Athletes come in all ages, and the city of Vicksburg is proud to acknowledge all those who excel.   

Joyce Beacham, Charlie Lutz, Bill Seaburgh and Steve Pranger were among the more than 10,500 athletes who competed in the 30th National Senior Games. The event was held in Birmingham and featured athletes from all 50 states who ranged in age from 50 to 103.

Beacham competed in the 5K and 1,500-meter race-walks, Lutz and Seaburgh competed in doubles table tennis and Pranger competed in race walking and eight track and field events.

Beacham, who was the only competitor of the four to bring home a medal after placing third in the 5K race walk in the 60-64 age group with a time of 36:13.84, said “It was a lot of fun. I saw some really good senior athletes. They didn’t look like they were seniors at all. They participated like they were in their 20s and 30s at the most,” she said.

The Vicksburg Swim Association is gearing up for the state meet in Tupelo in which 22 VSA swimmers will compete.

“Twenty-two qualifiers for the summer is pretty high for us,” VSA couch Mathew Mixon said.

“Usually during the summer the number is going to be down a little bit compared to the winter, because there’s more qualifying opportunities for kids during the winter,” he said.

The summer season is competed in long course in a 50-meter pool as opposed to the winter season, which is competed in short course in a 25-yard pool.

Mixon named Beau Harris and Tony Fields as two of the VSA’s swimmers who have impressed him throughout the summer.

“They’re both young men and are growing and coming into their own as far as putting their little footprint in the world of swimming on our team,” Mixon said. “Those are two guys that I really see that have been putting in a lot of effort and it seems to be paying off.”

Marcus Ragan was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 15th round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft, but the former Warren Central and East Mississippi Community College outfielder has decided to play at Arkansas-Little Rock next season. “It was a difficult decision, but deep down I knew it was the right one,” Ragan said. “Getting another year of school under my belt and also getting a chance to continue to get better on the field is what’s best right now.”

Ragan will have two years of eligibility left at Little Rock and could be selected again in the 2018 MLB draft.

• Channing Curtis won his second consecutive Clear Creek Club Championship. With a six-shot lead entering the day, Curtis claimed a 10-shot victory over runner-up Keith Ehrhardt in Bovina.
• Vicksburg native and former St. Aloysius golfer Chris Ingram has taken a job as an assistant golf pro at Pasatiempo Country Club in Santa Cruz, California.