Highlanders #1 headed into regional tournament

The McLennan Highlanders are headed to the Region V North Softball Tournament as top-ranked squad in the NJCAA Division I Softball Rankings. The Highlanders ended the regular season with a 54-2 record and claimed the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Championship with a 31-1 record.

Northwest Florida State remains at #2 with a 51-3 record, followed by Florida Southwestern State at #3 with a record of 52-6. Temple (Texas) and Salt Lake (Utah) both moved up a spot to #4 and #5, respectively, with records of 47-9 and 40-7.

Other Texas teams ranked include: Paris, holding at #10, 42-10; Grayson, holding at #12, 35-15; Trinity Valley, up two spots to #14, 42-14; and Galveston, holding at #17, 38-13. San Jacinto and Odessa are receiving votes.

McLennan, Temple and Grayson will all compete in the Region V North Tournament beginning Thursday on the campus of Grayson College in Denison. The Highlanders, as the top seed, received a first-round bye and will play either North Central or Weatherford at 4 p.m. Thursday. All games will be streamed live on Centex Sports Network at www.centexsportsnetwork.com.