Fast Break: Albany Sports News & Notes
JV Lions notch win over TLCA, prepare for season finale
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions junior varsity boys basketball game split games last week with Abilene TLCA and Cisco.
The JV Lions hosted Anson on Tuesday, Feb. 4, winning 36-33. Details will be reported next week. The team wraps up its season at 5:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 at home against Hawley.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Albany defeated TLCA 47-23, building a 23-0 halftime lead. Wesley Gleitz led the Lions with 13 points and Colter Edgar added 11.
The game was pushed back 30 minutes and moved to the auxiliary gym after Albany Junior/Senior High was locked down during a police manhunt earlier in the day.
On Friday, Jan. 31, the JV lost 71-39 at Cisco as the Loboes hit nine 3-pointers. Cisco used a 24-8 edge in the second quarter to break the game open. Aiden Vickers scored 15 points for Albany.
Junior high season ends with strong finish
By Sam Waller
The Albany Junior High basketball season came to an unsettling conclusion Monday, Feb. 3 with a player being briefly hospitalized.
Lyle Wheeler suffered a seizure late in the eighth grade boys game at Aspermont. The game was ended at that point and Wheeler was taken for treatment.
“I’m not sure what happened, but they took him to the hospital to run tests,” said Albany coach Rod Britting, who directed the team because of a late schedule change.
Tony Wheeler, the player’s father, reported that his son was allowed to return home Monday night and was resting.
The junior high teams closed out the year with games Thursday, Jan. 30 against Stamford and Haskell and on Monday against Abilene TLCA and Aspermont, winning nine of 10 contests.
GIRLS
Silver Team
The Silver Lady Cubs closed out an undefeated season by beating Stamford 28-17.
Hattie Fikes scored 19 points to lead Albany. Haiden Niell scored five points with Corinne Evans and Kealey Rogers adding two each.
The game was the Silver team’s only outing of the spring semester after games against Cisco and Haskell were cancelled.
White Team
The Lady Cubs White team beat Stamford 30-24 and TLCA 56-4.
Against Stamford, Burkley Yeates scored 12 points. Lilli Ford added five points and Presley Rosales four. Karter Thompson, Paxton Pipes and Willa Early each scored three.
Against TLCA, Ford scored 19 points with Thompson and Yeates each adding 12. Early scored four points and Pipes three, while Gibson Ware, Rosales amd Loralie Balliew all scored two.
Red Team
Albany’s Red team held two opponents to single digits, beating Stamford 33-9 and TLCA 67-9.
The Lady Cubs enjoyed balanced scoring against Stamford with Tinley Hefner getting 10 points, Keeley Britting nine and Hailey Gleitz eight. Avery Gleitz added four points and Sawyer Shoaf two.
Against TLCA, Hefner, Hattie Fikes and Britting scored 12 points apiece, and Shoaf added 10. Hailey Gleitz scored nine, Avery Gleitz eight ad Kynlee Milligan four.
BOYS
Combo
Albany’s Combo team defeated Haskell 46-6 last Thursday at Stamford. Individual scoring was not available as there was not a scorekeeper.
“Bentley Boyett, Jacob Thurman and Jaime Barrera all had multiple points and played well offensively,” coach David Fairchild said. “Joshua Thurman along with Boyett and Jacob Thurman had a great night on defense.”
Monday at TLCA, the Combo team lost 33-21. Iathan Torres scored 11 points, Boyett eight and Barrera two.
Seventh Grade
The seventh grade Cubs beat TLCA 44-0 in their final game. Luke Smith led Albany with 23 points. McCoy Vaughn added eight points with Sammy Holson scoring five and Paxton Slaughter and Patton Smith four apiece.
“Luke Smith had a big night offensively,” Fairchild said. “I’m very proud of all these young men and the year they had.”
Eighth Grade
Under the leadership of regular coach Jimmy Fuentes, the eighth grade Cubs beat Stamford 72-20. Fuentes then handled the Combo team on Monday as duties were shuffled to accommodate adding the game at Aspermont. Albany scored more in one quarter than it allowed for the game in both the second and third periods.
Blake Britting led Albany with 24 points, 13 of which came in the first quarter as the Cubs took a 17-4 lead. Ace Townson also hit double figures with 11. Wheeler and Sam Tidwell each scored eight points, while Slayton Parsons had seven, Ben Russell six, Jathan Perez five and Trevor Bellah three.
At Aspermont, Albany led 48-20 with about two minutes remaining when the game was stopped. Blake Britting had 28 points, most coming off steals and fastbreaks, while Wheeler finished with 10. Perez scored six points with Townson and Bellah each scoring two.
“All the guys played well,” Rod Britting said. “Ben Russell and Jathan Perez did a good job on the boards, and Ace Townson and Trevor Bellah applied a lot of pressure at the top of the zone.”
Albany youth softball joins Little League
By Melinda L. Lucas
Albany’s youth softball league will make the switch from the USA Softball governing body to the Little League Softball structure after those attending a Jan. 30 parent meeting decided that the change might make life easier for both players and parents.
“Being in a smaller town, we have to pull resources from all directions and work within a limited scope,” said Carl Strauss, who is helping organize the 2025 season. “As a group, we felt that working under the same organization as Albany Little League would be both simpler and more efficient.”
The next step is to nominate and elect a five-person board, which will be separate from but work in tandem with the Albany Little League directors. Nominations were due Wednesday, and organizers hope to have ballots available at Little Dribblers games this Saturday. Those casting ballots will have five votes, one for each seat. Anyone who wishes to vote but cannot go to the AHS gym between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Saturday can contact Strauss to get a ballot.
Information and registration will also be available under the “Softball” tab at www.albanytxll.com, which is the same website as the local Little League signup.
Registration deadline will also be the same as the Little League deadline, Feb. 21, although Strauss said that late signups will be accepted.
“We would like to know as soon as possible how many players we will be working with, so we can set up teams and schedules,” Strauss said. He added that team make-up and scheduling will be similar to the past.
The season will begin March 17 after spring break.
“We want to increase parent and community involvement,” Strauss said. “Whether that means coaching, serving on the board, or working in the concession stand, we would just like everyone to be on board and have input.”
The league will include players from age three all the way up to 14, with an across-the-board registration fee of $50.
Little Dribblers season tips off Saturday
By Melinda L. Lucas
Little Dribblers basketball action will begin this weekend with about 24 girls and 30 boys participating, according to Joe Tidwell, who is helping organize the league.
Divided into four teams for girls and four teams for boys, the second through fourth graders will alternate back and forth from Albany High School’s main and auxiliary gyms. Games begin at 9:00 a.m., with teams on the courts for two games each Saturday through March 1.
Little League signup ends Feb. 21
By Melinda L. Lucas
Players still have a few weeks to register for Albany Little League’s 2025.
The baseball program will continue with online registration this year, but information on how to register will be announced at Nancy Smith Elementary School.
To register, visit www.albanytxll.com.
Any child who played last year will already have an account, according to Steven Sutton. New players will need to register to set up an account.
Registration for T-Ball, Coach Pitch, Little League Majors and Minors, Intermediate, and Junior leagues will close Feb. 21.
The season will start March 17 following Albany’s spring break. All schedules will be available on quickscores.com/ays
The season will last into May with all-star competition beginning in June.
Registration fees are $50 for T-Ball and Coach Pitch, and $75 for all other levels. Scholarships are available.
Families having three or more children participating will receive a discount starting with the third child.
All age groups are co-ed.
For more information, contact Steven Sutton.
Sixth grade girls claim tournament championship
By Sam Waller
Albany’s sixth grade girls team closed out the Big Country Youth Basketball Association by winning the postseason tournament title.
The tournament was played Saturday, Feb. 4 at Eula. Albany, which also won the regular-season title, defeated Merkel 17-11 and Eula 17-14.
The fifth grade girls lost a pair of close games, falling 12-8 to Hawley Maroon and 20-16 to Eula.
The fourth grade boys, who played in the fifth grade division, lost 27-26 to Eula Maroon and 17-12 to Merkel Purple. Results for the fifth grade and sixth grade boys were not available.
Sixth Grade Girls
In the win over Merkel, Albany pulled away in the second half after leading 9-7 at halftime. Rainey Nitschke scored six points and Addisyn Peacock five. Madison Swert had four points and Mia Smith two.
Against Eula, Peacock scored 10 points, all in the first half, as Albany built a 10-7 lead. Nitschke, Swert and Zamiah Dockins scored two points apiece and Hadley Stapp added one.
Fifth Grade Girls
The fifth grade girls went 1-2 in their final three regular-season games, played Saturday, Jan. 25 at Albany, despite posting a cumulative 32-25 scoring advantage. Albany lost 14-11 to Eula, blanked Hawley 21-0, then was on the wrong side of an 11-0 game against Merkel Purple.
Against Eula, Leia Rose scored four points. Berkley Davis, Aleia Eaves and Kopelyn Loveall each scored two points and Reese Nitschke scored one. Against Hawley, Nitschke scored five points with Eaves and Hannah Foy each adding four. Kate Bellah, Loveall, Lyla Early and Maggie Spraberry all scored two points.
At the postseason tournament, Albany lost 12-8 to Hawley Maroon and 20-16 to Eula. Against Hawley, Nitschke, Dye, Berkley Davis and Loveall each scored two points. Against Eula. Nitschke had four points with Bellah, Dye, Davis, Eaves, Crump, and Loveall all scoring two.
