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.
By Sam Waller
Three members of the Moran Bulldogs boys basketball team earned spots on the All-District 13-1A team, which was selected by vote of district coaches.
Senior Arren Hawley was named to the second team, while sophomore Caleb York and freshman Ellis Hise received honorable mention.
Moran finished the season 2-16 overall and 1-9 in district.
Hawley, the Bulldogs’ lone senior, led the team in scoring.
Track Results
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions baseball team went 1-2 last week at the Eastland tournament in the first varsity action of the season.
Albany will host its own tournament this weekend, weather permitting.
The Lions are scheduled to face Clyde at 12:00 noon on Thursday, March 10, then host Dodd City at the same time on Friday. Saturday’s game is at 10:00 a.m. against Eastland. Those times may be adjusted for weather concerns.
By Sam Waller
Albany graduate Joshua Dyer made his first home run with the McMurry Warhawks one to remember, hitting his first college grand slam in a recent home game.
Dyer connected in the eighth inning of 14-12 loss to University of the Ozarks on Monday, Feb. 28 at McMurry’s Walt Driggers Field.
Dyer finished 3 for 5 in the game as the designated hitter. McMurry trailed 14-2 in the seventh inning before rallying with five runs in the seventh and five in the eighth.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions golf team won the team title with two of the top three individual scores Wednesday, March 2, at the Hawley tournament.
Albany followed up by finishing eighth at the Eula tournament, played Monday, March 7, at Shady Oaks Golf Course.
The Lions carded a team score of 373 at Hawley’s Twisted Oaks Golf Course, finishing five strokes ahead of Hawley, playing on its home course.
Ty Richards shot 87 to claim medalist honors with Houston Heatly finishing third at 90.
