A three-sport athlete at Goreville, Landon Albright has been a star burning bright for the community. Albright was one of the few winter sport athletes affected by COVID-19. He and the rest of the Blackcats Hoops team were set to compete in the State Finals the weekend that the coronavirus began spreading and forced IHSA to close their doors for the time being. Additionally, Albright has had two spring sports wiped from the slate in baseball and bass-fishing.
Albright, along with his sister Kaeden, had a pair of trips to the state finals in bass-fishing, an 11th place finish in 2018 and 2nd place finish in 2019. Any hope for a 1st place finish at State has been dashed for the Albright Team.
Albright showed improvement on the baseball field as well, especially in 2019. He hit four home runs for the Blackcats, as well as 5 doubles, in his junior season and only looked prepared to improve upon those marks with a career batting average of .289 through 37 games and 99 plate appearances.
From Landon Himself!
Q: What moment in your high school athletic career sticks out most to you?
A: Through my sports career, there have been a ton of exciting games I’ve been a part of. But there’s one recent one that touches me the most. The super sectional game at SIU this year for basketball was the moment that sticks out to me the most. We knew coming into it that it was gonna be a tough game , but we all came ready to play and it definitely showed.that was probaly the biggest crowd we have played in front of. After that game I don’t think any of us ever thought that state would of got canceled.
Q: How have you and your teammates tried to keep in contact despite the coronavirus?
A: My teammates and I communicate daily through Snapchat or we will call one another. Coach checks in on us weekly. We are all family, so we keep in touch often!
Q: How has the coronavirus affected your views on sports?
A: This virus has changed the way I view multiple things, but sports specifically. Through my high school career, if I had a bad game or something I always told myself I had to go out and fix it the next game. This has really showed us that you aren’t guaranteed another day or game! Headed up to Peoria for basketball we thought we had two more games, but that goes to show you to never take it for granted.
Q: Once the pandemic is over with and life gets back to normal, what are you looking forward to most?
A: Once everything gets back to normal, I’m looking forward to getting back together with my basketball team and finally getting to design our rings! We never got a chance to get a final picture with all of our plaques we won throughout the season, so that will be fun.
Q: What goals do you have for yourself post-graduation, sports-related or life-related?
A: After graduating high school, I plan on attending Shawnee college and pitching for their baseball team while getting an associates degree in criminal justice. Once completed, I plan to become an Illinois state trooper!
If you know a senior athlete (high school or college!) who’s season was cut short due to the Coronavirus please nominate them on our Senior Hot Shots page for a chance to be recognized!
