FOOTBALL SNAGS REGION WIN

Over the course of the year, Village Living will keep you up to date on the various Mountain Brook High School athletic teams. Here's the third installment. If you missed last week, click here. FOOTBALL The Mountain Brook High School football team notched a thrilling, 51-50 victory over Class 7A, Region 3 foe Spain Park on Friday night. The Spartans took a chance and went for the two-point conversion in double overtime, and Hamp Sisson’s pass found the waiting arms of Wilson Higgins. Click here to read the full recap of the game. The Spartans are off this week before traveling to Tuscaloosa County on Oct. 6. VOLLEYBALL The Mountain Brook High School volleyball team hosted a tri-match last Thursday, splitting matches against Bob Jones and Tuscaloosa County. The Spartans fell to Bob Jones, one of the top teams in the state, 2-0 (25-22, 25-22), to open the day. “The girls played a great match,” said Spartans head coach Vickie Nichols. “They competed the entire match. The difference in the match was just a few more unforced errors than Bob Jones." For the match, Libby Grace Gann had 24 assists and 12 digs. Grace Carr finished with seven digs and 10 kills. Ellie Dayhuff had four kills and a pair of blocks. Liz Vandevelde finished with 13 digs, and Claire Chester and Sarah Cat Cooper notched five kills apiece. Mountain Brook (10-7) bounced back and took care of business against Tuscaloosa County, winning 2-0 (25-10, 25-16). “I am proud of the way we played,” Nichols said. “We are making strides forward with every match we play. The girls are excited and focused as we are preparing for Tuesday’s area match against Spain Park.” The Spartans begin a busy week on Tuesday with that Class 7A, Area 6 matchup at Spain Park. Mountain Brook then takes to the road again on Thursday to take on Thompson. Over the weekend, the Spartans will compete in the Southern Volleyball Invitational in Atlanta, Georgia. CROSS-COUNTRY The Mountain Brook cross-country teams activated cruise control as they coasted to team titles on Saturday at the TCBY Invitational in Tuscaloosa. The Spartans captured first-place finishes ahead of runners-up Lawrence County, with the girls prevailing 23-50 and the boys prevailing 26-83. It was the second win as many weeks for both teams, as Mountain Brook notched a pair of victories at the Sept. 16 Scottsboro Invitational. Anna Balzli placed second in the girls 5K race with a time of 19 minutes, 13 seconds. She was one of five Spartans who finished among the top seven. Lily Hulsey (third, 20:04), Tessa Allen (fifth, 20:42), Elizabeth Robertson (sixth, 20:49) and Bailey Peacock (seventh, 21:08) all contributed to the lead group. The Mountain Brook boys established a heavy presence at the front of their race, too. Six Spartans finished in the top nine. Hunter Harwell and Charlie Slaughter paced the pack by finishing second and third overall, clocking times of 16:28 and 16:39, respectively. Joseph Pitard (sixth, 17:11), Gram Denning (seventh, 17:14), Brooks Reddy (eighth, 17:32) and Eric Alexander (ninth, 17:45) comprised the Spartan’s front-running corps. The Spartans also dominated the junior varsity division, earning perfect scores (15) in both the girls and boys races. Mountain Brook will return to action this weekend at the Nike Portland Cross Country Invitational in Portland, Oregon. NOTABLE ALUMNI The Birmingham-Southern volleyball team went 2-0 over the weekend, including a win over Centre on Sunday in which Emmy Kilgore contributed 14 kills. Emory University’s volleyball team played three matches over the weekend, with Sara Carr racking up 27 kills and 11 digs. Tatum Jackson had a Rutgers team-best 41 pars in the Nittany Lion Invitational, completed on Sunday.

FOOTBALL SNAGS REGION WIN

Photo Credit: Ted Melton