Matemen

The Whitley Co. wrestling team heads into coal country this weekend when they travel to the regional tournament at Sheldon Clark High School in Inez.
Three wrestlers earned their way to the state last year and at least seven Whitley County wrestlers hope to make it to next week’s state finals in Frankfort.
This year Dustin Brown joined the Whitley County wrestling team as a co-coach with Darrell Singley.
Brown was a 125-pound Georgia State champion and placed in the state four straight years before going to Cumberland.
He has made a huge impact on the Whitley County program in a short time.
These seven wrestlers will try to earn a spot in next week’s Kentucky High School State Wrestling finals.
D.C. Evans will be competing in the 103-class with teammate Jacob Chancellor, a junior, looking to get back to the state in the 140-pound class.
Jaron Singley advanced the farthest last year and has a shot at going a long way this year in the 171-pound class.
Carl Petrey will battle in the 152-pound class while Jacob Janes tries to recover from an ankle injury and take on competitors in the 135-pound class.
Sophomore Joey Caddell will be in the 119-pound class this year battling for one of the three regional spots that go to the state tournament.
The new kid on the block is Duncan Caddell, a seventh grader who is already into wrestling. He will battle in the 112-pound slot for the Colonels.
Double-Double
Whitley County senior Kayla Haynes had a big night against the Southwestern Pulaski Lady Warriors Friday night.
Haynes scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, both were milestones for the senior center.
She hit the 1,000 mark in both categories on the same night. She pulled down her 1,000th rebound with number 13 and scored her 1,000th point on her final basket of the game.
She will be presented the game ball Friday night when the Lady Colonels entertain Clinton County.
UK-BOUND
Lynn Camp’s Jimmy Chaffin will
hold a press conference Thursday at 2 p.m.
He is expected to sign with the University of Kentucky to play college football.
Chaffin was the Player of the Year according to many area publications including the News-Journal.
He led the region as well as the state in scoring and yardage this season.

Ware to UT-Martin
Josh Ware, who moved to the Chattanooga area last summer, will play college football at UT-Martin, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Ware, who rushed for over a 1,000 yards as a Redhound two years ago, was presented the Baylor Ironmen Award and was named to the All-State Team in Tennessee.

Frosh Do It
Corbin and Whitley County will participate in this weekend’s 13th Region Freshman Basketball Tournament at North and South Laurel.
I’m glad to see the 13th region play a regional tournament at this level. It gives the kids something to shoot for now and in the future.
However, I don’t like the format at all. A one-day tournament. The winner will have to win four games to capture the tournament and that’s not realistic.
No one has to play four games in one day to win anything.
I would like seeing the first-two rounds played at various sites with the semifinals and finals at one location.
But, the good thing, they are getting to compete for a regional title
The schedule for Saturday’s tournament. Corbin will play North Laurel at South Laurel High School at 9 a.m.
Middlesboro will take on Clay County at nine while Lynn Camp plays Harlan at 9 a.m. at North Laurel Middle School. Whitley County will also play at 9 a.m. The Colonels will play Pineville at North Laurel High School.
Second-round games will be played at 11:30 and 12:30.
The Corbin-North Laurel winner will take on Cumberland at South Laurel Middle School.
Lynn Camp-Harlan winner will play the Middlesboro-Clay County winner at 11:30 at North Laurel Middle School.
The Whitley County-Pineville winner will take on South Laurel at North Laurel High School at 12:30.
The semifinals will be played at 2:30 at the two high schools with the championship game slated for 5 p.m. at North Laurel High School.
Tennis Anyone
Do you like tennis? What about Table Tennis? There will be a Table Tennis Tournament at the Corbin Recreation Center, Sunday, Feb. 19th with registration beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Donnie Head told me it will be a fair, fun tournament. You will not get stuck in the first-round with a ringer. That’s because a round-robin format will be used to determine the class you will play the tournament in.
After pool play, you will be put into one of four classes, A.B.C.D.
Awards will be presented to first and second place. But the catch…the winner will get to take on two pros the following week in an Exhibition featuring members of KILLERSPIN.
Biba, a two-time Yugoslavian champion will be here to take on one of the winners as well, Barney Reed, a five-time USA World Team Member.
The exhibition will begin at 2 p.m.
Advanced tickets are on sale at the Corbin Recreation Center, Tri-County Sporting Goods or Central Finance for $7. Tickets at the door will cost $8.
Even if you don’t want to play in the tournament, the exhibition should be exciting.
You can call Donnie Head (528-5056) for more information.
Strange Year
The 12th region race really looks strange without the presence of North and South Laurel.
For one, it’s strange to see Monticello with a better record than Wayne County. The Cardinals are 3-17 on the season.
Pulaski County has a losing record at this point, 8-10.
McCreary Central a front-runner. Wow! But it looks as if the Raiders, Somerset, Southwestern or Danville may make a trip to Rupp Arena.
I’ve seen most of those teams play this season and Southwestern was impressive in their win over Whitley County Friday night.
But, I have a feeling East and West Jessamine will have something to say about who makes the trip to the state tournament.
East Jessamine is 7-2 against 12th region competition. The Jaguars lost at Somerset by three (no surprise at Somerset) but Boyle County hammered out a 12-point win in Danville. Another place you are not going to get many breaks at all.
The 12th region is just not the same with the Laurels not in it…strange even.