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jjp Jgfc I. Sfr J jH§l / J lt | S| : w| >*v ]L HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL E> RH* ’ T' T^'^VHVNI •I w ■ P _ LAB PH Jlni %«, 'sjfclfi vrj ■! , &i''T& IV 4 SR ■* ”*«K.• Vbb , Jfttt m»- *- B^f■ wnL \%g »fl» * jjf IB - ww • v - a * Vwi WwwSSS - §Bhg& .- * f . v **-'Hlp aß...** -y&f :—i—*—-—— - 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 Wsimmfflk ■ " m . V 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. fig W jails v- >: |SgO{jH:\; npr- . mg ■ |H| 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