|
MEMPHIS - When McKenzie senior
Sarah Hartz crossed the finish line of her 800 meter run
around 8:20 last Thursday night, she officially
concluded Carroll County's participation in TSSAA-sanctioned
events for the year 2003-04.
And what a year it was.
It started with state excitement
and ended with state excitement.
Hartz, a two-time state track
participant, finished fifth in the Class A-AA state 800
run at Briarcrest Christian School with a time of
2:29.49. Earlier that afternoon, Mt. Pleasant defeated
Huntingdon 10-3 in the Class A baseball semifinals at
Christian Brothers High School.
When reflecting on the athletic
year that was, Carroll folks entered the ring swinging
and went down swinging. Three football teams had high
aspirations as the season started. West Carroll won a
regional title, McKenzie finished with a 9-3 mark in the
second round of the Class 2A state playoffs (and the
encouraging thing about that is that the bar is so high
at MHS, such a finish is unacceptable in the Rebel camp)
and Huntingdon punched through and captured the Class 2A
state title.
In basketball, Huntingdon's
girls reached the Class A Final Four for the second
straight year. McKenzie's girls won 17 games and earned
a regional bid and Huntingdon won yet another district
boys' basketball championship. Don't forget Bruceton;
its middle school boys went to the TNT state semifinals
in Springfield.
This spring, McKenzie's girls'
softball team reached substate for the second year in a
row and were one bad inning away from reaching the elite
eight. And Huntingdon, of course, captured one of the
eight state invitations and finished as one of the final
four Class A teams in Tennessee still playing baseball.
Folks from these parts really
showed up on the radar screen this year.
* * *
Sarah Hartz was in a minority at
the state track meet last Thursday. She was the only one
of about 300 kids wearing a McKenzie jersey at the
event.
True, seeing McKenzie at a state
track meet isn't a common sight. While the Rebels have a
track team, they don't have a track to practice on and
compete in the largest section in Tennessee.
But with coach David Duncan's
tutelage, look for more red McKenzie jerseys to show up
at the Spring Fling.
McKenzie does have a bit of a
track legacy. Fred Milton earned a couple of track
medals for hurdle and sprint events in 1977 and David
Collier, a distance runner, competed at state in the
early 1980s.
Hartz, herself, is a two-time
state qualifier and adds to the legacy.
* * *
Speaking of McKenzie, don't be
surprised in the next few years if you see red McKenzie
jerseys in soccer and tennis. The Rebel soccer team
captured its first district victory in team history when
it topped Adamsville in the first round of the District
14 A-AA tournament.
Martin-Westview reached the
state tournament this year and has only been in the
soccer business for about 11 years or so. But the
Chargers had to come from farther back.
As for tennis, MHS coach Dan
Ridley says he has some young players with a ton of
potential; players who want to work on their own to get
better. That's what it takes to move on.
Anything is possible if you
believe you can do it.
* * *
As I watched this group of HHS
seniors conclude what has been a remarkable run, I was
reminded of a similar crew that rolled through these
parts about 16 years ago.
Many may remember the fantastic
run Dresden High School had between 1986-88 with a
gifted group of players and leaders. During those days,
Dresden reached state in every sport it offered at least
once. The Lions featured Popeye Jones (late of the
Golden State Warriors, an NBA squad), Peanut Winn, Jeff
Baker, John Parker, Darren Williams to name a few.
I was really reminded when HHS
coach Alan Eubanks rolled the dice and went with a
pitching-by-committee mindset in the Mustangs last game
against Mt. Pleasant. He did the right thing. When you
play four games in three days, pitching wears thin.
In 1987, Dresden did something
similar. It had used Winn in the opening round against
Upperman (a 3-0 victory) and Jones in the next round
against McKenzie (a 6-2 victory despite Rebel pitcher
Jason Baucum's 14 strikeouts).
Many were curious who would be
next in the Lions' bout against Johnson City University
High. DHS coach Jeff Kelley rolled the dice and went
with Popeye's older brother, David Jones (who hadn't
pitched in a month), and then planned on using Tim Evans
(currently Union City's coach) and Winn to close the
door if need be. It worked and Dresden defeated the
Johnson City team for the championship.
That's baseball. If you take
chances and succeed, you are a genius; if you fail, you
are the goat. One thing is certain: Eubanks did the
right thing. |
