Scholastic Sports
 |
| Ryan Mclain of East Coweta
vs. Patrick Keener of Newnan - Photo courtesy of East
Coweta Journal |
Strive for
Excellence
By Tray Baggarly
During the 2001-2002 academic year,
Fayette and Coweta athletes excelled at both the regional
and state level both as teams and as individuals.
There are seven high schools in
the two counties and each offers varsity sports for both girls
and boys. In Fayette County, these schools include Fayette
County, McIntosh, Sandy Creek and Starr's Mill high schools,
while Coweta County is home to Newnan, East Coweta and Northgate
high schools.
State Champions
The area can boast four team and five
individual state championships won during the last academic
year.
Among those winning teams championships
were the Fayette County softball team, the East Coweta riflery
team, the Starr's Mill girl's soccer team and the Northgate
dual wrestling team.
The individual state champions
included junior Jean Reynolds of Newnan High School who captured
low medallist honors and was crowned the state girl's golf
champion in Class AAAAA. Reynolds edged Margaret Shirley of
Lassiter High by six strokes to win the title.
In State Riflery competition, East
Coweta High's Amber Crist won the individual championship
as her team finished third in the state overall. Crist also
earned a full athletic scholarship to attend the University
of West Virginia and compete at the collegiate level.
In Class AAAAA wrestling, East
Coweta's Hawk Cochran won the state title in the 160 lb. classification
and James Bouie of Fayette County won the 275 lb. heavyweight
title. Others placing at the state competition in AAAAA were
Dane Helmly of East Coweta (2nd in 145 lb.) and Starr's Mill
wrestlers Daniel Fuhrman (2nd in 189 lb.) and Scott Hartpence
(4th in 135 lb.). In Class AA wrestling, Northgate had four
wrestlers place, which was good enough for a second place
finish in the state meet. Justin Jordan took the AA state
title in the 130 lb. class and was joined by teammates Brandon
Veasey (2nd in 125 lb.), Shane Henderson (4th in 135 lb.)
and Nick Kimbro (4th in 145 lb.) who placed in the state meet.
Baseball
East Coweta, Newnan, Fayette County,
Sandy Creek and Northgate each qualified for the state baseball
playoffs with Fayette and Northgate advancing into the second
round in Class AAAAA and Class AA respectively.
Basketball
Sandy Creek won their AAAA playoff opener
86-83 over Crisp County and then defeated Butler, 74-42 before
losing a heartbreaker to Creekside, 39-38.
Newnan's girls blew out Ware County
84-44 in the first round of the AAAAA tournament and then
took down Groves, 62-48 in the sectionals before losing to
Baldwin, 73-57 a game shy of the state semi-finals.
Cheerleading
Northgate's cheerleading squad
took third place in the state in Class AA at the cheerleading
competition.
Football
East Coweta, Starr's Mill and Sandy
Creek all advanced to the state football playoffs last fall
with East Coweta making it to the state semi-finals in Class
AAAAA.
The East Coweta Indians, after
barely qualifying for the postseason with a 5-5 regular season
record, reeled off three straight upsets in the playoffs over
Coffee Co., Warner Robins and Harrison before falling to defending
state champion Parkview in the semi-finals at the Georgia
Dome.
Starr's Mill captured the Region
4-AAAAA title and defeated Tift County in round one before
falling to Northside Warner Robins in the second round.
Sandy Creek went on the road in
round one where they fell to Ware County in Waycross.
Golf
While Newnan's Jean Reynolds starred
as the top local golfer with her state title, East Coweta's
Brandon Kuban finished tied for fourth in the Boy's AAAAA
golf championships by shooting a 148 to finish just three
shots behind the low medallist.
Soccer
The Starr's Mill girls won the
co-championship in Class AAAAA after a 2-2 tie with Pope in
the championship game.
McIntosh's Lady Chiefs also advanced
to the semi-finals where they lost to Pope on penalty kicks
after battling to a 0-0 ties through regulation. McIntosh
defeated Brunswick, 13-0; Tift County, 13-0; and Parkview,
5-3.
Newnan's Lady Cougars also fared
well advancing to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 win over Glynn
Academy, Lowndes, 5-0 before losing 3-0 to Brookwood.
Starr's Mill boys reached the state
quarter-finals by defeating Benedictine, 3-0; Houston County,
2-0 before losing to Brookwood on penalty kicks.
The McIntosh boys defeated Bradwell
Institute, 4-0 before losing to Warner Robins, 4-2 in the
second round.
Northgate's girls advanced further
than any other soccer team in school history as they made
it to the state semi-finals in Class AA-A.
Softball
It was all Fayette County Lady
Tigers in the Class AAAAA fast pitch softball season as the
team went 32-2 and captured its first state championship.
Two players, Alison Horne and Bonnie Bynum, earned college
scholarships after leading their team to the victory.
Tennis
Both the McIntosh and Starr's Mill
girl's tennis teams reached the state semi-finals.
McIntosh defeated Hardaway, 3-0
and St. Vincent's, 3-0 in the first two rounds before losing
3-1 to Lassiter in the semi-finals. Starr's Mill defeated
Houston County, 5-0 and Glynn Academy, 4-1 in the early rounds
before losing to eventual state champ Walton, 3-0 in the semi-finals.
The McIntosh boys also reached
the semi-finals in AAAAA defeating Houston County, 5-0 and
Lowndes, 3-0 before losing to Collins Hill, 3-1 in the semi-finals.
