYMT shot of the night.....
Justin Hobbs
For the Long John Silver's Nothin' But Net Shot of the Night, we head to Clay County. The Tigers were trailing the Redhounds of Corbin by 3 with seconds remaining. Justin Hobbs would get the ball in the corner and let it fly for three of his 33 points on the night. It found the bottom of the net to send the game into overtime.
CLICK HERE to see the Long John Silver's Nothin' But Net Shot of the Night.
.....WYMT Play of the Night sends Clay County to defeat
The game was tied with only seconds left in overtime when Clint Cashen of Corbin poked the ball away to Josh Crawford. Crawford would finish as the Redhounds slipped out of town with the 71-69 win.
Lady Skins dominate Red Bird By PAUL LUNSFORD, harlandaily.com
The Cumberland Lady Skins wasted no time taking control Friday, racing to an 18-4 lead after one quarter on the way to a 65-34 win at Red Bird. Sophomore center Heather Maggard scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the 14-8 Lady Skins, who have won four straight. Kendra Russell, a sophomore guard, added 12 points as she hit four of six 3-pointers.
Junior guard Whitney Elam paced Red Bird (11-12) with seven points.
"Too many turnovers," said Red Bird coach Tonya Asher of her team's performance. "It was Kelsey (Dickerson's) first game back after an injury, so she was off-balance, and we've lost Kendra Slusher (who recently quit the team). We're basically trying to regroup."
The Lady Cardinals closed the game with a 10-2 run as Morgan Asher had five points for Red Bird. The Lady Skins outrebounded Red Bird 44-25.
"We weren't rebounding and boxing out. It was just a bad night all around," added Asher. "We had a game (Thursday night) and didn't have the legs under us."
Red Bird returns to action Tuesday at Owsley County.
RED BIRD (11-12) Kelsey Dickerson 2-9 2-4 6, Joella Fogleman 1-4 1-2 3, Whitney Elam 1-6 4-4 7, Diana Smith 2-8 0-0 4, Sierra Nantz 1-10 2-4 4, Lindsey Hamilton 0-2 3-4 3, Kayla Berry 0-0 2-4 2, Kaitlin Kreitzer 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Asher 2-5 0-0 5, Robin Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kimberlyn Harville 0-0 0-0 0, Stephanie Gray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 9-45 14-22 34.
Jones leads Eagles to big conference win
Will Jones
Former Clay County Tiger, Will Jones scored 13 points and led his Alice Lloyd Eagles with seven rebounds as the Eagles won over KIAC foe Asbury 92-87 Tuesday night. Another former Tiger, Rodney Mitchell added 4 points. IU East will travel to Pippa Pases Saturday to take on Alice Lloyd in a 1 PM tip.
Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert had her best game of the season Saturday as she was 11 of 15 from the field, a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line to finish with 34 points as her Georgetown Lady Tigers defeated Lindsey Wilson 77-71. Gilbert also led the team with three assists and pulled down six rebounds. The win forced a three way tie for first place in the Mid-South Conference with Georgetown, Lindsey Wilson and the University of the Cumberlands. Georgetown will travel to Cambellsville Saturday.
Skins impressive in rout of Tigers By JOHN HENSON, harlandaily.com
Cumberland put together its best performance of the season Tuesday, limiting visiting Clay County to 24 percent (12-for-49) shooting in rolling to a 59-41 win in what was expected to be a tight matchup between two of the 13th Region's top teams.
Clay County coach Kevin Spurlock liked the Cumberland defense but blamed much of his team's problems on poor shooting.
"I thought we got some pretty good shots," Spurlock said. "They play hard, and they are a good team. Defensively, they're all right, but they still only scored 59 points. They got about 10 of those when we went man-to-man. We can't guard them man-to-man. Johnson is a horrible matchup for anybody."
Senior forward Desmond Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Cumberland (18-4). Garfield Wilson, who missed the last two games due to a foot injury, came off the bench to add 11 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward D.J. Wilson scored 17 points and senior guard Justin Hobbs added 10 to lead Clay County (14-9). Hobbs was held well below his average as Brock Leisge and several other defenders limited him to 3-for-14 shooting.
"We played pretty good defense, but sometimes you've got to score some points," Spurlock said. "(It's tough to win) when your leading scorer is 3-for-14, and your second leading scorer is 6-for-15."
The Tigers appeared intimidated at times as they missed easy shots trying to shoot over Johnson and Wilson, but Spurlock disagreed.
"If we hadn't played that kind of competition all year with Scott County and Gainesville, Fla., and South Laurel, I might would say that. I just think we didn't go up and stick it in the hole," he said. "We haven't done it for three games. We shot 31 percent against Pineville and 39 percent against South Laurel. They are good defensively, but we got shots. We could have scored enough tonight to give ourselves a chance to win, because our defense wasn't all that horrible."
John Vernon Hooker scored 12, Allen Whitaker contributed 11 and Bill Ed White added 10 as Clay County (13-2) rolled to a 52-19 win in the junior varsity game.
CLAY COUNTY (14-9) Ryan Lee Smith 1-2 3-3 5, Justin Hobbs 3-14 4-4 10, Kendale Reed 1-6 3-4 5, Matthew Mitchell 0-4 0-0 0, D.J. Wilson 6-15 5-5 17, Todd McDaniel 0-2 0-0 0, Jeremy Garrison 1-3 0-0 2, John Vernon Hooker 0-2 0-0 0, Brandon Griffin 0-0 2-2 2, Tanner Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0, Josh England 0-1 0-0 0, Allen Whitaker 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Roberts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-49 17-18 41.
Wildcats get revenge against Cards By JOHN MIDDLETON, harlandaily.com
After blowing a 12-point first-half lead in their previous meeting, the Evarts Wildcats gained revenge as they defeated visiting Red Bird 64-58 Tuesday. The Cardinals defeated Evarts 75-61 on Jan. 18.
Evarts raced out to a 10-3 first-quarter lead before seeing Red Bird close the gap to 17-14 at the end of the quarter. Senior guard Derek Davis scored nine points in the period. Red Bird took a 26-23 lead in the second period before senior guard Travis Helton hit back-to-back shots and sophomore center Bruce Short hit a layup to give Evarts a 29-26 halftime advantage.
Red Bird regained the lead at 31-29 before Evarts closed the third quarter with a 15-5 run to lead 44-36 at the end of the period. The Cardinals couldn't get closer than five the rest of the game. The Cardinals were led by Davis, who scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"Evarts just outfought and outhustled us. They had more enthusiasm and intensity than we did," Red Bird coach John D. Wilson. "Jerry had his team more ready to play than I had mine."
Red Bird (11-9) will visit Piarist on Thursday before traveling to Clay County on Saturday.
Mendall Haynes scored 11 points and Cody McCreary added 10 as the Wildcats won the junior varsity game 48-31. Red Bird was led by Kyle Branstutter with 13 points.
RED BIRD (11-9) Brandon Roberts 3-17 1-3 9, Andrew Hacker 3-8 0-0 7, Donovan Nantz 2-2 0-2 4, Derek Davis 10-20 3-8 25, Mark Fogleman 4-8 0-0 8, Jon North 1-3 2-3 5. Totals: 23-58 6-16 58.
EVARTS (3-19) Trevor Smith 5-14 0-0 10, Mendall Haynes 0-1 9-12 9, R.J. Fields 4-9 4-6 15, Jerry Joseph 2-9 5-8 9, Bruce Short 5-8 2-2 12, Travis Helton 4-6 0-3 8, Cody McCreary 0-0 1-4 1. Totals: 20-47 21-35 64.
Briana Green stole the ball and scored to tie it up, and Lexington Catholic (23-4) went on to win 46-44 at Clay County (16-7). Natalie Novosel led the Lady Knights with 26 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter. Green finished with eight points.
LEXINGTON CATHOLIC (23-4) — Green 8, Wilson 1, Donnelly 2, Novosel 26, Conrad 6, Corbett 3. CLAY CO. (16-7) — Gray 16, Burchwell 3 Jackson 15, Phillips 2, Fox 5, Smith 3.
GIRLS - POWELL COUNTY 86, ONEIDA BAPTIST 44
Sophomore forward Stevie Rogers scored 21 points, and senior Ashley Lacy added 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead Powell County (15-10) to an 86-44 home win over Oneida Baptist (4-16).
Former Clay County Tigers Rodney Mitchell (13) and Will Jones (4) combined for 17 points as Alice Lloyd defeated Indiana University East 102-82 at Cincinnati Christian University Saturday. IUE will travel to Pippa Passes for a rematch Saturday. The game will tip at 1 PM.
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EKU Men's Golf Finishes Tied For Fifth At West Florida Event
Eastern Kentucky University junior Trey Bowling jumped 12 spots after the final round of the Argonaut Invitational to finish tied for fourth. As a team, the Colonels tied with Radford for fifth place. The event was hosted by West Florida University in Pensacola, Fla. West Florida finished first with Illinois in second. The event was held at the par-72, 6,815-yard Pensacola Country Club and included 10 teams.
Bowling fired a four-under-par 68 in the final round to move up the leader board. Phil Hendrickson and Jesse Massie finished tied for 24th. Justin Moore tied for 29th.
Next up for the Colonels is the Samford Invitational which begins March 10 at the Limestone Springs Golf Club in Birmingham, Ala.
Girls 13th Region at Knox Central Watch the games on the 'net at wazoosports.com
Monday March 3, 2008 Midddlesboro 68 Barbouville 40 Clay County 38 Whitley County 18
Tuesday March 4, 2008 South Laurel 74 North Laurel 59 Harlan 44 Lynn Camp 39
Friday March 7, 2008 Clay County 53 Middlesboro 46 South Laurel 46 Harlan 29
Sunday March 9, 2008 South Laurel 74 Clay County 64
Lady Tigers fend off Middlesboro By JARROD SHERMAN, harlandaily.com
The 13th Region - and, more specifically, the 49th District - has been a breeding ground for girls basketball dynasties for more than two decades now. The Clay County Lady Tigers are one victory away from adding to that legacy. The Lady Tigers used a solid defensive effort and an aggressive offensive attack to knock off Middlesboro 53-46 in the first semifinal game of the regional tournament Friday at Knox Central.
Clay County (25-7) built a 19-6 first-quarter lead and made it withstand several Middlesboro rallies. The Lady Tigers attacked the basket in the first quarter, with seven of their eight baskets coming from inside the paint.
"I thought we executed real well offensively," Clay County coach James Burchell said. "We knew we had to get out of the heat - this is team that's going to put a lot of defensive pressure on you. We were able to get comfortable the whole first half and settle in and get a little cushion."
Freshman center Belle Jackson and sophomore guard Danielle Fox each converted three-point plays in the first two minutes of the game. Six different players scored for the Lady Tigers in the period, led by Jackson and senior point guard Sarah Burchell with five points each, as they grabbed a 13-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Junior point guard Sophie Robinson scored four straight points as part of a 6-0 run that cut the Lady Jackets' deficit to 23-16 with 1:50 left in the first half. But Clay closed the half with a 9-0 run that included seven points by eighth-grade guard Alisha Mitchell, and led 32-18 at the break.
The Lady Jackets took a bite out of their deficit with a strong defensive effort in the third quarter. Middlesboro (27-4) forced four turnovers and limited the Lady Tigers to two field goals, getting as close as six on Samantha Coleman's steal and layup with 47 seconds left. But Kayla Smith penetrated and knocked down a short jumper in the closing seconds to push Clay's lead back to eight.
Middlesboro made its best run of the game early in the final period. Senior center Brooklyn Jimison scored four points to ignite a 7-1 run that cut the deficit to 40-38 with 5:25 remaining. The Lady Tigers answered with three free throws by senior Gemma Gray and a basket by Fox to push their lead to seven.
Mitchell paced the Lady Tigers with 12 points, and Jackson added 11.
The Lady Tigers will be in pursuit of their third straight regional title when they face South Laurel tonight for the regional crown. The game is slated to begin at 6. Clay defeated the Lady Cardinals in the 2006 semifinals and last year's championship game.
CLAY COUNTY (25-7) Sarah Burchell 1-2 4-6 7, Danielle Fox 2-4 3-3 7, Gemma Gray 1-5 5-8 7, Jordan Phillips 2-4 1-2 5, Belle Jackson 3-6 5-7 11, Alisha Mitchell 2-5 7-10 12, Ashley Hinkle 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Mosley 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Smith 2-3 0-0 4, Heather Hinkle 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 13-30 25-36 53.
Mountain Basketball Top Ten brought to you by Alice Lloyd College March 7, 2008
GIRLS
1. Clay County 2. Breathitt County 3. South Laurel 4. Pike Central 5. Johnson Central 6. Rockcastle County 7. Middlesboro 8. Knott Central 9. Whitley Co. 10. Perry Co. Central
KIAC ALL CONFERENCE PLAYERS ANNOUNCED Players honored between men's and women's games at KIAC Basketball Tournament
Rodney Mitchell
Members of the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All Conference team were announced Friday in Wilmore, Kentucky. The players and a head coach were chosen by balloting from coaches of the KIAC. On the Men’s Side, Craig Bryant of Indiana University Southeast won the Player of the Year award while John Mills of Berea College won the coach of the year honors. For the Women, Midway took home both honors with Danielle Lascoe winning player of the year and Tim Southers as coach of the year.
The men’s team features three returning team members. Craig Bryant of IU Southeast, Rodney Mitchell of Alice Lloyd, and last year’s player of the year Brett Johnson of Asbury. IU Southeast, Berea College, and Asbury College all had three players on the team while Alice Lloyd College had two.
The women’s team has four returning members. Asbury’s Anna Stephenson, IU Southeast’s Andrea Chambers, Midway’s Ashley Parker, and Berea’s Candy Walls all made the 2006-07 squad. Alice Lloyd, Berea, Midway, and IU Southeast had two players named to the team, while Asbury and St. Louis College of Pharmacy had one.
Red-hot Redhounds defeat Tigers By JOHN HENSON, harlandaily.com
Madison Johnson lived the dream of every basketball player in the first quarter of his Corbin Redhounds' opening-round matchup Wednesday against Clay County in the 13th Region Tournament at Knox Central. The sophomore guard hit five 3-pointers in the opening four and a half minutes as part of a blazing start by the Redhounds. Led by 17 points from Johnson, Corbin raced to a 32-12 lead after one quarter on the way to an 80-62 victory. Corbin hit 12 of 15 shots from the field in the first quarter, an 80 percent clip.
"They came out hot. They shot the lights out of it," Clay County coach Kevin Spurlock said. "That is hard to overcome. Our kids fought back and cut it to 11, and actually eight at one time. They kept battling, battling and battling. I am proud of my kids. Hats off to Corbin. If they keep shooting like that, somebody is going to have their hands full trying to beat them."
Clay battled back to within eight points early in the third quarter but could never overcome Corbin's impressive start. Senior guards Justin Hobbs and Ryan Lee Smith completed their careers by leading Clay (20-11) with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
The Tigers cut the deficit to 11, at 45-34, by halftime as sophomore forward D.J. Wilson had three baskets. Corbin turned the ball over seven times in the period. Clay closed to within eight early in the third quarter before Johnson hit two straight shots, including his sixth 3-pointer, to put Corbin back in control.
Corbin advances to a semifinal matchup Monday against Knox Central, a 74-64 winner over Cumberland in last night's second game.
CORBIN (24-7) Isaac Wilson 3-6 4-4 11, Madison Johnson 11-18 4-4 32, Josh Smith 3-4 3-4 10, Josh Crawford 5-6 2-5 13, Aaron Manns 2-5 0-0 4, Lee Crawford 2-2 0-0 6, Clint Cashen 2-5 0-2 4, Deke Barley 0-3 0-0 0, Blake Hendrickson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-49 13-19 80.
CLAY COUNTY (20-11) Ryan Lee Smith 3-6 7-9 13, Justin Hobbs 6-12 5-8 17, Kendale Reed 4-10 2-5 11, Codi Roberts 2-7 1-2 6, D.J. Wilson 4-11 1-2 9, Matthew Mitchell 3-4 0-0 6, Todd McDaniel 0-1 0-0 0, Jeremy Garrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-51 16-26 62.
3-point goals: Corbin 11-18 (Johnson 6-8, L. Crawford 2-2, J. Crawford 1-1, Wilson 1-2, Smith 1-2, Cashen 0-1, Barley 0-2), Clay County 2-16 (Roberts 1-3, Reed 1-4, Mitchell 0-1, Hobbs 0-3, Wilson 0-5). Rebounds: Corbin 34 (Manns 8), Clay County 16 (Hobbs 6). Turnovers: Corbin 19, Clay County 8. Fouled out: Clay County (Hobbs).
'D' powers Lady Tigers over Whitley By JARROD SHERMAN, harlandaily.com
The Clay County Lady Tigers took an unorthodox path to victory in the first round of the 13th Region Tournament. The two-time defending regional champions attempted just 17 shots, hitting eight, but used a superb defensive effort to sew up a 38-18 victory over Whitley County at Knox Central High School.
"That's what we hang around on, is defense," Clay County coach James Burchell said. "I knew it was going to be a defensive game. I told somebody before the game, 'If either team can get 40 points, they're probably going to win. It's just going to be that kind of game.' That's one of the better defensive efforts that I've ever coached."
The Lady Colonels were limited to 17 percent (5-for-29) shooting and never had a chance to put together a rally in the second half as Clay County (24-7) chewed huge portions of time off the clock with a stall offense. More often than not, the Lady Tigers' possessions ended with a trip to the free throw line, where they hit 22 of 31 attempts.
"We wanted to control the tempo," Burchell said. "We didn't care to win ugly - we just wanted to win."
The two teams combined to hit one of 16 shots in the first quarter, as Clay senior guard Gemma Gray opened the scoring with a turnaround jumper at the 5:03 mark. Freshman center Belle Jackson added a pair of free throws later in the period to help Clay take a 4-1 lead.
The Lady Tigers got a little distance before the break with the help of a young reserve. Eighth-grader Alisha Mitchell hit a pair of free throws and added a steal and layup in the final 1:18 of the half to turn a one-point edge into a 12-7 halftime lead.
"(Mitchell and Ashley Hinkle) are two of our better defenders, and we knew that's what this game was going to boil down to," Burchell said. "The Hinkle kid is probably the best defender on our team, even though she's an eighth-grader, and Mitchell's got great quickness as well."
Senior point guard Sarah Burchell opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer that pushed the Lady Tigers' advantage to eight. Gray and Jackson each added two free throws before Whitley responded with two free throws by Kayla Osborne and a layup by Tabatha Gray to pull back within eight. The Lady Tigers closed the period with a 7-1 spurt that included five points by Jackson and two by Burchell.
Clay put the game away with free throws, hitting 11 of 15 from the line in the fourth quarter. Gray led the Lady Tigers with 10 points. Burchell and Jackson each added nine.
The Lady Tigers will face Middlesboro in the semifinals Friday at 6:30 p.m.
CLAY COUNTY (24-7) Sarah Burchell 2-3 5-6 9, Danielle Fox 1-3 0-0 2, Gemma Gray 1-3 8-10 10, Jordan Phillips 0-3 1-2 1, Belle Jackson 2-2 5-9 9, Alisha Mitchell 2-3 3-4 7, Ashley Hinkle 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Jessica Mosley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-17 22-31 38.
KIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Day Two
Will Jones
Berea College survived a late game rally to win 70-65 over No. 3 Alice Lloyd College Friday. Berea’s 10 point lead midway the second half was narrowed to 52-49 at after a 7-0 run by Alice Lloyd. Alice Lloyd would charge back to within one at 66-65 with 14 seconds left. Two Berea (16-13) free throws coupled with an Alice Lloyd (12-18) miss would seal the game.
Berea’s team effort on the boards led to advantages in rebounds (52-34) and second chance points (10-4). Cody Hornsby (Athens, Ohio) led Berea’s scorers with 17 points. Jordan Samuels (Western Hills) game consisted of 15 points and seven rebounds. Mikah Turner (Mason County) also had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Alice Lloyd College shot 46 percent from the three point arc. Preston Simon (Betsy Lane) went three for four from long range with 11 points total. William Jones (Clay County) hit two of his three attempts from long range in his 16 point outing. Corey Dixon (Pulaski County) had a big night with 10 points and nine rebounds.
13th Region Boys
49th District Clay County 62 Jackson County 55
50th District South Laurel 53 Corbin 50
51st District Knox Central 93 Lynn Camp 85
52nd District Bell County 58 Cumberland 56
13th Region Girls
49th District Clay County 43 North Laurel 41
50th District South Laurel 54 Whitley County 52
51st District Lynn Camp 29 Barbouville 26
52nd District Middlesboro 73 Harlan 37
Jody Demling lists top freshmen girls basketball players courier-journal.com
Here's the list of top prospects from the Class of 2011:
RaeChaun Edwards, North Hardin Kenyetta Drake, Madisonville Averee Fields, Calloway County Sara Hammond, Rockcastle County Whitney Jackson, Clay County Natalie Greenwell, Elizabethtown Danay Fothergill, Pulaski Southwestern Morgan Clemons, Sacred Heart Shelby West, Male Kristin Stainback, Scott County Maddie Peabody, Sacred Heart
49th District Tournament at North Laurel
Monday February 25, 2008 GIRLS - Clay County 70 Jackson County 54 BOYS - Clay County 72 North Laurel 53
Tuesday February 26, 2008 GIRLS - North Laurel 79 Oneida Baptist Institute 42 BOYS - Jackson County 81 Red Bird 44
Wednesday February 27, 2008 GIRLS - Clay County 73 Red Bird 26 BOYS - Clay County 66 Oneida Baptist Institute 39
Thursday February 28, 2008 Girls Finals: Clay County 43 North Laurel 41 (overtime)
Saturday March 1, 2008 Boys Finals: Clay County 62 Jackson County 55
Jags roll into finals with rout of OBI North girls down Lady Mountaineers, 79-42
The North Laurel Jaguars took advantage of their first round draw and dominated Oneida Baptist Institute for four quarters as several players were able to play quality minutes in a 79-42 blow-out on Tuesday night in the girls’ 49th District tournament at North Laurel.
The Jaguars took charge early and jumped out to a 20-5 advantage after one quarter of play. Kayla Bargo led the Jags with 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Kelsi Smith added 13 points and four steals. OBI kept the game close during the second quarter, but the Jaguars stepped up in the third and outscored the Mountaineers 23-10 to take a 57-28 advantage.
North Laurel came up two points short in overtime in a bid for a major upset in the 49th District Tournament. The Clay County Lady Tigers (23-7, 11-1 versus 13th Region opponents) held off the host team in overtime and escaped with a 43-41 win.
North Laurel (13-15) played aggressive defense early and held Clay County to 10 points in the first quarter. The Lady Tigers also played good defense and led 10-6 heading into the second quarter. North Laurel outscored Clay County 15-7 in the second quarter to take a 21-17 lead into halftime.
Clay County scored on two straight possessions to start the second half. North Laurel kept their composure and played basket-for-basket with the Lady Tigers throughout the second half. The teams were tied at 35 apiece at the end of regulation.
Clay County opened the extra frame with a 3-pointer by Gemma Gray. North Laurel answered, but Gray drove the lane and scored with :02 remaining to give the Lady Tigers a 43-41 victory.
Clay County (43) - Gray 14, Mitchell 11, Jackson 9, Fox 5, Phillips 2, Burchell 2, T. Smith 0, K. Smith 0, B. Smith 0, Hinkle 0.
North Laurel (41) - Jackson 10, K. Smith 10, Prichard 8, Bargo 8, Hartney 5, Karr 0, Woolum 0.
Click Here to read the entire article at thetimestribune.com.
Georgetown travels to Lindsey Wilson Saturday
Jayme Gilbert
Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert led the Georgetown Lady Tigers with eight rebounds and added 19 points and five assists as Georgetown defeated West Virginia Tech University 86-77 Thursday night. The Lady Tigers will close out their regular season Saturday at Lindsey Wilson College.
In girls action Clay County won 73-26 over Red Bird. The two-time defending regional champions cruised into the district championship game with a rout of the Lady Cardinals (9-16) at North Laurel.
Jessica Mosley paced Clay County (22-7) with 15 points. Gemma Gray added 10. Thirteen of the fourteen players who saw action for the Lady Tigers got into the scoring column. The Lady Tigers will face North Laurel tonight at 7 for the district title.
In boys action, Clay County improved to 19-10 with a 66-39 win over Oneida Baptist.
Kayla Bargo scored 14 points to lead the Lady Jaguars past the Lady Mountaineers. Kelsie Smith added 13 points for North Laurel (13-14), and Kasey Karr, McKenzie Prichard and Rachel Seidel contributed 10 apiece. Oneida Baptist (4-21) was led by Kayla Sizemore with 15 points and Zunilda Lynch with 10.
The Lady Jaguars will face the winner of tonight's Clay County-Red Bird game in Thursday's district championship game at 7.
North Laurel (79) - Kayla Bargo 14, Kelsie Smith 13, McKenzie Prichard 10, Rachel Seidel 10, Kasey Karr 10, Caitie Jackson 6, Katie Hartney 6, Morgan Emery 4, Ashley Woolum 3, Alex Napier 2, Kelsie Burkhart 1.
In 49th District Tournament boys action, Jackson County routed Red Bird 81-44 on Tuesday. The Generals will face Clay County or Oneida Baptist on Friday in the district title game.
Clay County handles homestanding Jaguars with ease By Jerry Burns, thetimestribune.com
The third time wasn’t the charm for the North Laurel Jaguars, as Kevin Spurlock’s Clay County Tigers eliminated Jim Conway’s team from post-season play with an impressive 72-53 win during first round action of the 49th District Tournament. The Tigers jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, as Clay County improved to 3-0 against North Laurel this season.
Clay County (18-10 overall and 11-5 vs. 13th Region competition) dominated throughout the game and led 33-19 at halftime, thanks to red-hot shooting from the floor. North Laurel (17-12, 4-10) managed to cut the Tigers’ lead down to 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done. Clay County finished the game shooting 56 percent from the floor (25-of-45), and 75 percent (9-of-12) from 3-point territory.
Josh Seidel led the Jaguars in scoring with a game-high 27 points, while D.J. Wilson led the Tigers with an 18-point effort.
Clay County (72) - Wilson 18, Roberts 17, Smith 10, Hobbs 9, Reed 8, Mitchell 8, Garrison 0, McDaniel 0.
Girls - Clay County 70 Jackson County 54 By JOHN HENSON, harlandaily.com
The defending regional champion Lady Tigers raced to a big lead early and put the game away at the free throw line, advancing to a semifinal matchup against Red Bird on Wednesday. Senior forward Gemma Gray scored 22 points to lead Clay County (21-7). Jackson County (19-9) was led by junior guard Kourtney Tyra with 24 points and senior forward Amber Whitehead with 19.
Clay built a 15-5 lead after one quarter as Gray had two baskets. The Lady Tigers' advantage grew to 27-15 at halftime as Tyra accounted for all five of Jackson's baskets in the half. Whitehead found the range from the perimeter, hitting five 3-pointers in the second half as Jackson got as close as nine points with 6:36 left in the game.
The Lady Tigers took only two shots from the field in the fourth quarter, missing both, as they put the game away at the free throw line. Clay hit 35 of 51 at the line, winning easily despite having three fewer field goals.
CLAY COUNTY (21-7) Sarah Burchell 2-5 2-2 7, Danielle Fox 2-4 5-10 10, Gemma Gray 5-14 9-10 22, Jordan Phillips 3-8 2-4 8, Belle Jackson 2-3 5-9 9, Ashley Hinkle 0-1 0-0 0, Kayla Smith 0-1 4-4 4, Blake Smith 1-2 4-4 6, Jessica Mosley 0-0 0-2 0, Alicia Mitchell 0-1 4-6 4. Totals: 15-39 35-51 70.
3-point goals: Clay County 5-16 (Gray 3-8, Burchell 1-2, Fox 1-3, A. Hinkle 0-1, B. Smith 0-1, Mitchell 0-1), Jackson County 6-18 (Whitehead 5-9, Tyra 1-3, Bowling 0-2, Bingham 0-4). Rebounds: Clay County 29 (Phillips 10), Jackson County 20 (Whitehead 4). Turnovers: Clay County 9, Jackson County 13. Fouled out: Jackson County (Martin, Lanigan).
« Last Edit: Mar 10, 2008, 7:02pm by Local Sports »
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Bowling finishes 10th at Pinehurst intercollegiate
Trey Bowling
Eastern Kentucky’s men’s golf team carded its best round of the tournament to stave off a challenge from Penn State and hold onto second place after the final round of the Pinehurst Intercollegiate. The Colonels (+25), led by Phil Hendrickson’s four-under 68, fired a one-under 287 in the final round. Indiana University was the wire-to-wire leader, finishing the 54 holes at one-over.
Penn State entered the day tied for fourth and four shots behind EKU, but the Nittany Lions started off hot and moved into second place. When PSU cooled off, the Colonels remained hot overtaking the Nittany Lions and finishing six shots in front. North Carolina Greensboro (+33) finished fourth, followed by Virginia Commonwealth (+34) in fifth. Eastern Kentucky finished higher than two top-50 teams, No. 17 Penn State and No. 43 Wisconsin.
After returning to the clubhouse with rounds of 79 and 77 on the first two days, Hendrickson brought back a 68 at the end of the third round. His nine-shot improvement over the second round vaulted the senior from a tie for 55th into a tie for 19th at +8.
Eastern’s top four golfers finished with in two shots of each other. Ryan Britt (+7) and Trey Bowling (+7) led EKU with a pair of 10th place finishes. Both shot a one-over 73 in the final round. Justin Moore (+9) tied for 23rd and Jesse Massie (+16) tied for 60th. The three-day, 54-hole event was contested on the par 72, 7,035-yard Centennial Pinehurst No. 8.
The Colonels will return to action on March 29 when they begin play at the Hoosier Invitational, hosted by Indiana University.
2. EASTERN KENTUCKY 304-298-287--889
T10. Ryan Britt 78-72-73--223 +7 T10. Trey Bowling 75-75-73--223 +7 T19. Phil Hendrickson 79-77-68--224 +8 T23. Justin Moore 72-80-73--225 +9 T60. Jesse Massie 83-74-75--232 +16
Georgetown College ended the season with a 69-61 loss to Freed-Hardeman University in the opening round of the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship on Thursday.
The Tigers, who ended the year with a record of 23-10, were led by Jayme Gilbert who had 18 points, five boards and three steals. In their last collegiate performances, both Kim Ingle and Amy Schiller went down fighting, fouling out. Ingle had 10 points, five rebounds and a game-high five steals while Schiller scored six.
Freed-Hardeman held the Tigers to just 32 percent shooting on the night, including a tough first half when none of their nine three-point attempts were successful. After trailing 28-20 at the half, Georgetown made several runs, including cutting the deficit to five with under a minute remaining. But in the end, the Tigers could not stop the Lions' Jana Cross, who scored 23 points.
Farmer's magic still amazes By Mark Maloney And Mike Fields, kentucky.com
Twenty years later, Richie Farmer still ranks as arguably the greatest individual performer in a Sweet Sixteen championship game. It was March 19, 1988, at Louisville's Freedom Hall, when Farmer poured in 51 points against a Ballard team led by Allan Houston. Clay County, trying to beat Ballard in the finals for a second year in a row, came up on the short end of an 88-79 score.
"I can remember that we were worn out from playing PRP that morning," Farmer said from his front-row seat Wednesday. "I remember Doug Flynn came in and talked to us before the game, kind of a motivational-type speech. I remember telling him that I didn't know how I was going to get through the game because I couldn't feel my legs.
"But once they threw the ball up, I can remember just wanting to win so bad. Everybody was a little short with the shot because their legs were just gone, and I knew that I had to do what I could to make sure we'd done everything we could to win. I finally got in the zone that night, I guess. ... I still would have traded every point for that big trophy."
Farmer, now the commonwealth's agriculture commissioner, hit nine three-pointers that night -- still tied for the state tournament record.
"I still see a lot of people that'll say they've been to 50 or 60 (tournaments) in a row and that that was the greatest individual performance that they've ever seen," Farmer said. "It makes you feel good and, I think as I get older, I appreciate it more."
Farmer played in five consecutive state tournaments, reaching the finals three of his last four years.
"I've seen a lot of good ones through the years," Bobby Keith, coach of those Tigers teams, said Wednesday as he recalled Farmer's final game. "That one would have to rank right there, as far as what I've seen, with the best of them."
Trey Bowling Selected OVC Golfer of the Week
Trey Bowling
Eastern Kentucky’s Trey Bowling has been selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Golfer of the Week, the league announced Wednesday from its Brentwood, Tenn., headquarters. The junior fired a final round 66 on Tuesday at the Samford Intercollegiate to help the Colonels finish second.
His third round performance lifted Bowling from 10th to a tie for second, two shots behind the individual medalist. Bowling was six-under in the third round and finished six-under for the tournament. His 66 was the second lowest round of the 87-player field and he was under-par in two of the three rounds.
Eight Ohio Valley Conference teams played in the tournament and Bowling finished higher than any other conference player. For the season, the Manchester, Ky., native has finished in the top-20 in five of the six events he’s participated in, has four top-10 finishes and a stroke average of 71.1, which places second amongst OVC competitors.
The Colonels will be back in action on Sunday when they begin play in the Pinehurst Intercollegiate in Pinehurst, N.C. Pinehurst is a three-day event.
Hobbs named first team All-Region Wilson makes second team
Justin Hobbs
13th Region Basketball Coaches Association wymtnews.com
1st TEAM ALL-REGION
Cody Messer, Senior - Barbourville Adam Rhymer, Senior - Cawood Justin Hobbs, Senior - Clay County Josh Crawford, Junior - Corbin Madison Johnson, Sophomore - Corbin Desmond Johnson, Senior - Cumberland Brock Leisge, Senior - Cumberland Nick Brumback, Senior - Jackson County Cody Miller, Sophomore - Knox Central Jacob Scalf, Senior - Knox Central Josh Seidel, Junior - North Laurel Dustin Day, Senior - Pineville James David Strange, Junior - Pineville Dustin Warren, Senior - Pineville Matt St John, Sophomore - South Laurel
2nd TEAM ALL-REGION
Shawnta Zachery, Junior - Bell County D J Wilson, Sophomore - Clay County Deke Barley, Senior - Corbin Josh Smith, Junior - Corbin Isaac Wilson, Sophomore - Corbin Brooks Hogue, Senior - Cumberland Garfield Wilson, Senior - Cumberland Corey Williamson, Senior - Knox Central Jonah Mitchell, Junior - Lynn Camp Blaine Greene, Sophomore - Middlesboro Daniel Griffin, Senior - Middlesboro Nick Smith, Junior - Middlesboro Nick Shannon, Senior - North Laurel Matt Gilbert, Sophomore - South Laurel Jordan Mc Cumbers, Senior - Whitley County
13th REGION BOYS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION CO-PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Brumback, Senior - Jackson County James David Strange, Junior - Pineville
COACH OF THE YEAR
JD Strange - Pineville
The All-Region Teams, Player of the Year, & Coach of the Year were selected by the 13th Region Boys Head Basketball Coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Gilbert named All-Conference
Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert was named to the Mid-South Conference First Team All-Conference at the annual awards banquet on Friday in Pikeville. She was joined on the first team by Georgetown College teammate Kim Ingle. Other teammates, Amy Schiller and Katie Filiatreau were named Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Sophomore Jayme Gilbert and senior Kim Ingle were named MSC First Team All-Conference.
Mountain Basketball Top Ten brought to you by Alice Lloyd College March 15, 2008
GIRLS
1. Breathitt County 2. South Laurel 3. Rockcastle County 4. Johnson Central 5. Clay County 6. Pike Central 7. Middlesboro 8. Betsy Layne 9. Knott Central 10. Perry County Central
Gilbert celebrates birthday with conference title
Georgetown College gave sophomore guard Jayme Gilbert a special birthday gift today - her first Mid-South Conference Championship as Georgetown (23-9) defeated Lindsey Wilson College 78-73 for the third time this season to win the crown.
The Tigers handed the Blue Raiders (21-11) their only two losses versus MSC opponents and knew it would be a tough task to beat them for the third time in just over a month. Junior point guard Maddy Lewis said the three-peat was a topic of conversation last night but that her team decided to look at it in a new way. "We decided that the third time's a charm," said Lewis, who had a perfect day, scoring nine points and dishing out 10 assists while committing no turnovers. "Everyone put that in the back of their mind last night and came out today and played so well. We really did what we do best."
It was an extremely balanced effort for Georgetown, with five players in double figures, but for Lindsey Wilson it was the Terran Duncan show. The all-conference senior scored a career-high 33 points, 26 in the first half, and added 12 rebounds in her double-double performance.
Georgetown led by as many as seven in the first half and took a 45-43 lead into the locker room at halftime after shooting 57 percent from the field and a perfect nine of nine from the charity stripe compared to Lindsey Wilson's 47 percent from the field. The lead stretched to 11 midway through the second half but had to withstand a Blue Raiders' run that cut the lead to three two times with under a minute to play in the game.
Tiger senior center Amy Schiller went 8 of 10 from the field to finish the game with 18 points.
Both teams will move on to the NAIA National Tournament in Jackson, Tennessee. The tournament brackets will be released on Wednesday.
"Everyone thought all season long that Lindsey Wilson was the best team in the conference and we really wanted to prove them wrong," said Lewis. "We were on a mission to get to Jackson."
Georgetown Advances to Finals of MSC with 66-63 Win over Cumberlands Former Clay County Lady Tiger Jayme Gilbert leads the way with 21 points
Pikeville, Ky. - The Georgetown College Tigers moved one step closer to a Mid-South Conference Championship title with a 66-63 win over the University of the Cumberlands in the tournament semi-finals on Sunday. For the Tigers, it was sweet revenge after dropping two losses to the Patriots during the regular season. The most recent, a 93-90 double overtime thriller in Georgetown.
"We liked our draw from the beginning because it gave us the opportunity to avenge two really disappointing losses earlier against Pikeville and Cumberlands," said Head Coach Susan Johnson. "It is great to be able to change those losses with these wins."
Georgetown trailed through the entire first half and most of the second until senior Kim Ingle hit a three-pointer with six minutes remaining in the game with an assist from Jayme Gilbert. The two teams then traded the lead two times before the same duo re-executed the scoring drive, this time with five seconds to play and the score tied at 63.
"Our plan was to let Jayme shoot inside but they doubled up so she kicked it out to me," said Ingle. "It had a really high arch on it and I couldn't tell if it was going to go or not. I haven't hit a bigger shot in college than that one - it really means a lot."
Cumberlands senior point guard Lissi Fuller scored a career-high 30 points, shot 62 percent from the field and was a perfect eight of eight from the free throw line. The MSC Player of the Year also played the entire 40 minutes, but it was not enough for the Patriots, who fell to 23-8 on the year.
Georgetown was led by Gilbert with 21 points and four rebounds. Ingle added 19 for Georgetown (22-9).
Georgetown will now face Lindsey Wilson College in the finals after the Blue Raiders beat Campbellsville 75-68 in the other semi-final match. Tipoff is set for 11:00 a.m. Monday at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center. Tiger Radio broadcast will join the action in progress just before noon due to the Joe B. and Denny Show. Tune in to 101.5 FM or listen live on www.georgetowncollegeathletics.com
Gilbert and Filiatreau lead Georgetown to second round
Pikeville, Ky. – The Lady Bears of Pikeville College were downed by Georgetown College 83-51 in the second game of the 2008 Mid-South Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Community Trust Bank at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center. The Lady Bears, who finished the 2007-2008 campaign 6-24 overall (1-9 MSC) got that lone league win, interestingly enough, when they knocked off Georgetown 65-54 back on February 21st but today was a different story.
The opening minutes of play saw Georgetown College capitalize on Lady Bear mistakes as the Tigers used three-point goals by Kim Ingle and Ashley Bell as well as an old fashioned three-point play by Jayme Gilbert to build a 16-4 lead early on. Alice Daniel tried to keep the Bears close as her basket trimmed the lead to 19-8 with 12:50 remaining, but the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run that included baskets by Slonim, Chandler, and Prince and quickly stretched the lead to 26-8 and never looked back.
Pikeville College tried to hang around using Lauren Potts’ and Whitney Compton’s 11 points each, but couldn’t make that big run to get back to within striking distance. The Bears did force Georgetown into 21 turnovers but just did not convert them into many points.
Georgetown did. The Lady Tigers turned 26 Pikeville College turnovers into 30 points and knocked down 10 three-point baskets as well. Coach Susan Johnson’s squad was led by Jayme Gilbert’s and Katie Filiatreau’s 20 points each.
Jackson's 20 points and 16 rebounds not enough By JARROD SHERMAN, harlandaily.com
The smallest player on the court made the biggest splash at the 13th Region Tournament championship game. South Laurel sophomore guard Jessica Dean - generously listed at 5-foot-3 in the preseason - knocked down five 3-pointers and poured in 26 points to lead the Lady Cardinals to a 74-64 victory over two-time defending champion Clay County on Sunday at Knox Central High School.
"Dean was the difference," Clay County coach James Burchell said. "She shot a deep 3 on us and got them off to a good start. We take the paint away from most teams, and we pretty much did today, but they got out on the 3-ball and free throws, and that's how they were able to score enough points. Give them credit - they're an outstanding team."
The Lady Tigers kept the ball away from South Laurel's leading scorer, Lauren Wombles. The senior forward was limited to five field goal attempts, but Dean rendered the strategy ineffective.
Clay County (25-8) took an early 4-0 lead on a pair of layups by senior Gemma Gray. Belle Jackson and Jordan Phillips added four points apiece to help the Lady Tigers maintain a 12-11 lead after one quarter. The Lady Cardinals gained some momentum near the end of the period as sophomore forward Kendra Davidson stepped out and drained a 3-pointer to cut Clay's lead to one.
The Lady Cardinals could have been extended the lead further, but they missed their first five free throws of the quarter before Davidson knocked down her second attempt at the 5:33 mark. After that, South Laurel hit four of five in the period and 23 of 27 in the game.
Wombles hit two free throws and scored on a putback to fuel a 6-0 run that gave South Laurel a 17-point cushion late in the third quarter. Jackson scored inside to cut the Lady Tigers' deficit to 48-33 at the end of the period. Rather than folding, the Lady Tigers turned in a gutsy fourth-quarter effort with Jackson leading the way. The freshman center scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in the period as Clay got as close as two.
"They won't quit," Burchell said. "They came over here to win the thing. We could've played better, but the effort we got - I couldn't ask for anything else."
Clay scored the first six points of the period as eighth-grade guard Alisha Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer and Kayla Smith converted a three-point play off a turnover. Smith scored 10 points in the quarter. Morgan Johnson hit a pair of free throws and added a short jumper to slow the Lady Tigers' momentum, breaking up what otherwise would have been a 12-0 Clay run.
Still, the Lady Tigers crept closer. Jackson and Smith each had three-point plays in a span of 42 seconds, and Jackson scored inside to cut South's lead to 62-60 with 1:04 remaining. After a Clay timeout, the Lady Cardinals regained the momentum as Justice fired a long pass to Dean for a layup. The Lady Cardinals hit all 10 of their free throws in the final minute to pull away.
Jackson poured in a game-high 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Lady Tigers.
Clay County will lose three seniors, including two starters, but Burchell said he expects the Lady Tigers to contend for the regional title again next year.
"They're three great people and one of them (point guard Sarah Burchell) is my daughter, so that hurts a little bit extra," Burchell said. "I'm proud of them. They're class kids, all three of them.
"We've got several good young players. (Ashley) Hinkle is an eighth-grader, and Blake Smith is a nice player, too. We've got as good a freshman class as anybody in the state. We've got a lot of experience - more than likely, you may see us and South back in the finals again next year."
The Lady Cardinals' last two seasons had ended at the hands of Clay County, with a semifinal loss in 2006 and a championship defeat last year.
South Laurel (25-8) will take on Region 7 champion Louisville Manual in the first round of the Girls Sweet 16. The game is slated for Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.
Clay County won the regional cheerleading championship, with Whitley County placing second. North Laurel and Harlan rounded out the top four.
Lauren Wombles, Johnna Sizemore, Porsha Justice, Kendra Davidson and Jessica Dean represented South Laurel on the all-tournament team. Clay County was represented by Belle Jackson, Gemma Gray and Alisha Mitchell.
Rounding out the team were Middlesboro's Brooklyn Jimison and Samantha Coleman; Harlan's Courtney Bell and Anne Corey Johnson; Barbourville's Callie Mills; Lynn Camp's Kayla Mason; North Laurel's Caitie Jackson; and Whitley County's Amanda Brimm.
SOUTH LAUREL (25-8) Johnna Sizemore 3-3 3-6 9, Jessica Dean 9-15 3-6 26, Porsha Justice 1-6 4-4 7, Kendra Davidson 2-5 1-3 6, Lauren Wombles 4-5 10-12 18, Erica Burchett 0-3 4-4 4, Morgan Johnson 1-1 2-2 4, Tish Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Chelsea Anders 0-0 0-0 0, Vanessa Arthur 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-38 27-37 74.
CLAY COUNTY (25-8) Sarah Burchell 0-1 0-0 0, Danielle Fox 1-5 0-0 2, Gemma Gray 6-8 2-3 14, Jordan Phillips 3-8 0-0 6, Belle Jackson 13-18 3-8 29, Ashley Hinkle 0-1 0-0 0, Alisha Mitchell 1-6 0-1 3, Blake Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kayla Smith 3-3 4-6 10, Jessica Mosley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-50 9-18 64.
3-point goals: South Laurel 7-16 (Dean 5-8, Justice 1-2, Davidson 1-3, Burchett 0-3), Clay County 1-7 (Mitchell 1-4, Burchell 0-1, Fox 0-2). Rebounds: South Laurel 27 (Wombles 7), Clay County 26 (Jackson 16). Assists: South Laurel 13 (Justice 4), Clay County 12 (K. Smith 4). Turnovers: South Laurel 13, Clay County 17. Fouled out: Clay County (Mitchell, Phillips, Burchell).
Boys 13th Region at Knox Central Watch the games on the 'net at wazoosports.com
Wednesday March 5, 2008 Corbin 80 Clay County 62 Knox Central 74 Cumberland 64
Thursday March 6, 2008 Lynn Camp 70 Bell County 68 South Laurel 76 Jackson County 59
Monday March 10, 2008 Corbin 84 Knox Central 73 South Laurel 72 Lynn Camp 57
Tuesday March 11, 2008 South Laurel 59 Corbin 49
« Last Edit: Mar 25, 2008, 4:12pm by Local Sports »
The Wazoo Sports Network is proud to announce the Bluegrass Gridiron Series and the Volunteer Gridiron Series which will allow us to showcase some of the top high school football programs, players and coaches Kentucky and Tennessee have to offer.
Look for games featuring schools that are rich in tradition as well as up-and-coming programs. Also, the high-profile players you’ve heard so much about….you can now evaluate their skills first hand and perhaps locate that “sleeper” that’s been hid under the radar screen.
Every Friday night from August 29th thru November 7th, Wazoo Sports will broadcast LIVE three of the best high school football rivalries in Kentucky and Tennessee. In addition we will also showcase several Saturday afternoon clashes between storied rival programs.
Griffin no-hits Bobcats
Clay County Tiger freshman Brandon Griffin pitched a no-hitter in his first start of the season against Bell County Thursday night. The right hander faced only 22 batters in his seven innings and recorded seven strikeouts.
Brandon McGeorge was two for three and had an RBI, Justin Hobbs drove in the other Tiger score as he went 1 for three. Corey Nicholson went two for three on the night. Tanner Gilbert and Nick Gray added hits.
Clay County Middle School Baseball Raiders pick up come from behind win at Corbin
The CCMS Baseball team defeated Corbin 5-3 Wednesday. Chase Lewis had a 2 run double in the bottom of the fifth with the score tied at 3 to give the Raiders the lead. Tanner Hensley had a RBI double in the 5th and was 3 for 3. Jordan Miller followed Hensley's double with one of his own to tie the game at 3. Justin Smith left the bases loaded after giving one run in the first then pitched three scoreless innings after that. Hensley pitched 2 innings giving up 2 runs with 3 strikouts.
The North Laurel boys’ tennis team captured its first win of the season by blanking Oneida Baptist, 9-0, while the Lady Jaguars dropped to 0-1 by losing to the Lady Mountaineers, 6-3, in match play.
“Oneida has a nice team back,” North Laurel coach Bobby Smith said of the Lady Mountaineers. “They returned all of their top players and they were just a little too strong for us overall.”
Bowling Earns Second Straight OVC Weekly Award, Named Co-Golfer Of The Week ekusports.com
Eastern Kentucky golf team member Trey Bowling earned his second straight Ohio Valley Conference Golfer of the Week award. Bowling, a junior from Manchester, Ky., shared this week’s honor with Gonzalo Berlin of Jacksonville State.
Bowling helped EKU finish second at the 19-team Pinehurst Intercollegiate, finishing in front of two top-50 ranked teams. Bowling finished tied for 10th and was the most consistent Colonel. He opened with back-to-back rounds of 75 before carding a one-over 73 on the final day, to help Eastern hold off a challenge for second place from No. 17 Penn State. He finished with the fourth best par-four scoring in the field.
The Colonels will return to action on March 29 when they begin play at the Hoosier Invitational, hosted by Indiana University.
Corbin coach Jeff Garmon said he needed a senior to step up after Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Pulaski County and his seniors answered the challenge. Joseph Hamlin kept visiting Clay County at bay on the mound, while Britt Brittain, Clint Cashen and Brandon Shinkle provided key hits to lead the Redhounds past the Tigers, 7-3.
Both teams struggled at the plate early until Corbin struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Redhounds ran into some trouble in the top of the fifth after Hamlin gave up consecutive singles, which led to Coltin Hanson replacing the senior right-hander on the mound.
Hanson hit John Wilson and followed that up by allowing a run-scoring single to Zach Lewis. Clay County added two more runs — giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead — in the inning before Hanson got out of a bases loaded jam by striking out Justin Hobbs, while getting Brandon Griffin to ground out to end the inning.
Corbin responded by tying the game in the bottom of the fifth. Hanson settled down in the top of the six inning and got Wilson to hit into a double play that ended the inning. The Redhounds took control of the game in the bottom half of the inning by scoring four times.
Tigers pick up walk off win in season opener
Corey Nicholson scored the winning run on a single by John Wilson in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Clay County Tiger baseball team a walk off 4-3 win over Whitley County in the season opener Tuesday night. Todd McDaniel got a key single for his second hit of the night during the game winning rally. McDaniel was also the winning pitcher, giving up only one hit in three shutout innings.
Nick Gray started the game and struck out 12 Colonels in five one-hit innings. Zac Lewis and Justin Hobbs joined McDaniel with two hits, while Brandon McGeorge had a double and Brandon Griffin added a single. The big blow in the game was a three run home run by Tanner Gilbert.
All three Whitley County runs were unearned.
« Last Edit: Apr 2, 2008, 6:15pm by Local Sports »
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Sports in the news..... « Reply #14 on Apr 5, 2008, 11:22am »
EKU Men's Golf Finishes Sixth At Marshall Invitational ekusports.com
Eastern Kentucky’s men’s golf team placed sixth at the Marshall Invitational on Saturday. EKU carded rounds of 288 and 291 today and finished with a team total of 579, 11 shots over par. Illinois won the event with a 36-hole total of 554, 14 shots under par. Phil Hendrickson and Ryan Britt led the Colonels and finished tied for 23rd at two-over. Hendrickson fired a first round one-under 70 but turned in a 74 in round two. Britt shot back-to-back rounds of 72.
Penn State (-7) finished second, followed by Ohio State (-3) in third. Marquette (+7) and Rhode Island (+10) rounded out the top five. The 17-team tournament was contested on the par 71, 6,476-yard Guyan Golf & Country Club.
Justin Moore tied for 28th at three-over. Trey Bowling tied for 34th at four-over.
In the first round, all five Colonels shot two-over or better. Eastern Kentucky will close out its regular season at the UK Owens/Brewer Invitational which begins on April 13.
T23. Phil Hendrickson 70-74--144 +2 T23. Ryan Britt 72-72--144 +2 T28. Justin Moore 73-72--145 +3 T34. Trey Bowling 73-73--146 +4 T38. Jesse Massie 73-74--147 +5
Gilbert, Griffin lead Tigers to win over Knox
Tanner Gilbert drove in four runs on three hits including a three run homer and Brandon Griffin gave up two runs on five hits in six innings as the Clay County Tigers defeated Knox Central 5-4 Monday night.
John Wilson was two for three and had he other RBI for the Tigers. Corey Nicholson was also two for three. Tyler Young and Tyler Sumner added base hits. Zach Lewis reached base on all four at bats.
Starting pitcher Nick Gray strugged with a sore elbow and only pitched one inning, giving up two runs on two hits. Todd McDaniel was part of two double plays on defense.
Aaron Smallwood’s South Laurel Cardinals improved to 3-0 on the season after knocking off Clay County in match play, 8-1. The Lady Cardinals weren’t as lucky, losing to the Lady Tigers, 6-3, while falling to 2-1 on the season.
“The girls did OK tonight, considering we were missing some of our better players,” Smallwood said. “This was a make-up match and was not on our original schedule and a few of the girls were not available to play. Clay County is year-in and year-out one of the best girls teams in our region,” he added. “They have another strong team this year.”
“Clay County is very strong at the top of its lineup,” Smallwood said. “Our young players did a great job for us tonight.”
Three Clay County Tiger basketball players have been named to the WYMT-TV "All Mountain" team which was released on the stations "Sports Overtime" program Friday night. Senior Justin Hobbs was named to the All-Mountain defensive team, while freshman Matt Mitchell was placed on the Underclassmen team. Hobbs and Sophomore D.J. Wilson were named Honorable Mention.
Nick Brumback of Jackson County was the 13th Region Player of the Year, and former Bell County star Josh Whitaker who tranfreed to Hazard this season was the top 14th Region Player. Steve Wright of South Laurel was tabbed as the 13th Region Coach of the Year.
The Clay County baseball team had to overcome two North Laurel rallies to hang on 13-11 in nine innings for their first road victory of the season Tuesday night. The Jaguars found themselves trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning and pulled out their first rally of the season by making up all four runs off relief pitcher Justin Hobbs to force extra innings.
Neither team could score in the eighth inning, but things heated up in the ninth inning of play. The Tigers scored six runs and appeared to have the win locked up. The Jaguars had other plans. In the bottom of the ninth inning and trailing 13-7, the Jaguars scored four runs, but their second comeback fell short. Corey Nicholson took over on the mound and struck out the last two Jaguar batters to end the game.
The Tiger games Thursday, Friday and Saturday were all rained out. The Tigers will host Knox Central Monday.
Evarts ended a 45-game losing streak stretching back to April 19, 2005, with a 17-7 rout Saturday of visiting Oneida Baptist. The Wildcats exploded for 13 runs in the fifth inning to win the game via the 10-run rule as a blast by Scotty Moore, off the fence with the bases loaded and one out, ended the game.
Oneida Baptist led 7-6 going into the fifth inning before Evarts exploded to score 11 runs.
Matt Curlee started on the mound for Oneida Baptist. Will Johnson came on in the second inning and lasted until the fifth, when Evarts took over. Jeremy Folk, Wayne Hawk and Napolion Getachew also pitched in the fifth inning for the Mountaineers.
Miller joins Farmer as both Mr. Basketball and Sweet 16 MVP courier-journal.com
Mason County's Darius Miller is the fourth player to win Mr. Basketball and Sweet 16 MVP honors in the same season since the Kentucky High School Athletic Association officially instituted the latter award in 1981. Others to pull off the double were Virgie's Todd May (1982), Clay County's Richie Farmer (1988) and Fairdale's Jermaine Brown (1991).
The Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, which sponsors the award, honored him during a ceremony at school.
Miller, a 6-foot-7 forward, was a front-runner for the honor all season after committing to UK. He didn't disappoint on the court, averaging 19.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.9 steals and 2.2 blocks. He shot 51.1 percent overall, 33.7 percent from three-point range and 76.9 percent from the foul line.
1989 - The girls’ all-state team is headed by Lisa Harrison of Southern, Gwen Doyle of Manual, Kim Jones of Clay County, Octavia Dean of Owensboro and Glenna VanHoose of Paintsville.
Gray, Jackson named to 13th region coaches first team By Les Dixon, thetimestribune.com
Corbin’s Mikkah Rogers — who signed with Georgetown College Tuesday — was named 13th Region Player of the Year by the 13th Region Coaches Association.
Joining Rogers on the 13th Region First Team are South Laurel’s Lauren Wombles, Middlesboro’s Brooklynn Jimision, Clay County’s Gema Gray, Cawood’s Emily Boggs, Whitley County’s Amanda Brimm, Clay County’s Whitney Belle Jackson, Middlesboro’s Samantha Coleman, Whitley County’s Holly Jones and Barbourville’s Callie Mills.
Middlesboro’s Shaleesha Coleman headlined the 13th Region Second Team along with Jackson County’s Amber Whitehead, Harlan’s Courtney Bell, Whitley County’s Randal Holbrook, Harlan’s Chasidy Lawson, Knox Central’s Brittany Jordan, Pineville’s Leslie Howard, North Laurel’s Caitie Jackson, Corbin’s Lyndsay Champlin and South Laurel’s Johnna Sizemore.
South Laurel’s Porsha Justice was named to the 13th Region Third Team, along with Williamsburg’s Erin Sears and Kat Hoffman, Clay County’s Sarah Burchell, Cumberland’s Kendra Russell, Whitley County’s Kayla Osborne, Middlesboro’s Ashley Williams and Sophie Robinson, Cumberland’s Whitney Gilliam and Corbin’s Kelci Jones.
The players that were named to the Senior All Academic Team in the 13th Region were Bell County’s Kacy Denny, Cawood’s Emily Boggs, Clay County’s Sarah Burchell and Gemma Gray, Corbin’s Abby Baylor, Sara Grega and Mikkah Rogers, Evarts’ Kendra Williams and Kayla McCreary, Harlan’s Courtney Bell and Amanda Blakely, Knox Central’s Kayla Wilburn, North Laurel’s Casey Karr and Morgan Emery, Pineville’s Leslie Howard, Mary Elliott and Lindsey Roan, South Laurel’s Johnna Sizemore, Lauren Wombles and Vanessa Arthur, Williamsburg’s Erin Sears and Brittani Peters, Whitley County’s Amanda Brimm and Randal Holbrook.
Colonels Claim Another First Place Finish ekusports.com
The final round of the Adidas Hoosier Invitational was cancelled due to rain, leaving the Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s golf team with its fourth first place finish of the 2007-08 season. In nine events this season, the Colonels have nine top-five finishes. Jesse Massie earned his second individual title of the season. At three-under, the junior finished with a three shot lead on second place. Miami (Ohio) placed second, two shots behind the Colonels. The 17-team tournament was contested on the par 71, 6,813-yard IU Championship Golf Course.
Trey Bowling (+4) tied for ninth and Phil Hendrickson (+6) tied for 18th.
Bowling, Hendrickson and Justin Moore each shot an even-par in round two. Moore improved by seven shots over his first round total and tied for 22nd at seven-over. Eastern Kentucky will return to action on Friday when they begin play at the Marshall Intercollegiate in Huntington, West Virginia.
Georgetown College sophomore guard Jayme Gilbert has been named NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. The Manchester, Kentucky native led the Tigers in scoring and field goal percentage, averaging 16.7 ppg while shooting 56 percent from the field and tallying 518 points in her second year. She also averaged 5.8 rebounds and scored a career-high 34 points during the conference season versus Lindsey Wilson College. She added 112 assists and 57 steals this year, a tribute to her well-rounded play.
"Jayme had an extremely solid sophomore campaign," said Head Coach Susan Johnson. "She's the kind of player that makes everyone better around her and she is very deserving."
Gilbert's honor marks the ninth women's basketball selection in school history to be named an NAIA All-American, the first as an honorable mention selection.
The Wazoo Sports Network is proud to announce the Bluegrass Gridiron Series and the Volunteer Gridiron Series which will allow us to showcase some of the top high school football programs, players and coaches Kentucky and Tennessee have to offer.
Look for games featuring schools that are rich in tradition as well as up-and-coming programs. Also, the high-profile players you’ve heard so much about….you can now evaluate their skills first hand and perhaps locate that “sleeper” that’s been hid under the radar screen.
Every Friday night from August 29th thru November 7th, Wazoo Sports will broadcast LIVE three of the best high school football rivalries in Kentucky and Tennessee. In addition we will also showcase several Saturday afternoon clashes between storied rival programs.
Griffin no-hits Bobcats
Clay County Tiger freshman Brandon Griffin pitched a no-hitter in his first start of the season against Bell County Thursday night. The right hander faced only 22 batters in his seven innings and recorded seven strikeouts.
Brandon McGeorge was two for three and had an RBI, Justin Hobbs drove in the other Tiger score as he went 1 for three. Corey Nicholson went two for three on the night. Tanner Gilbert and Nick Gray added hits.
Clay County Middle School Baseball Raiders pick up come from behind win at Corbin
The CCMS Baseball team defeated Corbin 5-3 Wednesday. Chase Lewis had a 2 run double in the bottom of the fifth with the score tied at 3 to give the Raiders the lead. Tanner Hensley had a RBI double in the 5th and was 3 for 3. Jordan Miller followed Hensley's double with one of his own to tie the game at 3. Justin Smith left the bases loaded after giving one run in the first then pitched three scoreless innings after that. Hensley pitched 2 innings giving up 2 runs with 3 strikouts.
The North Laurel boys’ tennis team captured its first win of the season by blanking Oneida Baptist, 9-0, while the Lady Jaguars dropped to 0-1 by losing to the Lady Mountaineers, 6-3, in match play.
“Oneida has a nice team back,” North Laurel coach Bobby Smith said of the Lady Mountaineers. “They returned all of their top players and they were just a little too strong for us overall.”
Bowling Earns Second Straight OVC Weekly Award, Named Co-Golfer Of The Week ekusports.com
Eastern Kentucky golf team member Trey Bowling earned his second straight Ohio Valley Conference Golfer of the Week award. Bowling, a junior from Manchester, Ky., shared this week’s honor with Gonzalo Berlin of Jacksonville State.
Bowling helped EKU finish second at the 19-team Pinehurst Intercollegiate, finishing in front of two top-50 ranked teams. Bowling finished tied for 10th and was the most consistent Colonel. He opened with back-to-back rounds of 75 before carding a one-over 73 on the final day, to help Eastern hold off a challenge for second place from No. 17 Penn State. He finished with the fourth best par-four scoring in the field.
The Colonels will return to action on March 29 when they begin play at the Hoosier Invitational, hosted by Indiana University.
Corbin coach Jeff Garmon said he needed a senior to step up after Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Pulaski County and his seniors answered the challenge. Joseph Hamlin kept visiting Clay County at bay on the mound, while Britt Brittain, Clint Cashen and Brandon Shinkle provided key hits to lead the Redhounds past the Tigers, 7-3.
Both teams struggled at the plate early until Corbin struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Redhounds ran into some trouble in the top of the fifth after Hamlin gave up consecutive singles, which led to Coltin Hanson replacing the senior right-hander on the mound.
Hanson hit John Wilson and followed that up by allowing a run-scoring single to Zach Lewis. Clay County added two more runs — giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead — in the inning before Hanson got out of a bases loaded jam by striking out Justin Hobbs, while getting Brandon Griffin to ground out to end the inning.
Corbin responded by tying the game in the bottom of the fifth. Hanson settled down in the top of the six inning and got Wilson to hit into a double play that ended the inning. The Redhounds took control of the game in the bottom half of the inning by scoring four times.
Tigers pick up walk off win in season opener
Corey Nicholson scored the winning run on a single by John Wilson in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Clay County Tiger baseball team a walk off 4-3 win over Whitley County in the season opener Tuesday night. Todd McDaniel got a key single for his second hit of the night during the game winning rally. McDaniel was also the winning pitcher, giving up only one hit in three shutout innings.
Nick Gray started the game and struck out 12 Colonels in five one-hit innings. Zac Lewis and Justin Hobbs joined McDaniel with two hits, while Brandon McGeorge had a double and Brandon Griffin added a single. The big blow in the game was a three run home run by Tanner Gilbert.
All three Whitley County runs were unearned.
« Last Edit: Apr 9, 2008, 6:01pm by Local Sports »
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Sports in the news..... « Reply #15 on Apr 9, 2008, 6:04pm »
Lady Redhounds drop 2-1 decision to Clay County By Les Dixon, thetimestribune
Chris Hart’s Corbin Lady Redhounds suffered a setback at home by losing to 13th Region foe Clay County Thursday, 2-1. The Lady Redhounds jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third inning, but the Lady Tigers responded with a two-run third inning to pick up the upset win.
Clay County (6-1) was coming off an 8-1 loss at home to Williamsburg before pulling off the road win against Corbin.
Raiders take two in Rose Classic
The Clay County Middle School Raiders traveled to Powell County Saturday to play in the annual Bill Rose Middle School Classic. The Raiders baseball team came away with wins against host team Powell County 4-3, and Letcher County 11-4.
Jordan Miller and Corey Courm led the Raiders vs Powell at the plate with 2 hits while Tanner Hensley added 2 RBI on a hit. Chase Lewis sealed the win for the Raiders with a 2 out bases loaded single in the bottom of the fourth giving Clay the 4-3 lead. Justin Smith pitched 5 stellar innings allowing only 3 runs with 6 strikeouts.
Clay kept the bats rolling in their second game of the day starting the first inning with 10 runs on 9 hits. The Raiders had hits by Courm (2), Zack McGeorge, Hensley (2), Miller, Smith, Austin Carnahan, Jordan White, and James Williams. Tanner Hensley pitched 4 innings allowing 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7. Jordan Miller recorded the save in the 11-4 victory by the Raiders.
EKU Men's Golf Places Seventh At UK Bluegrass Invitational ekusports.com
Eastern Kentucky placed seventh at the UK Bluegrass Invitational hosted by the University of Kentucky on Sunday and Monday. The Colonels carded a three-round total of 922, 70 shots over par. Central Florida (+47) was the runaway winner. Teams two through nine finished within nine shots of second place. The two-day event was held at UK's 7,013-yard, par-71 Big Blue Course in Lexington.
Missouri (+63) and Murray State (+63) tied for second. Kentucky (+64) was one shot behind in fourth. Western Carolina (+67) was fifth and Miami (Ohio) (+68) finished sixth, two shots ahead of Eastern Kentucky. Toledo (+71) and Western Kentucky (+72) rounded out the top nine.
Trey Bowling led the Colonels, and tied for 19th, with a three-round 229, 16 over par. After opening with a 79 on Sunday, Bowling fired back-to-back rounds of 75 on Monday. Jesse Massie tied for 24th at 18 over (231). Justin Moore and Ryan Britt each finished 22 over and tied for 46th. Britt turned in back-to-back rounds of 74, the lowest score by any Colonel, to begin the tournament, but a final round 87 moved the senior back in the field.
Next up for the Colonels is the Ohio Valley Conference Championships beginning on Sunday at the Country Club of Paducah in Paducah.
Raiders win over Jackson County
The Clay County Middle School Raiders baseball team defeated Jackson County at home Monday 7-3. The Raiders scattered 13 hits over 5 innings. Corey Courm, Austin Carnahan and Jordan Miller led the Raiders at the plate with each going 2 for 3. Miller and Carnahan each had 2 RBI on the night.
Tanner Hensley pitched a complete game with 7 strikeouts and only 2 walks along with going 2 for 3 at the plate. The Raiders also got hits from Jordan White, James Williams and Justin Smith. The Radiers will be back in action at home Thrusday vs Barbourville and Friday at home vs Hazard.
Yost helps Georgetown to #21 national ranking in tennis
Former Clay County Lady Tiger tennis star Sarah Yost went 4-0 against Walsh College and Cedarville College to help her Georgetown Collge team pick up two important wins and improve to 10-4 on the season. Georgetown is currently ranked #21 in the latest NAIA poll. Youst is a junior at Georgtown and was named a NAIA honorable mention All-American as a sophomore.
Yost and doubles teammate Bianca Rugimbana defeated Walsh's Megan Navaree and Madeline Lewis 8-1 in doubles, then Youst defeated Lindsey Cady 6-4, 6-1 in singles. Two days later Yost and Rugimbana defeated Cedarville's Alisa Rutt and Olivia Dolph 8-3, and Youst took her singles match 6-4, 6-4 over Melinda Workman.
Georgetown will take on Lindsey Wilson Monday and Cambellsville College Tuesday before traveling to Louisville for the Mid-South Conference Tournament Thursday.
1st Team Lauren Wombles – South Laurel Kayla Lowe – Pike Central Heather Sturdivant – Perry Central Sarah Rowe – Rockcastle County Lenae Shouse – Breathitt County
2nd Team Samantha Coleman – Middlesboro Kourtney Tyra – Jackson County Sara Hammond – Rockcastle County Kendall Noble – Breathitt County Merissa Pruitt – Belfry
3rd Team Celena Conley – Johnson Central Gemma Gray – Clay County Mikkah Rogers – Corbin Sophie Robinson – Middlesboro Whitney Belle Jackson – Clay County
Girls’ Honorable Mention - 13th Region Callie Mills (Barbourville) Emily Boggs (Cawood) Courtney Bell (Harlan) Amber Whitehead (Jackson County) Brooklynn Jimison (Middlesboro) Caitie Jackson (North Laurel) Leslie Howard (Pineville) Jessica Dean (South Laurel) Erin Sears (Williamsburg)
Academic All-Mountains Sara Johnson (Allen Central) Sarah Burchell (Clay Co.) Emily Wireman (Johnson Cent.) Hayley Meek (Johnson Cent.) Megan Mosely (Knott Central) Breanne Wilson (Leslie Co.) Shannon Bays (Letcher Central) Shaleesha Coleman (Middlesboro) Jasmine Hall (Phelps) Taylor Keene (Phelps) Kayla Cantrell (Shelby Valley) Holly Jones (Whitley Co.)
Tigers take two in Bo Upton Memorial Classic
The Clay County Tiger baseball team won two games Saturday in the Bo Upton Memorial Classic at Lincoln County to move their record to 7-2 on the season. A game with Jenkins was rained out Friday night.
Clay County 13 Wayne county 3
Freshman pitcher Todd McDaniel scattered eight hits over five innings, to pick up the five inning win. Wayne County took advantage of two Clay County errors in the top of the fifth to score their only runs of the game. Zac Lewis was three for four at the plate and had two RBI's. Brandon Griffin was two of three and added three RBI's. Corey Nicholson knocked in Tanner Gilbert for the ten run lead and the walk-off five inning win. John Wilson, Brandon McGeorge, Gilbert, Nicholson, and McDaniel added hits for the Tigers.
Clay County 10, Lincoln County 9
Zac Lewis reahed base all five times he batted including two hits, Brandon McGeorge went two for five with three RBI's and John Wilson went two of three, with two walks and three runs scored as the Tigers pulled out the come from behing win. Corey Nicholson, Tyler Young, Todd McDaniel and Tyler Sumner added base knocks for Clay County.
Starting pitcher Brandon Griffin gave up three runs on three hits and gave way to Brandon McGeorge in the fourth. McGeorge, who was making his first varsity pitching appearance worked three innnings, giving up four runs on four hits and picked up the win. Corey Nicholson pitched the seventh inning giving up two runs on two hits but retired the last three batters for the save.
Raiders Roll past Sebastian
The CCMS Raiders Baseball team defeated Sebastian Middle School at home Tuesday 11-0 in 4 innings. The Raiders were led at the plate by Corey Courm who had 5 RBI on 2 hits, including a Grand Slam in the bottom of the 3rd inn. Zack McGeorge followed Courm's homer with one of his own. Jordan White had a double and 2 RBI in the win. Austin Carnahan stayed hot at the plate going 2 for 2.
CLICK HERE to check out the new Clay County Tiger baseball page!
CLICK HERE to visit the CCMS Raider Baseball website!
OBI boys capture North Laurel track meet By Denis House, sentinel-echo.com
North Laurel hosted an All-Comers meet Tuesday evening, with the Lady Jags taking first in the girls’ meet, while Oneida Baptist won the boy’s meet. The Lady Jaguars finished with 189 points, with Whitley Co. in second (150) and South Laurel in third (84). OBI had 178 points in the boys’ meet, with North Laurel taking second (149) and Whitley Co. third (75). South Laurel placed fourth with 63 points.
Napolion Getachew of OBI won the boys’ 100 with a time of 11.89. He also took the 200 in 24.41. OBI won the 4x100 in 47.02, the 4x200 in 1:39.18, and the 4x400 in 4:02.78. The long jump was won by Boima Karmo of OBI with a distance of 19-01. Richard Baker of OBI won the triple jump at 37-05.50. The shot put was won by Josh Hicks of OBI with a distance of 33-08.00.
Final team scores
Girls - 1. North Laurel, 189; 2. Whitley Co., 150; 3. South Laurel, 84; 4. Owsley Co., 47; 5. Oneida Baptist Institute, 29.
Boys - 1. Oneida Baptist Institute, 178; 2. North Laurel, 149; 3. Whitley Co., 75; 4. South Laurel, 63; 5. Williamsburg, 277; 6. Owsley Co., 19.
The Cumberland Gap High School boys tennis team improved to 4-0 on the year with a 6-3 victory at Clay County. Meanwhile the girls team lost their second in a row by a count of 5-4. For the boys the doubles duo of Alec Lewis and Harley Evans highlighted the night with a 7-6 (7-4) victory over Jerrid Neely and Jonathan Carmack to touch off the victory.
Previously, Lewis had lost in singles to Neeley 8-3 and Evans lost a close one to Carmack 9-7. Other winners for the Panthers were Garrett Jones over Phillip Burchell 8-6. Ryan Shipley over Michael Hoskins 8-5. Alex Schelstrate over Jacob Garrison 8-3 and Robert Caldwell over Jason Hoskins 8-6. In doubles Shipley/Jones knocked off Hoskins/Hoskins 6-2 and Caldwell/ Jared Asher lost to Burchell/Garrison 6-5 in a match called because of darkness.
For the girls Sarah Burchell (CC) beat Codi Guy 8-0. Courtney Crowder (CGHS) lost to Melanie Smith 8-1, Kayla Lewis (CGHS) knocked off Mallory Garrison 7-6, Rebecca Webb (CGHS) defeated Samantha Gregory 8-6, Lydia Harris (CC) slid past Monica Cobb (8-4) and Sydney Combs (CC) beat Lindsay Warren (8-1) In doubles it was Guy/Webb losing to Smith/Gray 8-2, Lewis/Crowder over Harris/Combs 8-6 and Cobb/Warren over Gregory/Stivers 8-6.
« Last Edit: Apr 23, 2008, 5:36pm by Local Sports »
The Georgetown College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the third-annual GC Awards on Sunday, April 27th in the Georgetown College Chapel. Former Tiger and current WKYT-TV chief meteorologist T.G. Shuck served as master of ceremonies and gave student-athletes an idea of how much they will appreciate the foundation that athletics helps to form in their lives when they are in their chosen careers. Former Clay County Tiger and current Georgetown All-American tennis player Sarah Yost (right) was presented the Stripes Award.
Girls 1600 Meters - #8. Brittany Collins, Clay County 7:09.72.
Girls 3200 Meters - #8. Brittany Collins, Clay County 16:43.51.
Girls 100 Meter Hurdles - #8. Cassie Smallwood, Clay County 21.97
Girls 4x200 Relay - #3. Clay County 2:03.53
Girls 4x400 Relay - #6. Clay County 5:11.14
Girls 4x800 Relay - #6. Clay County 12:47.73.
Girls High Jump - #4. Blake Smith, Clay County 4-06
Girls Long Jump - #4. Maggie Sizemore, Clay County 13-09.00
Girls Shot Put - #1. Shanda Copeland, Clay County 28-02.00; #3. Whitney Jackson, Clay County 26-03.00
Girls Discus - #2. Shanda Copeland, Clay County 70-03; #6. Bridgett Hibbard, Clay County 58-09
Boys 100 Meters - #4. John Hooker, Clay County 12.04
Boys 200 Meters - #3. John Hooker, Clay County 24.57
Boys 800 Meters - #3. Matt Langdon, Clay County 2:17.03
Boys 4x100 Meter Relay - #2. Clay County 48.07
Boys 4x200 Meter Relay - #2. Clay County 1:40.09
Boys 4x400 Meter Realy - #3 Clay County 4:05.14
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay - #3. Clay County 9:44.34
Boys High Jump - #1. Wes Smith, Clay County 6-02; #5. C.J. Miller, Clay County 5-04
Boys Long Jump - #4. John Hooker, Clay County 19-03.00
Boys Triple Jump - #6. Dustin Smith, Clay County 35-04.00
Boys Shot Put - #4. Gary Jordan, Clay County 37-01.50
Boys Discus Throw - #3. Matt Langdon, Clay County 101-07
Girls Team Rankings
1) Bell County 114 2) Knox Central 93 3) Pulaski County 81.50 4) Leslie County 75 5) Corbin 40.50 6) Clay County 40 7) South Laurel 38 8) Cumberland 29 9) Middlesboro 14 10) Evarts 2
Boys Team Rankings
1) Pulaski County 135 2) Knox Central 97 3) Bell County 83.50 4) Corbin 75 5) Clay County 72 6) South Laurel 33 7) Cumberland 14 8) Middlesboro 10 9) Evarts 5.50
OVC CHAMPIONS: EKU Men's Golf Wins 11th Conference Title ekusports.com
Eastern Kentucky claimed its 11th Ohio Valley Conference men’s golf championship Tuesday at the Country Club of Paducah. The Colonels led from start to finish and concluded play with a team total of 874, winning the championship by 19-shots over Murray State. With its first conference title since 2006, EKU earns the OVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA championship.
Trey Bowling (231, +15) tied for 18th. Bowling’s final round was just up and down. After a par on the first hole, he bogeyed four straight and made the turn at four-over. He cut two shots off with birdies on the first two holes of the back nine, but he finished with a six on the par-three 12th hole to go five over. Then on the final five holes, he bogeyed two and birdied three to finish with a four-over 76.
The 111th annual NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships begins with region action May 15-17. The regionals will be held in Chattanooga, Tenn., Columbus, Ohio and Bremerton, Wash. The NCAA will announce the championship field on May 5.
Redhounds’ rally falls short at Clay County By Les Dixon, thetimestribune.com
Despite smashing a season-best four home runs, Jeff Garmon’s Corbin Redhounds couldn’t come up with a win on the road against Clay County. Corbin (11-8) jumped out to a 5-1 advantage, but couldn’t hold on to the lead, as the Tigers (11-4) rallied to pick up an 8-7 win.
“To be honest, I was happy with the way we battled and hit the ball tonight,” Garmon said. “You have to give credit to Clay County. We had them down, but they managed to get some big hits.”
Hendrickson’s three-run bomb in the first inning gave the Redhounds a 3-0 cushion. Clay County answered with a run in the bottom of the second inning, but Corbin responded with a run of its own in the fourth. The Tigers added another run in the bottom of the fourth. The Tigers scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a single by John Wilson to cut their deficit to 5-4 and took advantage of a couple of walks and an error to claim an 8-5 lead going into the seventh inning.
The Redhounds opened the top of the seventh inning with consecutive outs, but back to back home runs was not enought as the Tigers held on for the win. Brandon Griffin was the winning pitcher and Todd McDaniel picked up the save.
The Corbin boys’ and girls’ tennis teams continued to roll Monday with a win over traditional 13th Region powerhouse Clay County. The boys’ defeated the Tigers 9-0 to improve to 7-0 on the season, while the girls scored a 4-1 victory and improved to 6-2 this season.
No. 1 seed Lance Freeman beat Clay County’s Jerrid Neeley, 6-0, 6-1. Taylor Jones defeated Jon Carmack, 8-1. Brody Freeman scored an 8-1 win over Michael Hoskins. Lee Crawford beat Phillip Burchell, 8-1. Nick Huff beat Jason Hoskins, 8-1, and Arpan Dixit defeated Jacob Garrison, 8-1, to complete the sweep for the Redhounds in singles action.
Brody Freeman and Lee Crawford beat Jarrid Neeley and Jon Carmack, 6-1, 6-3. Nick Huff and Krisna Patil defeated Michael and Jason Hoskins, 8-2, and Chris Goins and Arpan Dixit beat Phillip Burchell and Jason Garrison to complete the sweep in doubles action.
Morgan Freeman defeated Sarah Burchell, 6-2, 6-1. Nikki Freeman beat Samantha Gregory 6-3, 7-5 and Sritha Redda beat Chelsa Stivers, 6-1, 6-0 to complete a sweep for the Corbin girls in singles play.
Melanie Head and Sidney Ledington defeated Mallory Garrison and Gemma Gray, 7-6, 6-2. The only match Clay County won was decided by an extra set when Lynday Harris and Sidney Combs defeated Corbin’s Erin Hart and Julie Crawford, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
South Laurel downs Clay County 2-1 By Denis House, sentinel-echo.com
Ricky Bowling delivered a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive home Luke Rakestraw and give the South Laurel Cardinals a 2-1 win over visiting Clay County last Thursday. Rakestraw, who was also the winning pitcher, started the inning with a single, and advanced to second when catcher Ryan Woody beat out a perfectly placed bunt between the mound and first base.
After Matthew Peters fouled out, Michael Hammonds sent a fly ball that hit off the left fielder’s glove for one of five errors committed by the Tigers in the game. Woody was thrown out at second, but Rakestraw advanced to third, bringing Bowling to the plate. The South centerfielder then smacked a single to center, scoring Rakestraw and sending the South Laurel fans home happy.
The Cards (12-2) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off Clay County pitcher Brandon Griffin, the first-cousin of the late North Laurel and University of Kentucky star Jon Hooker. Griffin even wears No. 33, just like Hooker did. Griffin struggled with his control in the first, walking the bases loaded with one out. He then got Hammonds to fly out, which scored Rakestraw. Bowling then flew out to right to end the inning, as the Cardinals left two runners stranded. For the game, nine South Laurel runners were left on base, including two in both the third and fourth innings.
Clay Co. (8-3) tied the game in the top of the third when Todd McDaniel singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and later scored on a single by Zach Lewis. The Tigers threatened in the fifth inning, putting two runners on with one out, but Rakestraw got John Wilson to ground into the pitcher’s best friend, a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
After watching a six-run lead evaporate in the fifth inning, the Bell County Bobcats put up two runs in the sixth to knock off Clay County 10-8 Monday night. Spencer Greer led off the sixth with a double to right-center and advanced to third on a wild pitch with one out. With two outs, Chase Ely fouled off several pitches before another wild pitch allowed Greer to score what proved to be the deciding run.
Ely eventually worked a walk and came all the way around to score when John Dudley Hilton hit a ground ball and the throw got away from the Clay first baseman.
The Bobcats made three errors in the second inning to give the Tigers two unearned runs and then made two more in the fifth that led to Clay’s big inning.
« Last Edit: May 6, 2008, 11:50am by Local Sports »
For the second time in three years, the 49th District’s blind draw continues to be a thorn in the sides of both Clay County and North Laurel. With Jackson County, Oneida Baptist and Red Bird in full agreement to go with the blind draw, there isn’t much that North Laurel head coach Darren McWhorter and Clay County head coach Billy Griffin can do, but shake their heads.
“To be honest, I’m not fond of the blind draw at all,” Griffin said. “Darren and I have talked about this and all it does is give other district teams an easier shot at advancing in the regional tournament.”
The combined record of the three teams are 8-27, while Clay County (19-5 overall, 10-3 vs. 13th Region opponents) and North Laurel (14-12, 12-5) are considered two of the top teams in the 13th Region.
“All I know is that all of the other teams in the 13th Region loves this,” McWhorter said. “Basically, whoever draws the losing team in the region can throw off and use their No. 2 or No. 3 pitcher and can actually save their No. 1 pitcher until the region finals.
“It’s frustrating — that’s what it is,” he added. “The sad thing is this is not going to change any time soon. I’ve stressed to the kids all year long that we need to focus on beating Clay County. I felt like we would draw them and that’s what happened.”
Griffin said what adds to the frustration is that Oneida Baptist votes to haves a blind draw, but hasn’t participated in the 49th District Tournament for the past two years.
“Something needs to be changed,” he said. “The KHSAA (Kentucky High School Athletic Association) needs to step in or something.”
McWhorter agrees.
“Unless the KHSAA mandates the districts to be seeded, then it’s going to be like this,” he said. “There’s nothing I can say or do about it. We have an open discussion about it in the meeting, but it never does anything. I mean, Oneida Baptist votes not to seed, but doesn’t even participate in the district tournament.
“All this does is make the region weaker,” McWhorter added. “Our district just isn’t represented well in the region and it’s not right. It is what it is. I warned my kids we would probably draw Clay County and it happened. We’ve shown that we can play with anybody in the region and we’ve also shown that we can be beaten by anyone, so we’re just going to have to be ready to play Clay County when the time comes.”
The two teams will try to avoid elimination May 19 when the first round of the 49th District begins at Jackson County High School.
Clay County boys finish second in SEKC track meet harlandaily.com
The Clay County boys track team finished second at the Southeastern Kentucky Conference meet Tuesday at Knox Central High School.
Girls
3,200-meter run: 3) Brittany Collins, Bell County, 13:30.88; 4) Tabitha Byrd, Clay County, 14:51.16;
100-meter hurdles: 5) Cassie Smallwood, Clay County, 20.90;
4x400-meter relay: 4) Clay County, 4:54.16;
4x800-meter relay: 4) Clay County, 12:33.70;
High jump: 1) Blake Smith, Clay County, J4-06.00;
Long jump: 5) Maggie Sizemore, Clay County, 13-02.25;
Shot put: 2) Shanda Copeland, Clay County, 28-05.00; 4) Whitney Jackson, Clay County, 27-10.00;
Discus throw: 3) Shanda Copeland, Clay County, 66-05;
100-meter dash: 1) John Hooker, Clay County, 11.72;
200-meter dash: 1) John Hooker, Clay County, 23.80;
400-meter dash: 1) Jeremy Garrison, Clay County, 50.69;
800-meter run: 4) Matt Langdon, Clay County, 2:14.57;
300-meter hurdles: 5) Ben Jackson, Clay County, 48.34;
4x100-meter relay: 3) Clay County, 48.34;
4x200-meter relay: 2) Clay County, 1:36.61;
4x400-meter relay: 1) Clay County, 3:47.07;
High jump: 1) Wes Smith, Clay County, J6-00-00; 5) Ben Jackson, Clay County, J5-02.00
Long jump: 5) John Hooker, Clay County, 18-01.00;
Shot put: 4) Gary Jordan, Clay County, 3-10.00;
Discus throw: 2) Matt Langdon, Clay County, 100-03;
Boys standings: 1) Knox Central, 167.50; 2) Clay County, 109; 3) Corbin, 108; 4) Pineville, 89; 5) Bell County, 88; 6) Williamsburg, 77.50; 7) Evarts, 24; 8) Harlan, 16; 9) Middlesboro, 12. 10) Cumberland, 1.
Bowling's EKU Golf Team To Play In NCAA Central Regional ekusports.com
Former Clay County Tiger Trey Bowling and his Eastern Kentucky’s men’s golf team will play in the Central Regional of the 2008 NCAA Championships on May 15-17, the organization announced Monday. The Colonels are making their second appearance in the NCAA Championships after capturing the Ohio Valley Conference championship in April. EKU is the 22nd seeded team in the 27-team regional.
The Central Regional will be contested on the Scarlet Golf Course at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The top-10 teams from each of the three 54-hole regionals will advance to the championship round at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind., to be played May 28-31.
The top-five seeds in the Central Regional are Alabama, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, Florida and Tennessee. Indiana is the eighth seed and Louisville is the 10th seed. Eastern Kentucky has competed this season against six teams in the regional; Indiana, Illinois, Penn State, Ohio State, Marquette and Cleveland State. The Colonels have finished ahead of Indiana, Penn State, Marquette and Cleveland State.
EKU claimed its 11th Ohio Valley Conference men’s golf championship on April 22. The Colonels led from start to finish and concluded play with a team total of 874, winning the championship by 19-shots over Murray State.
Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Pat Stephens was awarded Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors at the conclusion of the championship. It is the second coach of the year award for the man that has led the Colonel program for 11 seasons. Stephens led EKU to its first ever NCAA championship appearance in 2006.
Despite falling one shot short of the individual title, Phil Hendrickson garnered the OVC Player of the Year award. He carries the lowest stroke average in the conference and now has six top-10 finishes this season.
Three Colonels placed in the top-five, four in the top-10 and all five turned in top-20 performances.
Clay County quarterback Zach Lewis has a chance to do something special during his senior season under center next fall. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Lewis can become Kentucky's all-time leader in career passing yards. He already has 10,584 and has passed former Trinity and Louisville star Brian Brohm, now Lewis only trails former E'town star Chris Todd (10,766) and the state's all-time leader in former Leslie County and Kentucky star Tim Couch (12,167).
"To even be mentioned with Brian Brohm, Tim Couch and Chris Todd is a great honor for me," Lewis said. "Those were some of the best guys ever."
A four-year starter, Lewis has already thrown for 78 career TD passes and ranks 25th on the state's all-time list in that category.
"The fact is that he has done this in three years and with nine different receivers," Clay County coach Aaron Stepp said. "We have had some good skill kids, but it's been different ones."
While Lewis is busy re-writing the state record book, he'll also be trying to land a scholarship. Stepp said Lewis runs a 4.7 40-yard dash and is also the Tigers' field-goal kicker, punter and plays safety on the defensive side of the ball.
"His intelligence of the game is unparralled," Stepp said.
And he does have the colleges interested. Marshall, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern and a few other Mid-American Conference schools have called on Lewis. This summer, Lewis said he'll go to "a few camps with some schools" that have shown interest.
"I just want to try and get noticed a bit," Lewis said.
The Middlesboro boys’ and girls’ tennis teams traveled to Manchester Thursday to take on the Clay County Tigers. The Jacket boys pulled out a 3-2 win, while the Lady Jackets dropped a 3-2 decision to the Lady Tigers. Middlesboro swept the boys singles matches. Akash Patel defeated Phillip Burchell 6-2, 6-3 in the one seed match-up. At number two Noah Robinson got past Jacob Garrison 7-5, 6-3 and at number three Zach Ausmus shut out Mack Asher 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles the Tigers turned the tables as Jerrid Nealy and Jon Carmack pulled out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Middlesboro’s top team of Roger Uy and Chris Aker. In the second doubles match Clay’s Michael Hoskins and Jason Hoskins defeated Jared Barton and Adam Crawford 6-0, 6-3, but Middlesboro still won overall 3-2.
On the girls side, defending regional champion Sarah Burchell topped Middlesboro’s Natalie Dubin 6-2, 6-0 at the number one. Lady Jacket number two seed Ashley Mason lost to Clay’s Mallory Garrison 6-2, 6-3 and Middlesboro three seed Morgan Wilson defeated Samantha Gregory 8-2.
In doubles, the Lady Jackets number one team of Rachel Maiden and Trinity Goodman lost to Clay’s Gemma Gray and Melanie Smith 6-3, 6-3 while the number two team of Mary Wilson and Priya Mohan topped Lydia Harris and Sydney Combs 6-4, 6-2.
But Clay had pulled out the 3-2 win.
In a JV doubles match, Middlesboro’s Ashley Mason and Rhyan Martin defeated Destiny Ryan and Mindi Bowling 8-1.
Former Clay County Lady Tiger and her Georgetown College Women's Tennis team has earned the right to play for a national championship for the first time since the NAIA team format began in 2000. This is not the team's first appearance in the tournament, as Georgetown played in both 2000 and 2001 as the host school. The Tigers currently own a #14 national ranking and have an overall record of 13-7, with all seven losses coming at the hands of top 20 teams.
"We have played a very strong schedule and our seven losses were to EKU, No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (three times), No. 7 Berry, then No. 10 Brenau and then No. 15 Northwood, so our schedule has been difficult," explained head coach Kevin Calhoun. "But we also beat three teams in the top 25 including No. 10 Southern Nazarene. I think we are ready for anything that we are going to see next week."
Calhoun said he doesn't expect an intimidation factor to be present when his team takes to the courts. "Despite losing to Lindsey Wilson three times, we competed really well with them all three times and our players aren't the intimidated types."
The NAIA National Tennis Championships will be played May 12-16 in Mobile, Alabama at the Mobile Tennis Center. Brackets will be released on Wednesday by 6:00 p.m.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2008, 8:51pm by Local Sports »
Justin Hobbs will represent Clay County on the 13th Region Senior All-Star team that will take on the 14th Region Stars at 4 p.m. and the 15th Region Stars at 7 p.m. on June 15 at Knott Central High School in Hindman. The 13th Region All-Stars will be coached by Harlan’s David Evans.
Other members of the 13th Region All-Stars include J.T. Shelley of Williamsburg, Jordan McCumbers and Benji Campbell of Whitley County, Kyle Nelson of Bell County, Mike Hammons of South Laurel, Nick Shannon, Ryan Evans and Logan Howell of North Laurel, Jacob Scalf and Andy Mitchell of Knox Central, Clint Cashen and Josh Hart of Corbin, A.J. Gambrel of Barbourville, Josh Johnson of Harlan, Jonathan Fields of Cumberland, and Trevor Lakes of Jackson County.
From the men's team, Matias Carcamo was selected as a member of the NAIA All-American second team, the highest individual honor for the school. The junior from Temuco, Chile will return as the Tiger's top seed next season, as will Andres Escalante, a junior from Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, who was named an honorable mention selection.
Both Emily Kerrick (Lexington, Ky.) and Sarah Yost (Manchester, Ky.) repeated as honorable mention selections. The juniors were joined by freshman Adrienne Bartlett (Louisville, Ky.), also an honorable mention honoree.
The women's team ended the year 13-9 after the school's first appearance as a qualifier in the NAIA National Tournament in Mobile, Ala. and lose only one senior. The ladies received a special honor, being chosen as the 2008 Champions of Character team from all 138 member schools. In addition, Head Coach Kevin Calhoun was named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year. The men's team ended the year with an appearance in the NAIA Region XI Tournament in Nashville, Tn. and an overall record of 8-13.
By Luke Beach, Herd Insider Recruiting Coordinator
The 2009 recruiting class has yet to take shape, but we are giving you a list of prospects who have received scholarships offers and others who are seeing serious attention from The Thundering Herd. Check marshall.scout.com to see who is on the Herd's recruiting radar.
Here is a breakdown of the 2009 Thundering Herd recruiting quarter back prospects.
1. Will Gilchrist, QB, 6’2, 175, Savannah Harden Country HS, TN/ as a soph named West Tennessee Sophomore of the year. Has heard from Vandy, Tennessee, Memphis, Marshall, and MTSU. First offer from Louisiana Tech.
2. Bo Cordell, QB, 6’2, 195, Cincinnati Indian Hill, OH/ Interest from Marshall, Indiana, and Miami, OH. Threw for 3,300 yds and 34tds. Led team to regional finals and a 13-2 record. Has Marshall as his #1.
3. Clayton Moore, QB, 6’2, 205 Louisville High School/ Louisville, Miss/ 3,000yards passing, 42 td’s, 850 rushing yards, and led team to 3A state championship. Offers from Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Indiana, and Kansas.
4. Andrew Jackson, QB, 6’2, 200, Lasher High School/ Bloomfield Hills, MI
5. Zack Lewis, QB, 6’2, 195, Clay County High School/ Manchester, KY
6. Kier Houston, QB, 6’1, 175, Powell High School/Powell, TN
7. AJ Graham, QB, 6’3, 190, Godby High School/ Tallahassee, Florida
Bowling's Colonels Finishes NCAA Regional Tied For 12th
Former Clay County Tiger Trey Bowling and his Eastern Kentucky’s men’s golf team finished tied for 12th at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional. The top-10 teams from each of the three regionals advance to the championship round, the Colonels missed qualifying for the finals by three shots. EKU shot a final round 313 (+29) and finished with a three-round total of 904 (+52).
Eastern Kentucky, the 22nd seeded team in the 27-team regional, finished 10 spots higher than it was seeded and finished in front of five teams ranked among the top-50 in the nation. The Colonels finished tied with No. 43 Michigan (+52), and beat No. 8 Georgia Tech (+56), No. 18 Lamar (+59), No. 31 Wichita State (+62), No. 40 Arkansas (+62) and No. 47 Texas Christian (+62).
No. 19 Wake Forest (+27) was the wire-to-wire winner. No. 6 Oklahoma State (+37) placed second followed by Illinois (+39) in third. The three-day Central Regional was contested on the 7,420-yard, par-71 Scarlet Golf Course at Ohio State University.
In a field of 141 players, junior Jesse Massie tied for 12th with a three round total of 222 (+9). Justin Moore tied for 59th at 15-over-par (228). Senior Phil Hendrickson and junior Trey Bowling tied for 65th with three-round totals of 229 (+16). Ryan Britt tied for 109th at 22-over (235).
Bowling was three-over through the first eight holes, but a triple-bogey on No. 18 doubled his score to six-over. It only got worse from there. He opened the final nine holes with three bogeys and a double-bogey. He got to the bottom of the cup on the par-three No. 8 in two shots, but a bogey on the final hole left the junior with a final round score of 83, 12-over-par.
The Scarlet course is rated as one of the top collegiate courses in the nation and ranked 81st among all golf courses in the United States. The course was designed by famed architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the designer of the famed Augusta National Golf Course and Cypress Point Golf Club.
2008 Pioneer Bowl will offer two impressive games By Jimbo Collins, thetimestribune.com
The 2007 Pioneer Bowl will feature Clay County against Knox Central, and Leslie County versus Lynn Camp. The games will be played at Lynn Camp. The date has been set for Aug. 29 for the teams to kick off the season. The Tigers will play Wayne Mills’ Knox Central Panthers at 6:30 p.m., and Leslie County will take on David Mitchell’s Lynn Camp Wildcats at approximately 9 p.m.
Knox Central set school records last season and Mills is looking forward to continuing to build tradition there.
“From a team standpoint, last year we had a really good football team,” Mills said. “We started out 4-2 on the season and we beat Rockcastle. We finished two in the district. We had some injuries and lost our quarterback (Corey Smith) to a broken hand middle way through the season. It is tough to regroup from that. Our kids continued to play hard, but offensively we struggled moving the football.
“This year we are excited about our team,” he added. “We graduated some nice lineman, but we’ve got some skill (position) kids coming back that we’ve got some confidence in. If our younger kids can come along up front as the season goes along we feel like we will be OK.”
Mills knows the Tigers will be a test in the first game of the season. Clay County features one of the best signal callers in the state in senior Zach Lewis.
“Going up against Clay County,” Mills said. “I think they have one of the best quarterbacks in the state (Zach Lewis). I think he likes 1,600 yards to pass Tim Couch’s record in passing and that is a good opportunity and goal to set for him that I am sure he is going to try to pass. Offensively I think coach Stepp does as great a job as anybody in Kentucky as far as throwing the football and then they’ve added a running game into that.
“It’s made for a pretty potent bunch to come out of the gate with. A 6:30 ballgame against a team that passes a lot —you better be ready to play,” he added. “If you don’t you will find out what kind of shape you’re in really quick. We are concerned for that part of it — just the heat of the summer and the first game of the season.“
Tigers knock out Jaguars in 10 inning classic
The Clay County Tiger baseball team knocked off the defending regional champion North Laurel in a classic 10 inning 2-1 victory in the opening round of the 49th district at Jackson County Monday night. Tanner Gilbert walked with the bases loaded to force in John Wilson with the winning run to give the Tigers a berth in the district finals. In the other semi-final Jackson County won over Red Bird by a score of 20-2.
Nick Gray pitched four innings of one-hit baseball to pick up the win. Starter Justin Hobbs pitched the first six innings giving up only three hits and one run. The Tigers scored their first run when pitch runner Josh England scored from second on an infield hit by Wilson after the Jaguar second baseman threw the ball away at first. England was running for Tyler Sumner who was 3-4 on the night at the plate.
The Clay County Lady Tiger softball team moved into the district finals with a 11-0 five inning win over host Jackson County Monday night.
Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will play in the 13th regional tournament which will begin Monday night at North Laurel.
CCMS Raider baseball win over South Laurel
The Clay County Middle School Raider baseball team closed out their regular season last Tuesday with a win over South Laurel moving their record to 15-4. This season the Raiders set several offensive team records, including Team HRs (10), Individual HRs (Zack McGeorge - 4), and Stolen Bases (Corey Courm - 25). Justin Smith also tied the single season pitching record for most wins with 6.
HCHS will compete in same 5A district as Clay County By JOHN HENSON, harlandaily.com
Harlan County High School will move to Class 5A under a draft football alignment for the 2009 and 2010 football seasons approved Tuesday by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Board of Control. Harlan County will play against several familiar rivals in District 8 of 5A, competing with Clay County, Letcher Central, North Laurel, Perry Central and Whitley County.
Harlan County will compete in Class 3A this fall to avoid disrupting other districts that had schedules locked in due to two-year contracts. The Black Bears will play the second year of Cawood’s district schedule, competing against Breathitt County, Fleming County, Estill County and Powell County. The board approved the football committee’s recommendation to maintain the previously approved alignment for 2007 and 2008 along with some minor modifications on a case-by-case basis with regard to a great variance in travel and geography and changes in enrollment figures.
“The board chose to move forward by tweaking the current alignment and make minor adjustments rather than starting over and aligning top to bottom or using other variables,” KHSAA Assistant Commissioner Julian Tackett said in a news release. “With only one year into a new playoff system, there really wasn’t enough data to make major revisions.”
The draft alignment will be sent to schools for feedback before a final vote.
KHSAA FOOTBALL DRAFT ALIGNMENT 2009-2010
• CLASS 5A •
District-5-1 — Christian County, Hopkinsville, Ohio County, Owensboro
District-5-2 — Barren County, Bowling Green, Grayson County, Warren Central
District-5-3 — Bullitt Central, Doss, Iroquois, John Hardin, Waggener
District-5-4 — Anderson County, Grant County, Jeffersontown, Oldham County, South Oldham
District-5-5 — Cooper, Cov. Catholic, Dixie Heights, Highlands, Holmes, Scott
District-5-6 — Ashland Blazer, Johnson Central, Montgomery County, Woodford County
District-5-7 — Lincoln County, Mercer County, Pulaski County, South Laurel, Southwestern
District-5-8 — Clay County, Harlan County, Letcher Central, North Laurel, Perry Central, Whitley County
Hobbs spins one-hitter to spoil Whitley County's senior night By Jerry Burns, thetimestribune.com
In an emotional Senior Night game, Whitley County senior Jordan McCumbers led the way, in what turned into a disappointing 1-0 loss to Clay County. Determined to go out as a winner during his final home game on the mound, McCumbers held Clay County hitless until the seventh inning. Despite allowing two hits in the loss, he still finished the game with eight strikeouts.
Clay County’s Justin Hobbs rivaled McCumbers outstanding play. Ted Clifford had the team’s only hit of the game and Whitley County simply found themselves unable to connect with Clifford on base. The Tigers managed to score the winning run without actually hitting the ball. Whitley County committed three consecutive errors to allow Clay County's Zach Lewis to bring home the unearned run.
Yost Receives NAIA Champions of Character National Award Despite Yost win, Georgetown Falls in National Tournament
Georgetown College's Women's Tennis was named the NAIA-Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character team at the annual awards banquet held on Sunday, May 11, 2008. All 132 member schools were eligible to submit a nomination and Georgetown was chosen by the coaches association officers.
The Tiger team was selected because of exemplary character and sportsmanship on the court, campus and community. Head coach Kevin Calhoun cited many examples in the nomination, including his students' discipline, integrity and willingness to give up personal goals for the benefit of the team.
"There is absolutely no doubt that these young athletes have learned much about themselves, who they can be and how to live after their college tennis ends," said Calhoun. "I could not be more proud of them and they way they have embraced the champions of character initiative."
But, perhaps junior Sarah Yost, who won the Mid-South Conference's individual champions of character award, said it best. "Character is a choice and we make the right choices and manage them...Every one of my teammates has character. I trust all of them to do what is right, even when it is hard."
In the NAIA National Championships, Georgetown fell in the opening round to Union College by a score of 6-3. Two of the wins came in doubles, as Emily Kerrick and Adrienne Bartlett defeated Juliana Negosek and Yeris Vargas 9-7, while Sarah Yost and Bianca Rugimbana beat Camila Cunha and Ximena Aguilar 8-4. Kerrick and Bartlett entered the tournament ranked 13th in the country.
It was the team's first earned appearance in the NAIA National Tournament, after competing as a host school in 2000 and 2001.
« Last Edit: Jun 14, 2008, 8:57pm by Local Sports »
It was an exciting finish in the annual Tri-County Country Club Invitational as well. Two-time champion, Trey Bowling, won his third trophy. Clay County golfers have captured four of the last five titles. Corbin's Jason Vance won the championship last year but Nathan White, a former teammate of Bowling won it all in 2005.
Even some of the old-timers were in championship form as Scott Gardner (1991-1992 champ) pushed Bowling to a playoff; Bill Sergent was in the championship flight. Sergent has won the title six times, the overall leader in tournament victories. Kevin Lawson (1999-2000) finished one stroke back of the leaders with a two-day 133.
The Tri-County Country Club Invitational must be one of the oldest in the state. 88 golfers played in this year's field.
Clay County reaches Final Four before dropping decision to Scott County By Les Dixon, Sports Editor thetimestribune.com
Defending 14th Region champion Hazard, 69-62 who are led by junior Josh Whitaker — reached the semifinals, along with 13th Region’s Clay County Tigers (defeated East Jessamine, 52-49), 11th Region’s Scott County Cardinals (defeated Mercer County, 92-41) and Lexington Christians Eagles (defeated Lafayette, 57-44) who Corbin defeated earlier in the week in pool play.
Scott County (beat Clay County, 78-56) and Hazard (beat Lexington Christian, 71-54) advanced to the finals before Billy Hicks’ squad won the title, 77-62.
Other local teams in the tournament didn’t fare as well. South Laurel reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Scott County, 78-68. Steve Wright’s squad trailed at halftime by only one point before getting outscored by nine points in the second half. The Cardinals reached the Sweet 16 with a 73-56 win over June Buchanan. Brandon Elam’s Knox Central Panthers earned a bye into the Sweet 16 after winning its pool, but dropped am 86-72 decision to East Jessamine.
High school notebook: Off-season anything but Mike Fields, kentucky.com
Another high school sports season has come to an end, which means it's time to shut down this weekly notebook until mid-August. The off-season promises to be interesting. The legal battle between the KHSAA and Scott County over the eligibility of basketball stars Dakotah Euton and Chad Jackson will be an attention-grabber.
• Who'll generate the most buzz for Mr. Football? The obvious candidates: Trinity linebacker Jordan Whiting, who has committed to Ohio State; St. Xavier running back Deuce Finch; Male speedster Justin Green; and Clay County quarterback Zach Lewis, who has a shot at Tim Couch's state record for career passing yards.
• The high school football season kicks off in two months. The 61st Recreation Bowl in Mount Sterling on Aug. 30 will have the same matchups as last year: Fleming County vs. Harrison County, and Clark County vs. Montgomery County.
Wazoo Sports Receives $2.0 Million to Expand Broadcast Network
Wazoo Sports, a High School Sports Broadcast Network based in London, Kentucky, announced today it has received a $2.0 million equity funding commitment from Meritus Ventures, L.P. a London, Kentucky based venture capital fund.
“We are delighted to partner with Meritus Ventures for this important round of initial financing. In addition to capital, Meritus brings valuable strategic insight and experience to the table as we launch Wazoo Sports and aggressively expand our network, capitalizing on the national high school sports opportunities," said Carlos “Doc” Carpenter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wazoo. Carpenter is a native of Clay County.
Meritus Ventures is a venture capital fund formed to make equity investments primarily in private companies in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Wazoo Sports is a High School Sports Broadcast Network with offices in London, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee and Benton, Kentucky. Wazoo Sports currently employs 15 people between the three offices.
During the 2007-2008 high school basketball season, Wazoo Sports broadcast 88 games LIVE over the Internet. Using the latest in streaming and broadcast technology, Wazoo Sports delivers video content to the user over the Internet on their web site at www.wazoosports.com. Wazoo Sports also provides unlimited ON DEMAND viewing of their content, including all 88 basketball games from this past season.
For more information about Wazoo Sports, please visit their web site at www.wazoosports.com or contact Gregg M. Harper, Vice President of Operations at (865) 603-0418.
New inductee Couch sets sights on home By Travis Waldron, kentucky.com
Former UK and Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch who had some classic matchup with Clay County when he was quarterback at Leslie County was inducted into the Kentucky chapter of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Friday night at the Crown Plaza Campbell House in Lexington.
Couch, the record-setting UK quarterback who announced his retirement from the NFL. Couch set several national passing records at Leslie County High School. Clay County senior quarterback Zach Lewis is on schedule to break many of those records this year.
After leading UK to the Outback Bowl, he was the No. 1 overall selection in the 1999 NFL Draft and the first pick in the history of the new Browns franchise. He left UK as the school's career leader in passing yards and touchdowns — he was later eclipsed by Jared Lorenzen in both categories — and headlined UK's ”Air Raid“ offense that helped lift the Cats out of the Southeastern Conference cellar.
But his five-year pro career was mired in disappointment. Couch struggled to stay on the field, as he suffered multiple concussions and only once made all 16 starts in a season for Cleveland. Still, his career is a source of pride, the Hyden native said.
Couch, who will turn 31 in July, is turning his attention to a possible TV career. He worked in New York for College Sports Television the past two seasons, but his goal is to land a job closer to home. He'd also enjoy working closer to the UK football program.
CLICK HERE to check out the new Clay County Tiger baseball page!
CLICK HERE to visit the CCMS Raider Baseball website!
Harrison County has named Aaron Stepp its new football coach. He succeeds Ray Graham, who left to become an assistant at Lexington Christian. Stepp coached Clay County the last six seasons. After the Tigers went 0-10 in his first year and 4-6 the second, Stepp led them to records of 8-3, 6-5, 7-4 and 7-4. ”We believe he is one of the bright young coaches in Kentucky,“ Harrison County Athletic Director Lee Kendall said.
CLICK HERE to read the story at tigersfootball.blogspot.com.
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