Brooks now top Gordon Lee scorer

Friday, January 1, 1904

Gordon Lee on Tuesday honored Daniel Brooks for becoming the boys' all-time leading scorer in basketball.

Brooks accomplished the feat on Jan. 8 at Excel Christian in Cartersville. The previous record holder was Gordon Lee principal Clay Crowder, who totaled 1,496 points in his career. Brooks now has 1,587.

The ceremony Tuesday when the Trojans hosted Trion was their first home game since Dec. 19.

"Daniel is one of those special players," Gordon Lee coach Ed Clendenen said of his 6-foot senior point guard. "He makes everybody else better. Not only is he our leading scorer, I'd say he's probably our career assists leader, too. He's got great skills. He's a super shooter and a great free-throw shooter. Drive, jump shot, free throw, offensive rebound, steal and layup, he gets it all."

Cornelius to Temple

Arts & Sciences forward Shelby Cornelius signed scholarship papers Wednesday to join the Tennessee Temple University women's soccer team for the 2013 season.

"Being able to pick up another local girl is very big for me," Temple coach Emmanuel Awotula said, "and Shelby is real physical as a striker and able to hold the ball up top."

CSAS coach David Poss said that is her greatest strength.

"She is very strong on the ball. She's not going to be knocked off the ball," Poss said. "And she's a very accurate passer and turns well on the ball, and she has a good shot."

Cornelius led the Lady Patriots in shots and in goals this past fall, with 11 of their 50. She also tried out with Tennessee Wesleyan and Freed-Hardeman but said she liked Temple "because it is close to home and I really like the team and really like the coach."

She has played club soccer with another signee, Sage Vandergriff of East Ridge, and said "it was cool to know somebody who's a pretty good friend was coming here, too."

Baylor's Simpkins out

Baylor freshman Jazmin Simpkins suffered a knee injury recently, and her status for the rest of the basketball season is unknown.

Simpkins, a 6-foot-2 center for the Lady Red Raiders, has a doctor's appointment Monday to find out the severity of the injury that occurred at Father Ryan on Jan. 11. Her father Dickie said the status is unknown, but head coach John Gibson said it could be a torn ACL.

Sale Creek charitable

Last Saturday, Sale Creek's high school softball team completed a community service project that coaches Clifford Kirk and assistant Kendra Goforth are hoping will become an annual event. Twenty-seven players and parents represented the team at the Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack event in Chattanooga.

They were part of 328 volunteers who worked 9-11 a.m., hand packing meals formulated for malnourished children. The group packed 419 boxes, which will make 90,504 meals and feed 247 kids for a whole year.

"It not only gave them a chance to bond with teammates, but with Coach Kirk and I being new, of course we want them to focus on softball, but we want them to be good all-around students," Goforth said. "It was great. The girls said they had fun doing it. It was educational. They got to see a presentation about the different stages of hunger. It was an awesome experience, definitely."

Also, the K-12 school is holding a fundraiser on Feb. 12 with the middle school volleyball team hosting East Lake and Normal Park on "Dig Pink" night starting at 5:30.

Beverly Smith, a math teacher at Sale Creek, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery earlier this month. She is about to start chemotherapy, and proceeds from the event will be donated to the MaryEllen Locher Breast Center, where Smith will be receiving treatment.

McCallie nips Baylor

The McCallie swim team got only one event win Thursday, by Michael Howell in diving, but used its depth to edge rival Baylor 158-156.