• Saturday’s AG-PRO 300, Talladega Superspeedway TALLADEGA, Ala. — Jesse Love earned his first career Xfinity Series victory Saturday in a typically wild double-overtime finish in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway — crossing the line by a slight 0.141-seconds ahead of Riley Herbst.

• Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) has hosted at least one Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year from 1971 to 2020.

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Tyler Reddick prevailed in a typically-frantic Talladega Superspeedway run to the checkered flag Sunday in the GEICO 500 Cup Series race, narrowly avoiding a multi-car crash in the closing 400 yards – coming from third place out of Turn 4, to earn the win by a slight 0.208-second when race leader Michael McDowell crashed trying to block competitors approaching the finish line. Reddick maneuvered around in the high lane to motor through to his first victory of the year and sixth of his career.

The Gatewood golf team left no stone unturned, capturing the Georgia Independent Athletic Association Class AA championship on its home course at Harbor Club in Greensboro earlier this week. As a team, five Gators shot a combined score of 332, edging out second-place finisher Heritage Preparatory School by nine strokes to secure the title win.

Last week, Putnam County’s tennis teams saw their seasons end in the first round of the state playoffs. Each team hosted a playoff match but came up short as the No. 2 seed War Eagles fell 3-0 to No. 3 seed Cook, while No. 4 seed Worth County shutout the top-seeded Lady War Eagles by a 5-0 score.

The running of the Kentucky Derby has always gotten my attention – long before I even had the opportunity to experience the “Run for the Roses” live and in living color. I will watch the 149th running of the Derby this Saturday via NBC with mixed emotions.

Despite a tough week on the diamond, the Gatewood Gators won their second straight region championship last week. The Gators are 5-0 in region 2-AA, but four straight non-region losses have shown the Gators they still have room to improve with the playoffs nearing. Gatewood lost 1-0 to Pinewood and 7-0 to First Presbyterian Day prior to their second game with Pinewood last Friday. Lawson Moore got the start on the mound versus Pinewood in game two with the Patriots.

Emmanuel Meraz added to his list of accomplishments this season in last Friday’s playoff match against Cook. Meraz scored the game’s only three goals, powering top-seed Putnam County (13-1) to a 3-0 win over Cook (8-11).

The Lady War Eagles’ soccer season came to an end last Thursday in the first round of the playoffs when No. 4 seed Jeff Davis upset top-seed Putnam County 4-1 at Al Reaves Field in Eatonton.

The Georgia Bulldogs beat the Ole Miss Rebels two games to one in Athens last week, taking their second-straight series win in conference play and their third conference series win of the season. The Diamond Dawgs won games one and two 17-6 and 7-2, respectively, but fell 3-2 in game three.