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.

By Sam Waller

Moran’s Alli Scott advanced to the Region II-1A track meet by winning three events Thursday, April 20, at the area meet between Districts 13-1A and 14-1A at Hermleigh.

Scott, who won state in the 100 hurdles and earned a silver medal in the 300 hurdles last year, overcame a rough start to the day to win both hurdles races and the high jump. She also finished fifth in the long jump.

In the long jump, Scott landed at 16 feet, 2½ inches – nearly a foot off the personal best she set at the District 13-1A meet.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions generated plenty of excitement during their run to the 2022 Class 2A Division II state football championship, picking up hardware each step of the way.

The program will receive one more item for the trophy case Saturday, May 6 when head coach Denney Faith is presented the Gordon Wood Award at the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Waco.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions clinched the District 8-2A baseball championship, extending their winning streak to nine games.

The Lions (16-2 overall, 8-1 district) will face either Miles or Coleman, who split their District 7-2A meetings, next week in the bi-district round of the playoffs. District 7-2A playoff seeds won’t be finalized until the district concludes its schedule Friday, April 28.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions dropped their final two softball games of the regular season to Cisco and Eula and will enter the playoffs this weekend.

The Lady Lions (15-13-1 overall, 7-4 District 8-2A) will face Hawley in bi-district. Game 1 of the series will be played at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 27 (today) at McMurry. Game 2 will be played at 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 28 at the home of the winner of Thursday’s game. Game 3, if necessary, will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 2.

By Sam Waller

For the third year in a row, Albany had a finalist at the Class 2A state tennis tournament as Luke Marshal advanced in boys singles.

Marshall played Mason Hatfield of Mason for the championship Wednesday, April 26 at Blossom Tennis Center in San Antonio, losing 4-6, 0-6.

A year ago, Marshall’s title bid was derailed by severe cramping, which forced him to retire in the semifinals while leading.

By Sam Waller

Albany will have 16 athletes in individual events and two relays competing for trips to state this weekend at the Region II-2A track and field meet at Springtown.

The top two finishers in each event at the regional meet automatically qualify for state. In addition, the best third-place result from the four regional meets will earn a wild-card berth.

The Class 2A state meet is scheduled for Friday, May 12 at Mike A. Meyers Stadium in Austin.