Photo courtesy of Jim Pressler
Spain Park wrestlers (from left to right): Gaven Pudlik, Jack Rivers, Jaxon Bast and Emmanuel Thuo
Over the course of the year, the Hoover Sun will keep you up to date on the various Hoover and Spain Park high school athletic teams. For previous weekly updates, click here.
BASKETBALL
Hoover
The Hoover High School girls basketball team continued its winning ways last week, as the Lady Bucs (12-0) earned three victories. On Tuesday, they trounced Central-Tuscaloosa, 67-33, behind 20 points from Eboni Williams and 15 points from Joiya Maddox.
Hoover then dispatched Class 5A No. 2 Wenonah on Thursday, 68-57. Skyla Knight led the way with 17 points, while Williams added 16 and Maddox added 11. The Lady Bucs closed out the week with a 53-51 victory over St. Francis (Ga.) on Saturday at the Queen of the Hardwood Invitational in Atlanta. Miya Kimber drained a pair of game-winning free throws in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to seal the win. Maddox scored a team-high 17 points, while Williams had 11 points.
The Hoover boys (11-3) also had a good week, despite dropping a game.
The Bucs defeated Central-Tuscaloosa on Tuesday, 73-52, behind a double-double from Trey Jemison. He scored 17 points, collected 13 rebounds and tallied five blocks. Jamari Blackmon also contributed 15 points in the win.
On Thursday, Hoover fell in overtime to Class 5A No. 3 Wenonah, 71-68. Jamari Blackmon paced the Bucs with 26 points. Jemison scored 21 points, and Marion Humphrey had 13. Hoover then rebounded on Saturday against Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.), securing a 62-53 victory. Jemison registered another double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Blackmon totaled a team-high 24 points in addition to six rebounds; Humphrey had 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Hoover boys will take the week off before hosting the Big Orange Classic Dec. 27-29. The Hoover girls will host their version of the Big Orange Classic this Thursday through Saturday. The Lady Bucs will begin tournament play on Thursday with games against Bessemer City and Stone Mountain (Ga.).
Spain Park
After a week off, the Spain Park High School basketball teams resumed action last Thursday. That day, the Lady Jags traveled to Gadsden City and came away with a tight 51-48 victory.
The boys played their only game of the week on Thursday, as the Jags fell to McAdory, 64-46. The Jags’ record now sits at 3-8.
On Friday, the Lady Jags hosted Carver-Montgomery and won, 69-54, to improve to 8-2 on the season.
This week, the girls play reigning Class 5A champion Wenonah on Wednesday night in the Steel City Showcase before hosting the Lady Jag Classic Thursday through Saturday. They open play in the tournament against Pleasant Grove on Thursday evening.
The boys play once this week, at Grissom on Friday.
WRESTLING
On Saturday, the Spain Park High School wrestling team traveled to Hendersonville, Tennessee, to compete in the Beech Wrestling Invitational hosted by Beech High School. The tournament was won by Wilson Central. The Jaguars, the only Alabama school in the tournament, finished seventh.
Spain Park had four medalists:
- Jack Rivers (120 pounds): second with two pins
- Jaxon Bast (220): second with two pins and one decision
- Emmanuel Thuo (126): fourth with one pin and three decisions
- Gaven Pudlik (138): fourth with one pin and one major decision
- Submitted by Jim Pressler
-- What did we miss? What else would you like to see mentioned? For any suggestions, feel free to email sports editor Kyle Parmley at kparmley@starnespublishing.com.
