By D. Mark Mitchell
OPINION —
Opelika High School’s Athletic Department was quiet last week due to a winter storm that left our area with snow and ice for several days, causing Gov. Kay Ivey to declare a State of Emergency and making the decision to close schools easy.
Opelika’s varsity girls and boys basketball teams had to reschedule Area games with Central and Auburn scheduled last week. The Dogs played Central in Phenix City Tuesday night, no results were available at press time and play Auburn at AHS Thursday night in key area games.
The AHS Lady Tigers wrapped up the area regular season with a win over Smiths Station earlier in the week, Central, Smiths Station and Opelika round out the four seeds, regardless of tonight’s outcome.
Central boys will host the boys area tournament, Auburn and Opelika are likely to finish second and third with Smiths Staion finishing fourth. Both area tournaments are slated to start later next week, the final brackets will be drawn over the weekend.
INDOOR TRACK
Opelika’s varsity girls and boys track teams participated in the Last Chance Meet hosted by Smiths Station at Birmingham’s Cross Plex last Saturday. The following are the results of both teams:
Girls
60 Meter Dash
7.78-Serenity Rufus-2nd
7.91-Tierra Agee 5th
8.21- Malia Jeter 20th
400 -Meter Dash
57.10 – Alieah Nelms 1st
1:00.25 – Ava Thomas 4th
1:02.40 – Makiah Paschal 11th
1600 Meter Run
5:20.75 – Caroline Couey 5th
3200 Meter Run
11:32.57 – Caroline Couey 1st
60 Meter Hurdles
9.97 – Makiah Paschal 9th
High Jump
4-10 – Kyndall Brundidge 8th
4-0 – Khalia Williams 23rd
Long Jump
16-10.25 – Tierra Agee 1st
16-10.25 – Kyndall Brundidge 1st
15-11.25 – Ava Thomas 7th
Triple Jump
39-1.75 – Kyndall Brundidge 1st
34-4.25 -Memshallyah Weaver 4th
Pole Vault
8-0 – Jada Frazier 10th
Shot Put
32-9.25 – Legend Fitzpatrick 3rd
23-5 – Kaysee Dexter 28th
22-11.5 – Alicia Frazier 30th
Boys
60 Meter Dash
7.20 – Jamel Griffin 11th
7.28 – Richard Howard 21st
400 Meter Dash
51.74 – Jalen Thomas-8th
800 Meter Run
2:13.06 – Burch Harris 35th
2:14.35 – Nicholas Brock 41st
2:14.47 – Aiden Stephens 43rd
1600 Meter Run
4:49.49 – Brantley Turnham 28th
5:03.37 – Alexander Burgess 41st
3200 Meter Run
11:09.97 – Alexander Burgess 26th
High Jump
5-4 – Braeden Dowdell 15th
5-2 – Carter Yelder 16th
Long Jump
17-8.75 – Leland Bell 19th
Triple Jump
40-8.25 – Braeden Dowdell 7th
33-7 – Carter Yelder-29th
Pole Vault
11-6 – Brannon Massey 9th
10-6 – Richard Howard 16th
Shot Put
40-8.5 – Ericson (Moni) Thomas 18th
36-11.25 – Michael Cosgriff 29th
36-4.75 – Reginald Williams 31st
Opelika travels back to Birmingham Friday (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1) for the AHSAA State Indoor Championship Meet at the Cross Plex.
AHSAA FOOTBALL HIRES
Smiths Station High School hired Pell City assistant head coach Justin Albert as it’s new head football coach. He replaced Bryant Garrson, who was fired after going 1-19 in two seasons. Albert becomes SSHS third head football coach in four seasons. He is familier with East Alabama football, having coached at Russell County under current head coach Dillion Griggs prior to taking the Pell City job.
Benjamin Russell High School named Montgomery Catholic’s Kirk Johnson as it’s new head football coach, after going 55-2 in five seasons at MCHS, leading the Knights to back-to-back state football championships in 2023 and 2024. The Wildcats finished 5-6 in 2024, losing to Spanish Fort in the opening round of the 6A playoffs.
OPELIKA DIAMOND YOUTH BASEBALL
Registration for youth baseball in Opelika is now open for the 2025 Opelika Diamond Youth Baseball season. go Visit www.opelikadixieyouth.com through midnight Feb. 7.
Register now to receive an early-bird discount of $15, making the fee $85.
(Note: the cost will show as $100 until the automatic discount is applied in your cart. This discount expires at midnight on Jan. 31.)
Opelika Diamond Youth is for ages 6 through 12, based on the player’s age on April 30, 2025.
(Note: If your child is six and has never played any type of baseball, we recommend them playing in the Opelika Parks & Rec T-ball/Coach Pitch league, Registration at Sportsplex in the Spring.)
Please use a valid email address when registering, as all tryout information will be sent via email. You can also keep up with news and dates at facebook.com/opelikadiamondyouth.
Opelika DBBaseball for ages 13 through 15 will register in late March through middle of April at the Opelika Sportsplex. Anyone interested in coaching in the Opelika DBBaseball league should contact D.Mark Mitchell @ dmitchell2@iheartmedia.com
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia and host of “On the Mark” on Fox Sports the Game 910-1319.
