By Rubin E. Grant Vestavia Hilis sophomore Crawford West’s victory in the Class 7A girls state cross-country meet last Saturday might have surprised some, but not Rebels boys champion Ethan Strand. Strand expected it. “I told her from the beginning of the season that she could do it,” Strand said. “She just works really hard and she kept getting better every … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantWhen Mountain Brook beat Briarcrest Christian School in the final of the Juanita Boddie Invitational in August at the Hoover Finley Center, Spartans head volleyball coach Vickie Nichols didn’t realize how big a deal it was.Nichols knew the victory meant the Spartans were champions of the Boddie tournament for the first time in school history, and she … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. Grant A few months after enjoying one of the best days of his young life, Crawford Hope experienced months of misery. As a freshman at Scottsboro High School, Hope won the Class 5A 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the 2018 Alabama High School Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field Championships. But that summer, Hope suffered a stress fracture of his … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantMountain Brook won three consecutive Class 7A state volleyball championships from 2014-2017, but it’s safe to say the Spartans have never had a season like the one they have had this fall. The Spartans opened the season ranked No. 1 in Class 7A and closed the regular season ranked No. 1. They swept the top three tournaments played in the Birmingham … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. Grant The Hoover Bucs will have to run a gauntlet if they are going to win their first state volleyball championship. The Bucs (32-14) will face Enterprise (32-14) in the first round at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 2019 AHSAA Volleyball State Championships at the Birmingham Crossplex. Should they advance, the Bucs likely would have to face Mountain Brook (56-7) in … [Read more...]