Fort Valley State Lady Wildcats Twin Tracking

Two-times All-American distance runner Raven Wilson, Fort Valley State University Lady Wildcats had a tremendous season competing with her three-times All-American sister, Portia. The freshman twins are from Carrollton High School, Carrollton, GA and are hitting the books hard in summer school.

In the rare instances in which Portia and Raven Wilson are not side by side, people at Fort Valley State University seem confused. Even shocked. The fraternal twins and Carrollton natives recently finished their freshman seasons with the school’s nationally-ranked Division II track and field team, and were almost always together.

“If someone sees one of us and doesn’t see the other, they say, ‘Where’s your sister?’” Portia Wilson said. “Every time people see us, they always see us together,” added Raven Wilson. “We’ve always been real close.” That closeness — the two often even wear the same outfit — helped the former Lady Trojan track standouts settle in quickly with the Wildcats and earn All-American honors in the spring outdoor season.

Portia Wilson swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes individually, while also being a part of the 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay events at the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in April before finishing fourth in the 100-meter final at Nationals in May. She was the lone freshman on the medal stand. Raven Wilson competed with her sister in the relay events, helping Fort Valley State finish fifth in the 1,600-meter relay and sixth in the 400-meter relay at Nationals, breaking school records in the process. “I think we do our best if we are together,” Portia Wilson said.

Tiffany B. Moore, Portia Wilson, Latonya Payne and Raven Wilson: 2010 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships Women 4x400 Relay Final


Tiffany B. Moore , Portia Wilson , Tasha Burke , Raven Wilson: 2010 NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships W4x100 Relay Final.

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Kearsley bowler Danielle Hale commits to Morgan State

Danielle Hale selected the Lady Bears over Jackson State and Delaware State University.

Flint, Michigan -- One of the fastest-growing sports on both the high school and college level is bowling and one of the finest bowlers in the area will be taking her game to the next level when the college bowling season begins later this year.

Kearsley High School (Flint, Michigan) senior Danielle Hale signed a college scholarship June 8 to continue her career at Morgan State University in Baltimore. "This is a great thing for Danielle and for all girls bowling in the area," said Kearsley coach Rob Ploof. "Morgan State is getting a very good bowler from Kearsley and she will instantly make that team much better. I am extremely proud of Danielle for everything she has accomplished in bowling at Kearsley."

Hale helped Kearsley to one of its finest seasons ever this past winter. She averaged 186 for the Hornets this season and had a 78 percent spare percentage. "I am really, really excited about bowling in college," Hale said. "I'm ecstatic about the opportunity. I was thinking that I would not get the opportunity to bowl in college and I was so happy when I had the chance." She received an assist in her college recruitment from Flint Northern coach Mike Balentine, who was attending an NCAA bowling tournament in Tennessee when he talked to college coaches and let them know about Hale.

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Lane College Announces 2010 Football Schedule

Lane College announced its 2010 football schedule Tuesday, and it will play five of its 10 games at Rothrock Stadium. The Dragons start their season in front of their home crowd Aug. 28 against Clark Atlanta in what will be coach Derrick Burroughs first game. Burroughs takes over for former coach Trent Boykin, who now coaches the West Tennessee War Eagles, a semipro football team in Jackson. Nine games are within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with its lone non-conference game at Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee Tech. The Dragons haven't won since late 2008 after going 0-10 in 2009.

The Dragons won't have defensive back Isaiah Scott when the season starts after Scott transferred to NCAA Division III Mount Union, a 10-time national champion. The 5-foot-9 defensive back was second on the team with 45 tackles as a freshman this past season. Scott had three interceptions, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.

Lane College Dragons Marching Band.









Lane College 2010 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Location Time
August
28 Clark Atlanta* Jackson, TN 6:00pm
September

4 Kentucky State Univ.*(Thoroughbred Classic) Louisville,KY 3:00pm
11 Morehouse College* Atlanta,GA 7:00pm
16 Tennessee Tech Cookeville,TN 7:00pm
25 OPEN
October

2 Albany State Univ.* Albany,GA 7:00pm
9 Benedict College* Jackson,TN 2:00pm
16 Miles College (Homecoming) Jackson,TN 2:00pm
23 Stillman College* Jackson,TN 2:00pm
30 FortValley State University* Jackson,TN 2:00pm
November

6 Tuskegee University Tuskegee,AL 1:00pm

*Indicates Conference Game Home Games in BOLD
Derrick Burroughs-Head Coach/Athletic Director
Dr.Wesley Cornelious McClure, President
Roger Ogden-Sports Information Director

Frank Walker Annual Tuskegee Football Camp June 29-30

The Annual Frank B. Walker Football Camp will be held on Tuesday, June 29, from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, June 30 from 8 a.m.-noon. The camp will be at the Tuskegee University football field, Abbott Memorial Stadium. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. The camp and lunch is free to all participants. Sponsored by Love Life Foundation.

Walker, a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Tuskegee (Alabama) and Tuskegee University, plays corner back for the Baltimore Ravens of the National  Football League. Walker previously played for the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers. The 5-11/200 athlete was originally drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He signed with the Ravens on March 13, 2008, and will be playing his 9th season in the NFL in 2010/11.

Walker plays in the third corner spot behind Pro Bowl starters Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle.

Smaller schools face economic challenges

TUSCALOOSA, AL -- While the University of Alabama’s athletic program is able to fund itself at a multi-million dollar level, that’s not the case with most schools. And Division II schools and junior colleges with athletic departments at the lower end of the economic spectrum face their own challenges. Stillman College, a private school just down the road from the University of Alabama, moved up to NCAA Division II in 2005 after playing at the non-scholarship Division III level for a few years after reviving its football program in 1999 after a 49-year hiatus.

Stillman College 2007, 2008, 2009 SIAC CHAMPIONS.

The school doesn’t fund the maximum scholarships allowed for every sport, but stacks up well among its peers in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “We’re not at that level yet,” said Athletics Director Curtis Campbell. “We make increases each year. Somewhere down the road, we’ll be close (to 100 percent scholarship-funded). “If you look at the conference we compete in, we’re at about the middle of the conference or a little bit above in terms of what we give in athletic aid as opposed to what others give. We’ve got 13 schools in the conference and we’re probably fifth or sixth. Of course we’d love to be No. 1.”

Campbell is confident that Stillman sports programs have the facilities and support needed to be successful. “Each of our programs have everything that they need, the resources to get done what they need to get done,” he said. “Coaches always want more. They have wants, but their needs are met.”

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Ashton Johnson signs with Stillman College

FAIRHOPE, AL – Fairhope High School Pirates right-hander Ashton Johnson signed with Stillman College Monday in the Fairhope library. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound pitcher, who also swings the bat well, helped the Pirates reach the semi-finals in the 6A division this past spring. Now he's looking forward to the college experience with the Stillman Tigers in Tuscaloosa.

"I am just really excited to go play," Johnson said. "My family needs this and it is going to help out a lot. I am just really excited to know where I am going and I am glad that it is a nice school like Stillman. They are a very strong team and I think I will be a good fit for the program. It is a very good academic school and it will fit me perfectly. That is why I like Stillman." Johnson plans to major in psychology.

As a All-County senior right-hander, he went 5-2 with 62 strikeouts in 49-2/3 innings for the No. 2-ranked Pirates. "He was one of our most affable kids in the program in the last four years," said Fairhope head coach Stu Fuller. "He got along with everybody and just pulled for his teammates so hard. If you ask me what I am going to remember about Ashton, it is going to be that." Combined, Johnson finished his 2009 and 2010 seasons on the mound with a 9-5 record, 131 strikeouts, 79 walks and an earned run average of 4.51. The Pirates finished 35-9 overall.

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Howard Bison signs Talented Twin Towers--Leary and Boyomo

Howard University signee Alphonso Leary, Maury H.S. (#13) dunks over Kecoughtan's Buster Tucker (32) and Dimitri Batten (4) in the fourth quarter, Feb. 27, 2010, during an Eastern Region semifinal at The Scope in Norfolk. Maury won 66-62.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It did not take Coach Kevin Nickelberry long to show that he is on a mission to take the Howard University men’s basketball program to the next level. Nickelberry, who has been on the job less that than two months, addressed one of the team’s biggest needs by announcing the signing of Alphonso Leary to a national letter of intent and Theodore Boyomo to a written offer of financial aid.

Leary is a 6-10, 200-pound center from Maury High School in Norfolk, VA who will help fill the void left by three Bison frontcourt players who graduated this past May. Leary averaged 11.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while leading his team to a 22-8 record and the Eastern District Tournament championship. He recorded a career-high 24 points against Lake Taylor and was an All-Eastern District first team selection.

“I have been recruiting Alphonso for the past three years and he has grown and gotten better each time I have seen him,” said Nickelberry. “We are excited about his potential and what he brings to the program.”

A native of Yaounde, Cameroon, "Theo" Boyomo (#13) arrived at Kent in the fall of 2007 as a 16-year-old sophomore and quickly made his mark as not just an outstanding athlete but a superb citizen and student as well. With a 7’2” wingspan and tremendous athleticism, he has been widely recognized as the top defensive player in the region and was heavily recruited by high-profile Division I basketball programs, but also by Ivy League schools as well.

Boyomo is a 6-9, 225-pound senior from the Kent School in Kent, Ct. He was heavily recruited but Nickelberry was able to win out over such competitors as Canisius, Siena, Rutgers, Texas A&M, Colorado and Washington. Boyomo established himself as one of the premier defensive big men in the New England region and helped the Kent School to new heights, culminating with a Western New England championship this past March.

Boyomo was named to the New England All Defensive 1st Team as a center/forward. The big man is as college ready of a defensive anchor as there is in New England. He does it all on this end of the floor with the size and strength to guard opposing low post scorers without help on the block, the mobility and timing to erase teammate’s mistakes with his help-side shot blocking, and nose for the ball to finish plays by cleaning up the glass. On offense, he consistently makes the elbow jumper and has a reliable jump hook and up-and-under counter move in his arsenal with his back to the basket. Theo has a great NBA type frame, which should blow up with a serious weight lifting program at Howard. He led Kent to a 20-5 record his senior season and the Western New England championship.

An outstanding student, Boyomo finished as an honor roll student for six straight academic terms, despite having to learn English upon his arrival at the Kent School, Connecticut.

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