34 • Thursday, May 17, 2012
SPORTS
Members of the Mountain Brook Lacrosse team are, in front, Charlie Fell. Kneeling, from left: John Annesley DeGaris, Graham LeJuene, Taylor Carson, Carter McAlpin, Crawford Tindle and Will Toranto. Standing: Asst Coach Tom Clark, Asst Coach Sam Henderson, Porter Williamson, Thomas Byrne, Payne Frost, Banks Henderson, Crawford Clark, Ford Williams, Hays Vogtle, James Pugh, Knox Taylor, Elijah Welman, Mac Campbell, Joe Donald, Philip Dulin, Head Coach Brian Doud and Patrick Doud.
Mountain Brook Wins Lacrosse Title
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he Mountain Brook U15 Gold Boys Lacrosse team capped an undefeated season by winning the 2012 Alabama U15 state championship. Mountain Brook won the title with an 8-7 overtime win against Vestavia May 5 at Spain Park Stadium. The Gold trailed Vestavia 6-3 with six minutes left in the game, clawed back to within 2 at 7-5 with two minutes left in the game and tied the score at 7 with 30 seconds left to play. Mountain Brook tied the game while serving a penalty, forcing it to play with one less player. The Gold won the game with 1:49 left in overtime, also with one less player due to a penalty. The game-tying and game-winning goals were scored by attackman Crawford Tindle, an eighth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High School. Midfielder John Annesley DeGaris, an MBJH seventh grader, scored three goals and dished out two assists. Brine National All-Star attackman Mac Campbell scored two goals, and attackman Taylor Carson scored one goal and had three assists in the victory. Both are MBJH eighth graders. DeGaris was named the game’s Most
MAY DAYS, from back cover
meter and the 300-meter hurdles and also was part of the Bucs’ first placewinning 1600-meter relay team. Spain Park’s Joseph Williams won the discus throw and shot put events, and the Jags’ Brandon Hazouri took first in the 1600- and 3200-meter dashes. In Class 5A, another standout was John Carroll Catholic’s Rachel Roberts, who won the 1600- and 3200-meter runs. And as always, there were plenty of other outstanding area performances at the big and small school state meets. For sheer intensity and suspense, you’d be hard pressed to find anything better than the Class 6A baseball playoffs that involved Over the Mountain teams. In four epic series – Spain Park-Vestavia Hills, Hoover-Pelham, Spain Park-Pelham and finally Spain Park-Oak Mountain – the winner was not determined until the third and deciding game, often in the last inning, and sometimes even
Valuable Player. During the season, Mountain Brook was led on offense by Campbell, who finished the season with 55 points, recording 39 goals and 16 assists. His 39 goals led the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association U15 League. Also for the season, DeGaris recorded 41 points, scoring 20 goals and dishing out 21 assists; Tindle had 38 points, netting 30 goals and making eight assists; and Carson had 29 points, recording 17 goals and 12 assists. The Mountain Brook defense gave up only 38 goals during the season, which averaged to less than three goals a game. The defense was led by goalie Thomas Byrne, an eighth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High School; Brine National All-Star defenseman Patrick Doud, an MBJH eighth grader; and Brine National AllStar defenseman Hays Vogtle, an MBJH seventh grader. The team also included attackmen Will Toranto and Elijah Welman; midfielders Joe Donald, Philp Dulin, Charles Fell, Payne Frost, Graham LeJuene, Carter McAlpin and Knox Taylor; and defensemen Banks Henderson, James Pugh, Ford Williams and Porter Williamson. McAlpin attends Hewitt-Trussville Middle School; other team members are Mountain Brook Junior High students. Mountain Brook’s head coach is Brian Doud. He was assisted by Tom Clark and Sam Henderson.
on the final pitch. People who say that baseball is boring and outdated should have attended a game in any of those classic matchups, where there was drama during practically every at-bat. At the end, however, Coach Will Smith’s Jaguars probably earned the loudest applause. They won tight
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Members of the Vestavia Blue U13 team are, from left, front: Marshall Powell, Joseph Travis, Lucas Heslin, Robert Hill, Will Wesnor, Miller Shamblin, Jake Reiber and Daniel Alonso. Second row: Connor Wheeler, Matthew Bates, Alex Ferguson, Graham Thompson, Trip Gurner, James Edwards, Jacob Edwards, Will Philpot and Coach Jamie Edwards. Back: Coach Jim Hill, Rob Evans, Cameron Sandford, Coach Mark Reiber and Coach Andrew Lumbard (not pictured).
Vestavia Boys LAX Team Wins State
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estavia Blue U13 defeated Hoover White U13 Boys by a score of 13-1 to win the State Championship on May 5th. Vestavia Blue finished their season with a 13-0 win record going 10-0 during the regular
season. This is the teams second consecutive undefeated Spring season. All the teams in their division were from the Birmingham area, except two Huntsville teams. There are 15 teams in the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association’s U13 Boys division including two from Vestavia, three each from Mountain Brook and Hoover, and one each from Briarwood, Oak Mountain and Homewood.
Vestavia Girls Win Title
The Vestavia fourth and fithgrade girls, with a record of 8-0-1, finished their season by beating Hoover to win the state lacrosse championship.
Team members are from left, front: Haley Souders, Katherine Lipford, Hayden Souders, Laura Hatten Rell and Ellington Wesson. Back: Gracie Crosswhite, Sarah Kate DeCarlo, Liz Whisenhunt, Emma Isbell, Olivia Nelson, Mary Katherine Smyth, Christina Edwards. The team is coached by Tom DeCarlo.
battles with the Rebels and Panthers before finally bowing in the state semifinals against the Oxford Yellow Jackets. Efforts of star players such as Colton Freeman and Mikey White will likely leave a foundation of success at Spain Park which will last for years.
The Vestavia Hills state championship tennis team includes, from left: Jack Patton, Cabel Cantrell, Jack Rayburn, John Morson, Leo Richard, Jeffrey Holcombe, Coach Adam Kolasa, Paul Taylor, Garrett Fallon, Jake Bivin, Hall Cartledge and Ziqi Wang. This is the schoolʼs second consecutive state tennis Photo special to the Journal title.
The Vestavia boys and Mountain Brook girls – as usual – turned in dominating performances to win state championships in tennis. And then there is the unfinished story of the Vestavia softball team, which will face Theodore in the first round of the state tournament Friday. The Lady Rebels posted a stunning 53-7 record as they steamrolled their way to Lagoon Park. Vestavia heads to the tournament off its own dramatic moment, as freshman Caroline Hardy’s grand slam gave her team a 9-6 win over Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the North Central Regional final at Liberty Park Saturday. The Lady Rebel victory machine has been fueled by many standouts, including senior catcher Hannah Taylor, who has been a star for Vestavia since she was in the eighth grade. Rebecca Hein leads the Lady Rebel pitching staff with a 24-3 record. The team’s final chapter will be written this week: You might be able to color it blue (as in trophy). Another classic moment in soft-
ball was Oak Mountain’s 2-1 upset of Hoover and ace pitcher Marcy Harper in the Area 10 tournament. The Lady Eagles’ magic faded in the North Central Regionals, but Oak Mountain’s strong May run will be long remembered. Golf championships will also be determined this week. Spring may be a time when many a man’s fancy turns to love, but in 2012, springtime meant unending excitement on the field, the court and the track.
Nominations Wanted…
In a few weeks, the Over the Mountain Journal will announce its choices for the Boy and Girl Athletes of the Year for the 2011-12 academic year. Any athlete who participated in varsity competition for an Over the Mountain high school is eligible for consideration. We welcome reader nominations. Please send them to: Athlete of the Year, c/o Over the Mountain Journal, 2016 Columbiana Road, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216.