Open Mike

by Michael Wilson

Sports Column

While the semester is finally coming to a close and most people are already packed for their summer vacations, the Blazer sporting world is still running at full steam. Softball, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, and golf will be playing through into summer in their quest for post-season glory.
And even though we will have to wait for the potential joys of those championships, a look back at the successes of those teams as well as a few others (the men and women’s basketball teams, dance, and cheerleading team) will show that this season have give us plenty to smile about.
One of the biggest highlight of the sporting season, so far at least, has been the Blazers basketball team winning the East Division with a 9-3 conference record and 24-7 overall record.         The Blazers played at a high level for much of the season and the junior transfer Tyrone Curnell emerged as a star and will most likely be the key returning component for a championship caliber team next season. Although the team suffered heartbreaking back-to-back losses in the conference finals and the first round of the NCAA tournament, the season was still a success.
The most important moment in the spring sports season came when the Red Hots and the cheerleading team won the national championships. The Red Hots went into the competition with a title defense mindset, an amazing accomplishment after the rocky season that preceded the tournament. The team pulled together and showed the dance world why they are still considered the best. The coed cheer team defied the odds and beat the best teams in the country to bring home the team’s first national championship. The all-girls cheer team put up a strong fight too, and finished third in its division.
The Lady Blazers finished the season with a 21-9 and finished second in the east on the regular season. Unfortunately the team was beat by Delta State in both post-season tournaments. The team played exceptionally well in sports throughout the year but the post-season competition proved to be too much.
The softball and baseball teams managed to build an impressive regular season resumes as the Lady Blazers reached the 50 win mark and had three winning streaks of 10 games or more. The Lady Blazer also had four players named player of the week. The team is poised to make a deep run in the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
The crown jewel of Blazer spring athletics for four years has been tennis teams, which have played well all season. The men’s team carried the momentum from a solid regular season into the conference and came out of it as champions. It was the second year in a row for the Blazers and it shows just how dominant this program can be in a competitive region. The men will look to continue its success and go deep into the NCAA tournament; in fact a national championship doesn’t seem out of reach.
The women suffered a terrible lost in the conference final, but it was a result of poor luck rather than poor play, and a rebound should be in order for the Lady Blazers going into the NCAA tournament. Like the men, the women had a great season and the future looks very bright. These teams could be the highlight of the spring.
The spring season has been nothing short of amazing and in Blazer fashion, championships have been contested and won. This is title town and it is only the standard for these sports teams to excel past any competition. The season has been fun to watch and the outlook for the teams continuing to play into those precious summer months will not be a letdown for the rest of the season.