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DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
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Glander wins at East Hall wrestling meet
Three Tiger wrestlers place at Coal Mountain Classic
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
In a busy week of action, three
Dawson County varsity wrestlers
placed at the Coal Mountain
Classic Saturday, Dec. 17, while
four placed at the Viking
Christmas Clash Thursday, Dec.
22.
With over 10 schools partici
pating at each meet, the highly
competitive events posed chal
lenges to a Tigers team looking to
continue its progress made this
season.
While many wrestlers gave
concerted efforts that resulted in
placements, the top finish of the
week went to freshman Landon
Glander, who won the 113-pound
weight class at the Viking
Christmas Clash hosted by East
Hall.
Coming in as runner-up in the
175-pound class was Alex
Stewart, while Mason Rosenberg
finished third in the 106-pound
class and Max Lowe earned
fourth in the 113-pound class.
At the Coal Mountain Classic
hosted by North Forsyth, Stewart,
Glander and Noah Roberson all
put in the work to finish fourth,
fifth and sixth in their respective
weight classes.
After falling short in his first
match, Stewart defeated Devan
Gupta of Lovett and Hunter
Brown of Gilmer before falling
short in the third-place match
against Peter Souder of
Woodward Academy.
Glander also dropped his first
match before winning against
Dukari Brooks of East Forsyth
and Jack Mixon of Lovett.
Glander lost to Xavier
Martinez of North Forsyth before
winning the fifth-place match
against Ty Warren of Creekview.
Roberson lost his opening
See Wrestling 13B
Rio White Dawson County News
Landon Glander wrestles his Mountain View opponent dur
ing the Coal Mountain Classic, where he would place fifth.
He won his weight class at the Viking Christmas Clash.
Starting a new chapter
Photos by Rio White Dawson County News
Kevin Haymond signs his letter of intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Centre College.
Haymond to continue football career at Centre College in Ky.
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
Dawson County High School held a
signing day Wednesday, Dec. 21, for
senior football player Kevin
Haymond, who signed his letter of
intent to play for Centre College in
Danville, Kentucky.
“I’m excited about my new chapter
at Centre,” Haymond said. “I appreci
ate all of you for coming out.”
A lineman who played on both
sides of the ball, Haymond proved to
be particularly key on the defensive
side. He was recently selected as part
of the Region 7-3A First Team All-
Region defense.
In addition to many of Haymond’s
teammates and former coaches who
attended the event, DCHS head coach
Sid Maxwell and Athletic Director
Bradley Fowler also spoke about
Haymond’s journey as a player and
his hard work in the classroom.
Maxwell talked about Haymond’s
consistency throughout his career,
with the constant work ethic he dis
played setting an important example
for his teammates.
“He’s not a show horse, he’s a work
horse,” Maxwell said. “He’s a team
player and a great student.”
Haymond’s family was also in
attendance — including his father
Terry, who serves as the DCHS
Director of Football.
Terry Haymond expressed his grati
tude for the many people who came
out to see Kevin’s signing while also
showing his appreciation for Kevin’s
resolve to get to this point.
“I’m very proud of Kevin. He’s
been an easy son to raise and he’s
maintained a 4.3 GPA, which is prob
ably more impressive to me than...
football,” Terry Haymond said.
“Centre saw that in him and decided
to give him an opportunity. We think
he made a fantastic choice for the stu
dent-athlete intercollegiate experience
he will be able to get.”
Throughout his Dawson County
career, Kevin made 35 starts, with
three years on the defensive line and
two years on the offensive line.
He totaled 123 tackles, 31 tackles
for loss and 10.5 sacks in his Tigers
career, reaching personal bests with
53 tackles (14 for loss) in 2021 and
6.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles 2022.
In Haymond’s most recent season
with Dawson, he helped contribute to
a formidable defense that allowed just
48 points across six region games —
including two shutouts.
Clutch shots
give girls a
timely win
Boys fall after early lead
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
With just over two minutes remaining in
the Dawson County girls basketball game
against
Flowery Branch on Monday, Dec. 19, the
Lady Tigers needed a spark to secure a sev
enth victory of the season.
Having given up a 12-point halftime lead,
Dawson briefly trailed before regaining a
1-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
Enter Abby Samples-Slaton, the team’s
leading scorer this season whose shooting
touch has often been called upon when the
team needed it most.
With the entire team’s sense of urgency at
its peak, Samples-Slaton criss-crossed the
front court until she found space, received
the ball, and took an instinctual 3-point shot
to put the Lady Tigers up 52-48.
Just over a minute later, she was able to
get a more open look and made what ulti
mately was the decisive shot — also from
3-point range.
A pair of Kindra Coker free-throws later,
the Lady Tigers had completed one of its
most clutch wins all season — a 57-48 win
to improve to a 7-4 record this season.
Head coach Will Anglin was impressed
by the team’s resolve late in the game.
“She’s a gamer,” Anglin said of Samples-
Slaton. “She made big shots down the
See Clutch 13B
Rio White Dawson County News
Abby Samples-Slaton drives toward
the basket during the game against
Flowery Branch. She made two impor
tant shots late in the game to help the
LadyTigers win.
Venues, drivers among major
changes coming to NASCAR
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
While the 2023
NASCAR season is just
weeks away, there has been
plenty of news during the
offseason that marked
major changes to the land
scape of the racing world.
The DCN has compiled
some of that important
information for NASCAR
fans in Dawson County to
digest heading into next
season.
Venue changes
There have been two
major venue changes made
to the NASCAR schedule
for 2023.
For the first time since
1996, the historic North
Wilkesboro Speedway in
North Carolina will host a
Cup Series race, albeit not
for points.
Back in September, the
venue announced that
NASCAR, as part of its
75th anniversary celebra
tions, had chosen it to host
the annual All-Star race.
After years of decline,
North Wilkesboro has been
revived in recent times by
the work of locals and
many people throughout
the racing industry, includ
ing Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Just a week before the
All-Star race announce
ment, Earnhardt Jr. partici
pated in a Late Model race
at North Wilkesboro, driv
ing in the green No. 3 Sun
Drop car he drove in the
1990s.
In addition to the Cup
Series race, the Craftsman
Truck Series will also be
racing there that weekend.
The other venue change
was one that went against
current trends but is also an
attempt at innovation by
NASCAR.
After years of road
courses being added to the
Cup Series schedule, Road
America in Elkhart Lake,
Wisconsin, was replaced
by the new Chicago Street
Race.
Just added to the Cup
Series schedule in 2021,
Road America will still
host an Xfinity Series Race
next season on July 29.
The Chicago Street Race
will be the first of its kind
for NASCAR and run the
weekend of July 1. Unlike
the previous Cup Series
See NASCAR 13B
Player Of The Week!
Abby
Samples-Slaton
The Player of the Week is
Abby Samples-Slaton, who
scored 16 points for the
Lady Tigers in their win
over Flowery Branch.
We’ve Gone Green!
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