Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

♦ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006 2B RUNNERS From page iB and finished in the top 10 in all 12 races. Her best time of the year was 18:36, which came at Westover. She won the county and region championship. “That was her third straight county championship and her sec ond straight region cham pionship,” said head coach David Erpelding. She also finished seventh in the state - her second straight top 10 finish. Other: She was team captain for the squad and named to the All-County, All-Region and All-State teams. She was also named to the Warner Robins Wall of Fame for the third time. Coach’s corner: “In a year, in which the girls were down,” Erpelding said, “she kept them motivated to do their best and to keep the girls focused on doing their best. “She is a natural leader and has a natural gift for running. She will be sorely missed but she has put her self in the history books as one of the best runners to come out of Houston County. Danielle Atkins School: Warner Robins Year: Junior Position: Team’s No. 2 runner Impact: Finished in the top 10 nine times during the season. Her best time of the year was at Westover and with a finish of 20:18. Other: Was co-captain for the girls’ squad and was named to the All-Region team. She was also named to the Warner Robins Wall of Fame for the second time. Coach’s corner: “Danielle will give you her all at practice and in the meets,” Erpelding said. “She is determined to be the best at whatever she does and excels in cross country. I look forward to her having a great senior year.” Brittney Hill School: Warner Robins Year: Junior Position: Team’s No. 3 runner Impact: Finished in the top 10 two times and in the top 15 five times. Her best time of the year was at Westover and with a finish of 21:53. Coach’s corner: “Brittney ran great all sea son,” said Erpelding, “and missed the region meet because of an illness, and I feel she would have made an impact on the region results. “She helped the girls to a top 20 finish at state and that makes it three years BROWN From page iB Mike Silve (Or is it Sliver? Or Lucky Number Sleven? Or Hi-Ho Silver? Hey, I’m the sports nut who doesn’t pay attention to the latest goings on.), this proposal is for you free of charge. Every year the SEC sched ule is loaded with big, impor tant games. I’ve always con tended that no game in the league is a bigger deal than any other. But, in reality, that doesn’t seem to be the case. So I say, let’s let the seri ousness of certain games reflect in the conference standings. Starting with the 2007 season, every year let all 12 SEC schools pick one league game to designate as “The Most Important Game of the Year.” If you are victorious in your “Most Important Game of the Year,” you get two wins on your conference record. But if you should fall in this “Most Important Game,” it counts as two SEC losses. One of the provisions in this rule would be that teams could change that designa tion year by year, so schools could make their selection at one of those off-season meetings. Now there could be some games where, for both teams, it’s the “Most in a row that the girls have been in the top 20. Brittney has come along ways in cross country over the last two years and should have a great senior year.” Megan Breitbach School: Houston County Year: Freshman Position: Team’s No. 1 runner Impact: Was a top run ner at all meets. Helped the Lady Bears finish Region 1-AAAAA runner up. Finished 57th overall at the state tournament. “The team looked up to her to set the team pace,” said head coach Pat Rouse. “She had a positive attitude that spread throughout the girls team. She trained extremely hard to lower her individual time to help the team scoring.” Other: Voted the team’s Most Valuable Runner. Coach’s corner: “As a freshman,” Rouse said, “she has the leadership ability to lead a program to great heights. Her work ethics are those of a win ner/warrior. Her determi nation to be the best of the best will pave her path for a productive future not only in sports, but in life.” Kiersten Wharton School: Houston County Year: Sophomore Position: Key runner Impact: Was a key run ner at all races. Helped the Lady Bears finish Region 1-AAAAA runner-up. Finished 59th overall at the state tournament. “The team looked up to her to be at a certain place of the team pace,” Rouse said. “Her attitude improved as a positive/pro ductive runner that spread through out the girls team. “She trained extremely hard to increase her stam ina and technique to help the team scoring.” She was rewarded with the Coach’s Award. Other: Was awarded the Coach’s Award. Coach’s corner: “As a sophomore she has the abil ity to improve the attitude stamina of a program to great heights,” said Rouse. “Her competitive work eth ics are those of a winner/ warrior. Her determination to be the best of the best will pave her path for a productive future not only in sports, but in life.” Janay Wilson School: Northside Year: Senior Position: Team’s No. 1/2 runner Impact: Recorded most No. 1 finishes for the Lady Eagles. Her long list of accomplishments includes being Region 4-AAAA champion, a member of the Houston County champion- Important Game of the Year,” while in others only one par ticipant claims it is the “Most Important” contest. But to be totally fair and even, every school will have one. I am not an SEC athletic director or head coach, so I don’t have to make such deci sions. However, I and several other columnists would only be too happy to share our opinions and recommenda tions. Take the now coach-less University of Alabama. This choice would be a no-brain er: Auburn. Auburn in turn could also designate Alabama, but could also say that game is against Georgia. Florida would be torn between Georgia and Tennessee, and Georgia has three ways it could go, all of which are in this paragraph. WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! Wait a minute! Wait a min ute! Are we Georgia people nuts? Are we going to risk two losses against teams we have a hard time beating year after year? You have to think with your head when dealing with a rule like this. I know the Bulldogs lost to both Vanderbilt and Kentucky this year, but you have to believe that’s not going to happen again too many times. It makes more sense to play the odds and try to get two wins in one blow ship team and All-Houston County championship team. She also set a new school record at the region meet with a time of 20:69. In addition, she made the elite runner list at the Westover meet with a time of 20:16 and helped Northside to a region run ner-up finish. She was the second lowest scorer for the year with 68 points. “We had a great year because of her dedication to the team,” said head coach Glenda Byrd. Other: Was named to the All-Region team and was ranked 116th in the 2006 Georgia High School Girls Cross Country 5000 m run ranking. Coach’s corner: “Janay is an awesome athlete,” Byrd said. “She is a joy to coach. She never com plains about any thing or any workout.” Elizabeth Lambert School: Northside Year: Freshman Position: Team’s No. 1-2 runner Impact: Set a new school record at the Houston County Championship meet with a time of 20:34. Was a member of the All-Houston County Championship team and made the elite runner list at the Westover meet with a time of 20:05. She was the team’s low est scorer during the regu lar season with 62 points. “She is very dedicated to the program,” Byrd said, “as she put in numerous extra miles to prepare for the race.” Other: Was named to the All-Region team and was ranked 89th in the 2006 Georgia High School Girls Cross Country 5000 m run ranking. Coach’s corner: “Elizabeth came to the pro gram as a freshman and has done an outstanding job,” Byrd said. “She is a joy to coach. We had a great year because of her dedica tion to the team.” Mallory Eubanks School: Westfield Year: Freshman Position: Team’s No. 1 runner Impact: Finished fifth at the Georgia Independent School Association Region 3-AAA tournament. “In very difficult circum stances and conditions, she still managed a top 10 placement,” said head coach Wendy Bryan. “She best ed many of her 2005/2006 times over the course of the season and helped lead the girls to a runner-up show ing at the region champion ships.” “Mallory is a quiet leader who sets an example for all of her teammates through hard work and dedication,” against the Commodores or the Wildcats. I can see all the SEC powers marking the peo ple from Nashville, Lexington and even Starkville, Miss., in this deal. But there is one catch, call it the fine print of this pro posal. Remember, I’m talking about designating the “Most Important Game of the Year” in your whole football sea son. That should be a small price to pay to better your chances of getting a division championship and shot at a BCS bowl. After all, there’s nothing in that label that could potentially damage the image of an institution, its home city or its fan base. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that was written by Aesop or somebody try ing to teach a valuable life lesson. I guess that means I need to come up with some kind of morale or conclusion to the experiment. I’ve already said that the SEC standings don’t care who your heated rivals are. If you weren’t paying attention and just now saw Georgia’s 8-4 mark, you might think, “Gee, did we lose to South Carolina? Ole Miss?” Maybe the next great idea to emerge from the sports lab will be how the BCS can finally value one con ference over another. I’ll let Tuberville figure that out. SPORTS Bryan added. Coach’s corner: “Her willingness to work hard and provide support for her teammates are only two of the many qualities that make her an exceptional athlete and, more impor tantly, an exceptional per son,” said Bryan. Leigh James-Artigas School: Freshman Position: Team’s No. 2 runner In her first year of cross country competition, she finished second in Region 3-AAA competition. “Her unconventional style of running has proven quite effective through out the 2006 season,” said Bryan “Leigh is all that a coach could hope for ... spunky, talented and a hard worker. “She was an integral part of our GISA Region 3-AAA runner up finish at this year’s competition. Leigh will only get better as she moves through high school!” Boys Marc Kushinka School: Warner Robins Year: Senior Position: Team’s No. 1- seeded runner Impact: Marc won 4 races and set 3 school records. He had 9 top ten finishes and his best time of the year was at Westover with a time of 17:05. Other: Marc was the team captain. He won the county championship and the region championship. He made all-County, All- Region. He was named to the Warner Robins Wall of Fame. Coach’s corner: Marc has come along way since starting cross country in 10th grade. He is a natu ral leader and helped to keep the boys focused on winning the region cham pionship. He will be sorely missed on the cross coun try team but has left his mark as one of the best runners to have run cross country at Warner Robins High School. Karl Burkhardt School: Warner Robins Year: Freshman Position: Team’s No. 2 runner Impact: Finished eight times in the top 10 as a freshman. His best time of the year was 17:43. That came at the region tourna ment. Other: Selected to the All-Houston County and All-Region teams and was named to the Warner Robins Wall of Fame. Coach’s corner: “Karl has a natural gift for run ning and the sky is the limit on his future,” said Erpelding. “He gives his all CLEATS f JACK AMP KATIE / ARE SOIMG TO COME ( GREAT! ) WATCH UE PLAY THE / L' \FLNKY y S HALFTIME. N \CK, HERE'E TWO BUCKE ' AHP TWO BOCKE FOR KATIE, THE COHCEEEIOH ETAUR .J« -.r i r Jl .Ml HMM in every race and runs to win. He has a great work ethic and leads by example. He was a big part of the boys winning the region championship this year.” Jeffrey Nakayama School: Warner Robins Year: Senior Position: Team’s No. 3 runner Impact: Had three top 10 finishes and five top 20 finishes. His best time of the year came at Westover and with a time of 17:52. Coach’s corner: “Jeffrey is a very dedicated run ner and gave you his all in practice and in the meets,” Erpelding said. “He had a great race at region and helped to seal the deal by passing four runners at the end. He will be sorely missed and has contributed to the success of the pro gram over the past four years.” Matthew Drapeau School: Warner Robins Year: Junior Position: Team’s No. 4 runner Impact: Finished four times in the top 20. He ran his best time of the year at Westover and with a time of 18:27. Coach’s corner: “Matthew has been on the cross country team for the past two years,” Erpelding said. “He has come along way in the sport and should have a great senior year. He helped the boys to their first region championship since 2002.” Trevor Whelan School: Warner Robins Year: Sophomore Position: Team’s No. 5 runner Impact: Had four top 20 finishes. His best time of the year came at region and with a time of 19:01. Coach’s corner: “Trevor has made a big impact on the team this year with some important finishes,” said Erpelding. “This is his first year on the Warner Robins cross country team and he has the ability to have a great junior year. He helped the Warner Robins cross country team win their first region champi onship since 2002.” Madison Holland School: Warner Robins Year: Senior Position: Team’s No. 6 runner Impact: Had two top 20 finishes. His best time of the year came at Westover and with a time of 18:35. Coach’s corner: “Madison came out for cross country his senior year and found out that he was pretty good at run ning,” Erpelding said. “The first race of the year he 1 (C) 2006jnlHmds. Pis! try Universal Press Syndicate" jl BJ 3 "N. ii-3o (OMOH, KATE.) z~~ —i J I ~ (c) 20(jg Bill Hlnda i, Oist by Universal Press Syndicate THE HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL showed so much determi nation in finishing a race in which in he was dehy drated. He gave his all in practice and in the meets. I wish that he would have come out sooner because he has a lot of natural talent. He will be sorely missed on the cross country team. He helped the boys win their first region championship since 2002.” Nicholas Felder School: Perry Impact: Finished with a time of 18:14 and was third at the Houston County championship. That finish, in turn, helped the Panthers finish first as a team. Devin Simpson School: Perry Impact: Finished with a time of 18:14 and was fourth at the Houston County championship. That finish, in turn, helped the Panthers finish first as a team. Jacob Parnell School: Westfield Year: Junior Position: Team’s No. 1 runner Impact: In addition to winning several races (GISA and others), he was the 2006 GISA Region 3- AAA champion. He achieved personal best times on more than one course during the season. “Jacob is a coach’s dream,” Bryan said. “He leads our team emotionally and spiri tually. His dedication to hard work and persever ance set a fine example for both our varsity and junior varsity teams.” Other: Name the Most Valuable Runner for the second-straight year. Coach’s corner: “Many of Westfield’s runners strive to emulate Jake,” Bryan said, “and push themselves to the very limits of their physical capabilities, mak ing my job as coach an easy one. “Jake adds so much to our team through his example. He is an invalu able resource for coaches and runners alike.” Hunter Wojohn School: Westfield Year: Junior Position: Team’s No. 2 runner Impact: Finished as the number five runner in GISA Region 3-AAA. “He finished strong in each race and never failed to expend every ounce of energy in his body,” Bryan said. “Hunter is the spirit of our team. He gives us our energy and enthusiasm. His work ethic is unmatched and he never fails to go above and beyond all expec tations.” 1 e-mail Cleatsmail@aol.com I A-6 1 www gocomics com e-mail Cleatsmail@aoi com s — 'n /Vys ( I'LL JUET \ TAKE THE 1 V MONEY. J