By Rubin E. GrantWhen Sarah Gordon was a freshman, Vestavia Hills High School girls basketball coach John David Smelser had to beg her to shoot.Obviously, Gordon heeded his request.On Jan. 3, Gordon, now a 5-foot-11-inch senior forward, scored 17 points in a 41-26 victory against Hartselle to surpass 2,000 points for her high school career.She became just the … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantHomewood senior Emma Brooke Levering was aware that she had a chance to be in select company. So, when word came that she had become the third Homewood distance runner to earn multiple Gatorade Alabama Cross Country Player of the Year honors, she reveled in the accomplishment.Gatorade announced in January that Levering had been chosen the 2024-25 … [Read more...]

Adam Barksdale is a six-foot-five senior guard for Vestavia Hills High School and is signed to play college basketball at the University of Montevallo. An excellent outside shooter, Barksdale had five three-pointers in Vestavia’s victory over Oak Mountain on January 24, and he finished the game with 23 points. His junior year stats of 12.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.4 APG, earned him … [Read more...]

By Loyd McIntoshFive Mountain Brook High School wrestlers advanced to the finals in the 2024 Merril Lynch Spartan Invitational Tournament held at Mountain Brook High School, on Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14. Bobby Rutkoff and Bill Bradford captured first place, and Stephen Springfield, Christopher Brown and Beckett Smith finished in second place to lead … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantElijah Garrison wasn’t uneasy as he embarked on his first season as Homewood’s boys basketball coach, succeeding Tim Shepler.No one could have blamed him if there had been a tinge of anxiety. Shepler stepped down last spring after 29 years at the helm, leaving Garrison a tough act to follow.Shepler posted 662 career wins and led the Patriots to the … [Read more...]