Hunter top basketball scorer at THS

By DAVE COX/Staff
That must have been some summer vacation!
Allie Hunter covered a lot of territory in a week or so in early July, just as she covered a lot of territory in sports while attending Tazewell High School. Hunter is the top basketball scorer at THS and after wrapping up her very successful and varied high school sports career, Hunter had one final appearance left on the basketball court. That came last week in the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star girl’s basketball game in Hampton.
Although her West Team went down to an 82-60 loss to the East on Tuesday, July 10, Hunter contributed six points in the contest. Hunter spent some time in South Africa the previous weekend with her father in a big game hunt where she bagged a good sized wildebeest, an antelope that can weigh up to 600 pounds. Just how big was her trophy? “I don’t know how big the wildebeest I shot was,” she said, “But it was good size.” 
Hunter was also selected for the All-Star soccer match. Soccer is another sport in which Hunter excelled during her high school career.
“I love soccer and basketball, so I was going to have fun either way,” Hunter said. “This was my last basketball game ever, and I was glad to be able to contribute.”
Friday night’s All-Star football game at Darling Stadium featured several southwest Virginia athletes including three players from the Richlands state Group AA, Division 3 championship squad. Tornado tailback Caleb Jennings, quarterback Justin McCracken and linebacker Brett Clayburne were among the area players chosen for last Friday’s game. McCracken went 9-for-12 with 60 yards passing. Jennings caught four passes for 30 yards, ran two times for six yards and had nearly 50 yards in returns. Clayburne had five tackles. Graham’s T.J. Carper turned in a nice performance with a couple of nice hits. He had eight tackles and almost intercepted a pass. Powell Valley standout Josh Spurlock earned defensive MVP honors for the West in a 27-7 loss to the East.
Richlands head coach Greg Mance and his assistant Jeff Tarter helped coach the West squad along with Giles head coach Steve Ragsdale.