BY D. MARK MITCHELL
OPINION — The Opelika High varsity girls and boys basketball teams’ seasons ended in the first round of the Area tournament, last weekend at the Auburn High School gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs lost their opening round to AHS, 89-44 last Friday. Auburn improved to 3-0 against Opelika on the season and won the Area tournament title by beating Central in the finals.
Opelika girls coach Blake Smalley did all he could do with his young team, and they never quit playing hard. Naomi Whack scored a game high 14-points while sister Monica Whack added 10-points and Tyra Pitts scored 9-points.
The varsity boys basketball team finished their season after a 89-65 loss to Central in the first round of the tournament. The Red Devils and Tigers played for the Area championship, but the results were not available at press time.
The AHS girls play Foley in the Regionals on Feb. 14 in Birmingham’s Bill Harris Arena.
AHSAA INDOOR TRACK CHAMPIONSHIP
The AHSAA held the Indoor state meet last weekend at the Crossplex in Birmingham. Several Opelika student-athletes participated in the meet, including Tierra Agee, who won the long jump state championship, and Davian Jones, who won the triple jump championship.
The following is a list of OHS runners finishing in the Top 5:
LONG JUMP
7-6.5 Tierra Agee, 1st, 22-3.5 Davian Jones, 2nd
60 METER DASH 7.93 Tierra Agee, 4th
3200 METER RUN 11:29:52 Caroline Couey, 4th
TRIPLE JUMP
47-9 Davian Jones, 1st
36-7.5 Kyndall Brundidge, 2nd
OMS BOYS BASKETBALL
The eighth grade boys just finished up another successful season with a record of 12 wins and 3 losses. After starting the season 1-2, the players battled back to win 11 of the last 12 games.
“I am extremely proud of the growth this team had on and off the court,” said head coach Dustin Ferguson. The roster includes:
No. 3 X’Zavian Hunter-Hardnett
No. 4 Brooks Young
No. 5 Caleb James
No. 10 Sutton Soltau
No. 11 Keelan Banks
No. 12 Carson Holcey-Billingsley
No. 13 Jalen Jackson
No. 14 Whit Cooper
No. 15 Kentrell Oden
No. 20 Jayden Drake
No. 21 Khalil Smith
No. 22 Bralen Lockhart
No. 23 Tristan Moore
No. 25 Jaivian Holloway
SPRING SPORTS
Opelika High School spring sports are underway. The varsity boys soccer team lost its season opener to Wetumka 0-2. After a scoreless first half, the guys went two goals down. They kept fighting and gained momentum to generate several opportunities in the last 10 minutes of the game.
I will write about all spring sports in the coming week.
AREA BASKETBALL
The LSA girls and boys varsity basketball teams advanced to the playoffs after Region tournaments. The varsity girls defeated Monroe Academy 57-24 in the Elite Eight, advancing to the Final Four against Clarke Prep. The game ended after press time.
The LSA varsity boys won the Region tournament after going 3-0. The Warriors beat Southern Prep 83-22, Valiant Crossing 57-54 and Glenwood in the finals 65-50.
The varsity boys play in the final four Thursday at 4 p.m.
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1319, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.