Tupelo will get its first taste of postseason swimming ahead of the state championship meet with Saturday’s North half championships.
“Ultimately, what happens at North half translates to the state championship,” Tupelo head coach Josh Daniel said. “The kids can only swim what they qualify at North half, so your entries that get put in are very important and where you put them and how you go about it. We want to go and swim really well at North half and qualify as many swimmers as we can and hopefully qualify the right swimmers in the right events, because that’s what translates to the state championship.”
In addition to competing for a North half title and attempting to qualify as many swimmers as possible for the state meet, Tupelo will also be getting its first look at Madison Central. The Jaguars narrowly beat Tupelo in the state championship last year.
“There have been many times where the team that won North half ended up winning state, or vice-versa,” Daniel said. “So, I don’t know that it translates in that manner. But the individual events and the relays you can get a good look at. Essentially, it’s just us getting our first look at them and them getting our first look at us, and then we go from there.”
Tupelo’s girls are led by Willa Martin, while the boys are paced by Colin Wright.
MSAHA volleyball
The Mid-South Association of Homeschool Athletics is holding its state volleyball tournament on Saturday.
Play begins at 9 a.m. at Velocity Volleyball Club in Ridgeland. Defending champions Tupelo Titans will take on the Jackson Victors at 9, while the Mobile (Ala.) Lions meet the Hattiesburg Forerunners at the same time. The winner of Tupelo and Jackson faces Coastal at 10, and the losers of the first two matches will also face off. The winner’s bracket game is at 11, followed by the semifinals at 12:30 p.m. and the championship at 1:30.
Later Saturday, the MSAHA All-Star Game will be played at nearby Infinity Volleyball Academy at 5 p.m.
MHSAA playoffs on tap
The MHSAA volleyball regular season concludes today, with the playoffs beginning Saturday for Classes 1A through 4A. Classes 5A through 7A open the postseason next Tuesday.
Saturday’s slate includes several area-on-area team matchups, including North Pontotoc at Amory in 4A, South Pontotoc at Mooreville in 4A and Falkner at West Union in 1A. West Union reached the state finals last season.
In 7A, Tupelo travels to Madison Central on Tuesday, while Oxford hosts Hernando and Starkville visits Lewisburg.
Several first-round matchups have yet to be determined pending outcomes of tonight’s games.
