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Friday,
April 26,2013
Tribune & Qeorgian
Sports
Tearing up the track
Young Camden track athletes shine at district
meet, qualify for state.
see 3B
B Section
Lady ’Cats win state opener
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
First-round state playoff action
in metro Atlanta on Tuesday meant
a split for the Camden County
High tennis Wildcats.
Buoyed by a clinching win from
Katie Hart at No. 3 singles, the
CCHS girls toughed out a 3-2 ver
dict at Hillgrove to advance to the
next round, where Region 3 cham
pion Westlake awaits. The story,
unfortunately, was somewhat dif
ferent for the boys, who lost 5-0 at
North Cobb.
Against a team that made the
Elite Eight last season, the Cam
den girls (14-5) also got straight-
set victories in singles from Lexa
Loden and in doubles from Sarah
Sailors and Amanda Landry.
Katie Hart’s straight-set win Tuesday at No. 3 singles was the decider against
See STATE, page 3B Hillgrove.
Tribune & Georgian file photo
Lady ’Cats second, sectionals next
Submitted photo
The 245 score turned in by Camden golfers Shelby Banta, Mallory Wilson,
Ashley Eason and Hailey Bower was good for second Monday.
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
With their lowest 18-hole score of
the season, the Camden County
High girls golfers placed second
Monday at the Region 1-AAAAAA
tournament in Valdosta and ad
vanced to sectional play.
Behind a 77 from Mallory Wilson,
a career-best 81 from Shelby Banta
and an 87 from Ashley Eason,
CCHS carded a 245 aggregate at
Valdosta Country Club and was run
ner-up behind champion Colquitt
(230). Hailey Bower also shined, fir
ing a career-low 89 for the Lady
’Cats.
Wilson was second in the race for
low medalist behind Colquitt’s
Marin Hanna (74), and chipped in
for birdie from off the 13 th green.
While coach Brent Blount was
pleased with the score, his players,
he said, struggled occasionally with
putting. “We need to work on that as
usual if we plan to make it to the
state tournament,” he said.
A real bright spot on the day, ac
cording to Blount, were the rounds
turned in by Banta and Bower.
“Both girls really played well and
we will need them to continue to do
well to give us a good shot at state,”
he said.
The Lady Wildcats will now head
to Roswell Country Club on May 6
for the sectionals, a state qualifier for
schools that didn’t win their region
tournaments.
See PAR page 3B
Tribune & Georgian file photo
Kyle Moore was one of three Camden golfers to break 80
Monday at the region tournament, firing a 79.
CCHS golfers get
fourth in region
’Cats move to sectionals
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
The Camden County
High boys had three golfers
shoot in the 70s and ensured
safe passage to sectionals
with a fourth-place finish
Monday at the Region 1-
AAAAAA tournament in
Valdosta.
At Valdosta Country Club,
Mitch Lomis posted the
Wildcats’ best score, a 75,
while Bradley Carter (76)
and Kyle Moore (79) weren’t
far behind in an overall 315
that was 10 strokes behind
champion Colquitt. Also for
Camden, Hunter Prescott
registered an 85, Hunter
Carter an 88, and Erick
Huppmann a 93.
“I thought we played
pretty well,” Camden coach
Sonny Stewart said. “We
weren’t that far away from
winning the whole thing.”
Between the Packers and
’Cats on a bunched leader-
board were runner-up
Lowndes (308) and Coffee
(309). Camden was one shot
better than Tift (316), while
Valdosta (335) and
Brunswick (345) also looked
up at the Wildcats.
Scores for the Colquitt
linksters consistently ranged
from 75 to 79, with Eli
Stripling at 75, Bowen
Aguero and Braden Taylor
both at 76, McKenzie
Blanchett at 78 and Tyler
DeMott and Tyler Key both
at 79.
Tripp Talley was second in
the medalist standings with
a 72 for Lowndes, which got
a 76 from Bryant Thagard
and 80s from Cole Young
and Clay Peters. Low
medalist Mason Harper’s 71
paced Coffee, and Tyler
Benton (77), Jason Vickers
(79) and Austin DeLoach
(82) also factored in the Tro
jan total.
Valdosta’s Luukas
Alakulppi qualified for state
with a 74, his score the low
est among players from
schools that didn’t reach ei
ther sectionals or state. The
best individual mark for Tift
was Jake Flynt’s 76, and the
lowest for Brunswick was
Grayson Rubel’s 81.
Camden will next travel to
metro Atlanta for the sec
tional tournament, slated for
May 6 at hilly Brookfield
Country Club in Roswell.
Wildcats’ Thompson to get his shot with Brewton-Parker
Outfielder
signs with
Barons
Andy Diffenderfer
sports@tribune-georgian.com
Many a Wildcat uprising
this season has had Ryan
Thompson in the middle of
it, and the senior outfielder
hopes more good things are
in store at Brewton-Parker.
Just four days after bring
ing home the winning run in
a stirring walk-off conquest of
region champion Lowndes,
Thompson signed to con
tinue his diamond pursuits at
the Mount Vernon college.
The process came to
gether quickly for the senior,
who feels very comfortable
with a Brewton-Parker pro
gram that appears to be
gaining steam.
He's just been a model
of consistency. He's
gotten some big knocks
for us, and finds a way
to get something going.
— Jay Lasley
CCHS baseball coach
“He’s just been a model of
consistency,” CCHS head
coach Jay Lasley said. “He’s
gotten some big knocks for
us, and finds a way to get
something going.”
As of Tuesday, Thompson
sported a .302 batting average
with seven runs scored, five
runs batted in, two doubles
and five steals for a team
headed for the Class
AAAAAA playoffs. Thomp
son, who has won the Wild
cats’ Program-Team-Me and
Man of Steel weight room
awards during his four years
at Camden, also tops the
team in sacrifices.
“Eve just been real com
fortable with everything Eve
been doing all year,” he said,
the rise in competition a big
plus in the improvement
process, and the biggest up
grades, he believes, his arm
and hitting.
Lasley said Thompson “got
his opportunity and took ad
vantage of it,” playing a su
perb right field and “leading
by actions.”
Growing up in Camden,
Thompson said he has always
wanted to play in college, and
will get his chance — likely in
the outfield — with a rising
Barons outfit steered by head
coach Greg “Boo” Mullins.
That the school is smaller and
somewhat close to home are
big pluses for him, too.
“Ryan is a very good suc
cess story as far as hard
work,” Lasley said. “He has
worked extremely hard and
has been very coachable.”
Andy Diffenderfer | Tribune & Georgian
Camden County High baseball player Ryan Thompson (front, center) signed Tuesday with
Brewton-Parker. Also seated are his parents, Debbie and Bryan Thompson, and standing is
CCHS head baseball coach Jay Lasley.
Crawfish Festival opens with 5K race Saturday
The 28th annual Woodbine
Crawfish Festival will kick off with a
5K race through downtown Woodbine
on Saturday, April 27. The entry fee is
$25. Runners and walkers wishing to
participate may pick up a race regis
tration form at Woodbine Family Care
Center, download a race registration
form atwww.woodbinecrawfish.com,
or register on the morning of the race.
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