By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Palestine-Wheatley placed three Patriot basketball players and two Lady Patriots on postseason teams.
Seniors Libby Martin and Brittney Flenory were both named to the 6AA Conference team while Flenory was named to the All-State Honorable Mention team and Martin was named as a nominee for the All-Star Team.
"Martin was our point guard for the year and did a good job as our floor leader," said Lady Patriot Coach Lanny Allen. "Her scoring had her near the lead in team scoring for most of the year. Flenory led the team in rebounding. She had a nose for the ball and she was instrumental in having a successful season."
The Lady Patriots finished the season at 14-10 with nine of the 10 losses coming outside of conference play. In the conference, P-W put together an 11-1 season.
The Lady Patriots lost to Carlisle in the opening round of the Class AA Region 4 Tournament played at Harding Academy in Searcy.
Patriot Head Coach Terry Clardy named three of his senior starters to the All-Conference team -- DeVille Pickett, Brandon Roberts and Quinton Mason.
Pickett, a three-year starter at guard, was also named to the All-Region and All-State teams as well as being a nominee for the All-Star team.
Pickett averaged about 25 points per game and hit 50 percent of his shots from beyond the three-point line and also hit 80 percent of his free throws. Pickett has drawn the eyes of several college coaches.
Mason shot the ball well, hitting 40 percent of his three-point attempts.
"Having those two guys on each side on offense extended a lot of defenses which worked well into our game plan," Clardy said. "Then with Roberts playing inside for us, that gave us the inside strength we needed. He averaged probably 10 rebounds a game for us. he was a presence for us inside."
Mason and Roberts have started the past two seasons. Roberts missed his sophomore season after undergoing knee surgery following football. Mason also played football for the Patriots.
"I'm going to miss these guys," Clardy said. "But we have some talent coming up and I think the future for Patriot basketball right now looks bright."
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Arkansas Concrete 12-year-old traveling team completed a 5-0 run through the Covington Mudcat Tournament last weekend and brought home the tournament championship trophy.
Using Olympic Pool-style play, Arkansas Concrete worked its way through the competition and defeated the Covington Chargers 12-1 in Sunday's championship game. The 12-1 win was the second over the Chargers by the Concrete team.
Turner Norsworthy led the team offensively by scoring eight runs in the five games while Baker Aldridge scored six times and Joey Bonds crossed the plate five times. jameson Weaver, Price Holmes, Jacob Smith and Jacob Merilatt each scored four runs during the tournament.
Weaver belted back-to-back over-the-fence home runs in the title game against the Chargers.
Smith hit a home run against the Mudcats as did Jacob Merilatt.
Arkansas Concrete used a lone run by Barrett Astin to defeat the Chargers in the opening game 1-0 behind the pitching of Brent Devazier.
In game two, Arkansas Concrete edged Tipton, Tenn, 6-5.
The team won the final three games by a scoring margin of 35-to-6, defeating Frayser 11-3, Covington Mudcats 12-2 and the Chargers 12-1.
Arkansas Concrete team members are Turner Norsworthy, Baker Aldridge, Raymond Patillo, Joey Bonds, Brent DeVazier and Barrett Astin, all from Forrest City. Out-of-town roster players include Jameson Weaver and Price Holmes, from Newport; Jacob Smith from Marianna and brothers, Jacob and Jordan Merilatt, from Brinkley.