thesylvaniatimes.com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, March 13, 2024 - Page 3
TENNIS DOMINATES BURKE COUNTY, READY TO BEGIN REGION PLAY
After seeing their opening region tennis match in Claxton
rained out on March 5, the SCHS tennis teams of Kyle
Reynolds were scheduled to host Metter in their first 3-A D1
match yesterday. After a trip to nonregion Johnson County this
afternoon the Red and White will go to Claxton on Friday for
a makeup and then host Bryan County on March 19 to finish
their three game region schedule. The region tournaments are
March 26 in Claxton for the girls and March 27 at SCHS for
the boys. Both SCHS teams have claimed three consecutive
region titles.
In their only action last week both teams evened their
records at 5-5 with absolutely dominating 5-0 wins over AAA
Burke County in Waynesboro. For the Lady Gamecocks the
wins came from Lyla Johnson (6-1, 6-0), Caroline Boswell (6-
0, 6-0), Emma Rose Griner (6-1, 6-0), Kerrigan Bogart/Ryland
Reynolds (6-1,6-0), and Garyn Howard/Jayla Lovett (6-0,6-2).
For the Gamecocks the wins came from JD Hall (6-1, 6-0),
Noah Boykin ( 6-0, 6-0), Josh Patel (6-0, 6-0), Tucker Thomas/
Whit Morgan (6-1, 6-0), and Bo Doss/ Michael Weaver (6-0,
6-0). The combined scores in games saw the Lady Gamecocks
win 60 of 64 and the Gamecocks win 60 of 62.
Above: Senior one-singles Lyla Johnson (photo by
Dana Doss)
Above Left: Senior Jayla Lovett has been playing one
and two doubles all season (photo by Dana Doss)
Left: Senior Bo Doss
reaches for a high return
(photo by Dana Doss)
Above: Junior Josh Patel has played #3 and #2 singles
and #1 doubles this season (photo by Dana Doss)
Below: Freshman Ryland Reynolds works at the net in
doubles play (photo by Dana Doss)
TRACK SEASON OPENS TOMORROW
IN METTER, FINALLY
Seeking to better their disappointing finishes from
2023, the 2024 SCHS Gamecocks of Roy Cooper
and Lady Gamecocks of Chelesa Warren begin their
quest to achieve that goal tomorrow at Metter High
School. A season ago the boys were fourth and the
girls sixth from among the six schools participating
in the Region 3-A D1 track meet at Bryan County
High School. Cooper’s troops, especially, are geared
to move up in the region standings with a roster that
currently lists 24 members including seven seniors.
The Lady Gamecocks, with but nine members, will
be hard pressed to do so.
As with a season ago the sport is led by junior
Lady Gamecock Olivia Jackson who is the two-time
defending Region Champion in the 100 and 200. The
Gamecocks top returners are seniors TaCorey Grant
(2nd long jump) and Jayden Adams (3200 champion
in 2022). Other returning boys who picked up points
a year ago are Grant, also in the 100, AJ Beths in the
200, Adams in the triple jump, and various members
of the 4x100, 4x200,4x400, and 4x800 relays. Those
include Grant, Beths, Deon Dixon, Dalton Kay,
Josiah Williams, Jordan Gresham, David McFarland,
and Jamal Scott. For the Lady Gamecocks returning
point makers are Kaziah Kirkland in the high jump
and Gabby Jackson in the shot.
Members of the Gamecock track team include
seniors Adams (3200), Grant (100, long jump,
4x100), Gresham (400, 4x400), Jeremiah Hill (100,
long jump, 4x100), Ian Hill (800, 4x800), Eugene
Jackson (300 hurdles, 4x400,4x800), and McFarland
(300 hurdles, discus, 4x800). Juniors are Beths (200,
4x100), Braylan Brown (300 hurdles, 1600), and Kay
(4x200). Sophomores are Dixon (long jump, 4x200),
Henry Hynes (1600, 4x800), Reshard Oliver (long
jump, 4x200), Robert Adams (shot, discus), Scott
(400, discus, long jump, 4x400), Antwan Stewart
(shot, triple jump), and Wiliams (400, 200, 4x100,
4x200). Freshmen are Jerimiah Anderson (100, 110
hurdles, 4x100), Dallas Bryant (triple jump), Amairi
Bullocks (400), Braylan Daniels (shot, discus),
Abraham Hilton (100, 4x100), Isaiah Robinson
(1600, 200), and Luke Sowell (400, 1600, 4x400).
Members of the Lady Gamecock track team include
seniors Jackson (shot) and Scott (400), juniors
Jackson (100, 200, and short relay), Brianna Roberts
(100, 100 hurdles, and short relay), and Tamia Pierce
(shot and discus), sophomores Kirkland (long jump
and triple jump), and Jasiya Webb (200 and short
relay), and freshmen Jaydn Stevens (1600), and
Jaliah Roberts (100, short relay, shot, and discus).
Junior Olivia Jackson
comes into 2024
as the two-time
defending region
champion in the 100
and 200 (photo by
Nikki McFarland)
J'
2024
GAMECOCK TRACK SCHEDULE
Date
Location
Time
March 14
Metter
3:30
March 21
Claxton
3:30
March 28
Claxton
3:30
April 11
Screven
3:45
April 18
Metter
3:30
April 22-23
Bryan County (Region Meet)
9:00 am
May 4th
East Laurens (Sectionals)
TBD
May 9-11
Rome (Finals)
TBD
AROUNJM
THE HWm
Is it possible that there is not a lot of play left in
Region 3-A Dl? Well, when there are but four teams
in a region (five in soccer), there is not much time
between the start and the finish. Baseball started its
region schedule yesterday with a doubleheader against
three-time defending region champion Metter. They
will play a single game on Friday. The same pattern
will exist for the next two weeks (with Bryan County
and Claxton) and then, by either March 28 or 29,
region play for everyone is done. State playoffs do not
start until April 22. Tennis plays its region schedule
(just one match with each team) this week and next
week. By March 19 regular season region play is
done. The region tournaments are March 26 and 27.
The first round of state must be completed by April
18. Finally the last region soccer match for everyone
is March 26. State play begins April 16. The point,
within the next two weeks region play for everyone is
done with at least two weeks before state play. There
will be more nonregion play for everyone. Oh yeah,
track starts tomorrow, their region meet is April 22-23.
Soccer season at this point, the halfway point of
the region schedule, has been a roller coaster ride.
Unfortunately the upturns have been nonregion
matches while the downturn parts have been region
play. The difference you ask? In our four nonregion
games the entire roster has been healthy while the
REGION PLAY ALREADY
NEARING THE END,
A ROLLER COASTER
SEASON, AND SPORT
NICKNAMES
opposite has been true for region games. When you
have a roster of 15 and 11 are on the field at once, it
does make a difference. On this ride there have been
a couple of significant wins and a very significant
loss. I wrote in detail about one of the early wins (first
ever win over SCPS) already. In a way this season has
been, as Charles Dickens put it, the best of times and
the worst of times.
Last week the roller coaster was never more evident.
Tuesday was a low point and Thursday was a high
point. Tuesday there was a region match with Metter.
Coming in we were 15-0 against the Lady Tigers
having allowed them but three goals in all of those
matches combined. Two of those goals were in 2007,
the first year we ever played them. That all went out
the window in a 4-1 loss. We get them again on March
26 on the field turf in Metter. We have always played
them significantly better over there. Thursday there
was a high point in a nonregion match with AAAA
SEB. We were 5-18 against them all time with eight
losses in a row (the last win came on March 22, 2011).
In those eight losses we scored three total goals. I think
that last season’s 3-0 loss, at a time when we were 8-0,
somehow derailed the season. Yes, we went on to win
the region, including a 2-1 shootout win over Metter,
but things were never the same after that. We scored
three goals Thursday night in our 3-2 win. By the way,
Burton Kemp
Unless otherwise noted all
articles in Sports are written
by Burton Kemp, Sports Editor
our first ever soccer win was over SEB 5-1 on March
6. To name some names the goals were by Courtney
Hixson 92), Bridget Mixson, Zenovia Kirkland, and
Deidra Taylor.
Something to think about - sometimes headlines
from one sport to another run together and may
become confusing. In the spring when you read Lady
Gamecocks in the headline, does it mean tennis or
soccer? When you read Gamecocks, does it mean
tennis or baseball? With track starting there is another
team with each nickname. So there are other terms to
use in a headline, other than just the name of the sport,
to distinguish the sport about which you are going
to read. Tennis players are netters, track participants
are thinclads (also cross country), you can throw in
diamond somehow with baseball. Of course there is
cagers for basketball, grapplers for wrestling, gridders
for football, etc. This came up because I was looking
for a term for soccer players to use in a headline. The
only one I could find does not fit in the US. In the rest
of the world they are called footballers. Oh well. By
the way did you know that swimmers are tankers and
volley ball players are spikers? Cross country runners
are also called harriers. I am sure that there are more.
