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The Madison County Journal
INSIDE THIS WEEK
National tourney awaits
Cody Phillips has been selected to
compete in a national tournament
for sophomore wrestlers
2B
IB
Thursday, March 26, 2009
www.MainstreetnewsSPORTS.com
Ben Munro/ ben@mainstreetnews.com (706) 795-2567
Jeannie
Bowen
competes
at no. 2
doubles
during
a recent
Madison
County win
on the ten
nis courts.
The Lady
Raiders
are off to a
5-0 start in
subregion
play.
Ben Munro/
staff
Girls’ Tennis
Perfect at halfway point
MCHS girls’ tennis team
5-0 in subregion play
Five down, five to go.
The Madison County girls’ tennis
team (7-2) completed a perfect 5-0 run
through the first half of the subregion
schedule with a 5-0 drubbing of Clarke
Central Tuesday.
“I’m very proud of our kids in the
way that they have played the first round
through the subregion opponents,” coach
Keith Strickland said.
Aiming for a no. 1 seed in the April
16-17 region tournament, Madison
County looks to protect that perfect
record during the second half of the
subregion slate.
“We’ve just got to maintain our inten
sity and bring it back as we meet all five
teams for the second time after spring
break,” Strickland said.
Madison County won ail five matches
— See ‘Girls tennis’ on 3B
Sports Notes
MCHS tennis
standouts earn
Athlete of the
Week honors
Madison County
High School girls’
singles player Jeannie
Bowen and the boys'
doubles tandem of Jake
Scarborough and Chris
Dove have been named
Athletes of the Week
by the school's athletic
department.
Bowen started 7-0
on the year, winnng
each match by straight
sets and outscoring her
opponents by a com
bined 86-20. Bowen’s
region wins have helped
the Madison County
girls to get off to a 5-0
start in 8-AAAA play.
“Jeannie is one of the
many go-to positions
that we know we can
count on week in and
week out,” Madison
County tennis coach
Keith Strickland said.
On the boys’ side.
Dove and Scarborough
also started 7-0.
Their victories in
action against Winder-
Barrow, Cedar Shoals
and Clarke Central
have helped the Raiders
start 5-4 and 4-1 in the
subregion. "They have
played some emotion-
packed and energized
matches in tennis every
match this season,”
Strickland said.
Golf
Five Lady
Raiders shoot
below 50
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Seth Fleming rounds third Friday afternoon during Madison County’s 15-5 win over Franklin County.
The Raiders had outscored their past four foes 57-8. Ben Munro/staff
Offense aplenty
The Madison County
girls' golf team enjoyed a
historic round Monday.
For the first time
ever, the Lady Raiders
have five players shoot
below 50 as they beat
North Oconee 92-108
Monday.
Coach Doug Kesler
said that’s reflective
of the depth the team
enjoys throughout the
lineup.
— See Girls’ golf on 2B
Raiders score 57 runs in four games
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
T he Madison County offense has found its own
stimulus package.
The Raider baseball team (9-2,5-0) has
assailed its opponents with 57 runs in the last four
games as the Raiders remained tied for first in 8-AAAA
with Winder-Barrow.
Raider coach Charlie Griffeth is taking the offensive
explosion with guarded enthusiasm.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
March 17: Madison Co. 12, Loganville 2
March 18: Madison Co. 17, Monroe Area 1
March 20: Madison Co. 15, Franklin Co. 5
March 23: Madison Co. 13, Hab. Central 0
“You take 'em when you can ... You don’t want to
get too comfortable,’’ he said.
The hit parade started with a 12-2 rout of defending
state champion Loganville March 17.
Madison County then blasted seven homeruns in a
— See “Baseball’ golf on 3B
Boys’ Track
Three MCHS
records fall at
Cedar meet
Raider boys take second at
Loch Johnson Invitational
Host Cedar Shoals didn’t fall in Saturday’s
Loch Johnson Invitational, but some Madison
County school records did.
Highlighting the Raiders’ second-place finish
in the meet were the Raider relay teams and
Jamal Cooper, all winning events in record
setting fashion.
Cooper sped to a school-best 21.8 time and
first-place finish in the 200 meters and then lent
his speed to the relay team efforts.
The 4 x 100 squad — Terry Cobb, Cooper,
Kendrick Butler
and A1 Allen —
clocked a 41.8 to
set a new school
mark.
Then, the 4 X
400 team — Cedric
Bush, Cooper,
Cobb and Butler
— followed suit by
winning that event
with a school-best
3:26.
The Madison County boys’ track team fell
just shy of unseating Cedar Shoals in the final
tally, finishing with 109 team points, six behind
the champion Jaguars (115).
“It was a great meet,” Madison County coach
Marty Tate said. “We did not jump as good as
I had wished, but the kids worked their tails off
the rest of the meet.’’
Madison County added two second-place fin
ishes in its biggest meet thus far this year with
Derrell Dukes taking runner-up honors in the
pole vault and T.J. McGuire in the high jump.
Third-place finishers were Jeffery Hicks (pole
vault), Jazmond Taylor (1,600 meters, 800
meters), Kendrick Buder (300-meter intermedi
ate hurdles) and Corey Brakhage (third).
Other top finishers included Butler (long
jump, fourth; triple jump, fifth). Cooper (long
jump, fifth), Brakhage (1,600 meters, fourth),
McGuire (110-meter high hurdles, fourth; 300-
meter intermediate high hurdles, fourth). Mauro
Ortiz (800 meters, fourth), Cobb (200 meters,
fifth) and Dalton Owenby (3,200 meters,
fourth).
Prior to the Loch Johnson meet, Madison
County coasted to its second easy home vic
tory in as many events last Tuesday, tallying 82
points in winning three-team meet.
Elbert County was a distant second with 49
points. Hart County finished with 37.
Madison County won by 71.5 points one
week earlier in its season-opener.
“We have had three good meets,” Tate said.
“It's time the kids push themselves to be
great.”
Madison County enjoyed seven first-place
finishes and eight second-place showings in
routing the competition last Tuesday.
McGuire (high jump, 110-meter high hur
dles), Butler (long jump, 300-meter interme
diate hurdles), Dukes (pole vault) and Jamal
Cooper (200 meters) all won their respective
events.
Madison County’s 4 x 400 relay (Bush,
Cooper, Cobb and Butler) also placed first.
Finishing second were Matt Dove (discus),
Cooper (long jump), Butler (triple jump), Hicks
(pole vault), Taylor (800 meters), McGuire
(300-meter intermediate hurdles) and Owensby
(3,200 meters). The 4 x 100 team comprising
Claude Johnson, Cooper, Butler and Cobb fin
ished second in that event.
Santino Swain (discus), Johnson (shot put),
Donavan Carey (110-meter high hurdles), Cobb
(200 meters) and Ortiz (3,200 meters) added
third-place finishes.
SCHOOL
RECORDS FALL
•Jamal Cooper, 200
meters, 21.8 seconds
•4 x 100 team: Terry
Cobb, Jamal Cooper,
Kendrick Butler, A1
Allen, 41.8 seconds
•4 x 400 team: Cedric
Bush, Jamal Cooper,
Terry Cobb, Kendrick
Butler, 3:26
Detrick Yamasato (right) trails a North
Oconee player during recent action. Ben
Munro/staff
Boys’ Soccer
Raiders equal win
total from last year
With four games
remaining, the Raider
soccer team has already
matched its win total
from last season.
The Raiders (6-6)
downed Jefferson 4-0
Tuesday for their sixth
victory of the season.
“We played fairly well,
dominated possession and
kept the ball in their end
much of the game.” coach
Trevor Mangan said.
Madison County has
now shut out its past two
opponents as it strives to
get over the .500 mark.
The Raiders are scheduled
to resume play Friday at
Winder-Barrow.
Though the offense
sputtered at times dur
ing the first half against
Jefferson, Ben Ortman
buried a full volley off
of a comer kick to put
Madison County ahead
1-0 at halftime.
Kyle Carr scored his
first career goal in the sec
ond half, off a header on a
comer kick, and Ortman
— See soccer on 2B
Rifle
MCHS deploying sharpshooters to Ft. Benning
Rifle Raiders earn trip to state match
The Madison County rifle team earned a come-
from-behind 1,128-1,101 victory over Lumpkin
County March 18 to qualify for the state match
April 4 in Ft. Benning.
The Raiders trailed by five points after the first
round in the prone position the host, but gained an
11-point lead in the standing position and held on
to win by 27 points.
Senior Casey Brown led Madison County with
a 289. followed by Wade Threlkeld (287), Nathan
Coker (281) and J.S. Fielding (271).
Brown and Alexis John of Lumpkin County
both shot perfect scores in the prone position (hit
ting 10 of 10 “bulls”).
The 12 winning teams in the state tournament
and the two highest scoring losing teams advance
to the state finals. Also, any individual who shot a
290 or better at some point in the season is invited
to state.
Raider rifle team members Casey Brown and
Nathan Coker shoot from the kneeling posi
tion. Submitted photo