Rebels honored on all-state teams
Five members of the Vestavia Hills High School boys and girls soccer teams received all-state honors after stellar 2018 seasons, along with one baseball player and two softball players.
Caroline Causey was selected by soccer coaches across the state as the Class 7A player of the year. She also received first-team all-state recognition. Causey was productive all season, as she recorded 19 goals and 21 assists as an outside midfielder.
Head coach Brigid Littleton said stats do not do Causey justice compared to her impact on the game.
“Although her stats are exceptional, they do not speak to the level of play she brought to the game,” Littleton said. “If Caroline had a good game, we were going to win, no doubt.”
Forward Taylor Korn also received first-team honors, with midfielder Faith Hauberg receiving a second-team selection. Korn scored a team-high 23 goals for the Rebels and added six assists. Hauberg finished with six goals and three assists.
Both scored a goal in the team’s state championship victory over McGill-Toolen, and Hauberg was named the championship game MVP.
For the boys soccer team, Ford Hunt and Collin Armstrong were selected to the 7A all-state team. Hunt collected nine goals and two assists over the season, while Armstrong scored five goals and tallied four assists. The boys finished as the runners-up, falling to Auburn in the state championship game.
Armstrong, Ford and Hauberg will be continuing their soccer careers at the next level. Armstrong is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy, Hunt will be attending the University of Memphis and Hauberg will be playing at Furman University.
On the baseball diamond, the Alabama Sports Writers Association selected pitcher and first baseman Colton Lewis as a 7A first-team selection.
Lewis posted a 1.35 earned run average and a 6-2 record on the mound for the Rebels. He hurled 57 innings, striking out 74 batters and allowing just 31 hits. The junior also drove in 16 runs with the bat. The Rebels saw their season come to a close in the first round of the playoffs and concluded the year with a 22-11 record.
For the softball team, the left side of the Lady Rebels infield was named honorable mention on the 7A team. Senior shortstop Merritt Cahoon and sophomore third baseman Mary Claire Wilson helped lead the team to a 33-22 season.
Cahoon, a Samford signee, hit for a .393 average and a .486 on-base percentage. Hitting primarily from the leadoff spot, she hit seven home runs and drove in 36 runs. She stole 15 bases and scored 53 runs on the year.
Wilson spent much of the year hitting directly behind Cahoon and hit .409. She used her quickness to steal 27 bases while only being caught once all season. The two-year starter and Liberty University commit also racked up 61 hits, 49 runs and 32 RBIs.