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BffiS
June 22, 2011
Justice signs with
Toccoa Falls College
MP star pitcher and center-
fielder Jake Justice has signed
a letter of intent to play base
ball at Toccoa Falls College
next year.
Justice, who impressively
made first-team 2-AAAA11
Region as both an outfielder
and a pitcher, is joining a pro
gram that won the National
Christian College Athletic
Association (NCCAA) national
championship in 2011.
The championship was the
second one for the program in
the last three years.
MP head baseball coach
Jonathan Gastley said Justice,
a four-year letterman, will be
sorely missed within the pro
gram next year.
Gastley said he admired
Justice’s “passion and work
ethic.”
“He never worried about him
self because all he wanted to
do is win,” Gastley said.
As a senior in 2011, Justice
batted an impressive .378 with
4 homers and 25 RBIs. On the
pitching rubber, he won a
team-leading seven games,
compiling a 7-3 record with a
3.70 ERA. He struck out 46
hitters in a team-leading 55.1
innings.
In 2010, Justice hit 349 with
1 home run and 7 RBIs. On the
mound, he posted a 2-3 record
with a 4.74 ERA. He struck out
32 batters in 31 innings.
Justice was one of 10 MP sen
iors recognized at the baseball
awards banquet Friday night.
Photos from the banquet will
appear in next week’s Reporter.
^Reporter
MP baseball star Jake Justice signed a letter of intent to play college baseball at Toccoa Falls. Justice is pictured
on the front row with his mother and father Cindy and Phillip Justice. Pictured on the back row (l-r) MP principal Jim
Finch, MP head baseball coach Jonathan Gastley, MP assistant coaches Matt Gordon and MP assistant coach
Mark Smith. (Photo/Richard Dumas)
McLuen
continued from the front
at The Brickyard at Riverside in March
by two shots but has since lost a pair of
playoffs. McLuen said he is focusing his
schedule on the Peach State tour this
year because the top three finishers get
their $4,500 PGA Tour Qualifying School
fees waived.
McLuen actually made it to the final
stage of qualifying school two years ago
but failed to earn his PGA Tour card.
McLuen said a double bogey on the final
hole of the six-day grind probably cost
him at least three starts on the
Nationwide Tour the next year.
McLuen said he thinks he will be much
better the prepared the second time
around though, since he is playing some
of the best golf of his life this year.
McLuen said putting has always held
him back, so he recently worked on it
with renowned Sea Island putting
instructor Mike Shannon. He said he felt
like he was in the right place because
PGA stars Tiger Woods, Graeme
McDowell and Matt Kuchar had also
scheduled lessons with Shannon. He said
Shannon retooled his stroke, emphasizing
putting more with his shoulders and less
with his hands.
McLuen said the work is paying imme
diate dividends. Just two weeks ago, he
shot his lowest competitive round of 62,
and he said he feels like he is playing
weR when he's in contention, as evi
denced by his strong play in the U.S.
Open qualifier.
"I feel like this last year or two, I've
played better when I was in contention
versus if I was sitting there in 40th place
and didn't really have a chance to win,"
McLuen said. "I feel like when I have a
chance to win, I don't always win, but I
normally play well in that position."
McLuen moved to Forsyth about two
years ago after he married his wife Reye
in 2008. Reye, the daughter of Butch and
Connie Copelan, grew up in Smarr and
graduated from Mary Persons High
School.
McLuen said he likes living in Forsyth,
which he described as "small but close
enough to anything you need." He likened
Forsyth to growing up in Colbert just 10
minutes from Athens.
"People here are nice, very friendly,"
McLuen said. "It's great."
McLuen, whose father Jim is a teaching
pro, said he took up golf when he was six
years old. However, McLuen said he
thought his future was going to be in bas
ketball, a sport in which he was a stand
out at Madison County High School. By
his senior year, he said he realized that
golf could be in his future.
McLuen said the strength of his game is
his ballstriking, but when he has occa
sional problems with it, he doesn't hesi
tate to call upon his father, whom he still
considers his primary coach.
"It usually takes about 10 minutes for
us to figure it out," McLuen said. "Most of
the time we can usually do something
over the phone, but if it's really strug
gling, we'll see each other, and it usually
doesn't take long to figure it out."
Being a professional golfer on small
tours is not necessarily a lucrative ven
ture. McLuen said a chunk of his earn
ings goes to his sponsor, Stadion
Financial, of Athens. Even though he and
his wife do not have children, he said his
family is very much dependent on his
wife's salary at RAI Dialysis Clinic in
Macon to supplement his own. But
McLuen said he will continue grinding
his way through professional golf as long
as he thinks he can compete.
"I don't want to be a 40-year-old mini
tour player," McLuen said.
However, McLuen said he thinks good
things are just around the corner, and at
30, he said he is entering the prime of his
career, a career that he believes will soon
take him to his dream of being a full-time
member of the PGA Tour.
If the U.S. Open qualifier is any indica
tion, the Forsyth resident could be well
on his way.
Wildcats complete undefeated season
The Wildcats were the 8-and-under softball champs of the Monroe County Recreation De
partment in 2011. The Wildcats completed an undefeated season, winning first place in both
the regular season and the tournament. Team members include: front row (l-r) Ashleigh
Slaughter, Jaida Harvey, Trinity Stokes, Jen Wilson and Katelyn Shipman; second row (l-r)
Ansley Lawson, Maggie Parlier, Mallory Turner, Lily Martin and Alyssa Green and back row (I-
r) Gracie Sapp and coaches Tammy Turner, Ronnie Shipman and Greg Slaughter. Not pic
tured: Lisa Slaughter.
4-Annual Future
Bulldog Baseball Camp
Mary Persons High School • Ages 6-12 _.;T’
June 27 - 30 2011 • 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Please complete the form below and mail it to: Coach Jonathan Gastley P.O. Box 5725 Forsyth, Georgia
31029 or bring it on Monday, June 27th. The fee for this camp is $40. This covers instruction, games,
and a camp T-shirt. Please make checks payable to the Mary Persons Baseball Dugout Club. Cash will
also be appreciated. For more information contact Head Coach Jonathan Gastley at (770) 851-0457
(cell) or 992-6502 (home) and/or by email at: coachgastley7@hotmail.com.
RELEASE FOR
MEDICAL
TREATMENT
Application will
not be complete
until this signed
form is
returned.
Since all of the
athletes attending
are under 18
years of age, it is
necessary for our
doctors to have
permission to
administer aid if
necessary.
Name Date
Last First Middle
Date of last tetanus immunization
Any allergies to medicines? If so, list
List any conditions physicians should be aware of
Email address
Phone number in case of emergency: Day Cell
Campers Age
Insurance Coverage for accidental injury is required for all participants. Please
Indicate your current insurance coverage data.
Insurance Company Policy Number
The undersigned
hereby acknowledges
that camp participation
involves an inherent
risk, and the
undersigned, on behalf
of the registrant does
hereby release the
camp and all
employees and agents
from any liability
whatsoever. I hereby
state that I am the legal
guardian of said child.
Date
Signature of
Parent/Guardian:
Parent or Guardian Signature
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