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FLORENCE — Colt Smith and Sara Puckett earned individual honors for their athletic achievements Tuesday night, but they were quick to share the spotlight with their friends.
TimesDaily Athlete of the Year Videos
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The area's top athletes and coaches were honored at the seventh TimesDaily Athlete of the Year banquet at the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum. A near capacity crowd listened to professional angler and motivational speaker Clay Dyer deliver an inspirational message about overcoming hardships. Sa…
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Carson Villalta could feel his poker face slipping.
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As Grant Taylor warmed up in his familiar spot at the Florence baseball field, he noticed every pitch went where he wanted it to go.
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Colt Smith has enjoyed a lot of postseason success for Mars Hill, but none of it was given to him. It was earned through hard work.
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When asked about her first memories of playing softball, Lauderdale County’s Morgan White paused and chuckled as she struggled to come up with an answer for when she was first introduced to the game.
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Mars Hill softball coach Matt Burgess said he remembers having freshman Riley Vaughn in his class as a sixth grader and asking her about weekend tournaments she would compete in with her travel ball team.
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Johnna Staggs knows the Wilson softball season was supposed to end in Montgomery, so the Warriors’ failure to advance out of the Class 4A North Regional makes assessing the 2019 season a little awkward.
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Any child who thinks you have to be a star at a young age to excel in sports later should ask Megan Warhurst how her softball career started, when she was 10.
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Hunter Battles, the TimesDaily Boys Golfer of the Year, wasn’t completely satisfied from a statistical standpoint with his now-complete senior season at Muscle Shoals.
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Anna Margaret Hays wanted to make sure that when she was through with her high school golf career, the Muscle Shoals girls team was in just as good, if not better, shape than when she first teed it up.Â
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After consistently finishing third in the long jump event at the AHSAA state track meet over the past few years, Muscle Shoals athlete Kaylie Wright dedicated her practice sessions to reaching the 18-foot mark.
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After a slow start, Grayson Eady turned his sophomore season into an individual state championship for the Russellville Tigers.
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Florence's Edi Alvarado remembers playing soccer with his dad and uncle when he was a youngster. From that time on, the game has been a part of his life.
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Super sophomore Samantha King broke more records on her way to another stellar season for the Mars Hill girls soccer team, but the memory of playing for her sister is what she will remember most from the 2019 season
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Shoals Christian's Lee-Taylor Bishop used a college level approach throughout her high school career, and it paid off with a state Class 1A-3A state singles championship and a scholarship to North Alabama.
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As a kid, Luke Singletary grew up watching his older brother play tennis with dreams to follow in his footsteps. Years later, he is the TimesDaily Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
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Taylor Aikerson did about as much as you could hope for on the basketball court for Deshler High in 2017-18. Asked to lead teammates and shoulder more responsibility, Aikerson excelled as a senior and led the Tigers to the Class 4A championship game.
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Lee-Taylor Bishop was not perfect this tennis season, but she was very close.Â
Acker Holt was realistic as he assessed the outlook for Florence High boys soccer ahead of his senior year.
Few schools in the Shoals have a history in any sport as rich as Lauderdale County’s in girls basketball, so a merely decent or good season doesn’t stand out there the way it might other places.
Many of the players in Jana Killen’s Deshler girls basketball program grew up in Tuscumbia and started working toward playing for the Tigers as elementary school girls.
At its best, the Muscle Shoals boys basketball team is perhaps the most dangerous, efficient boys team in the Shoals.
Having won its first three games, Wilson High was in danger of losing its unbeaten mark in late September at West Limestone. The Warriors were down three points with time running out, and a couple key players were dealing with injuries.
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FLORENCE — A second-place finish in the Class 6A cross country championship in 2016 left Mary Claire Ridgeway little room for improvement, at least from a standings standpoint, in 2017.
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When Taylor Leathers took over the Colbert Heights football program in the spring of 2016, he knew one of the first orders of business was finding his quarterback. It turned out to be a pretty easy decision. Leathers handed the reins of his offense to then-junior Kevin Shaw and the program t…
FLORENCE — In three years on the varsity team at Mars Hill, freshman Samantha King has turned into a goal-scoring machine.
MUSCLE SHOALS — The situation was getting dire for Muscle Shoals in its bid to repeat as Class 6A boys golf state champion.
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MUSCLE SHOALS — Anna Margaret Hays really didn’t want to play golf.
WAYNESBORO, Tenn. — Wayne County’s quarterback/defensive back Avery Davis is the TimesDaily Tennessee Played of the Year after a stellar senior campaign.
TUSCUMBIA — Deshler senior Monquavius Ricks is the TimesDaily high school wrestler of the year after a stellar season.
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When Avery Moates was younger, he considered trying to play college baseball. But plans change sometimes, and Moates instead will stay in Florence and play football for North Alabama.
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It’s been clear for a while that Florence pitcher Cole Henry, an LSU commit since his freshman year, had some great potential in baseball. A season-ending arm injury as a junior in 2017 didn’t change that.
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FLORENCE – Lilly Holmes was not counting on the honor she received Thursday night.
Florence tennis player Lilly Holmes and Sheffield football/basketball standout Malik Smith were named the TimesDaily’s female and male athletes of the year tonight.
The numbers are hard to believe as they are, and they would invite even more skepticism if you didn’t see the work for yourself.
Just like at some of the recent playoff postgame celebrations, children were among those gathered on the Russellville High baseball field last month for the team’s state championship celebration.
Laken DiStefano missed out on her main goal for her senior season of softball, which was to lead Central to the Class 4A state championship.
GREENHILL — Ryan McKinney always seems to rise to the occasion.
SMALL SCHOOL PITCHER OF YEAR
LEXINGTON —It was only a couple of years ago that Kinsley Hanback wondered if she would ever be any good playing volleyball.
WAYNESBORO, Tenn. — A disappointing ending to his high school career didn’t keep Wayne County’s Preston Rice down for long.
Coming off a triple bogey on the 16th hole, Alyssa Burnett set a mini-goal for the final two holes of her high school career: par out.
The senior midfielder’s talent not only allows her to be versatile on the field, but also to excel in whatever role she is asked to fill.
Ike Alexander never lost his focus or his goals on the golf course, even after he already had his college plans finalized in November.
When it comes to throwing a discus, the Finley family has a strong tradition. That’s why it’s no surprise that Wilson’s Cade Finley, a third generation discus thrower, excelled once again in the event this year.
Peyton Thomas thought most about team goals, and that’s why he’s at once pleased Phil Campbell baseball advanced to the second round of the 2A playoffs and also disappointed the Bobcats didn’t go further.
Brady Sherrill starts his at-bats in the on-deck circle and, rather than merely cheering for a buddy or waiting his turn, watches the pitcher closely.
Jacob Tucker is proof good things come to those who wait.
The high school sports calendar never really has a start and end date.
Colbert County’s Larynn Clopton is nothing if not determined.
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