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The Jackson Herald
www.mamstreetnewssports.com
BASEBALL, 2B
'A DREAM
COME TRUE'
FOR CORLEY
WRESTLING, 3B
COMMERCE'S
BROWN SIGNS
WITH WEST
POINT
May 24, 2017
Phone: (706) 367-5233
Fax:(706)387-5417
sports@mainstreetnews. com
Section B
All-region soccer
Savage named
Player of the
Year in 8-AAA
Jackson County defend
er Tiffany Savage was named
the Region 8-AAA girls' Soc
cer Player of the Year and was
one of 18 local soccer players
named all-region for 8-AAA.
Jackson County’s Matt Maier
earned a region superlative as
well, as he was named Region
8-AAA girls’ Coach of the Year
after guiding the Lady Pan
ther to 14 wins (tying a school
record) and the Region 8-AAA
title.
Savage, a center back, was a
first-team all-region selection
in addition to her Player of the
Year honor. She led a Lady
Panther defense that allowed a
school-record low of 11 goals
on the season and just four
goals in region play. Savage
also scored four goals.
Joining Savage on the 8-AAA
first team were Lady Panther
teammates Haley Franklin (for
ward), Savanna Gilstrap (mid-
field) and Andrea Menchaca
(defense).
Jackson County’s Abbie Ven
able (center back), Ivy Bell
(forward). Montgomery Gar
land (forward) and Megan Krai
(forward) were second-team
all-region selections.
On the boys’ side, Jackson
County’s Brandon Cremeens
(goal keeper), Hunter Park
er (center midfield) and Den
ver Robertson (defender) were
named first-team all-region.
Oscar Ponce (striker/midfield
er), Erick Rodriguez (striker/
midfielder) and Vinny Voltner
(defender/center midfield) were
all-region second-team selec
tions for Jackson County.
East Jackson’s Edgar Agu
irre (center midfield/striker)
and Andy Balaban (center back)
were both first-team selections,
while the Eagles’ Eldrich Fran
co (center back) and Luis Her
nandez (midfielder) made the
second team.
All-region baseball
Eight Dragons
make 8-AAAA
all-region team
Eight Jefferson baseball play
ers were named to the recent
ly-released all-region team for
8-AAAA.
Brandon Trefren (pitcher) and
Justin Cole (outfielder) were
first-team selections. Lane
Watkins (catcher), Zac Corbin
(middle infield) and Billy Finch
(middle infield) made the sec
ond team.
Patrick Hickox (pitcher) and
Carter Evans (infielder) were
named all-region honorable
mention.
Kasen Rainey was the team’s
all-academic representative.
All-region tennis
Jefferson tennis
players earn
all-region honors
Seven Jefferson tennis play
ers were named to the recent
ly-released all-region team for
8-AAAA.
Marcus Beminger was a first-
team selection for singles, Caden
Mantooth made the second-team
for singles and Blake Lathrop
earned third-team recognition
for singles.
For doubles, Caleb Tyler and
Caleb Wells were named to the
second team, and Del Jakins and
Cooper Rework were named to
the third team.
Athlete spotlight: Shelton Kendrix
^ ■ —rr
READY FOR COLLEGE BALL
Former Jackson County softball player Shelton Kendrix tosses a bat aside during a recent game. Kendrix finished her fresh
man season at Brenau University batting .321 (fourth highest on the team) with four homers (second) and a .488 slugging
percentage (third). Photo byA.J. Reynolds/Brenau
Continued
success
"She's a very
athletic young
lady. She has
a passion for
the game. She
works hard."-
Brenau head coach Devon
Thomas on Shelton Kendrix
Former Jackson Co. star keeps on producing big numbers
By Ben Munro
t didn’t take long for Shelton
Kendrix’s multitude of talents
as a high school player to trans
late to the collegiate game.
The Jackson County Panther-
tumed-Brenau Tiger put up numbers
as a freshman that any softball player jumping
from high school to college would envy, hit
ting .321 with four homeruns, 23 RBIs and a
.488 slugging percentage while starting at first
base for the No. 2-ranked team in the NAIA.
“I’m really lucky to be able to do
this well my freshman year.” Ken
drix said. “It was awesome.”
Though humble about the year, Kend
rix was a force for the Tigers. She ranked
second on the team in home runs, third
in slugging percentage and fourth in bat
ting average for a program that went 52-7
overall and 26-0 in conference play.
“She’s a very athletic young lady,”
Brenau head coach Devon Thomas said.
“She has a passion for the game. She works
hard ... she played a high level of trav
el ball. So when she played a high level
of travel ball, it really helped a lot.”
This wasn’t the first time Kendrix made a
major impact as a rookie. As a high school
freshman in 2012, she stepped in and helped
lead Jackson County to a Final Four finish.
Kendrix went on to one of the most dynamic
careers of any softball player to come through
Jackson County. By the time she graduated,
she ranked first in program history in RBIs,
doubles and base hits and had seen time at
every position defensively for the Panthers.
Moving on to the college game was made
easier for Kendrix having already formed
friendships with her Brenau teammates
through either travel ball or high school
ball. Extra time helped, too. Unlike high
school softball, which is a fall sport, col
lege softball doesn’t start until February, so
Kendrix put the fall of 2016 to good use.
“I got a lot of workouts done in the
fall,” Kendrix said. “And a lot of mis
takes I’d made. I corrected in the fall to
make sure I fixed them in the spring.”
When her collegiate debut rolled around
in early February, Kendrix went 1-for-
3 with a homer. Later that month, she
enjoyed a six-game stretch during which
she hit a gaudy .550 (1 l-for-20). Defen
sively, Kendrix earned the starting job at
first base and stayed there exclusively, a
stark contrast to high school when her
versatility had her playing everywhere.
“It was actually much easi
er to focus on the one job I
continued on 3B
/ mi
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- '
1 AR I
[J t
BRINGING HOME THE MEDALS
Jackson Countyyouth wrestlers competingatMegatronWorldChampionships
in Orlando, Fla. were (front row, L to R) Daelin Spry, Cael Powers, Donavon
Spry, (middle row) Julian Camacho and Robert Spry. The coaches were (back
row, L to R) Jason Powers and Allen Spry. Submitted photo
Wrestling
Panther youth wrestlers
bring home first-place
finishes in Orlando
The Jackson County
youth wresding program
garnered five first-place fin
ishes at the Megatron World
Championships this past
week in Orlando, Fla., com
peting in both the individual
folkstyle and freestyle tour
naments on Sunday.
“It was a fantastic tour
nament — our first world
tournament.” coach Allen
Spry said.
Daelin Spry (40-pound
class) won both the folk-
style and the freestyle titles
and earned the Dominance
Award by going 13-0 with
10 pins. He beat state cham
pions from Florida and
Georgia.
Donavon Spry (43
pounds), who went 11-0,
won both the folkstyle and
free style championships,
and Cael Powers (37-pound
class) won the folkstyle and
finished second in the free
style.
Roberty Spry (55
pounds) finished second in
the freestyle and third in the
folkstyle.
Julian Camacho (50
pounds) also competed in
Orlando, helping the team
in dual competition the
previous day. The Jackson
County wrestlers teamed up
with the Florida Titans and
continued on 3B