MCC golfer to sign with Troy University

From school reports

On Wednesday, Justin Eaves will become the 15th Meridian Community College golfer in the past decade to ink with a four-year university.

Eaves, currently a sophomore for the Eagles, will sign a national letter-of-intent to attend Troy University and play golf for head coach Matt Terry. Eaves will join former MCC Eagle and current Troy golfer Jordy Hayden when he enrolls at Troy the fall of 2007.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to play at Troy,” Eaves said." I think that having a former teammate, a former MCC golfer on the team there already will help me get acquainted with the program."

This fall, Eaves has shot even-par or better at least one round in five tournaments for MCC, including a 3-under par 69 in the final round of the MCC/Rush Fall Invitational. He is currently ranked 21st among NJCAA Div II golfers with a 74.2 tournament scoring average. Eaves was the medalist runner up at the 2006 Belhaven Invitational after shooting a 2-under par final round of 70.

"Justin is not only a great player but equally a great young man who provides leadership on and off the course," MCC golf coach Sean Covich said. "He is a member of our All-Academic team and our sophomore team captain. Troy is getting an outstanding student-athlete."

As a freshman Eaves led the MCC Eagle golf team to six tournament victories and a third-place finish in the 2006 NJCAA Div II National Championship. He was named first-team, All-State and All-Region after shooting 69-72 (141) in the MACJC/Region XXIII Championship.

In the NJCAA National Championship, Eaves led all MCC golfers with an even-par 288 (73-69-77-69). His four-day total earned him All American and All Tournament Team honors at the National Championship.

In high school, Eaves led Winston Academy to three MPSA state championships.

MCC Splits with EMCC

Lady Lions avenge earlier loss to MCC
By Austin Bishop / special to The Star

SCOOBA — Sharon Thompson knew it was going to happen sooner or later, and Monday night it finally did.After struggling offensively for eight games, the East Mississippi Community College Lady Lions found their groove, knocking off previously-undefeated Meridian Community College 72-65.

"We finally started making our shots," Thompson said. "We have been getting the good shots all year. We just made them tonight. This is what I have been looking for all season."

She got her eyes full over the first 20 minutes as her Lady Lions — now 3-6 on the season — lead by as many as 16 points twice on the way to a 45-31 halftime lead.

"That first half is the best we have played all year," Thompson said. "They made a run on us in the second half, but we didn't quit. We played a full 40 minutes. I'm hoping this game will finally get us over the mountain top."

In the men's game, visiting MCC led by as many as 19 points and held on in an 82-69 win.

The women's game was all EMCC in the first half.

"We just couldn't get it going," said MCC head coach Hilary Allen. "We couldn't make our 3s and missed some free throws. You have to give East Mississippi credit. They played well and just took it to us."

Allen said his team had obvious trouble handling EMCC's inside game.

"It was just a bad mismatch for us on the inside," he said. "The inside game is one of their strengths and it's one of our weaknesses and they took advantage of it."

The Lady Lions were getting the scoring done from both the inside and the outside, especially in the first half.

EMCC led 12-4, 18-6 and 27-11 on the way to the 14-point halftime lead. The visiting Lady Ealges actually made a brief run in the first half, cutting it to 39-31 on a bucket by NaDosha Strickland before the Lady Lions scored the last six points of the half to go up 45-31.

East Mississippi led 54-35 on a basket by Tasia Johnson with 18:10 left in the game, but then Meridian began chipping away. EMCC stretched it back to 60-46 before Meridian went on a 14-4 run to cut it to 64-60 on a 3-pointer by Holly Dial with 4:32 left.

But the Lady Lions held off a Meridian rally and used a big 3-pointer by Sheena Robinson to stretch the lead back out on the way to the win.

Danielle Baldwin finished the night with 18 points for the Lady Lions, including four 3-pointers. Robinson added 14 points, while Shaurice Miller scored 12 and Sade' Coates added 11.Strickland went 12-of-14 from the line on the way to a game-high 34 points for MCC, while Anesia McBride added 10. The MCC Lady Eagles play host to Georgia Perimeter, the No. 23-ranked team in the county, at the Graham Gymnasium on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Meridian men 82
East Miss. 69

MCC dominated the game early, jumping to a 20-11 lead 7 minutes into the game and holding a 42-23 advantage at the half.

But EMCC would not go away and managed to cut the lead down to three points at 68-65 on a pair of free throws by Cornelius Miles with 4:38 left in the game.

The 3-2 Eagles responded by scoring 14 of the game's last 18 points to take the 82-69 win.

"This was a tough, tough win," Meridian coach George Brooks said. "It is tough to win on the road and East Mississippi always plays us well. They did a good job and refused to give up."

Meridian made some key free throws down the stretch, including four by Keith James to ice the win.Sophomore Dexter LeFlore had an excellent game for the Eagles, scoring 30 points to lead the winners.

"He just does a good job for us and it's not just on the offensive end," Brooks said. "He works hard on defense, he rebounds. He just does all the right things. He's a complete player."

Chris Leggett added 15 points for MCC, while Kolby Tillman scored eight.

East Mississippi had a balanced scoring attack with Miles scoring 20, Daniel Huggins picking up 13, Alex Ford scoring 12 and Jon Estes adding 11.

The EMCC men and women visit Southwest Mississippi Thursday before hosting Jones County Junior College at Keyes T. Currie Coliseum on Monday.

The Meridian men visit Faulkner on Thursday, before hosting Shelton State, ranked No. 5 in the country — at the Graham Gymnasium on the MCC campus Tuesday.

Lady Eagles Run Past Bevill State

While their final margin of victory made their 87-69 win over Bevill State Community College seem easy, the Meridian Community College Lady Eagles had to score 26 of the game’s final 36 points to turn Saturday’s tossup into a blowout in the Rush Invitational.

Leading 61-59 with less than seven minuets to go, MCC got a basket from NaDosha Strickland with 6:19 showing and back-to-back three-point plays from Jennifer Wair in a 32 second span to go up 69-59 with 5:23 remaining

By the time the Lady Eagles completed the 11-0 run, they were up 72-59 with only 1:54 left.

“We changed defense and went to a zone because we couldn’t stop their big girl one on one,” MCC head coach Hilary Allen said. “Not only could we not stop her, we couldn’t stop her with the double down.”

“Basically we went to the zone so we could play someone behind her and someone in front of her. Fortunately, they didn’t make some shots from outside against us with that.”

“It seemed like the offense just took off from there too because they had some long rebounds where we were able to get out and get some fast breaks. Strickland got a couple of run outs and Wair got a couple of offensive rebound stick backs and some three-point plays.”

“Strickland obviously did a good job.”

“Wair was playing against a very good basketball player tonight and as a freshman, it’s on of her first experiences doing that. I thought she did okay. That girl got 24 points, but a lot of those were offensive rebounds that she’s just better than us at. There’s not much you can do with that. She’s just bigger and stronger than us.”

“Holly Dial handled the ball well. We had heard before the game that they were going to try and pressure her. They thought that they were a bit quicker and they probably were. But I thought she handled the ball really well. Because we run so much in our offense, we’re going to have some turnovers along the way, but I think she minimizes the number that we’re going to have.”

MCC, which took a 34-32 lead into halftime in improving to 5-0, got 24 points from Strickland , 16 points from Wair, 14 from Dial, 11 from Anesia McBride, nine from Hilal Yildirim and seven from Zirconia Hopkins.

Strickland also had 16 rebounds, while Wair, McBride and Hopkins each had 10. The Lady Eagles hit 13-16 at the free throw line over the final 61 seconds.

MCC returns to action Monday night at East Mississippi Community College.

Lady Eagles Stay Undefeated

from staff reports
The Meridian Star
Steve Swogetinsky

The Meridian Community College Lady Eagles remained undefeated Friday night with an 84-72 victory over Alabama Southern in the first round of the Rush Invitational.

The 4-0 Lady Eagles led 45-31 at the half. Jennifer Weir led MCC in scoring and rebounding with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Five MCC players were in double figures with Anesha McBride scoring 16, Carla Latham 14, Holly Dial 12 and Hilal Yildirim 11.

Tyeisha Nettles scored 18 points to lead Alabama Southern.

Two games will be played today in the second round of the Rush Invitational. Meridian plays Bevill State at 6 p.m., and Delgado playing Alabama Southern at 4 p.m

MCC women win in OT

From staff reports
— Rocky Higginbotham

Coahoma 85
MCC women 93

Freshman NaDosha Strickland of Bay Springs pumped in 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead three Lady Eagles with double-doubles, and Meridian Community College knocked off homestanding Coahoma 93-85 in overtime Saturday night in Clarksdale.

MCC, which is now 3-0, will host the Rush Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Anesia McBride had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jennifer Wair had 13 points and 10 rebounds to round out MCC’s trio of double-double performers. Sophomore point guard Holly Dial scored 18 points and dished out seven assists.

Dandia Thomas led Coahoma with 17 points.

Coahoma 70
MCC men 66

The Eagles saw their record fall to 2-2 on the season as Coahoma rallied from a slim deficit at the half.

MCC was up 33-31 at intermission.

Dexter Leflore poured in a game-high 29 points in the defeat for Meridian, while ex-Meridian High standout Chris Leggett scored 13 and freshman Regis Huddleston of Bay Springs had 11.

Derrick Conley led Coahoma with 15 points.

The Eagles are off until Nov. 27, when they travel to East Mississippi.

Former MCC golf coach, Lou Hart named to Mississippi Sports HoF

From staff and wire reports

There will be a family reunion of sorts this summer when five new members will be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

Lou Hart of Meridian, a nine-time state amateur champion, will join her father, Hunter George Weddington, as a member of the Hall of Fame. Weddington was inducted in 1983 and now, 24 years later, his daughter will join him.

"We will be the first father-daughter twosome in the hall of fame," Hart said. "I was speechless when they told me. This is a tremendous honor."

The announcement of the 2007 class was made Monday in Jackson. Other inductees include football greats Jerry Rice and Robert Brazille, Red Sox Hall of Famer George Scott, and basketball coach Troy Ricks. The induction ceremony will be July 27.

Hart recently retired as head golf coach at Meridian Community, a post she held for 12 seasons. She still plays competitive golf but mostly in senior events. She has won the state senior women's amateur title twice.

As successful as she has been over the years, one wonders whether Hart ever considered playing on the LPGA tour.

"I did once when I was very young, but God did not bless me with the power that it would have taken to be competitive," Hart said. "He did bless me with a lot of tournament wins, and (because of this) I feel like I was able to have credibility with these kids and why they came and played at MCC, and how I made a difference in their lives."

Though she was very pleased with the honor, being inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame is not something Hart sought.

"I never hit a golf ball with that in mind," Hart said. "I loved to play golf and compete.

"One thing that is special is so many people share in it; my husband, my family, the golfing community at Northwood, Florida State where I played, and at MCC where I played and coached. Any golf pro who has helped me or my team has to share in this as well."

The rest of the class Hart, Brazile and Ricks were on hand for the announcement.

Rice was unable to attend because he was shooting a reality show in Florida, but he sent a short statement of thanks and said he will attend the induction ceremony in July.

Scott also missed the news conference after bad weather delayed him on a driving trip from Boston, where he was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame last week.

Rice is the most well-known of the group, but all made large impacts, though in different ways.

— Rice, of Crawford, still holds 15 NCAA records 20 years after graduating from Mississippi Valley State. He retired from the NFL with 38 career milestones, including most receptions, yards and touchdowns. He is considered the greatest receiver to play in the NFL.

— After an All-American career at Jackson State, Brazile was a seven-time All-Pro for the Houston Oilers. The Mobile, Ala., linebacker played in 147 consecutive games, which is still a team record. Brazile, known as Dr. Doom, was joined in the first round of the 1975 draft by teammate Payton, who is also a member of the Mississippi Hall of Fame.

— Scott, whose use of the term ‘‘tater’’ to describe his home runs is still being emulated by sportscasters, was one of the more colorful major leaguers. The Greenville native played 2,034 games for the Red Sox, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers. He batted .268 with 271 home runs and 1,051 runs batted in and earned eight Gold Gloves with three All-Star Game appearances.

— From 1933 when he began as a player to 1970 when he retired as a coach, Ricks never once suffered a losing season. His career included a stint in the U.S. Army where he played service basketball for three years. Along with winning games in World War II, he also earned a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. The Wheeler, Miss., native coached at Hinds and Copiah-Lincoln community colleges, finishing with a record of 441-156 — giving him a winning percentage of 73 percent. At 87, he will be the oldest newcomer to the Hall of Fame at his time of induction.

Eagles hold off Lions’ rally

By Rocky Higginbotham/ sports editor

With two players sitting out for disciplinary reasons and another injured, Meridian Community College needed someone to take up the slack Monday against rival East Mississippi.

Turns out, the Eagles had more than enough willing participants.Dexter Leflore pumped in a game-high 30 points and had a wide-ranging cast of supporters, and MCC knocked off the visiting Lions 85-78 in junior-college basketball action at Meridian’s Graham Gymnasium.

“He had a huge game for us,” MCC coach George Brooks said of Leflore, who scored his team’s final nine points of the contest. “He stepped up and a lot of guys stepped up. I’m proud of them.”

The win improved Meridian to 2-1 on the year, while East Mississippi fell to 0-5. The Eagles go to Coahoma Saturday, while the Lions are at home Thursday against another rival — East Central.

MCC started Monday night’s game with a bang, getting slam dunks from Leflore and Chris Leggett and 3-pointers from Leflore and Regis Huddleston in a game-opening 14-4 run.

After EMCC went 5 minutes, 19 seconds without scoring, MCC capped off another big run with a steal and slam from Leflore — putting the Eagles ahead 26-6 with 6:17 left in the first half.

Freshman guard Rodricus Hopson of Kemper County scored eight straight points off the bench for EMCC, and the Lions whittled their deficit to 12 before a couple of putbacks from Santez Johnson helped MCC to a 38-21 lead at halftime.

The Eagles led by 20 again in the second half, but things got hairy for MCC down the stretch.

East Mississippi got within 76-71 on a 3-pointer from ex-West Lauderdale standout Mark Ford with 1:40 left, and got as close as five on three more occasions before it was said and done.

“They did a great job fighting to get back in it and I knew they would,” Brooks said of the Lions.But Leflore hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 25 seconds and former Meridian High standout Maurice Naylor owned the glass down the stretch to help seal the win.

Naylor, five weeks removed from meniscus surgery, finished with a team-high 12 rebounds — 11 of them in the second half.

“We didn’t even expect him to play,” Brooks said. “That just shows his true character. He saw his teammates needed him to play and he gutted it out for us tonight. That’s what kind of player he is.”

Leflore added seven boards and three steals, Santez Johnson had 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots and Keith James came off the bench to score 14 points for MCC. Regis Huddleston scored nine points and Naylor chipped in six.

Hopson led EMCC with 16 points, while Daniel Huggins and Jon Estes had 14 each, Mark Ford 13, Alex Ford 11 and Cornelius Miles eight. Huggins and Miles are former Meridian High standouts.

Alex Ford, a former Northeast Lauderdale standout who played at MCC last year, had a game-high 18 rebounds to lead the Lions. Huggins had five steals.

MCC Golf wraps up fall schedule with Top-5

The Meridian Star
Nov. 14, 2006

MOBILE, Ala. - Meridian Community College sophomore Justin Eaves added yet another All Tournament team honor to his MCC golfing career. The Louisville native finished in the top-10 at the University of Mobile Fall Classic and led the MCC golf team to a fifth place in the team standings after Monday's final round. The Eagles concluded their fall schedule by finishing in sole possession of fifth place after shooting a two day team total of 605 (306-299). MCC was one of only two NJCAA Div. II golf teams competing in the 16 team field which included four-year schools: Webber International University, University of Mobile, Spring Hill College, St. Thomas University, Faulkner University, William Carey College and others.

“This was defiantly one of the strongest fields that we have competed in,” said MCC head golf coach Sean Covich. “I was happy for our guys, they fought back the second day to leap a few schools and place in the top five. To do that against mostly four-year universities was quite an accomplishment.”

Eaves fired the lowest round of the day for the Eagles with an even-par 72 and finished the tournament with a two-round total of 3-over par 147 (75-72), while MCC sophomore Dustin Petit finished with a 5-over par 149 (73-76).

“Justin Eaves played really well,” said Covich. “He was even-par for his last 34 holes played. If he had stared better on the first day, he might have won the medalist title, but nonetheless, another solid tournament for our sophomore team captain.”

Freshmen Joshua Ivy and Jarrod Lemaster each posted scores in the 70’s both days. Ivy posted a 10-over 154 (79-75) and Jarrod Lemaster posted an 11-over par 155 (79-76). Sophomore Cole Clopton shot 167 (83-84) for the Eagles.

Brevard (FL) Community College, a seven-time NJCAA national champion, entered the final round with a three-shot lead and posted a team total of 5-over 293 on Monday to win the team title by 9 strokes over Webber International University with a two-round total of 585. Spring Hill College slipped from second to third place firing 295-305 (600). Central Alabama finished fourth with a 601 (302- 299), just four shots ahead of MCC.

The top-5 finish at Mobile completed a successful fall season for 1st year MCC head coach Sean Covich and his Eagle golf team. MCC competed in six events which included two tournament championships, three top-5 and one top-10 finishes. Individually the Eagles had six All Tournament Team members, two medalist, and one medalist runner-up.

“It was a wonderful fall season, both individually and as a team,” said Covich. “I really want to thank the members of Briarwood and Northwood, plus those supporters at NAS-Ponta Creek and Lakeview, without those people we wouldn't‚t be one of the more successful golf programs in the NJCAA.”

The Eagles have wrapped up their fall schedule and will break for Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays before returning to action in early February.

MCC Golfers Close Out Fall Slate At Univ. of Mobile Fall Classic

MCC Sports Info
11/12/2006

Mobile, Ala. – Meridian Community College’s golf team will close out the fall portion of the schedule with a visit to Mobile, Ala. to compete in the University of Mobile Fall Classic beginning on Sunday, Nov. 12. The 36-hole event is being played at historic 6,850 yard, par 72 Azalea City Golf Course in Mobile.

MCC is coming off a first-place finish at the Belhaven College Invitational on October 30-31. Eagle freshman and Alabama native, Jarrod Lemaster, who won the medalist title in the Belhaven tourney, will start as the #1 player for MCC in Mobile.

MCC’s probable line up will include a sophomore laden squad- 2006 NJCAA All-American, Justin Eaves, 2006 MACJC/Region XXIII medalist, Dustin Petit and former Meridian High School golfer, Cole Clopton, all sophomores will join freshmen Joshua Ivy and Jarrod Lemaster to make up the MCC team.

Head coach Sean Covich’s squad will look to put the finishing touches on an impressive 2006 fall season. The squad has won two events, the MCC/Rush Fall Inv. and the Belhaven College Inv. Freshmen Joshua Ivy and Lemaster have also claimed top individual honors at the MCC/Rush Inv. and Belhaven Inv., respectively. MCC has finished in the top-five in three of the five events so far this fall. Individually, Ivy and Eaves are ranked 14th and 23rd, respectively in the latest NJCAA Div. II golf poll.

The 20-team field at the University of Mobile Fall Classic includes – 2006 Region XXIII runner-up Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, 2003 NJCAA national champion Faulkner State Community College, 5 time NJCAA national champion Central Alabama Community College, Northwest Shoals Community College, back-to-back Region XXIII champion Meridian Community College, host-University of Mobile, and others.

Play begins Sunday morning and will conclude on Monday afternoon.

Eagles and Lady Eagles Win Home Opener

MCC men win in overtime
McBride leads Lady Eagles to win in home-opener

By Rocky Higginbotham / sports editorThe Meridian Star

There are just five sophomores on the roster for Meridian Community College’s men’s basketball team — and just two of those saw action Wednesday night in the school’s 2006-07 home-opener at the Ivy Sports Center.

As expected, MCC and its big freshmen class went through its share of growing pains. But when the final horn sounded — for a second time — the Eagles were on top.MCC knocked down 7-of-9 free throws in the extra period Wednesday night and knocked off visiting Wallace-Selma 80-79 in overtime to earn its first victory of the season.

The win also completed a sweep for Meridian, as the Lady Eagles won 81-69 over Selma in their season-opener.

Both MCC teams are in action again Nov. 13 against rival East Mississippi.

MCC men 80Wallace-Selma 79The Eagles had a stretch of more than 7 minutes without a point in the first half and finished regulation with 32 turnovers — 22 of them in the second half.

But MCC also got 17 points from freshman Regis Huddleston in the second half, and George Brooks’ squad won a seesaw battle with the visiting Patriots.

“Sometimes with the freshmen, it’s hard to get that first win,” Brooks said. “But this should give them some confidence. I’m not happy with the execution, but I’m happy with the effort.”

MCC trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before pulling to within 32-31 at halftime.

There were eight lead changes in the second half, but a Dexter Leflore 3-pointer off a steal and assist from Huddleston sparked an MCC run to make it 65-60 with 58 seconds remaining.

Wallace-Selma answered with five straight points to tie the game, and Huddleston’s NBA-range 3-pointer at the buzzer didn’t fall.

Huddleston, a former Bay Springs standout, finished with 22 points, four steals and four assists and Leflore had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead the Eagles.

Newton product Kolby Tillman contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, Santez Johnson had nine points and 10 rebounds, freshman James Berry scored nine points and had 13 rebounds and former Meridian High standout Chris Leggett had eight points and three blocked shots.

Brandon Thomas scored 17 points, Tray Williams scored 16 and Deon President had 10 points and 14 rebounds for Selma.

MCC women 81Wallace-Selma 69The Lady Eagles got a combined 39 points from newcomers Anesia McBride and Jennifer Wair and held off a feisty Lady Patriots squad.

McBride, a sophomore who missed last season with an injury, scored a game-high 20 points and Wair — a freshman from Velma Jackson — was right behind her with 19.

Sophomore point guard Holly Dial pumped in 16 points and was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, Noxubee County freshman Zirconia Hopkins scored eight points and former Bay Springs standout NaDosha Strickland chipped in with seven.

MCC bolted out of the gate with a quick lead of 20 points and was up 47-25 at halftime before Wallace-Selma got as close as 69-69 with 5 minutes remaining.

“I was real pleased, even though we almost blew a 20-point lead,” MCC coach Hilary Allen said.

“I thought we played nervous at times which is expected in your first game.

“Give Wallace-Selma credit. They were down but they never quit,” Allen said. “But we’ve got a good group and it’s nice to get that first win.”

Seven MCC Baseball Players Ink

MCC Sports Info

(MERIDIAN)- The Meridian Community College baseball program continued its strong tradition of sending players to the next level.

On Wednesday, November 8, seven Eagle players inked with college baseball powers. Four of the players singed with SEC schools- LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Three players inked with Southeastern Louisiana University and University of Southern Mississippi.

Jordan Brown of Hahnville High School (LA) singed with the LSU Tigers. Brown, a native of Louisiana, is a pitcher for the Eagles. In 2006, Brown threw for a 2.46 ERA, 26 strikeout’s in 22 innings. In high school, Brown was named All State and All Region. Brown was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005 and by the Atlanta Braves in 2006.

Tyler Moore and Lee Swindle both singed with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Moore, a graduate of Northwest Rankin High School, plays first base for the Eagles and in 2006 he batted .298 with 15 homerun’s and 8 doubles. He was named All State and All Region for the Eagles in 2006. In 2005 & 2006, Moore was drafted by the Washington Nationals. In high school, Moore was a 2-time All State Team member, part of the NWR state championship team, named All-Metro, Louisville Slugger All-American and Pop-Star Award.

Swindle, a graduate of Eupora High School, is a right-handed pitcher for the Eagles. In 2006, Swindle threw for 64 strikeouts in 67 innings. He was named 2nd Team All State his freshman season with the Eagles. In high school he was All State in both baseball and football.

Michael Guerrero of Southaven High School signed to play for the Ole Miss Rebels. Guerrero is an outfielder for the Eagles and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2006, he batted .379 with 20 doubles, 14 homeruns and 17 stolen bases. He was named All-State and All-Region his freshman season with MCC. In high school he was named All-State.

Kendrick Martin and Justin Worby signed to play for the Lions of Southeastern Louisiana University.

Martin, a graduate of Meridian High School, is a left-handed pitcher for MCC. In 2006, he won 5 games, had a 3.46 ERA and threw 68 strikeouts in 56 innings. He was named 2nd team All-State his freshman season for the Eagles. He holds the all time strikeout record for a seven inning game with 18 strikeouts. In high school he was named All State.

Worby, from Ontario, Canada, is a catcher for the Eagles. In 2005 he was drafted by the San Diego padres. In 2006, he hit for .600, 1 double and 1 triple. He was a medical red shirt for MCC. In high school he was ranked the #2 position player in all of Canada.

Wade Weathers, a graduate of Enterprise High School, is a left-handed pitcher. In 2006, he went 5-1 with a 2.48 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 42 innings. He was named 2nd team All State as a freshman for MCC. In high school he was a 3 time All State, 4 time All District and a member of the EHS state championship team.


For more information on these baseball players: please call Eagle Baseball: Head coach Chris Rose (601-484-8844), (601-513-4581) or Asst. coach Joe Caruso (601-484-8680).

MCC Basketball set for home openers

from combined reports
The Meridian Star

Meridian Community College’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will take the floor tonight in their first home action of the 2006-07 season when both MCC squads host Wallace-Selma.

The women’s game will tip off at 6 p.m. in the Ivy Sports Center, followed by the men at 8 p.m.

The MCC men are 0-1 after a tough road loss at highly-touted Holmes, while this will be the season-opener for the Meridian women. Wallace Selma’s Lady Patriots are 1-0 after a 64-51 win at LSU-Eunice.

Tonight’s action is also the first of back-to-back home twinbills for the MCC teams, as Meridian will host East Mississippi Monday beginning at 6 p.m.

There are 14 regular-season home dates for MCC this season.

The Lady Eagles are hoping for a return trip to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament under veteran coach Hilary Allen.

“We’ve been conditioning really well and practicing hard,” Allen said. “We’ve still got some things that I want to implement into our game plan, but so far I am very exited about this season.

“I think that we are very talented this year and I look for us to run a lot. We’re going to try and press and get some fast break offense going.”

Sophomore point guard Holly Dial of Brandon echoed the sentiments of her head coach.

“We’re not as tall as be were last season,” Dial said. “But I believe that we’re going to be just as fast as anyone.”

Men’s coach George Brooks expects some exciting play out of his squad, as well.

“We’re very strong and versatile,” said Brooks, who is entering his ninth year as the Eagles’ head coach. “This team has a lot of athleticism.”

Freshman Chris Leggett of Meridian High School — The Meridian Star’s 2005-06 All-Area Player of the Year — will look to aide the Eagles in the upcoming season after originally signing with Pensacola (Fla.) Community College.

“Chris has been wonderful so far,” Brooks said. “In fact, he may be our best player with the ball in his hands. He just has to pick up on a few things on the defensive side and setting screens.”

MCC Baseball to host Thanksgiving Camp

MCC Sports Info.
11/03/2006

MERIDIAN, Miss. –Meridian Community College’s baseball program will host a Thanksgiving baseball camp on November 24-25 at Scaggs Field.

The camp is open to boys and girls age 5 to 14. The camp is designed to help youngsters with their core swing as a hitter and also every phase of the game. There will be two days of drills along with one-on-one instruction from the MCC coaching staff and players.

An advanced hitter’s camp, open to ages 5 and up, will be available on November 25th from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm.

Camp fee is $70, while the advanced hitter’s camp is $50.

Players need to bring bat, glove and cleats.

The camp will take place 9:00 am until 2:00 pm on November 24 and 8:00 am until 12:00 pm on November 25.

MCC baseball is a 10-time Miss-lou Conference champion, 9 time Region XXIII champion, has appeared in the JUCO World Series 7 times, and is the back-to-back MACJC State Champion.

For more information on the camp, please contact Eagle Baseball: Head coach Chris Rose (601-484-8844) or Asst. coach Joe Caruso (601-484-8680).

MCC coaches talk about upcoming basketball season

MCC Sports Information
11/03/2006


MERIDIAN, Miss. – 14 regular-season home games highlight Meridian Community College’s 2006-07 men's and women’s basketball schedule, as announced this week by MCC Athletic Director Hillary Allen.

The Eagles will tip off the school's 2006-2007 season of collegiate basketball competition with a men’s road game at Holmes CC Nov. 4 before returning home to Ivy Sports Center for a two-game home stand by playing host to Selma (Nov. 8) and rival East Mississippi (Nov. 13).

Along with the showdown with EMCC, the early season schedule is highlighted by the annual Rush Invitational in which the MCC Lady Eagle’s will host various teams on-campus Nov. 24-25.

“We’ve been conditioning really well and practicing hard,” said MCC’s women’s basketball coach, Hilary Allen.

“We’ve still got some things that I want to implement into our game plan, but so far I am very exited about this season.”

“I think that we are very talented this year and I look for us to run a lot. We’re going to try and press and get some fast break offense going.”

MCC Lady Eagle sophomore, Holly Dial echoes the sentiments of her head coach.

“We’re not as tall as we were last season,” said Dial, a graduate of Brandon High School.

“But I believe that we’re going to be just as fast as anyone.”

For the men’s team, head coach George Brooks expects some exciting play out of his squad.

“We’re very strong and versatile,” said Brooks, who is entering his ninth year as head coach for the MCC men’s team.

“This team has a lot of athleticism.”

Meridian freshman Chris Leggett will look to aide the Eagles in the upcoming season.

“Chris has been wonderful so far,” said Brooks.

“In fact, he may be our best player with the ball in his hands; he just has to pick up on a few things on the defensive side and setting screens.”

The men’s season starts 5:00 pm on Nov. 4th with a road game to Holmes then both the Eagles and Lady Eagles will play v. Wallace-Selma Nov. 8th. Lady Eagles take to the court at 6:00 pm and the Eagles play at 8:00 pm.