St. Andrew's star becomes Ivy Leaguer

Blackmon NORTH/SOUTH SITES Here are the MHSAA's tentative North/South Mississippi basketball sites for Feb. 22-24: Boys North 5A: Olive Branch, Starkville, Tupelo. North 4A: New Hope, Lanier, Pontotoc, Tishomingo County. North 3A: Aberdeen, Booneville, Independence, Nettleton, Holly Springs, Humphreys County, Alcorn Central, Kossuth, Ripley. North 2A: Baldwyn, Coahoma County, Okolona. North 1A: Myrtle, West Union, Houlka, Wheeler, Hickory Flat. South 5A: Brandon, Forest Hill, Gulfport, Biloxi, Meridian, Moss Point. South 4A: Forrest AHS, Pass Christian, McComb, Picayune, Mendenhall, D'Iberville, Vancleave. South 3A: Carthage, Jefferson County, Raleigh, Columbia. South 2A: Newton, Kemper County, Hinds AHS. South 1A: St. John, Stringer. Girls North 5A: Tupelo, Warren Central, Olive Branch. North 4A: Oxford, Gentry, Lanier, Noxubee County, Rosa Fort. North 3A: Booneville, Senatobia, Alcorn Central, J.Z. George, Mooreville, Holly Springs. North 2A: Ackerman, Coahoma County, Belmont. North 1A: Pine Grove, Biggersville, Houlka, Hickory Flat, East Webster. South 5A: Hancock, Forest Hill, Biloxi, Brandon, Moss Point, Harrison Central. South 4A: West Jones, Brookhaven, Mendenhall, Wayne County. South 3A: Southeast Lauderdale, Franklin County, South Pike, Choctaw Central. South 2A: Philadelphia, Hinds AHS, Kemper County, Newton. South 1A: Pisgah, Bogue Chitto, Stringer.

St. Andrew's running back/defensive back Bradford Blackmon dreamed of someday playing football in the Southeastern Conference.

But Blackmon, who committed to Pennsylvania late last week, has no regrets about instead playing in the Ivy League.

"I feel great about my decision," said Blackmon, a first-team All-State pick by The Clarion-Ledger. "Not only will I get to play football for the next four years, but the degree I earn from there in the long run will really help me out."

Blackmon, whose 106 career touchdowns rank third on the state's career list, chose Penn over Columbia and Jackson State.

AD CONFERENCE

The Vicksburg Convention Center is the host for this year's Mississippi High School Activities Association athletic directors conference, set for today and Friday.

Topics include: ACT preparation, Cellular South's Gameplan program to prepare Mississippi students for college scholarship offers, drug testing and underage drinking, coordinated school health, hazing and initiation, and security of officials and game management.

Pearl River Community College football coach Tim Hatten is the keynote speaker.

"This conference becomes better attended every year because of the quality of the information shared with the attendees," MHSAA executive director Ennis Proctor said. "We anticipate having at least one representative from every one of our schools."

Registration begins at 7 a.m. today at the Convention Center.

WRESTLE-MANIA

Wrestling fans can check out the 2007 Mississippi Wrestling Championships on Feb. 1 at the Northwest Rankin gym.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is free.

Teams include Mississippi School for the Blind, Northwest Rankin and ROC Wrestling Club of Bay St. Louis.

For more information, contact Chris Hubbard at (601) 201-3688 or chris@rankinwrestling.com or mississippiwrestling.org.

QUICK HITS

Ridgeland senior Bianca Knight is ranked No. 1 nationally in the indoor girls 200 meters (23.27 seconds) according to the Nike List at dyestat.com ... Matthew Cameron of Madison-Ridgeland Academy set a meet record of 4 minutes, 19.68 seconds for the indoor boys mile on Jan. 13 at the University of Arkansas meet. Cameron, a senior, won the Academy AAA boys cross country championship last October ...

Murrah's girls basketball team is ranked 22nd nationally this week by USA Today. The Lady Mustangs (24-1), No. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10, moved up two spots in the national rankings after making their debut at No. 24 last week. Murrah, coached by Anna Jackson, also moved into USA Today's regional rankings this week and is ranked No. 10 in the South ...

Three of the five defending girls state champions will compete in the Waynesboro Rotary/Joe Johnson Memorial Scholarship Basketball Classic on Saturday at Wayne County. Included among the field are defending state champs Clinton (5A), Wayne County (4A) and Stringer (1A).