Ooltewah is planning at today’s game against Central to retire the No. 10 softball jersey worn by former Lady Owls standout Holly Thomas. Coach Norma Nelson said she believes this will be the first athlete in school history to have a jersey retired.
“We’ve had some really good softball players come through here, but she was the first ever named Gatorade state player of the year,” Nelson said. “I just thought we needed to do something to honor her. This is about the highest honor a school can give a student-athlete.”
Thomas was a driving force behind Ooltewah (46-3-1) winning the Class AAA state championship in 2008 and attaining a No. 11 final ranking in the StudentSports FAB 50 national poll. She had a 37-2 pitching record that season and batted .448 with 47 RBIs.
Thomas, a sophomore pitcher at Tennessee Tech University, plans to attend the ceremony. It will take place about 6 p.m., after the junior varsity game at 5 and before the varsity game.
Rhea’s Hayes resigns
Brittany Hayes has resigned after three seasons as softball coach at Rhea County effective, at the end of this season.
Hayes, who played on Cumberland County’s 2003 Class AAA state-runner-up team, guided the Lady Golden Eagles to a 25-8-1 record and their first District 5-AAA softball championship in 2008. She was chosen the Times Free Press Best of Preps all-area coach of the year that season, and junior pitcher Katie Freels was selected player of the year.
“I don’t think I could’ve had a better group of girls, from the kids I had the first year to the freshmen that just came in,” Hayes said. “They’ve been very hard workers and very committed to do things better and do things the right way. I’ve had very little discipline instances.
“I’ve been around a lot of good people who love the game. One of the things I’ll miss the most is the relationships I’ve formed with the kids and their families.”
O’Neal FCA honoree
Gordon Lee softball and basketball player Jensen O’Neal was honored Monday night at the Walker County Civic Center as the Christian Athlete of the Year for the Lookout Mountain/Northwest Georgia chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
O’Neal, who also is in the National Honor Society and on the Student Council and yearbook staff at the Chickamauga school, received the Dicky Clark Leadership Award scholarship for $1,000.
Runner-up Caitlyn Evans, a Lafayette volleyball and basketball player, got a $500 scholarship named for William “Fireball” Kinsey. Gordon Lee basketball standout Grayson Chambers got the Nate Schuster Courage Award.
Cofer to Centre
Pursued by a number of NCAA Division III football program, Baylor’s John Cofer recently chose Centre College and has signed a letter of intent with the Danville, Ky., school in Sewanee’s conference.
“He was a two-year starter at cornerback,” Baylor coach Phil Massey said, “and he received the Philip Cole Award at our football banquet recognizing his desire and hustle and for being an overachiever who maximized his full potential.”