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Wednesday, April 27,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B
Elliott sneaks into 7th after frantic Talladega finish
Photo courtesy of Sean Gardner/Getty Images
Chase Elliott drives during qualifying for Sunday's GEICO
500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite starting 28th,
Elliott quickly placed himself in the top 10.
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
At the GEICO 500 at
Talladega Superspeedway on
Sunday, April 24, another last-
lap crash altered the final
results and placed Chase Elliott
into a top-10 finish for the sev
enth time this season.
The bulk of the race was very
different for Elliott compared
to the previous week’s Bristol
race, where he gradually
worked his way up the
leaderboard.
Despite starting in 28th posi
tion, Elliott quickly established
himself as a contender at the
race he won three years ago.
By lap 25, Elliott was firmly
in the top 10 and would contin
ue to move up. After briefly
running in the top five, Elliott
would finish Stage One in sixth
position and stay around there
for the next 30 laps or so.
Just before lap 90, Elliott
made a move that would push
him into second position.
Despite two cautions in the
next several laps, Elliott would
maintain his track position until
the end of Stage Two at lap
120.
It was after the second stage
caution that Elliott fell back in
the field and needed to work
his way back up.
After maintaining a top-10
position for the next 30 laps or
so, he would fall back as far as
15th until making a roaring
comeback in the final 20 laps.
At lap 170, Elliott took the
high line and burst into the top-
10 once more, improving six
positions in the next five laps
alone.
As other drivers attempted to
make moves and shuffle the
lead pack of drivers, Elliott
stayed out of trouble but need
ed help to maintain his posi
tion. After getting as far up as
fourth position at lap 176, he
was back in ninth by lap 178.
The frantic final 10 laps gave
little room for error for drivers,
who all experienced significant
position changes in the space of
a few laps.
Elliott had a tough time find
ing an angle in those closing
laps, with Hendrick
Motorsports teammate Kyle
Larson attempting a last-minute
maneuver to take the lead.
In the end, Elliott managed to
escape the final lap chaos,
which took the lead away from
then-leader Erik Jones and
affected the positions of Larson
and fellow teammate William
Byron, who led the most laps
during the race.
Elliott would finish in sev
enth position after having been
around tenth for the final two
laps. Ross Chastain won the
race while Larson finished
fourth and teammate Alex
Bowman finished ninth. Byron
finished in 15th position.
With the two strong stage
positions and another top-10
final result, Elliott extended his
lead atop the NASCAR Cup
Standings with 368 points. He
is now 21 points ahead of Ryan
Blaney and 34 points ahead of
Byron.
Elliott will continue his
search for a first victory of the
season next Sunday at Dover
Motor Speedway.
FROM 1B
Track
record-holders are both currently running at
Division 1 schools on the track teams. It
will be fun to see how these times hold up at
the state series over the next several weeks.”
Both 4x200-meter relay teams broke
school records, with the girls team record
ing 1:50.06 and the boys at 1:33.68.
In total, four individuals and five relay
teams qualified for the sectionals.
Individually, Smith finished as region
runner-up in both the 400 and 800-meter
events, LeCave finished third in her 800-
meter run, Emily Kurtz was third at the 400-
meter event and Bailey Dameron qualified
with a fourth-place finish at the boys 100-
meter sprint.
For the relay teams, the record-breaking
4x200 teams had their finals on Thursday.
The boys team of Garrett Fillingame, Jaden
Homer, Will Kurtz and Smith finished sec
ond, while the girls team of Vita Govorkova,
Katie Gloeckner, Lauren Kurtz and Emily
Kurtz finished third.
The girls 4x800 team also ran on
Thursday, with the team of Jules Phillips,
Elizabeth Knight, Gloeckner and LeCave
finishing second in that race.
On Friday, both 4x400 teams won their
races in dramatic fashion on the final leg.
The girls team began with Lauren Kurtz,
who established the team in a top-four posi
tion. LeCave maintained that positioning
before Gloeckner began to close the gap
with the top two racers.
On the final lap, Emily Kurtz made a
charge in the last 200 meters and launched
herself into first place to give DCHS their
first top finish of the region tournament.
The boys followed up on that perfor
mance with a win of their own, with
Dameron starting up the race. Freshman
Aaric Muilenburg kept up with the break
neck pace in the second leg before handing
off to Will Kurtz.
After back-and-forth position changes
during the first three legs, Smith made an
emphatic late charge to give the Tigers a
second victory of the day.
“The [relay] teams have really worked to
sharpen their hand-offs which in itself can
make the difference between winning and
losing,” Haynes said. “Relays are something
that our team has always taken great pride
in and have proven over the years.”
The state sectionals will be held on
Saturday, May 7, hosted by Greater Atlanta
Christian. In addition to all who qualified,
several DCHS athletes are alternates for that
event.
FROM 1B
Boys
Friday refused to take any
thing lightly in his match at
No. 2 singles, winning the first
set.
He sprinted and leaped his
way across the court, bound
ing forward when in an offen
sive position and tracking
back with urgency when his
defensive skills were needed.
When his opponent would
attempt to drop a shot just over
the net, Friday would make a
mad dash to send it back over.
When he faced a lob shot, he
would twist and turn to try and
guide the ball across the court.
After falling behind in the
second set, his night was near
ing its end as the other match
es finished in the Spartans’
favor.
Likely sensing this situation,
Friday embarked on a back-
and-forth deuce-ad battle with
his opponent that seemed to
last an eternity.
Well after the other matches
ended, Friday continued as if
he was playing match point
with every shot.
Eventually, Friday won the
mid-set game and his match
was called off due to the score,
ending his night along with his
teammates.
For seniors Friday, Lane
Perry, Connor Scroggins and
Ben Swafford, Tuesday’s
matches would be their last
for the Tigers. Their impact
on the team throughout the
past season was important to
their success.
“All of the seniors played a
huge role in our success,” head
coach Logan Allen said. “The
guys all get along and support
each other, which is always
great to see as a coach. Tennis
is a fun sport and the team
genuinely has fun every day at
practice, which is part of why
we are able to have success.”
Returning next season will
be the No. 1 singles line player
Chase Cofield, Grant
Ledbetter, Connor Woody and
Bailey Swafford.
Rio White Dawson County News
Kayleigh Moon returns a shot against her Westminster
opponent. She finished the season with a 12-4 overall
record at No. 1 singles.
FROM 1B
Girls
“I think we had a strong
season this year,” Ledbetter
said. “We did a lot of work in
the off-season, keeping the
players’ games fresh and
ready to go strong in the sea
son.”
That preparation the team
had before the season paid
off, with all three singles
players improving each week
and a variety of players vying
for a spot in the two main
doubles teams.
By the time the region tour
nament rolled around, the
team had shown that they
could compete with many
teams in the region.
While junior Kayleigh
Moon would lead the team
and finish the season at No. 1
singles with a 12-4 record,
fellow singles players Marlee
Gaddis and Blake Smith
proved that they too could
become forces in the region.
All three helped the Lady
Tigers push through the first
round of the region tourna
ment without a loss to secure
a place in the state tourna
ment.
Smith, along with fellow
senior doubles players Kelci
Folsom, Sadie Pruitt and
Mackenzie Stover, all helped
in that effort.
It was through the help of
those seniors that the team
came together as a whole as
the season progressed.
Regardless of who played or
not on a particular night, the
team had a strong bond that
eventually earned them the
trip to Westminster.
“The seniors were excited
to have a strong team this sea
son,” Ledbetter said. “They
were motivated at practice
because they wanted their last
season to be a good one.”
Returning next season for
singles will be Moon and
Gaddis, with someone new
stepping up to take on the
No. 3 singles spot. In dou
bles, Amber Horton, Avery
Beaty and Wendy Castro will
return.
FROM 1B
Bagley
his skills only increased.
“I was going to do every
thing I could to get that time
back,” Bagley said. “That’s
really what made me want to
keep going.”
His decision to keep going
paid off by becoming strong
enough of a hurdler to com
pete at the collegiate level,
committing to Truett
McConnell University earlier
this school year.
This season, Bagley
showed that he has the skills
necessary to compete at the
college level. He has twice
run the 300-meter hurdles
event under 45 seconds at
meets and will be looking to
consistently beat that at Truett
McConnell.
Considering his and the
entire team’s resiliency this
year after two pandemic-
affected seasons, he did not
want to allow his ailment to
stop him from competing at
his best during the postsea
son.
“Right now I am feeling
pretty good and very rested.
[The injury] hasn’t been both
ering me much anymore,”
Bagley said. “I’m feeling
ready to go out and compete.
Whatever God wills is what
will happen.”
While Bagley will be con
tinuing his hurdling career at
Truett McConnell, he also has
an intended major of educa
tion with a focus in science
and social studies. He also
intends to minor in exercise
science so he can coach track
and field at a school some
time in the future.
Outside of track and field,
Bagley enjoys drawing, paint
ing and playing the guitar. He
also possesses a colorfully
decorated water bottle with
stickers that represent some
of the influences in his life.
These included two stickers
from Young Life camps he
has attended as well as one
for the Shaky Knees music
festival.
Bagley participated in the
300-meter hurdles event at the
Region 7-AAA Track
Championships hosted by
Cherokee Bluff. He clocked
in with a time of 49.14 sec
onds in the preliminary round.
FROM 1B
Cars
Photo courtesy Helen Holloway for DCN
DCHS band director Nicholas Gattis stands with William Holloway, a Dawson
County Middle School band member whose family owns the vehicle that
won the People's Choice Award at the DCHS band car show.
After perusing through
the colorful rows, people
were able to vote for their
favorite vehicle.
The winner of the
People’s Choice Award
was a 1977 Volkswagen
Westfalia Camper van,
owned by Helen
Holloway. Her orange
van included a lively inte
rior with a tartan bench
seat and multi-colored
rug.
Two other awards were
given out for Director’s
Choice and Sponsor’s
Choice, as well as
plaques for other top-rat
ed vehicles.
Many cars stood out,
including a black Ford
Fairlane 500 with a mock
food tray attached to the
driver’s side window,
complete with classic
1950s drive-in food fare.
Also present were clas
sic pickup trucks with
colors including pastel
blue and yellow. Two of
the more unusual finds
included a 1970s
International Harvester
Scout and a 1990s
imported Toyota Hilux
SUV with a right-sided
steering wheel.
The collective effort by
Gattis, band members,
parents and volunteers
helped bring together an
event that included much
more than just the cars.
Several booths were
open as part of a raffle,
with items including a
homemade DCHS band
quilt. Volunteers also
helped set up food, which
included freshly-cooked
barbecue, hamburgers
and hot dogs.
In addition to helping
direct traffic, band mem
bers also presided over a
face-painting booth and a
bouncy house to entertain
children. Toward the end
of the show, the band
came together and recited
a few pieces commonly
played during the march
ing band season.
“A lot of our events are
all hands on deck and the
students and parents con
sistently go above and
beyond to make our
events a success,” Gattis
said. “The fact that on a
Saturday we had students
and parents helping out
from 7 a.m set up to 3
p.m clean up is a real tes
tament to the work ethic
here.”
At the awards ceremo
ny, Gattis thanked all who
attended as well as the
event’s main sponsor,
Daikin.
While the marching
band season will not
begin until the summer
band camps, the sym
phonic band has one last
event before the end of
the school year.
The spring concert will
be on Thursday, May 12,
at 6:30 p.m. and will have
both the high school sym
phonic band and the
junior high school band
combine forces for a final
concert of the year.
