Archive - May 2011 - Sports Article
May 26th
Bauxite senior Tanner Bates was honored this week by being named by the Arkansas Activities Association to the 2011 All-State Team.
Two Lady Miners, seniors Elizabeth Harris and Haley Davis, were given All-Conference honors, as were three of Batesâ teammates: sophomores Tyler Willis and Chris Revas and junior Ryan Weng.
Bates, 18, the son of Robert and Lisa Bates, signed a letter of intent earlier this month to play at Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock,
May 25th
Two Glen Rose student-athletes were given All-State honors Tuesday, and several were named All-Conference.
Senior Hollie Boles and sophomore Kylie Shepherd were named to the 2011 All-State for the 3A conference.
Boles had a .468 batting average on the season with two doubles, three triples and three home runs, driving in a total of 18 runs.
Shepherd batted .508 with nine doubles and driving in 17 runs.
May 23rd
CONWAY â The Conway Wampus Cats won their first 7A State Title since 1989 by defeating the Bryant Hornets Sunday 12-3 in seven innings thanks to a complete game by tournament MVP Connor McClain.
âIt feels awesome and we had a great time,â Conway head coach Noel Boucher said. âThis is our sixth time to be here and a couple of bounces here or there, things would have been different.
âIâm just real pleased with the effort tonight.â
Conway scored seven runs in the top of the second.
May 21st
In a true roller-coaster ride of a ball game, the Benton Lady Panthers lost 7-5 Friday to Searcy in the 6A State Tournament championship game.
The Lady Lions won their first state title at Bogle Park on the University of Arkansas campus behind pitcher Amber Rollins, who struck out 11 Lady Panthers and was named Most Valuable Player.
Down 7-2 late in the game, Benton scored three runs in the fifth inning to cut Searcy's lead down to two. However, Benton was unable to capitalize with runners on base in the sixth and seventh innings, resulting in a runner-up finish after a great season.
For the second straight year, the Bryant Lady Hornets are coming home with a 7A State Championship trophy.
Bryant beat North Little Rock 11-1 Saturday in Fayetteville behind an outstanding pitching performance from Peyton Jenkins, who was named Most Valuable Player â also for the second year in a row.
Jenkins didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning. She ended the day with 10 strikeouts, giving up one unearned run on three hits.
May 20th
Like their softball counterparts, today the Bryant Hornets look to accomplish a rare feat in high school sports: back-to-back championships.
Bryant (23-6, 10-4 7A Central) takes on its conference foe, the Conway Wampus Cats, in the 7A State Finals at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Central Arkansas.
Anyone who has ever played the âtelephone gameâ knows how easily the simplest of information can get distorted as it travels from one person to the next in the span of just 10 minutes.
Now, add about 30 years and you will end up with what one Benton coach calls âdistorted history.â
Benton track and field coach Lewis Pryor has become something of a legend at Benton High School, where his accolades include a state championship in football and a runner-up finish at a national championship with Henderson College.
This weekend is what the Lady Hornets have been waiting for all season: the 7A State Tournament Championship.
And in order for the defending champs to be successful Saturday against its 7A Central foe North Little Rock, the Lady Hornets will need big games from their pitcher-catcher combo, juniors Peyton Jenkins and Jessie Taylor.
The 17-year-old âbeats,â as head coach Debbie Clark affectionately calls them, have led the team in the field and at the plate.
May 19th
It takes a monumental event to wake me up early on a Saturday morning.
If thereâs no hunting season on and you see me roaming around before the sunâs above the horizon, run for the hills because the apocalypse might be at hand.
So when I heard the old wooden seats at Ray Winder Field were being given away, I did the unthinkable: set my alarm.
And I wasnât alone. Last Saturday hundreds of us descended upon the old home of the Arkansas Travelers, eager for an opportunity to take home a piece of team history.
May 18th
By
Special to the Courier
At the 54th annual Meet of Champions held Saturday at Lake Hamilton High School, Bryant sophomore Alexis Royal won the triple-jump title.
With wind speeds up to 25 mph buffeting the competitors, Royal jumped 36 feet, 11 inches on her second attempt to secure her victory.
Royalâs margin of victory was a full 10 inches farther than the other competitors. Jasmine Marks of Camden Fairview was second with a jump of 36â1.
