Marshall Couty Post-2024-05-23

Sports Marshall County Post May 23, 2024 11A Gentry signs with Bethel Wildcats By KACY KINCAID Sports Writer C HAPEL HILL — Forrest Rocket team captain Preston Gentry inked his commitment to the Bethel University Wildcats to continue his baseball and academic careers on Thursday, while friends and family looked on. Gentry has been a staple on the mound for the Rockets this season, while also putting up impressive numbers at the plate. Though having spoken with di ff erent schools, having two friends already at Bethel and Rocket teammate Carter Walk headed that way, Gentry felt the decision was a no-brainer. “I got to know the coach, and I have a couple buddies up there playing right now and they have told me how great it’s been,” Gentry said. “I really liked it when I went and tried out with them.” His long baseball journey started at an early age playing in Chapel Hill and a handful of travel ball teams, but Gentry’s favorite memory came in last season’s run to substate. “De fi nitely the York Institute walk-o ff hit I got. It was a big comeback,” said Gentry. “That probably made my high school career right then, but now what’s made it is signing with Bethel.” Gentry plans to major in business. LEFT: Preston Gentry signs his letter of intent to continue his baseball and academic careers at Bethel University. –Post Photo by Kacy Kincaid Preston Gentry was dialed in as the staple in the Forrest rotation during his senior season. –Post Photo by Chris Siers The Forrest Rockets pose with their Region 5-A hardware after defeating the Cascade Champions last week. –Post Photo by Kacy Kincaid By KACY KINCAID Sports Writer B ELL BUCKLE — De- spite two goals be- ing called back, the For- rest Rockets got the 3-0 win against the Cascade Champions to claim the Region 5-A champion- ship last week. After a handful of failed attempts, Forrest got on the board mid- way through the fi rst half thanks to a score by Bos- co Valdivieso. With seven minutes left in the half, Izaiah Haacke netted a shot to cushion Forrest’s lead at 2-0. In the second frame, Cascade made a stellar e ff ort to close the gap, but senior Rocket goalie Landon Groeneveld held strong and was able to preserve his shutout against the Champions. Haacke got another look with 26 minutes left to play, and the sopho- more stretched the lead to 3-0, the score holding till the fi nal buzzer. Forrest’s season even- tually came to a close on Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Westview in the Class 1A sectional. Rockets shut out Cascade to claim region championship M atteo Lecito, a se- nior at Marshall County High School, charged through the semi fi nals and fi nals of the Region 4-2A tennis championships, which earned him a trip to the state tournament. The Class 2A state tournament began ear- lier this week. Lecito defeated Isaac Wheeler of Cookeville, 6-1, 6-0 in the semi fi - nals, then defeated Cade Smith of Cookeville also by 6-1, 6-0 margin for the championship. Coach Nick Phillips said, “You know, both Wheeler and Smith are really good players, but every time one would start to rally back and forth, Matteo would dig deeper and prevail.” “Matteo, an exchange student from Italy, has been such a joy to coach and really just to be around. He has made friends with so many players, both boys and girls, on other teams. I hope he can continue that in the state tourna- ment,” Matteo said. Annabelle Mulliniks and Anna Clare Richard- son, who represented the Marshall County girls’ doubles team, fell 6-1, 6-3 against Cookeville in an elimination match. Annabelle Mulliniks, Matteo Lecito, Coach Nick, and Anna Clare Richardson –Submitted Photo Lecito quali fi es for state tourney