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./ o ■■ 9mk HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL GHSA sets new regions Perry still plays Peach but heads south for other contests By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer Perry High will maintain its neighboring rivalry with Peach County as a region game for the next two years, but both the Panthers and the Trojans will be looking south instead of north for the rest of its important league competition. The Georgia High School Association on Friday released > sr**.. k j \| ft P"W- j -vJB pp 9p - lip V ' m K 1 ill , .sHßtajjgr* _ iOHr ® - jwP . ENI/Gary Harmon Perry’s Chase Russell goes up for a shot in the team’s game against Houston County Tuesday at Houston County. Perry, HoCo split matchups By MATTHEW BROWN Journal Sports Writer Though Casey Hayward, Akeen Felder and Trey Smith were hoping to still be working out on the grass this week, they didn’t waste any time in starting the next chapter in their Perry High athletic careers. Panther boys basketball coach Brett Hardy had his full squad intact for the first time in the new hoops season Tuesday, and the result was a 62-50 win at Houston County High. Perry only had one regular season basketball game with football season still in play, and If not for Demons, it's 'sweeps' week From staff reports Northside’s girls took to the gym at home Tuesday against Westside with the lat est Georgia Athletic Coaches Association poll hitting the streets earlier. SCHEDULE High school wrestling Today ■ Warner Robins at Sequoyah tourney, time to be deter mined * ■ Northside at Baldwin tourney, time to be determined Monday ■ Monroe, Tiftarea and Sherwood Christian at Westfield, 7 p.m. Tuesday "ITs an opportunity for our program to play some quality opponents." - Perry Head Coach Andy Scott the 2008-2010 regions based on the new reclassification that was an overtime loss at Warner Robins High on Nov. 27. Michael Walker led the victorious Panthers with 13 points. Two others had double figures in points as Antonio Hubbard had 11 and Roderick Jones 10. Felder came off the bench to score nine while guard Kameron Felder added seven. Jody Dean, a winner in his first game as Houston County head boys coach at Jones County on Nov. 27, got 16 points from Geo Stotts and eight from Roger Stanton See SPLIT, page pB sUNDUP In it, the Lady Eagles are ranked sixth in AAAA. That may not be the case in the next poll as Northside’s girls ■ Dublin and Warner Robins at Northside (Tabor gym), 5 p.m. High school basketball Today ■ Americus at Perry, 6 p.m. ■ Houston County at Westside, 4 p.m. Tuesday ■ Perry at Northeast, 6 p.m. ■ FPD at Westfield, 4 p.m. ■ Northside at Houston County, 6 p.m. ■ Warner Robins at Peach County, 6 p.m. B* a s § vfmf^ .. . Q !■(. ..is ,-L. _ * us i«i m.. . numbers. Perry High and Peach County, both currently in Region 4-AAA, are moving to Region 1-AAA. Where now the Panthers are vying for region cham pionships against schools from Macon, Dublin and as far north as Henry County, the bulk of the 1-AAA schools are in and around Albany. Those schools include See REGIONS, page pB took on a bit of an upset in unranked Westside - always a tough game regardless. The Lady Eagles fell 50-46. The Lady Seminoles took the lead early - 15-10 after a quarter - and led at See DEMONS, page pJ 9 All-Houston County cross country Coach of the Year to David Erpelding, Warner Robins Runner of the Year - boys II Karl Burkhardt, Warner Robins Runner of the Year - girls II Danielle Atkins, Warner Robins First team - boys R Matthew Drapeau, Warner Robins R Jacob Grubb, Warner Robins ■ Ryan Dimes, Warner Robins to Jose Segarra, Houston County ■I Adrian Delestre, Northside ■ Michael Gonzales, Northside R Geremy Skeen, Perry R Matt Phillips, Perry II Hunter Wojohn, Westfield R Jacob Parnell, Westfield Second team - boys II Stephen Bassett, Warner Robins ■ Jesse Yeomans, Perry ■ Evan Grantham, Westfield II Will Walton, Westfield First team - girls II Caroline Mauldin, Warner Robins R Emily Bailey, Warner Robins ■ Brittney Hill, Warner Robins R Megan Breitbach, Houston County R Kiersten Wharton, Houston County to Elizabeth Lambert, Northside II Sami Jacobs, Northside If Bethany Loggins, Perry H Kim Campbell, Westfield If Leigh James, Westfield R Mallory Eubanks, Westfield Runner of the Year - boys Karl Burkhardt School: Warner Robins Year: Sophomore Position: Team’s number one runner Impact: Helped lead to the team to back-to-back Region 1- AAAAA championships and qual ify for the GHSA AAAAA state tournament. He also finished 10 times in the top 10 and won the county and region championship. His best time of the year came at Mercer with a time of 17:10. Other: A team captain, he broke four school records. He also made the All-County and All- Region teams and was named to the Warner Robins Wall of Fame for the second straight year. He was the Houston County Runner of the year and the Region Runner of the year. He also ran in the regional USATF Cross Country meet at Clinton Farms in Winston and qualified for - and will run - in the USATF national champion ships in Kansas Saturday. He ran a 16:51 and finished 12th. Coach’s Corner: “Karl had a great sophomore year and contin ues to improve,” said cross coun try Head Coach David Erpelding. “He works hard at running and runs to win but also wants the team to be successful.” First team - boys Matthew Drapeau School: Warner Robins Year: Senior Position: Team's number four runner Impact: Helped lead to the team to back-to-back Region 1- AAAAA championships and qual ify for the GHSA AAAAA state tournament. Also had four top 20 finishes this year. His best time of the year came at Upson-Lee with a time of 18:15.- Coach’s Corner: Matthew had a great senior season. He has been on the Warner Robins cross country team for three years and has improved every High school swimming Today ■ Warner Robins at Pace Academy, 10:15 a.m. ■ Houston County at Bainbridge, 9 a.m. IN BRIEF Perry wrestle club gets under way The Perry Youth Wrestling Club has begun and will practice Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. The cost is S4O which includes a club T-shirt, hoodie. Also, each wrestler will be required to purchase a USA wrestling SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2007 Compiled by DON MONCRIEF Journal Managing Editor year. He will be sorely missed.” Jacob Grubb School: Warner Robins Yean Sophomore Position: Team's number two runner Impact: Helped lead to the team to back-to-back Region 1-AAAAA championships and qualify for the GHSA AAAAA state tournament. Had six top 10 finishes. His best time of the year came at region with a time of 17:42. Other: He made the All- County and All-Region teams, and he also made the Warner Robins Wall of Fame. Coach’s Corner: "This was Jacob’s first year running and he had a great season. He has a good work ethic and has a great future in cross country.” Ryan Dimes School: Warner Robins Year: Sophomore Position: Team’s number three runner Impact: Helped lead to the team to back-to-back Region 1- AAAAA championships and qual ify for the GHSA AAAAA state tournament. Also had nine top 20 finishes this year. His best time of the year came at region with a time of 17:51. Other: He made All-Region team and the Warner Robins Wall of Fame. Coach’ Corner “Ryan had a great second year and con tinues to improve his times. He works hard at practice and goes the extra mile.” Joss Segarra School: Houston County Year: Sophomore Impact: Lead the team through tedious paths and over rough inclined hills of competi tion, said cross country Head Coach Pat Rouse. “He set the pace and tempo for our run ners. Jose ran with his heart that is large enough for the ‘strong beats' to influence his teammates to do the same.” Rouse added his pace increased as his times declined throughout the season. His top time of 18:05 was recorded from the Jones County meet. That was six seconds less than the time of 18:11 scored at the Lee County meet the week before. “His leadership ability soars above all as wings of the team," said Rouse. “These wings engulfed his teammates and were always covered with love, care, concern and encourage ment." Other: “Unanimously and respectfully” named Most Valuable Runner by his team mates, said Rouse. He is a “faith ful” member of Fellow Christian Athletes organization at Houston County High School. “His dedi cation to the youth program of Sacred Heart is truly reflected in his daily walk,” Rouse said. As a fifth year member of the Boy Scouts, he should earn the award of an Eagle Scout (highest rank) in 2008, she added. Coach’s Corner: “Jose is truly a family oriented young man. He embraces those around him, and reaches out to those that are distant. My concept for team success is ‘A family unit' and Jose has been that connect ing link between the boys and girls teams. “Our motto is ‘Run with your Heart'. Jose is a young man that has a heart of gold enhanced by respect, loyalty, and dedica tion. With coaching experience in fields of basketball, track and cross country, I feel that God's blessings are upon him." —™ —— r/u‘ (/on // a/u/ (/// / I - ----- card on-line prior to the first practice. The USA Wrestling Card is $35. Cards can be purchased at Team Georgia Wrestling (www.themat.com). All students ages 5-14 are eligible. For further information, call Coach Randy Moss at 988-6291. Soccer referee course offered There will be a soccer entry level referee course held Jan. 18-19, 2008 at Tabor Academy in Warner Robins. The cost for the course is $55. You can register on-line at www.gareferees.com or contact Russ Grant at russ. grant@cox.net or 478-396-0727 for more information. Adrian Delestre School: Northside Year: Senior Position: Team's number one runner Impact: An exchange stu dent from France, cross country Head Coach Glenda Byrd said he brought leadership, dedication and determination to the pro gram. “He led the team by giving more than 100 percent at prac tice and at the meets,” she said. “He was determined to place in the top 10 at every meet if he could. His demonstration of hard work inspired the team to work hard and never give up.” He placed fifth in the Region 4- AAAA tournament. His best time was 17:55. Other: He was name to the All-Region team. Coach’s Corner: “I have never coached anyone like Adrian. He brought Heart to the program. If he was hurt or sick he would still give his best. He would say ‘Coach, I must finish.’ I wish that all my runners had the heart for the sport like Adrian.” Michael Gonzales School: Northside Year: Senior Position: Team’s number two runner Impact: In his first year, “he came in with a desire to win,” Byrd said. “He demonstrated leader ship throughout the season. He was like the coach when I wasn’t there.” For example, she said, “at the meets, he would make sure that the boys stretched and warmed up because I was busy coaching the girls to the finish. His leadership and hard work inspired the team to work hard and never give up.” His best time was 18:27 and he medaled at two invitational events. Coach’s Corner: "It was a blessing to coach Michael for his first time running cross country. I only wish that he ran four years instead of one. I enjoyed coach ing him because he wanted to win.” Geremy Skeen School: Perry Year: Senior: Impact: Helped the team qualify for the AAA state tour nament. (He is) a “very seri ous and dedicated runner,” said cross country Head Coach Bretty Hardy. “His consistency gave younger, inexperienced runners a person to model themselves after. Our team lost three good runners to graduation. Geremy’s strength and will to succeed helped us develop younger run ners that were able to compete well against tough competition." Other: Was a four-year com petitor and team captain. Coach’s Corner: “As a first year coach, I had much to learn about the sport. Geremy was extremely helpful. His input allowed me to design and cre ate workouts beneficial to the team. I knew if he was ready to go, everyone else would be as well. He has a bright future ahead of him in whatever field he chooses.” Matt Phillips School: Perry Year: Junior Impact: Helped the team qualify for the AAA state tour nament. (He) "always,” finished second or third, Hardy said, say ing Phillips’ goal for next season was under 18:00, and adding he worked too hard not to get there. “I could always count on him to run a consistent time and pull his points. He gave those behind him a pace to shoot at while push ing those ahead to ruh faster. His time continued to go down throughout the season." Coach’s Corner: “Matt is See TEAM, page iB 1B