The MCC Athletics Blog

MCC Set For 2012 Baseball Season

2012-01-26T06:28:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

A promising start led to a disappointing finish in Chris Curry's first season at the helm of the Meridian Community College baseball program.

Now the former Eagle standout is hoping a few key returnees, improved pitching depth and having his program established leads MCC back to its former heights.

“I think the ending last year was a team that didn't know what to expect,” Curry said Monday as the Eagles prepare to open the 2012 season Friday at the First Pitch Baseball Classic in Panama City, Fla. MCC opens against Central Alabama at 11 a.m. “It was a team that didn't have an identity, that didnt understand what it means o be an MCC baseball player. This year, our guys know what to expect.

“Year 1 with a first-year coach is always spent trying to change the culture, trying to get people comfortable with the way you want the program to be run. And there's always turnover with a new coaching staff, getting the right guys in and then teaching them how to play hard the way baseball is supposed to be played.

“Now that we've got that and a good recruiting class, we're very excited. And once you get it rolling, it's always easier.”

Last year – Curry's first after being named Chris Rose's replacement the previous July – MCC raced out to an 8-1 record. However, a lack of quality arms ended up costing the Eagles, as they finished 29-24, including an 0-2 stay at the Region 23 tournament.

In hoping to make sure that quick ending isn't repeated, MCC will be looking to sophomores Wes Stokes, a West Lauderdale product, and Michael Manley to head the staff. As freshmen, Stokes and Manley led the Eagles in innings pitched, as Stokes fired 71 1/3 innings in crafting a 6-2 record with a 4.79 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Manley, meanwhile, threw 61 innings and finished 7-2 with a 3.54 ERA and 58 strikeouts.

Once again, those two will be heavily depended upon, as will Dalton Short.

“I expect them not to be surprised or rattled by anything when we get to our tough conference games,” Curry said. “They know what they're getting into, and I expect them to give us a quality start every time out there, getting into the sixth and seventh innings every time. And while they can't control if we're ahead or behind, they just need to limit the offensive production of the other team.

“They need to be a veteran, calming presence out there on the mound by setting the tempo and being aggressive and then making big pitches.”

However, the second-year head coach is hoping an influx of talented arms means more balance. Sophomore transfers Jackson Lowery and Brandon Hallford are being counted on to provide innings for the Eagles, who also added former Lamar standout Witt Haggard as a transfer from the Ole Miss football team. Quitman product Josh Lee also returns on the mound for MCC, which also added left-hander Jace Belcher from the Panthers.

“Last year, we just didn't have any depth on the mound,” Curry said. “After three or four guys it really dropped off, and through recruiting coach (Dillon) Sudduth has addressed that by adding a lot of good arms.

“For 200 years, they key to winning baseball games has been pitching. And I feel like we've answered those questions.”

And if the Eagles can improve on the mound, it will alleviate some pressure on the MCC offense, which will be led by sophomore catcher Wade Wass. Wass was named an All-Star last summer playing in the Northwoods League following a freshman season that saw him hit .370 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.

“I feel like a baseball team is built from behind the plate on out,” Curry said. “So having him back is tremendous.”

MCC will need him to maintain that production as they try and replace All-American second baseman Kenny Roberts, the former Meridian High star that is now at Alabama; center fielder Ben Kingsley who hit a team-high 19 home runs on his way to Delta State; and former West Lauderdale standout Darren Farmer, who is now at Grambling State.

Still, the loss of those stars did not come as a surprise and Curry is hopeful the Eagles have the right mix to help lessen those departures. In addition to returning third baseman Dustin James, who hit .349 in his first season after starring at West, the Eagles are also looking for help from sophomore Johnny Tolson at shortstop, freshman Johnathan Youngblood in center field and LSU transfer Samuel Peterson, who will spell Wass at catcher and also will pitch some. Tolson hit .296 in 21 games last year. MCC also has added West product Trey McPherson and former Meridian High star Dallas Hannah, a transfer from Mississippi State.

“Losing those guys is tough, but every year in junior college baseball yo are replacing half your team,” Curry said. “We knew that, we planned for that and recruited around that. With Kenny being an All-American you don't really replace that, you hope to find someone that can kind of step in. We're excited to see who will be this year's All-American.

“Johnny, when he is healthy, is as good as anyone, I think, in junior college baseball at shortstop. And with Ben, you lose 19 home runs in center field and I don't think we'll see that again. But with Johnathan Youngblood, a 30th-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves, we add some speed and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield as well as create havoc at the top of the order. You lose some but you add some, too.”

MCC Falls To Marion Military Institute

2012-01-22T16:05:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Eagles were looking to continue its recent momentum after take a huge road win at Jones County Junior College on Thursday night, but Marion Military Institute had other ideas on Sunday afternoon. Eric Russell drained a three-point basket with one minute remaining in the game and the Tigers added a pair of free throws down the stretch to take a 61-56 road victory over the Eagles.

MCC dropped its overall record to 5-12 for the season and will return to action Tuesday night at Chattanooga State beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Eagles opened the game by shooting the ball well and took a 17-14 lead over the Tigers with 12:33 left in the first half. Trent Tucker scored 10 of the first 17 points for the Eagles and Prince Williams added an early three-point baskets in the early stages of the game.

Marion Military Institute went on a 10-0 run in the final 4:27 of the first half to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. The two teams exchanged the lead eight different times in the first half and were tied three times. The Eagles slowly chipped away at the lead and took a 51-45 lead with 8:28 remaining in the game. Kaylim Noel had a three-point basket and a dunk to lead the late charge for Meridian.

The Tigers answered the run by MCC with 11 unanswered points to take a 56-51 lead with 3:59 left in the game. Russell led Marion Military Institute with five points in the 11-0 run. The Eagles answered the scoring run by the Tigers by scoring the next five points to tie the game at 56-56 with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Russell put the game away for Marion Military Institute with a three-point basket and a pair of free throws in the final minute to give the Tigers the five-point road victory.

Tucker led the Eagles with 16 points and Noel had 12 points in the setback for MCC. Russell finished the game with 19 points to lead the Tigers.

MCC Sweeps Jones

2012-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles rebounded from a difficult 12-point loss on Sunday to Wallace-Hanceville to take a huge 81-68 road victory over Jones County Junior College on Thursday night. The Lady Eagles improved to 8-9 overall for the season and JCJC dropped its overall record to 9-4. Chasity Kearney led the way in scoring for MCC with 14 points and Kia Morris added 10 points in the win.

The Meridian Community College Eagles completed the sweep by taking a 71-70 win over the Bobcats. Kaylim Noel led the Eagles with 20 points and Giovanni Smith added 16 points for MCC. Smith finished the game by draining five three-point baskets for the Eagles. Meridian improved to 5-11 with the win and Jones dropped its record to 7-7.

West Lauderdale Star Inks With MCC

2012-01-19T11:15:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team has taken pride in signing some of the best local prospects from the area and the Eagles added another player to that impressive list. West Lauderdale senior infielder Grant Hill signed his national letter of intent to continue his baseball career next season at Meridian Community College.

“It is always a pleasure to get a player from West Lauderdale because of the great job that Coach Boatner does in teaching the game of baseball to his guys,” said MCC head coach Chris Curry. “West Lauderdale has a great tradition of producing some of the best talent in our area and we are excited about this addition to our program.”

Hill plays shortstop for the Knights and handled the bat very well in his junior campaign by posting a .383 batting average to lead West Lauderdale into the playoffs last season.

“He (Hill) is a real hard-nosed player that can play several different positions and we feel that he is the type of player that can help us continue our championship tradition at Meridian,” added Curry.

Meridian Community College has three former West Lauderdale players on its roster heading into the 2012 season and those include: Wes Stokes, Dustin James, and Trey McPherson.

Two Local Players Join MCC Baseball

2012-01-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team has built a solid reputation on recruiting some of the best local prospects in our area. Witt Haggard and Dallas Hannah are the newest additions to the MCC baseball team and will look to make an immediate impact this season.

“We are very excited to have two local players from our community joining our baseball team,” said MCC head coach Chris Curry. “These two players were very successful high school players who had the opportunity to play Division I athletics and they have decided to pursue their careers a little closer to home.”

Haggard is transferring to MCC after being a member of the Ole Miss football team the past two seasons as a walk-on at quarterback.

“I am very excited to be back a little closer to home,” said Haggard. “This is a great group of guys that I am around and I love the atmosphere here at Meridian. I am looking forward to the season and hope to make an impact for our team.”

Haggard lettered in both baseball and football in high school at Lamar. Witt played baseball for current Lamar head coach Bill Baldner and played football under the direction of Mac Barnes. Haggard was named All-State in both football and baseball at Lamar during his senior year.

“He (Haggard) has a great arm and I believe once he finds his command he will be able to help us this season,” added Curry.

Hannah is transferring to MCC after being a member of the Mississippi State baseball team and played his high school baseball at Meridian High School for Chuck Butler.

“I am thankful that Coach Curry and the staff have given me this opportunity to come play for a great program,” said Hannah. “I am glad to be a little closer to home and thankful to be involved in such a great baseball program.”

Hannah was also a member of the Meridian High School football and soccer team while at MHS. Hannah was named All-Region and offensive player of the year in his senior season at Meridian High School.

“He (Hannah) can do a variety of things on the field and I think he will be very valuable for us during the season,” said Curry.

MCC opens the 2012 season January 27 on the road in Panama City, FL as a part of the First Pitch Classic against Central Alabama.

Wallace-Hanceville Sweeps MCC

2012-01-15T16:06:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles were looking to extend its current winning streak to three games on Sunday afternoon, but the Wallace-Hanceville Lady Lions had other ideas. Wallace-Hanceville outscored MCC 14-2 in the final three minutes to take an 83-71 victory over the Lady Eagles on the second day of the 2012 Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic at Graham Gymnasium.

Meridian (7-9) led 43-33 at the end of the first half, but the Lady Lions opened the second half on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 43-43 with 17:57 left in the game. The two teams exchanged the lead for much of the second half, but Wallace-Hanceville would take control of the game in final three minutes to secure the road victory over Meridian.

Wallace-Hanceville (11-6) finished the game on a 14-2 run and left Meridian with the road victory over the Lady Eagles.

MCC was led by Chasity Kearney with 35 points and TaCouya Allen led the way for Wallace-Hanceville with 23 points. Haley Stewart scored 18 points in the win for the Lady Lions and all of her points came on three-point shots. The Lady Eagles return to action Thursday night on the road at Jones County Junior College beginning at 6 p.m.

The final day of the 2012 Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic begins at noon on Monday with Koscuisko Christian taking on Laurel Home School. The second game of the day begins at 3 p.m. with a girl’s matchup featuring New Hope and Neshoba Central. The boys of New Hope will follow with a game at 4:30 p.m. against Southeast Lauderdale, and the final game of the Classic will feature the Lady Wildcats of Meridian High taking on Provine at 6 p.m.

Wallace-Hanceville (men) 71
MCC 68

The Eagles had an opportunity to force overtime on the final shot of the game by Kaylim Noel, but MCC would fall short. The final shot by Noel rattled in the goal and out as Wallace-Hanceville escaped with a three-point victory over the Eagles to earn the sweep. The two teams exchanged the lead for most of the second half, but the Lions were able to score several late baskets to take the victory.

Noel ended the game with 12 points and Trent Tucker led the Eagles in scoring with 15 points. Jamalcolm Griffin led the way in scoring for Wallace-Hanceville with 21 points and Jeremy McKay added 20 points in the win for the Lions.

MCC dropped its overall record to 4-11 with the loss and Wallace-Hanceville improved to 13-6 with the victory. The Eagles return to action Thursday night on the road at Jones County Junior College beginning at 8 p.m.

MCC Set To Host 2012 Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic

2012-01-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

Meridian Community College is preparing for an exciting weekend of high school and junior college basketball at Graham Gymnasium. The 2012 Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic will begin this Saturday at Graham Gymnasium and will feature some of the best high school basketball programs from around the state of Mississippi.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to host an event of this magnitude on our campus,” said MCC athletic director and head women’s basketball coach Hilary Allen. “We are bringing some great teams into our gym for an exciting weekend of basketball that will feature some great games. We want to especially thank Rush Hospital for their support of this event and everyone that will be a part of these games too.”

The weekend will feature five teams from the local area and one team from outside the United States. The classic begins Saturday with a boy’s game featuring Laurel and Kemper Academy beginning at 1:30 p.m. The second game on Saturday will be highlighted by the boys’ team from C.I. Gibson High School. This will mark the second straight appearance for C.I. Gibson in the Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic. C.I. Gibson is making the long trip to MCC to play West Lauderdale at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The final two games on Saturday will feature four teams that have been very successful in the high school basketball ranks in Mississippi. The Meridian High Lady Wildcats will renew its rivalry with Starkville on Saturday beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Wildcats are currently 13-4 after an impressive road victory over Petal Tuesday night. The final game on Saturday will feature two teams that are currently ranked in the top five in the state of Mississippi. Hattiesburg and Forest Hill will take to the floor at 6 p.m. to conclude the first day of action at Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic. Hattiesburg is currently ranked second in the state among 6A teams according to the latest Clarion Ledger Basketball Poll and Forest Hill is ranked fifth in the state entering the contest Saturday night.

The classic will take a break from high school basketball on Sunday as Meridian Community College will take to the floor with a doubleheader against Wallace-Hanceville. The Lady Eagles will play at 2 p.m. and the MCC men will take to the floor at 4 p.m. The MCC women are currently 6-8 entering the weekend and the MCC men are 4-9 overall for the season. MCC will play East Mississippi Community College on Thursday night before the Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic begins with a doubleheader at Graham Gymnasium. The Lady Eagles will play EMCC at 6 p.m. and the men will follow at 8 p.m. The Lady Lions will enter with a 4-7 record and the EMCC men will enter the game with an 8-2 record.

The final day of the Rush Extravaganza Basketball Classic will be Monday and will feature three local teams. Neshoba Central (girls), Southeast Lauderdale (boys), and Meridian High (girls) will be in action on Monday at MCC. Neshoba Central will play New Hope beginning at 3 p.m. and Southeast Lauderdale will play New Hope in boy’s action beginning at 4:30 p.m. The final game of the classic will feature Meridian High and Provine at 6 p.m.

MCC Falls To Pensacola

2012-01-05T18:18:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles were hoping that its first game of the new year would be an upset victory over the number five ranked Pensacola Lady Pirates, but MCC would fall just short in their first game of 2012. Pensacola was able to hold off a furious comeback by MCC in the final minutes to escape with 67-64 win over the Lady Eagles at Graham Gymnasium Thursday night. The Lady Pirates entered the contest ranked fifth according to the latest NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Poll, but Meridian fought hard throughout much of the contest.

Pensacola (15-1) led 36-30 at the end of the first half, but MCC came out shooting the ball well to open the second half of action. Sophomore Chasity Kearney opened the half with a pair of baskets and Gelese Lampton added a pair of baskets to give MCC a 38-36 with 18:52 left in the game. The Lady Pirates answered the furious run by MCC by taking one of its largest leads of the game at 49-40 with 15:45 left in the second half. Ronika Ransford scored eight points in the 11-2 run for the Lady Pirates.

Pensacola built its lead to double figures on several occasions, but the Lady Eagles closed the gap in the final moments to have an opportunity at the win. MCC cut the lead to two points in the final minute of action, but Pensacola would be able to hold off the Lady Eagles on several possessions down the stretch to take the three-point win.

Kearney finished the game with 14 points for MCC and Norianna Haynes ended the night with 15 points. Meridian dropped its overall record to 5-8 with the loss to the Lady Pirates. MCC will return to action this Saturday on the road against Northeast Mississippi Community College. The Lady Eagles will play at 2 p.m. and the MCC men will play its first game of the new year against Northeast at 4 p.m.

The next scheduled home game for MCC will be January 12 against East Mississippi Community College. The women’s game will begin at 6 p.m. and the men will tip-off at 8 p.m.

Jones Sweeps Past MCC

2011-12-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats came to Graham Gymnasium Thursday night and had their way with the Meridian Community College Lady Eagles. Alecia Autman led the Lady Bobcats with 24 points and 10 rebounds to propel JCJC to an 84-72 victory over MCC. Jones improved to 6-2 with the road victory and Meridian dropped to 4-4 for the season.

Jones took its largest lead of the first half behind the solid shooting from Alecia Autman to make the score 28-17 with 9:22 left in the half. The Lady Eagles responded with a furious scoring run to tie the game at 29-29 with 5:32 left in the first half. The scoring was led by a pair of baskets in the paint by Chasity Kearney and a couple of long range shots by Gelese Lampton.

Jones was able to take a 39-34 lead at the end of the first half behind a pair of three-point baskets by Lauren Douglas. The Lady Bobcats were led by Autman with 14 points at the end of the first half and Lampton led MCC with 12 points at the break. JCJC was able to hold former Northeast Lauderdale standout Norianna Haynes to no points after one half.

The Lady Bobcats came out of the locker room and continued its great shooting and built its biggest lead of the game by a score of 55-39. Jones forced four Meridian turnovers and produced points on each trip down the floor to take the 16-point lead with 15:40 left in the game.

The Lady Eagles started a slow comeback and cut the Jones lead to 61-52 with 8:14 left in the game. Kearney led the charge with two more baskets and CalNitra White provided some spark off the bench with four points. The Lady Eagles continued to trim the lead and made the score 62-56 with 6:27 left in the game. Haynes scored her first basket of the game and Lampton added to her impressive total with an easy basket to bring MCC to within six points.

The Lady Bobcats fought off the late charge by Meridian and ran away with the 84-72 win. Lauren Douglas added 21 points for the Lady Bobcats and Kearney led the way with 23 points for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles will return to action Saturday on the road at Coahoma Community College. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off.

Jones (men) 97
MCC 76

The Bobcats used a big scoring night from Kelvin Nixon and solid rebounding to take the 21-point win over the Eagles. Jones improved to 5-4 with the victory and MCC dropped to 2-7 with the home loss.

The Bobcats led Meridian 47-36 at the end of the first half and JCJC was led by Nixon with 12 points at the break. The Eagles struggled in the first half of action by missing 13 shots from the free throw line and Kevin Williams led MCC with eight points after one half.

JCJC built several large leads in the second half and cruised to the 97-76 road win. Nixon led the Bobcats in scoring with 25 points and Courtney Mack added 15 points for JCJC. Kaylim Noel led Meridian with 15 points and Williams ended the game with 13points.

Meridian will return to action on Saturday on the road at Coahoma Community College. The game is slated for a 5 p.m. tip-off.

Three MCC Baseball Players Receive Preseason Honors

2011-11-29T06:32:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The 2012 Meridian Community College baseball season is just around the corner and three MCC players have already received preseason honors. Wade Wass, Jonny Youngblood, and Samuel Peterson have been ranked in the 2012 Perfect Game Top 100 JUCO Prospects in the country.

"Having three guys ranked in the top 100 players in the country speaks to the level of respect our program has gained nationally," said MCC head baseball coach Chris Curry. "It's also a compliment to Wade, Jonny, and Samuel for all their hard work. We look forward to them using their skills to help the Eagles compete for championships in the spring."

Sophomore catcher Wade Wass is the highest ranked player from MCC according to Perfect Game ranked at number 30. Wass has already committed to the University of Alabama and will look to build on a solid freshman campaign in 2010. Wass smashed 11 home runs last season for the Eagles and ended the year with a .370 batting average.

Jonny Youngblood is ranked at 52 according to Perfect Game and will look to make an immediate impact in the spring for MCC. Youngblood enters his first season with MCC and was drafted in the 30th round by the Atlanta Braves this past summer in the amateur draft. Youngblood will look to add speed and power to the top of the MCC lineup in 2012.

Samuel Peterson is ranked 83 according to Perfect Game and transferred to Meridian this season from LSU. Peterson will be a very valuable asset to the Eagles this spring and will see plenty of action at several different positions.

MCC Basketball Splits With Northeast Mississippi

2011-11-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles used a fierce second half run to secure an 84-76 victory over Northeast Mississippi Community College on Monday night at Graham Gymnasium. The Lady Eagles trailed Northeast Mississippi 41-35 at the end of the first half and used an early scoring run in the opening minutes of the second half to take its first lead of the game.

Chasity Kearney led the charge for MCC with a pair of baskets and Arnissa Galloway drained a pair of shots to give the Lady Eagles a 45-44 lead with 17:13 left in the game. The two teams swapped the lead for most of the second half, but Meridian would hold off the Lady Tigers for the victory.

Kearney led the Lady Eagles with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Galloway added 17 points and 17 rebounds. Gelese Lampton scored in double figures for MCC with 13 points and Norianna Haynes ended the night with 11 points. Amber Jackson led Northeast Mississippi with 17 points and Anna Brooke Page added 15 points for the Lady Tigers.

Meridian improved to 4-2 with the win and Northeast Mississippi dropped its overall record to 3-3 for the season. The Lady Eagles will return to action Saturday at home against Georgia Perimeter. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Graham Gymnasium.

Northeast (men) 80
MCC 78

The Tigers scored a basket in the final minute of play and held off a charge by Meridian to escape with a two-point victory. The Eagles held a 38-37 lead at the end of the first half and both teams swapped the lead for much of the second half, but the Tigers prevailed in the last minute of the game.

Goivanni Smith led the way for the Eagles with 21 points and Gentry Hines ended the game with 13 in the loss for Meridian. The Eagles dropped its overall record to 2-6 for the season and Northeast Mississippi improved to 6-0 with the road win.

MCC will return to action December 8 against Jones County Junior College at home with the game scheduled for an 8 p.m. start at Graham Gymnasium.

Easton Key Signs With Arkansas State

2011-11-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

Meridian Community College golf standout Easton Key signed his letter of intent on Monday afternoon to continue his golf career with Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AK. Key led the Eagles during the 2011 fall season to three tournament championships and a number one team ranking.

“We are very excited for him (Key) to get this opportunity to play at the next level,” said MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “He has performed so well in his time here at MCC and he was one of the biggest reasons for our success during the fall season. He is a very special player and we know he will have the same success at the next level of his golf career that he had at MCC.”

Key is the seventh ranked junior college player in the nation on GolfStat.com’s Top 100 NJCAA Player Watch List. Over his two-year career at Meridian, Key has been named to nine all-tournament teams and recorded three sub-70 rounds with a best of 65 at the 2010 Wallace State Invitational.

He currently holds the team’s best average at 73 strokes per round and is a team captain.

He has led Meridian, ranked as the No. 1 NJCAA team in the nation by GolfStat.com and the NJCAA, to three tournament victories and two runner-up finishes, this fall.

“Easton is one of the top junior college players in the country,” said Arkansas State coach Steve Johnson. “He’s proven to be a very consistent player, being able to shoot sub-par rounds on a variety of courses. We are definitely looking forward to adding his tournament experience to what will be a relatively young roster next year.”

Key was named to three All-Tournament Teams during the 2011 fall season and led the team with a scoring average of 71.4, and tied an MCC record with a 65 during the second round of the Wallace State Fall Invitational. Key has been named to six career All-Tournament Teams and has helped MCC to a 166-24-1 record during his carrer.

Key attended Lamar School in Meridian, helping lead the Raiders to five consecutive state championships. He was a two-time all-state selection, carried the lowest average on the team and won the Raider Award as a senior. He also lettered in cross country for the Raiders.

Three MCC Baseball Players Sign For Next Level

2011-11-16T11:30:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball program continued its reach history of success by paving the future for three players on its current team. Wade Wass, Jackson Lowery, and Brandon Hallford all signed their national letters of intent to continue their careers Tuesday afternoon on the campus of Meridian Community College.

“We are very excited for these young men and their futures at the next level,” said MCC head coach Chris Curry. “These guys signed with three quality programs and we know that they will be very successful.”

Sophomore Wade Wass signed his letter of intent to play next season with the University of Alabama. Wass is a native of Pensacola, FL and attended Pensacola Catholic High School. Wass was third on the team last season with 11 home runs and collected 39 RBI. Wass batted .370 for the Eagles and played several different positions on the field in 2011 for Meridian.

Wass also played for Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers of the Northwoods League during the summer and earned the Rawlings “Finest In The Field” Award for being the top defensive catcher in the league. Wass will become the second player to sign with the baseball program at Alabama after Kenny Roberts signed with the Crimson Tide this past spring.

“We are very excited to have another member of the Meridian Community College baseball team to join our program here at the University of Alabama,” said Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard. “He (Wass) is a young man we feel can make an immediate impact with our team. He is a high character student-athlete with a desire to continue his development. He has a proven track record and we feel this will continue here at Alabama.”

Sophomore pitcher Brandon Hallford signed with the University of South Alabama on Tuesday and will look to make an immediate impact for the Jaguars. Hallford had a very successful freshman season in 2011 by making 20 appearances on the mound for the Eagles and collecting a 3-1 record. Hallford made most of his appearances out of the bullpen during the 2011 season, but made a pair of key starts on the mound in the postseason for the Eagles. Hallford is a native of Theodore, AL and attended Theodore High School.

Sophomore pitcher Jackson Lowery was the third and final player to sign his letter of intent Tuesday for the Eagles. Lowery has signed to continue his career with the University of Arkansas. Lowery transferred to MCC this season from the University of Central Arkansas where he was one of the key components in the bullpen. Lowery finished the 2011 season for UCA with a 4.66 ERA and recorded a 1-1 record, to go along with 15 appearances out of the bullpen. Lowery is a native of Little Rock, AR and attended Pulaski Academy.

MCC Sweeps Hinds

2011-11-14T20:27:00.001-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles had to mount a furious comeback in the second half of action Monday night to take a 95-80 victory over Hinds Community College at Graham Gymnasium. Meridian improved to 2-0 for the season and got another solid offensive night from sophomore Chasity Kearney to lead the way for MCC. Kearney finished the night with 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead the charge in the second half for the Lady Eagles.

“We played very well in the second half and I am proud of how hard we fought,” said MCC head coach Hilary Allen. “We got some great performances tonight and it was a great home victory early in the season for our team.”

Hinds held the lead at the end of the first half by a score of 46-43, but the Lady Eagles would begin to chip away at the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. MCC took its first lead of the second half with 16:45 left on a 10-0 scoring run to make the score 56-51. Kearney led the charge with a several baskets and one three-point bucket to give Meridian the five-point edge. The Lady Eagles built its lead to ten points later in the half on a pair of long jump shots by Norianna Haynes to make the score 61-51 with 12:23 left in the second half.

Hinds started to slowly make a comeback of its own to cut the score to 72-67 with 9:30 left in the game. Michelle Stewart hit a pair of three-point jumpers in the scoring run for the Lady Bulldogs, but Meridian would eventually find a way to hold on for the victory.

Freshman Gelese Lampton hit a pair of baskets and sophomore Kia Morris added a pair of buckets late in the half to build the Meridian to 82-71 with 7:37 left in the game. Meridian ran away with the rest of the game and forced several turnovers that led to easy baskets to make the final score 95-80.

Lampton ended the game with 17 points and Haynes ended her evening with 14 points. Carmen Smith led the way in scoring for Hinds with 22 points and Stewart ended the game with 18 points. Hinds dropped its record to 0-4 overall for the season.

The Lady Eagles return to action Thursday on the road at Wallace-Hanceville beginning at 5:30 p.m. MCC will return to Graham Gymnasium this Saturday against Coahoma beginning at 3 p.m.

MCC (men) 77
Hinds 70

First year MCC head coach Nathan Courtney secured his first coaching win for the Eagles with a hard fought seven-point victory over the Bulldogs.

Hinds held a slim 36-35 at the end of the first half and both exchanged the lead for a majority of the second half. The Bulldogs held the lead for most of the second half, but MCC would take the lead first one of first times in the second half. Timothy Jones drained a pair of baskets to give the Eagles a 64-63 lead with 3:59 left in the game.

The two teams swapped the lead for the next two minutes, but Nick Waters would give the Eagles its biggest spark of the night in the final moments of the game. The former Meridian High standout secured a three-point play for the Eagles with 1:44 left to make the score 71-68 in favor of MCC.

The Eagles added to its small lead moments later on a basket by Kevin Williams to make the score 73-68 with 1:11 left in the second half. MCC came up with two more stops on defense and secured the game from the free throw line to take its first win of the season.

Timothy Jones led the way for MCC with 14 points and Emmanuel Okoro added 13 in the victory for the Eagles. Waters finished the game for MCC with 11 points and Carlo McDonald led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 points.

The Eagles return to action Thursday on the road at Wallace-Hanceville beginning at 7:30 and will return home this Saturday against Coahoma at 5 p.m.

MCC Basketball Schedule Change

2011-11-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College basketball games scheduled for November 10 against East Mississippi Community College have been rescheduled for February 13 according to school officials. The games are still scheduled for 5:30 and 7:30 on the campus of East Mississippi Community College. The MCC Lady Eagles will return to action on November 14 against Hinds Community College at home beginning at 6 p.m. The Meridian Community College Eagles will return to the court this Saturday on the road at Marion Military Institute beginning at 7 p.m. The Eagles will return to Graham Gymnasium November 14 against Hinds Community College.

The Lady Eagles are currently 1-0 after an 87-73 victory earlier this week over Alabama Southern and the MCC men are currently 0-1 after a 71-68 loss at the hands of Alabama Southern.

MCC Basketball Splits With Alabama Southern

2011-11-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

From School Reports

The Alabama Southern Community College Eagles spoiled the debut of first year Meridian Community College head coach Nathan Courtney with a 71-68 victory at Graham Gymnasium on Monday night. The Eagles had several opportunities late in the game to seal its first victory under the direction of Courtney, but Alabama Southern was able to hold off several MCC scoring runs late in the game.

“We are just a very immature and selfish team right now this early in the season,” said Courtney. “We just didn’t make shots when we needed to and it is a very tough way to start the season.

Alabama Southern carried a 35-31 lead into halftime, but MCC battled back behind the superb play of a pair of newcomers. Goivanni Smith drained a three-point basket and Nick Waters added a pair of free throws to bring MCC to with striking distance at 39-38 with 16:37 left in the game. Waters continued his hot shooting moments later with a jumper to give the Eagles a 40-39 edge with 15:37 left in the second half.

MCC opened its largest lead of the game with a three point bucket from Kevin Williams to give the Eagles a 55-49 advantage with 9:37 left in the second half. Alabama Southern battled back later in the half to take the lead away from Meridian on a pair of three point shots by Kendrick Atwood to give the visiting Eagles a 60-5lead with 5:44 remaining in the game.

Alabama Southern built a lead as large as six points, but Meridian fought back late in the second half to take the lead from the visiting Eagles. Williams drained a wide open three-point basket to give MCC a 66-65 lead with 1:51 left in the game.

The two teams exchanged the lead three separate times, but Alabama Southern scored a basket from Rodney Williams with 37 seconds left to take a 69-68 lead over Meridian. The Eagles had one last defensive stand in the final 20 seconds as Kaylim Noel came up with a huge steal at half court to set-up the final shot of the game for MCC. Waters drove to the basket for a jumper to give MCC the lead, but the former Meridian High standout came up short to keep the score at 69-68 with 14 seconds left. Alabama Southern drained a pair of free throws to take a three-point lead, but MCC would come up empty in its final shot to fall to Alabama Southern 71-68.

Williams led the way in scoring for Meridian with 20 points and Smith added 14 points in the tough home loss for MCC. The Eagles will return to action this Saturday on the road at Marion Military Institute at 7 p.m.

MCC (women) 87
Alabama Southern 73

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles opened the 2011-2012 season with an impressive 87-73 victory over Alabama Southern at Graham Gymnasium Monday night. The Eagles got several huge performances on the offensive end of the floor, but the biggest night belonged to sophomore Chasity Kearney of the green and white. Kearney scored a team-high 25 points to lead the way for the Lady Eagles in the opening game of the season.

“We played well for our first game of the season and I thought that we got a little tired late in the game,” MCC head coach Hilary Allen said. “We shot the ball very well in the second half and made some things happen. It was a great first game for our team and we had some players with some great nights on both sides of the floor.”

Meridian struggled out of the gates and trailed Alabama Southern 18-15, but the Lady Eagles scored 15 unanswered points to take a 30-18 lead with 10:12 left in the first half. Kearney led the way with during the 15-0 for the Lady Eagles with six points and Norianna Haynes had four points during the scoring spurt for MCC.

Alabama Southern chipped away at the Meridian lead by closing the margin to 40-35 with 3:11 left in the first half, but the Lady Eagles would go another impressive run just before the end of the half. Deirda Hawkins and Kearney each scored a basket to extend the lead to 44-35 with just under a minute to play in the half, but Gelese Lampton added a three-point bucket just before the buzzer to give MCC a 48-35 lead at halftime.

Alabama Southern opened the second half on a small scoring run to close to within five points, but Meridian would run away with the game in the second half to claim the 87-73 victory. Haynes added 15 points and Lampton scored in double figures with 12 points.

The Lady Eagles return to action next Monday at home against Hinds Community College at 6 p.m.

MCC Golf Ends Fall Season

2011-11-01T13:32:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team ended the 2011 fall season with a second place finish Tuesday in the Central Alabama Community College Fall Invitational. MCC finished the tournament with a 5-over par 581 team score which was 19 strokes back of Central Alabama which captured the tournament championship. The Eagles ended a very successful fall season with three tournament wins, two second place finishes, and a pair of number rankings under the direction of first year head coach Clinton Hales.

“We are very pleased with our overall fall season,” said Hales. “We are of course very disappointed in the way we finished the fall part of the season, but we played some very good teams this week. We give a lot of credit to Central Alabama and the way they played on their home course.”

Sophomore Easton Key led the Eagles in the two-day event with a 5-under 139 score to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the CACC Fall Invitational. The former Lamar standout earned All-Tournament Team honors on three different occasions during the fall season for the Eagles.

Freshman T.J. Morgan fired a 1-under 143 to finish tied for fourth place in the tournament for Meridian.

2011-2012 MCC Men's Basketball Preview

2011-11-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

From School Reports & The Meridian Star

Nathan Courtney enters his first season as the head basketball coach at Meridian Community College and the excitement is building for the open of the 2011-2012 season for the Eagles. The Eagles finished the 2010-2011 season with a 19-11 overall record and the picture is a little unclear for MCC coming into the new season, but Courtney is pleased with the support for the program.

“Anytime you come into a new situation, it’s important to have the support and the backing of the people that have hired you,” Courtney said. “I’ve had unbelievable support from the people.”

Courtney comes to Meridian from Indian Hills Community College where he served as assistant coach for the Warriors. IHCC won 84 percent of its games and averaged 29 wins a season while Courtney was on the staff, and made a pair of appearances in national tournament.

Now with the Eagles, Courtney has set about changing the image of the Eagles basketball team, and it begins in the classroom.

“When you are at a new program, the biggest thing is changing the culture,” Courtney added. “When we wake up we do breakfast check and I personally run study hall for the guys that aren’t in class. I make sure they’re doing the academic side of it and it’s not just basketball here.”

Heading into the 2011-2012 season the Eagles will take a multi-dimensional approach on the hardwood. Defensively, MCC will use a variety of defenses, ranging from a zone to a man-to-man.

"You better be able to do everything," Courtney said. "We will be, primarily, a man-to-man defensive team, get back and protect the basket. However, if you have to press, you press; if you have to play zone, you play zone. We have all that in now where we can press, man, zone, three-quarter court press; 2-2-1 press; Diamond and one press.

"You got to be able to run, jump, scramble. Physically, you put in what you think your players can take. Mentally, you pack as much as you can into their brains because you don't know what you're going to need at a particular time.”

The 2011-12 Eagles team will feature a mixture of veteran and newcomer talent. This year's team will be led by a trio of sophomore transfers — Kaylim Noel, Kevin Williams and Giovanni Smith.

Joining them are a couple of guys that sat out last year, Trent Tucker and Gentry Hinds. Throw in a freshman class led by former Meridian High guard Nick Waters and the team will be exciting to watch this season.

"I'm really excited about Nick,” Courtney said. “He's easily one of our better guards.

"The thing about Nick is he understands pace. He's not a ‘Go, Go, Go’ type of player or running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He can stop, pivot, find a shooter that's spotted up on the perimeter. He doesn't turn it over a lot and has an unbelievable control of the game."

The Eagles are scheduled to begin the home portion of its 2011-2012 schedule November 7 against Alabama Southern at Graham Gymnasium. The Eagles will tip-off at 8p.m.

2011-2012 MCC Women Basketball Preview

2011-11-01T06:27:00.001-07:00

From School Reports & The Meridian Star

For the Meridian Community College women’s basketball team, watching Copiah-Lincoln celebrate a Region 23 Championship last season was a bittersweet pill to swallow. However, with a new season comes new opportunities and, for the Lady Eagles, the time is now.

“We were extremely disappointed last year,” MCC coach Hilary Allen said. “But through disappointment comes resolve. Each member of this team has worked harder to make this a better team.”

The Lady Eagles finished the 2010 season with 27 victories and was led by one of the better freshman classes in the region. In 2011, those freshman are now sophomores and make the Lady Eagles a favorite to repeat as Miss-Lou Conference Champions.

“Having four sophomores in the starting lineup is a big plus,” Allen added. “Having more sophomores coming off the bench with 33 games experience is a big plus as well.”

The Lady Eagles come into the season led by former Northeast Lauderdale star Norianna Haynes, who averaged 20 points per game as a freshman. Haynes finished the 2010 season as an All-American honorable mention. Joining Haynes on the court this year is Miss-Lou Conference MVP Chasity Kearney, who averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds, Arnissa Galloway, who averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Kia Norris. Norris missed the first half of last season because of eligibility issues but came on board for the second half of the year.

Joining the sophomores is another talented freshman class led by Gelese Lampton from Hattiesburg and Ashtin McNichols from Newton High School.

The Lady Eagles are scheduled to open the home portion of its 2011-2012 season against Alabama Southern November 7 at Graham Gymnasium. The MCC women are set to tip-off at 6 p.m.

MCC Golf In Second Place At CACC Invitational

2011-11-01T06:07:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team finds themselves in second place after day one of the 2011 Central Alabama Community College Fall Invitational being held at Willow Point Country Club in Alexander City, Alabama. The top ranked Eagles struggled to a 2-over par 290 team score (best four out of five) to trail host Central Alabama by seven shots with 18 holes left to play. The Eagles were led by Freshman T.J. Morgan who shot 2-under par 70, which was also good enough for 2nd place individually. Meridian native Easton Key also carded another under par round as he posted a first-round score of 71. Alex Grannon, Dylan Brown, and Jake Stirling shot 74, 75, and 76 respectively.

"We weren't as sharp as we have been playing, especially on the greens. We had quite a few three-putts, but the good news is that we are well within striking distance of the leaders, but we will have to play a lot better tomorrow to have a chance to win" said first-year head coach, Clinton Hales.

MCC tees off at 9:20 on Tuesday with 18 holes scheduled to be played. The Eagles are looking for their fourth victory out of five tournaments on the season

MCC Soccer Ends Season

2011-10-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles fought to the very end in its Region 23 Championship match with the Lady Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast, but overtime would be very unkind to Meridian. Gulf Coast scored a goal from Skyler Dellancer in the final 24 seconds of sudden death overtime to defeat the Lady Eagles by a final score of 1-0 on Saturday night in Perkinston, MS.

MCC ends the season with a 7-6-2 overall record and was led by a great performance by keeper Chasity Robertson with 13 saves. Mississippi Gulf Coast also won the men's Region 23 Championship over Pearl River Saturday night by a final score of 2-0.

The MCC men were eliminated from the Region 23 Tournament on Friday night after a 3-1loss to Pearl River. Steven Smith scored the lone goal in the loss for the Eagles in the first half of action. The Eagles held a 1-0 lead after one half of play, but the Wildcats scored three unanswered goals in the second half. MCC ended the season with an overall record of 1-13.

The MCC women will lose seven sophomores after their superb play in 2011 and those include: Chasity Robertson, Brooke Dew, Melanie McCaskill, Courtney Green, Chelsea Jensen, Dana Warnock, and Chelsea Byrd. The MCC men will graduate six sophomores from this season and those include: Matthew Goudie, Michael Brann, Steven Smith, Eugene Gaseb, Reed Scarbrough, and Ben Jordan.

MCC Golf Ranked Number One

2011-10-24T08:37:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team has built a very impressive early season list of accomplishments and the Eagles added one more to that list Monday morning. MCC was named as the top golf team in the country according to the newly released NJCAA Division I golf poll. The Eagles were named the number one team last week according to the latest Golfstat.com poll and this marks the first time in school history that the MCC golf team has been ranked number one in two different major golf polls.

“We are very honored to be named the number one team, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” said first year MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “I still see plenty of areas that we need some improvement and we have a long road ahead of us with the big part of our schedule coming up in the spring.”

MCC started the fall season with a tournament win in the Wallace State Invitational and followed that victory with a second place finish behind Central Alabama in the Jim Redgate Invitational. The Eagles bounced back with two more tournament wins in the month of October which included a victory at the District Preview in Coco Beach, FL and a victory at the MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational in Gulfport, MS.

The three wins for MCC this fall is the best among all teams in the country and the Eagles return to action October 31-November 1 taking part in the Central Alabama Invitational in Alexander City, AL.

MCC Golf Wins Third Tournament of 2011 Fall Season

2011-10-18T14:20:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team continued its winning ways on Tuesday with its third tournament championship of the season by securing the top spot in the MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational at Windance Country Club in Gulfport, MS. The Eagles shot a final round score of 296 and finished the tournament with a team score of 580 which was two shots ahead of Darton College for the championship.

“I was very proud of the way we finished,” said MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We had a very tough start to the final round, but we hit some big shots down the stretch that really sealed the victory for us.”

T.J. Morgan had the lowest round on the final day for Meridian with a 72, while Dylan Brown finished the final round with a 74. Brown and Jake Sterling each had crucial birdie putts for Meridian in the final two holes to seal the championship for the Eagles. Sterling ended his final round of play with a 76 and finished in second place overall to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. Brown finished one stroke back of Sterling and earned a third place finish in the field which was good enough to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The second-ranked Meridian Community College Eagles will close out the 2011 fall season October 31-November 1 as the Eagles will take part in the Central Alabama Community College Fall Invitational in Alexander City, AL.

MCC Golf Looking For Another Tournament Win

2011-10-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

After firing an opening round of 4-under par (284), the Meridian Community College golf team finds itself at the top of the leaderboard once again, as the Eagles look to win for the third time to the start of the 2011-2012 season. The Eagles lead five-time national champion Central Alabama Community College and three-time national champion Darton College by five and six shots, respectively in the 2011 MGCCC Holiday Inn Invitational. MCC was led on day 1 by Sophomore Jake Stirling.

The Melbourne, Australia native had five birdies en route to a 4-under par round of 68. Stirling's round was the low round of the tournament during day one, as he'll carry a 1 shot lead into the second round over Central Alabama's Alex Mahlik, who shot 69. Freshman Dylan Brown also shot under par for the Eagles, carding a 1-under par 71. Meridian native and former Lamar School standout, Easton Key, shot even par, 72, while fellow sophomore, Alex Grannon shot a 73. Rounding out the scoring for MCC was Freshman T.J. Morgan, who had a 75.

"We played a solid round of golf today, and I was pleased with that. We didn't try to force too much, which is good because this golf course can make you pay if you do. We will have to play another really good round tomorrow in order to win because Central Alabama is playing good, as is Darton. They both have a lot of experienced players, who are playing well right now" said head coach, Clinton Hales.

MCC will be looking to win for the third time this year after having the lead going into the final round. "We've played well under the pressure of holding the lead so far this season and we hope to be able to do it again on Tuesday" noted Hales.

Final round play begins at 9:20am Tuesday from Windance Country Club in Gulfport, MS.

MCC Soccer Splits With Hinds

2011-10-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles continued its great play Friday night at C.D. Smith with a 2-0 victory over Hinds Community College in junior college soccer action. The Lady Eagles improved to 7-5-1 with the two-goal victory over the visiting Lady Eagles to end the 2011 home portion of its schedule. MCC scored both of its goals in the second half of play and the first goal came from Chelsea Byrd in the opening minutes of the second half to give Meridian a 1-0 lead.

MCC added its final goal of the came to take the 2-0 victory over Hinds. Courtney Green scored on a penalty kick in the final minutes to put the match away for the Lady Eagles.

The Meridian Community College Eagles continued its struggles on Friday night as Hinds secured a 2-1 victory over MCC. The lone goal of the match came from Mark Varnado to tie the game at 1-1 in the second half of action. Hinds scored the game-winning goal in the final minutes of the second half to complete the victory over MCC.

The Eagles fell to 1-12 for the season and have lost nine straight matches after its setback at the hands of Hinds Friday night. Meridian concludes its 2011 regular season with a pair of matches on the road against Union University on October 21 in Jackson, TN. The Lady Eagles will play Union University at 1 p.m. and the MCC men will follow with its match at 3 p.m.

MCC Golf Set For MGCCC Invitational

2011-10-14T11:58:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The #2 ranked Meridian Community College golf team will look to continue its impressive early season success as it travels to Gulfport, MS to play in the Holiday Inn Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, hosted by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Windance Country Club. The Eagles will be looking for their 3rd victory in their first 4 tournaments as they look to improve upon last year's second place finish at this event. The Eagles won their first tournament of the 2011-2012 season, the Wallace State Fall Invitational, by an impressive 14 shots and also won the NJCAA District IV Preview by a whopping 23 shots.

"I'm proud of the way the guys handled the pressure of playing in our District Preview after traveling such a long way. We'll have to be on top of our games again this week as the field is one of the strongest we'll face all year. Great teams like Darton College and Central Alabama will be there this week, so we'll have to be at our best if we want to beat them. They're two of the better teams in the nation".

Freshman Dylan Brown leads the way for the Eagles with a 70.8 scoring average, which helped him secure his first individual medalist honor at the District Preview. Sophomores Alex Grannon, Easton Key, and Jake Stirling are all averaging under 73 strokes per round, and as a team MCC is averaging 282.8 strokes per round (team total is the top 4 out of 5 scores).

Play begins Monday, October 17, with the 36 holes scheduled, followed by 3rd round action on Tuesday, October 18.

MCC Women Fall To Heartland CC

2011-10-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles looked to continue its winning ways Saturday at C.D. Smith Field against Heartland Community College, but things would not fall in the right direction for the Lady Eagles. Heartland scored a goal in each half of action to pitch a shutout of MCC by a final score of 2-0.

The Lady Eagles fell to 6-5-1 overall for the 2011 season and will return to action October 14 against Hinds Community College at 5 p.m. The Meridian Community College Eagles will also be in action against Hinds October 14 at 7 p.m. and both games will be played at C.D. Smith Field. The pair of games against the visiting Eagles will conclude the 2011 regular season home schedule for both the men and women.

MCC Women Tie, MCC Men Fall Short

2011-10-05T15:10:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles continued its solid play as MCC tied Union University of Jackson, TN by a final score of 2-2 at C.D. Smith Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Eagles moved its overall record to 6-4-1 after the tie with its visitors from Tennessee. Pam Gean scored both of the goals for Meridian and pushed her total to 13 goals scored for the 2011 season. MCC will return to action this Saturday as the Lady Eagles will play Heartland Community College at C.D. Smith Field beginning at 11 a.m.

The MCC men played a hard fought match with Union University, but feel short to the visiting Bulldogs by a final score of 2-1. Steven Smith scored the lone goal in the match for the Eagles and all of the scoring in the contest came in the second half of play. The MCC men fell to 1-10 overall for the 2011 season and will return to action October 14 against Hinds Community College at C.D. Smith Field beginning at 7 p.m.

MCC Golf Wins NJCAA District IV Preview Tournament

2011-10-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team won its second tournament of the fall season and won in convincing fashion. The Eagles shot a final round of 285 and took home first place over Central Alabama by 23 strokes to capture the NJCAA District IV Preview Tournament Championship at Rockledge Country Club in Coca Beach, FL. The Eagles are currently ranked fifth in the nation and recorded its best performance of the fall season over the past two days.

“We played great over the course of two days and we played great as a team,” said first year MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We got off to a slow start early on Monday, but put together some great scores over the last couple of rounds. I am extremely proud of the way we played and represented Meridian Community College.”

Jake Streling scored the best final round on the MCC squad with a score of 66 and Alex Grannon ended his final round with a score of 71. Dylan Brown ended his final round with a 73 and Easton Key fired a final round score of 75. T.J. Morgan wrapped up the top final rounds for the Eagles with a score of 77 on Tuesday.

Brown led the way in the two-day event for the Eagles to earn medalist honors with a total score of 206 (7 under par). Grannon and Streling each fired a 208 (5 under par) to give MCC the top three spots on the leaderboard to end the tournament. MCC will return to action October 17-18 in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Holiday Inn Invitational at Windance Golf Course in Gulfport, MS.

MCC Golf Leads After Round One of District Preview

2011-10-04T06:04:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

Freshman Dylan Brown led the Meridian Community College golf team to a 17 shot lead after 36 holes of the District IV Preview Tournament held in Cocoa Beach, Florida at Rockledge Country Club. Brown shot rounds of 68 and 65 to not only stake MCC to the lead in the team portion of the event, but to also grab hold of the individual leader post going into Tuesday's final round. As a team, MCC shot 4 under par, 280, during the first round and carded a 9 under par (275) on the second round for a 555 total. Central Alabama Community College is in second place, followed by the host school, Brevard Community College.

"We played real well today. I'm really proud of the way the guys kept it together. We started out the day pretty bad, but turned it around by the end of the first round and were fortunate to go pretty low in the second round. Hopefully, we can play just as good tomorrow" said head coach, Clinton Hales.

Sophomore Alex Grannon was also able to shoot back-to-back rounds in the sixty's as he shot 68-69. Jake Stirling had consistent play for the Eagles, notching even par rounds of 71, while fellow Sophomore and former Lamar School standout, Easton Key was one shot back with rounds of 73-70. Freshman T.J. Morgan rounded out the scoring for MCC with rounds of 82-72.
Round 2 begins Tuesday at 8:10am.

MCC Women Sweep Rush Invitational Tournament

2011-10-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles enjoyed a great deal of success with a pair of victories in the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament this weekend at C.D. Smith Field. The Lady Eagles opened the tournament with a 3-2 victory on Friday against Middle Georgia College and secured a 5-0 shutout win over Gordon College on Saturday.

MCC improved to 6-4 overall for the 2011 season and has won three straight home matches dating back to its 2-1 victory over Lon Morris last weekend.

MCC held off a late rally on Friday by Middle Georgia to hold on for a 3-2 win to open the tournament. The Lady Eagles scored its first goal of the tournament in the first ten minutes of play as Pam Gean scored to put MCC up 1-0. Courtney Green added the second goal of the match for MCC against Middle Georgia to give the Lady Eagles a 2-0 with ten minutes until the half. Meridian scored its final goal of the match with five minutes left in the first half from Green to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead.

Middle Georgia scored a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the second half, but MCC was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory over Middle Georgia on Friday.

The Lady Eagles completed the weekend sweep of the Rush Invitational Tournament with a 5-0 victory over Gordon College on Saturday at C.D. Smith Field. Pam Gean led the way in the Saturday match for MCC with three goals and Green also added a goal in the win for MCC. Kari Zendejas also chipped in with a goal in the five-goal victory for the Lady Eagles.

The MCC men didn’t enjoy the same success in the tournament as the Eagles lost its opener in the event on Friday to Middle Georgia by a final of 6-0 and MCC was defeated by Gordon College on Saturday 5-1. Mark Varnado scored the only goal of the weekend and it came in the second half of the match against Gordon College. The MCC men have lost seven straight matches after losing a pair in the Rush Invitational Tournament.

MCC will return to action Wednesday against Union University at C.D. Smith Field with the Lady Eagles playing at 1p.m. followed by the men’s match at 3 p.m.

MCC Golf Finishes Second In Redgate Tournament

2011-09-27T09:40:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The final round of the 2011 Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament was postponed due to heavy rain at Briarwood Country Club on Tuesday. The results from the opening two rounds on Monday will count as the final results of the tournament which gives Central Alabama Community College the tournament championship. Meridian Community College finished in second place to close out the tournament and ended the annual tournament 10 strokes back of the champions from Central Alabama.

Central Alabama finished with a team score of 574 and Meridian ended the tournament with a 584, followed by the University of Mobile with a 594 team score. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ended the tournament in a tie for fourth place with the MCC B-Team with a final team score of 611. East Central Community College place fifth in the tournament with a team score of 651 and Georgia Military rounded out the field with a team score of 674.

J.M. O’Toole of Central Alabama took home medalist honors in the tournament after shooting a three under par and Alex Mahlik finished one shot back of his team mate at two under par. Easton Key of Meridian fired an even par for the tournament and concluded his tournament play three strokes back of the leader.

Meridian will return to action October 3-4 competing in the District Preview Tournament at Rockledge Country Club in Coco Beach, FL.

MCC Golf Trails After Round One Of Redgate Tournament

2011-09-26T19:29:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team opened its home portion of its 2011 fall schedule on Monday by hosting the annual Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament at Briarwood Country Club. The Eagles will have a large hill to climb in the final round Tuesday after Central Alabama shot a team total of 574 which was 10 strokes ahead of host MCC.

“We played a decent pair of rounds today, but I really thought that we struggled after a rain delay during the opening round, said MCC head coach Clinton Hales. “We will need to play well Tuesday and keep playing consistent.”

MCC scored a team total of 584 and secured the second spot on the leader board, followed by the University of Mobile with a final score of 594 to close out day one of the tournament. Mississippi Gulf Coast concluded Monday with a team score of 611 and the Meridian Community College B-Team is tied with the Bulldogs at 611 after action on Monday. East Central Community College fired a 651 and Georgia Military wrapped up the opening day with total team score of 674.

J.M. O’Toole of Central Alabama leads the tournament after shooting a three under par and Alex Mahlik is one shot back of his team mate at two under par. Easton Key of Meridian fired an even par for the opening day and sits three strokes back of the leader going into the final round Tuesday. Jake Sterling of MCC concluded his day three strokes over par to pace the Eagles.

The final round of the Jim Redgate Invitational Tournament will begin at 8:30 Tuesday morning at Briarwood Country Club.

MCC Soccer Splits With Lon Morris

2011-09-24T14:43:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles rebounded from a recent four-game losing streak to secure a comeback victory over Lon Morris College at C.D. Smith Field on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Eagles trailed Lon Morris 1-0 late in the second half and scored a pair of goals to take the thrilling victory over the Lady Bearcats.

“I was very proud of the way our girls battled back in the second half,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We played with a lot of toughness and found a way to win late in the game.”

Lon Morris took the lead over the Lady Eagles with 22:38 left in the first half to make the score 1-0. Maria Mendoza scored the lone goal in the match for the Lady Bearcats on an assist by Samantha Ramirez to give Lon Morris the one-goal advantage over MCC.

Meridian (4-4) scored both of its goals in the final 20 minutes of action to fly away with the one-goal victory. Kari Zendejas scored the first goal of the match with 16:22 remaining in the match to tie the game at 1-1. The Lady Eagles scored the go-ahead goal with just 2:30 left in the match to secure the dramatic victory over Lon Morris. Chelsea Byrd scored the winning goal for MCC on a deflection near the goal and led the Lady Eagles to its fourth victory of the season.

The MCC women will return to action September 30 against Middle Georgia as a part of the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament at C.D. Smith Field. The Lady Eagles will battle Middle Georgia at 5 p.m. in the opening day of the tournament on the campus of Meridian Community College.

Lon Morris (men) 1
MCC 0

The Eagles were looking to snap its recent four-game losing streak, but MCC lost a heartbreaker in the men’s contest to Lon Morris by a final of 1-0. MCC (1-7) played hard on both sides of the field all afternoon and walked away with several positives after the match.

“I was very proud of the way our guys battled through the whole game,” said George. “We played a great team in a close match and I believe our guys are in great shape.”

The only goal of the match was scored by Lon Morris in the first half by Kristopher Valenzuela to lead the Bearcats to the victory.

MCC will return to action against Middle Georgia in the 2011 Rush Invitational Tournament September 30 at C.D. Smith Field. The Eagles will begin its match with Middle Georgia at 7 p.m.

MCC Golf Set For Annual Redgate Tournament

2011-09-23T11:30:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team will be looking to win back-to-back events to start the season as they play host to their annual Jim Redgate Invitational at Briarwood Country Club starting Monday and going through Tuesday.

The Eagles are coming off an impressive victory to start the season at the Wallace State Invitational in Cullman, Alabama. In their first outing, MCC shot 26 under par as a team for the 54 hole event and won the tournament by 14 shots over their district rival, Brevard Community College. In addition, three of the five Eagle golfers made the All-Tournament Team. “I was pleased with the way we played to start the year, but we’ve definitely got some areas that we need to improve and I hope to see that this week, “ said Clinton Hales, first year head coach for MCC “Hopefully, that victory will give us some confidence going into the rest of the season.”

MCC will send out Freshman Dylan Brown in the number one spot. The Queensland, Australia native finished atop for the Eagles in Cullman, shooting rounds of 69-70-70,which finished second place overall. Finishing one shot behind Brown was teammate and Meridian native, Easton Key, who fired impressive rounds of 67-66 to finish the tournament after opening with a 77. Sophomore Jake Stirling will start in the 3 spot for MCC.

His rounds of 66-71-74 were good enough for fourth place overall at the first event. Sophomore Alex Grannon and Freshman Leighton Greer will round out the Eagle’s top five.
The Eagles will be paired with in-state rival, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, as well as district rival, Central Alabama Community College. East Central CC, Georgia Military College, and the University of Mobile will round out the field for this year’s event. Play will start at 7:30am on Monday with 36 holes, followed by 18 holes on Tuesday.

Jones Sweeps Past MCC

2011-09-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles and Eagles entered play Tuesday afternoon looking to bounce back from its recent slump, but MCC couldn’t find better results with a short road trip to Jones County Junior College. The Bobcats enjoyed a home sweep of MCC by earning a 2-0 victory in the women’s contest, while the MCC men moved its losing streak to four games with a tough 3-2 loss to JCJC.

Meridian will look to get back on track with another pair of matches this Saturday at C.D. Smith Field on the campus of Meridian Community College. MCC will host Lon Morris this weekend with the women’s match set for a noon start and the MCC men will tangle with Lon Morris at 2 p.m. MCC played Lon Morris earlier in the season in Jacksonville, TX with Meridian earning a split with Lon Morris. The Lady Eagles defeated Lon Morris 4-0, while the MCC lost 6-0 at the hands of Lon Morris

Jones (women) 2
MCC 0

The Lady Bobcats scored a goal in each half to secure the two-goal victory over the Lady Eagles. Brandee Kovacevich scored the first goal for JCJC with 7:00 left in the first half to give the Lady Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Jones (7-2) scored its second goal to provide some cushion to secure the 2-0 victory over MCC.

Danica Roberts scored an unassisted goal with 11:00 left in the match and Roberts also added an assist on the goal scored by Kovacevich in the first half. Meridian (3-4) is currently riding a four-game losing streak after starting the season with three straight victories.

Jones (men) 3
MCC 2

Jones scored the game winning goal in the final minutes to earn a one-goal win over MCC. Giuliano Mancini scored the goal for the Bobcats in the late stages of the match to improve JCJC to 4-3-1 for the 2011 season.

Tony Chapel scored both goals in the match for MCC and the Eagles actually had a 2-1 lead at the end of the first half on the goals by Chapel. Mason Tabb scored the lone goal in the first half for Jones and Tyler Alexander scored a goal for the Bobcats in the second half.

Chapel scored two goals in the match to push his total to six goals for the 2011 season to lead MCC. Meridian lost its fourth straight match and dropped its overall record to 1-6.

MCC Tennis To Host Tournament

2011-09-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

Meridian Community College is set to host the USTA/ITA Small College Southern Men’s and Women’s JUCO Regional Championships September 29-October 1 at Northeast Tennis Center. To participate in the USTA/ITA regional tournaments teams must be a member of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

The ITA is the governing body of college tennis, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges. This regional tournament is a lead-up to the National Small College Championships to be held in Mobile, Alabama, at the Mobile Tennis Center October 13-16, 2011.

Winners of the Small College Super Bowl will receive wildcards into the Division 1 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships (November 3-6, 2011 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY). Teams participating in the Southern Regional are Copiah-Lincoln CC men, Hinds, Holmes CC men, Itawamba CC, Jones County JC, Mississippi Gulf Coast and Meridian.

South Georgia Sweeps MCC

2011-09-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles started the 2011 season with three straight victories, but the Lady Eagles lost its third straight match at the hands of South Georgia College by a final score of 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at C.D. Smith Field.

The Lady Tigers took an early 1-0 lead with 22:00 left to play in the first half and carried a one-goal edge in the second half of play against MCC. South Georgia added a second goal to extend its lead to 2-0 with 42:00 minutes left in the match, but the Lady Eagles trimmed the South Georgia lead to just one goal later in the second half.

Freshman Shana Kay Durant scored the lone goal for MCC on a penalty kick to cut the South Georgia lead to 2-1 with 39:00 left in the match. The Lady Eagles never got closer as South Georgia added a late goal to take a 3-1 victory and push the losing streak to three games for MCC.

MCC (3-3) will return to action September 20 as the Lady Eagles travel to Ellisville, MS to tangle with Jones County Junior College. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start on the campus of JCJC.

South Georgia 7
MCC 1

The Eagles entered its match with South Georgia looking for a spark to break its recent losing skid, but MCC couldn’t find that spark on Wednesday afternoon against South Georgia. The Tigers scored in the opening six minutes of play and never looked back in the six-goal victory over the Eagles.

The lone goal for MCC came from Jesus Olivares with three minutes left in the first half of play, but the Tigers carried a 5-1 lead at the end of the half. South Georgia added a goal in the opening minutes of the second half and another insurance goal to roll away to a 7-1 win over MCC. The Eagles are currently on a three-game losing streak after the loss to South Georgia on Wednesday.

MCC (1-5) will look to rebound as the Eagles travel to Jones County Junior College to battle the Bobcats in Ellisville, MS. The match is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start in the campus of JCJC.

MCC Golf Wins 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational

2011-09-13T14:00:00.001-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team started off its 2011 fall season with another tournament victory as the Eagles secured the 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational in Cullman, AL on Tuesday afternoon. The tournament victory marked the second straight win for the Eagles at the Wallace State Fall Invitational.

“I was very proud of our consistent play today,” said first year head coach Clinton Hales. “It feels great to get our fall season off to a great start and to win this tournament two straight years says a lot with all of the quality teams that we a part of this event.”

Meridian concluded its final round with a team score of 278 (10 under par) and a two-round score of 838 (-26 under par). The Eagles were led by several freshman making their collegiate debuts and a pair of returning sophomores that led MCC to an appearance in the national tournament in the spring of 2010. Freshman Dylan Brown finished in second place overall in the tournament with a two-day score of 209 and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Brown shot a final round score of 70 and ended the tournament five strokes behind William Anderson of Brevard Community College who took home medalist honors with a total two-day score of 204. Sophomore Easton Key finished the tournament in third place with total score of 210 which earned the Meridian native a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Key shot a final round of 66 on Tuesday which was the low round of the final day of action for the Eagles.

Sophomore Jake Sterling finished fourth overall in the tournament with a total score of 211 and shot a final round of 74 and was also named a member of the All-Tournament Team. Brevard Community College finished in second place behind the Eagles with a team score of 852 which was 14 strokes behind MCC. The victory on Tuesday for the Eagles also marked the first victory for first year head coach Clinton Hales.

MCC will continue its 2011 fall golf season September 26-27 as the Eagles will host the 2011 Jim Redgate Invitational at Briarwood Country Club.

MCC Golf Begins Fall Season

2011-09-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team got the season off to a nice on Monday as they surged to the top of the leaderboard at the 2011 Wallace State Fall Invitational. The Eagles shot 280 (8 under par) in round one and followed up their consistent play with another 280 to finish day 1 with a 560 total (16 under par). Brevard Community College, out of Florida, trails by 2 shots heading into Tuesday’s final round.

“I’m pleased with our consistent play to start the tournament, but we can’t relax because we’ve got a great team right behind us who is playing well. We’ll have to be at our best tomorrow to win,” added Coach Clinton Hales, who is making his debut as head coach. Brevard’s William Anderson tied a Cullman Golf Course record in the second round with a 10 under par, 62. Anderson leads all golfers with a 10 under par total, 134. Meridian’s Jake Stirling is in second place individually with a strong 66-71 first day. Meridian native Easton Key fought back from a first round 77 to shoot 5 under par 67 in the second round. Dylan Brown (69-70, 139), Alex Grannon (73-72, 145), and Drew Boston (72-77, 149) also played well for MCC. MCC begins final round play from Cullman Golf Course Tuesday at 8:10 am.

MCC Soccer Suffers Tough Road Trip

2011-09-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College soccer teams suffered very difficult losses over the weekend on the road at Albany, GA. The Lady Eagles dropped a pair of matches over the weekend and one the losses came at the hands of one of the top teams in the country.

MCC (3-2) lost its first match of the 2011 season on Friday to Darton College by a final score of 7-0. Darton College entered its Friday match with Meridian Community College ranked eighth in the latest NJCAA Division I soccer poll. The Lady Eagles lost its second straight match on its long road trip Saturday afternoon to Brevard College 3-0.

The Lady Eagles will look to rebound from its pair of losses with a match against South Georgia this Wednesday at C.D. Smith Field. MCC will begin its match with South Georgia at noon.

The Meridian Community College Eagles didn't have that much luck on its trip to Georgia this weekend as the men dropped both of its matches in Albany. The Eagles started the weekend with a huge loss against Darton College on Friday by a final of 10-0, but MCC rebounded with a very close match against Andrew College on Saturday.

MCC (1-5) suffered a narrow defeated to Andrew College on Saturday by a final score of 3-2. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second half on a goal by Andrew Chapel to give MCC a one-goal edge with 35:00 left in the second half. Andrew College scored three unanswered goals in the second half, but the closest MCC added a late goal on a penalty kick by Ducky Troutman to make the final score 3-2.

The Eagles return to action this Wednesday with a match against South Georgia at C.D. Smith Field. The match is set for a 2 p.m. start on the campus of MCC.

MCC Golf Ready For New Season

2011-09-09T06:22:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team will open its 2011-2012 campaign at the Wallace State Fall Invitational September 12 – 13. The Eagles will be looking to defend their tournament title of a year ago, which saw MCC take home the team champion honors on way to a 14 under par total. The match will be held at Cullman Golf Course in Cullman, Alabama, and will mark the debut of new head coach, Clinton Hales. “We’re looking forward to going back to a familiar golf course that we’ve had a lot of success on in the past. Hopefully, we’ll be able to continue our good play on that course,” said Hales.

The Eagles will be led by returning Sophomore, Jake Stirling, who earned All-American honors as a Freshman. Stirling finished the 2010-2011 season with a strong 72.6 stroke average, which was second on the team. “We will count heavily on our sophomore class this fall, as they’re familiar with the courses we play and they understand what it takes to play competitive golf on this level. This week we’ll be playing against one of the strongest fields in junior college golf, so we’ll have to be prepared,” noted Hales.

To round out their lineup, the Eagles will also send out sophomores Alex Grannon and Meridian native Easton Key, to go along with Freshman Dylan Brown and Drew Boston, who will be making their debut for the green and white.

MCC Sweeps Past Southwest

2011-08-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles continued its hot streak to open the 2011 season with a narrow 4-3 victory over Southwest Mississippi Community College on Tuesday night in local junior college soccer action. The Lady Eagles carried a 2-1 lead heading into the second half of play and fought off several furious comebacks by the Lady Bears to secure the one-goal victory.

“We weren’t clicking on all cylinders tonight, but it was a great victory for our ladies tonight,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We have had a great start to the season and I was very proud of how we held on for another huge win.”

MCC cracked the scoreboard first with a goal with 34:19 left in the opening half to take a 1-0 lead over Southwest. Sophomore Courtney Green scored the opening goal for the Lady Eagles in the opening ten minutes of play, but the Lady Bears battled back to tie the game later in the half. Bria Jackson scored the only goal for Southwest in the first half to tie the game at 1-1 with 17:39 left in the first half.

The Lady Eagles were able to retake the lead with a goal from the leading scorer for Meridian. Freshman striker Pam Gean scored her seventh goal of the 2011 season with 3:25 left in the first half to give MCC a 2-1 lead. Gean entered play on Tuesday night tied for the NJCAA lead with six goals scored.

Southwest came roaring back in the opening minutes of the second half to tie the game at 2-2. Jackson scored her second goal of the game with 42:25 left in the second half to bring some life to the Lady Bears. Meridian would answer the goal by Jackson, as Green scored her second goal of the game with 37:46 left in the second half to give the Lady Eagles a 3-2 lead.

MCC extended its lead with 20:37 left in the game with a goal from Claire Bolen to give the Lady Eagles a 4-2 lead over Southwest. Casey Brumfield added one final goal in the game for Southwest with 31 seconds remaining, but MCC was able to hold on for a 4-3 victory.
MCC (3-0) returns to action next Tuesday on the road at Holmes Community College at p.m.

MCC 4
Southwest 2

Freshman Tony Chapel secured his first hat trick of the season as MCC notched its first victory of the 2011 season with a two-goal victory over Southwest. MCC scored the only goal of the first half, which came from freshman striker Kellen Roberts to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead over one half. Chapel scored his first goal of the night with 34:54 left in the second half to extend the MCC lead to 2-0. Conor Weiman scored a goal for the Bears later in the half to cut the Meridian lead to 2-1.

Weiman scored on a free kick with 26:08 left in the second half to bring SWCC to within one goal. Chapel added his second of three goals with 19:54 left to extend the MCC lead to 3-1. Chapel put the match away for good with a goal with just 5:00 left to lead the Eagles to victory. Weiman added a late goal with 4:20 left for Southwest, but MCC held on for the 4-2 win.

MCC (1-2) returns to action next Tuesday on the road at Holmes Community College beginning at 4 p.m.

MCC Soccer Opens 2011 Regular Season

2011-08-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles enjoyed a great deal of success in its opening games of the 2011 regular season, but the MCC men’s team would like to quickly forget its first two games of the season. The Lady Eagles secured a pair of victories over the weekend against Lon Morris (4-0) and Northeastern Texas (5-0) to begin the regular season with a pair of shutouts.

The MCC Eagles came up on the losing end in its first two games of the regular season with loses to Lon Morris (6-0) and Northeastern Texas (2-0) to open the 2011 regular season on a mild two-game losing streak. Meridian will return to action this Tuesday against Southwest Mississippi Community College at C.D. Smith on the campus of Meridian Community College. The Lady Eagles will look to win its third straight to start the season against Southwest with the match set to begin at 5 p.m. The MCC men will look to get into the win column against Southwest with its home match beginning at 7 p.m.

The Lady Eagles started the weekend with a 4-0 on Friday against Lon Morris College. MCC struck first in the match with a goal from freshman striker Pam Gean with 14:00 left in the first half to give the Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead. MCC extended its lead with another goal with 17:00 left in the second half to make the score 2-0.

Sophomore striker Chelsea Byrd gave MCC the two-goal advantage with the score, but the Lady Eagles would continue to build its lead later in the half.
Gean scored her second goal of the match on a penalty kick after a hand ball by Lon Morris to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 edge with 15:00 left in the match. Gean secured the hat trick with another goal with just 12:00 left in the match to lead MCC to the 4-0 victory over Lon Morris on Friday.

The Lady Eagles made it a clean sweep with a victory over Northeastern Texas on Saturday with a 5-0 victory. Gean continued her great play on Saturday with a goal in the opening five minutes of play to give MCC a 1-0 lead over Northeastern Texas.

Gean added two more goals in the first half to put together another hat trick and give MCC a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half. The Lady Eagles put the game away for good with two more goals in the second half and roll to a 5-0 win over Northeastern Texas.

Melanie McCaskill scored one of the two goals in the second half for the Lady Eagles, while Claire Bolen added a goal in the final minute of play for MCC.

The MCC Eagles didn’t have the same success as the women, as the MCC men dropped its first two matches of the regular season. The Eagles dropped its opener on Friday to

Lon Morris by a final score of 6-0. Lon Morris scored three goals in the first half and three goals in the second half to roll to the convincing victory over MCC.

The Eagles couldn’t bounce back on Saturday as Northeastern Texas took a 2-0 victory to send MCC back to Meridian with two losses for the weekend. The game was scoreless after one half of play, but Northeastern Texas scored with 13:00 left in the match on a penalty kick after a hand ball by Meridian to make the score 1-0. Northeastern Texas added an insurance goal later in the half to take a 2-0 win over MCC.

MCC Golf Gears Up For Fall Season

2011-08-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

First year head coach, Clinton Hales, and his 2011-2012 Eagle golf team will wrap up preseason preparations next week with their bi-annual Eagle Cup and a road scrimmage at Old Waverly Golf Club against Southeastern Conference power, Mississippi State University.

The Eagle Cup is a “Ryder Cup” style format that matches freshmen versus sophomores. The sophomore squad has had the upper hand as of late, taking the previous three Eagle Cups. MCC will travel to West Point on August 30 for a scrimmage match against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at their home course. The Eagles will have the opportunity to be reunited with current MSU assistant coach, and former MCC head coach Sean Covich.

The Eagles will be led by a trio of returning sophomores: All-American Jake Stirling, Easton Key, and Alex Grannon. Newcomers Dylan Brown, TJ Morgan, Leighton Greer, Drew Boston, and Bryce Monroe will also be making the trip to play on one of the south’s best golf courses. “It’s really a unique opportunity that not many community colleges have to be able to play a Division 1 school from time to time. It really shows the strength and depth of our program and how much exposure our golfers have to showcase their game to coaches on the next level, “ said Hales.

This will be the fourth match over the last 2 years that MCC has been invited to play an SEC school. “We’re really excited at this opportunity and hope to get the season started on the right note, “ said Hales. The Eagles first regular season tournament will be September 12 – 13 at the Wallace State Fall Invitational at Cullman Golf Course, in Cullman, Alabama.

2011 MCC Men's Soccer Preview

2011-08-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

The Meridian Community College men’s soccer season will be filled with many questions, but several newcomers may provide quick answers. The Eagles are hoping to bounce back from a loss to Mississippi Gulf Coast in the Region 23 playoffs last season and secure another championship of its own in 2011.

“We have some great talent coming to the team this season to go along with several players returning to the lineup,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We had one of our best years on the recruiting trail and these guys that are coming in this season have the potential to do some very special things for our program.”

MCC will return seven starters from the 2010 team, but the most notable newcomer to the roster in 2011 is Ducky Troutman from Ocean Srpings. Troutman comes to Meridian after posting a very successful senior season that earned him the highest honor in the state of Mississippi Gatorade Player of The Year.

“He (Troutman) is a pure athlete and we are very excited to have him come to MCC,” added George. “He can make some big plays and has worked very hard since he has been on campus to get ready for the season. We will be looking for him to make an immediate impact for us this season.”

Troutman will anchor the midfield for the Eagles and will join a very experienced lineup in 2011. Former Meridian High standout Reed Scarbrough returns for his sophomore season and will play a key role at defender for the Eagles. The position that MCC will have the most depth this season will be a goal keeper. The Eagles return former Philadelphia High standout Matthew Goudie to the 2011 team and the sophomore will see the most action in goal for the Eagles.

MCC will also welcome former Warren Central standout Marlo Brinnon to the team and could see some action during the season at keeper for the Eagles.

“We have two talented guys that we can put at that position and during a long season depth at any position is a plus for our team. Injuries can happen at any point during the year and having two quality players at the position is very important for our club.”

Former Lamar standout Tripp Sims will also see action this season for the Eagles and will see action at defender.

“We worked very hard during the offseason to bring in some quality talent and we have a good mix coming into the season. We hope to come back from a tough end to the 2010 season and win a championship for this program.”

The MCC men's soccer team will open its 2011 season at home August 22 against Holmes Community College. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.

2011 MCC Women's Soccer Preview

2011-08-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

The 2011 Meridian Community College soccer season is just around the corner and Lady Eagles are looking to have their most successful season in school history. MCC will look to return to the postseason for the fourth straight season and all of the pieces of the puzzles are in place for a fourth consecutive appearance in the playoffs.

“This may be our best group we have had in 10 years here at MCC,” said MCC head coach Alex George. “We have brought a great recruiting class to campus this season and a lot of these new faces will contribute to our success this season.”
MCC will return seven starters from the 2010 squad which lost in the 2010 Region 23 Tournament to Jones and the Lady Eagles will be looking to rebound from a disappointing end to last season.

“It left a bad taste in our mouth and our team has been working very hard since they have returned to campus to get ready for the long season ahead. We have one goal in mind and this group has its sights set on winning a championship this season. We have a very good chance of making this a very special season for our program.”

The Lady Eagles return several starters to the lineup this season, but one of the most important returning players is goal keeper Chasity Robertson of Byram, MS. Robertson will bring a wealth of experience back to the team and is one of the key components for MCC to be successful in 2011.

“She (Robertson) may be one of the best keepers in the region,” added George. “She is a great athlete in goal and she should have a very good season for us. We will be looking for big stops from her during the season.

The one area that will be exciting for fans in the Meridian area is the number of local players that will be a part of the MCC Lady Eagle team in 2011. The most familiar face to join the team this season will be former Meridian High standout Maggie Freyaldenhoven. The freshman will see plenty of action this season for the Lady Eagles and will start in the midfield.

Chelsea Byrd, another former Meridian High standout, will be another key spot in the lineup this season for MCC. Byrd will draw starts in the lineup at striker and will bring a ton of talent to the lineup for the Lady Eagles. Former Northeast Lauderdale standout Malley Gullette joins the 2011 squad and rounds out an impressive list of local players for the Lady Eagles. Gullette will play a role on the team as a defender for MCC.

Two other players that will carry a large amount of the load on offense for MCC will be Pam Gean and Shana Kay Durant. Gean comes to MCC from Olive Branch High School and Durant comes to Meridian by way of Kingston, Jamaica. Both players will be in the lineup for MCC at striker.

“I think we have the right mix of players to have a great season,” said George. “We can’t overlook any team this season because every team on our schedule this season has a ton of talent. It should be a very exciting season.

The MCC Lady Eagles open the season August 22 against Holmes Community College at 5 p.m.

Jason Smith Joins MCC Baseball Coaching Staff

2011-08-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

From School Reports

Meridian Community College has announed the hiring of former MCC standout Jason Smith to its baseball coaching staff. Smith joins the staff after spending the past 13 seasons playing professional baseball for a number of different organizations. Smith played junior college baseball at Meridian Community College and was a member of the 1996 squad that finished second in the country under former MCC head coach Corky Palmer.

Smith will join the staff under the direction of current MCC head coach Chris Curry. Smith is joining the staff as a volunteer coach and will coach first base for the Eagles, while working with infielder's as a part of the staff. Smith will also assist current assitant coach Dillon Sudduth with hitting duties.

Corky Palmer Inducted into Hall of Fame

2011-08-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

From School Reports and The Clarion Ledger

Before Corky Palmer, there was Punchy Palmer, or as the joke around Hattiesburg goes: Corky Palmer is just Punchy Palmer with a college education.
Carlton Van "Corky" Palmer will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame on Friday. Nobody would be more proud than his dad, Carl Milton "Punchy" Palmer, who died in 1972 when Corky, his oldest son, was but 18. Father and son shared a love of all sports, especially baseball and particularly the New York Yankees.
"Dad gave me the best advice I ever got when I was 9 years old," Corky Palmer says. "He told me, Son, 'I know you love Mickey Mantle, but you got Yogi Berra's body. If you're going to play baseball, you gotta be a catcher.'"
Corky Palmer became a catcher, all through the Hattiesburg youth leagues, at Hattiesburg High School and then Southern Miss. Nobody loved baseball more than Corky, unless it was Punchy. And catcher was the perfect position for Corky, who was long on baseball smarts but short on foot speed. The entire game was in front of him. He was involved in every play. He became pretty much a coach while he was playing.
Punchy Palmer had played all sports at Hattiesburg High. He was the football team's quarterback, the baseball team's centerfielder, the basketball team's point guard and the track team's star hurdler.
"I got some of his hand-eye coordination," Corky Palmer says. "The speed part didn't take."
From field to dugout
But Corky Palmer will tell you he had opportunities his daddy, a shift worker at a Petal petroleum company, never had.
"When my daddy finished high school he went right to work to support his family," Corky Palmer says. "I always thought he should have been a coach. Nobody loved it more. Nobody knew how to teach it better. He just didn't have the education."
But Punchy Palmer was a fixture at baseball parks around Hattiesburg. His homespun baseball wisdom, which he dispensed gladly, with a country twang and at length, benefitted any kid who would listen. Nobody listened more than Corky.
Corky Palmer's baseball career has a one-year blank line. That was the 1972-73 school year, the year after his high school graduation when his father died in December of 1972 and, says Corky Palmer, "It knocked me for a loop. It took me a while to get over it."
After taking a year off, Palmer became USM's starting catcher for four straight years. You hear coaches talk these days about how a player is so smart that "he's like having a coach on the field."
Corky Palmer really was. Unlike today's college baseball players, he called all the pitches and set the infield. The signals didn't come from the dugout.
So it was only natural he would go into coaching. He did so immediately upon graduation from USM.
First, he guided Columbus Lee High School to three straight Little 10 Conference titles. Then he moved closer to home to Columbia High, where his 1983 team won a south state championship.
Palmer returned to USM as an assistant coach for the 1985-86 seasons before moving to Meridian Community College, where his career really took off.
Over 10 seasons, his Meridian teams won 409 games, lost just 160 and made three appearances in the national juco world series.

In 1996, Palmer led MCC to its best season in its history with a runner-up finish in the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado.
In 1997, Palmer returned to USM as the head coach, succeeding Hill Denson. In 12 seasons, his teams won 458 games, lost 281 and made the NCAA Tournament field eight times.
Storybook finish
There's an old saying about our national pasttime that "baseball finds you."
Despite Palmer's earlier success, well-chronicled regionally, the baseball world discovered Corky Palmer in 2009 after he had already announced his retirement as baseball coach at USM. After a fast start, that 2009 USM team was decimated by injuries and seemingly headed nowhere when Palmer announced his retirement in May. Then, Palmer's last team got blistering hot, finished second to Rice in the Conference USA Tournament, won an NCAA Regional at Georgia Tech and then a Super Regional at Florida. In his last season, Palmer made it to Omaha and the College World Series.
Naturally, his folksy, homespun humor and storytelling were a hit with the national media. Corky Palmer pretty much stole the show at the pre-College World Series press conference, and the other coaches, many famous, seemed to enjoy it even more than he did.
USM took eventual runner-up Texas to the limit before losing 7-6 in the opening round. North Carolina then blistered USM 11-4 in the elimination round.
Said North Carolina coach Mike Fox, afterward: "First of all, I would like to echo everything that has been said about Corky Palmer. He has had a very distinguished career. It was just an honor to be on the field with him today. It was just a terrific ride his team took him on."
It was. And it was a storybook end to a terrific baseball career. So, what would Punchy Palmer say?
"I think what would make him most proud," Corky Palmer says, "is that I was fairly successful at something I loved doing so much. I think he'd tell me I done good."

MCC Promotes Atkinson

2011-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

For those that know Robby Atkinson, his love for Meridian Community College, and Eagles athletics in particular, is evident.
So needless to say, Atkinson is excited about his new role as the MCC sports information director, replacing Sean Covich, who recently left his duties as SID and golf coach to become assistant golf coach at Mississippi State.
"It's kind of a dream come true, being involved in athletics out here for so long," Atkinson said. A former MCC student, Atkinson has been involved with MCC athletics since 2000 when he began work with MCC baseball under Scott Berry. He has continued to serve as the public address announcer for the baseball and basketball programs.
"We're excited to have Robby on board full-time with the college," MCC president Dr. Scott Elliott said in a release. "He had already been serving in a part-time capacity as an announcer for our basketball and baseball programs, so this is actually a promotion for Robby, rather than a new hire.
"Robby has a wealth of experience in the radio and newspaper genres, so he comes to us well-equipped to do this job. And perhaps most important of all, he bleeds green and white as an alumnus of the college and a huge fan of Eagles athletics."
In addition to his work with MCC athletics, Atkinson — who worked for a year as an assistant SID at West Alabama — has worked for the Radio People since 2003 and has been a contributor to The Star, as well. That background will be handy as Atkinson will serve as more than just the SID at MCC.
With Clay and Laura Holladay of the Radio People recently giving the reigns of 106.9 FM to the college, Atkinson will work with associate dean Dr. Ray Denton in establishing and running the station, which will also aid the athletics program.
"We're going to try to put most of the games for most of the sports on the radio, so the radio end and the SID end kind of go hand-in-hand a little bit," Atkinson explained.
Added Elliott: "This is an exciting time for Robby to be coming on full-time at MCC. The college having its own radio station will usher in a lot of new opportunities, sports programming among them. Having people like Ray Denton and his staff, Robby now among them, with specific radio expertise will be a huge plus for MCC as we move forward with this project.
"Also, it's just an exciting time for MCC sports — period. We have some new, young coaches like Chris Curry and Dillon Sudduth (baseball), Clinton Hales (golf) and Nathan Courtney (men's basketball) on board to go along with our veteran coaches who have already established championship programs. I feel very positive about our teams, and it will be Robby's job to tell their stories to the public."
That task will be made easier by the camaraderie Atkinson has with the current MCC coaches.
"Being out here as long as I was, I just felt honored to be part of the athletic department here at MCC," Atkinson said. "We've got such great coaches, we've got new coaches coming in and we have a lot of big projects fixing to take place with our radio station and with soccer coming up. I'm just honored to be a part of it.
"That's what makes it so unigue. I've been involved with those two particular sports for so long, it'll make that transition really easy. I already knew most of the coaches on staff already, and I've been part of the family already in some aspects for a number of years. But now it really is complete now that I'm here full-time."
One opportunity that isn't new for Atkinson will be his role as the "Voice of the Wildcats", serving as the radio play-by-play announcer for Meridian High football. Despite his transition to MCC, the Radio People have asked that Atkinson retain that position on WJXM-FM 105.7 for his fifth season.
"That is the biggest bonus in this whole thing is I get to continue to do Meridian High football," Atkinson said. "I was very honored that the Holladays asked me to continue to do that because I also have a love for that. I mean who doesn't love high school football on a Friday night in Mississippi. That'll be good to continue to do that. That is kind of like the cherry on top of the whole thing, getting to continue to do that on Fridays."

Eagles tap Hales as new golf coach

2011-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

from school reports
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — Former Northeast Lauderdale High School and Meridian Community College golf standout Clinton Hales is slated to become the new head men’s golf coach at MCC, according to college president Dr. Scott Elliott.

Hales will succeed Sean Covich, who has been hired as assistant coach at Mississippi State University after a stellar run at the Eagle helm.

“I am very gratified to have secured a coach for the MCC golf program who I’m confident will continue the tradition of excellence fashioned by Jim Redgate, Lou Hart and Sean Covich,” Elliott said. “Clinton will be a very positive role model for our players. Moreover, he is an individual who is well known in the Meridian golfing community, which is important for our program because without our area country clubs and golf courses, we couldn’t have a golf program at MCC - period, let alone one of the finest in the nation on the junior college level.”

Hales graduated from Northeast High School in 2001, earning All-State honors on the links. He went on to star for Hart at MCC in 2001-03, making All-Region and NJCAA All-American in 2002 and helping the team win back-to-back Region 23 titles as well as top 10 national finishes. He was named MCC male athlete of the year in 2003.

Besides achieving on the course, Hales consistently excelled in the classroom. He made the NJCAA Academic All-American team for MCC as well as being named to the college’s “Circle of Excellence” in 2003, an award that goes to the college’s top student performers in terms of academic achievement and community service.

After graduating with honors from MCC, Hales went on to earn BS and MBA degrees from Mississippi State with honors in both cases.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity,” Hales, who teaches Sunday School and college and career classes for his church, said. “Ever since I played for Lou Hart at MCC, I have had great appreciation for the tradition of the Eagle golf program. My goal will be to protect and preserve that tradition by recruiting not only good players, but also good citizens – people who will represent the college well on the course, in the classroom and in the community.”

MCC Athletic Director Hilary Allen and Covich strongly endorsed Hales for the position, Elliott noted.

“Clinton will do a superlative job for MCC,” Covich said. “He has an abiding love for the game of golf, and he is about as stand-up a guy as you’ll ever come to know. I was hoping to leave the program in good hands, and that has now been assured with the hiring of Clinton Hales.”

Besides playing at MCC, Hales has also served the program as a volunteer assistant coach under Covich.

“Clinton is well familiar with our players, attended national tournaments with the team and just generally tried to stay involved with the program,” Covich said. “I can’t think of a better fit for MCC golf than Clinton.”

Elliott will ask for the MCC Board of Trustees’ approval of Hales’ hiring on June 14, and Hales will prospectively begin his duties on July 1.

MCC's Garon named 2011 Jack Nicklaus Award winner

2011-06-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

DUBLIN, Ohio – Brandt Garon of Meridian Community College has been named the 2011 Jack Nicklaus Award recipient as the GCAA Collegiate Player of the Year(NJCAA).

In 2011, Garon won four events - the Wallace State Fall Invitational, Preview at the Point, Arkansas State Red Wolf Intercollegiate and the NJCAA District IV Championship. He posted a team best 72.36 scoring average and had 16 rounds of even par or lower. Garon was named a PING First-Team All-America selection, as well as PING All-Region, for the second consecutive year. In addition to his four victories, Garon also had one runner-up finish and was named to an event’s all-tournament team eight times in 13 events.

Jack Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. Mr. Nicklaus recognized Garon during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, just outside of Nicklaus’ hometown of Columbus.

JUCO Golf: MCC's Covich hired at Mississippi State

2011-05-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

Meridian Community College head golf coach Sean Covich, left, discusses a put with MCC freshman All-American Jake Stirling during last week's NJCAA Div. I National Championship in Odessa, Texas. Covich is leaving MCC after five years to become the assistant coach at Mississippi State University

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer

MERIDIAN — If today were any other day Meridian Community College golf coach Sean Covich would be on the road hitting the recruiting trail to draw in the newest Eagle linksters.

However, today isn’t another day. Today is the day after he got a phone call that has fast-tracked his dream. The call – from Mississippi State — officially made him the full-time assistant golf coach for the Bulldogs. The dream – coaching at a Southeastern Conference institution — came true in that moment, as he will return to the school where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sports administration. It’s also the school he’s rooted for since age 5.

“It's a blessing and an honor,” Covich said Tuesday. “It's something that when I started coaching that I was trying to work towards. I didn't know if I would ever get the opportunity, especially at an SEC school. Hopefully I will do a good job for them.”

Covich's departure now leaves MCC searching for two new coaches. Covich’s announcement followed Jeff Walker’s abrupt departure as basketball coach a few weeks ago after only one year. Covich also served as sports information director for MCC.

Although Covich is parting ways with MCC after coaching the team for five years, he said this could not have been possible had he not become an Eagle first. Covich played golf for MCC under Lou Hart during the 1998-2000 seasons.

“First of all I just have to thank MCC because without them this wouldn't be possible and I wouldn't be at this point in my life,” Covich said. “It's a great program. Coach Hart did a great job building this program before I came in. I wouldn't be here without coach Hart or Meridian Community College.”

Since 2006, when Covich took the reigns of the program, he has led Meridian to four NJCAA National Championship tournaments, as well as a runner-up finish in 2010. Brandt Garon of Baton Rouge, La., arguably Covich’s biggest recruit, also won a national championship in 2010 and was named the top JUCO golfer in the country in 2011 after the Eagles finished seventh in the national tournament in windy West Texas last week.

“He’s the reason I came to MCC,” Garon said Tuesday after hearing the news. “It was just his kindness, genuineness and the excitement he showed for the program. He just had this look that you knew he intended to build a championship program. He poured his heart into the program and to all of the guys. It was a great decision for me to come to MCC and play for him."

Garon is one of four Eagle sophomores who signed with four-year universities; he will head back to his home state in the fall to play for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Covich said he’s proud of his time at MCC, especially the move two years ago from Division II to Division I.

“I feel like we've just got MCC to being a bigger part of the national golf scene,” said Covich.

Covich won't have much time to relish the moment. He starts his new job on July 1 and will have to hit the recruiting trail immediately to look for new talent for MSU.

“Yeah it's happening fast,” said Covich of the quick transition. “But I guess that's the way it is in the coaching world and in the SEC. Right now is the biggest time of the recruiting process in golf with all the tournaments going on.”

Covich steps in at the perfect time, as the Bulldogs will have a brand new practice facility completed in September where he can continue doing what he started at Meridian

Eagles struggle on Day Two, fall to 11th

2011-05-18T19:16:00.001-07:00

(ODESSA, Texas) – The Meridian Community College Eagles struggled to a second round 304 team score on Wednesday in the NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championship.

The Eagles were once again led by sophomore Brandt Garon. The defending national champion shot 3-over on Wednesday and is now at 3-over for the tournament after rounds of 72-75.

Sophomore Adam Monsen is 5-over for the event with rounds of 73-76.

Freshman Jake Stirling is 7-over par with rounds of 75-76.

Freshman Easton Key is 9-over par after rounds of 77-76, while sophomore Clemens Dvorak is also 9-over par with rounds of 75-78.

“The wind was steady all day at 30 mph and gust over 40 mph,” said head coach Sean Covich.

“So it’s not surprising to see teams from the western districts atop the leader board and the teams from the south and east struggle in this wind.”

“Even with the wind I’m disappointed in the play so far, still 36 holes left but this not the position we should be in. We’ve had a better year and have a better team than what we have shown thus far.”

Indian Hills Community College leads the team leader board at even-par while McLennan College is in second place at 3-over par.

MCC is in 11th place at 22-over par.

Individually, Ryley Hess is leading the field with 3 under-par.

23 teams and 117 individuals are competing in the national championship being played at Odessa Country Club. Third round will be played tomorrow with the final round scheduled for Friday.

For full results visit: http://www.golfstatresults.com//public/leaderboards/team/static/team_players_2695.html

Garon leads MCC after Day One at National Championship

2011-05-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

(ODESSA, Texas) - Defending national champion golfer, Meridian Community College sophomore Brandt Garon, shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday during the first round of the 2011 NJCAA Division I National Championship.

Garon's even par led the Eagles who posted a 7-over par 295 and are in seventh place out of 23 teams.

The national championship is being conducted at the Odessa Country Club- Links Course.

"We struggled today in this signature West Texas wind," said MCC coach Sean Covich.

"We had absolutely no wind during the two practice rounds so it was like a completely different course today."

Individual scores for MCC included Garon's 72 followed by sophomore Adam Monsen with a 1-over 73. Freshman Jake Stirling had a 3-over 75 as did sophomore Clemens Dvorak. Freshman Easton Key shot 5-over par 77.

Two-time defending national champion, McLennan (TX) College, is tied with Central Alabama for first with 2-under par, 286. Indian Hills is in third with 1-under par, 287.

Individually, Central Alabama's Paul Harris leads with 4-under par, 68.

Live scoring is available for the event at www.golfstat.com

Second rounds gets underway Wednesday at the Eagles tee off at 11:04.

FULL RESULTS: http://www.golfstatresults.com//public/leaderboards/team/static/team_players_2695.html

No. 2 Eagles head to the National Championship

2011-05-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

(ODESSA, TX) - The Meridian Community College golf team will make their third consecutive appearance in the NJCAA Division I National Championship this week in Odessa, TX.

The Eagles enter the national tournament ranked as the No. 2 team in the country.

The championship, which is scheduled for 72 holes, begins on Tuesday. The four-day event will conclude on Friday and is being played on the “Links Course” of Odessa Country Club.

Last season MCC claimed their best finish in school history at the Division I level with a second place finish in the national championship, played last year at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail-Hampton Cove in Huntsville, AL. Then Eagle freshman, Brandt Garon, won the programs first ever individual national championship, shooting 5-under par for the tournament.

Garon is back this year to defend his title starting in the No. 1 spot for fifth-year MCC head coach Sean Covich.

Garon is perhaps the hottest golfer in all of college golf having won a NCAA Division I event (Arkansas State Red Wolf Intercollegiate) and a NJCAA post season championship (NJCAA District IV Championship) in his last two outings. He is 18-under par for his last five rounds of tournament golf.

“Brandt has had a remarkable career here at MCC,” said Covich.

“No matter what happens this week at nationals, he will leave here the most decorated player in school history. A NJCAA All America, a GCAA All America, the Arnold Palmer Award recipient last season, a member of the GCAA All Freshman team, a two time All Region player, and of course MCC’s first NJCAA National Champion. He has done it all.”

Garon has won a school record six tournaments and set nine other school records in his time at MCC, including season scoring average (72.1), career scoring average (72.4) and most rounds of even-par or better (31). Garon has signed with the University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Playing in the No. 2 spot for MCC will be freshman Jake Stirling. Stirling has notched as many top five finishes as Garon this season (7) and has tied the school record for lowest score (65).

“Jake has already made his mark and earned the interest of several four year coaches,” said Covich.

“He has played very consistent for us and pushed Brandt to be a better golf this season also.”

Sophomore Clemens Dvorak will start in the No. 3 spot for MCC. The Georgia State University signee recently earned MCC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year.

“Clemens has always been someone we could count on to post a solid score and fight the entire round for us. He has brought maturity and passion to this team.”

Meridian native, Easton Key will start in the No. 4 spot for the Eagles. Key, a freshman from Lamar, tied the school record in the fall with a 7-under par 65 in his first college event.

“Easton, at times, has shown that he can be one of the best on this team. Being a freshman, though, comes with first year mistakes. He has been able to learn from Brandt, Clemens and the other sophomores throughout the season to become a better golfer.”

Sophomore Adam Monsen returns to his home state for his final event as an Eagle. The San Antonio, TX native will play in the No. 5 spot for MCC this week. Monsen is the only player, besides Garon, to win multiple tournaments over his career. Monsen won the 2010 Faulkner State Invitational and the 2011 Miss-Lou College Invitational. Monsen has signed with the University of Louisiana Monroe.

23 teams from around the country are competing including two-time defending national champions, McLennan (TX) College. McLennan won last year’s national title by 8 shots over MCC in a rain shortened 54-hole championship.

MCC will be paired with New Mexico Junior College and Indian Hills Community College for the first and second rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday pairings will be determined by what position the teams are in.

The Eagles hit the links Tuesday at 7:30 am. Wednesday, MCC tees off at 11:04 am.

Live scoring for the 2011 NJCAA DI Men’s Golf National Championship will be available on GolfStat.com at www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=2695

Check out the final regular season NJCAA DI Men’s Golf Poll here http://www.njcaa.org/sports_polls.cfm?category=Polls&sid=12&divid=1&slid=6

WALKER STEPS DOWN AS MCC MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH

2011-05-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN)- Jeff Walker has resigned as head men’s basketball coach at Meridian Community College, according to MCC Athletic Director Hilary Allen. Walker took the Eagle reins from current Mississippi State Assistant Coach George Brooks in August of 2010 and posted an 19-10 record in his lone season at MCC.

Walker came to MCC from Indiana Tech University, where he had served as athletic director since 2009. He had over 20 years coaching experience, including head coaching stints at Crichton College in Memphis, Grayson County College in Texas, and Hiawassee College in Tennessee as well as an assistantship at Middle Tennessee State University. With his stint at MCC, Walker’s career head coaching record now stands at 179-96.

“Obviously, I was hoping that Coach Walker’s tenure at MCC would be longer than one year,” said Dr. Scott Elliott, college president, “but he has indicated that it is in his best interest and that of his family to chart a different course, so we wish him all the best and sincerely thank him for all his efforts on behalf of our college. ”

Walker had a history of turning around slumping basketball programs, and took a step in that direction for MCC with a 19-win season, including a 5-4 Miss-Lou Conference record. “Coach Walker laid a foundation this year that can hopefully be built upon by our new head coach,” Elliott assessed.

Elliott said the search for a new head coach would begin immediately, under the direction of Allen and MCC Assistant Dean for Student Services Sander Atkinson.

“Those two guys (Allen and Atkinson) did a good job in recruiting a proven coach like Jeff Walker last year in a rather tight timeline, given that we lost George Brooks to Mississippi State just before school started in the fall of 2010,” Elliott recalled. “This time around, we have a little more time to get things in place, although it remains a critical time for recruiting. So, we still have some sense of urgency in landing a quality coach.”

Allen said his first goal will be to work with Eagle Assistant Basketball Coach Justin Mann to keep the nucleus of Eagle returnees intact.

“We had a strong group of freshmen on this year’s team,” Allen said. “Coach Mann and I want to assure them that MCC is committed to securing a quality individual to coach them next season. We have as many as seven returnees on our roster who we want to keep in the Green and White for their sophomore seasons. However, I fully understand that it’s always an anxious time for players whenever you have a transition in coaches, so we want to make certain those players know they are wanted and needed in our basketball program.”

Anyone interested in applying for MCC head basketball coach can contact Allen at 601-484-8699.

MCC Soccer player headed to next level

2011-05-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) - Meridian Community College soccer player, Valentino Fogo, has signed a national letter of intent with the University of South Carolina-Aiken.

Fogo, a native from Kingston, Jamacia was two year starter at striker for the Eagles. Over his two year career at MCC, Fogo compiled 22 goals and 14 assists. He was named to the 2010 All Region 23 team in his sophomore year and helped the Eagles to a NJCAA Region 23 Runner up finish in 2009.

USC-Aiken is a NCAA Division II program and they compete in the Peach Belt Conference.

MCC Women’s Soccer Players Ink

2011-04-27T16:59:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) – Three Meridian Community College women’s soccer players made it official this week as they signed with four year programs.

MCC head soccer coach, Alex George, and assistant coach, Mike Smith, announced that sophomores Teri Brown, Katie McCain and Anastasia Vogel all signed with four year university teams.

Brown and Vogel will be attending William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS.

Brown, a goalkeeper from Bristol, England, was an All Region 23 player. She started for two years at MCC, shattering the goalkeeping records with giving up only 44 goals, compiling 264 saves, and 12 shutouts.

Vogel, a striker from Pontotoc, MS, was a MHSAA All Star at Pontotoc High School where she also played for the Chicago Fire Juniors of Mississippi Club team out of Jackson, MS. After arriving on MCC’s campus in 2009, she started at striker for two years at MCC, compiling 35 goals and 8 assist. Vogel leaves MCC as the third All Time leading goal scorer in Lady Eagle history. Vogel was also named NJCAA National Player of the Week in September and was named All Region 23 team her Freshman year.

McCain will be attending Belhaven University in Jackson, MS.

McCain is from Brandon, MS where she played for Brandon High School and was a MHSAA All Star. She also played on the Chicago Fire Juniors of Mississippi Club team along with Vogel. McCain started at defender both of her years at MCC.

Brown, McCain and Vogel helped lead the Lady Eagles to a 2009 Region 23 Championship and a 2010 Runner Up finish.

Meridian takes two out of three from Delgado

2011-04-25T06:53:00.001-07:00

MERIDIAN — The Meridian Community College Eagles couldn't have written the script any better on Friday afternoon at Scaggs Field. Ben Kingsley belted three home runs and MCC got two solid pitching performances to earn a much needed doubleheader sweep of Delgado Community College (8-3, 8-3) in local JUCO baseball Friday afternoon. Meridian entered its three game series with Delgado at 2-4 in the Miss-Lou Conference and the two victories have brought some life back into the Eagles.

Kingsley has hit six home runs in his last four games and leads the team with 17 home runs for the season. Kingsley came into the doubleheader against Delgado tied for the lead at 14 home runs in the nation, but has taken the lead with three long shots on Friday.

"Any time you can sweep a conference doubleheader and against such a good team is such a plus," said MCC head coach Chris Curry. "I thought that our starting pitchers today did a great job of answering the bell in such key starts today. We have some guys on our team that are starting to understand their role and we did a lot of things right in every part of both games."

Game 1
MCC 8
Delgado 3

The Eagles scored five runs in the fourth inning and held off a late Delgado rally to take the Game One victory over the Dolphins. MCC took a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning and the Eagles exploded for five runs to push its lead to 8-0. Dustin James got the fourth inning started with a single and Garrett Pitts followed with a double to put a pair of runners on base for MCC.

Kinglsey connected on his first home run of the day with a three-run shot to right field and give MCC a 6-0 lead over the Dolphins. The Eagles continued to use the long ball and scored two more runs to extend its lead to 8-0 over Delgado. Wade Wass reached base on an error by the Dolphins and Hunter Trawick blasted his sixth home run of the season that scored two runs and give MCC an 8-0 lead.

Delgado was able to rally late in the top of the sixth inning for three runs and cut the MCC lead to 8-3. Alex Prestenbach drove in two runs in the sixth inning for Delgado on a single and the third run of the inning scored on a wild pitch to bring the Dolphins to within five runs. MCC was able to hold off Delgado and secure the Game One victory by a final score of 8-3.

Brandon Hallford (3-1) pitched five innings for the Eagles and picked up the pitching victory and Brent Bonvillian (7-2) took the loss on the mound in Game One for Delgado. MCC had nine hits in Game One and was led at the plate by Kingsley and James with two hits apiece. Delgado (33-13, 4-7) ended Game One with eight hits and was led by Chad Fortenberry and Scott Fabre with two hits apiece.

Game 2
MCC 8
Delgado 3

Meridian completed the sweep of the Dolphins with another five-run victory in Game Two of the doubleheader. Meridian picked up right where it left off from Game One and scored in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead over Delgado. Kingsley gave MCC the quick 1-0 lead on a solo home run over the wall in left field to give him his second home run of the day.

The Eagles extended its lead with three more runs in the third inning and move the score to 4-0. Kingsley belted his final homer of the day that drove in all three runs n the third inning and give MCC a four-run edge over Delgado.

Meridian added three more runs in the next two innings and carried a 7-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning. Delgado was able to score its first runs of Game Two in the sixth inning and trim the MCC lead to 7-2. Daniel Brockhoeft belted a two-run home run in the sixth inning to give Delgado a sense of hope and cut the lead to five runs.

MCC scored its final run of the game on an error in the bottom of the sixth and Delgado scored its final run of the game in the seventh inning on a home run by Matt Smith to make the final score 8-3 in favor of Meridian in Game Two.

The Eagles collected 12 hits as a team in Game Two and was led by Kingsley, James, and Darren Farmer with two hits apiece. Delgado ended Game Two with five hits and was led by Brockhoeft with two hits in the game.

Michael Manley (6-2) picked up the pitching win in Game Two for MCC by tossing five shutout innings and Nate Fury (2-2) took the loss on the mound in Game Two for Delgado.

Game 3
MCC 6
Delgado 11

The MCC Eagles entered its final home game of the 2011 season looking to earn a sweep of Delgado Community College, but the Eagles would be denied on Saturday at Scaggs Field. Delgado scored four runs in the sixth and eighth inning to avoid the sweep by Meridian to take an 11-6 victory over the Eagles in Miss-Lou Conference action.

Delgado (34-13, 5-7) closed out its portion of the Miss-Lou Conference schedule and the Dolphins will host the 2011 Region 23 Tournament in New Orleans on May 13-14. Meridian is still alive for the regular season championship in the Miss-Lou Conference, but the Eagles will need a sweep of Baton Rouge on the road next weekend. The Bears currently sits at the top of the standings in the Miss-Lou Conference with a 6-3 record. All three teams in the Miss-Lou Conference will advance to the Region 23 Tournament at Delgado in three weeks no matter the result of the final series between Meridian and Baton Rouge next weekend.

"We just made too many mistakes that hurt us late in the game," said Meridian Community College head coach Chris Curry. "We have hurt ourselves numerous times this season with mistakes and we allowed them to happen again today. We still have a lot of big games ahead of us and postseason baseball is just around the corner."

Meridian (31-18, 4-5) started the game off with three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead over the Dolphins. Brian Donohoe led the bottom of the first inning off with a solo home run and Ben Kingsley followed with a solo shot. Kingsley ended the week with seven home runs in five games and increased his total to 18 home runs which leads the nation in JUCO baseball.

The Eagles added one more run in the frame on an RBI-ground out by Darren Farmer to give MCC a three-run lead after an inning of play. Delgado answered with a run of its own in the top of the second inning to cut the Meridian lead. Alex Prestenbach provided the spark for the Dolphins with a solo home run over the wall in left field which was his second of the series to brin Delgado to within two runs.

Meridian answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning to push its lead to three runs once again at 4-1. Farmer led off the fourth inning on a walk and Nolan Thomas followed with a single, but the Dolphins made a throwing error in the process that scored Farmer..

The Dolphins battled back to answer the run of the Eagles with a run in the top of the fifth inning. James Davis smashed a solo home run for the Dolphins over the wall in left field to inch Delgado closer to within a pair of runs. The Dolphins took its first lead in the top of the sixth inning with four runs and grab the 6-4 lead over the Eagles.

Daniel Brockhoeft had an RBI single in the sixth inning, but the big blow came on a three-run home run by Angelo Bruno that gave Delgado the 6-4 lead over Meridian. The game continued until heavy rain entered the area in the top of the eighth inning and play was postponed for close to an hour. The game resumed and Delgado put the game away for good with four more runs in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 10-4. Three runs scored in the inning on a pair of errors by Meridian and a third run scored on a wild pitch.

MCC tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning with a pair of runs to cut into the lead. Thomas drove in one run on a double and Dustin James added an RBI double in the two-run eighth inning for the Eagles. Delgado added one more insurance run in the top of the ninth inning and rolled to the 11-6 win over MCC.

Meridian ended the game with 11 hits and was led at the plate by Donohoe with three hits and the one home run by Kingsley. Delgado had 10 hits and was led by Bruno with three hits, to go along with three RBI.

MCC tennis teams sweep Region 23 tournament titles

2011-04-21T07:22:00.001-07:00

from school reports
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — Meridian Community College men’s team claimed their fifth consecutive Region 23 title today and the women’s team claimed their fourth consecutive Region 23 title.

What could have been a dismal day for the Meridian men turned into a celebration. Itawamba’s men were favored going into the tournament as they came into the Region tournament as the MACJC State Champs. Meridian lost their last outing to Itawamba March 22, 6-3. Meridian’s women were the favored team as they were undefeated in regular season play in the region.

At the end of the first day of play Meridian led the pack by one point with seven, Itawamba had six, Hinds three and Jones two. In number one men’s singles, ICC’s Ethan Wilkerson won the flight with wins over Mikhail Percherkin (Hinds) 6-0, 6-2 in the finals and Sam Thorold (Jones) 6-3, 6-1 in the semis. Meridian’s Matic Leskovar lost the first round to Pecherkin 7-5, 6-3. At the number two flight Meridian’s top-seeded Simon Bardell defeated Nick Williams (Jones) 6-1, 6-2 and ICC’s Jeremy Falls 6-3, 6-1 in the semis. Hinds number two Nikita Lisov lost to Williams (Jones) in the semis 6-3, 6-3. At the number 3 flight MCC’s top-seeded Andres Yepez defeated Jones’ Cade Sherman in three hard -fought sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, and in the semis he defeated Donnel Myles (Hinds) 6-2, 6-1. Sherman advanced to the finals with a win over ICC’s Wesley Raines 6-2, 6-4. ICC’s Alex Thomas won the four flight with wins over MCC’s Zach Marroy 7-6(5), 7-5 and Hinds’ Jeremy Robinson 6-2, 6-1. Marroy advanced to the finals with a big win over Jones’ Armand Deniakos 7-6(4), 6-4. ICC also took the five flight with a win by Luke Wilson over MCC’s Will Huntington. Wilson advanced to the finals with a win over Jones’ Josh Agee and Huntington defeated Hnds’ Morgan Brashire in the semis. At six, MCC’s Trey Webb came through big time with a win over ICC’s Jeff Hamm 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Going into the doubles’ action MCC led ICC by one point, so it was still any team’s title. At the number one flight Hinds’ Nikita Lisov and Mikhail Pecherkin helped MCC out when they won the flight with a win over the top-seeded ICC team of Ethan Wilkerson/Leon Prudencio 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. MCC’s 3 doubles Huntington/Webb lost to ICC’s Thomas/Wilson just minutes before MCC’s 2 doubles team Marroy/Yepez won a three- setter over Jones’ Williams/Deniakos to clinch the Region title for Meridian. Meridian finished the tournament with 11 points, ICC 10 points, and Jones and Hinds tied with 3 points each. Meridian’s men will now advance to the National Tournament to be held in Plano, TX May 15-20.

In women’s action Meridian had a clean sweep taking all nine courts. They did not lose a set the entire two-day tournament. Claiming the number one singles for MCC was Monica Rekkedal, at two Savannah Zachry, at three Indi Mire, at four Kaley Allen, at five Shelley Munn, and at six Cecilly Monsour. Winning the number one flight doubles for Meridian was the team of Savannah Zachry/Indi Mire. Shelley Munn, a former West Lauderdale player, and partner Monica Rekkedal won the two flight, and Kaley Allen and Cecilly Monsour took the win at three doubles for Meridian. The women certainly had to fight hard on several courts to claim All Region honors. At the number five singles ICC’s Mandy Collins pushed Shelley Munn to a 15-13 tie break for the first set. Shelley then won the second 7-5. The number one (Rekkedal) and two singles (Zachry) and the number one doubles (Mire/Zachry) came into the tournament seeded second as they had not faced Hinds during the regular season. Meridian finished the day with a perfect score of 18 points, Hinds 5, and ICC 4. Meridian’s women now advance to the National Tournament to be held in Tucson, AZ May 7-12.

According to Coach McPhail who is in her eleventh year as men’s and women’s tennis coach, “this has been an interesting year for Meridian tennis. The men’s team is one that I am the most proud of as six of the seven players are freshman. I have told them all season that we had to grow up mentally if we were going to keep the title in Meridian. I have a great group of guys and girls who have excelled all year on the courts and in the classroom as a whole. They have come together as a team, and I am extremely pleased with the determination and hard work I saw this week.

"The women had to overcome adversity as well early in the season when we lost our number three player at Christmas due to a should injury which resulted in surgery. As a coach, I had to completely rework my doubles who had played together in the fall. Doubles is like a marriage, “Players have to learn what the other one is doing to be a team,” so the girls had their work cut out for them. They have been a great group of ladies for two years as four of these ladies are sophomores.”

MCC Softball splits with Hinds

2011-04-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Meridian Community College softball team played host to in-state rivals, Hinds Community College on Wednesday afternoon.

MCC won game one 7-3 over Hinds, then dropped game two by a score of 8-4.

With the split, MCC is now 11-30 on the season and will face Pensacola Junior College on Tuesday at 1 pm in Pensacola, Fl.

Palmer to be inducted into Juco Sports Hall of Fame

2011-04-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Corky Palmer, the coach who led Meridian Community College’s baseball program into national prominence, will be inducted Tuesday night into the Mississippi Junior College Sports Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held at the Jackson-Hilton beginning at 7 p.m.

Each of Mississippi’s public community colleges select an inductee per year, and Palmer has been chosen as Meridian’s honoree for 2011. Palmer coached the MCC Eagles from 1987-96, compiling a record of 409-160, winning over 70 percent of his games. He is one of only two coaches in baseball history to lead both a junior college and a NCAA Division I team to their respective college world series. He accomplished the latter part of that distinction while head coach of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

“Coach Palmer is a legend in the annals of Mississippi college baseball,” said Dr. Scott Elliott, MCC president. “We are very excited about his induction into the Hall of Fame. He brought great honor to MCC as our baseball coach. His impressive record speaks for itself.”

Palmer will be joining in the Hall the following previous inductees from MCC: Lou Weddington Hart (golf); Cliff Lee, Jason Smith, Billy Harold Smith, and Paul Phillips (baseball); Jim Redgate (golf and basketball); and Ronald Murray (basketball).

At MCC, Palmer coached the Eagles to three trips to the Division I World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado, including a national runner-up finish in 1996. Palmer’s MCC Eagles captured five conference titles and four regional championships during his tenure. He was named Region 23 Coach of the Year on four occasions and NJCAA National Coach of the Year twice.

After departing MCC, Palmer became head coach at his alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi, where he compiled a 458-281 record and led the Golden Eagles to eight NCAA Regionals, including seven in a row in his final seasons before retiring. His 2009 USM squad earned the university’s first-ever trip to the NCAA World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, by sweeping the University of Florida Gators in the NCAA super Regionals at Gainesville, FL.

Prior to entering the college coaching ranks, Palmer amassed a high school coaching record of 102-52. His 32-year career coaching mark at all levels stands at 969-493. A prolific high school and college player himself, Palmer was a three-year starter at catcher for USM under the legendary Pete Taylor and captained the Golden Eagles his senior year. Palmer is a member of the M-Club and Alumni Association Hall of Fames at USM as well as the 2011 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame inductee class.

MCC tennis wins Region 23... again

2011-04-20T16:19:00.001-07:00

The Meridian Community College Eagles and Lady Eagles captured the Region 23 titles on Tuesday at Northeast Park in Meridian. MCC was the host and once again took home the honors as both the men’s and women’s teams advance to their national championship tournaments in May.

The men have now won five consecutive Region 23 titles and eight out of the last ten (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, & 2011).

The women have now won four in a row and eight out of the last nine (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, & 2011).

MCC has eight moving on...

2011-04-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

Eight Meridian Community College athletes signed at the next level. Four MCC baseball players and four golfers signed on Wednesday in a ceremony held on campus in front of family, friends and media.

For baseball, three local players, Darren Farmer and Dustin McWilliams from West Lauderdale and Kenny Roberts from Meridian High, along with Chase Jordan from Citronelle (AL) High School have committed to play at the next level.

Farmer, a sophomore from Bailey, signed with Grambling University. Farmer batted .346 for the Eagles with 4 homeruns and 14 doubles.

McWilliams, a sophomore from Collinsville, signed with the University of Mississippi, McWilliams was the Eagles best pitcher and had a 4.60 era.

Roberts, a sophomore from Meridian, signed wit the University of Alabama. Roberts batted .436 for the Eagles, with 11 homeruns, 18 doubles and 11 stolen bases.

Jordan, a sophomore from Citronelle, AL, signed with the University of South Alabama. Jordan was a standout pitcher holding opponents to just a .164 batting average.

The MCC golf team, who recently qualified for their third consecutive NJCAA DI National Championship appearance, had four sophomore golfers sign with NCAA schools on Wednesday.

Brandt Garon, Clemens Dvorak, Oscar Mariscal, and Adam Monsen all inked with four-year schools.

Garon, a Baton Rouge La. Native, signed a national letter of intent with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

During his two seasons, Garon has won six events and became the program’s first individual NJCAA Division I national champion as he lead the Eagles to a national runner up finish in 2010.

Garon was named to the All America, All Region and All Freshmen teams by the Golf Coaches Association of America. In addition the National Junior College Athletic Association named him a First Team All America selection.

Following his national medalist title, the GCAA announced that Garon was the recipient of the prestigious Arnold Palmer Award as the best junior college golfer in the nation.

Dvorak, a Vienna Austria native, singed with Georgia State University.

During his two seasons he has been named MCC’s Scholar Athlete of the Year and had been named to four all tournament teams.

Monsen, a San Antonio, TX native, signed to play with the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Monsen is a two time tournament champion and has been named to four all tournament teams.

Mariscal, from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, signed with St. Thomas University in Miami, FL.

Mariscal was an all tournament team member at the 2010 Mississippi College Fall Inv.

Eagles shoot 7-under par to claim runners-up at Districts, Advance to 3rd consecutive National Championship

2011-04-19T20:26:00.001-07:00

(ALEX CITY, AL) - Meridian Community College shot 7 under par to claim runner-up at the NJCAA District IV Championship at Willow Point Golf Club in Alexander City, AL.

The second place finish secured MCC their third consecutive national championship appearance, this year being played at Odessa Country Club in Odessa, TX on May 17-20.

Darton College out of Georgia won by six shots over MCC, the Cavaliers shot 851, MCC had 857 while host Central Alabama came in third with 861. Brevard came in fourth with 868, Cape Fear had 875 to finish fifth while Wallace State was sixth with 895, Faulkner State came in seventh with 899, Tri-County was eighth with 908, USC-Lancaster was ninth with 911, while Wake Tech rounded out the top ten with 914. Spartanburg Methodist was eleventh with 917 while Harford was twelfth with 1028.

"Our goal was to shoot even par or lower for the event and qualify for nationals," said fifth year MCC head coach Sean Covich.

"We played great, had a chance to win and finished second in the best district in junior college golf, very proud of all the guys."

Individually, MCC sophomore Brandt Garon won his fourth tournament of the year, and sixth of his Eagle career with an 9 under par performance. Garon, who has now won back-to-back tournaments, shot 73-66-68 to win by two shots. Along with District IV Medalist honors, Garon was also named to the NJCAA District IV All Tournament Team and All Region by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

Eagle freshman Jake Stirling was also named to the NJCAA District IV All Tournament Team and All Region by the GCAA. Stirling finished tied for third after rounds of 71-65-74, to finish 6 under par.

Sophomore Clemens Dvorak played steady for the 54 hole event with rounds of 73-73-73, to finish 3 over par and placed 14th.

Freshman Easton Key shot 76-76-71 to finish in a tie for 21st with 7 over par.

Sophomore Adam Monsen shot 76-74-78 to finish 10 over par and in 39th place.

MCC coach Sean Covich was named NJCAA District IV Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America. The Eagles have won five tournaments this season with three runner-up finishes.

The Eagles will host their MCC Alumni & Friends Scramble at NAS-Ponta Creek Golf Course on Friday, April 29 before heading to the NJCAA Division I National Championship.

MCC golf starts postseason on Monday

2011-04-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Willow Point Golf & Country Club

The Meridian Community College golf team, currently ranked No. 3 in the country, will begin postseason play this week at the NJCAA District IV Championship.

The 54-hole event is being played on Monday and Tuesday at Willow Point Golf & Country Club in Alexander City, AL, and is being hosted by Central Alabama Community College. The Willow Point course measures a very long 7,465 yards and plays to a par 72.

12 teams from seven states are participating, with the top six advancing to Odessa, TX for the NJCAA Division I National Championship in May.

MCC moved up to Division I from Division II in the 2009 season and has finished third (2009) and second (2010) in their only two District IV appearances.

“We have improved every season since moving up to the highest level of NJCAA golf,” said head coach Sean Covich.

“This one will be a challenge. We are playing the No. 1 team (Central Alabama) on their home course for the District Championship, also we need to play solid to secure our spot in the national championship.”

The top three teams in the country are in District IV, they include No.1 Central Alabama, No. 2 Brevard (FL) College and No. 3 MCC. Wallace State (AL) Community College is also in the top ten, at No. 6.

“This is the hardest District to advance from, but if you can win in this league you can win a national championship.”

Defending NJCAA national champion, Brandt Garon, will start in the No. 1 spot for MCC. Garon won his fifth tournament last week as the sophomore defeated 102 players at the Arkansas State Red Wolf Intercollegiate, a NCAA Division I event. The Baton Rouge native shot 9-under par, 66-69 to win by two shots.

Freshman Jake Stirling looks to bounce back this week after a rough showing in Arkansas. The Melbourne, Australia native will start in the No. 2 spot. He has posted 13 rounds of even par or better this season and is tied with Garon for lowest stroke average on the team (72.6).

Sophomore team captain, Clemens Dvorak, will anchor the line-up in the No. 3 spot. Dvorak was recently named MCC’s Male Athlete of the Year, an award based on academic and athlete performance.

Freshman Easton Key, a former Lamar High School standout from Meridian will play in the No. 4 spot. Key shot an opening round 3-under par (69) last week in the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate. He shot the lowest round in school history, a 65 (-7) in the fall semester at the Wallace State Fall Invitational.

Rounding out the MCC line-up is sophomore Adam Monsen in the No. 5 spot. Monsen had another under-par preference last week, shooting 4-under (70-70) at the ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate. He is a two-time medalist for MCC, winning the 2010 Faulkner State Invitational and the 2011 Mississippi-Louisiana College Invitational.

“This, right now, is our best line-up,” said Sean Covich.

“The key to postseason success is not only having talent but getting all five guys peaking at the right time, and I feel like we are.”

MCC will play 36-holes on Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday.

Meridian’s Garon claims Red Wolf Intercollegiate tourney

2011-04-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

JONESBORO, Ark. — Meridian Community College sophomore Brandt Garon added another trophy to his all-american career with a two-shot victory at the Arkansas State University Red Wolf Intercollegiate.

Garon bested 102 golfers from 18 teams with rounds of 66-69 to shoot 9-under-par at Ridge Pointe Country Club.

The win was Garon's third of the season and fifth of his MCC career.

Cameron Carrico from Murray State University, Will Hogan from Missouri State University and Austen Moix from the University of Central Arkansas tied for second, two shots behind Garon at 7-under.

“Besides winning the national championship, which Brandt did last season, this is the biggest individual win by an Eagle,” said MCC head coach Sean Covich.

“Brandt won a NCAA Division I event against all these four-year schools and he plays for a Mississippi junior college, very proud day for him and MCC.”

University of Arkansas-Little Rock won the team championship by one stroke over the University of Central Arkansas. Jacksonville State University was third, Missouri State University came in fourth, while host Arkansas State University and the University of Louisiana-Monroe tied for fifth. MCC tied Murray State University for seventh place.

“Just to be invited to play in this NCAA event was special, then to have the first round lead was great,” added Covich.
“Really proud to finish seventh and have these guys showcase their talents in front of all these four-year coaches.”

Individually for MCC, along with Garon’s 9-under, Adam Monsen shot 4-under and tied for eighth, former Lamar standout Easton Key shot 69-77 and tied for 30th, Alex Grannon shot 76-78 to tie for 81st, while Jake Stirling shot 81-78 to tie for 93rd.

MCC returns to action next week when they travel to Willow Point Country Club in Alex City, Ala., for the NJCAA District IV Championship.

MCC returns to action in the prestigious Red Wolf Intercollegiate

2011-04-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) - Fresh off their thrilling victory at the Lou Hart Invitational, the Meridian Community College golf team returns to action this Monday and Tuesday at the Arkansas State University Red Wolf Intercollegiate in Jonesboro, AR.

18 teams are participating in the 54-hole event being contested at Ridge Point Country Club. 17 of the 18 teams, including host Arkansas State, are NCAA Division I teams. MCC is the only junior college team invited to this event.

"This is the second year in a row that we've been invited and I think that says a lot about our program and our players," said fifth year head coach Sean Covich.

"It is a great opportunity not only to compete against NCAA teams but also for our players to be recruited for the next level."

Following last year’s ASU Red Wolf Intercollegiate, then-MCC sophomore Cory Williamson signed with Arkansas State. Currently, Williamson is a starter for the Red Wolves.

This week the Eagles will start freshman, Jake Stirling, in the No. 1. The Melbourne, Australia native is ranked as the third best junior college golfer in the country, according to GolfStat.com. He leads the team with a 72.0 scoring average and has posted 13 rounds of even-par or better this season.

Defending NJCAA national champion, Brandt Garon, will play in the No. 2 spot. The sophomore from Baton Rouge has won four events during his Eagle career, including two this season. He has committed to play for the University of Louisiana-Lafayette next season.

Freshman Alex Grannon, from Kiln, MS, returns to the Eagle line-up this week in the No. 3 spot.

Sophomore Adam Monsen will start in the No. 4 for MCC. The San Antonio, TX native has won two tournaments during his time at MCC. He is scheduled to sign with the University of Louisiana-Monroe later this month.

Meridian native Easton Key will round out the Eagle line-up in the No. 5 spot. The freshman standout from Lamar has been battling kidney stones this past week, but made a dramatic putt to clinch the Lou Hart Invitational for MCC on Tuesday.

“Easton showed a lot of heart this week,” said MCC head coach Sean Covich.

“He fought though the pain to help us win at Northwood and he didn’t complain when he had to qualify this week. He stepped up and did what he had to do.”

“This tournament will be huge for the three freshmen (Grannon, Key, and Stirling). They can get their names out there and impress some of these NCAA DI coaches this week.”

This will be MCC's last regular season event before beginning NJCAA post-season action at the District IV championship April 18-19. The NJCAA Division I National Championship is slated for May 17-20 in Odessa, TX. The Eagles were runners-up in last season’s District IV and National championships.

MCC captures Lou Hart Invitational in sudden death playoff

2011-04-06T12:22:00.001-07:00

from staff reports
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — Midway through his round on Tuesday, Meridian Community College freshman Easton Key was doubled over in pain suffering from kidney stones.

A few hours later his teammates shouted "Stones" — the new nickname they gave him for playing through the pain — after he sank a clutch 15-foot par putt in a sudden death team playoff on No. 1 at Northwood Country Club.

His putt — along with Freshman Jake Stirling's birdie and two other pars from teammates Brandt Garon and Adam Monsen in the playoff — helped the Eagles beat No. 1 ranked Central Alabama to win the Lou Hart Invitational.

In the sudden death playoff format, all 10 players from both teams played No. 1 at the same time. Key's dramatic par putt was followed by Stirling's 10-foot birdie putt. Stirling was the only player to make birdie in the sudden death playoff as MCC topped CACC by one stroke.

"This was a special win for us … it was the first time we've won the Lou Hart,” said MCC Coach Sean Covich. “The playoff was unbelievable, very dramatic. To beat the No. 1 ranked team in that fashion was a memory these guys will always have. I'm still not sure how we won, they (CACC) had 4 putts at birdie and we only had 2 but yet we won. It was crazy. Northwood was in great shape with the new greens it is a great challenge. We look forward to carrying this momentum into final two events."

MCC was three shots ahead of Central heading into Tuesday’s final round of the 54-hole event. A birdie by Central’s Paul Harris on the final hole helped send the match into a playoff as both teams were tied at 895. MCC shot a 300 on Tuesday — Stirling, 72; Clemens Dvorak, 75; Brandt Garon, 76; and Key and Monsen, 77.

Minutes after Stirling birdied No. 1 in the team playoff, he walked back up the fairway to play No. 1 again in a playoff for medalist. But Wallace State Community College’s Blaise Wilson birdied to win the playoff.

Eagles lead Lou Hart Invitational

2011-04-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) –Meridian Community College shot consecutive sub-300 rounds to open up the 3rd Annual Lou Hart Invitational and take a three shot lead over No. 1 ranked Central Alabama.

The Eagles posted a 297 in round one then shot a 298 in round two.

MCC was led by freshman Jake Stirling who shot 74-73 and is in a tie for seventh place. Sophomore Clemens Dvorak shot 73-75 and is in a tie for ninth place. Sophomore Brandt Garon is also in a tie for ninth after rounds of 74-74. Freshman Easton Key is in a tie for 29th with 76-79, while Adam Monsen, a sophomore, is in a tie for 32nd with rounds of 80-76.

Keith Beaudin of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is in first place, individually with 73-70.

MCC leads the event with 595. Central Alabama is in second with 598, ABAC is in third with 605. Wallace State is in a tie for fourth after a 606, as is Faulkner State. Indian Hills is in sixth with a 614, Darton is in seventh with a 617, Andrew is in eight with a 619, the University of New Orleans is in ninth with a 624, and Georgia Military rounds out the field in tenth with a 687.

Final round begins at 8:30 am off of #1 and #10 tees.

First and second place teams will be awarded following play, along with the all tournament team and the medalist.

Eagles collapse, swept in Miss-Lou opener

2011-04-03T12:27:00.001-07:00

from staff reports

MERIDIAN — After getting shut out by rival Delgado in its Miss-Lou Conference opener on the road Saturday, Meridian Community College looked well on the way to revenge in Game 2. However, the Eagles collapsed after building a nine-run lead and fell 17-11 to get swept following the 5-0 loss in Game 1.

Scoring two runs in the first inning, three more in the second and six in the third, MCC (23-14, 0-2) led 11-2 following three frames. However, Delgado rallied for eight in the fourth and six in the fifth as they pulled away. Daniel Allen took the loss for MCC in relief of Dalton Short.

Ben Kingsley led the MCC offensive attack with three hits — two doubles and a triple — while Wade Wass, Hunter Trawick and Garrett Pitts all added two hits. Wass had two RBIs and a double, while Trawick doubled and drove in one and Pitts also had an RBI.

In the opener, Delgado scored four runs in the fourth to knock off former West Lauderdale star Dustin McWilliams, who fell to 3-4. The sophomore left-hander gave up four runs in just 3 1-3 innings. Another former Knight Dustin James had two of MCC's five hits as Meridian High product Kenny Roberts saw his 22-game hit streak snapped.

The Eagles will look to salvage a game in the three-game set as Wes Stokes takes the mound for the nine-inning game at 2 p.m. today.

MCC golf set to host 3rd annual Lou Hart Invitational

2011-04-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) -The Meridian Community College golf team will be hosting the 3rd annual Lou Hart Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, April 4-5 at Northwood Country Club in Meridian.

Ten teams representing five states are set to participate in the event named in honor of former MCC golf coach and Hall of Fame member, Lou Hart.

“We started this event three years ago to honor all Coach Hart has done for this program,” said MCC head coach Sean Covich.

“Annually, we have teams from all over the country participate and that’s a testament to Coach Hart and the program she built.”

“Teams also rave about the condition of Northwood and the beauty of the course, they love coming to play here.”

Teams scheduled to participle along with MCC include: Abraham Baldwin College, Andrew College, Central Alabama Community College, Darton College, Faulkner State Community College, Georgia Military College, Indian Hills Community College, University of New Orleans, and Wallace State Community College.

“We have another strong field of teams coming to Northwood,” said Covich.

“We have the top three teams in the national poll here this week and most of these sophomores have already signed to play NCAA DI golf.”

“We’re excited, it’s going to be a challenge but I invite everyone out to watch these future stars.”

Meridian is coming off a runner-up finish at the 10th annual Ron Marshall Spring Fling College Classic. So far on the season MCC has registered four wins and two runner-up finishes. Currently the Eagles are ranked No. 2 in the nation by GolfStat.com.

Freshman Jake Stirling, who is averaging under par for the Eagles this season, will start in the No. 1 spot for MCC. The Melbourne, Australia native has posted seven consecutive rounds of even-par or lower heading into this week’s event. He has been MCC’s low score at four tournaments this season, including one medalist title.

Sophomore team captain Clemens Dvorak will start in the No. 2 spot for MCC. Dvorak, who plans to sign with NCAA DI program Georgia State University in April, has posted eight rounds of even-par or lower this season.

Sophomore Brandt Garon, who has won four career tournaments for MCC, will start in the No. 3 spot. The defending NJCAA national champion has committed to play for NCAA DI program, University of Louisiana Lafayette.

Sophomore Adam Monsen and freshman Easton Key will round out the starting lineup in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots respectively. Monsen has already captured two tournaments during his career as an Eagle and is expected to sign with the University of Louisiana Monroe in April. Key, a former Lamar standout from Meridian, holds the record for lowest score in school history (65).

Freshman Alex Grannon, sophomore Bo Reed and sophomore Oscar Mariscal will play as individuals for MCC.

The 54-hole event will start on Monday at 8 a.m. with play scheduled for 36 holes. The final round will be played on Tuesday starting at 8 a.m. with an awards ceremony following the conclusion of play.

MCC Golf Team at L.O.V.E.'s Kitchen

2011-04-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Meridian Community College golf team took a day off from preparations for their upcoming Lou Hart Invitational to serve lunch at L.O.V.E.’s Kitchen Friday afternoon. The volunteer work is one of many things the golf team is busy doing during their time of giving back to the community. Last week, MCC volunteered at Briarwood and Northwood to help the maintenance crews with their work, the golf team is also partnering up First Christian Church to help raise money for Relay For Life with a scramble golf tournament this weekend.

Pictured are from L-R: Jake Stirling, Adam Monsen, Easton Key, Clemens Dvorak, Bo Reed, Oscar Mariscal, Josh Ellis, and Brandt Garon.

Gregory to speak at MCC’s Lou Hart Invitational Banquet

2011-03-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — More than 60 junior college golfers and coaches will be in for a touching treat on Monday night as D.J. Gregory will be speaking at the 3rd annual Lou Hart Invitational Banquet in the Dulaney room of Webb Hall on the Meridian Community College Campus.

Gregory, who was featured in 2008 in the ESPN E:60 feature "Walk On", was born with cerebral palsy, underdeveloped lungs and tangled legs. He was told he would never walk. He could only crawl around his house for the first few years of his life.

Be that as it may, five surgeries before he entered the first grade enabled him to learn to walk with a cane.

"I met him (Gregory) in December at Shell Landing Golf Club," said MCC golf coach Sean Covich. "I just started talking to him because I had seen his stuff on ESPN and the Golf Channel and it was an awesome story. I asked him if he speaks at events and he said, 'Yeah, I go around the country when I'm not at tour events and give talks.'

"I asked him if he would come to the Lou Hart and he said yes."

Gregory picked up golf at the age of 9 and developed a love for the sport. So much in fact that he set a goal of walking every hole of every tournament on the PGA tour in 2008. That's 44 tournaments in 45 weeks.

More than 3,200 holes and 988 miles of walking later he accomplished his goal all the while following different players during their rounds and writing about it in a blog.

He will be sharing his story in full at the banquet in hopes of inspiring and encouraging what could be future tour players.

"Hopefully his story will inspire the players and also let them know no to take things for granted," added Covich. "Being a college golfer or athlete, you can kind of do that some times. D.J. has been able to use his disability to inspire others. Hopefully he will also give the players a good perspective too."

Gregory will be out at the tournament, which is hosted at Northwood Country Club, on both Monday and Tuesday before heading out to Augusta, Ga., on Wednesday for the Masters.

Covich thinks it will be a good experience for the players to talk with Gregory and get some insight into how things are on the tour and what the players are like.

"There are going to be around 60 players here this week and some of these guys are going to play SEC golf and Division I golf and hopefully eventually make it to the tour," said Covich. "It will be cool when they get to the tour and remember what D.J. told them so that they can give back and influence others. That's his message, don't let anyone stop you and always give back.

"Plus he's been out there on tour so he can give us some pointers on how these tour players practice and how they treat other people. What they are really like off and on the golf course."

Along with continuing to follow every tournament, Gregory also runs the website www.walkingforkids.org. The website is set up to help kids with disabilities that enjoy sports. You can also follow the website on facebook at www.facebook.com/walkingforkids.

Numerous tour professionals contribute to Gregory's charity.

This week in MCC Sports

2011-03-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Baseball
Tuesday 6:00 pm @ Shelton State Tuscaloosa, AL
Wednesday 2:00 pm @ Alabama Southern Thomasville, AL
Saturday 2:00 pm @ Delgado New Orleans, LA
Sunday 2:00 pm @ Delgado New Orleans, LA

Golf
Wednesday 2:00 pm @ Mississippi State West Point, MS

Softball
Monday 1:00 pm @ Bishop State Brewton, AL
Thursday 1:00 pm @ Marion Military Marion, AL
Saturday 2:00 pm @ LSU Eunice Eunice, LA

Tennis
Thursday TBA @ Seminole Seminole, OK Friday TBA @ Seminole Seminole, OK Saturday TBA @ Seminole Seminole, OK

Freshmen continue streak, three straight Eagle Cups

2011-03-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) – Clear skies and windy conditions greeted the competitors on Wednesday, the final day of Eagle Cup X, played at historic Northwood Country Club. The Freshmen team came into the final day clinging to a 2 point lead (4-2) over the Sophomores.

Six points were up for grabs on the final day as the format turned to singles match play, with the Freshmen team needing just 2 ½ points to secure the Cup and the Sophomore team needing a 1999- USA Ryder Cup – style comeback as they had to earn 4 ½ points on Wednesday to take back the Cup for the first time since 2009.

Match #1 featured some of the big guns as Freshman team captain Jake Stirling took on Sophomore team captain Clemens Dvorak. Stirling took a 1 UP lead heading into the back nine, then on the 15th hole made one of the longest puts in Eagle Cup history. Stirling, on the back fringe in two, drained a putt over 50 feet down the slope on the treacherous 15th green to virtually secure the match, going 3 UP with three to play. Stirling would defeat Dvorak 4&2. With the Freshmen win in Match #1 they were only 1 ½ points away from winning three straight Eagle Cups.

Match #2 featured reigning NJCAA National Champion, Brandt Garon of the sophomore team against, hometown hero Easton Key of the freshmen team. Billed as one of the title bout matches of the day, these two heavyweights went 16 holes as Key held the lead for most of the round over the veteran Garon. Key would prevail on #16 and won a “key” point for the Freshman team with a 3&2 victory over Garon. The Eagle Cup then stood at 6-2, ensuring the Freshmen at least a playoff and just ½ a point away from the Cup. Meanwhile the Sophomores had to run the table on every match remaining on the course just to force a playoff.

Match #4 pitted freshman golfer Alex Grannon against Texas sophomore Adam Monsen. The match was all square heading into the back nine, but then Monsen turned it on and dominated on the final stretch to win the match with a 5&4 victory over Grannon earning the Sophomore team a much needed point and kept their hopes alive for a playoff.

After Monsen’s win, that left three matches on the course. The Sophomores needed to win all three outright to force a playoff while the Freshmen needed to just half one of the three to claim the Cup.

Match #4 featured “freshman” John Rea against sophomore Bo Reed. Reed fell behind early to the Northwood Club Champion, and Rea made it official with an emphatic 5&4 win to give the Freshmen the Eagle Cup for the third consecutive time as they now had the lead 7-3.

Match #5 featured “freshman” Clinton Hales against sophomore Oscar Mariscal. As was the case today, this match ended early with Hales defeating Mariscal, 5&4. Making it 8-3, Freshmen.

There was only one match left on the golf course, Match #6, Randy Warden representing the Sophomores and Josh Ellis representing the Freshmen. Warden enjoyed a comfortable 4 UP lead heading into #13, Ellis won the hole to make it 3 UP, Warden leading. Then in a sign of sportsmanship, instead of continuing the match, freshman Ellis conceded the final point of the day to Warden & the Sophomores. The Cup was already out of reach for them, and the concession gave the Sophomore team the final point of Eagle Cup X, which was just their second point of the day.

Eagle Cup X ended with the Freshmen 8 and the Sophomores 4 . Eagle Cup XI will be played this Fall (2011) in Meridian with the “Freshmen” riding a winning streak of their own… three straight.

EAGLE CUP X
Freshmen 8
Sophomores 4

Day One (Four-Ball Match play)
Match 1- Brandt Garon/Adam Monsen defeated Easton Key/Clinton Hales 1 UP
Match 2- Alex Grannon/John Rea defeated Clemens Dvorak/Oscar Mariscal 2&1
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis defeated Bo Reed/Randy Warden 3&2

Day Two (Alternate shot match play)
Match 1- Easton Key/Alex Grannon defeated Brandt Garon/Bo Reed 3&2
Match 2- Adam Monsen/Oscar Mariscal defeated John Rea/Clinton Hales 1 UP
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis defeated Clemens Dvorak/Kyle Temple 3&2

Day Three (Singles match play)
Match 1- Jake Stirling defeated Clemens Dvorak 4&2
Match 2- Easton Key defeated Brandt Garon 4&2
Match 3- Adam Monsen defeated Alex Grannon 5&4
Match 4- John Rea defeated Bo Reed 5&4
Match 5- Clinton Hales defeated Oscar Mariscal 5&4
Match 6- Randy Warden defeated Josh Ellis 3 UP

History:
Cup Date Winner
I Fall 2006: Sophomores
II Spring 2007: Sophomores
III Fall 2007: Sophomores
IV Spring 2008: Sophomores
V Fall 2008: Sophomores
VI Spring 2009: Sophomores
VII Fall 2009: Sophomores
VIII Spring 2010: Freshmen
IX Fall 2010: Freshmen
X Spring 2011: Freshmen
XI Fall 2011: ???

Lady Bobcats sweep Meridian

2011-03-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

MERIDIAN – The Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats defeated the Meridian Community College Lady Eagles 13-1 in five innings in the opener and 12-0 in six innings in the nightcap yesterday at Tommy McDonald Field.

JCJC is now 19-5 on the season and will return home to Community Bank Park on Thursday for a 3 p.m. doubleheader against Hinds.

MCC (5-19) is at Jeff Davis Community College (Ala.) on Friday.

Jones Co. 13
Lady Eagles 1
(5 innings)

Ginger Lonergan improved to 9-1 with the victory in the opener. Lonergan allowed one earned run on four hits with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

JCJC put it away quickly with a nine-run, first inning.

Mallory Cowart was hit by a pitch and Haley Brooke Smith reached on an error. Alex Faciane walked and Shannon Mosley followed with a two-run single. Stacia Whitaker then walked and Jessmar Walters delivered another two-run single. Heidi Garcich reached on an error and K.T. Perkins followed with a run-scoring single.

Cowart then batted for the second time in the inning and had a two-run double. Faciane then delivered a two-out, run-producing single.

The Lady Bobcats made it 11-0 in the second inning. Walters reached on a fielder’s choice, Garcich reached on an error and Perkins followed with a two-run double.

After MCC scored its run in the third, JCJC came back with its final two runs in the fourth when Jasmine Jefferson singled and Perkins drilled a two-run home run.

Jones Co. 12
Lady Eagles 0
(6 innings)

Lauren Candies upped her record to 10-4 with the shutout in game two. She gave up four hits, no walks and struck out seven.

The Lady Bobcats pounded out 22 hits in game two.

They scored a run in the first when Faciane drew a two-out walk, Mosley singled and Whitaker had an RBI single.

JCJC made it 3-0 in the second when Garcich singled and Jade McLeod reached on an error. Kayla McDaniel then drilled a two-run single.

The Lady Bobcats scored four times in the fourth to make it 7-0. McDaniel doubled and scored on a single by Cowart. Smith’s double scored Cowart, Faciane singled to score Smith and Perkins singled to score Faciane.

JCJC scored five runs in the sixth. Perkins and Garcich both singled and McLeod followed with a bunt single. Brittany Daniel followed with an RBI single. With one out, Cowart walked to load the bases. Smith then had an RBI single and Jessica Upton followed with an RBI single. Daniel would score on a wild pitch and Mosley’s ground out would drive in a run.

Meridian sweeps Northwest Shoals

2011-03-23T09:16:00.001-07:00

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer

MERIDIAN — Kenny Roberts extended his hit streak to 20 games, and Darren Farmer had a solid day at the plate as Meridian Community College rolled over Northwest Shoals in a doubleheader at Scaggs Field on Tuesday.

In Game 1, the Eagles used a seven-run third inning to set the tone and take an 11-9 win.

Dustin James, a West Lauderdale product, had two hits and Garrett Pitts had two hits and three RBIs. Farmer, another West Lauderdale product, had two RBIs and a hit, while former Meridian High standout Roberts connected on the go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning.

Brandon Hallford earned the win for MCC in relief, while Josh Lee got the save.

In Game 2, the Eagles wasted little time, striking for seven runs in the first inning before settling for the 10-1 win.

Farmer continued his solid day from the plate with three hits, while Ben Kinglsey had two hits including a home run and two RBIs. Pitts had a home run and 4 RBIs.

West Lauderdale product Wes Stokes got the win for Meridian.

MCC improves to 21-12 on the season, while Northwest falls to 19-7.

The Eagles travel to Alabama Southern on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game.

Freshmen extend lead on Day Two, Look for 3rd straight Cup

2011-03-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) - Once again Day Two of Eagle Cup X had perfect weather and clear skies as the format featured alternate shot match play at beautiful Briarwood Country Club.

Heading into the day, the "Freshmen" team was looking to add to their 2-1 lead while the "Sophomore" team was looking to mount a comeback.

The first match of the day featured freshmen Easton Key and Alex Grannon against sophomore Brandt Garon and Bo Reed.

Key/Grannon grabbed an impressive lead early for the freshmen team at 4UP thru seven holes but Garon/Reed won hole #8 and then because of a violation of Rule 4-4b, the Sophomores cut the lead to 2 UP heading into #9. Key/Grannon then took control late in the back nine and closed out the match on the par 3 16th, winning 3&2 which extended the Eagle Cup lead for the Freshmen out to 3-1.

The second match of the day saw “freshmen” John Rea and Clinton Hales team up against Adam Monsen and Oscar Mariscal of the sophomore team.

The match was All Square most of the day. On the backside Monsen/Mariscal took the lead after #14 and looked to add to their lead on #15, but Rea/Hales won #15 and got it back to All Square . After ties on #16 and #17, Match #2, would make it to the final hole for some Alternate Shot drama. Rea/Hales bogied #18 and Monsen from the sophomore team calmly drained a 3-footer for par and the win, earning the sophomore team a much needed point as they cut into the Freshmen team’s lead, 3-2.

The final match of the day would feature freshmen Jake Stirling and Josh Ellis against sophomore Clemens Dvorak and late-fill in Kyle Temple.

Stirling/Ellis would remain undefeated thru two days of action with a 3&2 win over Dvorak/Temple. The freshmen win gave the defending champs a 2 point lead, 4-2.
The final day of the three day Eagle Cup concludes Wednesday afternoon at Northwood Country Club. The final day will feature six different singles matches with a total of six points up for grabs. First team to 6 ½ points wins the Cup, meaning that the Freshmen need to win 2 ½ points to claim the cup for the third consecutive time. Meanwhile, the Sophomores need to win 4 ½ to claim the Cup for the first time since 2009.

Results:

Day One (Four-Ball Match play)
Match 1- Brandt Garon/Adam Monsen defeated Easton Key/Clinton Hales 1 UP
Match 2- Alex Grannon/John Rea defeated Clemens Dvorak/Oscar Mariscal 2&1
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis defeated Bo Reed/Randy Warden 3&2

Day Two (Alternate shot match play)
Match 1- Easton Key/Alex Grannon defeated Brandt Garon/Bo Reed 3&2
Match 2- Adam Monsen/Oscar Mariscal defeated John Rea/Clinton Hales 1 UP
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis defeated Clemens Dvorak/Kyle Temple 3&2

Point Totals
(after Rd 2)
Freshmen 4
Sophomores 2

Format:
Monday, March 21st- Four-Ball match-play Northwood CC
Tuesday, March 22nd- Alternate shot match-play Briarwood CC
Wednesday, March 23rd- Singles match-play Northwood CC

Captains:
Sophomore Team- Clemens Dvorak
Freshman Team- Jake Stirling

History:
Cup Date Winner
I Fall 2006: Sophomores
II Spring 2007: Sophomores
III Fall 2007: Sophomores
IV Spring 2008: Sophomores
V Fall 2008: Sophomores
VI Spring 2009: Sophomores
VII Fall 2009: Sophomores
VIII Spring 2010: Freshmen
IX Fall 2010: Freshmen
X Spring 2011: ???

Freshmen Take Early Lead in Eagle Cup X

2011-03-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

(MERIDIAN) - Sunny skies greeted the players on opening day of “Eagle Cup X” Monday at historic Northwood Country Club.

On Monday afternoon the “Sophomore” team, captained by Clemens Dvorak, faced off against the “Freshman” team, captained by Jake Stirling, in four ball match play with each match being played for one point. A total of three points were up for grabs on Day One.

The first match of the day featured Brandt Garon and Adam Monsen of the sophomore team against Easton Key and former MCC golfer Clinton Hales, who represented the freshmen team.

In what turned out to be the closest match of the day, Garon/Monsen closed out on the match on the final hole earning the sophomore team the first point of Eagle Cup X with a 1 UP victory over Key/Hales.

Match two featured sophomores Clemens Dvorak and Oscar Mariscal versus freshman Alex Grannon and Northwood Men’s club champion, John Rea.

Dvorak/Mariscal had the lead most of the front nine and into the backside before Grannon/Rea made clutch birdies to even the match. A close match all the way around the back nine, Grannon/Rea finally closed it out on the 17th hole to win 2&1. The Eagle Cup was now 1-1 with a victory for the freshmen team.

The final match of the day featured Bo Reed and former Eagle golfer Randy Warden on the sophomore team as they faced freshmen Jake Stirling and Josh Ellis

Reed/Warden got up early in the match, 2 UP after three holes only to see Stirling/Ellis battle back and regain the lead heading into the back nine. Stirling/Ellis put the match away with a par on the 16th hole to win 3&2 and thus giving the Freshmen Team a 2-1 advantage after Day One.

Day Two of the three day event continues Tuesday with alternate shot match play being held at Briarwood CC. Play beings at 2 PM with the freshmen leading 2-1.

Results:

Day One (Four-Ball Match play)
Match 1- Brandt Garon/Adam Monsen defeated Easton Key/Clinton Hales 1 UP
Match 2- Alex Grannon/John Rea defeated Clemens Dvorak/Oscar Mariscal 2&1
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis defeated Bo Reed/Randy Warden 3&2

Point Totals
(after Rd 1)
Freshmen 2
Sophomores 1

Day Two (Alternate shot match play)
Match 1- Easton Key/Alex Grannon vs. Brandt Garon/Bo Reed
Match 2- John Rea/Clinton Hales vs. Adam Monsen/Oscar Mariscal
Match 3- Jake Stirling/Josh Ellis vs. Randy Warden/Clemens Dvorak

Format:
Monday, March 21st- Four-Ball match-play Northwood CC
Tuesday, March 22nd- Alternate shot match-play Briarwood CC
Wednesday, March 23rd- Singles match-play Northwood CC

Captains:
Sophomore Team- Clemens Dvorak
Freshman Team- Jake Stirling

History:
Cup Date Winner
I Fall 2006: Sophomores
II Spring 2007: Sophomores
III Fall 2007: Sophomores
IV Spring 2008: Sophomores
V Fall 2008: Sophomores
VI Spring 2009: Sophomores
VII Fall 2009: Sophomores
VIII Spring 2010: Freshmen
IX Fall 2010: Freshmen
X Spring 2011: ???

Eagles claim Runner-up at Spring Fling

2011-03-19T17:38:00.000-07:00

(Scottsboro, AL) - Meridian Community College fired a 1-over par team score, 289 in the final round of the 10th Annual Ron Marshall Spring Fling to claim runner-up for the third consecutive year.

21 teams (105 players) representing nine states played in the 54 hole event.

Meridian finished just five shots back of first place Central Alabama. The Trojans shot 4-under par, 860. MCC was 1-over, 865 in second while Wallace State shot 4-over, 868 to place third. South Mountain finished in fourth with 878 (+14), Darton rounded out the top five with an 880 (+16).

Individually Jake Stirling led MCC. The freshman posted his seventh consecutive under par round with a final round 70 (-2). Stirling finished second out of 105 golfers and was named to the all tournament team. Stirling shot 4-under for the event with rounds of 71-71-70.

Sophomores Clemens Dvorak and Brandt Garon were also named to the all tournament team after top ten finishes. Dvorak finished tied for seventh after shooting even par for the event, 71-73-72. Garon also tied for seventh at even par with rounds of 69-74-73.

Freshman Easton Key placed in a tie for 23rd shooting 6-over for the event. The Meridian native had rounds of 73-75-74.

Sophomore Adam Monsen rounded out MCC's scoring with 13-over. Monsen shot 74-74-81 to finish in a tie for 43rd place.

"This is the biggest regular season event, sort of a national preview," said MCC coach Sean Covich.

"To place second in this event is very good. But we're just ready to breakthrough with a win here, three consecutive years runner-up."

MCC was one of two Magnolia State teams competing this week. Mississippi Gulf Coast also played, finishing in 13th place at 67-over par, 931.

MCC, ranked No. 2 by GolfStat.com, returns to action April 4-5 at Northwood Country Club when the Eagles host the 3rd Annual Lou Hart Invitational.

Eagles in second heading into final round of Spring Fling

2011-03-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

(Scottsboro, AL) – The Meridian Community College golf team shot a 4-over par 292 in round two of the 10th Annual Ron Marshall Spring Fling College Classic to maintain their second place standing heading into the final round on Saturday.

MCC is even par after 36 holes, with a 576 (284-292) total. The Eagles are nine shots behind leader and No. 1 ranked Central Alabama. The Trojans from Alex City, AL are 9-under for the event, with a 567 (281-286). South Mountain out of Phoenix, AZ is in third place, four shots behind MCC. The Cougars have a 580 (289-291) score. Wallace State is in fourth with 582 (287-295), while Darton College rounds out the top five with a 583 (287-296).

21 teams from nine states are entered in the event.

Individually, freshman Jake Stirling leads the Eagles thru two rounds. Stirling has fired consecutive 1-under par rounds of 71 for a 2-under par 142 total. He is tied for the medalist lead.

Sophomore Brandt Garon is just one stroke behind with a 1-under par total of 143 (69-74).

Sophomore Clemens Dvorak is at even par, 144 (71-73).

Sophomore Adam Monsen is at 4-over par, 148 (74-74) as is freshman Easton Key (73-75).

MCC has claimed back-to-back runner-up finishes in the NJCAA’s largest regular season event the past two years. In 2009, MCC was one shot back of winner, Darton. Last year, the Eagles were runner-up by five shots to Central Alabama.

“We were hoping this would be our breakthrough season in this great event,” said fifth year head coach Sean Covich.

“We’ve done better and better every year we’ve been coming here, and a win would send a message that we’re one of the best in the nation. But we have got to go low to catch a great team (Central Alabama) tomorrow.”

Final round action gets underway tomorrow with an 8:00 am shot-gun start at the 7,101 yard long, par 72 Goose Pond Golf Course.

MCC in second after round one of Spring Fling

2011-03-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Three Eagles fire under-par rounds

(Scottsboro, AL) – The Meridian Community College golf team fired an opening round 284, 4-under par team score on Thursday in round one of the 10th annual Ron Marshall Spring Fling and sits in second place.

21 teams from nine different states are competing in the three day, 54-hole event which is being played in Scottsboro, AL at the Goose Pond Golf Course, measuring 7,101 yards long and plays to a par 72.

Leading the Eagles on day one was sophomore Brandt Garon. The defending national champion posted a 3-under par 69. Fellow sophomore Clemens Dvorak shot 1-under par, 71. Freshman Jake Stirling also posted 1-under par, 71. Meridian freshman, Easton Key posted a 1-over par 73 and sophomore Adam Monsen shot a 2-over par 74.

Meridian is in second place, just three shots behind leader- No. 1 ranked Central Alabama (281). Wallace State and Darton are tied for third after both teams shot 287. South Mountain (AZ) is in fifth with a 289.

The Eagles are paired with former national championship teams, Central Alabama and Darton for round two on Friday. Action gets underway at 10:15 a.m. Final round will be played Saturday starting at 8 a.m.

Eagles return to action at Spring Fling

2011-03-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

The No.2 Meridian Community College golf team continues their spring season with a trip to Scottsboro, AL for the Ron Marshall Spring Fling College Classic played at Goose Pond Golf Club on Thursday through Saturday. The 54-hole event will feature 21 teams from across the country in the biggest regular season NJCAA event.

The Eagles have finished runner-up the past two seasons at the Spring Fling, finishing just one shot behind three time national champion Darton in 2009 and five shots behind Central Alabama last season.

Goose Pond Golf Club measures over 7,000 yards long and has hosted the NJCAA National Championship in the past. The last time the Eagles played their national championship in Scottsboro MCC claimed third place (2007).

MCC’s line-up will feature sophomore Adam Monsen playing No. 1. The San Antonio, TX native won his second career title last week at Black Bear Golf Club where he shot 2-under par.

Sophomore Brandt Garon will play in the No. 2 spot, the Baton Rouge , LA native is the defending NJCAA National Champion.

Freshman Jake Stirling will compete in the No. 3 spot for MCC. The Australian has earned five all-tournament team honors already this season.

Sophomore Clemens Dvorak will play in the No. 4 spot. The team captain from Austria played in last year’s Spring Fling, earning a top 20 finish (18th) out of 120 players.

Meridian native Easton Key returns to the Eagle line-up this week in the No. 5 spot. The freshman from Lamar has earned three all tournament team finishes this season.

Action gets underway Thursday at 8 am. Final round will conclude on Saturday.

Eagles named Miss-Lou All Conference

2011-03-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Meridian Community College had two players selected to the Miss-Lou All Conference Team following its 18-11 season under first year head coach, Jeff Walker.

Emmanuel Donald and Travis Fredimon were named to the First Team All Miss-Lou.

Donald, a sophomore from Lake, MS, averaged a team high 14.8 points per game with 5.8 rebounds per game.

Fredimon, a freshman from South Carolina, averaged 14.0 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and also 6.5 assists per game.

Lady Eagles named All Region 23

2011-03-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Meridian Community College Lady Eagles had two players selected to the NJCAA All Region Team following its run to the region championship game.

Norianna Haynes, a freshman from Northeast Lauderdale, and freshman forward Chasity Kearney represented the Lady Eagles as First Team All Region selections.

Haynes averaged 19.4 points per game with 9 rebounds per game while Kearney averaged 17.8 points per game and 11 rebounds per game.

Haynes and Kearney were also named Miss-Lou All Conference along with teammates, Bianca Powell and Arnissa Galloway.

Powell, a sophomore, led the team with 7.5 assists per game and also averaged 8.5 points per game. Galloway averaged 10 rebounds per game and 10.4 points per game.

Lady Eagle soccer player inks with William Carey

2011-03-09T09:36:00.001-08:00

Meridian Community College women’s soccer standout, Anastasia Vogel is signing with William Carey University.

Vogel compiled 35 goals and 8 assists in her two years at MCC, making her fourth on the all time scoring list.

She had 19 goals and 4 assist her freshman year, as she was named All Region 23 he freshman year.

Her sophomore season she scored 16 goals and had 4 assists.

She was named the NJCAA National Player of the Week her sophomore year for the month of October.

Vogel is a native of Pontotoc, MS, where she played for Pontotoc High School and was named a MHSAA All Star. She also played club for the Chicago Fire Juniors of Mississippi.

In 2009 she helped lead the Lady Eagles to a Region 23 crown, scoring 2 goals and having 1 assist in a 3-1 win over Pearl River for the championship.

In 2010, she helped lead the Lady Eagles to a NJCAA Region 23 Runner-up finish.

Meridian falls to Kaskaskia

2011-03-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

By Robby Atkinson / Special to The Star

MERIDIAN- The Meridian Community College Eagles have had plenty of difficult points in the early stages of its 2011 season and the Eagles had to swallow another tough pill after Tuesday afternoon at Scaggs Field. The Eagles suffered a tough setback at the hands of Kaskaskia College by a final score of 7-6 in local junior college baseball.

The game went into extra innings as the Devils were able to plate the game winning run in the top of the tenth inning to secure the road victory over Meridian.

MCC dropped to 13-11 overall for the season and six of the losses for the Eagles this season have been by one run in each contest.

"We had opportunities to score early and we didn't capitalize," said MCC head coach Chris Curry. "When our approach is like that in a game that is a recipe to get beat."

The Eagles got off to a terrific start with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Kenny Roberts reached base on a two-out walk and later came around to score on a single to center field by Wade Wass to give Meridian the early lead. MCC extended its lead in the bottom of the second inning with a pair of runs to push its lead to 3-0. Garrett Pitts led the inning off by reaching on a walk and Dustin James followed by reaching on a base hit to put a pair of runners aboard for Meridian.

Darren Farmer followed with a walk to load the bases and Brian Donohoe recorded a very easy RBI with a bases loaded walk. Roberts collected an RBI moments later for MCC with a sacrifice fly that scored James.

Kaskaskia (4-2) jumped out in front of the Eagles with five runs in the top of the fourth inning to erase the Meridian lead at 5-3. Dan Carroll secured an RBI single in the inning for the Devils and Cody Coffey also had a two-run single in the five-run inning for Kaskaskia. One run scored on a fielder's choice in the inning by Steven Todoshuck and another run crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Meridian to account for all of the runs in the fourth inning.

Kaskaskia added another run in the top of the sixth inning to increase its cushion. Dalton Page provided the spark for the Devils with an RBI single in the sixth inning. The Eagles started to claw back in the game in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Kaskaskia lead to 6-5. Donohoe drove one run in for the Eagles on a sacrifice fly and Roberts added an RBI single in the two-run sixth inning for the Eagles.

MCC would tie the game late with a big charge from Farmer. The West Lauderdale product belted a solo home run over the wall in left field to tie the game headlining into the ninth inning. Both teams came up empty in the ninth inning, but Kaskaskia was able to scratch for a run in the top of the tenth inning to take the narrow one-run victory over the Eagles.

Ben Campbell led the tenth inning off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch which gave the Devils the one-run victory.

MCC ended the game with six hits and was led by Roberts and Donohoe with two hits apiece. Carroll led the way for the Devils with a game-high three base hits in the win for Kaskaskia.

The Eagles return to action this Friday on the road at Bossier Parish Community for a doubleheader which begins at 1 p.m. in Shreveport, LA. MCC will return to action at Scaggs Field this Saturday for a single game with Kishwaukee Community College at 2 p.m.

Eagles sweep at Black Bear

2011-03-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

Final round rained out, Eagle sophomore Adam Monsen wins second career title

(Delhi, La) - The Meridian Community College golf team won their fourth tournament title of the season after firing an opening round 2-under par team score of 286 on Monday at the 2011 Mississippi-Louisiana College Invitational played at Black Bear Golf Club in Delhi, LA.

Final round, scheduled for Tuesday, was cancelled shortly after play had started due to severe weather in the area.

MCC sophomore Adam Monsen won his second career medalist title with a 2-under par 70. Monsen holed out for eagle from 155 yards on the par-4 14th hole on Monday to propel him to his second win and placing him on the all tournament team.

Fellow sophomore Brandt Garon finished just one stroke behind Monsen, with a 1-under par 71. Garon was also named to the all tournament team.

Freshman Jake Stirling continued his streak of even-par or better rounds dating back to November with an even par 72, while sophomore Clemens Dvorak shot 1-over par 73. Both Dvorak and Stirling were named to the all tournament team.

Sophomore Oscar Mariscal cared a 6-over par 78 to round out MCC’s scoring.

MCC was the only community college in the event but that didn’t stop the Eagles from posting a 286 (-2) to distance themselves from the nearest competitor Texas Lutheran University who came in second place, fifteen shots behind MCC. TLU shot a 301, University of Texas-Tyler shot 307 to claim third place while University of Dallas was in fourth with a 313. McMurray University rounded out the top five with a 315. Host school Mississippi College shot a 316 and came in sixth place. 11 school participated in the event.

The No. 3 Eagles return to action March 17-19 at the Ron Marshall Spring Fling Classic in Scottsboro, AL at Goose Pond Golf Club.

2011 Mississippi/Louisiana College Invitational
Black Bear Golf Club (Delhi, LA)
Team Final Results
School Score (+/- Par)
1 Meridian Community College 286 (-2)
2 Texas Lutheran University 301 (+13)
3 University of Texas-Tyler 307 (+19)
4 University of Texas-Dallas 313 (+25)
5 McMurray University 315 (+27)
6 Mississippi College 316 (+28)
7 LeTourneau University 317 (+29)
8 Louisiana College 318 (+30)
9 Hendrix College 325 (+37)
10 University of New Orleans 327 (+39)
11 Ashford University 355 (+67)

Top 10 Individuals
Player (School) Score (+/- Par)
1 Adam Monsen (MCC) 70 (-2) Medalist, All Tournament
2 Brandt Garon (MCC) 71 (-1) All Tournament
t3 Ryan Kiel (Texas Lutheran) 72 (E) All Tournament
t3 Jake Stirling (MCC) 72 (E) All Tournament
t5 Clemens Dvorak (MCC) 73 (+1) All Tournament
t5 Austin Quienten (UT Tyler) 73 (+1) All Tournament
t7 Erik Peterson (Texas Lutheran) 74 (+2)
t7 Matt Ragovin (McMurray) 74 (+2)
t9 Alex Campos (UT Dallas) 75 (+3)
t9 Nick Holditch (UT Tyler) 75 (+3)
t9 Justin Weant (LeTourneau) 75 (+3)

MCC individual scoring
1st Adam Monsen 70 (-2)
2nd Brandt Garon 71 (-1)
t3rd Jake Stirling 72 (E)
t5th Clemens Dvorak 73 (+1)
t18th Oscar Mariscal 78 (+6)

McWilliams hurls Eagles past Devils

2011-03-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

By Robby Atkinson / Special to The Star
The Meridian Star

MERIDIAN — The Meridian Community College Eagles have had a roller coaster type of season in 2011, but on Sunday the Eagles did just about everything right against Kaskaskia College. MCC used a solid pitching performance from former West Lauderdale standout Dustin McWilliams and timely hitting to shut down the Devils 4-0.

The Eagles improved to 12-10 with the win against Kaskaskia and MCC coach Chris Curry was very pleased with his team's performance after the game.

"That was a Meridian type of win," said Curry. "We did a lot of great things today in the field and got some big hits in some very key situations. We did all of the fundamental things right today and this is a great home victory for our team."

McWiliams was the star of the day for MCC on the mound, as the sophmore tossed eight innings for the Eagles and collected eight strikeouts. Freshman Brandon Hallford pitched the final inning for MCC and added a strikeout to preserve the shuout for the Eagles.

"He (McWilliams) set the tone for our team today," added Curry. "He threw strikes today and did a great job of filling the zone."

The Eagles got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning with a run. Wade Wass led the inning off by reaching on a walk and later scored on an RBI single by Hunter Trawic. Both starting pitchers dominated the game until Meridian would crack the scoreboard once again with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend its lead.

Former Meridian High standout Kenny Roberts led the inning off with a single and later came around to score on a single by Ben Kingsley. The Eagles added two more runs in the eighth inning, one run scoring on a bunt single by Garrett Pitts and the other run scoring on a fielder's choice.

MCC ended the game with eight hits and was led by Roberts, Kinglsey, and Pitts with two hits apiece in the victory. Kaskaskia (2-1) finished the game with six total hits and was led by Dalton Page with a pair of hits. Meridian returns to action today against Tyler Junior College at Scaggs Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Baseball postponed

2011-03-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

Meridian Community College baseball home game versus Kaskaskia, originally set for today, has been rescheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Wolves run away from Eagles

2011-03-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor
The Meridian Star

CLINTON — Every time Meridian Community College made a run, Copiah-Lincoln had an answer.

And after the Eagles pulled within two early in the second half, the Wolves just ran away in the NJCAA Region 23 women's tournament championship, winning 89-54. Co-Lin (25-2) advances to the national tournament in Salina, Kan.

“We weren't scared of them,” MCC coach Hilary Allen said as his Eagles finish 27-6. “We didn't think they were that much better than us, if they are better than us at all. We definitely don't think they are 30 points better than us like that scoreboard showed.

“Give them credit, they made championship plays.”

The Wolves jumped out to an 11-2 lead and used that distance to stave off MCC runs throughout the first half. Co-Lin, which led 30-28 at halftime, then went on an 8-0 run to open the second half. However, MCC followed that with a 10-2 run of its own to keep it 40-38 with 14:50 left. Sophomore point guard Bianca Powell scored five of her 15 in that run as she had 11 second-half points.

“We will miss Bianca, she's been the glue of our team,” Allen said.

Co-Lin, though, then delivered the knockout blow. Scoring the next 12 points, the Wolves sparked a 35-7 run over the course of 11 minutes. Scoreless in the first half, Ann Shelby Davis poured in 17 after the break, including three 3-pointers. She was one of four Wolves in double figures as Kiara Etienne had 17 as well, and Brandi Simmons scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Sedreka Plummer scored 12 and grabbed eight rebounds as well as having five blocks. Etienne also added nine rebounds and six assists.

While Co-Lin pulled away late, MCC hung close for a half behind the strength of freshman forward Chasity Kearney. Finishing with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Kearney had 16 and 14 before the break. She scored MCC's final eight points before the half.

“That's a lot of rebounds to get your hands on in one half, but that's the kind of player she is,” Allen said. “She never gives up.”

While Kearney was starring, fellow freshman star Norianna Haynes struggled to find her shot. The former Northeast Lauderdale standout, scored just five points, making only two shots.

“She just couldn't buy a basket,” Allen added. “She forced a few shots late, but that was just her trying to be a leader out there and trying to make a play.

“She forced a couple, but had they fell in, it's still a close game and who knows what happens.”

Arnissa Galloway, also a freshman, scored nine and had eight rebounds for MCC.

Eagles set for Miss-Lou College Invitational

2011-03-04T13:18:00.000-08:00

No. 3 MCC led by freshman Jake Stirling this week

Delhi, LA. - The 3rd-ranked Meridian Community College men's golf team continues their spring season with a trip to Delhi, LA, for the 2011 Mississippi-Louisiana College Invitational held Monday through Tuesday at the par-72 Black Bear Golf Club.

Freshman Jake Stirling will lead the Eagles in the No. 1 position. The Melbourne, Australia native was named to his fourth all tournament team this year after a runner-up finish in the Faulkner State Spring Invitational. Stirling, currently ranked as the nations No. 5 individual in NJCAA Div. I golf, shot 4-under par (71-69) at Rock Creek leading the Eagles to a fourth place showing in their spring opener.

Sophomore Adam Monsen will play in the No. 2 position for MCC. This marks back-to-back starts for Monsen as the San Antonio, TX native has posted two top ten showings with a fifth place finish in the Jim Redgate Invitational back in September with a final round 68 (-4).

Sophomore Brandt Garon will play in the No. 3 spot for MCC this week. The Baton Rouge, La. native continued his stellar career in the fall earning medalist honors at the Wallace State Fall Invitational and the NJCAA District IV Preview. The defending national champion has won four tournament titles during his two-year MCC career.

Sophomores Oscar Mariscal and Clemens Dvorak return to MCC line-up this week at Black Bear Golf Club. The duo has combined for seven rounds of even-par or better this year.

"We didn’t have a good showing at Rock Creek to start the spring season," said fifth year MCC head golf coach Sean Covich.

"But this is a totally different line-up for us this week, we have a lot of experience with four sophomores and only one freshman traveling. Should be interesting to see how we perform as a team and not individuals this week."

Ten schools are competing in the Mississippi-Louisiana Invitational his week, with MCC being the only junior college. The field competing includes Ashford University (Iowa), Hendrix College (Arkansas), LeTourneau University (Texas), Louisiana College, Meridian Community College, Mississippi College, Texas Lutheran University, University of New Orleans (Louisiana), University of Texas-Dallas and University of Texas-Tyler.

Action gets underway at 8 am on Monday. The 36-hole event concludes on Tuesday afternoon.

Tennis Sweeps Jones County

2011-03-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

The Meridian Community College tennis teams traveled to Ellisville, MS to face in-state rival Jones County Junior College yesterday.

The men’s team won 7-2, while the women’s team dominated JCJC 9-0.

In men’s doubled action, MCC’s Matic Leskovar and Simon Bardell defeated JCJC’s Sam Thorold and Cade Sherman by a score of 8-2. MCC’s Andres Yepez and Zach Marroy defeated JCJC’s Nick Williams and Armand Deniakos by a score of 8-6, JCJC’s Casper Wansley and Mitchell Smith defeated MCC’s Trey Webb and Will Huntington by a score of 9-8.

In singles action MCC’s Matic Leskovar defeated JCJC’s Sam Thorold 6-4, 6-2. MCC’s Simon Bardell defeated JCJC’s Nick Williams 6-1, 6-2, MCC’s Andres Yepez defeted JCJC’s Cade Sherman 6-4, 6-3, MCC’s Zack Marroy lost to JCJC’s Armand Deniakos 7-6, 5-7, 10-7, MCC’s Will Huntington defeated JCJC’s Mitchell Smith 6-3, 6-4, while MCC’s Trey Webb defeated JCJC’s Casper Wansley 5-7, 6-4, 11-9, to wrap up men’s action.

In women’s doubles action, MCC’s Indi Mire and Savannah Zachry defeated JCJC’s Rachel Jeffcoat and Allison Rudolph 8-2. MCC’s Monica Rekkedal and Shelley Munn defeated Arlette Cochran and Brandy Freeman 8-2. MC’s Cecilly Monsour and Kaley Allen defeated JCJC’s Lauren Carpenter and Amber Long 8-4.

In women’s singles, MCC’s Monica Rekkedal defeated JCJC’s Rachel Jeffcoat 6-0, 6-1, MCC’s Savannah Zachry defeated JCJC’s Arlette Cochran 6-0, 6-2, MCC’s Indi Mire defeated JCJC’s Brandy Freeman 6-4, 6-0, MCC’s Kaley Allen defeated JCJC’s Allison Rudolph 6-3, 6-2, MCC’s Shelley Munn defeated JCJC’s Lauren Carpenter 6-3, 6-2, MCC’s Cecilly Monsour defeated JCJC’s Amber Long 6-3, 6-2.

Meridian will travel to Central Alabama this weekend for an 11:30 match with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College out of Georgia and a 3:30 match with Coastal Georgia. On Saturday the women will play Florida State College-Jacksonville and the men will play Gadsden State.

Lady Eagles to face Co-Lin (again) for Region 23 Championship

2011-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

They meet again… just like in March of 2007 when Meridian and Co-Lin women met for the NJCAA Region 23 crown, the Lady Eagles will face former MACJC South Division rival Copiah-Lincoln Community College for a trip to the 2011 NJCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship.

In 2007, Co-Lin managed to defeat MCC in the region title game, 67-60. But MCC coach Hilary Allen and his 2011 squad enter the title game with a 27-5 record looking for some payback over the nationally ranked (No. 13) Lady Wolves who enter the contest 24-2.

To watch live visit http://www.colinathletics.com/ or (if our internet connection works tonight!!) you can listen live at www.meridaincc.edu/sports (Click “Live Sports Feed”)... Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. Also follow along on MCC’s Twitter site for live in-game updates.

Haynes' big second half leads MCC past EMCC

2011-03-03T08:37:00.001-08:00

By Daniel Rigdon / Sports Writer
The Meridian Star

CLINTON — Norianna Haynes may have played her worst 20 minutes of basketball of the season in the first half of Meridian's semifinal matchup Wednesday. Fortunately for MCC, Haynes played a perfect second half, while scoring 11 of her game-high 31 points in overtime and the Eagles knocked off East Mississippi 80-72 in overtime at Mississippi College's A.E. Wood Coliseum.

“Norianna is a super player,” said MCC coach Hilary Allen. “She didn't have a good first half at all, but we talked about it at halftime and she came out and played phenomenal in the second half and overtime.”

While Haynes was settling into her offensive groove, the same could not be said for the EMCC women in the extra period. The Lions mustered only one point through the first 3:30 of the five minute overtime session.

East Mississippi led by five points with 35 seconds left in regulation, but could not hold on as Meridian started doing what it does best. That being shooting the trey.

Haynes faked a drive and stepped back to drain 3-pointer to cut the lead to two points with 30 seconds left and Jasmine Anderson played the hero connecting from the top of the key with 6.6 seconds left to send the contest into overtime.

“We never give up,” added Allen. “We played hard and even though we were down with not a lot of time left we fought back.”

The Lions looked to be control early in the first half leading almost the whole 20 minutes as it saw its lead grow to as many as nine points.

A furious Eagle run to end the half cut the EMCC lead down to three points at 38-35.

MCC got 16 points from Chasity Kearney, while point guard Bianca Powell ended the night with 10.

East Mississippi got a team-high 13 points from Kiara Quinones-Noa, while Chadisty Hickman and Natalie Tate each added 12 points in the loss. RoTasha Windom, former Kemper County standout, had six points and 20 rebounds.

Meridian, which up its record to 27-5 on the year, will now move on to take on No. 13 Co-Lin in the Region 23 championship tonight at 6 p.m.

The Lions end their season with a record of 15-10.

MCC rallies past Mississippi Gulf Coast 84-79

2011-03-02T07:51:00.002-08:00

Lady Eagles advance to face rival East Mississippi in semi-finals tonight, 8 pm

By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor
The Meridian Star

(CLINTON, Miss.)- Hilary Allen was flummoxed.

The Meridian Community College women's basketball coach was the first to admit, there wasn't much his Eagles could do to slow Gulf Coast in the first half Tuesday in the first round of the NJCAA Region 23 tournament at Mississippi College's A.E. Wood Coliseum.

With the Bulldogs hitting 3-pointer after 3-pointer, MCC fell behind by 15. However, the Eagles rallied in the second half to win 84-79 and advance to an 8 p.m. semifinal today against East Mississippi Community College.

“They couldn't miss from 3,” Allen said. “I don't have a defense for that. My wife (MCC assistant Celia Allen) kept telling me we needed to stop this and stop that. I don't have a defense for 3s.

“It takes a better coach than me to stop 3-pointers.”

Gulf Coast hit nine 3s in the opening stanza, led by Roxyali Munoz's four. The Bulldogs led 27-12 after the third of those treys with 8:38 remaining in the half. MCC would close within 40-30 on a Kayla Hawkins 3, but Gulf Coast responded with one final triple before the half, this one from Delainna Lyons.

The Bulldogs kept humming in the second half, pushing the lead back out to 54-39 with 16:31 to go on another Lyons 3. Then, MCC (26-5) awoke and quickly soared back into the game.

The Eagles went on a 14-2 run during the next three minutes, pulling within 56-53 on a three-point play from Chasity Kearney, who led MCC with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Kearney scored 15 of those in the second half. Fellow forward Arnissa Galloway added eight points and nine rebounds as the Eagles controlled the boards

“We couldn't rebound in the first half because they never missed,” Allen added. “But we did rebound very well the second half, and it all came from doing so many little things.

“It was a complete team effort, from Kia Morris getting her hands on every single loose ball to Galloway playing great defense.”

MCC remained close until a Bianca Powell putback tied it at 71 with 5:29 to go and then a little more than a minute later Hawkins put the Eagles ahead for good off a Powell pass. The sophomore point guard handed out eight assists to go with 12 points. It was MCC's first lead since 4-3 at the 18:07 mark of the first half.

From there, it was the Norianna Haynes show. Pouring in a game-high 26 points, the Northeast Lauderdale product scored MCC's last 11 points, making seven of her final eight free throws. MCC had made just 14 of its first 27 attempts from the line.

“She can do so many things,” Allen said. “For her to rebound like she does from shooting guard and then she makes big passes and hits a big shot from the corner.”

Gulf Coast was led by Brianna Blunt's 17 and Lyons' 15. Munoz added 14 and Deonica McCormick finished with 13.

Baseball and Softball Split on Tuesday

2011-03-02T07:51:00.001-08:00

Both the Meridian Community College baseball and softball teams had double header contests on Tuesday afternoon.

The baseball team traveled to Jones County Junior College in Eillisville, MS and split a pair of games, winning game one 8-4 and losing game two 5-4.

The Eagles (11-10) will return to action Friday at 6:00 p.m. when they host Kaskaskia at Scaggs Field.

The softball team hosted Marion Military Institute for a pair of games at Tommy McDonald Field.

The Lady Eagles split their series with Marion, winning game one 7-1 and losing game two 6-4.

The softball team (5-11) returns to action Friday when they travel to Tuscaloosa, AL to face Shelton State at 1:00 p.m.

Softball splits with Hinds

2011-03-01T13:32:00.001-08:00

The Meridian Community College softball team traveled to Raymond, MS this past weekend and split a double-header against in-state foe, Hinds Community College. The Lady Eagles lost game one, 4-3 but bounced back nicely in game two for a 10-0 shutout over Hinds.

MCC has two dates on their schedule this week. The Lady Eagles host Marion Military for a doubleheader Tuesday at home, game time is 3:00 p.m.

Then on Friday MCC travels to Tuscaloosa, AL to play Shelton State in a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.