By Rubin E. Grant At the outset of her athletic career, Carson McKie figured she would follow in the footsteps of her older sisters and play soccer. Chelsea and Conner McKie both played soc- cer at Hoover High School and in college, Chelsea at Furman and Conner at Southern Miss. But Carson McKie had just one issue. She wasn’t as good at soccer as her sisters, so she had to … [Read more...]
Laser Focused: Hoover Goalkeeper Rudolph Relishes Pressure of Being a Hero or a Zero
By Rubin E. Grant Annoyed, peeved, angered, irritated, ruffled or vexed. Any of those adjectives is an apt description of Hoover junior soccer goalkeeper Max Rudolph’s reaction when an opponent scores a goal. “He’s pretty tenacious about not letting the ball get to the back of the net,” Hoover soccer coach Kris Keplinger said. “If it does, it bothers him. He’s a fierce … [Read more...]
‘Pepper’ Brings Plenty of Spice to the Hoover Softball Team
By Rubin E. Grant Caroline Nichols is her given name, but few people call the Hoover senior Caroline. She’s better known by her nickname “Pepper.” In fact, few of her friends know that her name is Caroline. “No one calls me Caroline except my teachers at school,” Nichols said. “My friends who have known me a while, when they hear someone call me Caroline they say ‘I didn’t … [Read more...]
Repeat Performance: Buc’s Dewitt Closes Career With Another State Wrestling Title
By Rubin E. GrantWhen D’Angelo Dewitt began wrestling in the seventh grade at Bumpus Middle School, it was a way to channel some of his aggression.“I got into my fair share of fights,” he said, “so when I saw the wrestling team at Bumpus, I thought that was something I could do.”Little did he know that was the beginning of his journey to becoming a two-time state … [Read more...]
AHSAA State Indoor Track Championships: Kyle Smith Helps Bucs Sweep State Indoor Championships
By Rubin E. Grant On the eve of the 49th AHSAA Indoor State Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex, Hoover junior Kyle Smith spent part of the evening praying and, as he put it, “getting my mind focused.” Smith’s time in prayer and meditation was well spent. He won his specialty event, the Class 7A triple jump, Saturday with a leap of 45-07 feet, easily outdistancing his … [Read more...]