Marshall County’s top sports stories of 2017

A year full of athletic achievements and newsworthy events is hard to whittle down to a list of 10. Especially when notable performances are not on the list like the Cross County team’s best finish in the state meet in 19 years, the swim team breaking school records and setting numerous personal best times or the Trap Team’s third place finish at the Kentucky State Tournament. These 10 noteworthy events and performances top our list for the year 2017.

Hannah Langhi pivots to shoot against McCracken County’s Jalyn Warren in the Regional Tournament.

Hannah Langhi named KABC Region I Player of the Year: Langhi became a finalist for the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation and Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches Miss Basketball with her Player of the Year selection. Among her many accomplishments, Langhi finished her Lady Marshal career with 1,545 points – the second player in program history to score over 1,500 points, seventh all-time with 1,044 total rebounds and 35 double-doubles. Langhi was a 3-time All-District Team and All-Purchase Team selection and All-Regional Team selection in 2017.

Howard Beth inducted into the Kosair Charities and Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame: Beth was inducted into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 and is the most successful coach in Kentucky girl’s basketball history. In his 30 years as head coach of the Lady Marshals, Beth won 23 District Championships, 19 Regional Championships and two State Championships. His 1984 Lady Marshals team remains the last undefeated state championship team in Kentucky history.

Five new head coaches hired: Former Marshall County player Terry Birdsong was named head coach of the men’s basketball program and Martin Clapp, head coach of the women’s basketball program after the departures of former coaches Gus Gillespie and Joseph Simmons. Also new to the head coach ranks, Marshall County assistant Donnie Heath was hired as the boy’s soccer head coach and baseball assistant Rob McDonald took over as head coach after Mike Johnson stepped into his new role as Athletic Director and finally, Superintendent Trent Lovett stepped away as head coach of the softball team and Mallory (Young) Newton was hired to replace him.

Cameron Thurman releases his region title winning shot put throw of 51-08.50 to advance to the state meet.

Marshall County’s track team qualified 12 individuals and five relay teams for the KHSAA State Track and Field Championships:  Cameron Thurman had the highest seed for the Marshall County team heading into the state meet in the shot put event, seeded second. He medaled in fourth place at the state meet. The boy’s 4 x 800 team of Garrett Fulgham, Joseph Reed, Jackson Reed and Cade Flatt were a seven seed and finished 10th at the state meet.

Registration errors led to disqualifications of middle school track athletes at the KTCCCA Middle School State Championships:  Student-athletes from South Marshall Middle and North Marshall Middle competed as one combined team throughout the season but are required to split into their individual schools at the state meet. The error led to disqualifications of all the relay teams and one individual who won a state title.

Cade Flatt wins silver at AAU Junior Olympic Games: Flatt, an eighth grade student at South Marshall Middle School, earned a silver medal at the AAU Junior Olympic Games at Eastern Michigan University in the 14 year old division of the 800 meters. Flatt’s time of 1:59.94 was a new personal record.

Christian Fellowship’s Lady Eagles volleyball team celebrating their All ‘A’ Region I Tournament win.

Christian Fellowship volleyball team begins season 17-0: The Lady Eagles volleyball team win streak stretched out to 17-0 before losing their first game of the season in the All ‘A’ State Tournament in Louisville to Paintsville.

Marshall County’s boy’s and girl’s golf teams advanced to the state tournament: The boys earned Region I runner-up and Jay Nimmo individual runner-up after a playoff with Lyon County’s Cullen Brown who went on to win the individual state title and Nimmo went on to finish 11th in the state. This was the third straight trip to state for the boy’s team. The girl’s team won the Region I title and Hallie Riley earned the individual title to advance to the state tournament for the eighth consecutive year for the program. They finished sixth at the state tournament.

The Lady Marshals celebrate their Region I Championship.

Lady Marshals soccer wins Region I Championship: The Lady Marshals won the title in a thrilling come from behind 4-3 victory over Murray. They won the District Championship over Murray 2-1 in a another exciting ending that included two overtime periods and a round of penalty kicks. In the first round of the Sweet 16, they lost 2-1 in overtime to Daviess County.

Mountain Bike Team wins fifth straight Tennessee State Championship: The team won all four races this season, amassing an overall record over the past five years of 20-0. State Championship Overall Series titles were earned by Bobby Jones, Jaxon Story, Presleigh Jennings and Olivia Myhand. The team swept the boy’s Varsity podium at the State Championship race with Jaron Wood taking first, Jones second and Grant Wilson third.

Taking the podium, Marshall County Mountain Bike Team celebrates their fifth straight State Championship Sunday at St. Andrews Sewanee School in Sewanee, Tenn.