Sports

This From the Sidelines column appeared in the February 8, 2017 edition of the News Journal... In our June 15, 2016 edition I wrote a column updating everyone on the Wilson twins, Kayla and Miranda, after it was announced that they would be playing basketball at Alice Lloyd College during the ’16-’17 season. Kayla and Miranda are, of course, two of the most talented players in the history of the Corbin Lady Hounds basketball program. After leading the Hounds to back-to-back 13th Region championship titles in 2013 and 2014, they signed to continue their playing careers together at Saint Catharine College in Springfield, KY. In a feature story that ran on December...

We’re still a few weeks away from the spring sports season kicking off, but Lynn Camp track and field coaches Allen Harris and Lauren McMillan are eager to find out what their teams are going to look like when that time comes. In their second year of coaching track at LCHS, Harris and McMillan are hoping to see an overall increase in participation this spring. Harris also serves as the school’s head football coach, and McMillan heads up the Lady Cats volleyball program, so they know firsthand about the athletic talent roaming the hallways of the high school each day. “We are trying to raise interest this year,” Harris said. “We...

The following is a collection of the high school basketball coverage found in the February 1, 2017 edition of the News Journal... TUESDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS It’s been a good while since the Williamsburg Lady Jackets basketball team has picked up a win over 50th District opponent Corbin, but as of Tuesday night that wait is over. With a 55-50 victory over the Lady Hounds Williamsburg improved to 8-12 on the year, and they took a huge step forward in terms of the progression of their program. “I’m overwhelmed with joy right now,” said an emotional Lady Jackets Head Coach Randy Crider after the win. “I’m just so proud of these girls. They...

In the final Senior Spotlight of the winter season, we meet five Lynn Camp Wildcats. First we’ll hear from the two players leading the boys basketball team in 2016-17, and then we’ll hear from the three ladies who help to cheer them on each night from the sideline. Bruce Hopkins, 18 – “I’ve played basketball my whole life, ever since elementary school. I feel like I’ve been a leader on this team since my freshman year. That’s just how I am. The experience has been pretty great. I honestly don’t want it to end, but I guess it has to sometime.” “Since we’re a small school we’re all really close, so...

The Lynn Camp Lady Cats are setting out to accomplish big things in the 51st District again this season. Leading the way are four senior players, who we will now meet in this week’s Senior Spotlight… Faith Hinkle, 18 – I have played basketball since the second grade. My freshman year of high school I went to Barbourville, and then I transferred to Knox Central. Then I transferred here, and this is my first year playing for the Lady Cats. I feel like Lynn Camp is more of a family. We’re closer here. I feel like I can connect better with these girls compared to others I have known in the...

TUESDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS The shakeups continued Tuesday night, with several major happenings inside the 50th District. In boys-girls double header action, the Williamsburg Lady Jackets and Yellow Jackets traveled across town to square off with the Whitley County Lady Colonels and Colonels. The Whitley girls won their game 67-47, improving to 14-7 on the year. With the loss, Williamsburg falls to 7-11. Whitley Co 67, Williamsburg 47 Whitley Co - 19 19 18 11 - 67 W’burg - 6 17 17 7 - 47 WC - Estes 21, Frazier 12, Feltner 16, Lawson 9, Bolton 2, Hill 3, Lewis 4 WB - Hall 20, Abbott 4, Lester 4, Gibson 8, Tye 9, Centers 2 In between games, Whitley...

The first Border Bowl to be played outside of Williamsburg was certainly a memorable on for the Kentucky All-Stars, who traveled to Sevierville, TN last week and came away with a dominant 34-16 win over Tennessee to tie the all-time series up at 5-5. “This is my fourth year being involved with this game, and I’ve learned a lot of lessons from it,” said Kentucky Head Coach Jerry Herron (Williamsburg). “We knew that special teams and defense were going to be very critical in the game. You just can’t win without those things. You don’t really have the time to put an offense together, so you just want to basically...

The Border Bowl has traded one “burg” for another in 2017. In it’s tenth year, the annual high school football all-star game is being played outside of Williamsburg for the very first time, moving to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The game itself will be played this Saturday, January 21, at Sevier County High School, but all practices leading up to the big event will be held at the Rocky Top Sports World complex in Gatlinburg. Players and coaches, including five athletes from our coverage area, reported there Wednesday for check-in and registration. As those five local Kentucky All-Stars were exiting Rocky Top, they took a few moments to pose...

What started as an afterschool activity last year at Oak Grove Elementary has evolved into something much, much more. It all began when reading specialist Janet Logan discovered some unused archery equipment at the school. “We had the archery kit in storage for a long time,” Logan explained. “Evidently, they were going to try to do something with it years ago, but it never happened. So, we dug it all out last year, and we started an archery club as part of the 21st Century afterschool program.” Logan said she initially had about 15-20 students who wanted to be a part of the school’s archery club, but she has seen tremendous...

If you were present at the Corbin versus Whitley County boys/girls double-header last Friday evening, then you had two opportunities to catch this year’s Redhound dance squad in action. The CHS dance team currently features two seniors – seventeen-year-olds Rachel Jackson and Whitney Archer. Jackson has been dancing for the past seven years. When asked about her experiences, she said, “I’ve enjoyed working with people that I now call my best friends. Dance has basically become my life. I got started when I tried out my sixth grade year in middle school. I didn’t really think that it would be my thing until I tried it, but I’ve kept going ever...