When the high school athletic season started last year, who knew it would arguably go down as the best in Fayette County history?
There is no doubt that sports fans in the county had become used to high schools competing for and winning state titles, but nobody could have predicted a year like this.
Three state champions (Sandy Creek football, Fayette County girls basketball and McIntosh girls soccer), four state runners-up (Starr’s Mill football, Sandy Creek volleyball, McIntosh boys soccer, Whitewater baseball), 30 teams in the final top 10 rankings of various sports and five individual state champions in swimming and track.
That’s a lot of hardware for the trophy cases at the local schools.
In the fall, Whitewater softball finished ninth in the end of season poll. Our Lady of Mercy made the Class A/AA elite eight in volleyball (finishing with a ranking of ninth) while Sandy Creek finished as state runners-up in Class AAA.
In Class AAAA, Whitewater placed fourth in the end of season poll, followed by McIntosh in sixth.
Soon after the volleyball finals, six cross country teams placed in the top 10 of their respective classifications in the state cross country meet. (Class A – Our Lady of Mercy girls – 5th, Landmark girls 7th, Our Lady of Mercy boys 10th. Class AAAA – McIntosh boys and girls 4th).
And then we had the football playoffs.
Sandy Creek, which had dropped from Class AAAA to Class AAA, won their second consecutive state title, beating Carrollton 14-7 in the Georgia Dome. The Patriots had gone 29-1 in their two championship seasons. They weren’t the only team to make the finals though.
In Class AAAA, Starr’s Mill, under new head coach Chad Phillips, made the state final with a fourth quarter rally against Tucker on the road (in the freezing cold, I might add). The Panthers were shut out by Chattahoochee but still finished ranked second in Class AAAA. Whitewater also produced a stunning playoff victory, knocking out then top-seeded Northside, Warner Robins 28-21 in the first round.
If you need a little more to remember the exciting football season, former Starr’s Mill head coach Mike Earwood took over at Our Lady of Mercy, led the Bobcats to a record seven wins (7-3) and had them a win away from making the state playoffs.
Winter season was dominated by basketball and Fayette County’s Lady Tigers (28-5) vanquished their state final demons and won the Class AAAA title beating Forest Park 55-45. Brianna Banks was named Miss Georgia Basketball after the season. She and four others on the team signed college letters of intent.
The Fayette County boys made the AAAA semifinals and lost 66-64 to Rockdale County. Adam Smith was named to the PARADE All-America high school boys basketball second team after the season. The Tigers finished the season ranked third.
Another feel-good story in basketball was the play of the McIntosh Lady Chiefs (26-5). The girls ended the season ranked ninth in Class AAAA and lost to the state runners-up, Forest Park, 51-49, in the second round of the playoffs.
In wrestling, Whitewater’s varsity team took eighth in Class AAAA in the AAAA state wrestling tournament. They had one wrestler take third place and two take fourth place. Josh Burns (152) placed third, while Alex Kidd (125) and Austin Penland (130) placed fourth. In Class A, Landmark Christian placed 13th with one state champion and one fifth place finisher. Caleb Greer (103) took first place, going 3-0, while Ryne Thames (112) placed fifth.
At the Georgia State Swimming and Diving Championships, McIntosh’s Jack Beall defended his Class A-AAAA state title in the 100 backstroke and nabbed a second place finish in the 100 fly. Starr’s Mill’s Morgan Presley won the 100 Breaststoke and did well in several other events.
Those who placed in the top 10 of their event were recognized at the Georgia State Swimming and Diving Championships. Locals who were recognized were: McIntosh: state champion Jack Beall – 1st in men’s 100 back & 2nd in men’s 100 fly; Ari Berg – 5th in 100 breastroke and Missy Beall – 9th in 100 back and 10th in the 100 fly; 200 Individual Medley Relay women placed 9th (Beall, Berg, Erika Barret, and Anna Beard). Starr’s Mill: state champion Morgan Presley – 1st in women’s 100 breastroke. Whitewater High School: Alex Menke – 6th in men’s 200 free & 6th in men’s 500 free.
With spring sports, we always expect at least one of the local schools to capture a state soccer title. There have been 13 state titles won by local boys or girls teams since 2000 (in either Class AAA, AAAA, or AAAAA) and a girls team from Fayette County has won it in 2000 (McIntosh and Starr’s Mill both did), 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and now 2011.
The McIntosh Lady Chiefs (18-4-1) captured their seventh state title with a 2-1 (6-5 PK) win over Whitewater (18-4-1). The McIntosh boys title hopes were dashed in the state finals for the third year in a row.
Fayette County once again proved its soccer dominance though. In AAAA girls play, McIntosh finished first with Whitewater second and Starr’s Mill (14-7-1) ranked fourth. On the boys side in AAAA, McIntosh (17-5-1) finished the season ranked second, while Starr’s Mill (17-3-1) finished ranked sixth.
We don’t have to think back too far to remember how the baseball season ended. Whitewater (27-9), semifinalists in 2010, made the finals in 2011 and finished the season second behind Marist.
In tennis, McIntosh’s boys (18-1) finished as state runners-up to Pope in the AAAA final, while Starr’s Mill’s girls lost to Marist in the semifinals and the boys lost to Pope in the semis. The Chiefs finished the season ranked second with Starr’s Mill’s boys in fifth. On the girls side, Starr’s Mill finished the season ranked third.
Local teams even got in on the act in lacrosse with McIntosh’s Lady Chiefs making the Class A-AAAA semifinals and falling short to eventual champions Westminster 12-9. The McIntosh boys made the quarterfinals.
As for track, In AAAA, Fayette County’s Alex Phillips took fifth in the 100 meter dash (10.825), while Starr’s Mill’s 4×400 meter relay team took fourth place (3:18.690). McClain Head of Whitewater placed third in the shot put (57’5.5”).
In the Class AAA meet, Sandy Creek’s Bruce Truitt took second in the 400 meter dash (48.600), while Jamie Bigby placed fourth in the 800 meter run (1:58.310) and Jared Johnson placed sixth in the shot put (49’9.50”).
In the Class A meet, Our Lady of Mercy’s boys placed fourth overall. Pierce Vincent took third in the 100 meter dash (10.950), while Jordan Sartor took fifth (11.140). Sartor won the 200 meter dash (21.750), the 4×100 meter relay team took third (43.260) and Courtney Prevost placed fifth in the long jump (21’8”) and fourth in the triple jump (44’). Landmark Christian’s Darius Smith took third in the 300 intermediate hurdles (40.6), while Josh Herr placed third in the pole vault (12’).
In the girls state track meet, Landmark’s Lindy Long was a state champ in Class A in the 3,200 meter run (11:23.31).
In Class AAA, Sandy Creek’s Kaitlyn Taylor was a state runner-up in the long jump (18’9”) and fifth in the triple jump (37’), while the 4×100 meter relay team was also state runner-up (48.02). Ariel Truitt placed fourth in intermediate hurdles (15.00), while Victoria Parker took eighth in the 100 meter dash (12.51). Sandy Creek placed sixth overall in Class AAA.
In Class AAAA, Starr’s Mill placed fourth overall. Those who finished in the top 10 in their events included: McIntosh’s Nadia Lee placed fifth in the long jump (18’5) and second in the triple jump (37’5.5”), Starr’s Mill’s Taylor Dupont took fifth in the shot put (40’6”), Starr’s Mill’s 4×400 meter relay team placed third (4:00.34), Starr’s Mill’s Daisy Helm placed fourth in the 400 meter dash (56.70), McIntosh’s Joy Cummings took seventh in the 800 meter run (2:24.07), McIntosh’s Melanie Hamilt placed seventh in the 3,200 meter run(11:42.19), Whitewater’s Bree Handy placed sixth in the 300 meter low hurdles (45.31), Starr’s Mill’s QuaDierer Crafton took fourth in the high jump (5’2’) and teammates Caroline Evans and Shawna Lehman placed fourth and sixth respectively in the pole vault (9’6”).
We also had a dance team win a state title (Starr’s Mill) and another dance team place seventh in the nation in High Kick (McIntosh).
To even the casual observer, Fayette County athletics continues to improve and is trending upwards in all sports. We have excellent student athletes and dedicated coaches, volunteers, parents and fans. A year like this year may not be repeated annually, but it is no anomaly. Fayette County has staked its claim to being a competitor on the athletic fields and it has been a pleasure for this reporter to watch this emergence.
It does feel good to take a breath after a season like that, though.
Phew.
