Weekend preps roundup
FROM SATURDAY
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
AUSLANDER WINS INVITATIONAL: At the Loganville Christian Academy Invitational, Monsignor Donovan’s Will Auslander finished first among 175 runners as the Rams came in sixth place among 15 teams. Apalachee finished in eighth place and Prince Avenue Christian came in 11th.
Auslander crossed the finish line in 17 minutes, 36 seconds. Teammate Nevan Norrell finished 26th (19:51) and Drew Auslander was 30th in 20:09.
Kevin Ellington finished 15th for Apalachee in 19:09, with Luke Sigman finishing in 24th place at 19:47.
Prince Avenue Christian’s top finisher was Joey Young, who finished 51st in 21:43.
WINDER-BARROW WINS TUNE-UP: At Winder-Barrow, the Bulldoggs had three top-five finishers as they came in first among six teams at the Winder-Barrow 2-Mile Tune-Up. The Bulldoggs finished with 30 points, followed by Loganville (31 points), Dacula (59 points), Duluth (126 points), Jackson County (130 points) and Stockbridge (130 points).
Winder-Barrow’s Brian Gaddy finished third among 44 runners in 12 minutes, 5 seconds. Christopher Parada-Rubio finished fourth in 12:09 and Ryan Kehoe was fifth in 12:38.
Jackson County was led by Christian Hunnicutt, who finished 17th in 13:39.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN SECOND, APALACHEE THIRD: At the Loganville Christian Academy Invitational, Prince Avenue Christian finished second among nine teams and Apalachee came in third place overall.
The Wolverines had three top-15 performers – Brittan McGinn was sixth in 23 minutes, 47 seconds, Elizabeth Coleman was seventh in 23:52 and Olivia Shiver was 15th in 24:44.
For Apalachee, Averie Akin finished third in 22:30 and Ashley Hauff finished 17th in 24:47.
ROGERS ON TOP AT TUNE-UP: At Winder-Barrow, the Bulldoggs’ Matilee Rogers topped 35 other runners to win the Winder-Barrow 2-Mile Tune-Up. Loganville won the five-team meet with 22 points, followed by Duluth (68 points), Dacula (82 points), Winder-Barrow (94 points) and Jackson County (96 points).
Rogers crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 15 seconds. Teammate Sadie McWhorter finished 13th in 17:58.
Jackson County’s top finisher was Annie Kate Riley, who finished 17th in 18:21.
VOLLEYBALL
ATHENS ACADEMY GOES 4-0: At the Athens Academy Invitational, the Spartans ran the table with four victories and improved to 11-3. Athens Academy recorded wins over Morgan County (25-14, 25-23), Atlanta International (25-12, 20-25, 15-10), Apalachee (25-23, 25-10) and Oconee County (25-11, 25-19).
Against Morgan County, Mary Miller had six kills, Olivia Nealy had nine digs and six kills, Anna Rutledge had six kills, Mara Thomas had 23 assists and six digs and Annsley Flack had eight digs. Against Atlanta International, Peyton Wheeler had seven kills, Ali Rumpel had seven kills, Miller had 10 digs, Nealy had seven digs and Thomas had 15 assists.
Against Apalachee, Nealy had five kills and six digs, Rumpel had five kills, Thomas had four aces, 10 digs and 15 assists and Rutledge had two blocks. Against Oconee County, Wheeler had six kills, Rumpel had seven kills, three blocks and 10 digs, Thomas had 16 assists and three aces and Betul Arpinar had 11 digs.
Apalachee went 3-1 on the day with victories over Jackson County (25-18, 26-24), George Walton (25-22, 25-23) and Flowery Branch (25-19, 25-17).
The Wildcats were led by Ellie Alfonso, who was 35 of 36 serving with eight aces, 21 kills, three blocks and five assists. Olivia Swift was 37 for 39 serving with four aces, 10 kills and 45 assists, Emily 0Crocker was 23 of 26 serving with six aces, 29 kills, three blocks and 18 assists and Kassim Dell was 22 of 23 serving with two aces, 15 kills and four blocks.
The Spartans will play Prince Avenue Christian and Walnut Grove on Tuesday. Apalachee will face Locust Grove on Saturday at the Aloha Bash at Brookwood.
NORTH OCONEE GOES 4-1: At East Jackson, the Titans improved to 9-4 with a 4-1 day in Commerce. North Oconee posted victories over Johnson (25-10, 25-10), Forsyth Central (25-21, 21-25, 15-13 coming back after trailing 10-13), East Jackson (25-14, 25-19) and Westminster Christian (25-10, 25-10). The Titans lost in the championship match to Forsyth Central 25-21, 25-20.
North Oconee was led by Jorgie Tardi (36 digs, nine kills, three aces), Anna Pinneau (19 digs, 14 kills, nine aces), Claudia Iglesias (12 kills), Sarah Wages (22 assists, three kills, four aces), Bella Ripley (21 kills, two blocks), Angel Chen (26 assists) and Emma Sutton (19 digs).
The Titans will play Loganville and Dacula on Tuesday at Loganville and will host East Hall and East Jackson on Thursday.
SOFTBALL
NORTH FORSYTH 10, JACKSON COUNTY 2 (five innings): At Cumming, the Panthers lost for the third time in their last four games and fell to 2-4-1.
Jackson County had six hits and was led by Madison Miller (one hit, one RBI), Sara Beth Allen (two hits) and Maggie Knox (one hit, one run).
The Panthers (2-1 in Region 8-3A) will return to region play at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Morgan County.
FROM FRIDAY
SOFTBALL
CLARKE CENTRAL 15, DISCOVERY 3 (four innings): At Lawrenceville, the Gladiators continued their offensive assault on opponents, improving to 6-1 and scoring double-digit runs for the fifth time this season.
Clarke Central had 15 hits and was led by Zamya Sims (three hits, two runs, one RBI), Gretchen Hinger (two hits, two RBIs), Lauren Brown (two runs, two hits, two RBIs), Hazel Fairbairn (two hits, two runs) and Kathrine Kennedy (two hits, two runs, two RBIs).
Hinger, Autumn Brooks and Abby Allen teamed up in the circle to limit Discovery to five hits and three runs with four strikeouts.
The Gladiators were set to host Rabun County on Monday and will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Elbert County.
OGLETHORPE COUNTY 12, WASHINGTON-WILKES 0 (four innings): At Washington, the Patriots tallied multiple runs in every inning to defeat host Washington-Wilkes and improve to 6-2.
The Patriots will host Thomson at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
NORTH OCONEE SPLITS: At Madison, the Titans split a doubleheader, defeating Grovetown 6-5 and losing to Morgan County 15-7 in five innings.
Against Grovetown, North Oconee had 10 hits and was led by Carley Moore (two hits, two runs, one RBI), Caroline Branch (one hit, two RBIs), Cameron Harkley (one hit, one run, one RBI) and Christina Postnieks (two hits, two RBIs).
Casey Holloway was the winning pitcher, scattering 12 hits in seven innings with five runs (four earned), five walks and four strikeouts.
The Titans (2-5, 0-1 in Region 8-4A) were set to play Monday at Lake Oconee Academy and will host rival Oconee County at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a region game.
OGLETHORPE COUNTY 12, WASHINGTON-WILKES 0 (four innings): At Washington, the Patriots snapped a two-game losing streak with a mercy rule victory over the Tigers on the road. Oglethorpe County was led at the plate by Kendal Eidson (one hit, four RBIs), Makayla McDaniel (one hit, two RBIs), Maggie Gray (two hits), Ella Mason (two hits) and Claire Gabriel (one hit, one RBI).
Gabriel pitched a complete game with four hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
The Patriots (6-2) will host Thomson at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
BANKS COUNTY 8, COMMERCE 3: At Homer, the undefeated Leopards handed the Tigers their first loss of the season, dropping Commerce to 3-1.
Banks County’s Tybee Denton pitched a complete game with 18 strikeouts. Maggie Mullis had one hit and Grace Hobbs had two RBIs for Commerce.
The Tigers will play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Towns County.
FROM THURSDAY
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
BRUSH, GIBSON LEAD JEFFERSON: At Hartwell, Jefferson’s Brett Brush and Cooper Gibson both recorded top-10 performances among 42 runners at the five-team Bulldog Early.
Brush finished fifth overall in 18 minutes, 51 seconds and Gibson was eighth at 19:29. Teammate Ethan Hagelthron finished 15th in 21:24.
For Madison County, Aiden Pickett was 17th in 21:31.
Hart County won the meet with 10 points, followed by Stephens County (60 points), Morgan County (73 points), Madison County (82 points) and Elbert County (129 points).
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
JEFFERSON WINS AT HART COUNTY: At Hartwell, led by Caitlin Schroeder, Jefferson had four runners finish in the top 10 and won the six-team Bulldog Early with 20 points. Madison County, which had two top-10 finishers, finished second with 69 points, followed by Hart County (73 points), Stephens County (90 points), Elbert County (118 points) and Morgan County (128 points).
Schroeder finished first among 36 runners in 21 minutes, 42 seconds. Katherine Law was second in 21:52, Olivia Kulniszewski finished third in 23:44 and Isabel Vanderpool came in sixth in 25:18.
For Madison County, Kylie Schubert finished ninth in 26:10 and Tiana Drake was 10th in 26:20.