Trigg County High School Junior A.J. Bridges brings an insider’s look into Trigg County Sports as the newest contributing writer for The Cadiz Record. A renaissance man in the athletic community at the school, Bridges’ “letter jacket” bears emblems of the many sports he has participated in during his three years at Trigg County.

“I have been in power lifting for two years, football for one, soccer and cross country for three and track for one,” Bridges said. He plays kicker and defensive back in football, forward and defensive sweeper in soccer and specializes in middle-distance running and the triple jump in track and field events.

To assume that Bridges is one-dimensional with his emphasis on athletics is a mistake. The gifted student carries a 4.0 grade-point average and is ranked first in his class of 153 other students. Bridges participates in Odyssey of the Mind, the Academic Team, the Beta and Pep clubs, the Health Occupation Students of America and the Service Learning Council.

Bridges serves Trigg County as an ex-facto magistrate on the fiscal court. Though not allowed to vote, Bridges participates in discussions and committees providing a youthful voice to county government.

“(Social Studies Teacher Donna Kranz) had the idea for students to run as ex-facto city council representatives, but I brought up in class that I did not live in the city. She asked the county judge/executive if we could have ex-facto magistrates,” said Bridges, who won election from the student body.

After high school, Bridges plans to attend Western State University to study meteorology. “I’ve always been science-oriented. I used to want to be an astronaut, then a doctor and now I am interested in the weather. When considering this job, I talked with my mother. We both felt that this could help with becoming a broadcaster. Meteorology and reporting kind of go together.”

For the rest of this story, read this week's Cadiz Record.