Sunday Sports Brunch: East has 3 on all-state team
Three players from three-time Class AAA state champion East headlined the list of local players named to the TSWA all-state basketball teams this week.
The Mustangs were represented by senior and juniors
Alex Lomax James Wiseman Chandler Lawson,
and all of whom starred in last weekend’s 72-50 victory over Whitehaven that brought the school its ninth championship. Mr. Basketball winner of Cordova, Southwind’s and of Brighton also made the 15-member squad.
Taelyr Gatlin Jordan Johnson Brooks,
and a pair of seniors who led Hamilton to the AA crown, were selected in AA along with of FayetteWare. Mr. Basketball finalist of MASE, of W.E.B. DuBois and the Douglass duo of and made the Class A team. In Division II, Mr. Basketball finalists of Briarcrest and Rossville’s Malik Riddle were picked with MUS’ Lausanne’s of Harding.
Gipson Quatarius York Devyn Payne Arecko Jamey Sanders Cedric Henderson John McBride, Sky Forrest Luke Howard
Georgia Tech signee — the only girls player from a TSSAA member school chosen for next month’s McDonald’s All-American game — leads the AAA girls selections. She was joined by Central’s Munford’s
Jireh Washington, Gabby Crawford Jayla Hemingway,
and who capped her junior year by leading Houston to a state runner-up finish. Trezevant’s and of Craigmont made the AA team while of BTW was chosen in Class A. and from state runner-up Northpoint were chosen in Division II with Miss Basketball finalist of Briarcrest.
James Gross Antavious Buford Elizabeth Dixon Derrenishia Jackson Lauren Jade Wells Owens MHEA wins another basketball title
After reaching the reaching the championship game of the National Christian HomeSchool national tournament five years in a row without winning a title, the Memphis Home Education Association girls team is starting to get the hang of it.
Coach Eagles won their second championship in a row — and third in the last four years — with a resounding 62-28 victory over the OKC Storm in Springfield, Mo.
Unlike last year, when the Eagles came from behind in the second half to defeat the Storm, this one was never really in doubt.
“We were expecting it to be a close game because they are a very good team,” said Rice. “But we were up 20 at halftime. We were making shots; we just came out and hit everything like we did in the Central game.”
Rice was referencing a convincing 72-44 victory over the Lady Warriors on Dec. 12. Central is perennially one of Memphis’ tougher AAA teams and that performance was just a taste of what the Eagles would do against their homeschool opponents.
“All of our seniors were starters,” Rice said. “They had played together since they were 10 or 11 years old. They just have a lot of chemistry together ... (and a) willingness to put selfishness aside. These girls learned from the losses (in earlier national finals) and they learned from those good times and bad times.”
The experience paid off in the final. With the Storm electing to key on
and Rice got a red-hot shooting performance from and
who combined for 25 first-half points.
Loadholt and Vaughn ended with 16 apiece while Carson added 15. Burnett — who is headed to Mississippi College and was named Mid-West Region player of the year — finished with 11 and eight rebounds. whose older sister starred for the Eagles and currently plays at Ole Miss, had seven assists.
Bad news for the Eagles; all five starters are seniors. Good news? Rice is happy to report that MHEA also won the title in the junior varsity division.
“That kind of gives us a feel for next year,” she said. “Just because the starters are leaving doesn’t mean this is the end.”
Tracy Rice’s Burnett Annaliese Lindsey Vaughn, Kylie Loadholt Torri
and
Tyler Harris Mark Freeman Sade Hudson Gigi Lewis, Martrell Ashley Carson, FACS volleyball hires Jauregui Akeria Savanna
The FACS volleyball team, which has struggled competing against Division II-A foes like Harding and St. George’s in recent seasons, has made a move it hopes will elevate its program to those levels. The Crusaders have named as their coach, replacing
Jauregui coached at the University of Memphis from 2008-2017 and is the Tigers’ second-longest serving and third-winningest volleyball coach.
Jauregui will be the second former Memphis coach in the high school ranks this fall; is replacing
and Division II-AA power Briarcrest.
Jauregui Boyd. Carrie Yerty Anderton Hensley retiring due to rule change
A rule change is forcing former Collierville soccer star into retirement.
Hensley, a midfielder who has been a part of the U.S. National Paralympic team for the past four years and its captain for the last three, announced he was leaving sport. The move comes after a rule change by the International Federation for Cerebral Palsy Football which states that players with minimal impairments are no longer eligible to compete.
Hensley was a 14-year-old freshman at Collierville in December 2006 when he suffered a stroke after being injured in a match three weeks earlier. He later went on to become a two-time all-state performer and played at Carson-Newman.
“The last four years of my life have hands down been the best years of my life,” he said in an interview on the U.S. Soccer Federation web site. “Getting to play the game I love again brought joy back into my life. I can never thank head coach Stuart Sharp, all of the staff and my teammates enough for giving me the opportunity to represent the crest.”
The U.S. is ranked fourth among the world’s paralympic teams, its highest ranking ever.
Hensley led the team to a fifth-place finish at the 2017 IFCPF CP Football World Championship, its best finish at a major international competition since 1996.
Hensley also captained the 2016 World Cup squad in Brazil.
Kevin Hensley Memphis USL team hires sporting director
The Memphis United Soccer League franchise, which will begin play at AutoZone Park in the spring of 2019, has named as its sporting director.
A native of England, Bell comes to Memphis after spending almost 20 years with the USL’s Charleston Battery. Among his duties will be handling player and technical staff-related issues and building the yet-to-be named team’s front office.
Andrew Bell April Kendall Carla
“Memphis is a remarkable city, and the opportunity to help build what I’m certain will be an amazing soccer club was too big to pass up,” Bell said in a statement. “I’m excited to start working on the project, and I can’t wait to meet the fans.
The commitment of our ownership group is going to allow us not just to be part of the amazing growth of professional soccer in the United States but also to create something really special here in Memphis.”
Bell began as the Battery’s play-byplay announcer in 1999 and worked in various other capacities, including director of marketing, director of sales and — starting in 2008 — team president.
During his tenure, the Battery won USL championships in 2010 and 2012 and reached the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2008. That was the last time a non-MLS team played in the final of America’s national soccer cup competition.
Redbirds will participate in ‘Fun Cup’
What’s in a name? For the Memphis Redbirds, it’s all about hitting the right notes within a growing part of the nation.
This season, the Redbirds will take part in Minor League Baseball’s “Copa de la Diversion” or “Fun Cup.” The event is a season-long series designed to embrace the culture and values that resonate most within the Hispanic/Latino communities of the participating teams.
Cup games will be played at AutoZone Park on June 6, Aug. 3 and Aug. 26. For those contests, the Redbirds will rename themselves the “Memphis Musica,” wearing special jerseys and caps.
The 160-game series begins on April 8 in Round Rock, Texas. To build awareness and create excitement, a 3-foot tall “Copa de la Diversión” trophy will embark on a tour of the participating cities as part of a “Cup Tour.”
Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com.