About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2017)
1 LAKE COUNTRY Justin Hubbard Sports Editor First thoughts on SunTrust Park In celebration of the swift reopening of 1-85, the Atlanta Braves offered a ticket deal during their last homestand that saw ticket prices drop to as low as $8.50. That was too good a deal to pass up, so off we went last Tuesday evening - my dad, my brother and me - like we did so many times at Turner Field. I was excited about checking out SunTrust Park, which looked great in every picture I’d seen, but part of me couldn’t help but wish we were going back to The Ted. When we walked up to the new stadium, though, thoughts of Turner Field vanished from my mind. I’ll always have warm memories of The Ted because that’s where my dream of being a sports writer was born, but, as a baseball stadium, it left a lot to be desired. I was amazed by every thing I saw during my first trip to Turner Field. But that was the kid in me. As I grew older, I realized the stadium wasn’t par ticularly special and was much too big for baseball. The pictures and render ings of SunTrust Park im pressed me, though. And then I saw it in person, and it blew me away. First of all, SunTrust Park is much more than a baseball stadium. It’s sur rounded by The Battery, which is essentially a massive entertainment complex. The Battery features a handful of restaurants and shops, and more are on the way. The stadium itself is gorgeous. It’s a more intimate venue, which is better for baseball. Turner Field, of course, was built for the 1996 Olympics and it was considerably larger and seated too many people. SunTrust, despite being more modern, feels like an old school ballpark. Everyone sits closer to one another because of the smaller nature of the stadium and the fact there are significantly fewer SEE HUBBARD » C3 Wright accepts job at Alcovy Justin Hubbard justin@lakeoconeenews.us When Damoio’n Wright grad uated from Putnam County High School in 2013, he had dreams of a long, successful football career. He still does. Except now, that dream revolves around coaching, not playing. Wright’s dream will take him away from the Lake Country this fall. After spending a year serving as Greene County’s defensive line coach, Wright recently accepted a job at Alcovy High School in Covington. He will be the Alcovy Tigers’ offensive line coach. “It’s really touching for me to leave,” Wright said. “I really didn’t want to leave, but I saw something bigger and somebody offered me something better. I’m a young coach, too, so if it doesn’t work, then I’ll take a step back and try to reevaluate things. But I feel like I’m leaving on a good note. I didn’t burn any bridges or anything, so I’m leaving on a good note with ev erybody.” SEE WRIGHT » C3 Justin Hubbard/Staff Damoio'n Wright, who worked as the Greene County football team's defensive line coach during the 2016 season, recently accepted a job as the Alcovy High School football team's offensive line coach. Justin Hubbard justin@lakeoconeenews.us Essence Randolph has been on a roll in recent weeks. The Greene County girls track star won the state championship in the high jump competition a couple weeks ago at the state track meet in Albany and, last Friday night, graduated with the rest of the Greene County High School class of 2017. Earlier in the week, though, Essence officially secured her future plans. Essence signed a scholarship to Savannah State University last Tuesday inside the GCHS theater. She will remain a Tiger, competing for the SSU women’s track team. “This is a milestone moment for [Essence] and her family,” GCHS principal James Peek said at last week’s ceremony. “Essence, we are so proud of what you’ve accom plished, both on and off the field. It’s not often that an individual gets to go off to college and play a colle giate sport and have an opportuni ty to receive an education free. That is a tremendous accomplishment, and it deserves our applause here.” Peek heaped praise upon Essence and her family. He also directed a great deal of credit for Essence’s accomplishments to the Greene County track team coaching staff, including James “Seed” Miller. SEE RANDOLPH » C6 GREENE COUNTY Grimes to play football at Shorter University Justin Hubbard justin@lakeoconeenews.us Surrounded by friends, family, coaches and teammates, Anthony Grimes signed a scholarship last week to play football at Shorter University. Grimes signed the scholarship last Friday following graduation practice. Hours later, he official ly became an alumnus of Greene County High School, capping off what was surely a special day for the talented defensive end. Before GCHS principal James Peek saw off this year’s graduating class, he had some words of wisdom earlier that afternoon at Grimes’ signing ceremony. “As I’ve stated before, it’s not often that you get a full ride and play collegiate sports as well as get a free education,” Peek said. “So, Anthony, I hope you don’t take that lightly because it is a tremendous accomplishment.” Throughout his four years with the Greene County football program, Grimes developed into a fearsome player who led the Tigers’ stout defense. After the conclusion of the 2016 season, Grimes was voted to the Region 7 All-Region SEE GRIMES » C3 Surrounded by her family and coaches. Essence Randolph signs a scholarship to run track at Savannah State University. Justin Hubbard/Staff Randolph signs with Savannah State J33H JMs ... 2?10jN!K:oltimbiaTStfl iMilledgeville O I F □ 50 m o 1 m < o o 3
