Wayne Grandy
January 01, 2008 07:53 pm
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MOULTRIE — Although Colquitt County 14-and-under and 12-and-under baseball teams won Georgia Recreation and Parks Association state championships on the same day in July, 2007 was not a year for strong team performances.
Colquitt County High won state championships in golf and gymnastics in 2006, but neither team was able to repeat.
But there were a number of outstanding performances by individual Colquitt countians and, as usual, divers led the way.
And no one had a better 2007 than Colquitt County and Moss Farms diver Ryan Helms.
In February, he won his third straight state high school championship, smashing the previous record with a 615.00. He will attempt to make it four in a row next month.
At the Junior National Diving Championships last summer, Helms finished second on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards, earning a spot on the Junior Pan Am Championships team and a chance to represent the U.S. in the international competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
And he capped the year when he signed a letter of intent in November to dive at the University of Tennessee.
Two of his Moss Farms teammates also signed with SEC schools. Anna Aguero will dive at Auburn and Owen Blank will head to the University of Georgia.
A number of other divers had excellent performances in 2007, including freshman Kelsey Goodman, who won the state high school championship and, like Helms, set a new record in the process, scoring a 534.35.
Here are some of the other newsworthy performances of 2007:
In January, Colquitt County softball player Morgan Jones signed with Darton College. Several days later, Packers golfer Aaron Elrod also signed with Darton.
The Colquitt County High football team lost its defensive coordinator Bill Ragans and its offensive coordinator Jim Sauls.
In February, four Colquitt County football players agreed to continue their careers at the college level: B.J. Baker, at Charleston Southern; Duke Banks and Derek Illian at West Georgia; Orion Ponder at Florida A&M and Vance Cuff at Georgia.
Colquitt County wrestlers Antonio Sutton, Ricky Grier, Trey Brooks and Jocorey Dillard qualified for the state meet.
The new Ike Aultman Field at Packer Park was dedicated and the Colquitt County baseball team cooperated with a 7-4 victory over Crisp County.
Colquitt County also retired baseball jersey No. 44, worn for 30 seasons by coach Jerry Croft, who retired. Croft won the school’s only two state baseball championships.
Gymnasts Leah May and Devin Corgan won gold medals in their age group at the 2007 USA Gymnastics Level 9 state championships in Roswell. ... USA Shooting named Colquitt County trap shooters Josh Webb and Shane Slocumb to the National Team.
The Colquitt County High air rifle team took a 7-0 record into the postseason. ... Former Packer Jamal Hayes was on the LSU 4x400 relay team that finished second in the SEC Indoor Track Championships. ... The Marietta Country Club team won the 2007 Pot o’ Gold Pro-Am championship at Sunset Country Club.
The Colquitt County High rifle team shot a season-high 1,153 to qualify for the state championships, where it finished sixth.
The Colquitt County middle school girls soccer team finished 9-0-2 and won the South Georgia Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships.
The Colquitt County High golf team shot a 294 to win the Knuck McCrary Packer Invitational at Sunset Country Club. ... Former Colquitt County offensive lineman and University of Georgia snapper Brian Jordan played with the Rhein Fire of the NFL Europe.
Six Colquitt County divers — Helms, Goodman, Blank, Aguero, Hannah Moore and Ali Lepech — were named All-State. ... Thomas Tripp and Sherard Reynolds played baseball for Valdosta State and their former Packer teammates Will Southwell and Aaron Eubanks played for Georgia Southern.
Moultrie YMCA gymnast Kambria Blakely scored a meet-high 9.8 for a gold medal and the vault championship at the 2007 USA Gymnastics Level 8 Championships in Raleigh, N.C. ... The defending state champion Colquitt County High gymnastics team qualified for the state meet despite competing without two of its top performers. Senior Meghan Marshall was lost for the year when she suffered a severe ankle injury early in the season.
Former Packer Channing Hudson signed to continue his basketball career at Albany Tech.
University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt was the speaker at the FCA spring banquet held at Heritage Church. ... Down 3-0 at the half, the Colquitt County boys soccer team rallied to defeat Paulding County 5-3 in overtime to advance to the second round of the state playoffs.
The Colquitt County High golf team, which won the 2006 state championship, finished third in the Region 1-AAAAA tournament and did not advance to the state tournament. ... The South Georgia Youth Shooting Club’s junior team made up of Landon Bass, Austin Thaggard, Logan Hampton, Seth French and Hunter Hancock won the SCTP state championship. The team is coached by Mike Simpson.
The Colquitt County High baseball team finished 6-6 in Region 1-AAAAA play to advance to the state playoffs, where they were eliminated by Newnan. The Packers finished 13-16, but won four of their last five region games to qualify for the postseason.
The Colquitt County girls golf team, led by Anna Leigh Keith, finished sixth in the state. ... The Colquitt County girls tennis team finished 15-6 and reached the third round of the state playoffs.
Colquitt County started a USTA junior tennis program and had a strong turnout. ... Joe Parker as the Colquitt County High girls basketball coach after 10 seasons to take a job as assistant principal and athletic director at South Effingham High. ... Former Lady Packers Maddie Qurnell and Lindsay Jacobs played on the ABAC tennis team that finished 11th at NJCAA Nationals.
Colquitt County and ABAC basketball player John Michael Hall signed to continue his basketball career at Drake University. ... Former Colquitt County and Darton golfer Jason Flowers had a strong junior season at Valdosta State University. ... Jamal Hayes earned All-American honors as a freshman on the LSU track team.
Colquitt County High’s Matt Weaver was named the Region 1-AAAAA baseball Player of the Year. Teammates Andrew Wallace and Carter Jones also were named to the All-Region team.
Three-time state high school diving champion Ryan Helms was named the Region 1-AAAAA co-Athlete of the Year, sharing the honor with Tift County football and baseball player Israel Troupe.
Named to the All-Region 1-AAAAA boys soccer team were Packers Daniel Garcia, Matt DeMott, Tyler Mobley, Stephen Adcock, Colby Browning, Salvadore Duque, Oscar Quintanilla and Daniel Phillips.
Selected for the All-Region girls team were Lady Packers Alba Hernandez, Kristin Hall, Brianna Campbell, Jessi Williams, Alex Smith, Anna Hall and Morgan Jones.
Devin Corgan was second and Leah May was fifth at the Level 9 Eastern National Championships in Orlando, Fla. ... Warner Robins was the Region 1-AAAAA All-Sports Trophy winner with 131 points. Colquitt County and Tift County tied for third with 107 points.
Carter Jones agreed to walk on at Georgia Southern as a long snapper. B.J. Howard headed to North Carolina Tech and Dontrell Johnson went to Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan., to continue their football careers.
Colquitt County youth golfer Anna Leigh Keith advanced to the second tier of qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open. ... The Colquitt County High football team prepared to move into its new 14,000 square-foot, $1.2 million field house on the school campus. ... Colquitt County High finished 28th among the 70 schools in Class AAAAA in the Directors Cup standings, listing the top athletic programs in the state.
Los Gallos Blancos won the Liga Hispana de Futbol Moultrie championship, defeating El Tri 3-0 in the finals. ... The Georgia Games Moultrie Invitational Swim Meet drew some 340 swimmers. ... Aubrey McCarty hit seven home runs while playing for the South Georgia Blazers in the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Kelsey Goodman, Ryan Helms, Anna Aguero and Ann Perry Blank won in the Summer East Championships. ... Former Moultrian Jimmy Gisi was named executive director of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association. ... Eight Colquitt County High divers — Anna Aguero, Ann Perry Blank, Owen Blank, Kelsey Goodman, Ryan Helms, Ali Lepech, Hannah Moore and Jacob Russell —were named All-Americans.
The YMCA gymnastics teams finished fourth and fifth at YMCA Nationals in Puyallup, Wash. ... The Moultrie Sharks Swim Team qualified 14 of its members for the state swim meet. ... Andrew Wallace signed to play baseball at Truett-McConnell. ... John Michael Harrison was selected to play in the Georgia Dugout Club’s fifth annual Underclassmen Top 100 Showcase. ... The Colquitt County 14-and-under and 12-and-under all-star teams won GRPA state championships.
Moss Farms divers Ryan Helms, Kelsey Goodman, Hannah Moore, Ann Perry Blank, Anna Aguero and Elizabeth Ann Kirkland qualified for Junior Nationals. ... Harris English, formerly of Moultrie,won the 86th annual Georgia Amateur Championship at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek in Roswell.
Josh Webb took the USA Shooting state championship. Teammate Shane Slocumb was a close second. ... Caroline Rogers and Austin Vines had the best finishes among the Moultrie Sharks won competed in the state swim meet in Tifton. ... The new softball field at Packer Park was dedicated. ... Former Packer football player Anthony Bridges was selected to be inducted into the University of Louisville Hall of Fame. ... Vance Cuff received a waiver from the NCAA and was cleared to head to join the University of Georgia football team. He performed well enough that it was decided not to red-shirt him.
Lonnie White won three America Tennis Association championships at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. The Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame member has won 19 national championships. ... Shane Slocumb, Josh Webb and Emma Simpson headed to Colorado Springs for first round of Olympic team qualifying.
Diver Kelsey Goodman had fifth- and sixth-place finishes at Junior Nationals. ... David Durham was named president of the Packer Booster Club. ... Kate Reeves, Ashton Eunice and Anna Hall were named National Cheerleading Association All-Americans.
The Colquitt County High football team lost its preseason scrimmage to Cairo 7-0.
The Colquitt County football team lost its opener 14-0 to Cook. ... Winning top awards at the Moultrie YMCA’s annual gymnastics banquet were Jordan Yates, Savana Robertson, Kelsey Phillips, Betsy Booth, Kenyadah Prime, Brooke Robinson an Kristin Whitman. ... Todd Smoot won the Race of the South. Michael Strickland and Carrie Lasseter were the top Colquitt County finishers. ... Billy Kent took the NHRA Southeast Division Racing Series finals in Pro Class and qualified for Nationals in California.
GRPA District III honored Harry and Larry Spires, longtime youth baseball coaches. ... Former Moss Farms divers Lane Bassham and Brent Roberts were named to the University of Alabama Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame. ... Named to the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame were Greg Bright, George “Bubba” Kendrick, Beth Redding, Rocky Jones, Wanda Purvis Ross, Wenbo Chen, Jay Lerew, Bennett Willis, Tony DeRosso, Gwyned Bius, Mike Creasman, Christopher McCranie, Parks Hughes and Robert H. Tharpe.
The Colquitt County cheerleading squad finished third in the region competition. ... Lisa Spain Short was selected for induction into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame. ... The Colquitt County High football team finished 2-8 overall and 1-5 in Region 1-AAAAA. ... Brooke Hood was named to the All-Region 1-AAAAA softball team. ... Both Colquitt County High cross country teams finished fourth in the region meet and qualified for state.
Tim Cokely resigned as the Packers head football coach after three seasons with a record of 14-18.
Sherard Reynolds, a member of the Valdosta State national championship football team, was named to three All-America teams. ... Anna Leigh Keith won the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour’s Tournament of Champions and was named its female Player of the Year.
The second annual Colquitt County Roundball Classic drew eight girls and eight boys teams. Nicolle Thomas and Chantting Stevenson were named to the all-Tournament teams.
R.J. Taylor, Matt Howell, Eric Key and Terry McDaniel were named to the All-Region 1-AAAAA football team.
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