Red Bay boys capture Section 4 championship

By Staff
Franklin County Times
FLORENCE – The Red Bay boys won their third consecutive sectional championship Tuesday with a first-place finish in the Class 1A-3A, Section 4 tournament at Cox Creek Park Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers (2-6) finished in sixth place behind sectional champion Mars Hill and runner-up Shoals Christian.
The Red Bay boys totaled 52 points to beat Mars Hill (31), Lexington (24), Lauderdale County (16) and Sheffield (0). The Tigers will make their 16th trip to the state tournament under coach Sonny Glasgow, who has coached at Red Bay for 19 seasons.
Red Bay won seven of nine finals matches as No. 1 Wesley Jarnigan defeated Lauderdale County's Landon Masoner 6-2, 7-5 and No. 2 Matt Young (7-5, 6-2) and No. 3 Toby Gray (6-0, 6-0) defeated Mars Hill.
No. 4 John Thigpen dropped Lexington's Javon Holley 7-5, 6-0 in the semis before losing to Mars Hill 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 in the finals.
No. 5 Chris Funderburk (6-0, 7-5) and No. 6 Kirk Armstrong (6-2, 0-6, 7-5) also earned victories against Mars Hill in the championship round.
In doubles play, the Tigers won two of three matches as No. 1 Jarnigan-Young beat Lexington 6-4, 6-4 and No. 3 Gray-Armstrong defeated Lexington 6-3, 6-1, while No. 2 doubles Thigpen-Funderburk lost to Mars Hill 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
The Red Bay boys (8-2, 4-0) will play in the Class 1A-3A state tournament April 28-29 in Mobile. Last season the Tigers reached the semifinals at No. 1 and 2 singles and finished seventh among the top 12 teams in the state.