By Sam Waller

The Albany Athletic Booster Club will honor the achievements of Lion and Lady Lion teams Tuesday, May 16 at the annual athletic awards banquet.

The school year has seen Albany advance to the postseason in nine sports and state competition in four. And it’s not over yet. The baseball team is playing for an area title this week, and the boys golf team will make its second straight appearance at the state tournament May 22-23.

The banquet will start at 7:00 p.m. at the high school gym. A fajita meal is being catered by the Icehouse.

By Sam Waller

Albany will have five entries vying for titles Friday, May 12, at the Class 2A state track and field meet.

The competition gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin with field events and the 3,200. Other running events will start at 5:00 p.m.

The Class 2A meet will be held in tandem with the Class 5A meet.

By Sam Waller

Moran senior Alli Scott won three events at the Region II-1A track meet to earn a trip to state for the third year in a row.

The Class 1A state meet will be Saturday, May 13 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this young lady,” Moran coach John Hughes said. “She has worked extremely hard to get to this point.  Hopefully, she can pull off the trifecta at the state meet, as well.”

Last year, Scott won the 100-meter hurdles, Moran’s first state gold medal since 1972, and finished second in the 300 hurdles.

By Sam Waller

Weather brought an early end to the evening, but Albany Little League again had a sizable contingent Tuesday, April 25 at Crutcher Scott Field for Abilene Christian’s home baseball game against No. 14 Texas Tech.

The Wildcats led 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when play was stopped.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions will be among the honorees Saturday, May 6, at the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Waco with head coach Denney Faith on hand to accept the Gordon Wood Award on behalf of the program.

By Sam Waller

The last time an Albany entry finished second at the state tennis tournament, Sarah Cotter used it as a springboard to win gold the following year.

Luke Marshall is in position to repeat that after reaching the Class 2A boys singles final last week in San Antonio.

Marshall’s bid to earn Albany’s second state title fell short in a 7-5, 6-0 loss to Mason Hatfield of Mason on April 26. But as a junior, he has one more chance.

“I just need to step up and keep working,” Marshall said.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions saw their softball season come to a disappointing end with a pair of lopsided losses to Hawley in a Class 2A bi-district season.

The Lady Lions finished the year with a 15-15-1 record. Battling low numbers from the start, Albany dropped its last five games.

“I guess our kids learned a couple of lessons about life,” Lady Lions coach Jimmy Fuentes said, “lessons about accountability and being able to overcome adversity, the lesson of no matter what the situation is, we’re not  going to quit.”

By Sam Waller

Albany’s junior high tennis program wraps up its season this week with the district tournament at Abilene’s Rose Park Tennis Center.

Boys will play Thursday, May 4 (today), with girls playing Friday, May 5.

Coach M.J. Reneau said Albany’s 19 players will mostly play doubles.

“We’ll have a few boys singles, but it’s mostly doubles,” she said.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions put the finishing touches on the District 8-2A baseball championship April 25 with a 10-0 victory against Cisco on senior night.

The Lions (17-2 overall, 9-1 district) open the playoffs with a bi-district series against the Miles Bulldogs, who finished in a three-way tie for second place in District 7-2A and then lost to Coleman on Tuesday night.

By Sam Waller

Albany won the boys team title, and local athletes claimed five spots at the state track meet with event wins at the Region II-2A meet.

The Class 2A state meet will be held Friday, May 12, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

At the regional meet, held Friday-Saturday, April 28-29 at Springtown, Adam Hill and Kiana Roberson won two events each, and the Lions clinched the team title by winning the 1600 relay to finish with 70 points. The Lady Lions were 12th in the girls team standings with 20 points.