Every year is a great year to be a Marshal and there are many achievements in Marshall County athletics so narrowing them down to 16 was a difficult task, with accomplishments not making the list like the swim team’s 4 x 400 freestyle relay team qualifying for state, Lady Marshals Head Coach Trent Lovett named Region 1 Softball Coach of the Year, Marshall County alum Peyton Porter and partner Coleton Jennings of Calloway County winning the High School Fishing World Title and Marshall County alum Patrick Newcomb winning the Pro Division of the Irvin Cobb Championship.
In this Sports Editor’s humble opinion, these 16 sports stories were noteworthy for the year 2016.
• D.J. Pigg became the 16th Marshall County boy’s basketball player to score 1,000 points on January 29th against Paducah Tilghman then on February 1st set a new school record for most 3-pointers in a game.
• In May, both the girl’s and boy’s Middle School Soccer Teams won the District and Regional Championships.
• Jay Nimmo, a member of the Marshall County golf team, competed on national TV in the Drive, Chip and Putt Finals during Masters Week in April at Augusta National Golf Club finishing 4th, one point out of 3rd place in the boy’s 12-13 age group.
• Kolton Powell, Rylen Sutherland and Josey Powell earned All-Around Champions at the 2016 High School and Junior High Rodeo Association Western Region Finals at Murray in May.
• On May 28th, the Marshall County Track Team earned 10 top 15 results at the Class 3A KHSAA State Track and Field Championships. Top results were Drey Reed tied for 6th in the high jump, Collin Gunn 10th in the 1600 meters and Garrett Wommack 11th in the pole vault.
• The Lady Marshals Softball Team finished Region 1 runner-up to McCracken County after winning the 4th District title 11-1 in five innings over Murray while the Marshals Baseball Team also won the 4th District title.
• The Middle School Track Team earned four state titles on June 4th at the University of Louisville. Tori McCracken and Dusty Bass both won the high jump, Keagin Brooks took 1st in the javelin and the boy’s 4 x 800 relay team took 1st with Isaiah Kirby, Samuel Lanham, Mason Cosner and Cade Flatt.
• Jay Nimmo won medalist and Savannah Howell placed 3rd in the 2016 KPGA Middle School State Golf Championship at Quail Chase Golf Course in Louisville.
• The Lady Marshals Golf Team finished 9th and the Marshals 8th in the KHSAA State Golf Championships after both finished Region 1 runner-up.
• Marshall County alum, Carson Beckett, helped to lead the Brevard College Cycling Team to their first ever D1 National Championship at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in October at Snowshoe Mountain, WV.
• Lady Marshals Volleyball Team finished season as Region 1 runner-up and 4th District Champions.
• Marshall County Football Team played in their first earned 5A District Play-off game against Bowling Green for the first time in five years and Head Coach Evan Merrick was named 5A 1st District Coach of the Year in his third year as head coach of the Marshals.
• The boy’s Cross Country Team and 7th grade student Alexia Minter, qualified for the KHSAA State Cross Country Meet on November 5th at the Lexington Horse Park.
• The Mountain Bike Team won their 4th consecutive Tennessee State Championship also earning four individual state titles. Audrey Grizzard won the girl’s Varsity state title, Grant Wilson the boy’s JV state title and Alyssa McClain and Clay Austin the Freshman state titles.
• Former Marshall County baseball player Andrew Edwards was added to the Kansas City Royals 40-man roster November 18th. The 2010 graduate was drafted by the Royals June 2013.
• Senior basketball player Hannah Langhi became the 21st Lady Marshal to reach the 1,000 point plateau in her career on December 6th with 19 points in their win over Livingston Central.
