By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions softball team returned from spring break needing to fill a lineup hole, but have four weeks to work things out before the postseason starts.

As one of just two Class 2A teams in District 8-2A, the Lady Lions are assured a spot in the playoffs.

After a week off, Albany resumed district play Tuesday, March 22 with a 15-0 victory over May at Webb Park. Details will be reported next week.

The Lady Lions, who hold a 5-11-1 record, visit Eula at 5:00 p.m. Friday in their first district road game.

By Sam Waller

Albany athletes had one last opportunity to prepare for district tennis competition this week after taking a week off for spring break.

Albany visited Snyder for a dual match Thursday, March 24 (today) in its final outing before the District 10-2A tournament.

“We’re just trying to get some practice in,” coach M.J. Reneau said. “We’ve had bad weather, and we’re hoping it will get better so we can prepare and get our lineup set for district.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions baseball team tuned up for District 8-2A competition with a 5-2 victory over Merkel on Wednesday, March 16, in Albany’s lone outing over spring break.

“We had another good outing and had a pretty day,” Lions coach David Fairchild said. “It was a little windy, but we had good pitching, put the ball in play, and were able to scratch some runs.”

The Lions (6-2 overall) opened district play Tuesday, March 22, with a close 18-15 win at Stamford. Details weren’t available at press time and will be reported next week.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions won the small-school boys division team title Saturday, March 19 at the Possum Kingdom Relays in Graham.

Both the boys and girls teams will be in Breckenridge this Saturday for the Buckaroo Relays, which will replace a March 24 meet at Olney

At Graham, the Lions topped the field of more than 20 schools with 109 points, easily outdistancing Ovilla Christian. Albany won five events, including the 1600 relay.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions were able to handle the opposition and the elements last week, going 3-0 at the Albany tournament that was originally planned to be played over three days.

The four-team, round-robin event required organizers to adjust schedules to avoid the blast of wintry weather that hit the area Friday, March 11. The ­Lions played twice on Thursday, March 10, beating Eastland 11-0 and Baird 4-2. On Saturday, March 12, Albany beat Clyde 6-2.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions tennis team won 15 of 19 matches last week in a dual match at Clyde.

Coach M.J. Reneau said that the dual meet, played Wednesday, March 9, went extremely well.

“It was a way to practice before we took spring break off,” Reneau said. “When we come back, we’ll have one meet against Snyder, and then it will be time for district.”

Albany will visit Snyder on Thursday, March 24. The District 10-2A tournament will be Monday, March 28, and Wednesday, April 1, at Rose Park Tennis Center in Abilene.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Softball Association will have four teams in three age groups comprising more than 50 players for the upcoming season.

“We have about 25 8U players, 16 or 17 10Us and 12 or 13 12Us,” ASA president Jacey Shack said. “This is the most we’ve had in some time, more than we had last year. We’ve grown the last couple of years, which I’m really happy about.”

By Sam Waller

Albany senior Luke Ivy has been named to the Texas High School Coaches Association boys basketball Elite Academic All-State team.

The THSCA Academic All-State teams recognize high school athletes who excel with grade point average, class rank, and ACT/SAT scores. To qualify, students must be seniors who maintain an overall grade point of at least 92.

The honors are divided into elite, first team, second team, and honorable mention.

Ivy was one of 25 elite selections from all UIL conferences.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions opened the District 8-2A softball schedule Monday, March 14 with an 18-2 victory over Cross Plains at Webb Park.

After taking the rest of the week off for spring break, the Lady Lions will host May at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 in their second district outing.

“I thought we played well overall against Cross Plains,” coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “We hit the ball well. We’ve been facing some pretty stout pitching, and that got us ready to hit the ball strong in our first district game and score a lot of runs.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions and Lady Lions track and field teams dealt with weather and injury issues in addition to competition from larger schools last week at Jim Ned’s Tribe Relays.

The varsity boys placed fifth in the team standings with 77 points, while the girls were sixth with 45¼ points. The JV boys scored 19 points to finish seventh.

Albany was the only Class 2A school entered in the meet on Thursday, March 10, with the rest of the field made up of Class 3A entries.