Not one particular school or sport stood out more than another in Butler County in 2003.

Fort Dale Academy's varsity basketball team captured the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Class AAA state championship with an overtime win over Tuscaloosa Academy. The Eagles' Junior Guard Brett Paulk was later named AISA Basketball Player of the Year.

Several local athletes made strides in their sports, whether it was on the gridiron, hard court, diamond, or in rodeo. Quite a few athletes moved on to compete at the collegiate level.

Football season proved to be an exciting time for Butler County residents, as threenoutnofnfour of the local teams advanced to the state playoffs.

Here is a recap as reported by The Greenville Advocate:

January

n Katoria McDonald scored a team high 12 points to lead Greenville High School's varsity girls basketball team to a 58n42 win over Highland Home for the Lady Tiger' first win of the new year.

n Junior Brett Paulk led the top-ranked Fort Dale Academy's varsity boys with 21 points in a 53n35 win over Glenwood to earn a spot in the championship game of the LeenScott Holiday Tournament. The Eagles went on to capture the tournament title with a 53n42 victory over Faith Academy in the finals, led by Ty Langston and Brett Paulk, who combined for 27 points. The Lady Eagles lost to Faith's topnranked girls in the finals of the LeenScott Tournament, 43n20.

n The Greenville YMCA added 23 board members to its roster.

n Gymnasts Abby Martin of Fort Deposit, Caroline Dunklin of Greenville, Brandi Willis of McKenzie and Rebecca Foster of Fort Deposit each placed in the Top Three of the Festival of Stars Gymnastics Invitational.

n Kendron Pate's 19npoint performance led Greenville High School to a 64-53 win over Highland Home. Demario Roper led the Tigers with 19 points in an easy 74-40 win over cross-county rival Georgiana. GHS later suffered a 65n54 loss to Charles Henderson, while the Lady Tigers picked up a convincing win.

n For the second consecutive week, Fort Dale Academy's boys earned the No. 1 spot in the AISA state ranking voted on by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Laura Skipper led Lady Eagles to a 48n35 win over Hooper with16 points.

n Brantley's varsity boys pulled out a 52n51 win over McKenzie despite the Tigers' Russell Davison's 18-point performance and Lawrence Ball's 15 points. The Lady Tigers were outmatched by BHS and lost 43n26.

n Greenville Academy's boys pulled out a 50n41 overtime win over Central led by Kyle Salter's 15 points and Adam Moore's 11. Salter later led the Nados to an 86n66 win over Sparta Academy.

n Brett Paulk scored a doublendouble with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Fort Dale Academy to a 61n40 win over Faith. The Lady Eagles fell to the Rams 36n26.

n Greenville High School's boys redeemed themselves following a 69n67 loss to Calhoun earlier in the season, to defeat the Tigers 78n71, led by Tresmendez McMeans' 22 points.

n Russell Davison led McKenzie with 34 points as the Tigers defeated Excel, 74n54. The Tigers also defeated Florala, 60n53.

n Lajuan Lee scored a game-high 27 points to lead Georgiana to a 59n50 win over Class 2A, Area 1 rival Flomaton. Georgiana also defeated Excel 81n52.

n Led by Katoria McDonald's 16 points and Nina Robinson 12 points, the un-ranked Greenville varsity girls captured its 13th straight win with a huge 66n30 victory over Lee. The GHS boys lost to the Generals, 68n55.

n Fort Dale's girls remained unbeaten in area play with a 44n36 win over Morgan Academy. The top-ranked boys captured a 65n41 win over the Senators. The Eagles also defeated Cottage Hill and Hooper.

n Greenville's girls captured a 51n30 win over Charles Henderson, while the boys were edged 69n68 by the Trojans. Fort Dale's boys captured another home victory over Edgewood, 54n37, and the Lady Eagles picked up a victory as well, 46n29. Greenville Academy fell to Autauga Academy, 59n46.

n Fort Dale's boys ended January with an easy 64n24 win over Pike Liberal. The Lady Eagles defeated Pike, 47-35. Greenville's boys, on the other hand, finished out the month with an upsetting 98-97, double overtime loss to Calhoun. The Lady Tigers defeated Calhoun 60n36.