The Times Athlete of the Year 2024

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Athlete of the Year is a publication of The Times, 345 Green St., Gainesville, Ga. A Metro Market Media property.

2024 BOYS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: FLOWERY BRANCH HIGH’S SETH LARSON WRESTING FOOTBALL CONGRATULATIONS

BY David Friedlander dfriedlander@gainesvilletimes.com

As good of an athlete as Seth Larson was as a junior, the one thing that nagged at him was that he wasn’t as good as he could’ve been, due to a back injury that limited him.

Fully healthy for his senior season during the 202324 school year, the Flowery Branch wrestler showed what he could do at his best by reaching a mat milestone with his fourth-straight individual state championship.

Combined with another outstanding fall on the football field, Larson seems a fitting choice for The Times’ 2024 Boys Athlete of the Year.

With his four wrestling state championships, he’s the first athlete in Hall County history to reach the lofty milestone.

“It was awesome to see him healthy,” Flowery Branch wrestling coach Brett Clark said. “It wasn’t just his performance wrestling (on the mat). It was also in the (practice) room with the younger guys. We started doing a thing this year where we had some of the older guys had a practice where they worked with some younger guys to help them out. He was the first one to jump on top of that. It certainly shows the character that young man has.” That character also came out on the mat, where

Larson posted a 43-1 record to win the Class 5A 157-pound state title.

It not only brought his career record to 130-4, but also made him just the 49th wrestler in state history to become a four-time Georgia High School Association state champion.

Those accomplishments just underscore the presence that Larson has brought to the mat at Flowery Branch, and he will bring when he wrestles collegiately at Campbell University in North Carolina.

“I have (had wrestlers like Larson) before, but it’s very few and far between,” Clark said. “Once or twice every 10 years, you get somebody like that. To have (wrestlers like that) in the room, you’ve got to feel very blessed. … You need people like that (for the team) to get better.”

A healthy Larson also had a major presence on gridiron as a receiver for the Flowery Branch football team.

He finished with a team-best 59 receptions, and was second on the team in receiving yards (727) and touchdown receptions (7) to help the Falcons to a Class 5A state playoff berth.

2024 GIRLS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: CHESTATEE HIGH’S RILEY BLACK BASKETBALL CONGRATULATIONS

BY DAVID FRIEDLANDER dfriedlander@gainesvilletimes.com

For the past four seasons, there’s been little doubt who the dominant high school girls basketball player, and overall female high school athlete, in Hall County has been.

Chestatee’s Riley Black has made her mark on the Lady War Eagles’ program and beyond, and went out in spectacular fashion during her senior season of 2023-24 to be named The Times’ Girls Athlete of the Year in back-to-back seasons.

The numbers speak for themselves.

The 5-foot-8, University of West Georgia-bound guard averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game in helping the Lady War Eagles set a school record with 25 wins, as well as match last year’s all-time best state tournament finish by advancing to Class 4A quarterfinals and win the Region 8-4A title for the second-straight season. In addition, Black rewrote the Chestatee record books, not only becoming the program’s career leader in scoring (2,194) and rebounding (1,163), thus becoming the program’s sole member of the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club, as well as setting single-game school records of 42 points (in the final game of her career in the state quarterfinals) and 22 rebounds.

Chestatee coach Sutton Shirley was unequivocal on speaking to what she has meant to the Lady War Eagles’ programs.

“I coached Kylah Mize and Carly Winters at East Hall. I guess at this point, it’s seven or eight years ago,” Shirley said. “Both went and had very good collegiate careers and did some good things. … But there is nothing (they did) compared to what Riley was able to do. Riley was able to achieve a few things I didn’t honestly think were very possible because I just felt like the pressure was on her. … I don’t know what else to call it but special.

“I think the neat thing about coaching Riley is that every year I was worried that she wasn’t going to be able to replicate what she had done before. In my head, I thought (opponents) were going to figure her out. (But) Riley was able to transform her game enough and evolve and improve her game. … Each year, she progressed to make it where it didn’t matter (how opponents defended her).”

2024 NOMINEES

Alisa Pressley

Girls Golf

Cherokee Bluff, junior

Noteable: Had a superb two-day total of 3-under-par (69) to claim her third Hall County individual championship on March 12 at Chicopee Woods.

Edgar Vazquez

Boys soccer

Johnson, senior

Noteable: University of North Georgia signee took on leadership role in 2024 with 14 goals and 12 assists in the regular season for the Knights.

Clodagh O’Bryant

Girls cross country

North Hall, junior

2024 NOMINEES

Noteable: Capped off a superb season with a fourth-place spot in the Class 4A state championship race (19:28).

During the season, O’Bryant won the Hall County championship (18:54) and Region 8-4A meet (18:44).

Bristol Kersh

Girls soccer

Cherokee Bluff, freshman

Noteable: The gifted young talent finished the regular season with 39 goals and 13 assists en route to leading the Lady Bears to the Region 8-4A championship.

2024 NOMINEES

Jerious Eberhardt

Boys track and field

Gainesville, junior

Colton Wilbanks

Boys BasketBall

Chestatee, senior

Noteable: Senior forward had a monster season, averaging 30 points and 12 rebounds en route to being named Region 8-4A Player of the Year.

Noteable: Put on quite a show at the Hall County championships with wins in the 100-meter, 200 and 400 on March 29 at Chestatee High.

Olivia Mullins softBall

North Hall, junior

Noteable: Junior pitcher had a 9-3 mark in the circle with a 1.76 ERA and only allowed 20 earned runs and 54 hits over 54 1/3 innings. At the plate, Mullins hit .395 with four homers and 25 RBIs.

2024 NOMINEES

Conner Proffitt

Boys cross country

Gainesville, senior

Noteable: : Ran a first-place time at the Hall County championship (16:04) and Region 8-6A meet (16:01).

Proffitt took eighth in the Class 6A field at the state championship meet (16:41).

2024 NOMINEES

Seth Larson

Boys WrestlinG

Flowery Branch, senior

Daley Williams

Boys Golf

North Hall, senior

Noteable: After a three-way tie, earned the Hall County championship in a playoff with a two-day total of 1-under par (71) at Chicopee Woods on March 12.

Noteable: Capped sterling high school career with four state championships, winning this year at 157 pounds in Class 5A. Larson is the first four-time state champion in Hall County. In 2024, Larson posted a 43-1 mark.

Julius Columbus footBall

Gainesville, junior

Noteable: Defensive tackle had a sensational junior season with 58 tackles and school-record 20 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss. On April 1, Columbus gave his verbal commitment to Duke University. He also holds scholarship offers from Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Yale and Cornell, among many others, still on the table.

2024 NOMINEES

James Rivenbark

Boys tennis

Cherokee Bluff

Noteable: Dominating player at No. 1 singles has compiled a 19-1 mark this season, winning all his matches in straight sets.

2024 NOMINEES

Shanise Newton

Girls track and field

Gainesville, junior

Lilly Perry Girls tennis

North Hall, junior

Noteable: Flourished as No. 1 singles standout with 14-3 mark in the regular season.

Noteable: Gifted sprinter won the 100-meter, 200 and 400 at the county championship meet March 29 at Chestatee High.

Valiree Schmus

VolleyBall

Chestatee, junior

Noteable: Finished the season with elite numbers, posting 614 kills (crossing 1,000 career kills as a junior), 67 aces, 43 blocks and 304 digs. Schmus earned Player of the Year for Region 8-4A, along with AllState recognition for Class 4A. Her production guided the Lady War Eagles to region championship.

2024 NOMINEES

Tyson Huynh

Boys sWimminG

Flowery Branch, junior

Noteable: At the state meet, Huynh captured the 5A state championship in the 100 butterfly with a time of 48.85.

2024 NOMINEES

Litzy Soto

Girls WrestlinG

Gainesville, senior

Noteable: Lady Red Elephants

Riley Black

Girls BasketBall

Chestatee, senior

Noteable: Lady War Eagles star averaged 25 points and 13 rebounds per game en route to earning Region 8-4A Player of the Year. For her career, Black had a school record in both points (2,194) and rebounds (1,163). In her final game, Black scored a school-record 42 points in the state quarterfinals against Fayette County.

standout finished her career with a 43-4 mark and spot in the state finals in the 170-pound bracket at the allclassification state meet.

KT Thompson

BaseBall

Cherokee Bluff, junior

Noteable: Already a verbal commit to play at Georgia Southern, the gifted outfielder hit .512 during the regular season with three homers (two grand slams on the same day), eight doubles, five triples, 37 RBIs and 37 runs scored for the Region 8-4A champions.

2024 NOMINEES

Riley Smith

Girls sWimminG

Cherokee Bluff, Senior

Noteable: Smith placed eighth in the 50-yard freestyle at the state meet, along with a 14th-place spot in the backstroke. Smith anchored the Lady Bears 200 free relay squad that finished 17th at state.

2024 TIMES ATHLETE OF

THE YEAR

PHOTO GALLERY