Quartet of Westfiled Hornets take stories of success to college teams

mbrown@sunmulti.com

In a show of just how Westfield competes athletically in the GISA, four student-athletes who own state championships gathered together on Tuesday to commemorate their choices for the college level. Two of them, Evan Williams and Dustin Hall, are going to further their already successful baseball careers on scholarship and another, Valerie McLure, is jumping at the chance for more achievement on the basketball hardwood.

The fourth, Wayne O’Neal, is attending Georgia Southern University as what is known as a preferred walk-on for the Eagle football team. This opportunity arose from O’Neal’s national rankings in the special teams art of punting.

Hornets head football coach Ronnie Jones reiterated a point about O’Neal he made way before O’Neal’s senior year: this punter has a chance to play football on Sundays. When healthy, O’Neal has led the GISA in punting every time he stepped on the field.

“To be a punter, it is an individual talent,” said Jones. “He’s worked on it. (Georgia Southern’s) special teams coach was by here the other day and told me if Wayne wants it, he could be the starting punter as a freshman.

“Wayne is already on the roster, and the best thing about Georgia Southern is they are changing conferences (to the Sun Belt after the 2013 season), and you will have a chance to watch Wayne punt on TV. There’s no doubt in my mind if he works at it he will be punting on Sunday afternoons.

“We hardly had anybody return a punt against us. We can’t even catch the punts in practice. He’s done this on his own.”

O’Neal missed most of his junior season in 2011 with a severe knee injury. That was after he joined both Hall and Williams as sophomore starters on the Westfield GISA championship baseball team. Under coach Rob Fitzpatrick, that trio and a host of other seniors – including pitcher/infielder Garrett Brown – is looking for another championship run as region champions.

“I saw (Hall and Williams) as eighth graders,” said Fitzpatrick. “Dustin was a small little guy. If you told me he would be signing a baseball scholarship five years later, I would have thought you were crazy. The guy works hard at everything he does.

“Evan was my bullpen catcher (in the eighth grade) and started as a freshman. There’s probably no kid I’ve been harder on … I was a catcher. It’s one of the most important positions on the field. You run the show. He’s done everything I ever asked him to do.”

Williams was the quarterback and Hall played everything from offensive line to fullback to linebacker for Westfield football. It’s baseball that’s taking them to college, Williams choosing Point University in the town of West Point and Hall joining Brown as a signee for ABAC in Tifton.

“It’s always been my dream to play college baseball,” said Hall. “Now, my dream’s coming true.”

If anything, Hall brought pure aggression to his football duties. In real life, Hall describes himself as a “big teddy bear.”

“But when it comes to playing football, you have to have that mentality,” he said. “Be ready to hit.”

Hall attended Nick Saban’s football camp at the University of Alabama one summer. Here, he said one will learn everything there is to know about the gridiron.

As for his main baseball influences, Hall listed his parents Craig Hall and Lisa Bozill Snellgrove, God, Fitzpatrick, and Andy Burress and Britt Dobbs of Chain Baseball.

“It’s a different mindset for baseball,” said Hall about how aggressive one needs to be on the diamond. “You have to be ready to hit … a baseball. You have to be more focused on what (pitch) is coming. You have to be ready for a ball in the outfield. Be ready for different situations.”

To repeat the 2011 state accomplishment would be a blessing for Hall. It would give him confidence knowing he left Westfield on top and bring his focus to great things at ABAC. He said he plans to study physical therapy.

“Lift weights hard,” said Hall about his offseason baseball training. “Practice a lot, hit, field, anything to make me a better athlete.”

Williams is actually going to the most unique situation for a student-athlete. The Point dormitories are located in Alabama, or the Central Time Zone. His classrooms and baseball facilities, though, are in Georgia, the Eastern Zone.

“I’m going to have to get an alarm clock and keep it on the Georgia time so I won’t be late to practice,” he said. “I really like the coach there. That’s one of the main reasons I’m going.”

Those classes, by the way, are in one huge three-story building.

“I really think I can get it all together there,” said Williams. He’s already had the discussions with those coaches about his role. Will he stay behind the plate, or will the Point people see his speed as better used in the outfield?

“They have a couple of catchers and not a lot of outfielders,” said Williams. “They like the way I swung the bat. They will try me in the outfield some and catcher.”

It won’t matter much to Williams as long as he is contributing to a championship program. The Skyhawks won the NCCAA Division II national title in 2010 and are on a string of three World Series appearances in a row.

“It’s going to be different not playing with (my Hornet teammates),” said Williams. “I’m anxious to see what we can do in the playoffs.”

Point also has a football program, and Williams admits there is an itch to maybe suit up and give that game one more shot as a walk-on receiver.

“I would say I have the same level of love for the game of football and baseball,” he said. “Baseball’s more my sport to go to college.”

Williams might be dealing with football and baseball players in the future. His academic goal is to study sports management and dive into the business side as an agent. He also wouldn’t mind going into coaching and becoming an athletic director.

McLure’s not leaving Westfield without her state title. At the end of April she joined Stephanie Campbell as GISA doubles champion in girls tennis, and her entire Lady Hornet group claimed the team title the following week.

Before that, the closest McLure was to winning it all was in basketball as a junior. During Cass Cassell’s first year as head coach, the Lady Hornets advanced all the way to the AAA finals only to fall to Arlington Christian.

“I’m real excited to be going to Berry,” she said. “I’m excited to be focusing on basketball.”

McLure was also a region champion cross country runner for Westfield.

“She’s going to a good school,” said Cassell. “I think the best years for Valerie in basketball are ahead of her. She probably could play other sports. We want Valerie to make it all four years in basketball. That’s going to help the girls program at Westfield.”

“I hope to make an impact on Berry’s program,” said McLure. “Just work my way through, stay there all four years and make a difference.

“It was great playing under (Cassell). He pushed us to do our best and he helped me get into the college I really wanted.

“I probably need to work on my overall game because it is going to be different playing with a shot clock, and how the pace of the game is going to be different.”

McLure will major in chemistry with the goal of also studying forensics. She said she wants to work in a crime lab.

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