By By Bruce Hixon – Sports Editor
The National Junior College Athletic Association has awarded the Jefferson Davis Community College softball team Academic All-American status for the 2005 spring season.
The JDCC softball team was one of just three Alabama Community College Conference spring athletic programs to receive Academic All-American status. The others were Central Alabama's baseball team and the Bevill State-Sumiton softball team.
Teams had to have a cumulative 3.00 grade point average in order to qualify as Academic All-American.
Sophomore third baseman Kristen Phillips of Prospect (Tenn.) was the leader of JDCC's team Academic All-American status.
Phillips, who also competed for the JDCC volleyball team, was named an individual Academic All-American. Phillips was a member of the Distinguished Academic All-American team for those student athletes who had grade point averages of 3.80 and above. Phillips had a 3.81 GPA. Students with GPAs between 3.60 and 3.80 were tabbed Academic All-American.
Phillips was the only JDCC athlete in any sport to receive Academic All-American honors.
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While T.R. Miller's 2005 varsity football schedule has been in place for a while, the Tigers "B" team schedule is also now complete.
The T.R. Miller "B" team will play a seven-game schedule that kicks off August 29 with a home date against Escambia County.
The Tigers will follow that contest with three straight road dates. T.R. Miller will get a rematch against Escambia County at Atmore on September 6 followed by trips to W.S. Neal on September 12 and Andalusia on September 19.
T.R. Miller will close out the "B" team season with three straight home games. That stretch includes dates against Monroe County on September 26, W.S. Neal on October 3 and Andalusia on October 10.
All games are tentatively scheduled to get underway at 6:30 p.m.
Brewton Middle School also has its 2005 football schedule set.
BMS will play an eight-game season that gets underway September 1 with a home contest against W.S. Neal.
The Tigers will also be home September 8 against Escambia County before they start a three-game road
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stretch to Monroe County on September 13, Flomaton on September 22 and Carver on September 29.
BMS will return home for an October 6 game against Excel before it closes out the campaign with games at Jay (Fla.) on October 13 and W.S. Neal on October 18.
BMS games are tentatively slated to begin at 6 p.m.
Heath Gibson, a 1994 graduate of W.S. Neal High School, was recently hired as athletic director at Escambia Academy.
Gibson, who also played baseball at Jefferson Davis Community College and Auburn University at Montgomery, also serves as the school's head football coach and boys and girls basketballcoach. Gibson also oversees Escambia Academy's weightlifting program.
Gibson guided Escambia Academy's girls basketball team to its second straight Alabama Independent School Association AA state championship last season.