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Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

SPORTS NOTEBOOK

The Perry boys cross country team placed each of its five runners in the top eight and won the GHSA 1-AAA meet at Albany on Thursday.

The Panthers’ total of 24 points was 10 better than runner-up Westover.

Perry’s Jesse Yeomans and Billy Colbert finished first and second in the individual results. In support, Matt Peterman, Dillon Swartz and Nick Wood ran sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Codey Dykstra finished 10th for the Panthers, although his total didn’t count toward the final total.

In addition, the Perry girls had a strong showing, finishing second to Westover. Morgan Collins (eighth) and Tiana Ortiz (10th) led the way for the Lady Panthers. Coach Brett Hardy also credited the efforts of Skylar Hudson, Tabitha Flowers, Lexie Parker and Jasmin Jones.

Both the Perry boys and girls qualified for the state meet Saturday at Carrollton.

DEMONS GRAB THIRD TITLE IN FOUR YEARS

Behind its seniors, the Warner Robins boys’ cross country team won its third region championship in four years, taking the GHSA 1-AAAAA meet Thursday at the Georgia Industrial Children’s Home in Macon.

The Demons put five runners in the top 14 to edge the field. Warner Robins posted a total of 42.

Houston County finished second with 54. Tft County (64) and Valdosta (91) rounded out the top four. Those teams all qualified for the state meet Saturday at Carrollton.

In the girls’ division, Tift County (55 points) won followed by Valdosta (70), Warner Robins (74) and Houston County (75). Again, each qualified for the state meet.

Jacob Grubb, Ryan Dimes and Karl Burkhardt finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, for the Warner Robins boys. That’s good, but each spot was actually lower than a year ago, when the Demons did not win region. The difference this year was the performance of fellow seniors Stephen Bassett (13th) and Chris Benefield (14th).

Kasib Abdullah of Houston County finished second among individuals to pace the Bears. Todd Overlie (ninth), Logan Cohenour (10th), Ben Morris (15th) and Jared Hager (18th) all posted qualifying times for Houston County.

Northside’s boys finished seventh and were led by Kyle Dzwonkowski, who ran 34th.

On the girls’ side, Megan Breitbach of Houston County appears to have a legitimate shot at a top five finish at state after the senior blistered the region field for an easy win in the individual portion of the competition. Breitbach completed the circuit in 18:59.03, nearly two full minutes ahead of the runner-up.

Breitbach’s effort topped a fourth-place performance by the team. Teammates Ausharea Adams (11th), Miranda Beard (20th), Emily Brown (21st) and Sarah Pospisil (22nd) posted qualifying times for the Bears.

The Demonettes were led by Caroline Mauldin (third), Victoria Baker (10th), Jaichelle Thomas (14th), Alyssa Gisseman (23rd) and Holly Thomas (24th).

Northside ran seventh as a team and was paced by Elizabeth Lambert, who finished eighth.

SHARKS WIN AGAIN

The Houston County Sharks handball team won its third straight game, knocking off the YMCA Mustangs 4-0 at Bonaire Middle School on Saturday. Ben Masters, Kierra Miles and Jeff Wiggins all scored goals for the Sharks, who improved to 3-2 on the season. Wiggins played goalie to record the shutout. The Sharks host Henry County Saturday at 11 a.m. at Bonaire Middle in the final regular season game of the year.

WAVES AT LA GRANGE

Several locals contributed to a second-place team finish for the Macon Waves in the Trick or Treat meet at LaGrange on Saturday. Six swimmers finished in the top four in points in their respective divisions: Kike Afolabi-Brown (fourth); Erica Deighan (fourth); Zach Moon (second); Hakeem Reid (first); Florie Santos (third) and James Vue (third).