Former Oak Grove baseball coach honored; Robertson leaps to national title; Dickson determining college destination.
Former Oak Grove (Hattiesburg) baseball coach Harry Breland has been inducted to the National Federation of High School Associations’ Hall of Fame.
Breland’s resume has been very impressive over 37 years coaching the Warriors. His teams have won nine state championships and 824 games (824-223) in his tenure.
The first state title came in 1976 and the final one came two years ago, after which he retired from coaching.
Breland started the baseball program at Oak Grove and the Warriors’ home turf is now bears his name.
He was inducted into the Mississippi Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1997.
Track and Field: Hernando’s Robertson wins at Junior Nationals
Hernando high jumper Ricky Robertson won the USA Junior Nationals championship in the high jump last weekend in Eugene, Ore.
Robertson, a state high school champion who is ranked No. 1 in the nation in his event, cleared 7-feet, 1 ¾ inches at the national meet.
Robertson, who has committed to compete at Mississippi, has the state record of 7-feet, 3-inches, which he set last year. It’s an inch above the previous all-class record of 7-2, set 18 years ago by Port Gibson’s Johnny Walker.
Football: Dickson narrowing his choices
Ocean Springs tight end Travis Dickson is spending the summer working out, playing baseball and continuing to sort out where he will playing football in a year.
The senior-to-be is considered one of the state’s top recruits. He spends his summer weekends visiting many of the schools who are recruiting him. Dickson has visited Mississippi, Mississippi State and Louisiana State. Florida State, Oklahoma and Georgia are among his finalists.
He has over a dozen scholarship offers to consider, and tells the Mississippi Press he hopes to have his list narrowed down to a more manageable number soon.
"I've spent a lot of time visiting a lot of schools, just getting a look at a lot of places,” Dickson said. “By the end of the summer, I want to have the list narrowed down to four or five schools."
Dickson, who is 6-3 and 235 pounds, will have some experienced help in the decision-making process. His father, Dick Dickson, is a former Mississippi State standout, and his brother Richard is a starting tight end at LSU.
National Signing Day is February 3, 2010.
Notes
* Wayne County’s Chris McCardle has been named the new baseball coach at Oak Grove, replacing Kary Bridges, who was let go after two seasons at the helm.
* Greenville’s Willie Calvin is the state’s boys track and field athlete of the year, according to Gatorade. Calvin won state titles in the high jump and long jump in his classification this spring. His long jump effort of 23-feet, 9 ¼ inches was the state meet’s best.
* Pass Christian’s Cory McGee won the girls’ track honor for Mississippi from Gatorade.
* A pair of athletes from Rosa Fort High School in Tunica announced their future basketball intentions to play at the junior college level. Zambree Taylor has signed a scholarship to play for the Mississippi Delta Community College women's team. Taylor was the team’s most valuable player this past season for the Lions. On the men’s side, Rosa Fort’s most valuable player and leading scorer Martrevious Sanders has committed to play at St. Petersburg College in Florida.
* A Holly Springs long jumper will continue his career while attending the University of Memphis. Fred Jones of H.W. Byers High School has signed a scholarship offer to attend Memphis and compete for the Tigers. Jones is the Mississippi Class 2A state champion in the long jump, leaping 23-feet, 4 ½ inches in Pearl. His personal record is 23 feet, 6 ½ inches at the North Half Meet in Coldwater, also this spring.
