Three area basketball players headed to GNTC
Lookout Valley basketball guard Larry McCullough is planning to sign enrollment papers with Georgia Northwestern Technical College next Tuesday in Lookout Valley’s library.
McCullough played his freshman and senior seasons at Lookout Valley with an injury-plagued season at Central and a season playing for a home-school team in Texas in between. Still, in that short of time with the Yellow Jackets he ranks fourth in program history with 241 steals.
This past season the 5-foot11 guard averaged 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.4 steals per game. That helped the Jackets win the District 4-A regular-season championship and average 72 points per game on the way to finishing 18-10.
“As a freshman he showed a lot of potential,” Lookout Valley coach Eric Ford said. “When he came back he set the career, season and single-game records for charges drawn. He’s a hustler. He’s a high-motor guy. He’s a motivator who gets the team going. He’s got a real high basketball IQ as far as the passing game. He makes the team so much better. He’s athletic. He can jump out of the gym. He can do a lot of good things.”
Two Trojans to GNTC
Gordon Lee basketball coach Matthew Smith announced this week that two of his players, Hayden Murphy and Kannen Derryberry, will remain teammates next season after signing with Georgia Northwestern.
Murphy and Derryberry were varsity members of the Trojans all four years and were the top two scorers this season. Both are known, according to Smith, as excellent 3-point shooters.
“I am very proud of these young men and the opportunity they have been blessed with,” Smith said. “Both players are exceptional shooters, but they also bring other skill sets to the team. I look forward to seeing them grow as young men as they leave the Gordon Lee program.”
Kirk back with team
Sale Creek registered its 30th softball win of the season with the District 4-A crown Wednesday at Lookout Valley, but perhaps the bigger news is that the Lady Panthers are 2-0 this week again under the watchful eye of head coach Clifford Kirk.
Kirk has been on the mend since breaking his hip the first weekend of the season. He made his return to the ballfield Monday for the winners-bracket final and was present again for Sale Creek’s 6-1 victory over Tellico Plains that sealed the title.
“I think I’m going to be able to get to the rest of them,” said Kirk, who watched this week from a wheelchair beside the dugout. The next game is a Region 2 semifinal Monday at Sale Creek. “Something drastic is going to have to happen before I don’t.”
Kirk said he’s felt connected with the team all along because he was involved with laying the groundwork in preseason drills. After the district final he was complimentary of assistant coaches Eric Sullivan, Kendra Mooneyham and Bobby Sharp, saying they’ve done “an extremely good job” in his absence.
“It’s been a pick-me-up having him around,” Sullivan said. “He talks to the girls. He gets them fired up. He helps the pitchers out with some things with his years of experience. All these girls look up to him.”
McKnight good to go
Baylor softball coach Kelli Smith reports that pitcher and first baseman Macy Ann McKnight should be fine to play as the Division II-AA East/Middle Region champion advances into the state tournament. The Lady Red Raiders are scheduled to play again sometime late next week against the winner between the No. 8-seeded East/Middle team and the No. 3-seeded team from the West Region.
McKnight took a tumble at first base as she ran out a ground ball leading off the seventh inning of Tuesday’s 4-3 loss at GPS. She remained on the ground for a couple of minutes receiving medical attention on her right ankle. She was seen limping leaving after the game with an ice pack taped to the injured area.
Smith said she was told by a training staff member that McKnight has a mild sprain. And this comes after Brinley Garrison, who was in the lineup as the designated player Tuesday, suffered something similar during Baylor’s threegame trip to the midstate last Saturday.
“They’ve been partners in crime in the training room, with the ice and the bicycles,” Smith said. “We caught a break in that we’ve had a little time to get them ready. Brinley’s was more severe. She said it felt a little more tender after her third at-bat the other day. As far as Macy Ann, she should be good to go.”
Fast Lane to Cougars
Ringgold track standout Sadie Lane will run cross country for Cleveland State this fall after signing scholarship papers this week.
Lane earned several invitational topthree finishes in the 100meter dash and was a key component of the Tigers’ 4X100 and 4X400 relay teams that qualified for sectionals.
“Sadie has a tremendous work ethic and will do great things at Cleveland State,” Ringgold coach Houston White said. “We are excited for her and this great opportunity.”
“Her dad (David) is a distance runner and Sadie ran cross country when she was a sophomore, I think, at Heritage,” Cougars coach David Kyle said. “If a student-athlete is willing to do the work, I can get them to better times, and I know she likes running and I’m convinced she will put in the work. She’s already started distance training, in fact.”
Kyle had the joy last week of signing his daughter, Alexis, an experienced competitor for Cleveland High.