SPORTS
DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
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Elliott finishes 6th in Atlanta
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
The NASCAR Cup Series
held its fifth race of the season
on Sunday, March 20 at the
Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500,
hosted by the newly revamped
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Chase Elliott found himself
having a similar type of day as
many of the other drivers, with
significant swings in position
as the race went along.
“It was crazy, for sure.
Hopefully it was fun to watch
because I felt like it was wild
from my seat,” Elliott said to
Sports Illustrated after the race.
“It was very much so like a
Daytona or Talladega. Just try
ing to position yourself there at
the right spot and hope it goes
your way.”
With the track’s steeper
banks and narrower width since
its recent reconfiguration,
Sunday’s race presented 46
lead changes among 20 drivers.
Elliott remained relatively
quiet in the opening 140 laps or
so, keeping his distance from a
slew of early wrecks that large
ly affected the front 10 cars.
Gradually, he worked his way
into the top 10 and established
himself in the top five around
lap 200, when then-race leader
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. faced a
wreck.
The race would see multiple
leaders crash out and multiple
wrecks occur immediately fol
lowing the end of a previous
caution.
This would not deter Elliott,
whose consistency and patience
would pay off after a post-cau
tion wreck at lap 210.
After taking a pit stop at that
point, Elliott started up in ninth
position at lap 220 and quickly
moved up the board.
Just 10 laps later, Elliott took
the lead and remained there
until a debris-related caution at
lap 254.
The race would only become
more hectic from there, as a
wild final 50 laps resulted in
more cautions and prevented
See NASCAR 13B
Chase Elliott and MartinTruex Jr. battle for first position dur
ing Sunday's race.
Farewell, Freddie
Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Symphonic band
scores all superior
ratings at LGPE
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County High School Symphonic
Band received all superior ratings following their
GMEA District 9 Large Group Performance
Evaluation concert on Wednesday, March 16.
Under the direction of Nicholas Gattis, the band
performed three pieces that are considered level 5
— the second-most difficult level of music available
to high school ensembles at LGPE.
The band opened the night with the march
“Queen City”, which presented an opportunity for
the band to display its discipline with tone and bal
ance.
“The march was performed with great technical
accuracy and style,” Gattis said. “The element of
balance was achieved by carefully listening for the
moving parts.”
During the march, each section actively adjusted
their volume to match one another so that no part
was either too conspicuous or covered up. This
See Band 13B
Golf teams improve
at midweek round
at Chestatee
Freddie Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for over 11 seasons, becoming an important part of the
team's rebuild and eventual World Series success.
A look at Freemans career as he says goodbye to the Braves
By: Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Nearly 15 years ago,
the Atlanta Braves select
ed a 17-year old slugger
from Orange County,
California in the second
round of the 2007 MLB
draft. Just three years
later, Frederick Charles
Freeman would make his
major league debut and
begin a memorable career
with the Braves.
Since then, the tower
ing first baseman has
become a fan favorite
known for his leadership,
good sportsmanship and
philanthropy.
After Freeman elected
free agency following the
Braves’ World Series
championship in
November, news broke in
the early hours of
Thursday, March 17, that
he had agreed to terms
with the Los Angeles
Dodgers.
It sure won’t be easy
seeing him in another
uniform.
For over a decade,
Freeman has been the
most consistent force for
an Atlanta team that
experienced the full spec
trum of failure and suc
cess since his arrival.
When Freeman made
his debut on Sept. 1,
2010, the Braves were on
the cusp of their first
postseason appearance in
five years. While
Freeman would not be a
part of that season’s play
off roster, he would
become an important part
of the team’s success in
the next three years.
His rookie season was
mostly successful, hitting
for a .282 batting average
with 21 home runs and 76
RBI as the Braves narrow
ly missed the playoffs.
After that, Freeman
helped lead the Braves to
two consecutive playoff
appearances — including
the team’s first division
title in eight years occur
ring in 2013.
The 2013 season also
saw Freeman make the
first of five All-Star
appearances for Atlanta,
finishing that year with
over 100 RBI for the first
time in his career.
The following four
years would be the most
challenging for both
Freeman and the Braves,
as the team would go
through a rebuilding
phase and Freeman would
face multiple injuries.
It was during that peri
od of adversity, however,
that the Braves organiza
tion decided to build
around the clear center-
piece of the team —
Freddie.
His commitment to the
team and increasing lead
ership skills gave the
team a foundation for
future success.
By 2018, Atlanta’s for
tunes began to rise, and
so did Freeman’s. The
Braves would win con
secutive division titles
and Freeman made con
secutive All-Star appear
ances.
Even in the pandemic-
shortened 2020 season,
Freeman continued to
play at his best by win
ning the National League
MVP award that year
while the Braves lost in
the NLCS.
And then it happened.
Despite the demoraliz
ing injuries to Ronald
Acuna Jr. and Mike
Soroka during the 2021
season, one man stood
ready to lead the Braves
and help them withstand
the pressure from the
other teams in the NL
East division. Freddie.
In many ways it was a
textbook Freddie season,
with a batting average of
precisely .300, 31 home
runs, 83 RBI and a
NL-leading 120 runs.
Of course, many other
players deserve credit for
helping the Braves to
their first World Series
title in 26 years. But
could that have been
achieved without the play
and presence of Freeman?
Doubtful.
It was only fitting that
Freeman’s final hit as a
Brave was not only a
home run, but also the
final run scored in the
2021 World Series.
It was also fitting that
he caught the final out of
that World Series, on that
unforgettable toss from
Dansby Swanson.
While Freeman may
now be joining another
squad, his contributions
to Atlanta will not soon
be forgotten.
He helped usher in a
new standard of success
for the Braves after a
period of uncertainty had
come over the organiza
tion. Now, Atlanta has
four consecutive division
titles and a World Series
championship.
As head coach Brian
Snitker so aptly put it,
Freeman was “everything
that the Braves stand for”.
Thank you Freddie, and
farewell.
By: Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Over the past month, the Dawson County High
School boys and girls golf teams have been looking
to find consistency as their competition schedules
reach the halfway point.
Under boys head coach Will Anglin and girls
head coach Tyler Baker, the teams have shown
progress as they work around a mix of new and
experienced players.
Last week, the teams played at Chestatee Golf
Club against Cherokee Bluff and Lumpkin County
on Thursday, March 17.
“Overall, it was a good day,” Anglin said. “We
have three girls who have never played before, so
they are still learning, but have gotten better each
round. The boys played ok. We have been averaging
between 155 - 160 which is good, but we know we
See Golf 13B
Player Of
The Week!
Tenorio Camacho
This weeks player of the week
is soccer player Hector Tenorio
Camacho. He had two goals in the
Tigers’ win over White County.
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