By Sam Waller

For the first time in roughly a decade, Albany Golf Course played host to high school tournaments with the Lady Lions Invitational and Lions Invitational.

The girls tournament was played Monday, Feb. 24, drawing a field of 34 golfers. The boys tournament was played Wednesday, Feb. 26. Those results will be reported next week.

Albany golfers will return to action at the Eula tournament at Shady Oaks Golf Course. Boys will play Monday, March 3 and girls on Wednesday, March 5.

By Sam Waller

Albany Little League is wrapping up its player registration period, but there is plenty of work to be done before the start of the season.

In the latest in a long line of renovation projects, a new backstop and new dugouts are being installed at the baseball complex. Past years have seen the addition of batting cages, restrooms and new sod on the field.

Steve Sutton said such projects help improve facilities.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions boys basketball team extended its season Monday, Feb. 17 with a 46-33 victory over Petrolia in a Class 2A Division II bi-district playoff at Graham.

The Lions (14-8) advance to the area round later this week to face the Graford Jackrabbits, who won against Crawford on Tuesday night. Albany coach Ryder Peacock said the area game will be played Friday, Feb. 21 at 7p.m. in Eastland’s Marshall Gymnasium. Ticket information was still being worked out at press time.

By Sam Waller

Four high school seniors from Albany and one from Moran have been selected for the 26th Big Country FCA All-Star Festival, which will be held the first week of June.

The all-star selections were announced Sunday, Feb. 16 at a parents meeting in Abilene.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions got their softball season off to a belated start Monday, Feb. 17 with a 9-1 loss to Lipan at Webb Park.

The game against Westbrook on Friday has been cancelled because of weather, but Albany is  scheduled to play in the Eula tournament Thursday, Feb. 27 through Saturday, March 1.

The Lady Lions were slated to open the season Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Clyde tournament, but the event was cancelled because of weather.

By Sam Waller

Tryouts for Albany Little League baseball and softball, originally scheduled for this weekend, have been pushed back a week to Saturday, March 1 because of this week’s cold weather.

Meanwhile, player registration continues this week with players urged to sign up as early as possible.

This year, the local youth softball program will operate under the Little League banner, allowing the organizations to streamline and coordinate operations.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions secured their spot in the Class 2A Division II boys basketball playoffs last week with a pair of home victories, building momentum for the postseason.

“It was nice to get those wins because it allows us to move forward with our playoff plans and who we’re going to play,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “If we’d been in a tiebreaker, we’d have to wait until Friday to play that off. That would give us very little time to prepare for the playoffs.”

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions saw a difficult girls basketball season end on a frustrating note Tuesday, Feb. 4 with a 52-32 loss to Anson.

The Lady Lions finished the season 5-20 overall with a 2-10 mark in District 10-2A.

“I was really proud of the girls this year,” coach Ashlyn Bevel said. “This was my first year as a head coach. It was a fun year for me, and I appreciate all the work the girls did.”

The key point, Bevel said, was several pieces were put in place for the team to build on in the future.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions boys basketball team edged closer to securing a playoff berth last week, splitting games with Abilene TLCA and Cisco. and now look to improve their seeding after moving up to third in the district standings.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions continued their run of strong play last week, defeating Abilene TLCA before running into a buzzsaw at Cisco.

The Lady Lions (5-19 overall, 2-9 District 10-2A) closed out the season Tuesday, Feb. 4 with a 52-32 loss against Anson. Details will be reported next week.

Caroline Holson, the team’s lone senior, was ill and unable to attend senior recognition night.

“It’s sad because I don’t want to be done with her,” first year Lady Lions head coach Ashlyn Bevel said. “She’s done well for me.”