This Week
In Brunswick Sports
MONDAY, MAY 24
?Brunswick County Men's Church Softball League at
Waccamaw Township Park: Ocean View vs. Jennies
Branch, 7 p.m.; Soldier Bay vs. Dixon Chapel, 8 p.m.; Old
Shallotte vs. Shallotte First, 9 p.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 25
?North Carolina 2-A high school baseball and Softball
playoffs begin today.
?Brunswick County Men's Church Softball League at
Lockwood Folly Township Park: Camp Methodist vs.
Seaside Methodist, 7 p.m.; Mount Olive vs. Emanual
Outreach, 8 p.m.; Letties Grove vs. Friendship Baptist, 9
p.m.
This week's listings include events reported to the Beacon. To list a
sporting activity call 754-6890 or write to Doug Ruucr, The Brunswick
Beacon, P.O. Box 2558, Shallotte, N.C. 28459.
SPORTING SCENE
New Coach Will Inherit
Strong Basketball Team
Talent and youth. That's the inheritance awaiting whoever is selected to
replace Billy Mims as boys basketball coach at West Brunswick High
School.
Principal Ed Lemon fired Mims two weeks ago, presumably because of
his two straight losing seasons and the '
third in his five years as head coach.
Fair enough. But whoever Lemon
chooses to fill Billy's shoes will have
no excuses if he can't produce a win
ner.
Quite frankly, West is loaded with
young, talented players?Anthony
Moody, Eric Johnson, Timmy Dan
iels, Ty Brown and Derek Frink to
name a few.
Those are student-athletes that Mims and junior varsity coach Chris
Sanders helped develop into potential high school stars. Unfortunately for
coaches Mims and Sanders, they won't be around to reap the rewards.
West Brunswick showed a lot of promise last season by going 7-7 in the
rugged Waccamaw 2-A Conference, a league that produced a pair of state
quaricrfinalists in Fairmont and South Brunswick.
From my point of view, it looked like the Trojans were ready to turn the
comer next year and enjoy several successful seasons. They still might, only
Mims won't be stalking the sidelines.
A 12-35 overall record the last two seasons wasn't enough to convince
Lemon that Mims deserved another shot next year. The principal decided
that new leadership was needed, and he's the boss.
With nearly everyone returning next season from this year's basketball
squad, expectations will and should be high at West Brunswick. A confer
ence championship isn't out of the realm of possibility.
West Brunswick has joined the state's football elite with two straight
trips to the state championship game. The Trojan basketball program may be
on the rise as well.
It wasn't that long ago that West Brunswick High was known far and
wide for great basketball. The strong cage tradition dales back to the first
year of the school. The Trojans were 19-5 in 1972.
Under the late Coach Gary Taylor, West Brunswick was 153-25 in the
school's first seven years. Included in that incredible run were back-to-back
27-1 seasons and the state 3-A championship in 1974-75.
The tradiuon continued long after the Taylor era. West's suing of 13
straight winning seasons was finally snapped when the Trojans went 7-16
during the 1985-86 campaign.
West Brunswick has only had three winning seasons in the last seven
years. Two of those winning seasons were under Mims, but the Trojans
couldn't help win with all-world player Ricky Daniels on the floor.
That's why Lemon felt a change was needed. He didn't see the type of
progress he wanted in the basketball program.
To help turn West's basketball fortunes around, Lemon hopes to lure an
experienced and successful coach to Shallottc. He wants someone who can
bring the great hoops tradition back to West Brunswick.
Last year's selection of Jim Brett to take over as athletic director and
head football coach certainly bodes well for Lemon's ability to hire quality
people in the athletic department
The search is on again.
Trojan Track Star To Compete In Barcelona
BY DOUG RUTTKR
Irene Johnson is just like every
other West Brunswick High School
senior. She can hardly wait for grad
uation night, June 9.
But Irene has a lot more to look
forward to this summer than most of
her classmates. While they get ready
for college or start looking for work,
Irene will be preparing for the op
portunity of a lifetime.
The West Brunswick track and
field standout will join a select
group of Americans competing this
summer in Barcelona, Spain?the
site of the last year's Summer Olym
pics.
"I'm very excited and really over
whelmed," Johnson said last week
of the upcoming trip. "It's going to
be a huge experience. I can't wait."
Every year, an organization called
World Sports Exchange takes
American teams abroad for interna
tional competition, the opportunity
to learn about foreign culture and
meet and share ideas with foreign
athletes.
Johnson, a three-time Brunswick
County and Waccamaw 2-A Con
ference triple jump champion, will
be part of an 80-mcmbcr American
track team competing in the Cata
lonian Junior Track & Field Games
July 3 and 4 in Barcelona.
All of the athletes selected for the
team arc high school students who
have excelled in district, regional or
state competition. This will be the
first trip to Barcelona for the World
Sports Exchange program.
Irene, the 18-year-old daughter of
Curtis and Ella Johnson of Shallolte,
is looking forward to her first trip
out of the country and first trip on an
airplane.
"The farthest I've ever been was
Indianapolis and Mississippi," she
said. "I'm just excited to go. I'm go
ing to do my best."
Johnson first went out for the
West Brunswick track and field
team as a lOlh-gradcr and has been
one of the stars on the girls' team for
Uie last three years.
"My sophomore year I just made
up my mind I wanted to run," she
said. "I just went out there and dis
covered all these hidden talents 1
had. I didn't know I had it in me. It's
worth a try. You never know until
you try."
Johnson has won the Brunswick
County and Waccamaw Conference
triple jump titles each of the last
three years. She also won the county
and conference long jump and 200
meter dash titles this spring.
On Saturday, Johnson won the
triple jump at the regional champi
onships in Whitevillc. She also
placed second in the long jump and
200 meters and will compete in the
state championship meet this Friday
in Chapel Hill.
Johnson plans to keep training af
ter the high school season ends so
she'll be in shape in Barcelona. The
Americans will compete against
Spanish team at the same track and
field stadium used in last year's
Olympic games.
IrcnQ will triple jump in the same
pit used by American stars Carl
Lewis and Mike Powell, who holds
the world long jump record.
The World Sports Exchange team,
made up of athletes from 35 states,
will leave the United States July 1
and return July 9.
Each team member must pay his
or her own way?which amounts to
SI,985 for round-trip airfare, accom
modations, meals, sightseeing ex
cursions, team uniforms and other
expenses.
During the trip, Johnson and her
teammates will have lime to see the
sights in Barcelona and visit the
Picasso Museum and the medieval
French city of Pcrpignan.
The Americans also will tour
Christopher Columbus' ship, the
Santa Maria, and travel to the
mountains of Catalonia to visit the
1,000-year-old monastery of Mont
Serrat
After high school, Johnson said
she plans to attend UNC-Charlotte.
BEACON FILE PHOTO
WEST BRUNSWICK SENIOR Irene Johnson will be one of 80
American high school track and field athletes competing this sum
mer in Barcelona, Spain.
Locals Qualify For State Track Championships
ijy DUUli RU ITER In boys' competition, West Brunswick junior
Brunswick County will send 24 student ath- Philip Johnson took first place in both the shot
letes to the North Carolina 1A/2A High School put and discus events. He threw the shot put 48
Track & Field Championships this week in feet, one-half inch, and tossed the discus 140 feet.
Chapel Hill. The girls' meet is Friday, and the 3 inches.
boys compete Saturday. Brett said Johnson has a good chance to place
Twelve local girls and 12 boys qualified for high or win both events at the state meet. How
states by finishing in the top four in their events at ever, he hadn't seen results from other regions to
Saturday's regional meet in Whiteville. West and compare Johnson's distances with those of other
South will send nine students each, and North qualifiers.
will send six. Reeves, the Brunswick County and Wac
Individual qualifiers from West Brunswick camaw 2-A Conference boys triple jump champi
were Irene Johnson, Catherine Bell and Christy on, finished second at the regional meet Saturday
Thorpe in girls' competition, and Philip Johnson with a jump of 43 feet, 9 inches.
and Calvin Reeves in boys' events. Also advancing to state competition was West
Senior Irene Johnson was the county's only Brunswick's 3200-meter relay team of Chris
athlete to qualify in three different events. She Brown, Timmy Vaught, Bobby Barnes and Greg
placed first in the triple jump with a leap of 37 Hewett. They won the regional in 8:41.30.
feet, 5 inches, and was second in both the long The foursome won the conference champi
jump and 200-meter dash. onship two weeks ago in 9:02.22. "It's amazing.
"I think she's going to win the triple jump," They've cut about 21 seconds off their time,"
West Brunswick Boys' Track Coach Jim Brett Brett said. "They're taking a lot of pride in what
predicted Monday. "I think she's really getting se- they're doing."
rious about this thing." Finishing sccond in the boys 3200 relay and
West's Thorpe placed second in the girls' dis- qualifying for states was South Brunswick's team
cus with a throw of 94 feet, 11.5 inches. Bell fin- of Sidney DeJesus, Shawn Stone, Brian Beheler
ished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of and Thomas Jones. They finished in 8:42.98.
12.96 seconds. Individually, DeJesus finished third in the
800-metcr run, and Stone placcd third in the
3200-meter run.
Also advancing from South Brunswick was
Andrea Knight, who placcd sccond in the 800
meters. South's 1600-meter girls relay team of
Robin Shaw, Wendy Fowler, Shannon Elliott and
Sharon Einfeldt placcd fourth.
State qualifiers from North Brunswick include
Keith Stroman, who placcd fourth in the 1600
meter run, and Rcddcrick Johnson, who was
fourth in the pole vault.
North's 800-meter girls relay team finished
fourth at the regional event with a time of
1:55.40. Team members are Valerie Smith,
L'Kisha Pretty, Trcja Evans and Crystal Davis.
North Coach Bob Grimes said the boys 800
meter relay team would have advanced to states
but was disqualified for a bad exchange. Stroman,
one of the area's best distance runners, didn't en
ter the 800 or 3200 due to illness.
"It wasn't one of our better days, but we're
hoping to do better at states," Grimes said Mon
day.
As a team, West Brunswick's girls tied Le
jeune for third place in the region behind East
Carteret and Swansboro. West's boys placcd
fourth behind Whiteville, West Columbus and
Ayden-Grifton.
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