Nine Albany High School athletes qualified for the regional track meet following competition at the area meet held Friday, April 17, in Graham. The regional meet is scheduled for May 1-2 in Springtown.

The Albany Lions wrapped up a strong and successful golf season this week, finishing fifth at the UIL Region 2-2A tournament held April 13-14 and narrowly missing a trip to the state tournament in one of the toughest regions in Texas.

Albany posted rounds of 324 and 319 for a two-day total of 643, improving by five strokes on the second day and moving up from sixth to fifth in the final standings.

Albany’s tennis program delivered a strong showing at the District 10-2A tournament at Rose Park Tennis Center earlier this week, advancing seven athletes in four of the five brackets to the Region II-2A meet set for April 20-21 in North Richland Hills.

Complete results weren’t available at press time and will be reported next week.

Albany claimed the boys district championship title, continuing its recent run of postseason success in one of the area’s most competitive tennis districts.

District 10-2A includes Anson, Stamford, Hawley, Cisco and Albany.

The Albany Lions captured the District 10-2A golf championship this week, overcoming a deficit for much of the tournament to finish first at Shady Oaks Golf Club in Baird on March 30-31.

Albany entered the final round in second place after posting a 348 on the opening day, trailing Haskell by 10 strokes. The Lions remained behind through much of the second round and were still down by 10 strokes as play moved to the back nine.

Earlier in the round, the deficit had grown even larger.

The Albany Lions continued their strong start to the season with a pair of wins over Stamford and Abilene TLCA, pushing their record to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in district play, and earning a spot in the latest Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A Top 10 poll.

Albany opened the week with a 7-4 win over Stamford on March 24, backed by a solid outing on the mound from Aiden Vickers. The right-hander went seven innings, allowing seven hits while striking out six.

Albany’s varsity boys topped the Albany-hosted track meet on Thursday, March 26, while the girls also posted strong performances across multiple events.

Official results from the Newcastle meet on Monday, March 30 were not available at press time and will be reported next week.

The Albany varsity boys finished first among teams last Thursday with 135 points, while Eastland placed second with 111. The Albany JV boys earned 110 points to finish second overall behind Eastland’s JV squad.

The Albany Lions picked up two wins in district action last week, including a milestone victory for head coach David Fairchild, who recorded his 500th career win.

Albany opened the week with an 11-1 win over Haskell on March 17 at home. Aiden Vickers earned the win on the mound, going five innings while allowing just one hit and striking out seven.

Senior Chance Stewart set a new school record in the 800-meter run to highlight Albany’s performance at the PK Relays in Graham on Saturday, March 21.

Stewart posted a time of 1:59.7 to win first place, breaking the previous school record of 2:01.16 set by Andres Salazar, a 2008 state meet qualifier.

Albany will host a high school meet all day Thursday, March 26 and a junior high meet on Friday, March 27.

The high school athletes will travel to Newcastle on March 30 for the final pre-district meet before going to the district competition in Cisco on April 9.

The Albany Lions golf team put together one of its strongest rounds of the season Monday, winning the Stamford golf tournament held March 23 with a team total of 317 and finishing well ahead of the rest of the field.

Highland Park, Tolar finish ahead of Lions

The Albany Lions golf team traveled to Sugar Tree Golf Course on Wednesday, March 11 to compete in a tournament hosted by Millsap. The field included teams from across several classifications, ranging from 5A schools down to 2A.

Albany finished third overall with a team score of 333. The Lions were edged out by 3A Tolar, which finished with a 326, and 5A Dallas Highland Park, which won the tournament with a 317.