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Sports Westfield athletes honored during By PHIL CLARK Home Joirnmu. Srowi _ Coaches, parents and support ers showed up Monday night to honor Westfield spring sports par ticipants at a banquet held at the school. Golf, tennis, track and baseball coaches recognized the accom plishments of the athletes, many of whom were making their last appearance in an athletic-related event at the school. Some 18 of those honored will be graduating in less than two weeks. Golf coach Marvin Arrington praised his team for their achieve ments. not only this year, but over the past four years. The golf team has won two state champi onships. a second place and a third place in the past four sea sons This year, the Hornet golfers had a third place finish behind ...'■'■■"jfrif.i ' iWc’c IVI (trH'i: pit':-'t : r -■- - ■ .■.•..-.-.'..-.■••v ...... .***,.-*. Jpj EL ift ■ . wafa. | , , * : mne,'n^mnii- - mmvo** ~ im**. Mjflw .• i*i, J •y , A : % : ***• j V ■'mi. I i('i ■}, .? A, . AMERICAN LEGION PLAYERS ~ Members of the arm American League baseball team include (from left), David Talley Coffey and Franklin seek more baseball experience at next level By ALUNB KENT Three former Perry High School base ball players are making an early transi iion to the ranks of college ball by par ticipating in the American League’s sum mer ball program. Kent Franklin, David Talley and David <: of fey barely dropped their bats for the last time as Panthers when they changed uniforms and teammates to play ball again. The three, all seniors, are part of the 18-member Pied Sox team in the American League’s Big league associa tion for 17 and 18 year olds. The tough schedule will not give the s I iree much of a sbmmer vacation. The team will play 40 regular season games in six weeks,* traveling throughout mid dle Georgia. Each brings his special skills to the Red Sox team. Franklin, who led the Panthers in RBl’s this season, will use It is sad to see the Hornet seniors leave the nest Of course, to the graduating seniors at our local schools, it’s just a stepping stone on the road to higher goals. But to those of us who watch them perform, and report on their accomplishments, their graduation is going to be a bittersweet event. We're always sad to see them leave, but proud as a peacock for what they've done, and for what they are positioning themselves to contribute to society in the future. On Monday of this week, Westfield honored the athletes and support people who per formed in spring sports. Seniors, especially, were singled out for their contributions in baseball, track, golf and tennis. Having been assigned to cover Westfield exclusively this year, I have become pretty close to the young folks who give so much of their time to represent their school in athletic events. For some, it’s a never-ending cycle, going from fall to winter to spring without a break. Let’s look at some of those seniors, and what they have meant to the var- state champion Stratford and Deerfield-Windsor. Westfield fin ished three shots behind the win ners. Freshman N Jon David Kennedy was the team s medalist, was the region lAAA medalist, and earned all region and all state honors. Senior Joe Todd was also all region and all state, while senior Matt Moore was all region. Mitch Greer. R.G. Lamar, Meyur Vashi and Wes Wheeler were the other members of this team. Janice OToole recognized the members of her tennis teams, and cited Lauren Causey and Chad Bailey, who were named to the all region team. Each played at the number one singles position for the Westfield teams. Stephanie Thompson, an eight grader, played number two singles and Erin Adkins was at number three. Senior Brandi Bazemore Talley, David Coffey and Kent Franklin. All were members of the 1999 Perry High baseball team. his strong throwing arm both on the mound and in center field. Coffey, one of the leading batters in the middle Georgia area, ana Talley will cany on their shortstop-second base combination for the team. The team is coached by Paul Shealy, a 15-year veteran of the program, who is very excited about the Panther additions to his team. This is a real treat for me," Shealy said. These three young men are good ball players. Everyone who knows mem speaks veiy highly of them on the field and off. I am excited about being able to work with them before they go off this fail. “ All three are expected to play college baseball next spring. Coffey has signed a scholarship with the University of Georgia. Franklin and Talley are narrowing their selection between several schools. Phil Clark Home Journal sports ious programs at the school. The busiest of the bunch was Chad Ekey. He was an all-star in football, playing on the line for Ronnie Jones, and went directly to Rennie Atkinson’s basketball team. Without so much as a breather, Ekey then performed on both the baseball and track teams in the spring. There were numerous three sport performers among girls and boys sports. Three young ladies who will be sorely missed next season are Lauren Byrd, Laura Posey and Brandi Bazemore. Byrd and Posey were fixtures on the softball, basket ball and track teams, while Bazemore was a member of the Home Journal Photo by AlMne Kent Page 6A Wed., May 19, 1999 and Junior Lina Arnold were the number one doubles team for the Lady Hornets, while Christen Watson and Julee Todd played at number two. For the Hornets, Brad Barfield played at number two, James Farmer at number three, Ernest Greene and Brent Roper at num ber one doubles and John Curtis Gibbs and Spencer Shugart were at number two doubles. Girls' track coach Leigh Ann Johnson recognized the region lAAA discus champion, Connie Thompson; the 1,600 meter relay team of Lauren Byrd, Nicki Dean, Rachel Moore and Katie Byrd, which finished third in region competition; and Katie Byrd, who qualified for state in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes. Larry Bennett s Hornets cap tured a first place trophy in state competition with a sparkling basketball, tennis and cheer leader squads. Others who will be missed include Connie Thompson, who was a member of the softball and track teams, as well as cheer leaders Kelly Bryant and Alison Sarrat, who were also baseball managers. Trevor Jones, Jared Shell, Tate Parker and Gary Virden were senior boys who wore many uniforms. Jones was the quar terback on the football team, point guard on the basketball squad and second baseman on the baseball team. Jones was honored last week by being named to the 1999 National Football Foundation Scholar/ Citizen/Athlete honor roll. Shell was an all-state fullback for the Hornets, was named to the all-area team by the Houston Home Journal (then the Times- Journal) after gaining nearly 1,400 yards rushing during his senior season. Shell was also the leading hitter on the baseball team, and was a member of the state champion 400-meter relay team. That team won with a time Eighth grade Panthers claim Houston County baseball title By ALLINE KENT Home Journal Sports It's not just ice cream in Perry that is famous for number 31 anymore. Perry, 10-2, clinched their most recent baseball championship before the last game of the season. Middle School baseball coach John Warlick, when asked ,abqut the reasons for success, spoke proudly of his players and their deter mination. “We were just strong in every position,“ he said. “There was not a weak play er on our team. Even com ing off the bench we were still very strong." Warlick commented that he had something that all baseball coaches strives for, “excellence straight up the middle." The Panther’s solid pitch I '• -v—.ip::-. v m * imh v i , sk , h mm ■>. S* *' m ■ > l £ SBM. C Houston Home Journal Photo by Alline Kent MEMBERS OF THE PERRY MIDDLE SCHOOL EIGHTH GRADE TEAM CELEBRATE The Panthers Went 10-2 On The Season To Win The County Title Houston Home Jamal spring sports banquet Chad Ekey was the only senior who participated in four different sports, and one of just two overall f 43.93 in the 400 meter relay. Jared Shell, Gary Virden, Jacob Walker and Tate Parker ran their best time of the year in their final performance to take first place. Virden and Parker qualified for state in the triple Jump and long jump, Will Sexton competed in the 300-meter hurdles and Jared Shell in the 100-meter dash. Ronnie Jones introduced mem bers of the B-team baseball squad, which finished at 4-3. Billy Sellers singled out mem bers of his varsity team for special recognition. Shell was named all region 1-AAA and honorable men ing, a great combination at second and short with TJ Hutchens and Kyle McCarty and Morris Johnson’s speed in the cen ter field were all key for Perry. Perry pitching was led by Chris Fiye, who went unde feated and Russ Crum, who pitched a no hitter and two one hitters this season. Matt Hunt, who spent most of the year playing catcher, also saw time on the mound. The Panthers last played for the county champi onship three years ago with a team led by Perry High School standout Tripp Morath. When the eighth grade Perry Middle School Panthers won the county championship in baseball last week it meant that of 43.93 seconds (the state record for AAA schools is 43.67). Parker and Virden were also members of the football, baseball and track teams, and both were members of the championship relay team (the fourth member was junior Jacob Walker). Virden, the leadoff hitter most of the season for the baseball team, ran the second leg on the relay team, after Shell, while Parker anchored the relay team, and was the shortstop for the baseball team. Parker and Virden were both offensive players on the football team, Virden as a wide receiver and Parker as a running back. Some of the seniors Westfield will lose performed in two sports, others in just one. But they were all very important cogs in the wheel. Robbie Heaton, for exam ple, was what Ronnie Jones called “the best lineman I've ever coached, on offense and on defense." Heaton was an all state and Times-Journal all-area who will walk on at the Citadel to con tinue his football career. Robbie was also on the track team, tion all state after leading his team in hitting with a .364 aver age. Sophomore Daniel Weir struck out 52 opposing batters to lead the team in that category, fresh man Chance Jones led in runs batted in and doubles, while senior Trevor Jones was tops in runs and tied with Shell for the most hits. Jones also hit over .300 for the year. # Sellers loses Trevor Jones, Shell, Tate Parker, Chad Ekey. Matt Hardy, Gary Virden and Ron Marshall to graduation. Ekey was the only senior who participated in four different sports, and one of just two overall. The other was junior Will Sexton. At the conclusion of the evening. Headmaster Michael Drake recognized Eric P. Staples award winners Trevor Jones and Lauren Byrd. Warlick won his 31st coun ty championship since coming to Perry Middle School, a feat unrivaled in Houston county. Those championships have been spread across three different sports dur ing Warlick's 29-year tenure at the school. Three times during his career, Warlick has brought to Perry Middle School the “triple crown" champi onships in all three sports during one school year. Warlick’s continuing suc cess in the coaching field also seems to be a major drive in his quest for accomplishment year after year. Some might consider sit ting back and resting on the record. Warlick said each championship is as sweet to him as the fitst one, „ : , . throwing the discus and putting the shot. Ron Marshall was an out standing defensive end for the football team, and was the desig nated hitter on the baseball team after a shoulder injure kept him from catching. Ron also played on the basketball team. Josh Giles and Matthew Lee graduate from the football team, while the baseball squad loses Matt Hardy. Two of the main stays on the boys basketball team were one-sport seniors. Brian Hartley set an all-time school record with 101 three point baskets in a four-year career. He was named to the all state team and also participated in the AA-AAA shootout. Robert Causey was the start ing center for two years for the Hornets and was a valuable rebounder and scorer. Both these seniors will be hard to replace. Coach Marvin Arrington loses Joe Todd and Meyur Vashi from the golf team. Both were one See CLARK, Page 7A