Sports and Outdoors

The Marshall County Tigerettes capped off a whirlwind winter sports season as the Class 2A state runnerup in basketball in early March of 2007, sending me outside for my favorite time of the year. Baseball was all I wanted to know growing up. I was one of those kids that literally slept with my baseball glove, I played all the time at the Sunset Park, and making the Nottingham Little League’s “B” League Balgowan’s Bicycle Shop team at eight years old was one of the biggest accomplishments of my early life.

Boys First team Thomas Borders Wilson Central, Jr. Weight class: 113 pounds Why chosen: Borders won the Class AAA state title, pinning Blackman's Justin Bradford in 5:47. Trey Bates Beech, Jr. Weight class: 120 pounds Why chosen: Bates won the Class AAA state title, beating Cleveland's Jackson Bradford 6-1...

Alabama coach Nick Saban doesn't believe extending preseason camp for college football teams around the country is necessarily the best way to get them ready for the season. Saban said Thursday that he'd prefer some "teaching sessions on the field" over the summer to prepare for camp, even if it is in shorts and T-shirts. The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of spring sports, including football practices, across the nation...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Ivy League has decided not to allow its spring-sport athletes who had their seasons shortened by the coronavirus pandemic to have an additional year of eligibility as graduates, despite the NCAA granting that option earlier this week...

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker found himself in need of an assist to help the state fight the coronavirus pandemic. He called on the New England Patriots. The team's private plane landed in Boston from China on Thursday evening carrying more than a million masks critical to health care providers fighting to control the spread of the virus.. ...

For the first half of the 2006-2007 high school prep season I began to learn my trade under fire, travelling everywhere to cover games. I was extremely motivated and was searching for games to cover, but by the end of the Christmas season I needed a break really bad.

Prep sports came to a necessary screeching halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic that encompasses most of the globe and as we wait for this world health emergency to pass, let’s take a look back in time in the history of Marshall County sports to move our minds away from our troubles, if not just for a few minutes. First, let me give you a little background about myself so you can kind of ride along with me during this journey.

Thursday, March 12 At Reese Hambrick Field, Lewisburg Cornersville 000 000 0-0 5 2 Marshall County 004 300 X-7 11 0 Cornersville: Abbie Woodard 1-for-3, Cora Duke 1-for-3, Clara Thompson 1-for-3, Aleia Childress 1-for-3, Payton Salsman 1-for-3. BB: Reese Worthington...

Suspension of activities should include practices and organized workouts On Monday March 16, Governor Lee released the following statement: As the response to COVID-19 evolves, I urge every school district in Tennessee to close as soon as practically possible, with all schools expected to close by Friday, March 20, 2020 at the latest. ...

The mandated school shutdown until April 6 is hard on everyone with ACT tests delayed, not seeing all your friends, and not participating in any extracurricular activities, including all spring sporting events. “I think for the school, obviously it takes a hit for our class, pride, and tradition,” Forrest Principal Angie Phifer said. “For not only our athletes, but for any of our extracurricular activities is kind of sad for the kids and disappointing, but hopefully this won’t last long and we can get back to it as quick as possible.”

Association leadership will meet via conference call over the next two days The TSSAA Board of Control and Legislative Council will meet via conference call on Tuesday, March 17 and Wednesday, March 18, respectively. The Board of Control meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Legislative Council meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Both meetings were originally scheduled to take place at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro, but due to the postponement of the state basketball tournament and other provisions being made statewide in regards to COVID-19, the decision was made to conduct the meetings via conference call.

As the situation continues to evolve daily with COVID-19, we have received a number of inquiries from schools/school systems who are considering suspending classes and/or extracurricular activities for an extended period of time. We are also aware that conversations are taking place at the state and federal level which may impact travel, extracurricular activities and the educational system as a whole.

Tournaments to continue with limited fan attendance due to COVID-19 March 12, 2020 Like many other athletic associations and leagues throughout the country, TSSAA has decided that the health and safety of our student-athletes and spectators alike require that we limit fan attendance at our girls’ and boys’ state basketball championships.

ARCHERY ISSF International Solidarity Championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh from Feb. 22-28 postponed. World Cup in Shanghai from May 4-10 canceled. ATHLETICS World indoor championships in Nanjing from March 13-15 postponed to March 2021. World half marathon championships in Gdynia, Poland on March 29 postponed to Oct. 17...

MIAMI (AP) — The NBA has suspended its season “until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas...

COVID-19 concerns may impact future games Middle Tennessee State University released a statement earlier today detailing contingency plans they are putting in place out of concern for COVID-19. Many of these changes impact students and class schedules. University offices and services are expected to remain open and operational...

2018 Forrest graduate and Columbia State Community College (CSCC) sophomore goal keeper Jasmine Runk didn’t think it was a big deal playing two sports in high school and after two years of just playing soccer at CSCC, Runk added Lady Charger softball this spring and both sports next year at Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia. “I’m extremely happy, this is my future, so I’m pretty excited about it,” Runk said. “Not playing softball for two years and going back in to it makes me very excited.”

Forrest senior goal keeper Charity Runk recently signed a Letter of Intent to attend Columbia State Community College (CSCC) on a soccer scholarship next year. “I’m pretty excited, I think it’s going to be a really good experience to continue my education and to continue my career in soccer,” Runk said. “It’s going to be really exciting, I was at every one of Jasmine’s games with it being right down the road, so having Mom and Dad and Baylor coming to see me will be very exciting.”

Tribune Sports Editor Anthony S. Puca recorded his second career hole in one when he holed a 5-iron shot in to the wind on the par 3 157-yard eighth hole on Saturday at the Buford Ellington Golf Course inside Henry Horton State Park. Puca was playing in a threesome with Phillip Naron and Noel Lewis and his first hole in one was 16 years ago on the par 3 second hole at Henry Horton...

Monday, March 9 At Forrest Cascade 100 010 0-2 5 2 Forrest 012 020 X-5 8 3 Cascade: Matthew Pilkington 3-for-4, Keigan Walker 1-for-4, Ryan Inmon 1-for-3. BB: Brennan Whitson, Austin Warren, Inmon, Adam Reeves. RS: Walker, Christopher Brown. 2B: Walker, Pilkington...

Marshall County scored 14 points in the first quarter and the Tigerettes led by four at the end of the period before tallying just 13 more points the remainder of the game, suffering a season-ending 56-27 loss at Maplewood Comprehensive School in Saturday night’s Class 2A state sectional round. “I didn’t coach good enough, we didn’t play well enough, and the best team won,” MCHS coach David Steely said. “It hurts, but it’s supposed to hurt and if it doesn’t hurt we weren’t practicing hard enough and didn’t have enough expectations, so this hurts today.”

The home cooking that comes along with being a second seed paid off for the Marshall Tigerettes as they easily handled the Hickman County Lady Bulldogs in front of a lively Friday night crowd at the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium in Lewisburg. The Tigerettes came out smoking and took a small first quarter lead before stepping on the gas pedal while keeping constant pressure on the Lady Bulldogs for the rest of the game as they coasted to a 45-26 win in the first round of the Region 6-AA Tournament.

The Nolensville Lady Knights extended their winning streak to nine games in a row over Marshall County with a 68-33 blowout win over the defending region champion Tigerettes in the Region 6-AA Tournament championship game Wednesday night at Community. If it was baseball, it would have been a near perfect game for Nolensville. “I’m just going to give them all the credit, they played really well tonight and are one of the best teams in Tennessee, I promise you they are,” MCHS head coach David Steely said. “They are one of the best two, three, or four teams in 2A, maybe one of the best teams in 3A, if they were 3A.”

The Forrest Rockets travelled to Fairview High School to open the Region 6-AA Tournament on Saturday night versus the District 11-AA Tournament winners. The Rockets, having beaten Giles County on opening night of district play, were hoping to repeat their success in the region contest, but fell short to a hot-shooting and aggressive defensive Yellow Jackets’ team 57-43.

For the second season in a row, not being one of the top two seeds in the District 12-AA Tournament cost Forrest a chance to extend its season. Just like last year, Forrest had to make the long trek to Dover to take on Stewart County in the Region 6-AA Tournament opener.

The Marshall County Tigerettes advanced to the Region 6-AA Tournament title game for the third season in a row after winning a 53-42 gun-slinging, semifinal battle over Creek Wood Monday night at Community. “Huge win for the girls, for everybody involved, for the parents,” MCHS coach David Steely said. “It’s another year we are in the region finals and going to sub-state.”

Even though Forrest lost 58-42 to Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) in Tuesday night’s District 12-AA Tournament consolation game, the underdog Rockets are still alive in postseason play. “We played hard, we did a good job defensively, our effort is always going to be there,” Forrest coach Corey Bishop said. “We just need to have a better focus on open shots and knock them down.”

The Nolensville Lady Knights claimed back-to-back District 12-AA Tournament titles on Monday night, beating the host Marshall County Tigerettes 50-37 at the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium in Lewisburg. “We showed a lot of resiliency,” Nolensville coach Chris Ladd said. “Marshall is one tough team, we know every time we play them we always have these kind of battles with them, so we knew we were going to get their best punch and that’s what they gave us.”

The Forrest Lady Rockets took on Giles County for the third time this season in the District 12-AA consolation game Monday night at the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium in Lewisburg and they finished off the sweep with a hard fought 49-38 win. “We beat them in three different types of games,” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “One in O.T. which we led the whole game, one going fairly easy, and then tonight, having to come from behind to pull it out by eleven.” “We talked about only two teams leaving with a win going into the region and we wanted one of them to be us.”

Friday, February 21 Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium Lewisburg, TN Forrest 12 14 14 10-50 Nolensville 25 16 20 19-80 Forrest (50): Cameron Curtis 18, Connor Lewis 8, Spencer McCown 7, Walker Herring 4, Cole Perryman 4, Hunter Bennett 3, Justin White 3, Cole Villazon 2, Andrew Timmons 1...

Seven boys and one girl Forrest wrestler qualified for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s High School Wrestling Championships at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin and after day one on Friday, there was only four grapplers left on the mat. Defending state champion Nick McClendon, hobbled all week with a torn meniscus, gritted out a second crown in the 170-pound weight class. It was not a surprise that McClendon competed after tearing his right meniscus in practice on Tuesday.

Danika Hopkins and all the great Tigerettes’ defenders from yesteryear would have been proud Thursday night. It is never easy going in to the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium for a postseason game because the Marshall County Tigerettes are going to put their “Gloves” on, making it extremely difficult to score.

After sending a record 10 wrestlers to the state tournament and capturing three state titles last year, Forrest continued to rock as seven out of the ten grapplers that qualified for last weekend’s Region 3A/AA Tournament at East Ridge in Chattanooga finished in the top four to advance to the 2020 TSSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Park in Franklin.

Marshall County’s Aaron Foster rejuvenated some history for the Tigers on Saturday when the junior grappler took fourth place in the 152-pound weight class at the Region 3/A-AA Wrestling Tournament at East Ridge High School in Chattanooga to qualify for this weekend’s TSSAA Wrestling State Tournament at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Arena in Franklin.

The sixth-seeded Forrest Rockets wound their way down Highway 31-A through Lewisburg and Cornersville down into Bobcat territory to for a do-or-die game with three-seeded Giles County on Tuesday night in first round action of the District 12-AA Tournament. Despite having been swept by the Bobcats in the two regular season games, Forrest built an eight-point halftime lead Giles County could not overcome and the Rockets lived to see another day with a 59-51 victory.

When the second round of the District 12-AA Tournament moves to Lewisburg on Friday, the host Tigers will not be playing after losing 47-41 to Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) in Tuesday night’s first round contest at Lewisburg. MCM faces top-seeded Community in the first semifinal on Friday night while Forrest, coming off an upset win at Giles County, takes on second-seeded Nolensville in the nightcap.

The third-seeded Forrest Lady Rockets opened up District 12-AA Tournament play Monday night at Chapel Hill and made short work of Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM), blowing out the Lady Tigers 57-16. With the win, Forrest (20-8) reached the 20-win mark for the first time in three years and sixth in Jeremy Jean’s 12-year career as the Lady Rockets’ head coach. “That is something I always look for every year hoping to get to,” Jean said. “This year, we got it now so we can look forward to number twenty-one and keep getting better.”

The Marshall County Tigerettes came in to Thursday night’s intra-county rivalry battle at Forrest with second place and a first-round tournament bye secured, but the Lady Rockets needed a win to host a first round game and they got it, coming away with a 45-32 victory. “We have been in playoff tournament mode since two weeks ago because we got behind the eight-ball and had to win every game we played,” Forrest coach Jeremy Jean said. “Every time you step on the court you want to win.”

The Marshall County Tigers came in to Thursday night’s intra-county rivalry game against Forrest with one thing on their minds, revenge from an earlier season loss to the Rockets at Lewisburg. And they got it via close 56-52 win as senior Canelius Turner burned the nets for a game-high 33 points, including two 3-pointers and an ultra-stellar 15-for-17 performance from the free throw line.

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's three Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through February 17, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote:...

Thirty student-athletes to be recognized for their performances during the regular season The Mr. and Miss Basketball awards will be presented to the top girls and boys in five classifications of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association on the floor of Murphy Center on the campus of MTSU on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m. The finalists for the awards are listed below.

Believe it or not, high school softball practice started this week and Cornersville’s Robin Oberlander has a lot to look forward to this year and beyond as the senior third and first baseman begins her final season as a Lady Bulldog before continuing her softball and scholastic career at Jackson State Community College. “As child I always looked up to the older girls in high school or college ball, following them along in their time as a players and couldn’t wait to be in their shoes,” Oberlander said. “And now I am.”

Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Chair Phillip Fulmer and Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell recently announced that sports veteran Brad Willis has been named as the Chief Advancement & Operations Officer of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Willis is a Lewisburg native and the son of Phil Willis and the late Janice Willis.

It’s been a long season for first-year head coach Martha Jane McMasters and the Lady Bulldogs, mired in last place in the District 8-A standings, but on Friday versus Eagleville they showed the grit and determination that bodes well for the future. “I was proud of our girls in the first half,” McMasters said. “In the second half they changed their defense to a 2-2-1 and we could not get past it, we run the 2-2-1 and we still couldn’t get past it.”

Ninth-ranked Eagleville beat Cornersville 58-44 Friday night to complete the regular series sweep and balloon their winning streak to 22 games over the Bulldogs, dating back to 2001. “They always have solid teams,” Cornersville coach Peyton Newton said. “I think you'll start seeing us compete against teams like them soon. Our hard work will pay off.”

The regular season is winding down in District 12-AA and the Murfreesboro Central Magnet Lady Tigers travelled to Lewisburg to face the Marshall County Tigerettes Tuesday night at the Dottie Kelso Memorial Gymnasium. The Tigerettes defeated the Lady Tigers on January 24 and MCHS completed the sweep with a 40-28 victory. The Tigerettes used accurate 3-point shooting, converting nine long bomb, plus two the old-fashion way on a field goal and a free throw.

Murfreesboro Central Magnet School (MCM) and Marshall County met up at Lewisburg for the battle of the Tigers in the second game of Tuesday night’s District 12-AA doubleheader. It was just a good old-fashion high school basketball game featuring great plays, fierce competition, and clutch shooting as the Tigers of MCHS came away with a 45-44 victory.

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's three Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through February 10, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote: