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Page 8A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, May 19, 2021
SPECIAL PHOTOS
The Pike County High School girls track team competed well all season and nine girls qualified for the state championship meet, including Tayla Moreland and Taylor Hampton who are going to
state as the No. 1 seed. Other girls track team members headed to state include Zy Thompson, Peyton Bussell, Anna Chasteen, Jada Colbert, Shelby Wallace, Yasmin Davis and Victoria Bradford.
PCHS girls and boys track athletes compete at state
Pike County track
teams competed in the
sectionals and several
students will be headed
to the state competition,
including Tayla Moreland
and Taylor Hampton
who are going to state as
the No. 1 seed. Others
headed to state include
Zy Thompson, Peyton
Bussell, Anna Chasteen,
Jada Colbert, Shelby
Wallace, Yasmin Davis,
Victoria Bradford, John
Lovett, Gage Lee and
Luke Woerner.
“Coach Osteen and
I are very proud of this
team. We had nine girls
and three boys qualify for
the state track meet in Al
bany. Many more turned
in their best performanc
es of the season and had
personal records. There
was a very impressive
competitiveness from
Pike County. Only the top
eight athletes from sec
tionals make it out and
we had by far the hardest
sectionals. In many cases,
our sectionals was the
state finals we just have
to do it again,” said coach
Clay Woerner.
Tayla Moreland set a
personal record in 100
meter hurdles and will
also compete in the state
100 meter dash and long
jump. She won the long
jump and is going in the
state as the No. 1 seed.
Taylor Hampton will
compete in long jump and
triple jump. She won the
triple jump and is going
to be the No. 1 seed. Zy
Thompson will compete
in high jump and 4 by
400 meter relay. Peyton
Bussell will compete in
the 800 meter run and
she beat her personal re
cord by 4 seconds. Anna
Chasteen will compete in
the 3,200 meter run. She
finished fourth and set a
new school record -break
ing Abby Carroll’s record
from years ago. Jada
Colbert, Shelby Wallace
and Yasmin Davis will
compete in the 4 by 400
meter relay. The 4 by 400
team beat their personal
record by 7 seconds.
Victoria Bradford will
compete in the 100 meter
dash as a freshman
after she set a personal
record at sectionals. The
4 by 100 team finished
ninth and included Victo
ria Bradford, Zy Thomp
son, Jada Colbert and
Yasmin Davis. The 4 by
800 team of Bussell, Callie
Williams, Bailey Morris
and Jamie Wallace beat
their personal record
by over 20 seconds with
Callie shaving 17 seconds
off of her split. She is a
thrower who volunteered
to run three weeks ago to
have a team.
Three boys will com
pete at the state meet
after performing well at
sectionals. John Lovett set
a personal record in the
pole vault and vaulted
14’6” to break his own
school record. Gage
Lee vaulted over 12’6” and
set a personal record in
pole vault. Luke Woern
er matched his personal
record of 12 feet to finish
off the boys state qualify
ing. He had much to over
come, including breaking
a pole in mid air and his
house burning down.
Aiden Potter competed
well and set a personal
record in the 3200.
“The competition was
just stiff. 1 promised him
that his coach would be
better next year. There
is not a harder worker
on the team with a big
ger heart,” said coach
Woerner. “The rookie 4 by
800 meter relay of Zander
Potter, John Barber, Bran
don Keiser and Andrew
Edwards competed well.
Lane Woodward set a per
sonal record in the 300
meter hurdles again. Riley
Gordon has been setting
new personal records
every time he runs the
110 meter hurdles.”
Coach Woerner said
additional coaches will
be needed next season
as Mary Persons has five
coaches, Sandy Creek has
six coaches and Westmin
ster has a coach for every
event while Pike only has
two coaches. He hopes
Pike can host additional
smaller invitational events
next season. He said seat
ing would be needed for
the track to accommodate
those meets.
The boys Pike County High School track team competed well all season and after sectionals, three athletes advanced to the state competition, including John Lovett, Gage Lee and Luke Woerner.
state AAA
Lady Pirates fall in Final Four for
BY JOE WALTER
4
PHOTO BY DONNA KENNEDY / JEFF HURNDON PHOTOGRAPHY
Livi O’Steen controls the ball during a recent playoff match.
The Lady Pirates fin
ished an outstanding sea
son in the Final Four of
the 2021 GHSA State Girls
Soccer Championships
as they lost to Greater At
lanta Christian by a score
of 3-0. The Lady Pirates
were 12-5-1 for the sea
son and 5-1 in region play
with a .684 win percent
age and a .833 region win
percentage. The Lady
Pirates scored 75 goals in
the season, only allowing
18 goals scored against
them. They finished the
season with a win against
Mary Persons and picked
up three playoff wins to
host the semifinal game
May 10 in the Final Four.
The Lady Spartans
executed their game plan
flawlessly, striking 6 min
utes into the match. GACS
has many elite club play
ers and Division 1 level
talent, including their
Ohio State-bound goal
keeper, who played center
back so a senior could
get some minutes. The
Lady Spartans parried
every attack with skill and
forced Pike to chase the
game for 70 plus minutes.
They struck again at 19
minutes when a shot from
distance came in hard and
the Pike keeper spilled the
shot and the Lady Spartan
forward beat the defender
to the ball and smashed it
into the net to make it 2-0.
Pike never gave up, but se
nior Anna Chasteen found
herself battling against
three and four defenders
every time she received a
ball. Pike pushed numbers
up to try to get a shot but
seniors Chelsie Moore
and Maggie Hawkins were
forced to make desper
ate slide tackles time and
time again. Senior Livi
O’Steen shuttled the ball
between the lines, but the
Lady Spartans were at the
right place to thwart her
every time.
Pike played with
desperation and better
success in the second
half but could not get one
past the defense. The final
blow came at 72 minutes
when the GACS center
back, mentioned earlier,
launched a ball from mid-
field and it slid over the
Pike keeper’s fingertips to
increase the lead to 3-0.
PHOTO BY LISA MCGURL
The stands were packed with fans as the Lady Pirates soccer team hosted the semi-finals of the 2021 GHSA State Girls Soccer
Championships on Monday, April 10. The student section stood the entire match and blew horns, beat drums and waved flags.
SPECIAL PHOTOS
The Gordon State College Lady Highlanders softball team
includes (l-r) Breanna Lee and Makenzie English who are
captains for the team and freshman Kylee Housman.
Pike softball players help Gordon
earn conference championship
Three athletes
from Pike play for the
Gordon State Col
lege softball team and
recently helped them
earn the school’s first
ever conference cham
pionship. GSC finished
the 2021 regular season
with a 32-11 overall
record and a 21-3 GCAA
record. GSC began
GCAA postseason play
on May 10 when the
Highlanders welcomed
the winner of the No. 4
seed East Georgia State/
No. 5 seed ABAC series
to Barnesville for a 4
p.m. doubleheader.
After GSC won 18
straight games, the
Highlanders dropped
three of four - includ
ing an 8-6 home loss
to ABAC and a 5-3, 9-1
doubleheader loss at
Georgia Military College
eight days later.
In their last games
of the regular season,
Makenzie English of
Williamson went 3-for-5
with an RBI and a run
scored in the 9-1 victory
over East Georgia State
College and Breanna
Lee of Concord got two
hits, two RBls and two
runs in the 13-0 victory
over East Georgia.
Despite two weather
delays and some of both
games played in a steady
rain, No. 1 seed Gordon
State College pulled off
a 9-0, 6-5 doubleheader
sweep of No. 4 seed East
Georgia State College
in the semifinals of the
GCA/NJCAA Region
17 postseason tourna
ment. GSC, a winner of
eight straight games,
advanced to the GCAA
championship series
and will face the winner
of No. 2 seed Georgia
Military College or No. 3
seed Georgia Highlands
College.
GSC (34-11 overall)
had no trouble with
EGSC in the opener on
Tuesday as the High
landers jumped out to
a 4-0 lead in the first
inning and then added
on with two runs in the
third and three more in
the fifth to close out the
victory. Makenzie Eng
lish of Williamson had
two hits in the game.
In the second game,
GSC also got big run-
producing hits from
Breanna Lee of Concord
and Williams.