SPORTS
DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, May 11,2022
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4 more Tigers sign with college teams
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonews.com
On Wednesday, May 4,
four Dawson County stu
dent-athletes signed to con
tinue their athletic careers
at the collegiate level.
Volleyball player Emma
Pelfrey will be sticking
close by in neighboring
Cherokee County, commit-
ting to Reinhardt
University.
Pelfrey was an important
part of a squad that won 20
matches and became one of
the strongest teams in their
region.
She will be looking to
help the Eagles build on
their 20-12 record last sea
son, which ended with a
trip to the semifinals of the
Appalachian Athletic
Conference tournament.
“We are really proud of
Emma and wish her the
best of luck,” head coach
Tanya Porter said. “Emma
has been very thorough in
making her [college] deci
sion and I know she has
picked a good one. I also
know that Reinhardt is get
ting a good one in Emma.”
From the girls basketball
team, Ella Siuta committed
to Bryan College in
Dayton, Tennessee.
See Signing |3B
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
Above left, Emma Pelfrey, Ella Siuta and Ethan Smith
sign for their respective college teams.
Right, Zach Holtzclaw signs for Cumberland
University.
Tigers ready to finish strong
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
3 DCHS baseball
players named to
All-Region team
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
After helping their team to a 19-13 record and a
class AAA state playoff appearance, three members
of the Dawson County baseball team earned spots
on the 7-AAA All-Region team, with three others
named on the honorable mention list.
Big hitter Brandon Cramer and two-way star
Nick Mullinax represented the Tigers on the All-
Region First Team, while catcher Luke Mulberry
made the Second Team.
All three were leaders on offense, guiding the
Tigers to third place in Region 7 and a total of 250
runs across 32 games.
Mullinax was a consistent offensive force all sea
son, leading the team with a .387 batting average,
36 hits and 35 runs. He also drew a team-leading 20
walks.
On the mound, Mullinax started nine games and
made 11 total appearances. He pitched a total of 50
innings and threw a team-high 50 strikeouts.
See Region |3B
Katie Gloeckner makes a charge into the top six during her leg of the girls 4x800 race. She would help
the team qualify for the State Finals.
Three relay teams, two individuals qualify for State Finals
just over half a second.
The Tigers finished three
seconds behind their
region time, which would
have been good for third
place in the Sectional
race.
The boys team also fin
ished sixth with a time of
3:32.81, nearly identical
to their region champion-
ship time. Bailey
Dameron, Aaric
Muilenburg, Will Kurtz
and Smith pushed the
boys team to a spot in the
State Finals.
Smith will be locked in
as he looks to cap off his
decorated career at the
State Finals in both the
800-meter and as anchor
leg in the 4x400.
“Ethan has one thing
on his mind and that is
winning state,” Haynes
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Two weeks after a suc
cessful outing at the
Region 7-AAA
Championships, the
Dawson County track and
field team traveled to
Greater Atlanta Christian
to participate in the Class
AAA State Sectionals.
The Tigers brought
their seasoned relay
teams to the event as well
as some of their top indi
viduals. In the face of
high-level competition,
three DCHS relay teams
and two individuals
earned spots at the State
Finals in Carrollton.
“The times were right
in line with where we
wanted to be,” head coach
Arron Haynes said. “The
teams look strong going
into the final weekend of
state. They are all push
ing for a top-5 finish if
things work out right.”
Beginning the day for
the Tigers was the girls
4x800 relay team, who
had finished as Region 7
runner-up. In order to
qualify for the State
Finals, they would have
to finish in the top eight
of a single heat of 14
teams.
Starting the race was
Jules Phillips, who estab
lished the Tigers as a con
tender in the race and on
the bubble of qualifying
places for the State
Finals.
Elizabeth Knight was
up next, keeping pace
with a group that was
beginning to separate
itself from the back. By
the end of her two laps,
there were 10 runners in
the contending group and
the margin of error was
thinning.
The push for getting
inside of the top eight
began to intensify during
Ethan Smith finishes his 800-meter race, finishing
in second place to qualify for the State Finals.
Katie Gloeckner’s leg.
After remaining on the
outer edge of the main
group in her first lap, she
made a charge in her final
200 meters and launched
herself into the top six.
Anna LeCave would
build on that momentum,
running a blazing first lap
and holding steady in her
second lap to finish the
race in fourth place. The
team’s time of 10:31.16
was just three seconds off
their region runner-up
time.
Gloeckner and Phillips
both hit personal record
times in their legs.
Next to qualify for
DCHS were LeCave and
Ethan Smith at the 800-
meter race. Now with
races all at two heats,
each knew that they had
to reach a certain time to
place within the top eight.
LeCave had finished
third at the region cham
pionship but would not
need to match her school-
record time at the State
Sectionals to safely quali
fy for the State Finals.
She finished seventh
with a time of 2:31.05 but
was six seconds ahead of
the eighth-place finisher
and six seconds off her
region time.
“LeCave has probably
had the best season of
anyone beginning with
the Region meet,” Haynes
said. “This weekend she
ran strong in all of her
events. It is always excit
ing to see athletes peak at
the right time and right
now she is definitely
doing it.”
Up next was Smith,
who finished as Region 7
runner-up with his
school-record time. He
would run just one sec
ond behind that at the
State Sectionals, finishing
in second place with a
time of 1:57.61.
The final two groups to
qualify for the State
Finals were the boys and
girls 4x400 relay teams,
who were the Region 7
champions.
First up was the girls
team of Lauren Kurtz,
LeCave, Gloeckner and
Emily Kurtz, who fin
ished sixth with a time of
4:16.43.
They were part of a
tightly-packed group of
four teams separated by
See Track 12B
Start at rear does
not faze Elliott
at Darlington
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Coming off his first win of the 2022 NASCAR
Cup Series season at Dover, Chase Elliott had him
self a challenging start to his day in the Goodyear
400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 8.
But before that race, Elliott had won a rain-
delayed race at Dover on Monday, May 2.
He took charge of the final 50 laps and fended off
challenges from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain
and Christopher Bell.
It was Elliott’s first victory in 10 months and
helped him increase his lead in the NASCAR points
standings.
During Saturday’s practice run at Darlington,
Elliott crashed after cutting his left rear tire, forcing
him to use a backup car. As a result, he had to
begin Sunday’s race in 34th position.
But the man who had 8 top-10 finishes in the first
See Elliott 13B
Player Of The Week!
Anna
LeCave
This week’s Player of the
Week is Anna LeCave, who
helped push two relay teams
to the State Finals while also
qualifying individually at the
800-meter event.
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