Union County

New Albany’s Zach Hand and Myrtle’s Aspriona Gilbert each earned individual state titles in the shot put during last weekend’s State Track Championships in Pearl.
Gilbert, a junior at Myrtle, posted a mark of 35-11.00 in the 1A event, earning first over Chelsea Moore of Noxapater.
The duo would also place in top two in the discus, with Moore winning and Gilbert finishing second. The Lady Hawks finished fourth as a team, while the Hawks earned an eighth place finish last Friday.

Experience is not on the side of West Union this year, but despite the youth and the loss of seven players from the 2010 North Half runner-up squad, the Lady Eagles battled for two Saturday wins, advancing to next weekend’s 1A State Championship.

East Union standout Heather Dillard was named the Co-Player of the Year for Region 2-2A in softball, an honor that accompanies three All-Division selections for the Lady Urchins.
Dillard shares the honor with former Ingomar standout and current Mantachie Lady Mustang Allisa Patterson, who placed four others on the All-Division list.
Catcher Rachel Elder, pitcher Alie Haynie and center fielder Chelsea Kuhn were also selected for East Union, who finished their season in the first round of the 2A state playoffs, falling to Baldwyn in three games.

West Union and New Albany competed as teams in the 2011 Class I and Class II State Champions last week at the Whisper Lake Golf Club in Madison.
The Lady Eagles finished with a team score of 403 with Allie Newby shooting a team-best 193 (100 on day one and 93 on day two). Mallory Newby shot a 100 and 109 over the two days, while Bailey Bates finished with a 217 (114 and 103, respectively).
West Union finished fifth as a team, 75 strokes behind state champion, St. Andrews.