Bob Jones Cross Country is proud to welcome two great additions to Coach McIlwain’s cross country coaching staff for the 2021 season. Coach Emily Smith is a lifelong runner who teaches at Discovery Middle School and is looking forward to her first season on the BJXC coaching staff. Coach Lorin Carter, who will be attending UAH this fall, was an outstanding member of the BJHS girls Cross Country team earning a spot in the state championship race last year. Coach McIlwain added, “We welcome Coach Smith and Coach Carter to our growing program as we look to move forward and improve in the state rankings. We’re adding a large number of younger athletes to the program, so it will be great to have an assistant at DMS. It’s also very beneficial to add an assistant who is coming off a run in last year’s state championship. We’re all looking ahead to what promises to be a great season.” If you or your friends missed tryouts but are interested in joining Cross Country for the 2021 season, please see Coach McIlwain at BJHS or Coach Smith at Discovery for more information. ...

The Bob Jones Cross Country team held tryouts Thursday May 13th and as a result are welcoming a large number of talented runners to an impressive group of over 40 athletes returning from last year’s team. The tryout session went well with over 37 prospective new members racing for a spot on the 2021 roster. Head Coach Bill McIlwain commented, “It was great to see all these students come out and express their interest in joining the team. There were a lot of impressive athletes in the group who could work hard and make an immediate contribution to the varsity team’s success next season. I’m also very pleased at the large number of younger JV athletes joining our ranks as we build the program to stay competitive in the coming years.” BJXC is coming off a successful 2020 season that filled the trophy case and netted too many individual awards and personal records to count. The team is also returning the majority of runners who competed in last years’ 7A state championship. With the addition of all these determined new runners to the seasoned stable of returning athletes, 2021 looks to be an exciting time for Bob Jones Cross Country! ***If you or your friends missed tryouts, but want to be a part of the BJHS cross country team next season, please contact Coach McIlwain (wemcilwain@madisoncity.k12.al.us) at BJHS or Coach Smith (egsmith@madisoncity.k12.al.us) at DMS. ...

After track season wraps up at the 7A State Championships later this week, individual preparation for the 2021 XC Season will crank up. Several Bob Jones High School record holders and (all time top 5) runners plan to return for the upcoming XC Season. Watch for the following Bob Jones High School Record Holders during the 2021 XC season this fall: Isaac Allen, XC 2 mile record holder 10:54.23 (3rd all time 2000 meter) Luke Allen, (1st all time JV in 2000 meter steeplechase) Ryan Bender, 2000 meter steeplechase record holder 6:29.25 Owen Crow (3rd all time in Outdoor 500 meter and 5th all time 2000 meter) James Garrison, 1600 meter Outdoor record holder 4:26.96, XC 2.1 mile record holder 11:43.59 (3rd all time Indoor 1600 meter and Outdoor 1000 meter, 4th all time XC 5k) Mateo Santiago, 2000 meter Outdoor record holder 6:21.95, 500 meter Outdoor record holder 1:12.63 (5th all time in 1000 meter) Ebba Detulleo (2nd all time Outdoor 1000 meter and 2 mile XC) Kricket Johnston (2nd all time 2.1 mile XC) Jillian Pennell, (2nd all time Outdoor 500 meter) Rachel Pennell, 2000 meter steeplechase record holder 8:50.11 (3rd All time 2 Mile XC) Sarah Pennell (3rd all time 2000 meter steeplechase and 4th all time 2 Mile XC) Corinne Wilhelm, XC 2 mile record holder 13:13.07 While she is graduating and will not be able to run with us in 2021 I would be remiss not to post the following credit for her years of contributions. Hannah Thuss, 1600 meter Indoor record holder 5:17.49 (Second all time in Outdoor 1600 meter) Come join us and set records of your own in the 2021 season coming in August!...

Bob Jones hosted the 28th annual Bob Jones tournament this past weekend and for the first time in history won the tournament. There were teams from Tennessee and Alabama that competed for three days in the windy cold and hot sun. There was lots of great competition but Bob Jones put on a performance playing 8 games in three days and outscoring their opponents 71 to 3. Everyone contributed to the team victories and on Thursday night in the first game against Fort Payne there were six homeruns hit, 2 by Aubrie Lisenby, 1 by Megan Shurtz, 1 by Emmah Rolfe, 1 by Alexa Douthitt and 1 by Natalia Kenyatta. Multiple pitchers pitched this week helping BJ clinch the championship, Emmah Rolfe walked away with a 5-0 record with 22 innings pitched, allowing 0 runs with only 12 hits and 39 strikeouts! Not only did she lead in the circle she also had a strong performance at the plate hitting .520 with 13 RBIs, 2 doubles, 5 homeruns with 11 runs scored. As a team the bats were hot for all three days with Aubrie Lisenby hitting 4 homeruns and Charlotte Herron having a .650 average including 4 RBIs, 2 doubles, 3 triples with a total of 9 runs scored. The team has had a strong first half of the season as they have already clinched their area and looks to have some strong wins in the second half. ...

On individual results, the lone survivor to make it through to the finals was Drew Lawson of Bob Jones. Stepping onto the mats in the 285-pound weight class, the Southern Miss football signee went into double overtime before falling 2-1 to Dawson Ray (17-2) of Vestavia Hills. The two heavyweights battled to a 1-1 tie after regulation before they headed into the first extra period of 1-minute where the first competitor to score a point wins the match. The two brawny athletes failed to score forcing a second overtime period of 30 seconds. Lawson drew the top position in the period only to see Ray escape to earn the match and championship point. One of the bitter pills to swallow for Lawson (36-2) is the fact he defeated Ray 3-2 during the regular season. “Our match was certainly one of the most competitive of the entire State Tournament, but did not go the way I was hoping,” said Lawson (6-2, 290), who completed his career at Bob Jones with a 92-22 overall record. “I feel good about my years as a varsity wrestler and I’m proud of how everything went.” ...

MADISON- There’s a new name among the record books of the Bob Jones softball program. Aubrie Lisenby, an Auburn signee and starting catcher for Bob Jones, now holds the record for most career homeruns after belting her first homer of the season in the fourth game of the 2021 schedule giving her 29 in her career with the Patriots moving her atop the list of career homers in team history. The previous mark of 28 was held by Sydney Booker, who graduated from Bob Jones in 2014 and played four years for the University of Alabama. “It feels great,” said Lisenby about her setting the record. “This is not just for me, but the entire team.” Whitney Deaver, in her fifth season as head coach of the Patriots, said Lisenby’s accomplishment doesn’t surprise her. She added, “She works hard and outworks others on the team. She is a perfectionist and has spent hours and hours hitting. She is very vocal and leads by example.” The 5-foot-7, 140-pound Lisenby began playing softball at age six at Palmer Park in Madison. She has perfected her skills through years of efforts including receiving expert coaching from as far away as Atlanta. She has made the trek to the Georgia city every Sunday for the past two years to work with standout hitting coach Lincoln Martin. “He has taught me the correct techniques on generating power at the plate and to improve my bat speed,” added Lisenby. The power also comes from extensive weight lifting workouts five to six days a week under the eyes of trainer Derrick Baudy of Huntsville. In reality, Lisenby came within inches of setting the homerun record a year ago. She hit a long curving liner down the foul line at the foul pole for what looked like a dinger and the record. Umpires deemed the ball curved foul just prior to making the pole, thus keeping Lisenby from gathering in the record as a junior. It was right after that near record blast the season was shut down due to the pandemic. She has had to wait almost an entire year before being able to finally hit one out of the park for the record books. For Lisenby success has not come without struggles. At the completion of her freshman season she had reconstruction shoulder surgery in Birmingham and was away from softball for 10 months. At the beginning of last season she suffered a fractured right wrist, but was able to play much of the 2020 campaign while having her wrist heal. With the schedule cut short, she was able to continue to heal in time for the summer league play to begin. Lisenby has a 4.34 grade point average, which ranks her No. 34 among the senior class at Bob Jones and will study science upon arriving at Auburn with concentration on pre-med studies. She signed an athletic scholarship with the Tigers with her dream of playing college softball....