By Rubin E. GrantAllyson Ritenour just finished her first season as Spain Park’s head softball coach, but her relationship with Jaguars’ star shortstop Katie Flannery goes back longer than that.“I’ve known her since the sixth grade when she was at Berry Middle School,” said Ritenour, who teaches math at Berry and was the school’s head coach before taking over at Spain … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantThe Vestavia Hills boys lacrosse team came up just short against Mountain Brook in the state finals the past two years.The Rebels lost by a single goal to the Spartans both times. But those heartbreaking defeats gave Vestavia Hills invaluable experience.So, when they met again in the 2023 Alabama Lacrosse Championships final on May 6 at Buccaneer … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantChase Kyes had designs on winning an individual state golf title in each of his four years at Spain Park High School.“I thought it would be cool,” Kyes said.But Kyes’ hopes were dashed in 2022 during his freshman year when he finished second in the Class 7A field, three strokes behind Jack Mitchell of James Clemens.The two dueled again two weeks … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantVestavia Hills golf coach Stephanie Meadows struggled to find the right words to describe the Rebels’ third consecutive Class 7A AHSAA boys state championship.“The first one was really awesome and the second one was too. The three-peat is surreal,” Meadows said. “It’s super exciting to bring home the blue map (championship trophy) again.”The Rebels … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantRyan Vermillion had envisioned the moment for months: him on the mound, Hudson Walburn behind the plate and a strikeout of the final batter on their future home field to end Vestavia Hills’ 23-year state baseball championship drought.That’s exactly how it unfolded.Vermillion struck out Central-Phenix City’s Emory Yohn on his 119th pitch at 12:21 … [Read more...]