AHSAA All-Star Week: North, South split basketball games

The Alabama High School Athletic Association’s All-Star Sports Week in Montgomery hit the midpoint on Tuesday with the North basketball stars splitting a pair of games and the North boys and girls cross country teams earning victories. The North boys and girls also swept the tennis competition on Tuesday.

The South boys nipped the North 81-79 in a basketball thriller at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex on a jumper by Jeff Davis’ Jamicah Adair with no time left on the clock. The game was tied 11 times with six lead changes. The South’s biggest lead was six points in the fourth period while the North led by 14 in the second quarter. The North led 42-37 at the half and the teams were tied at 64 headed into the final quarter.

Adair, who finished with 14 points, in the 80th AHSAA North-South boys all-star game hit a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to erase a 78-77 North lead. Tanner’s Skylar Townsend then tied the game with one of two free-throw shots.

The North now leads the all-time series – that began in 1951 – 50-30.

The North girls rolled over the South 80-44, pushing their all-time advantage to 23-3.

Adair, who was 6-for-6 at the foul line, earned South MVP honors. Eufaula’s Toney Coleman scored 12 points and had six rebounds for the winners.

Mountain Brook’s Ty Davis was the North MVP with 13 points, including 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line, and three assists. Townsend had 12 points and also hit 3-of-4 on 3-pointers.

GIRLS

North 80, South 44

Pleasant Grove’s Tamya Smith, who earned Class 5A state tournament MVP honors in leading the Lady Spartans to their first state basketball title last March, scored 14 points, had five rebounds, four steals and one assist to lead the North.

Hewitt-Trussville’s Jordan Hunter scored 15 points for the North and had five rebounds. Sydney Steward of 6A state champion Hazel Green also had 11 points with 3-of-4 treys and two assists.

South MVP Ava Card of St. James had 10 points and four rebounds in the loss. Cottonwood’s Saniya Keys had eight points, two assists and three steals.

The North forced 26 turnovers and had only 11 – the deciding factor in the game. The South shot just 28 percent from the floor, including only 2-of-18 from the 3-point line.

CROSS COUNTRY

Cold Springs rising senior Ethan Edgeworth sped to the individual championship of the sixth AHSAA All-Star Week North-South All-Star Cross Country competition Tuesday morning with a 15:15.13 finish in the grueling July heat to lift the North to a 77-113 victory at Gateway Park.

Edgeworth, who won the 1A/2A state cross country title last season and set a record in the 3,200 outdoor competition, had plenty of help from the North team. The North placed five runners in the top six finishers to take a 4-2 lead in the all-time series.

Charles Perry of UMS-Wright of Mobile was second with a 15:39.20 time. North runners Dakota Frank of Munford was third at 15:41.11 and Jayden Allred, a teammate of Edgeworth at Cold Springs, was fourth at 15:45.55.

The North girls posted a 70-84 victory over the South to increase its lead in the series to 4-2 as well. Samantha Menikheim of Sparkman took first place with a time of 10:11.91. She edged out North teammate Autumn Betts of Brewer, who crossed the finish line at 19:23.72. Top South finisher Eva McGowan of Auburn came in third with a 19:25.74 time.

TENNIS

Mountain Brook High School’s Pippa Roy won three straight AHSAA Class 6A No. 1 girls state tennis championships in 2023, 2022 and 2021. She can now add a victory in the fourth annual North-South All-Star Tennis Championships played at Lagoon Park Tuesday.

Roy defeated St. Paul’s Grace Swain 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 1 singles match Tuesday, and she teamed with Spain Park’s Sage Sovic to beat Juliet Galla of McGill-Toolen and Carol Murray of UMS-Wright, 6-1, 6-0, in the No. 1 doubles competition.

Roy’s North squad won its match 8-1 to up the North girls’ dominance in the series to 4-0.

The North boys also won 6-3 to improve to 3-1 in the series which was first played during All-Star Sports Week in 2019.

Winning the boys No. 1 singles match was Mountain Brook’s Luke Schwefler, who won the No. 1 boys state 6A tennis crown in 2023. He downed Pike Road’s Patrick Quinn 7-5, 6-2 to help the North sweep the competition 6-3.

Schwefler and Muscle Shoals’ Jackson Collins downed Samuel Treadwell of Trinity and Jerrick Phan of UMS-Wright 6-3, 6-5 in the No. 1 doubles match.

Schwefler and Roy earned North MVP honors in the competition. South boys MVP was Davis Jackson of Auburn, who won the No. 6 singles match over Aaron Peck of Brooks, 6-3, 6-1. South girls MVP was Hanbi Youn, also of Auburn.  She teamed with Mae Mae Voltz of Montgomery Academy to win the No, 2 doubles match 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 over Northridge’s Alice Rowley and Carter Thomason.

Competition continues Wednesday with softball at 4 p.m. at the Lagoon Park Softball Complex and soccer at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex. The girls play at 5 p.m. and the boys are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Complete results from Tuesday’s action:

NORTH-SOUTH ALL-STAR TENNNIS

North Girls 8, South Girls 1

Singles

No. 1: (N) Pippa Roy, Mn. Brook d. Grace Swain, St. Paul’s, 6-1, 6-0

No. 2: (N) Annie Lacey, Mtn. Brook d. Emme Clement, St. Paul’s, 6-1, 6-2

No. 3: (N) Bhavya Chalasani, James Clemens d. Kathryn Kirkland, Auburn, 6-2, 6-3

No. 4: (N) Peyton Parrish, Russellville d. Reilly Taylor, St. James, 6-1, 6-3

No. 5: (N) Annabelle Ford, Muscle Shoals d. Reena Chen, LAMP, 6-4, 6-3

No. 6: (N) Maggie Junkin, Brooks d. Stella Sponseller, St. James, 6-0, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1: (N) Pippa Roy/Sage Sovic, Spain Park d. Juliett Galla, McGill-Toolen/Carol Murray, UMS-Wright, 6-1, 6-0

No. 2: (S) Hanbi Youn, Auburn/Mae Mae Voltz, Montgomery Academy d. Alice Rowley, Northridge/Carter Thomason, Northridge, 6-4, 3-6, 10-6

No. 3: (N) Kameron Browne. Hillcrest/Jaedyn Martin/Madison Academy d. Kensley Williamson, Trinity/Kingsley Johns, Trinity, 6-2, 6-3

North Boys 6, South Boys 3

Singles

No. 1: (N) Luke Schwefler, Mtn Brook d. Patrick Quinn, Pike Road, 7-5, 6-2

No. 2: (N) William Johnson, Jasper d. Jerrick Phan, UMS-Wright, 6-3, 6-5

No. 3: (N) Brady Mann, Decatur d. Ian Kim, LAMP, 6-2, 6-3

No. 4: (N) Nolan Armstrong, Hewitt-Trussville d. Seth Davis, McGill-Toolen, 6-3, 6-4

No. 5: (N) Cole Watkins, Muscle Shoals d. Thomas Campitelli, Saraland, 6-3, 7-5

No. 6: (S) Davis Jackson, Auburn d. Aaron Peck, Brooks, 6-3, 6-1

Doubles

No. 1: (N) Luke Schwefler/Jackson Collins, Muscle Shoals d. Samuel Treadwell, Trinity/Chandler Kimball, Pike Road, 6-1, 6-5

No. 2: (S) Jacob Miller, Spanish Fort/Jacob Thom, Spanish Fort d. Alex Smith, Albertville/Sam Barclift, Albertville, 6-0, 6-2

No. 3: (S) Jisung Choo, Auburn/Ian Shin/LAMP d. Jon Coleman Foster, Hillcrest/Eli Hamner, Hillcrest, 6-0, 6-0.

NORTH-SOUTH GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RACE

1. Samantha Menikheim, North, 19:11.91

2. Autumn Betts, North, 19:23.72

3. Eva McGowan, South, 19:25.74

4. Mary Anna Trimble, North, 19:43.28

5. Catherine Johnstone, North, 19:56.71

6. Kaitlyn Wende, North, 20:11.04

7. Kate Finch, South, 20:17.23

8. Emily Miles, South, 20:24.86

9. Callie Kent, North, 20:27.59

10. Alexiana Hinote, South, 20:36.31

11. Railey Prins, South, 20:48.50

12. Sophie West, South, 21:04.43

13. Mary Katherine Malone, North, 21:10.97

14. Emma Bothern, North, 21:11.70

15. Lindsey Baxter, South, 21:16.92

16. Reagan Parris, North, 21:18.91

17. Anna Hopkins, North, 23:04.90

18. Madelyn Patterson, South, 23:07.61

19. Ella Downing, South, 23:42.10

NORTH-SOUTH BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RACE

1. Ethan Edgeworth, North, 15:15.13

2. Charles Perry, South, 15:39.20

3. Dakota Frank, North, 15:41.11

4. Jayden Allred, North, 15:45.55

5. Arthur Langley, North, 16:07.07

6. Cole Robinson, North, 16:12.95

7. Winston McGhee, South, 16:31.98

8. Carson Renicks, North, 16:36.48

9. Harper Branscome, North, 17:10.99

10. Braden Ary, North, 17:17.99

11. Garrett Dolbear, South, 17:23.50

12. Dylan Dryer, North, 17:26.18

13. Matthew Blake, South, 17:29.98

14. Ben Erath, South, 17:31.73

15. Henry Skala, South, 17:33.38

16. Brodie Norred, South, 18:42.62

17. Wyatt Mixson, South, 19:22.17

18. Michael Bowden, South, 19:42.25

19. Nadeem Johnson, North, 20:48.71