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!!!