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(7T( K pome 1/ dUp Journal Houston County's Legal Organ Since 1870 Photo by James Tidwell Houston County head coach David Braunstein (center) gives instructions to one of his wrestlers dur ing a match against Northside at the fifth annual Perry Invitational in the McGill Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. Perry boys, girls fall snort in Jones By Will Kieman Sports Writer GRAY - Both the Perry boys and girls squads headed north to Jones County over the week end to compete in the Bank of Gray Hobday Classic. Unfortunately, the trip wasn’t as fruitful as the Panthers and Lady Panthers had envisioned. The Lady Panthers picked up their first loss of the season against the tournament win ning Monticello team. Because of the early loss the girls team was relegated to a finish of fifth place despite win ning the rest of their games. The team’s record improves to 8-1 overall. “(Playing for fifth place) is kind of a yucky feeling,” said Perry head coach John Chance. “You’re playing for personal pride.” The Panthers and Lady Panthers had one thing in com mon throughout the tourna ment. They each lost to the first Houston Co. tips off Ninth Bear Brawl By Will Kieman Sports Writer WARNER ROBINS - The Bear Brawl Tournament has been dominated by local teams, with Warner Robins and Houston County filling three of the four spots in the champi onship games on Monday. The Demons defeated the Upson-Lee Knights in a 52-41 victory to advance to the Championship game. The Bears hterally brawled their way past the Hawkinsville Red Devils in an 85-75 win to meet the Demons Monday night. “(Warner Robins) is not as physical as Hawkinsville but they’re just as quick as any thing that we’re going to see all year long...we’re just going to have to handle the ball,” said m y&j « A cJwl \!t SSL m .... >;,,. ■'.-feit, «k ,r W—- l- ,v '* Photo by James Tidwell Warner Robins player Mia Peeples (21) beats Starr’s Mill player Jenny Norman to a loose ball during the opening game of the 2002 Bear Brawl at the Bears Den in Warner Robins Thursday. LSj 2002 Bank of Gray Holiday Classic team they played, while the winners of their first game went on to win the tournament. The Panthers went 1-2 at the tournament losing to a third ranked AAAAA Jonesboro team and the host, Jones County. The Panthers did, their second win of the season in a great defensive effort over Macon County. After the tournament the Panthers record stands at 2-7 overall. Houston County boys head coach Greg Nix. The girls side of the bracket will see a contender from out of state in the championship game. Timmonsville from South Carolina will face the Lady Bears in the champi onship game. The Whirlwinds defeated the Demonettes Saturday evening, 43-32, while the Lady Bears sent the Lady Knights of Upson-Lee home Friday night after a dominating 67-30 victory. “We came here to play good people and if we win...good...if we don’t...then it was a good experience for us,” said Timmonsville head coach Perry See Brawl on Page 2B Sports Tuesday,. December 24, 2002 B ■ ' / A fl _ iuU W" “ MW , '-f i oHB lilili wS® illlik jil i w mm iHfe mm mtmm Hk jh? . smM 11111; 11 j SKR;. ■ • liggßk jpßgg I f||§gk sßj I **■'* JjSBR WfiSm llllil ißWtet wlßim- jmmS lli '.V.- r ■ mHtKL ' tßw SPifc iMypllf mßm I WSk mMfrS :ymm ffw Wram mb ™ mm - JIB UPB? •• ./?■' Photo by James Tidwell Westfield athletic director Ronnie Jones (left) presents the 2002 Snow Fight Tournament girls championship trophy to Amanda Murph and the other Westfield seniors at the Hornets Nest Saturday afternoon in Perry. Lady Hornets capture first Snow Fight tournament championship By James Tidwell Sports Editor PERRY - Saturday at the Hornets Nest, the inaugural Brannen Westfield 2002 Snow Fight Christmas tournament concluded with the champi onship and consolations con Hornets placo third after consolation victory By James Tidwell Sports Editor PERRY - After jumping out to a early lead, Westfield seemed destined for an easy win in the boys consolation game of the inaugural Brannen Westfield 2002 Snow Fight Christmas Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Westfield Snow Fight Boys Consolation Visiting foe Citizens Christian, however, had other ideas and rallied to make a See Hornets on Page 3B Perry hosts fifth invitational By Will Kieman Sports Writer PERRY - Perry hosted its Fifth Annual Perry Invitational Wrestling Tournament in the McGill Building at the Georgia National Fairgrounds during Friday and Saturday. While Perry and Houston County struggled, Northside finished much higher in the rankings as all three schools used the competition to gauge where they’ll need to be by the end of the season. “It gives us a chance to view the higher level of competition,” said Houston County head Wintry Bliss tests. “It was great and we had a lot of fun,” Westfield boys head coach Duane Hunter said. “We had some good crowds and good teams. We hope we’re able to do it next year.” As successful as the first-ever "TW-riMBM,,,', Photo by Jamss Tidwell Westfield player Hunt Sexton (11) grabs a rebound against Citizens Christian Saturday afternoon in the boys consolation game of the 2002 Snow Fight Tournament at the Hornets Nest In Perry. coach David Bronstein. “That’s how your team gets better.” North Gwinnett, West Laurens, Wheeler, and Eagles Landing took home the podium finishes, from first to fourth place, in that order. Their points totals were 193.5, 183.5, 165.3 and 137.5, respectively. The Best Wrestler award for the match went to Bill Steinbach of Wheeler High School in Marietta. The Best Match of the tournament went to Lance Hines of West Laurens and Steven Hart from Effingham County. Northside, while not present tournament may have been, the only host squad in possession to claim a championship were the Westfield girls as they faced George Walton in the title matchup Saturday afternoon at See Snow on Page 3B B1 as a team on the podium, fin ished in seventh place with four wrestlers appearing on the podi um. The highest finishing wrestler was Tavoris Boyd in the 152-pound class, finishing second place to Reeves from North Gwinnett. “We’re just a little down right now,” said Northside head coach Dan Kelly. The next highest finishers were Ryan Jones and Calvin Huggins, who finished third in the 112 pound class and 275 pound class, respectively. Huggins grasped the third place See Invitational on Page 2B Westfield Snow Fight Girls Championship