Photo by Kyle Parmley.
Gwynnie Hornibrook (32) was one of six Vestavia Hills student-athletes that were not afforded the chance to play in the North-South All-Star games.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt in the high school sports world.
Even as school teams were permitted to begin working out once again on campus — with social distancing restrictions — in June, a staple of the Alabama High School Athletic Association summer calendar will be missing.
Each July, the AHSAA conducts its All-Star Week in Montgomery. Part of the activities of the week include games and competitions involving the North-South All-Star teams from each sport. Teams are named from the rising senior classes in each sport (except football, which is graduating seniors), split by geography.
That event didn’t take place this year, but the all-star teams were still named, and a few Vestavia Hills athletes found their names on the list.
Will White, a former defensive tackle on the Rebels football team, was named to the football team. He finished out his Vestavia Hills career on a 7-4 team that advanced to the playoffs last fall.
The other five Rebels named to the all-star teams came from spring teams, none of which finished their 2020 campaigns. Grant Cherry was one of the top pitchers for the baseball team, which finished with an 8-9 record in limited action against stiff competition.
Daniel Wheeler was part of the Rebels’ state championship tennis team from 2019 and Mitchell Register was part of a soccer team that was off to a 5-2-1 start to the 2020 campaign. Both were named to the all-star teams in their respective sports as well.
Kaylee Dressback, a Houston commit and key player on the Lady Rebels’ soccer team, had her junior season end on a sour note. Vestavia Hills had its 43 game winning streak snapped by Oak Mountain in the season’s final contest, but Dressback will look to help the Lady Rebels defend their 2018 and 2019 state championships next spring.
Dressback doesn’t take lightly the fact that she was named to the all-star team compiled of players from her class.
“I feel honored to have my hard work during the season recognized,” she said. “Being seen as a top player of my class is something to be proud of because of how talented the 2021 class is.”
Gwynnie Hornibrook, a catcher on the softball team, feels the same way. Hornibrook led a talented Rebels team that was off to a strong 12-4 start and looking for its best string of success in the last four years.
“It’s an incredible honor to have been selected, especially given all the great talent from the state of Alabama,” she said. “I am also extremely grateful to my coaches and teammates who have helped me become a better player.”
The North-South game is not only an opportunity to be recognized amongst peers, but making that team is often a goal for student-athletes as they rise through the ranks. Dressback said not being able to play in the game is an experience she wishes she could have had.
“I was truly disappointed to not be able to compete in the North-South game and represent my teammates and my coaches,” Hornibrook added. “It has always been a goal of mine to get to play in the North-South game, especially with the group of juniors that were selected this year.”
The 2020 fall seasons are still slated to begin on time in late August.
