By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
T.R. Miller's Ashley Samuel and Greg Bogan walked away with the respective Most Valuable Player Awards at the girls and boys Class 3A Area 1 Tournaments held at T.R. Miller High School Friday and Saturday.
The MVP Award is the third of the season for Samuel, who also got the top honors at the Escambia County and Pensacola Catholic Tournaments.
Samuel led the Lady Tigers to Saturday's 63-35 championship victory over Clarke County with a game high 27 points.
Samuel was joined on the team by T.R. Miller teammates Jasmine Sanford and Joy McCorvey along with Clarke County's Jasmine Curtis and Tiffany Johnson plus W.S. Neal's Lillian Fantroy.
"This postseason is the last go-around for Ashley. She is our only senior and she played like it," T.R. Miller girls coach Ron Jackson said. "Joy had a solid game for us and Jasmine Sanford (who had 14 points Saturday) is really starting to come on as a player. She has been in double digits in six of our last eight games. Jasmine is becoming more and more that third scorer we need to go along with Ashley and Joy."
Meanwhile Bogan hit three three-pointers, eight of 12 free throws and scored a game high 25 points to help the Tigers to their 67-45 championship victory over Clarke County.
Bogan was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Damien Jackson, Tye Walker and Trey Paul along with Clarke County's Ben Burroughs and Karl Johnson plus W.S. Neal's Marcus Folmar.
"For a good part of this season we went, as Greg went. He had a great game and played like you hope a senior would in this position," T.R. Miller coach Rob Atkinson said. "In the last month or so, we've had a lot of players start to step up. That is a big reason why we've won nine of our last 11 games."
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The T.R. Miller Tigers track team posted a seventh place finish in the Class 1A-4A state indoor meet held at Priceville Friday and Saturday.
Sophomore Antonio Gomez defended the championship
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he won in the long jump last year with a winning leap of 20-11 1/2.
Gomez also posted a first place finish in the 55 meter hurdles with a time of 7.91 and a third place mark in the high jump at 5-6.
Junior Rodney Lane notched a fifth place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 54.7.
As a team, the Tigers compiled 27 points. Altamont racked up 96 points to take the Class 1A-4A crown, while UMS-Wright finished second at 61. Montgomey Academy came in third at 56.
Scottsboro claimed the Class 5A title with 89 1/2 points, while Hoover won the class 6A crown with 67 points.
On the girls side, the only T.R. Miller entry to earn a place was eighth grader Crystal Higdon. Higdon was seventh in the 3200 meters with a time of 13:30.
Altamont made it a clean sweep of the team titles, as it won the Class 1A-4A girls championship with 94 points. Northridge prevailed in Class 5A with 87 points, while Mountain Brook came out on top in Class 6A with 69.
The state meet is the only indoor competition for T.R. Miller. Coach Alan Baker's boys and girls squads will start the outdoor season March 12 when they host the T.R. Miller Relays.
The East Brewton Youth Football and Cheerleading League will meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Agricultural Science Center, which is located behind Southern Pine.
All parents who are interested in their children playing football or cheering next season are encouraged to attend.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Department will battle the Brewton Fire Department on the basketball court Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson Davis Community College Gym.
Donations for Relay for Life will be accepted at the door.