Sectionals Track and Field

Varsity Track and Field - From Coach Finch: 

Congratulations to the following members of the boys track team who qualified on Saturday for the state track meet in Jefferson:

Maurice Freeman: Qualified in the high jump (6’ 8”), the 400 meters (49.65), and the 200 meters (new school record time of 21.91)

Justin Whitman: Qualified in the 1600 meters (4:45.88) and the 800 meters (2:00.14)

Josh Jarrells: Qualified in the triple jump (42’ 9.25”)

Kendrick Presley: Qualified in the 110 meter hurdles (15.40)

4x400 meter relay (Josh Swain, Kendrick Presley, Justin Whitman, Maurice Freeman): Qualified with a new school record time of 3:27.12.

Congratulations to the following members of the girls track team who qualified on Saturday for the state track meet in Albany:

Aubrey Fearnow: Qualified in the discus throw (113’ 5”) and the shot put (35’ 1.75”)

Trenetta Smith: Qualified in the 300 meter hurdles (49.11)

4-H Modified Trap Qualification

4-H Shotgun – OC’s 4-H shotgunners went to Blairsville for the 4-H modified trap qualifications today and came home with all the first place medals. From here on out it gets complicated. 

        Competition was between the 4-H teams from Union (our hosts), Pickens, Rabun and Barrow counties.  There were three shooting stations set up similar to the state tournament annually held in Eatonton.  The juniors (middle school kids) had to shoot 16 of 25 to qualify for state and the seniors (high school kids) 20 of 25. 



OC's first place junior division.



        For whatever reason no one on any team shot 25 of 25.  Nevertheless, both Cade Massey and Logan Grimes shot 22 of 25 which put them tied for the lead in the junior division.  In the meantime Union County had two junior kids shoot 21 of 25.  Both pair had to go to the doubles machine to decide the 1, 2, 3, and 4^th position for individual purposes.  Moreover, both Union County and Oglethorpe were tied for the team totals in the junior division.  So it was decided that whoever won between the Oglethorpe pair would shoot doubles against the winner of the Union County pair. 

        Massey, for the OC junior division shot first and hit 5 of ten under pretty difficult conditions.  Grimes, who was in the zone, shot 9 of 10 to win the first place individual medal and Massey took home second place.  When it came time for OC to shoot against Union for the junior team first place medal, Grimes once again shot 9 of 10 to Union’s 7 of 10.  This cinched OC’s first place team finish in the junior division.

OC's first place senior division.

        The senior division was no less exciting.  Oglethorpe’s Chance Fowler shot 24 of 25 making him OC’s best senior shooter of the day.  Fowler’s 24 put him in a tie with Union, Pickens and Rabun’s top shooters for the day and this had to be decided at the doubles machine. 

        Much like the junior division the doubles match would decide the first through fourth places for individual medals.  However, unlike the junior division OC with a score of 113 was the clear number one finisher on the day. 

        Fowler was chosen to go first and shot 9 of 10 missing only the 7^th bird.  The Rabun shooter was up and matched Fowler’s score at 9 of 10.  The Union County shooter shot only 5 for 10 which gave Pickens’ shooter third place with his 7 of 10.

        For the second round of doubles the Rabun shooter went first and scored 7 of 10.  When Fowler’s turn came he improved his score with a decisive 10 for 10 to take the individual title in the senior division. 

        This finish gave OC both the junior and senior division team titles as well as a first place individual title in the senior division and first and second place individual titles in the junior division.  With Haley Thorne winning the senior division and Colton Evans winning the junior division at the qualifying match in Elberton last week, OC has come home with all the first place medals available before the state meet. 

        With over 700 kids competing at the state meet OC can’t rest, but if the qualifying meets are any indication OC will be one of the top teams again this year. 

4-H Shotgun Competition

Blairsville – Many of OC’s 4-H modified trap shotgun team will be in Blairsville Saturday, April 28^th to qualify for the state 4-H modified trap competition near Rock Eagle in two weeks. 

        In past seasons OC shot gunners have come away as regional and state winners.  Haley Throne won the senior division at the qualifying match held in Elberton last week.  Not to be outdone, Colton Evans won the junior division in Elberton. 

        Check back here for a rundown of the Blairsville match.

Track and Field

Maurice "Slim" Freeman with his family behind him as he commits to UGA for track and field.

Media Center - Maurice "Slim" Freeman signed his national letter of intent with the University of Georgia to compete in track and field.  Freeman's family, coaches and teammates were in attendence and enjoyed light refreshment after the event. 

Some of Slim's teammates.

        Freeman, who also played football and basketball, has been a winner all season long in track and field in the high jump and the 200 meters and will compete at the sectional meet in Lamar County this weekend. 

Varsity Golf

OC golfers with their
 second place region trophy.

At Traditions of Braselton – The OC golfers meet in the Lowes eastside parking lot at 7:45am Monday morning to travel to Traditions Golf Club for the Region 8 AA golf tournament.  Only two teams out of 12 would advance to the state tournament in Waynesboro.  At the end of the day some eight and a half hours later Oglethorpe’s golf team earned one of those two spots.

        OC was paired with North Oconee and Jackson Co as they have been at several meets and tournaments this season.  These three teams are the top three teams in the region. The threesomes were selected on past performance from 6^th to 1^st with tee times starting at 9:24am.  Off first was Jonah Ingram for OC and just under an hour later Nathan Mallonee was OC’s final player to start the first hole. 

The par 3, 8th hole where Jackson Co's number three player fell apart.

        OC’s golf coach Ed Rock had real concern with Jackson County, because Traditions is Jackson Co’s home course.  Coach Rock’s worries were short lived when the second hole claimed its first Jackson Co victim. Their number one player hit the ball just on the fringe of knee-high rough.  His third shot got caught up in the tall grass which threw his ball into the water.  After that he just couldn’t recover his game and was no longer in competition. 

        All of OC’s players played pretty good golf considering the wind was blowing a thousand miles an hour, or seemed so.  On most holes the wind was an aggravation rather than a hazard, that is, until everyone reached the par 3, 8^th.  This hole has water across the left side and the entire face of the green.  The wind was blowing from the tee box towards the green, but most players were shooting bogey on this hole, because they were hitting short.  In fact, Jackson Co’s number 3 player lost five balls to the lake before getting on the green.  This disaster effectively eliminated Jackson Co from state contention.

OC and North Oconee golfers enjoying their win at the region tournament.

        Through the middle of the back nine OC’s Mallonee, Jake O’Bryan and Jim Beatty was keeping pace with their North Oconee opponents.  O’Bryan did have the additional problem of Jackson Co’s number two golfer who just couldn’t miss a putt from anywhere inside ten feet.  In fact this player is the only Jackson Co. player going to the state tournament due to his third place finish overall in the tournament. 

        Nonetheless, the 16^th and 18^th proved to be OC’s nemesis as each of OC’s top players lost a stroke at one or the other hole.  By the time everyone got to the clubhouse OC would place behind tournament winner North Oconee by just five strokes 322 to 327.  Mallonee was second overall in the tournament. 

        OC will travel to Waynesboro County Club in two weeks for the state golf tournament. 

         You can see the pictures here:  http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8492651

       

Varsity Track

Boys – Track Coach Bob Finch sent in the following: 

Congratulations to the boys track team for their 2^nd place finish at the region meet. The following athletes qualified for sectionals this Saturday:

Maurice Freeman—Region Champion in the high jump, the 200 meter dash, and the 400 meter dash

Justin Whitman—Region Champion in the 800 meter run, 2^nd place in the 1600 meter run

Josh Jarrells—2^nd place in the triple jump

Xavier Eberhart—2^nd place in the long jump

Kendrick Presley—2^nd place in the 110 meter hurdles

Jovan Jenkins—4^th place in the 300 meter hurdles

4x400 meter relay ‘A’ team: Region Champions—Josh Swain, Kendrick Presley, Justin Whitman, Maurice Freeman, Sherman Williams, Josh Jarrells

4x400 meter relay ‘B’ team: 4^th place—Deuntrez Fleming, Kenny Cinereski, Dillon Evans, Tron Armstrong, Xavier Eberhart 

The following athletes placed and scored at region but did not qualify for sectionals in their events: 

Dillon Evans—6^th pole vault

Jarrett McElheney—8^th pole vault

Ricky Marucci—5^th discus throw

Casey Pacheco—8^th discus throw

Jay Fleming—7^th shot put

Sherman Williams—5^th long jump

Xavier Eberhart—5^th triple jump

Deuntrez Fleming—8^th 110 meter hurdles

Kendrick Presley—5^th 300 meter hurdles

Girls - Congratulations to the girls track team for their 4^th place finish at region. The following athletes qualified for sectionals this Saturday:

Aubrey Fearnow—Region Champion in the shot put and discus throw

Trenetta Smith—2^nd in the 300 hurdles

4x100 relay team: 4^th place—Kiki Presley, Dreka Howard, Tika Howard, Trenetta Smith 

The following athletes also placed and scored at region but did not qualify for sectionals: 

Hannah Murphy—5^th in the pole vault

Trenetta Smith—6^th in the long jump, 8^th in the 100 meter hurdles

Caroline Hansford—5^th in the triple jump, 6^th in the 800 meter run

Kiki Presley—6^th in the high jump

4x400 meter relay: 6^th place—Kiki Presley, Caroline Hansford, Trenetta Smith, Aubrey Fearnow

The sectionals will be held at Lamar County near Barnesville, GA, this Saturday.  For OC athletes that make it to the state tournament the boys will be in Jefferson and the girls will be in Albany.  Good luck to all.

Varsity Soccer

Girls Soccer - The OC girls varsity soccer team traveled to Dawson County high school yesterday for a region play-off game.  The game started at 5pm and was suspended 17 minutes later due to thunderstorms, but not before Laura Abney scored a goal for the Patriots.

        The game will continue Thursday, April 19th in Dawson County from the 17 minute mark and OC one goal ahead of Dawson.  Good luck girls!!!

Varsity Track

Track - Aubrey Fearnow set a new school record in the shot put Friday night with a toss of 38’ 6.5”. Aubrey was the only Lady Patriot to win her event Friday night at the Patriot Games non-traditional meet. Other Lady Pats in the top three were Caroline Hansford (2^nd, 600 meter dash), Trenetta Smith (2^nd, long jump and 3^rd, 300 meter dash), Fearnow (2^nd, discus throw), Hannah Murphy (2^nd, pole vault), and Dede Fleming (3^rd, triple jump). 

Ricky Marucci set a new personal best to win the discus throw Friday night with a throw of 124’ 8”. Other Patriots with a top-three finish were Justin Whitman (2^nd, 600 meter dash), Kendrick Presley (2^nd, 60 meter hurdles), Casey Pacheco (2^nd, discus throw), Dillon Evans (2^nd, pole vault), Trevor Cavanaugh (3^rd, pole vault), Jay Fleming (2^nd, shot put), and Xavier Eberhart (2^nd, triple jump).   

The preceding was sent in by track coach Bob Finch.  I want to thank Coach Finch for taking the time to write up track results and sending them to OCHS Sportsblog.  It’s a great help to me and is much appreciated.  

Also, OCHS Sportsblog has been lacking over the past several weeks.  Since early February, Cary Best, of Georgia Snaps Photography and I have been very busy covering rec. league basketball and doing team and individual pictures as well as action shots for little league.  It happens that the first three months of the year are our busiest time with something going on if not most week nights then every weekend.  I want to thank all those who have been checking in at OCHS Sportsblog even though the posts have been sparse. 

JV Soccer

Boys Soccer – The JV Patriots went to Hartwell today and gave the Bulldogs a lesson in how to play soccer resulting in a 7-2 win.

Tyler Day's first goal from a PK.

        Around the 25^th minute things got congested in from of OC’s goal and Hartwell scored the game’s first goal.  Just seven minutes later Billy Waters fed a high ball in close to Harts goal where Griffin Giles headed it in for the equalizer.  The ball actually came off the far post and took a slow roll across the goal line; nevertheless, OC was on the board.

        The score would remain 1-1 at the half but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on both team’s part.

Billy Waters goal from a PK.

       

        Like the first half it wasn’t long before Hart Co again found the back of OC’s net from the crowd in front of the goal.  And, also like the first half, it didn’t take long before Sean Atkinson found the back of the net with a shot from the 18 yard line after moving the ball from the mid-field line.  After Atkinson’s equalization goal things went downhill for Hart.

Autry Farris scores on this strike at goal.

        Atkinson scored with 17 minutes left in the game.  Three minutes later Hart got called for a handball in the box.  Tyler Day took the PK and scored OC’s second goal of the second half.  Three minutes later Day would put score number four in the back of the net on a fine 25 yard run at the goal.

Day tripped by Hart Co.

        Shortly after Day’s goal Day was tripped up in the box which gave OC another PK.  This time Waters put the ball in the goal scoring OC’s fifth point of the game and fourth of the half. 

        By now OC was in full control of the game.  Kyle Yeargin, playing left wing, brought the ball down field where just outside the 18 box he shot the ball that got past the keeper even though he got a hand on it.  This was OC’s sixth goal of the game.  The Patriots last goal was scored by Autry Farris when he took a shot from 15 yards out that, again, the keeper got his hands on but couldn’t stop from going into the goal.

        The JV soccer team travels to Gainesville to face Riverside this Friday for their last game of the season. 

        You can see the pictures here:   http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8478183

       

Varsity Baseball

Baseball – Coach Bramlett, head baseball coach, reported that OC lost against Hartwell last Friday afternoon.  He provided the stats to that game but suffice it to say we lost and it’s time to move on. 

        In the rematch, at Lexington on Monday, OC lost that one, too, but it was far closer than Friday’s match-up. 

        Clay Ogle started on the mound for OC and pitched six and a third innings.  He had one earned run but Hart had eight runs on eight hits and seven OC errors.  The flip side is that OC had three runs on three hits and four Hart errors.  Ogle also struck out eight Hart batters while on the mound.  J.D. Sharp came in for two thirds of an inning striking out one. 

        Ogle was 1-4 with a run; Jacob Hester was 1-2 with a run. 

        On Wednesday, April 11^th, the Patriots face Jackson Co at home, then on Friday, April 13^th OC travels to Jackson Co for the rematch. Coach Bramlett also says that between April 16^th and 28^th the region tournament will take place consisting of seven games.  The details have yet to be determined. 

        The JV Patriots will play Saturday, April 14th - JV Tournament at Commerce at 12:30pm. If we win we play at 5:30 in the championship game, if we lose we play at 3:00 in the consolation game.  The JV is also scheduled to play Prince Avenue on Monday, April 16^th at Prince. 

        Thanks to Coach Bramlett for providing game stats and schedule information. 

Varsity Golf

Golf – The OC golf team was busy over the spring break taking part in two 36-hole tournaments.  The first was at Achasta near Dahlonega, GA.

Jonah Ingram

Kory Lott

        The Achasta tournament consisted of 10 high school teams with the rated players in threesomes.  After the first day Nathan Mallonee was ahead of the field by two strokes with a three under par 69.  On the second day Mallonee shot a two over 74 and was behind the leader by two strokes for the tournament. 

        Jake O’Bryan has steadily improved his game and is now shooting in the mid 70’s as evidenced at Achasta with a 74 and 76 for both days.  Jim Beatty is ranging in the low 80’s, Kory Lott, Jonah Ingram and Ben Giles are all competing for the fourth position going into the region tournament in three weeks.

Jim Beatty

Nathan Mallonee

        The team traveled to Vidalia last Thursday to compete in the annual Indian Invitational which, this year, hosted 25 teams from across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. 

        The weather was horrible on the first day at Rocky Creek golf course, yet Mallonee shot a one over 73 closely followed by O’Bryan with a two over 74.  Beatty was in third position with an 80 while Lott posted a 93.  Giles posted a best ever 98 while Ingram was close behind.

Jake O'Bryan

        The team play at the LPGA approved Hawks Point golf course on Saturday morning.  Hawks Point was tough on everyone with Mallonee posting a 79 and none too thrilled about it (some of us less accomplished golfers remarked that we wished we could shoot a 79 and complain) O’Bryan was one stroke behind at 80, and Beatty stayed close with an 84.  Lott gained five strokes from his previous day posting an 88 while Giles and Ingram maintained their previous scores.

Ben Giles

        “The course was difficult and the pin placement was very demanding,” said OC golf coach Ed Rock.  “But Mallonee was named to the All-Tournament Team, because his score put him in the top ten out of 192 competitors.” 

        The OC golf team play Athens Academy today at Jennings Mill Country Club.  On Tuesday, April 17^th OC faces Oconee at Athens Country Club. 

         You can see all the pictures here:   http://hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8475227

Varsity Baseball

Baseball ­– The OC Patriots played the Jefferson Dragons at home Wednesday afternoon.  OC had twice as many hits as Jefferson but Jefferson had twice as many runs as OC and took the victory 2-1.

John Mathews made this catch to prevent a Jefferson hit.

        Clay Ogle was on the mound for Oglethorpe and pitched a perfect game for four and two thirds innings.  The last out was hard to come by, however, when Ogle walked one, the Dragons got their first hit, then another walk.  But an infield pop-up ended the Dragons inning.

Almost

        Ogle’s fifth inning would see a Jefferson hit and an OC error that would result in Jefferson’s two runs.  Arguably if OC had not made the error Jefferson might not have scored the second run.  But hey, that’s baseball.

        OC’s fifth inning would remain scoreless, and the top of the sixth saw Ogle put down the side with no Dragon runs.  OC’s half of the sixth didn’t produce any runs so it was on to the seventh. 

Mathews on his way to second after hitting the ball to the fence.

        J.D. Sharp came in to relieve Ogle.  Ogle left after six full innings with no earned runs, two hits, six strikeouts and four base on balls.  Sharp got in trouble quickly with Jefferson loading the bases.  Jacob Hester came in to relieve Sharp and fought his way out of a tough inning with two strikeouts and no Jefferson runs.

        The bottom of the seventh got pretty exciting as OC put up their only run of the game.  John Mathews, who made an outstanding catch at the left field fence in the second inning, doubled and eventually scored for OC.  With two out OC had runners on first and third but Taylor Liedberg facing a 3-2 pitch couldn’t get enough on the ball to get the runner home and was thrown out at first, ending the game a 2-1 win for Jefferson.

        OC travels to Hartwell to take on Hart Co Friday, April 6^th.

        You can see all the pictures here:  http://www.hdgp.photoreflect.com/store/thumbpage.aspx?e=8471386

Varsity Golf

Golf – The OC golf team traveled to Achasta golf course in Dahlonega, Sunday, to play in the Georgia Junior PGA tournament.  Ten Georgia high schools were represented at the tournament. 

        At the end of the first round Monday, OC’s Nathan Mallonee was at the top of the leader board two strokes ahead of the field at 69.  He was followed by Jake O’Bryan with a two over 74, then Jim Beatty, Kory Lott, Ben Giles and Jonah Ingram. 

        The second and final round of play will be today.  The OC golfers will travel to Vidalia on Thursday to take part in a two day tournament Friday and Saturday.