Robservations: Saluting those who give it all
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It’s nearly the end of the local school athletic year, so what better time to hand out kudos to some of the individuals and groups that put forth that extra effort it takes to play like a champion.
Since we’re speaking of champions, there’s no better place to start than the aforementioned Tina Vucic, who will be heading to Chattanooga this week for the TSSAA’s annual Spring Fling.
Vucic, who has yet to taste defeat this season, is three wins away from capturing the individual girls tennis championship. Play begins Wednesday, with Vucic taking on Brentwood’s Hayley Dennis in quarterfinal action.
If the Lady Pioneer senior is able to capture the state title, she’ll become just the second Warren County athlete to win a TSSAA individual championship, according to a record of state titles compiled by the TSSAA. Scott Haile won the boys golf title in 1981.
You don’t have to be Bud Collins to tell when one athlete is completely dominant of his or her competition. And when I traveled to the region championships Tuesday, I saw Vucic dominate.
In her championship match, her opponent — who I was told later also had not lost through the entire season — could do nothing but shrug her shoulders and give an incredulous sigh at several of Vucic’s lightning-quick returns.
Here’s hoping lightning continues to strike next week, when Vucic goes up against the state’s best.
• As for more stellar individual efforts, look no further than the middle of this front page, where you’ll find Linsey Cornelius.
Now, I’ve got to be honest here. Because she’s a member of the extended Southern Standard “family,” we probably don’t give Linsey all the credit she deserves sometimes, for fear of being accused of favoritism.
But favorite or not, you can’t take away anything from the effort this WCHS junior puts forth on the athletic fields all throughout the year.
A star on the Lady Pioneer soccer team in the fall, Linsey goes straight into basketball over the winter months. After playing softball in previous years, she switched over to the WCHS track and field team this spring, trying her hand at the shot put, discus and other field events.
And what a try it was. Cornelius finished fourth in the sectional finals of the high jump, an event she only began competing in a couple of meets ago. I guess it goes to show if you’re a true athlete, it doesn’t matter which sport you pursue.
Although, now that she’s chucked that big heavy shot around a while, I’d hate to stand in the batter’s box against her on the softball diamond this summer.
• But it wasn’t just individual efforts that stood out this spring. Take a look at the county’s soccer squads, for example.
The middle school team provided a hopeful glimpse of the varsity’s future, culminating its successful year with a victory in its conference tournament.
Up at WCHS it was a bit of a rebuilding year, but the Pioneers showed just how much fight and how little quit they had, battling back against Blackman in the district tournament. They may not have beaten them, but they refused to lay down.
And finally, a tip of the cap to Boyd’s soccer squad, which — in just its third year of existence — reached the region tournament this season.
The Broncos may not have the fanciest facilities, they may not have as many players as their opponents.
But they have one thing that sets them apart, and it’s the same thing that sets apart all these athletes I’ve mentioned, and several others that space wouldn’t permit — the heart of a champion.