Walnut will settle for nothing less than a state championship, and it’s certainly been playing like a contender.
The Wildcats (24-3-1), who are ranked No. 3 by the Daily Journal, have established themselves as the Class 2A favorites from the North half of the state. That status was further solidified with a 3-0 win against East Union on Monday.
“We knew going into that game that East Union would be our toughest competition, so we were just trying to mentally prepare for that,” head coach Kelley Hopper said. “My girls stayed focused on what we specifically are working towards, and there are little areas where we’ve made goals to get better at, and I felt like that was truly our goal against good competition, was to execute those things we were working on, and they did a good job of that.”
Walnut’s only losses have come against Belmont, Kossuth – both 3A schools – and 7A Hernando. The Wildcats are 5-0 in Region 1-2A.
Leading the way on the front line are Kaylee Estes (190 kills), Molly-Kate Rolison (236) and Henlee Sisco (221). Those kill numbers are due in great part to the play of setter Vivian Brown, who has 542 assists to go with 206 digs. Libero Preslee Robbins has a team-leading 296 digs.
“We’ve really been executing and minimizing mistakes, and that’s really been the goal. And becoming smarter attackers – when maybe the set’s not your best set for you, and then having to execute and be successful in that moment,” Hopper said. “They’ve continued to work on that and get better.”
Hopper knows what it takes to field a title contender, having led Walnut to its first state championship in 2020. The Wildcats have reached at least the third round each year since but haven’t returned to the title match.
“That’s always the thing – we just want the opportunity,” Hopper said. “And then we just execute when we get the opportunity.”
Adams still tops
Jaley Adams’ single-game rushing record remains safe for now.
Poplarville’s Tylan Keys made a run at it last week, rushing for 506 yards and eight touchdowns on 18 carries in a 60-54 win over Hancock. Keys finished 37 yards shy of the record set by Adams, a Kossuth running back, in 2015. Adams rushed for 543 yards and eight TDs in a 68-34 win against Corinth that season, breaking the previous state record of 523 yards set by Stringer’s Tipston Garner.
Adams finished that season with 2,411 yards and 31 touchdowns. Through three games, Keys has rushed for 783 yards and 13 TDs.
Wave sweep swimming
Both of Tupelo’s swimming teams took first place at Tuesday’s home meet, which featured a new school record.
Willa Martin has her name in Tupelo’s record books after finishing the 500 free in 5 minutes and 13.66 seconds. Martin also won the 100 fly, and she was on Tupelo’s first-place 200 medley relay.
Caroline Reis finished in second behind Martin in the 500 free and also won the 200 free. Additionally, Sarah Potts won the 200 individual medley, finished second in the 100 back and helped Tupelo win the 200 free relay.
For the boys, Colin Wright had a couple of individual wins in the 50 free and 100 back, along with swimming on Tupelo’s first-place 200 medley and 200 free relays. H.B. Pannell won the 100 free and had two runner-up finishes in the 50 free (behind Wright) and 100 fly. Isaiah Barbour took first in the 100 breast and third in the 200 free.
