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PAGE 2B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 26. 2011
Jessie Yeargin signs to play
soccer at Shorter University
Racing Views
Short tracks battle Mother Nature
Standing: Coach Brian Barnhill, Athletic Director Steve Sewell, Coach Paige Hightower,
PHS Principal Chris Williams; sitting: Pam Yeargin, Jessie Yeargin and Mitch Yeargin.
Jessie Yeargin of PHS recently
signed a “Letter of Intent” to play
soccer for the Shorter University
Hawks.
Jessie will be the first Pickens
High School student to play col
lege soccer and to receive a soc
cer scholarship. Jessie Yeargin
has played four seasons with the
PHS. After narrowing down her
options, she chose Shorter Uni
versity. It’s a decision she based
on the hospitality she felt while
Cotinued from IB
Track and Field
Tyler Craig (pole vault), Ethan
Logan (shot put), Luis Lozoya
(distance) and Justin Weaver
(distance).
PHS Track coaches also pre
sented “Coaches’Awards” to ath
letes who exhibited exceptional
sportsmanship, team spirit and
commitment to training. Pre
sented with “Coaches’ Awards”
for 2011 were Mollie Shaw (dis
tance) for the ’Nettes, and Con
nor Johnson (pole vault) for the
Dragons.
School record plaques were
presented to athletes who set new
all-time PHS records in their
events. Two pole vaulters re
ceived the awards for 2011,
Megan Dixon for the ’Nettes
(new PHS pole vault record
10’3”) and Tyler Craig for the
Dragons (new PHS pole vault
record 14’6”).
Presented with Varsity Letters
for 2011 in addition to the ath
letes listed above were Candra
Holmes, Haley Lewis, Kylie
Parker, and Chelcy Spriggs for
the ’Nettes. For the Dragons, re
ceiving varsity letters in addition
to those listed above were Levi
Bruce, Ben Burnley, Joey Ciulla,
Jake Coleman, Maxim Downs,
Will Elrod, Corey Evans,
Michael Glass, Trey Hampton,
Tyler Harrington, Tanner Jordan,
Fletcher Klossing, T.J. Levy,
Jackson Martinez, Turner Mora-
nos, Dustin Nelson, Daulton
Reeves, Tate Rizoti, Riley Shaw,
Nathan Thompson, Randall
Wilkens and Dalton Word. Re
ceiving Participation Awards
were Wyatt Ingram, Josh South
ern, Olivia Lee and Destiny
Shim.
Recognition is in order once
visiting the school in Rome, Ga.
“The people made me feel at
home,” said Yeargin who plans
to major in Early Childhood Ed
ucation and become a teacher
one day. Yeargin also was im
pressed with the head Coach Jen
nifer Colley. “She was a nice
person,” said Yeargin, “but I
know she is going to make me
work hard.”
Yeargin has a good head on
her shoulders and will succeed
again for those who qualified for
the Girls’ and Boys’ State Track
& Field meets and for those who
recently signed college scholar
ships to continue competing at
the college level. For the Drag
ons, Tyler Craig placed 2nd in
the AAA pole vault, senior Justin
Weaver placed 9th in the 1600
meter run and 5th in the 3200
meter run, and sophomore Drew
Bellows qualified for State in the
3200 meter run. For the ’Nettes,
Megan Dixon placed 5th in the
AAA pole vault. Congratulations
also to Justin Weaver (Georgia
Tech) and Ashley Logan (Shorter
University) who recently signed
scholarships to run track and
cross country in college.
PHS Track and Field coaches
academically. Yeargin is very
thankful to have been coached
during her tenure at the high
school by coaches Paige High
tower, Brian Barnhill and Will
Nix. Without the coaches and the
soccer program, this scholarship
would not have been possible.
The coaches and the program
have really made great contribu
tions regarding Yeargin’s life de
cisions and future plans.
would like to thank all of the
booster club parents and support
ers who helped make the 2011
track season run smoothly and
successfully!
By Jumper Cable Man
This past week I received a
call from a track owner/promoter
who called to talk to me about
his decision concerning calling
races off in cases of rain. This
owner/promoter had called a
race off a weekend or so ago and
had been called all kinds of
names for doing so since it didn’t
rain. Having suffered through
many races where he should
have called them and didn’t and
then had to pay the purse and
had no fans to speak of in the
grandstands, this owner/pro
moter was at the end of his rope.
As I have said many times be
fore, the Weather Channel is the
worst thing that ever happened
to short track racing! Bar none!
When fans hear that there is any
chance of rain they immediately
make plans not to go to the races.
If the owner/promoter calls the
race off and it doesn’t rain, then
he is the bad guy not the Weather
Channel who made the wrong
call on it raining but the
owner/promoter who relied on
that information to make his de
cision.
This owner/promoter decided
to do something about it. He
called all his racers together last
week and gave them his revised
method to do business when the
weather people say it is going to
rain. His new policy is that on
Saturday morning at 9, you need
to listen to WSB Radio and lis
ten for the weather report. If they
call for a 10 percent chance of
rain, there will be racing and it
will pay the full purse. If they
call for a 20 percent chance of
rain, there will be racing but the
purse will be reduced. If they
call for a 30 percent or greater
chance of rain, there will be rac
ing with no purse but a reduced
pit pass cost. And in this case,
the owner/promoter tells the rac
ers that ya’ll should be real care
ful out there racing in the rain!
This policy will allow the track
owner/promoter to adjust for the
fact that the fans will not be there
to support the event. The fewer
the fans, the less the out go from
Local high school and middle
school Cross Country runners
will be gathering for informal
training runs this summer at
Roper Park beginning Wednes
day, June 1, at 6:50 a.m. Runners
will meet each Monday, Wednes
day and Friday at 6:50 to “beat
the heat” beginning June 1 and
continuing throughout the sum
mer. Participation is voluntary
with no charge to runners and
runs will be confined to the area
around Roper Park. Local Com
munity Distance Coach Robin
Dunn and other parents who
have been involved with Cross
Country will be available for
the owner/promoter pocket.
Will this solve the problem of
rain outs? Probably not, but it
will be interesting to see how
this works for this owner/pro
moter. This might be the way all
racing moves as less and less
fans show up to watch. This is,
after all, a profit-driven business
in spite of the fact that it doesn’t
look like one or work like one to
most people. Until the fans get
over depending on the Weather
Channel to be right 100 percent
of the time, the promoter is al
ways going to be at the mercy of
the forecasters.
This past weekend a young
racer just graduating from high
school made the headlines at
Penton Raceway in Penton, Al.
According to the press release
from the NeSmith Chevrolet
Crate Racing Series “Chase
Edge of Lafayette, AL, high
lighted a busy week on and off
the track with a second-place
finish in the Edge’s Gas Com
pany special. The defending Ne
Smith Chevrolet Weekly Racing
Series Old Man’s Garage
(OMG) Champion and current
VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the
Year point leader moved up to
the fifth spot in the NeSmith
Chevrolet DLMS point stand
ings.
“Friday night we still do not
know if Boyd’s Speedway in
Ringgold will be racing or not as
their Web site is still down but
Oglethorpe Speedway Park in
Pooler (Savannah) will be closed
on Friday night.
“Edge, who celebrated his
18th birthday on Monday, got to
the track just in time to qualify
for the race after attending his
high school graduation with hon
ors earlier in the evening in
nearby Lafayette, Al. Edge then
went out and won the first of
four eight-lap heat races to earn
the fifth starting spot for the
main event. Edge was also the
VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the
Race.”
This story on Chase Edge re
minds me a lot of how it was
back at Sugar Creek Raceway in
training tips and runners will be
encouraged to run with others of
similar ability from “beginners”
to “advanced.”
All runners who plan on run
ning Cross Country are strongly
encouraged to train regularly and
consistently according to running
plans geared to their level of fit
ness during the summer. Runners
who train regularly will be more
likely find enjoyment in the
sport, effectively avoid injury in
addition to running more com
petitively during the upcoming
Cross Country season that will
begin in August.
Runners will also have the op-
Blue Ridge where Shane Tanker-
sley of Blue Ridge graduated
and raced the same night. He
was not successful in getting his
mother to approve of him wear
ing his driving uniform imder his
graduation gown so that he could
dash right to the track and go
racing. I wonder if Edge tried to
get his mother to allow him to
wear his fire suit under his
gown?
On Saturday night the dirt on
441 Speedway in Dublin will be
flying high as they will bring
you a full racing program plus a
Pure Stock Shootout paying
$800 to win. Cochran Speedway
in Cochran will be offering a
full racing program again on Sat
urday night. At Dixie Speedway
in Woodstock they will be cele
brating their 42nd anniversary
with a Ml racing program and a
Super Late Model feature event
paying $2,000 to win and they
top this off with a Demo Derby
for your entertainment. Gordon
Park Speedway in Gordon Park
(Augusta) will be racing this
weekend May 28 with a full rac
ing program. New Senoia Race
way in Senoia will host a full
racing program plus Spectator
Drag Races. At North Georgia
Speedway in Chatsworth they
will be entertaining all the fans
with a full racing program. At
Screven Motor Speedway in Syl-
vania they will be will be closed
this weekend but Swainsboro
Speedway in Swainsboro, GA
will be open and offering a full
racing program. At Waycross
Speedway in Waycross they will
return this week with a full rac
ing program.
For the asphalt fans Lanier
National Speedway in
Gainesville will be closed per
their Web site but you might
want to call and be sure.
Please give us your com
ments, information, questions,
and corrections by mail at P.O.
Box 1522, Woodstock, Ga.
30188-1522 or by e-mail at Jca-
bleman@aol.com
starts June 1
portunity to attend summer run
ning camp which will be held
from July 10-16 at Brevard Dis
tance Runners Camp (Brevard
College, Brevard, N.C.). A
group from Pickens is organizing
now for their 6th annual pilgrim
age to running camp and both
high schoolers and experienced
middle schoolers can attend. For
more information about camp,
go to www.brevarddistancerun-
nerscamp.com. For more infor
mation about summer training
contact Robin Dunn at 770-548-
1966 or jasper counseling@elli-
jay.com
Special Olympics compete
By Kristy Martinez
The Pickens County Local
Special Olympics Summer
Games were held on April 29 at
Pickens High School. Athletes
participated in several track and
field events including the 50
Meter Dash, Softball Throw,
Wheel Chair Race, Tennis Ball
Throw and other fun activities.
The Partners Club, made up of
PHS students, provided an in
dividual helper for each athlete.
The partners accompanied the
participants to their events and
gave constant support and en
couragement.
The Special Olympics ath
letes and committee would like
to thank all of their supporters
for making this year’s event a
success.
Lot for sale
(7.75 acre) Off of Grandview Road, across the road from lake,
near dam (close to back gate of Bent Tree). Easy access. Very se
cluded, surrounded by conservation land. Nice ridge running
center of property, mostly hardwoods, down sloping.
REDUCED AGAIN! $6,400. A share of Class A stock in
Grandview Lake Corp. also available to give full use of Grandview
Lake only 2 minutes away.
770-893-7230 great view OF sharptop mountain
PHS Track coaches presented “Coaches’ Awards” to ath
letes who exhibited exceptional sportsmanship, team spirit,
and commitment to training. Receiving Coaches ’Awards for
2011 were Connor Johnson and Mollie Shaw.
XC Summer Running Club
Mtn. Tennis
The Mountain Tennis Association Block Party will be June 4,
1-5, at Big Canoe Tennis Center. Free Round Robin Mixed Dou
bles; 2 sessons -1-3 and 3-5. There will be pizza and drinks, draw
ings for prizes with one going towards local high school
scholarships and MTA. Contact Bill Swift, 770-893-2623, or
Bruce Monhollen, 706-268-3367, for more information. Contact
Patty Coffey, 706-579-1840, for required reservations.
Stay for an evening at the Terraces for the Live Bait Band, $20,
no reservations needed.
f Register Now/ N
SUMMER TENNIS CAMP
OfferedbyBent Tree
Session 1 June 6-9, 2011
Session 2 June 20-23, 2011
Session 3 July 18-21, 2011
M -Th 11-1 $100 per Session
Contact Coach Bill Swift
V 770-893-2623 J
Dragonettes Summer Basketball Camp
When: June 6th-9th
Where: Pickens High School Gymnasium
Time: 8:30 a.m.-ll:30 a.m.
For: Girls in upcoming grades 1-9
Cost: $70
Fundamentals Covered:
• Shooting
• Passing
• Rebounding
• Ball Handling
• Defense
• Team Skills
Games and Fun Competitions:
• Gotcha
• Dribble Tag
• Hot Shot
• Free Throw Competition
• Team Games
Each camper will receive
Camp T-Shirt
Watermelon
Please return the bottom portion along with payment to the address listed below.
Name of Camper
Address
City State.
Age Date of Birth_
Upcoming Grade
T-Shirt Size (Youth or Adult)
Parent/Guardian
Home Phone #
Work/Cell #
Address
Please return this form to:
Alison Loggins
Zip Pickens High School
500 Dragon Drive
Jasper, GA 30143
For More Information:
Office: 706-253-1810
Email: kevinjacobs@pickens.kl2.ga.us
alisonloggins@pickens.kl2.ga.us
Health Information:
I hereby state that my child is physically fit and has my permission to participate in all camp
activities. I also grant permission to have my child treated by a physician if necessary.
Insurance Company:
Policy #
Parent/Guardian Signature
***Please make checks payable to Nettes Basketball***
Dragon’s Summer Basketball Camps
Traditional Camp
When: May 31 - June 3
Where: Pickens High School Gymnasium
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12: 00 p.m.
For: Boys in upcoming grades 1st - 8th
Cost: $75 prepay / $85 at the door
Middle School League
When: May 31 - June 3
Where: Pickens High School Gymnasium
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For: Boys in upcoming grades 6th -8th
Cost: $40 prepay / $50 at the door
Camp Bundle
Sign up for both camps for $105 prepay / $115 at the door
Sibling Discount
$10 off for each sibling attending
Please return the bottom portion along with payment to address
listed below.
Name of Camper
Please return this form to:
Address
Brad Stcinhaucr
City State
Zip
Pickens High School
Age Date of Birth
500 Dragon Dr.
Upcoming Grade
Jasper, GA 30143
Check camp you plan on attending
Traditional League
Both
T-Shirt Size (traditional camp onlv)
(Youth or Adult)
Parent/Guardian
Home Phone For more information:
Work/Cell Phone Office: 706-253-1810
Email Address Cell: 706-409-6621
Health Information: bradsteinhauer@pickem.kl2.ga.us
I hereby state that my child is physically fit and has my permission
to participate in all camp activities. I also grant permission to have
my child treated by a physician if necessary.
Insurance Company
Policy #
Parent/Guardian Signature
* Please make checks payable to Dragon Basketball Camp
