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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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ENI/Gary Harmon
The girls start their portion of the county championship Tuesday at Pearl Stephens Elementary School in Warner
Robins. No. 476 for Houston County is Megan Breitbach who finished first for the girls.
Warner Rollins sweeps county titles
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
One winner was in no shape to be
running three-plus miles just days
before. The other winner didn’t feel
like much of a winner, mainly because
he was trying to beat histoiy as well as
■the field: — • —**
Warner Robins High School won
both the girls and boys team titles in
the 2007 county cross country cham
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ENI/Gary Harmon
Warner Robins ’ Karl Burkhardt leads the boys as he races through the woods
on his second lap .
Local fencers host, fare well at tourney
Special to the Journal
Forty-two fencers from
across Georgia and Northern
Florida converged on Warner
Robins recently to compete
in the 12th annual Bent
Blade Tournament.
The event was hosted by
the Warner Robins Fencing
Society with, according to
a release, society members
making a good showing in
all the events.
In the Mixed Foil event,
Raluca Ursu, a Romanian
student attending Wesleyan
pionships held Tuesday under cloudy
skies at Pearl Stephens Elementary
School. The boys meet, for the first
time ever, came down to a tiebreaker
as Warner Robins and Perry High both
had a team total of 39 points based on
their first five finishers.
In that case, said Demons coach David
Erpeiding, the-tiebreaker was -which
school’s sixth place finisher reached
the finish line first. That honor went
to Warner Robins, and thus settled
College and member of
WRFS, captured the sil
ver medal after falling to
Chevy Morris from Georgia
Southern University 15-10 in
the gold medal match. Jared
Rimmer (13), a member of
WRFS, captured the bronze.
Rimmer’s third-place finish,
according to the release, was
a “stunning upset” as this
was his first tournament.
WRFS’s Mark Killian won
the bronze in the Mixed Epee
event. In the Youth (under
12) foil event, sibling rivalry
was the game in the semi-
finals. Sachin Khurana (8)
took the bronze medal when
he lost to his older brother
Sarin in a close bout that
went into overtime. Sarin
went on to the final round to
compete for the gold.
Ten-year-old Nate Hellier
won the gold medal in the
event after a hard fought
see-saw battle with Sarin.
According to the release,
this was a good season start
for Hellier, who last year
never finished less than
third in any competition and
earned the right to and did
the closest finish in the race’s 14-year
history. Erpelding said Perry High ran
a great race and overall it was a great
meet for the county’s runners.
The Warner Robins girls didn’t have
to sweat out any tiebreaker as they
won the team championship with 30
points. Individual championship hon
ors went to Houston County High’s
Megan Breitbach, a sophomore who
came in at 20:04.
Breitbach’s weekend before the
county meet wasn’t about training,
however, but about getting over a case
of strep throat. Even when she lined
up at the starting point Tuesday, she
was still feeling the effects of this infec
tion.
“I wanted to take it easy,” said
Breitbach. “I usually run 10 to 12
miles on Saturdays. After my long run,
I felt sick. So I went to the doctor. I was
on antibiotics and a steroid because
my throat was so swollen up. Usually I
take the day off on Sunday, so I rested,
and I was better (Tuesday).”
Breitbach has become a consis
tent winner for Houston County this
season, including taking the Warner
Robins Invitational held in September
also at Pearl Stephens.
“It’s a tough course,” she said. “It’s
my favorite course. I’m always really
tired after it. This is probably the hilli
est course we run.”
For the first lap of the girls race,
Breitbach was running neck-and-neck
with Warner Robins’ Caroline Mauldin,
who wound up placing second overall.
“I had a strategy to let her pace
me for the first two miles and
then take over on the third mile
so I wouldn’t exhaust myself since
I had been sick,” said Breitbach.
Karl Burkhardt, a Warner Robins
sophomore, cruised into first place in
the boys race at 18:13 with Perry’s Matt
Phillips coming in second at 18:29.
Burkhardt, winning for the first time
this season, said afterwards that his
biggest feeling was disappointment
at not being able to challenge and
See SWEEPS,page iB
compete at the U.S. National
Fencing Championships.
Per the release: “He hopes
to do that again this year.
Nate has stiff competition
not just from other youth
across the state but from his
fellow youth team members
as well.” Sarin Khurana (9)
took the silver. Other WRFS
fencers placed well in the
event.
WRFS will be hosting
another event Nov. 10. This
event will feature members
of WRFS’s 2006-2007
See TOURNEY, page 3B
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2007 ♦
Lady Hornets aim
for second straight
By MATTHEW BROWN
Journal Sports Writer
This year, everyone gath
ering at Shuford Park in
LaGrange Saturday won’t
have to wait long to see
which of the two 2006 state
finalists - Westfield or First
Presbyterian - will have to
battle through the losers
bracket if it wants to claim
the 2007 GISA AAA soft
ball championship.
The Westfield Hornets
took it all in 2006 by win
ning back-to-back games
against First Presbyterian
when it came down to those
two schools in Dublin.
When the new season began
in August, the Vikings took
out a lot of those frustra
tions by winning all four
meetings with the Hornets
(two in Macon’s Freedom
Park Tournament and two
in a home at-home series).
“We didn’t do very well
against them at the begin
ning of the season,” said
senior outfielder Sydney
Smith. “But we’re going
out there to win and do
our best no matter what it
takes.
“We worked really hard
and are excited about going
to state. I know we can do
good, but it’s hard being
defending state champions.
Everybody’s trying to beat
us.”
One year later, Westfield
is going back to the-final
four after a two-game sweep
of North Cobb Christian in
Dublin last weekend. The
opening draw in LaGrange
pits Westfield with FPD,
which knocked out John
Milledge in a similar
sweep.
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Journal/Matthew Brown
Lady Hornets Kelsey Gilliam prepares for her at bat in
the team’s wins over North Cobb this past Saturday in
Dublin. Westfield will go after back-to-back state titles
today in LaGrange.
Kathleen resident posts 'Power
to the Wheels' top 10 qualifier
Special to the Journal
Brian Anderson of
Kathleen has placed in the
Top 10 of the DynoMax
“ Power to the Wheels ” Dyno
Tour Top Ten Qualifiers.
He will now compete
for part of the $40,000
prize purse at the world
renowned 2007 Specialty
Equipment Manufacturer’s
Association Show to be held
“You have to face them,”
said head coach Rodney
Culverhouse. “Just like
they have to face us. If you
win that game, you’ve put
one of the stronger teams
in the losers’ bracket. That
could play to your advan
tage, playing the team you
beat for state last year
right off the bat. It could be
a huge confidence boost.”
Then there’s the other
side of the final four
bracket with two teams
Westfield enjoyed much
success against. It’s George
Walton, whom the Hornets
beat twice, and Stratford,
whom the Hornets beat
three times. Stratford was
the only team in the first
round that had to play
three games, the Eagles
losing Game 1 to Pinewood
Christian but then winning
the next two by a combined
score of 21-0.
“We were a lot healthier
when we played (George
Walton),” said Culverhouse.
“We played (Stratford)
throughout the season,
almost right off the bat
and then in one of the last
games. They are both very
good opponents who can
beat you at any time.”
When Westfield went
to the finals last year, the
favorites had to be John
Milledge with its long string
of championships and FPD.
With the exception of that
last deciding game with
the Vikings, every win the
Hornets had was a come
from-behind effort.
“We’re relaxed,” said
Culverhouse about the
atmosphere with the team
this time around.
See AIM, page jB
Oct. 31 in Las Vegas.
The Power to the Wheels
Dyno Tour, according to a
release, is a competition
that allows car enthusiasts
to compete on a dyno that
measures their vehicle’s
horsepower and torque.
The tour visited more
than 10 events in cities
across the U.S.
See QUALIFIER, page 3B
1B