Newspaper Page Text
Section
March 2,
2023
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CRIMINAL DEFENSE *DUI
ACCIDENTS ‘INJURY
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OFFICE OF
NICOLE L.
McArthur
706-253-9000
The PHS Wrestling team
traveled to Macon over the
weekend for the GHSA Tra
ditional Wrestling Champi
onship. A school record nine
wrestlers advanced past sec
tionals to qualify for the state
championship rounds.
After the first day of com
petition, the Dragons had five
wrestlers still in the hunt for
a medal. When the dust fi
nally settled on Saturday, the
team would finish with a
school record five state plac
ers. Kaleb Nicholson would
become the third individual
state champion in Pickens
history. Three Pickens
wrestlers finished runner up
to the state title, Dylan Gon
zalez at 125 lbs, Philip Jax at
138 lbs, and Cason Cannon at
157 lbs. Mason Powell
rounded out the state placers,
finishing 4th overall at 165
lbs.
The Pickens Wrestling
team finished second in the
state in 3 A which is the high
est finish in program history.
Coach Tippens and Coach
Mullins have done a fantastic
job building up quality
wrestlers across the roster.
Congratulations on such a
historic performance.
Kaleb Nicholson winning the state championship.
Photo/Amber Cloy Photography
Interview with State
Champion
Kaleb Nicholson
Describe the feeling of winning
a state championship in
wrestling?
It was amazing. It made all the
hard work and dedication worth it.
What do you point to as reasons
or factors in your personal suc
cess this season?
Our coaches kept pushing me
the entire way. I also had support
from my friends and family.
What was the hardest challenge
you had to overcome through
this championship season?
I sustained a serious knee in
jury during football season. It was
something I had to manage every
day at practice and during
matches.
What are a couple of things
about wrestling you think peo
ple should know that are not
that familiar with the sport?
It is the hardest sport out there.
It will push you physically and
mentally.
What do you plan to do after
graduation?
I'm still undecided, but I would
like to go into the UFC.
What advice would you give to a
student athlete that would like
to follow in your footsteps?
Keep putting in the work and
never give up.
Kaleb Nicholson on the podium as state
champion at the GHSA Traditional
Wrestling Championship.
Diamond Dragons season underway
The Pickens High School
baseball season is underway
and the early-season results
have produced a good snap
shot of what this year’s team
is capable of for the 2023
season. Coming off a 19-13
campaign in 2022 that pro
duced a second-round state
playoff appearance, the
Dragons have started this
season with a 5-2 record
heading into March.
Pickens recently played
host to more than 20 teams
during the district’s winter
break and the Dragons went
3-2 over that span. They de
feated Athens Christian (13-
3), Union County (10-0) and
Cass (3-1) in the Mountain
Classic while losing to Se
quoyah (9-3) and Hillgrove
(6-5). Pickens will conclude
its non-region slate this
week by traveling to Fannin
County on Tuesday while
playing host to North Mur
ray on Wednesday (March 1)
and Fannin County on
Thursday (March 2).
The early season has also
had some outstanding indi
vidual efforts as juniors
Connor Shouse and J.P.
Nunn broke career team
records this past week.
Shouse’s offensive output
enabled him to become the
all-time record holder for
runs batted in. On the pitch
ing side, Nunn has now be
come the all-time saves
leader for the Dragons. For
the season, Shouse is hitting
.520 with 10 runs batted in
and 11 runs scored. Nunn
has already appeared in four
games this season with one
save while striking out nine
batters in only eight innings
of work. Opposing batters
are hitting a combined .208
against the right-hander.
The Dragons will start re
gion play on Tuesday, March
7 when they host the defend
ing state champion Wes
leyan Wolves. The series
will continue on Wednesday,
March 8 at Wesleyan before
wrapping up back at Pickens
on Thursday, March 9. All
three games will begin at
5:55 p.m.
Junior pitcher J.P. Nunn recently moved to the top of
the all-time career saves list for the Dragons.
Hillgrove runner tagged out at 2nd by Evan Giddens.
photo/Robin Dunn
Connor Shouse strokes a double vs. Hillgrove.
photo/Robin Dunn
Get your tickets now. March 3 is right
around the comer
Call 706-889-6368.
Or contat local DU chapter on Facebook @ Pickens County Ga
Ducks Unlimited Chapter
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Friday - March 3, 2023
Doors Open - 6pm • Dinner Served - 7pm
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Your company logo / info on
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Gun Raffles
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Dinner (Included with Ticket Purchase)
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Free Gifts at the Door
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Individual—$65
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Greenwing—$45
Dragons fail in state basketball tourney
The Pickens Dragons
traveled to Monroe Area
High School to play in the
first round of the state tour
ney. The Hurricanes came
into the game as Region 6
champion with a 24-4 record
and a senior laden line up.
The Dragons played well
and kept the game tight until
late in the second quarter
when the Canes took control
going into the half up by 13.
The Dragons continued to
fight against a very athletic
and quick group but eventu
ally fell 80-57.
The Dragons were led by
Caleb Lanford with 26
points. The Dragons bid
farewell to Seniors Kadyn
Hampton and Jaden Stewart
and thank them for all they
accomplished for the Pick
ens program. The Dragons'
advancement to the state
tournament for the fourth
straight season is the longest
such streak in program his
tory.
“Wake Up!”
On Tuesday of last
week, the Atlanta Hawks
fired head coach Nate
McMillan and surprisingly
hired Quin Snyder over the
weekend. Snyder signed a
five year contract with the
team as well which should
send a message for players
to “wake up.’’
Specifically, point guard
Trae Young should realize
that he will go before this
coach. His well-chronicled
disagreements with McMil-
lian and previous head
coach Lloyd Pierce leave
franchise ownership in a
precarious position, but
clearly, this hire indicates a
last chance for Young.
In a recent column, I
called the Hawks’ superstar
a cancer and he is.
During his feuds with
coaches, he missed games
under the guise of mild in
jury which led to his grow
ing reputation as a spoiled
brat. The 24-year-old was
notably omitted from the
NBA All-Star roster.
Why not?
Despite Young’s scoring
ability, there’s little else to
his game.
Defense?
If he even knows the
meaning of defense, he
flatly refuses to execute
anything a kin to it.
The team acquired guard
Dejounte Murray in the off
season at considerable ex
pense (three draft picks) in
order to add flexibility. Yet,
Young’s three point shoot
ing percentage dropped and
he is virtually nonexistent
without the basketball.
Moreover, Young’s pub
lic comments like saying
the regular season is boring
compared to the playoffs
and Twitter wars with At
lanta sports broadcasters
like Mike Bell (92.9 FM)
display his obvious petu
lance and arrogance.
The organization would
be better off without him,
but here is his final oppor
tunity to shine.
The Hawks stand at 31-
30 in eighth place in the
Eastern Conference and
only 3.5 games from fifth
place. Snyder, who has
reached the playoffs in six
of his eight seasons at the
helm of the Utah Jazz,
brings a dynamic pick and
roll offense and pesky de
fensive game.
Hopefully, he can revi
talize this team, which
greatly underperformed,
and develop its young core.
Sadly, I doubt that he can
cure the ills. If not, Young
is destined for a plane ticket
out of Atlanta before Sny
der.
Racing Across America
Race Recap - Pala Casino 400
By Alex Korowotny
Racing Sports
Correspondent
Last year, the NASCAR
race at Auto Club Speedway
was easily one of the Top 5
best races of the season. So,
for the last NASCAR Cup
race ever on its current 2-
mile configuration, did it pro
vide another fantastic Auto
Club race - one last time?
The race started at 3:52 p.m.
with Bell on pole. He would
lead the first lap before Bow
man would pass him for the
lead on lap 2. The first cau
tion of the race was for a
competition caution. Every
one came in to pit and Chas
tain would come out first.
The race restarted on lap 21.
Chastain continued to lead
before Logano would pass
him for the lead on lap 28,
and then Blaney would pass
him for the lead two laps
later. The second caution
flew on lap 42 for Ke-
selowski spinning. Blaney
would keep the lead during
pit stops, but after the restart,
Chastain would take the lead
back and win Stage 1. Stage
2 officially started on lap 73,
and Logano would take the
lead from Chastain. The race
would see three cautions
come out shortly afterwards
for drivers spinning for two
of the cautions, and then the
third caution being for a big
pileup on the restart due to a
stack up on the inside and
outside lane. After the little
spree of cautions, Chastain
Continued on Page 3B
PHS Wrestlers post historic performance
Sports
Fanatic
By
Tommy
Gartrell
Columnist
Kaleb Nicholson becomes third
individual state champion in
Pickens history
Editor’s Note: In last week’s edition, we erroneously named Kaden Nicholson as the state
wrestling champion for PHS. It is Kaden s twin brother, Kaleb Nicholson, who is the state
wrestling champion. The corrected story and photos appear below.