Score Vol. 12 Issue 19

Time to look great!

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

|

YOUR SOURCE FOR SPORTS IN GEORGIA

GEORGIA'S FINEST The final soccer rankings show year of high school heavyweights. | Pg. 7

Too Much Talent | Pg. 9 Joseph Chapman breaks down the stars of this year's baseball championships.

Top Moments | Pg. 4 Take a look at the top 10 moments from the 2015-16 school year.

©2015 Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc. All rights reserved. For official contest rules, visit choa.org/comeback.

This comeback athlete had a long road back. Today it’s 8.5 miles.

Know a young athlete who overcame a serious injury or illness? Nominate them for Comeback Athlete of the Month at choa.org/comeback.

Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

STARTING LINEUP PUBLISHER/EDITOR I.J. Rosenberg

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rhonda Rawls

MANAGING EDITOR Craig Sager II

04

COLUMNISTS

07

ON THE COVER

09

PREP COVER

ASST. MANAGING EDITOR Kyle Sandy

MARKETING/ Lauren Goldstein

PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER Marvin Botnick BEAT WRITERS: Joseph Chapman (Braves)

Dan Mathews (UGA) Craig Sager II (Falcons,

Kennesaw, GA Tech)

Kyle Sandy (GSU, GHSA, Hawks)

STAFF WRITERS Tyler Andrews Ned Kaish

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Copyright 2016 Score Atlanta Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Score Atlanta is digitally published every week on ScoreAtl.com. Views expressed in Score Atlanta are not necessarily the opinion of Score Atlanta, its staff or advertisers. Score Atlanta does not knowingly accept false or misleading editorial content or advertising nor is Score Atlanta responsible for the content or claims of any advertising or editorial in this publication. No content (articles, photographs, graphics) in Score Atlanta may be used for reproduction without written permission from the publisher.

TEAM SCOOP AND VOICES

06 11 12

TOP TEN PICKS | NUMBERS GEORGIA STATE | KENNESAW STATE GEORGIA | GEORGIA TECH BRAVES | FALCONS HAWKS | HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF PARKVIEW HS, DAVID MCGREGOR, AND

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Visit our website, ScoreAtl.com for the our weekly sports rankings. Download the free Georgia High School Scoring App www.scoreatl.com/mobile-app/ or in the app store for live scores all year long.

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GHSA PREP SPOTLIGHT

GHSA 2015-16 TOP 10 MOMENTS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

1. Westminster beating Blessed Trinity in the 3A football state championships (38-31): After back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, the Titans were looking to capture their first-ever football state championship against Westminster. The Titans thought they had done just that as they were up by 14 points with less than five minutes to go in the game.

Westminster trailed 24-9 entering the 4th quarter, but made a tremendous late-game surge and tied the game up before the end of regulation and then carried that momentum into OT scoring first and capturing the school’s third football state championship.

2. Walton Girls Lax Upsets Milton 9-8 (Mil-

ton’s first in state loss since 2009):

Milton high school has dominated the 6A division of girl’s lacrosse winning 10 of the last eleven state championships, but that changed

this year. After having finished runner up to Milton the last two years the Walton girl’s lacrosse team finally claimed their first state title with a 9-8 win in the title game. Riley Ewing, Erin McBride and Hunter Corvin led the offense with two goals each.

3.

Jenna Staiti of West Forsyth scores 51 in AAAAAA playoff semifinal for West Forsyth:

Jenna Staiti of West Forsyth was named the Gatorade Georgia girls basketball player of the year and is signed on to play for Maryland next season. Staiti averaged an impeccable 39 points a game in four playoff games, while putting up 51 points in West Forsyth’s semifinal loss to McEachern who eventually went on to win the state championship this season.

4.

BT baseball winning 49 straight games: The Blessed Trinity baseball team was expect-

2015-16 BASEBALL RANKINGS

BY CRAIG SAGER | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

C

5. Top Pitching prospect, Garrett Gooden

Brantley Mauldin of Paulding County put on a show against Villa Rica throwing for more than 500 yards and three touchdowns and was named the GHSA player of the week for week six. Mauldin became the ninth player in Georgia high school history to throw for 500 yards and became the first sophomore to ever accomplish the feat.

of St Pius, went 4-4 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs in game 1, while pitching a 1 hit shutout with 11 Ks in Game 2 of the first round of the state playoffs against Pickens:

In Game 1, Gooden went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs as the Lions went on to win 8-4. Game 2 was a different story as Gooden took his talents to the mound and pitched an incredible one-hit shutout while accumulating 11 strikeouts against Dragons.

8. East Hall’s Leo Toledo scores 71 goals this

6. Emma Grace Hurley of Fellowship Christian runs nation’s fastest 1,600m at 4:46 (5 seconds faster than previous record)

During the Coaches Invitational meet at Pope high school senior Emma Grace Hurley of Fellowship Christian ran the nation’s fastest time in the 1,600m race. After finishing second in the 1600m last year, Hurley won the event with a time of 4:46 which was five seconds faster than the previous national best.

9. Candace Hill (world’s fastest teenager) of Rockdale county HS turns pro at 16 Candace Hill of Rockdale county high school turned pro at the tender age of 16. She became the youngest track athlete to qualify for the U.S trials in both the 100m and 200m.

Hill also became the first-ever American athlete to break 11 seconds in the 100m race as a prep.

7. Brantley Mauldin becomes 9th player in Georgia history and only sophomore to throw for 500 yards in a 38-35 win over Villa Rica

season (more than 3 per game) in AAA

No other soccer player in the state has scored at the prolific rate that East Hall’s Leo Toledo did this season. Coming into the AAA quarterfinal against Blessed Trinity Toledo had 71 goals, 6 of which came in the previous playoff game. Toledo averaged over 3 goals a game while leading East Hall to a (19-1) regular season record and a number 1 ranking.

10. Colquitt finishes 2nd consecutive perfect season with 30-13 win over Roswell in AAAAAA championship.

Photo courtesy of Clyde Click

Class AAAAAA

GHSA BASEBALL RANKINGS

lasses A-Private, AA, AAAA and AAAAA all saw thrilling three game series to wrap up the high school season. In Class AAAAAA, Walton’s star-studded lineup was powered

by Georgia Tech-commit Jason Rooks who smashed two homers and drove in five runs in Game 1. Jason Avers clinched the state title with a dramatic walk-off 2-run single to cap a 5-4 comeback over Pope.

Houston County dominated in Game 3 against Loganville for the AAAAA title, their second in three years. Tanner Hall allowed one hit while the Bears cruised to a five-inning 12-0 shutout. Jake Fromm blasted a controversial homer to make it 4-0 and caused the Loganville coaching staff to lose to coaches to ejection.

ed to be one of the best in the state, but nobody could predict the level of perfection with which they started the season. After an AAA championship run last season the Titans put together a 49 game win streak which was the longest in the state and second-longest in the nation at the time.

Locust Grove brought home the Class AAAA crown, knocking off perennial power Buford 3-1 in Game 3. Including the regular season, the Wildcats took three of four from the Wolves. In a stunning sweep, the Class AAA championship went to Westminster who shocked rival Blessed Trinity. Rankin Woley locked down the save to clinch Game 2, 7-6.

Lovett turned the tables on Wesleyan to score their eighth state title with a 5-4 Game 3 win over the Wolves. Class A-Private belonged to Tattnall Square thanks to a 5-0 shutout in Game 3 that saw the Trojans blast three homers. Treutlen swept Trion for the Class A-Public title.

Photos courtesy of the Walton HS

Class AAA

1. Walton

6. Collins Hill

1. Westminster

6. Westside-Augusta

2. Pope

7. Etowah

2. Blessed Trinity

7. Ringgold

3. Norcross

8. East Coweta

3. Cedartown

8. Calhoun

4. Harrison

9. South Cobb

4. Jackson County

9. Decatur

5. Lambert

10. Lee County

5. Franklin County

10. Appling County

Class AAAAA

Class AA

1. Houston County

6. Winder-Barrow

1. Lovett

6. Berrien

2. Loganville

7. Dalton

2. Wesleyan

7. Heard County

3. Gainesville

8. Kell

3. Holy Innocents’

8. Union County

4. South Effingham

9. Cambridge

4. Greater Atlanta Chr.

9. Benedictine

5. Columbus

10. Allatoona

5. Bowdon

10. Jeff Davis

Class AAAA 1. Locust Grove

6. Heritage-Catoosa

Class A 1. Tattnall Square Acad.

6. Trion

2. Buford

7. Cartersville

2. Hebron Christian

7. Schley County

3. Veterans

8. Woodward Academy

3. King’s Ridge Christian

8. George Walton Acad.

4. Eastside

9. Wayne County

4. Treutlen

9. Savannah Christian

5. St. Pius

10. Madison County

5. Calvary Day

10. Charlton County

Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

PLAY. GROW. WORK. SUCCEED.

“I told myself that

I’m going to do something and that this organization would help me. From that day, I stuck to it.”

—Adam Adam, a Soccer in the Streets graduate and current coach in the program

888-436-5833 | soccerstreets.org | info@soccerstreets.org |

@soccerstreets |

/SoccerintheStreets

5

6

Bismack Biyombo

Julio Teheran

Klay Thompson

Once tabbed as a bust, the 23-year-old from Zaire made an impact in the paint for the Toronto Raptors even though they fell to the Cavs. After Cleveland won 10-straight playoff games, Biyombo posted 26 and then 14 rebounds in Games 3 and 4 to help the Raptors even the series.

eheran made six straight starts dating back to April 25 vs. Boston in which he allowed one run or fewer.

The 25-year-old’s ERA now sits at 2.77. With career numbers of 41-35 with a 3.37 ERA, Teheran is slowly rounding out into the ace of Atlanta’s staff.

An NBA-record 11 threes in Game 6 helped the defending champs stave off elimination. In Game 7, Thompson delivered 21 more points to put the Oklahoma City Thunder's season to rest. The three-point line has changed the NBA and the way basketball is played.

TOP 10 PICKS

By Craig Sager II SUPER SOUTH

Atlanta secured a bid to host the Super Bowl in 2019.

Atlanta’s winning pitch, titled “Atlanta Transformed,” emphasized the new stadium and the substantial taxpayer investment in it. The pitch also stressed the other downtown attractions that have opened since the Super Bowl was last played here in 2000.

WARRIORS RETURN

For a second I thought Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would be making their way back to the NBA Finals, but the top-seeded Warriors cooked up some magic and became the 10th team in NBA history to come back and win a series after falling behind 3-1. The world will be watching to see if Golden State can take down a healthy Cleveland team.

SUMMER IN THE AIR

The 2015-16 School Year is officially over and it was the final year in the GHSA’s current six classifications. Change is on the horizon with new playoff formatting, completely new region alignments and new host sites for the basketball state championships. Enjoy the summer because this next year is sure to be wild.

FALCONS MOVES

The Falcons have been active in free agency and included an aggressive signing pace with this year’s draft class, but the changes don’t stop there. Already, Vic Beasley, Ra’Shede Hageman and Brooks Reed have been shuffled to new positions on the defensive side of the ball. It’s safe to say Dan Quinn was busy this offseason leaving no stone unturned.

SCANDAL AFTERMATH

Scrambling to find a coach to lead its football program through turmoil, Baylor hired a man known for turnarounds and integrity. Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe will replace Art Briles, Baylor announced Monday. A little more than an hour after Grobe's hiring was made official, Baylor announced that athletic director Ian McCaw had resigned.

A GIANT WIN

The Braves have made progress these in the last two weeks and picked up a series-opening win against the Giants on Memorial Day. Mike Foltynewicz won the pitching matchup with Giants All-Star candidate Jeff Samardzija. The Braves won 5-3 to start a four-game series at Turner Field, handing San Francisco just its third loss in 18 games.

WHO’S NOT

By Kyle Sandy

WHO’S HOT

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com Oklahoma City Thunder

Ryan Howard

Nick Markakis

The greatest collapse in NBA history and possibly sports playoff history was completed on Monday. OKC or now known as "Chokelahoma City" blew a 3-1 lead to Golden State. Russell Westbrook coughed up the ball down the stretch countless times in Game 6's meltdown and never recovered for Game 7.

Father Time and an achilles injury in 2011 has zapped the once feared power hitter of all of his production.

ESPN posted on its blog that it’s time for Howard to be released and I don’t blame them. He is 7-for66 in May with a .106 batting average. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Day by day the 32-year-old outfielder is losing trade value. The former Woodstock Wolverine hit .302 of out the gate with a .406 on-base percentage in April, but has sagged in May, posting a slash of .196/.302. Atlanta needs to move him and fast before his value vanishes.

NUMBERS

OUR TWO CENTS

By Kyle Sandy

Our email newsletter is something we take a lot of pride in at Score. If you aren’t familiar with it, it is a high school sportsheavy publication that we produce each day to fill in our readers on the latest happenings in Georgia prep sports. We send it out Monday through Friday throughout the year and Monday through Saturday during the fall.

Not only do we cover popular sports like football, basketball and baseball, we also cover every other varsity sport the GHSA fields. If you like Georgia high school sports at all, sign up for our email newsletter by visiting www.tinyurl.com/scorenewsletter and enter your email address(es) that you’d like added to the distribution list.

?

TRIVIA QUESTION

“

SANITY AT LAST

HOW MANY CAREER TOUCHDOWN PASSES HAS MATT RYAN THROWN?

“I think mini camp is very valuable, this camp is, for a number of reasons. No. 1, it’s our first exposure to get them indoctrinated into how we do things.”

ANSWER ON PAGE 14

- Dan Quinn

67

Points scored between Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in Game 4.

0

Games suspension received by Draymond Green after kicking Steven Adams.

0

Braves runs scored against Philadelphia in their final game of the series.

76

The Braves acquired the 76th pick in the MLB Draft in exchange for two prospects.

3

Mallex Smith is second on the team with three homers.

62

Team-leading strikeouts for Julio Teheran.

6

Team-leading saves for Arodys Vizcaino.

11

Klay Thompson threes in Game 6.

Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

ON THE COVER

Class AAAAA 1. McIntosh 2. Columbus 3. Starr’s Mill 4. North Atlanta 5. Northgate

Class AAAA

6. Gainesville 7. Cambridge 8. Heritage-Conyers 9. Richmond Hill 10. Forsyth Central

1. St. Pius 2. Marist 3. Buford 4. Whitewater 5. Grady

Class AAA 1. Westminster 2. Blessed Trinity 3. Decatur 4. Dawson County 5. Savannah Arts

7

6. Woodward Acad.

7. North Hall 8. Veterans 9. Pike County 10. Wayne County

Class AA

6. Lumpkin County 7. Adairsville 8. Oconee County 9. Sonoraville 10. Peach County

1. Lovett 2. St. Vincent’s Acad.

3. Greater Atlanta Chr. 4. Pace Academy 5. Wesleyan

6. Bremen 7. Lamar County 8. Holy Innocents’ 9. Union County 10. East Laurens

Class A 1. Fellowship Christian 2. Stratford Academy 3. Atlanta International

LASSITER GIRLS AVENGE ONLY LOSS FOR NO. 1 STATUS

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM & KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM n Class AAAAAA, girls state champion Lassiter heads the poll with its near-perfect 20-1 season. The Trojans’ only loss came in a 2-1 battle with West Forsyth on March 31, a team that they would defeat by the same score in the state championship. Harrison sits at No. 3 after dropping a 2-1 game to West Forsyth in the semis.

In Class AAAAA, McIntosh earned its status at No. 1 after defeating Columbus 4-0 for the state title. Columbus battled past No. 3 Starr’s Mill 3-2 in the semifinals and the Panthers finish at No. 3 with a 3-2 win over topranked McIntosh on their resume.

St. Pius stunned rival Marist 2-0 in the Class AAAA championship and finishes at No. 1. No. 2 Marist ends the year 21-1-1 after dropping its only game when it mattered most.

Rivals Westminster and Blessed Trinity met in the Class AAA title game, and like football and baseball, the Wildcats toppled the Titans and took home a state title. Westminster finishes No. 1 after its 21-1-1 season and BT closes the

year at No. 2.

Class AA No. 1 Lovett ended the year with a 36-2 goals advantage in its final five games, including a 2-0 shutout over St. Vincent’s Academy in the championship.

Fellowship Christian posted 17 straight wins after dropping its season opener to Pace Academy 8-2 and took home the Class A state crown with a 3-0 win over Atlanta International. Stratford Academy, however owns the No. 2 spot after a 16-1 finish, compared to Atlanta International’s 10-8-2 runner-up campaign.

Photos courtesy of Angela Bare, Lassiter HS

GIRLS

Class AAAAAA

7. First Presbyterian Day 8. Savannah Christian

9. Eagle’s Landing Chr. 10. Paideia

BOYS

A

FINAL SOCCER RANKINGS

I

4. Walker 5. Athens Academy 6. Calvary Day

ustin Lu came up huge in Parkview’s Class AAAAAA championship victory over Milton in PKs. The senior allowed one goal in the shootout as the Panthers took it 4-1. Lu also stifled Chattahoochee in the semis in a 2-0 shutout. The Cougars had entered the game undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the entire nation.

It should come to no surprise that Riverwood hoisted the trophy in Class AAAAA. Wins over Dalton and McIntosh were statement victories as the Raiders peaked at the

right time and finished off their season with a 2-0 shutout of Northgate.

Right when it seemed the balance of power had shifted to Hall County, DeKalb County stole it away. In Class AAAA & AAA, Johnson-Gainesville and East Hall entered as favorites. Instead, it was St. Pius and Decatur spoiling the party.

In AA, Wesleyan dominated Region 6 foe Pace Academy 4-0. Class A saw a thriller as Paideia edged Fellowship Christian 3-2 (4-3 in PKs).

Class AAAAAA

Class AAAAA

1. Parkview 2. Milton 3. Chattahoochee 4. Brookwood 5. Lakeside-DeKalb

6. Duluth 7. Etowah 8. Pebblebrook 9. Mill Creek 10. Norcross

1. Riverwood 2. Northgate 3. Houston County 4. Allatoona 5. McIntosh

Class AAAA 1. St. Pius 2. Johnson-Gainesville 3. Cairo 4. Buford 5. Cross Keys

1. Lassiter

6. North Gwinnett

1. Wesleyan

2. West Forsyth

7. Grayson

3. Harrison

6. Southeast Whitefield 7. Spalding 8. Grady 9. Mary Persons 10. Whitewater

Class AA

6. Greenbrier 7. Dalton 8. Clarke Central 9. Cambridge 10. Union Grove

Class AAA 1. Decatur 2. East Hall 3. Oconee County 4. Savannah Arts Acad.

5. Blessed Trinity

6. Dawson County 7. Sonoraville 8. Westminster 9. Calhoun 10. Jefferson

Class A

6. Bremen

1. Paideia

2. Pace Academy

7. Social Circle

2. Fellowship Christian

7. Mt. Paran

8. Hillgrove

3. Putnam County

8. Darlington

3. St. Anne-Pacelli

8. Athens Academy

4. Collins Hill

9. Lakeside-DeKalb

4. Greater Atlanta Chr.

9. Fitzgerald

4. Walker

9. Savannah Coun. Day

5. Walton

10. East Coweta

5. Riverside Military

10. Benedictine

5. Stratford Academy

10. Whitefield Academy

6. Landmark Christian

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FAMILIAR FOES…

PREP COVER

EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES IN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUPS

BY JOSEPH CHAPMAN | INFO@SCOREATL.COM There were 71 former GHSA baseball standouts that heard their name called out in the 2015 MLB Draft last year, led by No. 1 overall pick, Dansby Swanson. For the next crop of GHSA talent, look no further than this year’s state championship matchups where the Peach State’s top prospects are vying for the elusive state title.

Arguably the best matchup in any classification for the state championship can be found in AAAAAA as No. 2 nationallyranked (according to Perfect Game) Walton makes the four-mile trip to take on archrival Pope. Leading the way for Walton is Clemson commit, and a projected early round draft pick, Carter Kieboom. Kieboom (12) is joined by Georgia Tech commits, Parker McCoy (12), Michael Guldberg (11), and Jason Rooks (11) in a very dangerous hitting lineup for the Raiders.

Pope is led by arguably the best play-

er in the 2016 class, Joshua Lowe. Lowe, a Florida State signee, is ranked as the No. 4 player in the country by Perfect Game and is projected as an early first round pick in the upcoming draft. Lowe isn’t alone though as Georgia commit, Ryan Webb, and Kennesaw State signee, Matt Rowland, command the hill for the Greyhounds. The most intriguing aspect of this series is how the pitching for Pope will match up against the star-studded lineup of Walton.

In AAAAA, Houston County takes on the winner of South Effingham and Loganville.

D.L. Hall, a junior Florida State commit, leads the Bears at the plate. He’s ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the 2017 class by PerfectGame.

Georgia signee and Perfect Game All-American, Anthony Locey (12), leads the group on the hill and will be looking to bring a state championship to Houston County with his mid-90’s fastball and plus off-speed pitches.

Another top team in the country is featured in the AAAA State Championship as No. 8 ranked Buford takes on Locust Grove in a rematch of last year’s elite 8. Georgia commit Justin Glover leads Buford on the hill while Georgia Tech commits, Austin Wilhite, Nick Wilhite, Griffin Jolliff and Kennesaw State commit Brandon Marsh lead the Wolves at the plate.

For Locust Grove, the Wildcats boast a deep pitching staff led by junior Ethan Lindow. In the past two games, Lindow has struck out 18 in 14 innings without any earned runs. Seniors Christian Young and Odlanier Rodriguez have also helped guide Locust Grove on the mound.

It’s a Region 4 matchup in AAA as Westminster takes on two-time defending state champion, Blessed Trinity. Power hitting lefty and Duke signee, Will Benson, another possible early round draft pick, leads the Wildcats as they try to dethrone the Titans. Joining Benson, is LSU signee Rankin Woley, Missouri signee Armaan Painter and standout sophomore Ryan Miller, in a powerful lineup for Westminster.

Blessed Trinity’s Hayden Lehman (100, 0.70 ERA) and John Michael Bertrand (91, 0.78 ERA) lead the Titans pitching. At the plate, the Titans have a powerful line up of

brothers Conor (.442 BA, 5 HR), a senior Auburn signee, and Colin Davis (.408 BA, 3 HR) and freshman CJ Abrams (.464 BA, 1 HR).

In AA, Wesleyan, junior Georgia Tech commit Colin Hall is the centerpiece for the Wolves at the plate. Junior Jordan Ward and Georgia Tech signee and Andy Archer lead on the hill.

For Lovett, the Lions go as senior Aaron Schunk goes. Schunk, a Georgia signee, leads the Lions on the hill, in the field and at the plate. David Easterling and Freddy Achecar are also potent batters lining up for Lovett.

Photos courtesy of Brian L. Morgan and David McGregor

10

SCORE ATLANTA | www.ScoreAtl.com

SUMMER CAMPS THE ATLANTA HAWKS

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Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

SMART FOOTBALL CAMP SET FOR NEXT WEEK

BY DAN MATHEWS | DMATHEWS@SCOREATL.COM

he first two sessions of the Kirby Smart T football camp will feature the varsity overnight camp June 2-4 and the youth camp June

6-8. All camps will be held at the UGA intramural fields.

The varsity camp is open to high school ageparticipants beginning with rising ninth graders, preparatory school students, junior college students, and four-year college transfers. The camp includes meals, two-night stay in a campus dormitory, t-shirt, and photo with Coach Smart.

The camp is formatted around four practice sessions and also includes highlight videos, Sanford Stadium tour, and participation in games. Campers will need helmets. Camp fee is $400.00.

The youth camp is for ages 8-13 (must turn 8 by June 6) and is held daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration begins at 9 a.m. each day at the UGA intramural fields. The camp is structured around three practices and also includes challenges and participation in games.

Campers will not need helmets. The camp includes a t-shirt, lunch, and photo with Coach

GEORGIA STATE

BASEBALL OVER; GSU ATHLETICS AWARDED

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

eorgia State baseball (24-31, 10-20) saw G its season come to a close following a 5-1 loss at rival Georgia Southern on Saturday

afternoon. The Panthers remained in contention for one of the eight spots in the Sun Belt tournament until Friday night, when they were eliminated by Arkansas State's come-frombehind win.

The Panthers lost the series with Georgia Soutern two games to one, but still won the season series. Brian Eichhorn tossed a complete-game four-hitter in the win over GSU. Bryce Conley was roughed up over 4.1 innings, allowing six hits and five runs. Clayton Payne came on in relief and pitched three scoreless frames.

Georgia State catcher Joey Roach, the senior standout who has been unable to play the last two weeks with a hand injury, started his final game behind the plate. After the Georgia Southern leadoff hitter was retired on a fly ball, Roach left the game, applauded by his teammates and fans.

Injuries derailed the Panthers’ hopes of a

Smart. Camp fee is $150 per day or $400 for all three days.

Registration information may be obtained by going online to: Kirbysmartcamp.com.

BIG 12 SHOWDOWN…

The Georgia Bulldogs will entertain the Texas Longhorns at Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday, January 28 as part of the 2017 SEC/ Big 12 Challenge. Matchups for all 10 games in the one-day challenge were announced on Tuesday by ESPN. Georgia is 6-5 all-time against Texas.

Most recently, the fourth-ranked Longhorns defeated the 16th-ranked Bulldogs, 77-71, in the opening game of the 2002-03 season as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Georgia is 2-0 versus Texas in Athens, with wins during 1992-93 and 1997-98.

The fourth annual event matches all 10 of the Big 12 members against 10 of the 14 programs from the SEC. Each conference will host five games with the network assignments and tip times to be announced at a later date.

Seven of the 10 games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2, one game on ESPN2 or ESPNU and two games will air on ESPNU. All 10 games will also be available via WatchESPN.

The other games in the 2017 Challenge will feature Baylor at Ole Miss, Kansas at Kentucky, Texas A&M at West Virginia, Florida at Oklahoma, Iowa State at Vanderbilt, Kansas State at Tennessee, Arkansas at Oklahoma State, Auburn at TCU and LSU at Texas Tech.

postseason berth with the pitching staff taking the brunt of the damage.

"We had to overcome a lot of adversity this season in the way of injuries to key players," head coach Greg Frady said, "but our guys kept fighting. We got to play a lot of young players and learn what they can do, and it's exciting to know that we will be returning a more experienced team.

"It's always hard to say good-bye to your seniors," Frady continued. "You're happy for them and what they've accomplished, and you want them to go on and be successful, but it's still hard. I appreciate all these seniors and everything they brought to our organization."

STUDENT-ATHLETES HONORED...

Georgia State won the 2016 Institutional Graduation Award on Sunday night. The award goes to the university that had the highest percentage of student-athletes graduate based on the most recent Federal Graduation Report.

The numbers go through last year and are based on a six year cohort.

The Panthers graduated 70 percent of its student-athletes that enrolled six years ago, good for tops in the conference.

“We are extremely proud to earn this honor and everything it entails,” director of athletics Charlie Cobb said. “It not only shows the type of culture we are building at Georgia State, but also embodies the great studentathletes, coaches and academic support staff we have. The University is gaining national recognition for its ability to graduate students and we are proud to be a part of that effort.”

GEORGIA TECH

SEVEN JACKETS NAMED TO ALL-ACC BASEBALL TEAM

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

by first-teamers Tristin English, Matt LTechedGonzalez and Kel Johnson, seven Georgia Yellow Jackets were named to the 2016

All-ACC Baseball Team, released Monday by the league office.

Tech had the second-most first-team selections with three, two behind Louisville (five). Joining Tech’s trio are junior pitchers Brandon Gold and Matthew Gorst, who were both named to second-team All-ACC, while junior SS Connor Justus was named to the third team. Catcher Joey Bart and English were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.

The three first-team selections are the most by Georgia Tech since 2013, while its six All-ACC honorees are the most since 2011.

Gonzalez collected his third career AllACC honor, becoming the first three-time AllACC Yellow Jacket since current Detroit Tigers pitcher Buck Farmer (2011-13). The Acworth, Ga., native is the NCAA’s active career leader in hits (287) and sacrifice flies (21). Gonzalez leads the Yellow Jackets in batting average (.368) and hits (78), while ranking second in both home runs (9) and RBI (47).

KENNESAW STATE

OWLS CLINCH FIRST ASUN REGULAR SEASON TITLE

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

ennesaw State clinched its first ASUN K regular season title in program history Thursday evening, defeating host FGCU

7-2 at Swanson Stadium. The Owls' magic number was two entering the night, combing with a win and USC Upstate's 10-inning 4-3 victory over JU clinched KSU's No. 1 seed for the 2016 ASUN Championship. With the win, the Owls improved to 27-25 overall and 15-4 in ASUN action, while FGCU dropped to 24-28 overall and 9-10 in league play.

"I think we got to sit back and reflect on a special season,” said head coach Mike Sansing. “Our players are a special group and I couldn't be more proud of them. I am proud of their efforts and this is a special moment."

FGCU struck first with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, giving the Eagles an early 2-0 edge. The Owls, however, responded after back-to-back singles set up a three-run home run off the bat of senior Justin Motley, giving the Owls a 3-2 advantage.

With Erwin rolling on the mound, the Owls were able to add to their lead when

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English and Johnson picked up their career-first All-ACC nods. English is Tech’s first freshman first-team All-ACC selection since Kyle Wren in 2011. English is batting .309 with a team-leading 20 doubles, three home runs and 34 RBI in 52 games.

A year after earning ACC All-Freshman honors, Johnson is a first-team All-ACC selection. The Palmetto, Ga., native is batting .340 with a team-leading 11 RBI and 51 RBI. His 16 doubles rank second behind English.

Gold and Gorst formed a formidable 1-2 punch in 2016. The starter Gold was 7-3 with a 2.55 ERA and struck out a team-high 71 batters in 14 starts. The reliever Gorst owned a microscopic 0.49 ERA with a 1-1 record and 11 saves, which are the third-most in school history.

Justus, considered by many to be one of the nation’s best shortstops, was Tech’s lone third-team selection. Justus posted a career year, batting .340 with 73 hits, 14 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 36 RBI.

RISING STARS…

Georgia Tech boasted an ACC-best two players on the All-Freshman Team with English and Bart. The freshman duo hit above .300 for the majority of the regular season. Bart batted .299 with 10 doubles and 26 RBI in 39 starts.

Georgia Tech (35-20) opens the ACC Baseball Championship on Tuesday (3 p.m., RSN/FOX Sports Southeast) against Boston College in a first round game. The winner advances to pool play which begins Wednesday at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C.

senior Brennan Morgan drove home his 38th RBI of the season with a single in the sixth, giving KSU a 4-2 lead. Kennesaw State scored a crooked three in the top half of the eighth, coming of RBI from Jeremy Howell, Taylor Allum and and Motley's triple gave the Owls a 7-2 advantage.

Erwin, who improved to 3-2 on the season, tossed 7.0 strong innings and allowed just two runs on seven hits while striking out six batters. Motley, who wrapped-up his Owl career at Stillwell Stadium last weekend, posted a career night going 3-for-4 at the dish with a career-high four RBI – who fell a single shy of hitting for the cycle. Offensively, Kennesaw State totaled seven players with at least one hit in the ballgame. Motley and Howell led the way with multi-hit games.

STAYING HOT...

Since April 6, Morgan only has two games without a hit – RBI single in the sixth extended that mark. Kennesaw State clinched a regular season championship for the first time in program history, and will hold the No. 1 seed next week in Nashville for the 2016 ASUN Championship. Motley hit his third career home run in the second inning Thursday night, and his second of the season.

With Williams' single in the sixth, the sophomore has extended his hitting streak to 10 games. For the 31st time this season, the Owls have produced 10 or more hits in a single ballgame.

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ATLANTA HAWKS

POTENTIAL HAWKS FA TARGETS

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

T

he 2015-16 NBA season has yet to conclude, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to look at some potential free agent targets for the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta enters the offseason with no restricted free agents and four unrestricted.

Kent Bazemore, Kirk Hinrich, Kris Humphries and Al Horford make up the four players the front office has to make decisions on.

Not taking into account some potential trades and leaving the roster as is here are a few names that Atlanta should look into.

RYAN ANDERSON...

Anderson is the premier stretch-4 on the market. Now age 28, the three-point specialist would fit in nicely with Atlanta’s unselfish, spacing the floor style of play. Anderson has battled some injuries throughout his career, but that has never stopped him from being productive. It is a red flag however that in his seven years in the NBA, aside from 2012-13 when he played 81 games, the most he’s played in a season is 66 games which he did his rookie season and this year where he averaged 17 points and 6.0 rebounds off the bench. Anderson will likely want a pay raise from his $8.5

ATLANTA BRAVES

BRAVES FIRE GONZALEZ AFTER 9-28 START BYJOSEPH CHAPMAN | INFO@SCOREATL.COM

T

he Atlanta Braves fired manager Fredi Gonzalez on Tuesday in the wake of a majorsworst 9-28 start to the season. Gonzalez learned of his fate on Monday night before an official announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon. The 52-year-old compiled a 434413 record in five full years and part of this one in Atlanta. He is being temporarily replaced by interim manager Brian Snitker, who had been managing the Triple-A Gwinnett team.

“A bad start is not just laid at the feet of Fredi Gonzalez,” president of baseball operations John Hart told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I mean, we all assume a lot of responsibility for how this club has gotten off to this kind of a start. But with that said, we do think we’re certainly better than what we’ve played.”

LET’S PLAY TWO...

For individual players in Major League Baseball, belting two home runs in a game is a noteworthy—but not entirely uncommon—accomplishment. For the 2016 Braves

million, but his inability to stay healthy should keep him affordable.

ATLANTA FALCONS

IAN MAHINMI...

FALCONS ANTICIPATE SUPER BOWL BID DECISION

The 6-foot-11 Frenchman finally worked his way into a starting gig in year seven. With the Pacers he averaged 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his most productive season of his career at age 29. With the emergence of rookie Myles Turner, Mahinmi is likely to be more expendable than once thought.

Atlanta hasn’t had a true defensive presence in the paint in years and adding Mahinmi at a lower cost than keeping Al Horford would be a wise decision.

KENT BAZEMORE & KRIS HUMPHRIES...

Bazemore enjoyed his finest season in the league averaging 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds while spacing the floor and playing the role of Atlanta’s 3&D guy. He is younger than DeMarre Carroll who they let walk a year ago, so Bazemore should be a priority to keep in Philips while the same can be said about Kris Humphries who played excellent with Atlanta during his short stay.

COURTNEY LEE...

Another veteran that has postseason experience, Lee a 6-foot-5 shooting guard with a knack for playing D, could be a nice addition that could either start or come off the bench. Lee averaged 9.6 points per game splitting time between Memphis and Charlotte this season. as a whole team, going deep twice in a game is cause for grand celebration. Monday’s 8-5 setback at Pittsburgh marked the first multihomer outing enjoyed by Atlanta since Opening Day, when Freddie Freeman and Adonis Garcia victimized Max Scherzer in a 4-3 home loss to Washington. Francoeur’s two-run blast in the sixth inning was his first of the season and Johnson followed with his first long-ball of 2016 in the eighth inning, also a two-run shot. Still, only four players on the active roster (Francoeur, Freeman, Johnson and Mallex Smith) have hit home runs this year. Smith provided for another multi-homer outing all by himself on Tuesday, when he went deep twice more in a 12-9 loss.

"It bothers your pride," Johnson told the team’s website. "You're into mid-May and a majority of us are looking up there at a zero.

We're just not used to it. When it's zero, it's a matter of pride."

"Chipper [Jones] used to always say that if you don't practice home runs, you can't hit them," Francoeur added after Monday’s contest. "That's not to say we gave up approach or anything, but I think you really saw us try to drive the ball…. It was nice to see us drive the ball like that. It's been a long time. As a team, we know we can't rely on just Freddie to drive it all of the time. Some other guys have to do it, as well. Tonight, in the middle of the lineup, we were able to do that."

BY CRAIG SAGER II | CSAGER@SCOREATL.COM

N

FL owners gathering in Charlotte for their annual Spring Meeting will conduct secret ballots later today that will yield the prevailing cities. Atlanta was invited by the NFL to submit bids for the 2019 and 2020 games, along with Miami, New Orleans and Tampa. Of that group, the Falcons are the only city to boast a brand new stadium – the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is set to open in 2017.

Consisting of local civic and private sector leaders, the Atlanta bid committee has been working for over a year raising funds and presenting Atlanta’s case to the NFL. League officials visited the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium construction site last summer as part of their due-diligence process.

The announcements will be broadcast live on NFL Network and will take place between 1 pm and 4:30 pm EDT Tuesday afternoon.

The first OTA session is in the books and a few Falcons were unable to participate.

Return specialist Devin Hester (foot), right guard Chris Chester (shoulder) and center James Stone (knee) did not participate.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was also held

GHSA BEAT

STATE FINALS LEAVE MACON

BY KYLE SANDY | KSANDY@SCOREATL.COM

I

f you haven’t heard by now, the GHSA came to its senses and moved the state championships out of the black hole known as the Macon Centreplex. After calling for reformation from the disastrous weekend March 3-5, our collective prayers as fans, media, players and coaches were answered.

The University of Georgia’s Stegeman Coliseum and Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion will split four days of action, providing more reasonable locations for the sport which has seen the vast majority of its championship matchups feature teams located in or near the Metro Atlanta area.

Of course with the move some areas will get the proverbial “short end of the stick”, especially South Georgia schools, most notably schools in the Savannah area that have enjoyed trips to the big game, along with Tift County, another South Georgia power that always finds itself in the mix.

out today and will be all week due to tendinitis that has developed in his knee, head coach Dan Quinn confirmed.

Quinn said Stone will miss all of the OTAs but is expected to be back for XFINITY® Training Camp.

Atlanta also had two players who participated in a limited capacity in defensive end Adrian Clayborn (strained pectoral) and rookie wide receiver Devin Fuller (hamstring).

YOUNG LEADERS...

As a team focused on developing prospects for long-term success, the Falcons put together their latest draft class with the future in mind. But that doesn’t mean Atlanta's firstyear players won’t be major contributors in 2016.

Three selections in particular have the experience and skill set needed to step in right away: Keanu Neal, Deion Jones and Austin Hooper all made the NFL.com top 100 rookie list Coming off two strong years at Stanford, Hooper earned the No. 71 spot. NFL.com's Chase Goodbread expects him to eventually become Atlanta’s starting tight end and “bring more of a vertical threat to the position.” With good length, reliable hands and the ability to maneuver through traffic in the red zone, he has the tools to make a smooth transition to the pros.

Jones is pegged a few spots ahead at No. 67.

“The Falcons had a linebacker need,” Goodbread wrote, “and wouldn’t have taken him No. 52 overall if they weren’t willing to let him learn on the fly.”

Macon was the ideal location for the games, making the trip roughly two hours for both South Georgia and Metro teams, but the city failed to provide a playable facility. The extra hour-plus to either UGA or Georgia Tech might be a pain for schools down south, but at the end of the day it’s worth it, playing in a nice facility that can handle the event instead of playing in a dungeon.

Playing in Atlanta also provides the allure of playing in the state’s capital city which should help increase attendance. The Centreplex was half full for the state’s highest classification championship which featured Westlake and Pebblebrook, two teams loaded with Division-I talent. While the move up north strains fan bases such as Wilkinson County, it should also pay dividends to the majority of teams that make the championship that have fan bases within the area.

If there is one thing we can agree on, the GHSA finally got something right. They listened to unapproving fans, players and coaches; the exact people who give the GHSA a job.

Without the student-athletes, there would be nothing for the GHSA to govern.

This long drawn nightmare has finally come to an end and basketball can begin its healing process and start being treated fairly in the state of Georgia.

Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

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Vol. 12 Iss. 19 | June 1 - June 7, 2016

May 24

June 2

Wingfoot High School All-Star Mile Emory University Track Email etomas@atlantatrackclub.org to enter

All-Metro Track & Field Banquet The Stave Room/Atlanta Track Club Athlete of the Year Voting opens May 17

WE’RE ALWAYS

RUNNING

July 18-22

September 24

Speed & Form For Distance Runners Summer Camp Rising 7th – 12th Grade

Wingfoot XC Classic Sam Smith Park - Cartersville, GA High School, Middle School & College Division

For more information visit atlantatrackclub.org

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