Category: Sports

Nick Bonino of the Nashville Predators [Photo courtesy of Getty Images]

The Preds entered the third period with a 3-2 lead, thanks in part to Bonino’s two tallies, as well as the first three-point night of Kevin Fiala’s career, but the Rangers scored twice in the final frame to earn the victory.

After the fact, there was frustration and disappointment in the Nashville locker room, but also the belief that the group is close to breaking out of the slump, something they desperately want to accomplish.

“[The losses] are mounting, and we have to put an end to it,” Preds Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We did enough good things through the course of the game, we got ourselves a lead going into the third, and I think that’s what makes it a tough one to swallow is because, typically we’re good in that situation where we have a lead. We go out, we close it down or get the next goal and it didn’t happen.”

“We can’t lose six in a row, not in this League and not in this division, not with the parity there is,” Bonino said. “We’ve just got to get better.”

New York took a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest on a power-play goal, but the Preds struck back with a man-advantage marker of their own, courtesy of a tip from Bonino off a Mattias Ekholm point shot.

The 1-1 draw held after 20 minutes, and after the Rangers took the lead once more early in the second, Fiala converted off a 2-on-1 by beating Henrik Lundqvist for his seventh of the season. Then, on the power play once more, Bonino deposited a rebound in front for his second of the contest and first multi-goal game as a member of the Preds.

In the third, Marc Staal evened the score at three, and Jesper Fast’s second of the evening with 12:25 left proved to be the game-winner.

“It’s not good enough for us, and we need to be better,” Fiala said. “We want to be the top team in the League, and we know that we can be that, we just have to do better.”

From here, the Preds will jet off to Washington D.C., for a date with the defending Stanley Cup champions as they’ll not only look to bust their overall streak, but also the road skid of 10-straight defeats.

The team will have their mothers along for the trip, something that they hope – combined with building off the positives of the last two outings – will help them get back on the right side of the ledger.

“We find ourselves losing a bunch in a row, and at times, that’s going to happen throughout the year,” Preds defenseman Ryan Ellis said. “We’re going to have ups and downs; the injury bug or whatever it is. But, we’re not here to make excuses. We’re going to prepare the same way and work hard. We know it will turn eventually, and when it does, we’ll come out a better team because of it.”

Notes:

Preds forward Kyle Turris was absent from Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Forward Filip Forsberg joined the Preds for their morning skate prior to Saturday’s game, the first time he’s skated with the team since suffering an upper-body injury earlier this month.

Zac Rinaldo and Anthony Bitetto re-entered the Nashville lineup on Saturday night.

The Preds will play their final game of the 2018 calendar year on Monday when they pay a visit to the Nation’s Capital to face the Capitals at 11:30 a.m. (CT). Nashville will then return home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on New Year’s Day, a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.  Thunder Radio will bring you BOTH contests as part of the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network.  Predators hockey is brought to you locally by the law offices of Burch and Lockhart

Bella Vinson of Coffee County CHS basketball

Friday afternoon saw the Lady Raider basketball team tangle with Eagle’s Landing out of McDonough, Georgia in the Tampa Bay Christmas Tournament. Missed free throws and turnovers spoiled a 2nd half comeback as Coffee County dropped their second straight game 71 to 61. The loss in the physical game drops the Lady Raiders record to 15 and 2 on the year.
Coffee County fell behind in the 1st quarter due to turnovers but roared back to take a 17 to 15 lead at the end of the period on a 3 point basket at the buzzer by Abby Morgan from nearly 30 feet away. The Lady Eagles defense stifled Coffee County in the 2nd quarter and built a 12 point lead in the 3rd period. Coffee County was able to trim the margin to 4 points near the 6 minute mark but could get no closer.
In a game that saw 81 free throws, Coffee County missed 15 of their 40 shots at the line in the game, including going 17 of 31 in the second half. Bella Vinson Led Coffee County in scoring with 29 points, including 22 in the second half. Morgan finished with 16 points hitting 3 triples in the game. Jenna Garretson battled foul trouble in the second half before fouling out with 6 points. Jacey Vaughn notched 5 points for the Lady Raiders.
Coffee County concludes tournament play on Saturday morning at 9 AM when they take on Spruce Creek out of Port Orange, Florida

Abby Morgan of CHS basketball

The Coffee County Lady Raider basketball team put their perfect record on the line on Thursday in Tampa, FL taking on Tampa Bay Tech in the opening round of the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational.  The Lady Titans entered the game with a record of 10 and 1 which included a win over previous Florida state champion Miami Country Day which is ranked as the #3 team in the nation.  After going toe to toe with the Lady Titans for most of 3 periods, Coffee County saw Tampa Bay Tech pull away in the 4^th quarter sending the Lady Raiders to their first loss of the year, 45 to 36.

Coffee County jumped out to an 11 to 6 lead after the first quarter only to run into a bit of foul trouble.  In the 2^nd quarter, Tech shut down the Lady Raider offense to hold an 18 to 14 lead at the half.  Coffee County cut the deficit to 29 to 27 in the last 2 minutes of the 3^rd quarter but could never catch up to the taller Lady Titans.  Needing to foul in the 4^th quarter to get the ball back, Coffee County saw Tampa Bay hit 6 to their 10 free throws in the 4th quarter to take the win.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Abby Morgan who had 21 points, including all 8 Lady Raider points in the 4^th quarter.  Jacey Vaughn and Jenna Garretson each finished with 4 points while Ashley Starks and Ellie Graham added 3 points apiece.

Coffee County’s record falls to 15 and 1 on the season.  The Lady Raiders will return to the court on Friday when they take on Eagles Landing(GA) at 4:30 PM(ET) at Seffner Christian.  The tournament concludes on Saturday.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the golf teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County and Westwood middle schools.

The Coffee County CHS team had the best finish of the year among TSSAA teams at the high school with a 3^rd place finish in the state tournament.   Thunder Radio reported on their amazing performance in a story we brought to you on September 28^th.

Austin Farris with his 3rd place medal on Wednesday[Photo provided]

As a team, the Raiders fired a 1^st day score of 309.  The Raiders finished behind 1^st place Science Hill who fired a 291 and Farragut who shot a 304.  The Red Raiders finish their historic season with a record of 80 and 7.    The 3^rd place team and 3^rd place individual finishes are the best in Red Raider golf history for the state tournament.

Individually, senior Austin Farris had 2 birdies on Tuesday as he finished with an even par score of 72.  Fellow senior Samuel Prater also had a pair of birdies as he carded a 76 to finish in 16^th place individually.  Senior Matthew Hale finished his round with 2 birdies and a score of 78 as he came in 26^th place.  Senior Josh Perry shot an 83 and freshman Logan Hale finished with a 95 to round out the Raiders scoring.

You can find a link to stats and scoring for the state tournament at:  http://golf.tssaa.org/teamplayers.cfm?id=20181202

Coach Mike Ray and members of the Coffee County golf team will be featured on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday morning from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln in Manchester.  The Coffee Coaches Show can be heard from 10 to 11 AM here on Thunder Radio.

The Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School golf teams battled horrible weather all spring after finally opening their season on April 2^nd at Willowbrook.  The Raiders defeated Tullahoma on that wet Monday while Westwood dropped a close decision to Fayetteville.  Thunder Radio reported on it in a story we brought you on April 3^rd

The Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School golf teams opened up the 2018 season on Monday with a home match at Willowbrook.  The Raiders teed off against Tullahoma while the Rockets battled the Tigers of Fayetteville.   For the 2^nd year in a row, the middle schoolers used the “flag scoring” system with a 2 person scramble format.

In Westwood’s match with Fayetteville, the Rockets fell 7 ½ to 4 ½. The team of Katie Lawrence and Araya Hughes won their match 2 ½ to ½.  Westwood also captured single flags from the team of Elizabeth Brown and Chloe Martin and the team of Macie Lawrence and Brylee Chansky.

In Coffee Middle’s match with Tullahoma, the Raiders captured a 7 to 5 win.  The teams of Logan Hale/Cole Fowler and Xavier Bartley/Kaleb Jarrell won their matches 2 to 1.  The team of Kira Jarrell and Lillian McGee got a 3 to 0 forfeit win.

The middle school golfers will hit the road on Tuesday when they travel to Shelbyville’s Riverbend Country Club.  Coffee County will square off against Liberty while Westwood will do battle with Harris.  The golfers will go off with a shotgun start at 3:30 PM.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the prep football teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County and Westwood middle schools.

The Coffee County CHS Red Raiders struggled at times in the “Year After Alontae” but kept up the tradition of beating Hwy 55 rival Warren County.  As always, Thunder Radio brought you the broadcast of the game and wrote about the resounding win in a story we published on September 15^th:

Andrew Mahaffey of Coffee County football

With the Warren County Fair taking place in McMinnville, senior Andrew Mahaffey put his Coffee County football team on his back for a ride on Friday night.  The senior rushed 35 times for 303 yards as the Raiders returned to region play with a convincing win over the Pioneers.  Taking on their bitter rival, Coffee County ground out a 35 to 13 win.

The Red Raiders got a pair of touchdown runs from Mahaffey in the 1^st quarter to build a 21 to 7 lead after the first 12 minutes.  A pair of long touchdown runs by Warren County sent the 2 teams to the locker room at halftime with Coffee County up 21 to 13.  In the second half, quarterback Matthew Pittman hit Trace Bryant for a 25 yard touchdown pass in the 3^rd quarter and Marshall Haney rushed for a 10 yard touchdown run in the 4^th quarter to close out the scoring.

With his 303 yard performance, Mahaffey was named the Crazy Daisies Player of the Game.  Pittman rushed 10 times for 64 yards with a rushing and a passing touchdown.  Haney finished with 13 yards on 3 carries as Coffee County improves to 1 and 1 in region play.

The Red Raiders return home next Friday night to Carden-Jarrell.  Coffee County will play host to Cookeville.  That game will kick off at 7 PM and Thunder Radio will once again be your source for exclusive coverage.  Lucky Knott and Dustin Murray will bring you the kickoff at 7 PM, Thunder Radio’s live coverage begins with the pregame show at 6 PM.

Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County Middle School football team got hot late in the season winning 3 of 4 during a stretch in September.    The big win was a hard fought upset of North Franklin on Homecoming.  Thunder Radio reported on the win with the following story on September 12th:

2018 CCMS football team [Photo by DanasDigital.com/ShannonSmiles.com]

Cole Pippenger scored both Raider touchdowns with one in each half including a run from 49 yards out.  Caleb Boothe added a 2 point conversion on the first Raider score as Coffee Middle enjoyed an 8 to 6 halftime lead.  Leading 14 to 6 late in the game, Coffee County needed a stop on the Gators after they got a first and goal at the 7 yard line.  The defense rose to the challenge to halt North on downs and run out the clock.

Coffee County will hit the road next Tuesday for their final road game of the year.  The Red Raiders will take on Warren County in McMinnville.  Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM.

The Westwood Rockets football team struggled with a young roster but closed out the year with a dominating win over their fierce rival Liberty in Shelbyville.  Thunder Radio reported on the win with the following story on September 28th:

2018 Westwood football team [Photo by Dana Giltner – DanasDigital.com]

Eight grader Konnor Heaton had 2 first quarter touchdowns and a 2 point conversion to give Westwood a 14 to 0 lead at the end of the 1^st quarter.  Ian Weldon scored on a 40+ yard jet sweep in the 2^nd quarter and Heaton added the 2 point conversion to give the Rockets a 22 to 0 lead at the half.  Heaton added his 3^rd touchdown in 3^rd quarter to give Westwood a 30 to nothing lead late in 3^rd quarter.  Liberty and Westwood traded 2 touchdowns apiece to close out the final 10 minutes of action with the Rockets last score being on a kickoff return by Brayden Dixon.

The Predators registered 49 shots on goal, but they were unable to beat Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin as Nashville fell to Dallas by a 2-0 final on Thursday night. It’s Nashville’s fifth consecutive defeat, and the result sees them move to 1-1-0 against the Stars on the season.

A record hockey crowd of 17,697 at Bridgestone Arena saw the return of P.K. Subban and Viktor Arvidsson to the Predators’ lineup, and Nashville had their chances throughout the night, but the group left frustrated as they simply couldn’t get the shots to fall.

“We did some things well, but I think the two goals were tough ones and we would like to have them back,” Subban said. “We have to be more solid coming back into our zone, keep getting pucks to the outside. We had a lot of chances, but we just couldn’t bury them.”

“We had a lot of shots, but we just have to find a way to score goals and that’s what it comes down to at the end,” Arvidsson said. “We were in the game the whole night, but we couldn’t find a way to get the puck in the net.”

Tyler Pitlick gave the Stars a 1-0 lead in the opening period when he beat Pekka Rinne to the glove side, and Mattias Janmark bumped the Dallas lead to 2-0 through 40 minutes of play.

Khudobin continued to stymie the Nashville chances as they game went along, including 19 saves in the second and 18 more in the third. When all was said and done, the mark of 49 shots was the highest total in a shutout loss in Preds franchise history.

“We had good looks tonight; we put nearly shot attempts on the net and not a lot of teams can do that,” Subban said. “For us, we would like to get more bodies in the paint and make it tougher on them, but you have to give them credit. They did a great job of boxing us out, but I thought we did a better job in front of our goaltender as well with boxing out and clearing pucks.”

The return of Subban and Arvidsson did give the Predators life, and with Arvidsson, in particular, skating with Ryan Johansen and Calle Jarnkrok on the team’s top line, seemed to generate chances every time he was on the ice.

“They gave us good energy early on,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said of the return of Arvidsson and Subban. “They were both firing pucks early, both had a possibility to score a goal. Both of them early in the first 10 minutes had a couple of different looks. I thought just having them back in the lineup gave us the layers we needed in our lineup to be successful. It was big for our team to have them back. We’ll look to build off of it.”

The boost from the injured players was noticeable, and although the results weren’t there for the Predators, it was a much-improved effort from what the group displayed on their recent road trip that delivered just one out of a possible eight points in the standings.

Now, it’s about taking the positives from Thursday’s outing and focusing on what’s to come – and that’s a date with the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

“We are going to build off of this and get out of this thing, it’s just a matter of keeping our focus where it needs to be,” Subban said. “That’s on the next game, for now.”

Notes:

Thursday marked Ryan Hartman’s 200th NHL game.

Following Thursday’s morning skate, the Preds placed defenseman Yannick Weber on Injured Reserve with a lower-body injury. Weber joins Filip Forsberg (upper-body) and Colton Sissons (lower-body) on IR.

Nashville welcomes the New York Rangers to town on Saturday night before a back-to-back set to close out 2018 and ring in 2019. The Preds will face the Capitals in Washington on Monday before returning to host the Flyers on New Year’s Day.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the softball teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County and Westwood middle schools.

The Coffee County CHS team rolled to their 1^st region tournament title since 2014 this past spring after a come from behind win over Lincoln County.   Thunder Radio was on hand to broadcast that game and brought you the story on May 17th:

Haley Richardson of CHS softball(File Photo by John St. Clair, stclair-sports.com)

Hosting Lincoln County at Terry Floyd Field on Wednesday, the Coffee County Lady Raiders were looking for the first region title since 2014.  Facing off against their District 8AAA rival Lady Falcons, Coffee County hosted an overflow crowd in the Region 4AAA title game.  Once again, it was a late rally that lifted Coffee County to the 4 to 3 win.

Trailing 3 to 1 entering the bottom of the 5^th inning, Coffee County strung together 3 doubles and capitalized on a Lincoln County error to plate 3 runs and take a 4 to 3 lead into the 6^th.  With 1 out, Ashley Evans, Katie Rutledge and Raven Rogers each laced doubles to tie the game at 3.

Lauren Tomberlin drilled a grounder to the 2^nd baseman that was too hot to handle to allow Rogers to score the eventual winning run.

Keri Munn allowed only 1 hit in the final 4 innings to grab the win.   The win is the 4^th win of the year for the Lady Raiders over Lincoln County.

Haley Richardson had 2 hits; including an RBI single in the 2^nd inning to give the Lady Raiders their first run.  For her efforts, Richardson was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  Munn finished with 2 singles and a sacrifice at the plate while striking out 5 and walking none in the circle.

After the game, Coach Brandon McWhorter talked to Lucky Knott…

The win gives the Lady Raiders their 8^th win in their last 9 games and improves their record to 21 and 19 on the season.  The Lady Raiders will now host Friday night’s sectional game scheduled for 7 PM.  The Lady Raiders will take on Walker Valley with the winner advancing to the state tournament.   Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as we begin live coverage beginning with the pregame show at 6:45.

Download the complete broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County Middle School softball team ended the season with a 3^rd place finish in the conference tournament.  The Lady Raiders closed out the regular season with a series against Tullahoma.  Coffee Middle got a mercy rule win over the Lady Cats in Tullahoma and Thunder Radio reported on it in a story we brought you on April 21^st

Kiya Ferrell of CCMS softball

Coffee County Middle School softball team hit the road on Friday to take on their hated rival Tullahoma.  The Lady Raiders sent 13 batters to the plate in the 1^st inning to score 9 runs to jump out to a huge lead.  Coffee County ended up besting the Lady Cats 17 to 2 in 5 innings.

The Lady Raiders banged out 8 hits in the first inning and took advantage of 3 errors by Tullahoma to build an early 9 to 0 lead.  Coffee County banged out 18 hits on the game.  Kiya Ferrell had 3 singles and a home run to lead the Lady Raider hitting attack.  Aly Harris hammered out 3 hits and Hannah Richardson added a double and a single.

Coffee Middle will welcome Tullahoma to CCMS on Tuesday in the final regular season game of the year.  That game will get underway at 5 PM.

The Westwood softball team finished the year with one of the best season in recent years.  The Lady Rockets won their first 6 games including an exciting 10 inning victory over Fayetteville.  Thunder Radio reported on the win in a story we brought to you on March 16^th.

Kara Beth Patton of Westwood softball[File Photo]

After scoring 1 run in the top of the 1st, Westwood saw Fayetteville bounce back with 2 runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead.  Fayetteville held that lead until Westwood tied it in the 6^th inning on 4 straight singles.  In extra innings, the Lady Rockets plated 3 runs in the top of the 10^th.  The Lady Tigers pushed a run across in the bottom of the inning but Haidyn Campbell pitched out of a jam with the tying run at 2^nd base to get the win.

Emmalise Raymer had a 2 RBI double in the 10^th inning to provide the offensive spark for Westwood.  Raymer finished with 2 hits and 2 RBI on the evening.  Paisley Campbell had a single and a double while Kara Beth Patton and Emma Kidder each finished with 2 singles.  Haidyn Campbell struck out 16 to get the win for the Lady Rockets as they improve to 3 and 0 on the season.

The Lady Rockets return home on Monday when they play host to Moore County.  First pitch is set for 5 PM at Lady Rocket Field.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at some of the highlights of year for the prep baseball teams at Coffee County CHS and Coffee County and Westwood middle schools.

The Westwood baseball team opened the season with a 6 game winning streak.  The 6^th win was a blowout win over Moore County.   Thunder Radio reported on the win with the following story on March 21st:

Blake Hale of Westwood baseball[File Photo]

Sending 17 batters to the plate, the Rockets took a 12 to 0 lead after one inning as they used walks, Moore County errors and 7 hits to take control of the game. Westwood added 5 runs in the 2nd and 4 more in the 3rd inning as they improved to 6 and 0 on the season and 5 and 0 in conference play.

Blake Hale, Brady Nugent, Luke Beachboard and Trenton Thompson all scored 4 runs in the game. Hale and Nugent each had a triple for Westwood. Beachboard finished with a double and a single.

Westwood is set to travel to Lynchburg on Wednesday for Game #2 in the conference series. First pitch will be at 5 PM.

The Coffee County CHS baseball won 3 of their last 4 games going into the 2^nd round of the District 8 tournament in May.  The last of those wins was against Shelbyville and Thunder Radio was on hand to broadcast that game and brought you the story on May 4th:

Skylar Bratcher of CHS baseball

Opening up District 8AAA tournament play at home on Thursday, the Red Raider baseball team welcomed Shelbyville to Powers Field. Coffee County got a masterful pitching performance from Hayden Skipper. Skipper’s arm and some timely hitting lifted the Red Raiders to a 3 to 0 win that you heard right here on Thunder Radio.

After 3 scoreless innings, Coffee County got on the board in the 4th inning on a wild pitch. In the 5th, the Red Raiders got their 2nd run on a fielder’s choice. In the 6th, Coffee County scored again after a single by Skylar Bratcher and an error by the Eagle’s centerfielder. After Skipper loaded the bases in the 7th innings on walks, Harley Hinshaw came on to get a strikeout and ground out to end the game and earn the save.

Bratcher finished the game with 2 of Coffee County’s 6 hits. Jacob Langham was credited with the lone RBI of the game. Skipper finished with 9 strikeouts allowing 2 hits to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.

Coffee County will now advance to Friday’s 2nd round matchup with Franklin County in Winchester. First pitch is set for 6 PM.
Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/

The Coffee County Middle School team also rolled into the conference tournament with a huge win over South Franklin.   Thunder Radio reported on the win with the following story on April 26th:

John McKelvey of CCMS baseball

The Coffee County Middle School baseball team opened up play in the CTC tournament on Wednesday taking on South Franklin.  The Red Raiders jumped on the Trojans in the 1^st inning as they shut out South for the 3^rd time this season.  Coffee Middle claimed a 15 to 0 game shortened to 4 innings via the Mercy Rule.

A double, a walk and a sacrifice fly staked Coffee Middle to a 2 to 0 lead in the first inning.  Coffee County added 5 more in the 5^th inning and closed the game out with an 8 run 4^th inning.  John McKelvey and Aiden Robertson combined to throw a 1 hit shutout.

Jacob Holder had a pair of triples and 3 RBI.  Nolan Jernigan had 2 singles and 3 RBI while McKelvey added a single and a double with 3 runs scored.

The Raiders will now advance to Thursday’s 7:30 PM 2^nd round game at Tullahoma.  Coffee County will take on the winner of Wednesday night’s game between Harris and North Franklin.  That game will take place at Waggoner Park.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the track teams of Coffee County CHS and the Coffee County Middle School.   Both teams sent athletes to the state track meets.  The Coffee County Middle School track team sent 5 athletes to the state meet as 4 of them brought home medals.   Thunder Radio reported on their success in a story we brought to you on May 21st.

Ethan Welch of CCMS track at the TMSAA state track meet on Saturday[Photo provided]

Ethan Welch led the Raider harriers as he medaled in the high jump and the discus.  Welch cleared a personal record of 5’6” in the high jump in finish in a tie for 1^st place.  Welch also captured a 5^th place medal in the discus as he had a throw of 116’ 04”.

Marley Perry grabbed an 8^th place medal in the shot put with a throw of 34’ 2 ¼”.  Perry also competed in the discus as she finished in 13^th place with a throw of 64’ 10”.

Jayda Wright just missed the medal stand in the discus throw.  Wright finished in 9^th place in the discus as she had a throw of 72’ 11”.

Greenlee Woods and Jacob Rutledge each competed in the 1600M run in the afternoon session.  Woods grabbed a 3^rd place finish as she posted a time of 5:46.58.  That time represented a new personal record for the 6^th grader.  Jacob Rutledge, who won the state title in 2017 in the 1600, ran a new personal record on Saturday as he broke the 5 minute mark.  Rutledge’s time of 4:59.15 was good enough for a 3^rd place finish for the 8^th grader.

In the team standings, the Red Raiders finished in 12^th place(out of 37 teams) with 15.75 points.  The Lady Raiders finished in 22^nd place(out of 38 teams) with 7 points.

Coach Travis O’Kelley and members of the Raider track team will be guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show.  The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast live each Saturday at 10 AM from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln.  The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively here on Thunder Radio.

For the high school team, Sarah Pearson competed for her 4^th straight state meet as the Coffee County track program qualified an athlete for the 27^th straight season.  Thunder Radio reported on Sarah’s last race in a story we brought to you on May 25^th.

Sarah Pearson clears a hurdle during the state track meet on Thursday at MTSU

Entering the final race of her high school career on Thursday, senior Lady Raider track athlete Sarah Pearson admitted to being scared.  The stage did not faze her; this was her 4^th straight trip to the TSSAA state track meet.  The race did not scare her; Sarah competed in 2017 in the 300M hurdles.  Here is Sarah Pearson talking about her fear and her finish.

Pearson just missed a season best time as she ran a 50:59 to finish in 15^th place.  The race caps off a career that saw Sarah compete in the state pentathlon in her freshmen, sophomore and junior years while also qualifying in the 300M hurdles last season.  Pearson’s bid to compete in 4 straight pentathlons was cut short by a torn ACL in the fall culminating in surgery on November 17^th.  Through it all, Pearson maintained a healthy attitude about competing and overcoming adversity.

CHS track coach Coach Nathan Wanuch was effusive in his praise for Sarah following Thursday’s performance.

2018 marks the 27th straight appearance in the state track meet for a Coffee County athlete.

As 2018 draws to a close, Thunder Radio Sports looks back at some of the highlights of the calendar year for each of the more than 40 prep teams we follow and report on.  Today we look back at the year for the Coffee County Claybusters.

Fielding arguably the most successful youth teams in this area for the last decade, the Claybusters continued to add to their trophy case in 2018.  Earning 3 team titles at the American Trapshooting Associations AIM Grand Championship in Sparta, Illinois in August, the Claybusters completed their most successful season ever.   Thunder Radio reported on the Claybusters success at the AIM Grand Championships in a story we brought to you on August 6th.

Coffee County Claybusters pose at the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) Grand American World Trapshooting Championships at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) in Sparta, Illinois.

The Coffee County Claybusters enjoyed their most successful performance ever in the annual AIM Grand Championship which concluded on Tuesday.  Four of the five squads competing placed in the national event held annually in Sparta, IL.  The Claybusters came home with an impressive three 1^st place team finishes and a runner-up.

The Junior Gold Division(18 to 22 year olds) captured a national title as they bested Dirty Mike & the Boys from Arkansas 970 to 968.  The Junior Gold team was led by Jordan Osborne who had rounds of 99 and 07 to score 196 out of 200 clays.  Mikayla Dickson and Travis Dickson each shattered 194 clays.  Neil Slone and Tanner Carlton powdered 193 targets.

The Sub-Junior Division(ages 12 to 14) Class A team also captured a national title as they out shot the Hardin County Hitmen from Savannah 958 to 947.  The leading shooter for the Sub-Juniors was Tucker Carlton who shot a 197, including a perfect round of 100 on Tuesday.  Landon Meadows hit 195 while twin brother Logan shot down 191 clays.  Jonah Wyatt blasted 188 out of a possible 200 while Lexi Stacey shattered 186.

The Junior Division(ages 15 to 17) also captured a first place trophy as they beat Frederick County 4H out of Maryland by 10 targets.  The Claybusters were led by Victoria Majors who dropped 195 targets.  Cheyenne Martin hit 187, Dylan Hickerson dumped 11 clays, Xavier Bartley shot down 180 and Emily DeFord powders 166.

The Sub-Junior Division(ages 12 to 14) Class C team captured a runner-up finish as they fell to Southwest out of Missouri by a final tally of 874 to 869.  Leading the way was Brason Fletcher who shot a 179.  Brayden Davenport dropped 176 clays while Aubrey Payne shot 174.  Garrett Taylor finished with a score of 171 and Blaine Schreck had a 169

To get more information about the Claybusters, you can visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/145542225487727/  The Claybusters are coached by Scott Dickson, Barry Carlton, and Heath Jacobs.