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SPORTS
DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
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Track team puts strong foot forward
Tigers place in several events at first meet
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Head coach Arron Haynes
and the Dawson County track
and field team got off to a fresh
start at their first meet of the
season at White County on
Thursday, Feb. 24.
Coming off a pandemic-
affected season of tumult and
sacrifice last year, Haynes wit
nessed his team put together an
outing filled with a plethora of
encouraging finishes.
“I felt (that) for us to be as
young as we are, that we had a
great effort given tonight by all
the runners,” Haynes said. “The
kids came out and gave their
hardest...to challenge people
the way they did was just out
standing.”
Much of the youth is on the
girls side, where only nine of
the 26 members of the team are
upperclassmen. Despite that
youth, some of the best finishes
of the night came from the
young players.
Sophomore Anna LeCave
and eighth grader Addison
Smith finished first and second
in the 800-meter event, with
just one second separating the
two at the finish line. Smith
would win at the 1600-meter.
Freshman Eva Bishop fin
ished first in the shot put and
narrowly finished second in the
long jump to teammate Jocelyn
Thompson, a senior who
jumped half an inch longer than
Bishop.
Sophomore Katie Gloeckner
finished first in the 400-meter.
While plenty of potential was
shown by the underclassmen,
the older players also had their
share of solid finishes.
Juniors Emily and Lauren
Kurtz finished first and second
See Track 13B
Rio White Dawson County News
Senior Ethan Smith leads the pack during one of his distance
events. Smith won a total of three events atThursday's meet.
Season ends for Lady Tigers
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
Tigers baseball
team wins twice
at LakePoint
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
A complete-game pitching performance by Trey
Harvey and a three-RBI effort by Julian Horner
highlighted a weekend tournament for the Dawson
County High School baseball team, who won two of
three games at the LakePoint Sports Complex in
Emerson.
Harvey took the mound for the first game of the
tournament on Friday, Feb. 25, as the Tigers took on
Oglethorpe County and won 2-1.
“We needed a big win...I’m proud of [Harvey]
and he ate some innings [for us],” said head coach
Dwayne Sapp. “We’re just trying to get better each
time out.”
A recurring theme for Harvey in this outing was
his ability to close out innings with men on base,
which he first showcased in the opening frame.
The first two batters he faced drove line-drive
doubles through the outfield gaps, putting
See Baseball 13B
Coach Eric Herrick gives directions to his players during a timeout in Tuesday
night's game. Herrick will seek to build an even stronger squad next season.
With the halftime score young basketball team to improve over the off
season and lay claim to an
important role on next
year’s team.
Senior Ella Siuta communicates directions to teammates during the game against Westminster. A
strong leader, Siuta played her final game for the LadyTigersTuesday night.
Team loses to Westminster, 52-31, in playoff game
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
A first-round loss in the
AAA State Playoffs
ended an otherwise suc
cessful season for the
Dawson County girls bas
ketball team, who lost to
Region 5 champions
Westminster 52-31 on
Tuesday, Feb. 22.
The offensive struggles
from the Lady Tigers’
previous two losses in the
region tournament carried
over to Tuesday’s playoff
game.
Early on, Westminster
struggled to get points on
the board and committed
several turnovers that
Dawson County was not
able to convert into points
for themselves.
The shooting prowess
that the Lady Tigers had
shown many times over
the course of the season
— such as the overtime
win over East Forsyth and
the region tournament win
over North Hall — could
not be found against the
Wildcats.
“We gotta make shots,”
head coach Eric Herrick
said. “We were only down
10 at halftime, held
[Westminster] to 18
points and we did every
thing we wanted to do
defensively.”
On the other end of the
court, Dawson County
played well defensively
against a Westminster
offense that had just come
off an upset region cham
pionship win over Greater
Atlanta Christian.
Led by senior Ella
Siuta, the visiting defense
held their own and kept
the opponent from build
ing a comfortable lead
until well into the second
half.
at just 18-8, scoring
opportunities would again
present themselves to
Dawson County, but the
Wildcats would find their
shooting touch in the third
quarter to take a com
manding lead.
By the time junior
Kirklyn Porter found her
shooting touch,
Westminster had doubled
their scoring total in the
third quarter alone and led
36-23 heading into the
final quarter.
With momentum in
hand, the Wildcats would
run away with the game
to advance in the state
playoffs.
While Porter led the
way with 13 points, the
most spirited performance
came from Siuta in her
final outing for the Lady
Tigers. Her defensive
poise and leadership on
the court helped her team
stay in contention for
most of the game.
“Ella had grown a lot as
a player over the last two
years,” Herrick said. “She
has become a true lead
er... and she has done a
great job guiding this
this year.”
While the first-round
exit may sting for the
moment, the Lady Tigers
have plenty of reason to
look forward to next sea
son’s potential.
Replacing a leader and
defensive force in Siuta
will be no small task, but
she was also the only
senior in this season’s
squad.
With a team that will be
a year older and more
experienced, the Lady
Tigers have the pieces to
improve on the past sea
son’s record. Specifically,
the team has strength in
its length, with players
such as Morgan Chester,
Heather Burt and Eva
Bishop set to have impor
tant roles inside.
Porter’s shooting ability
is well known, but anoth
er player whose offensive
skills will be needed is
Abby Slaton, who is both
a strong shooter from dis
tance and someone who is
eager to drive inside and
create space.
All told, each member
of this season’s 17-win
team will have a chance
Golf teams host
inaugural Tiger
Invitational
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County boys and girls golf teams
hosted the inaugural Tiger Invitational at Chestatee
Golf Club on Monday, Feb. 21.
More than three months in the making, the Tiger
Invitational was a collaborative effort between the
coaches, Chestatee Golf Club, sponsors and parents
to help raise funds for the golf teams.
In total, 96 players participated at the event, 50
sponsors were represented and thousands of dollars
were donated in raffle items and prizes.
Activities included team, longest drive and clos-
est-to-the pin competitions.
“There were so many people that helped make
this possible. The support we received from spon
sors was genuinely remarkable,” boys team head
See Golf 13B
Player Of
The Week!
Ella Siuta
Ella played her final game
for the Lady Tigers last
Tuesday and helped them
reach the State Playoffs.
Sponsored by:
706-216-0992
We’ve Gone Green!
“We will be here when you need us. ”
M-F: 8:00 - 5:00
130 Industrial Park Rd, Dawsonville
Dawsonville’s Premier Collision Center
