Moultrie Observer

Local Sports

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
May 15, 2007

Helms named Athlete of the Year

Wayne Grandy

MOULTRIE — Colquitt County’s Ryan Helms, who won his third straight state high school diving championship in February, has been selected as the Region 1-AAAAA co-Athlete of the Year.

Helms, who is a junior, shares the award with Tift County High senior Israel Troupe, a first-team All-Region 1-AAAAA selection in both football and baseball.

Troupe has signed to play football at the University of Georgia next fall.

Troupe also was the region’s Athlete of the Year in 2006.

Tift County’s Morgan Jones also was a repeat selection as the region’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Jones won the all around title at the state gymnastics meet for the second year in a row and won five individual titles.

The selections are made by the sportswriters who cover Region 1-AAAAA.

In winning his third straight title at the state swimming and diving meet at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Helms shattered the previous state record.

He scored a 615.00, breaking the record of 557.20, held by Wesleyan’s Webb Worthington.

Helms scored over 600 points in two other high school meets this year. He won the 37th Metro Atlanta Swimming and Diving Championships, also held at the Westminster Schools, with a pool record 611.60.

He also scored 610.40 at the Clarke-Oconee Invitational in Athens.

Helms won the state championship as a freshman in 2005 with a 472.60.

As a sophomore, he raised his score to 518.70.

Helms now is setting his sights on four straight championships.

The other four-time champions are Moultrie High’s David Howard (1976-1979), Colquitt County’s Brad Baell (1985-1988), Coquitt County’s Adam Terrell (1990-1993) and Worthington, who won the Class AAAA championships 2002-2005.

As a senior on the Tift County baseball team, Troupe hit .410 with six doubles, four home runs and 28 runs batted in.

He also had a .627 slugging percentage, a .529 on-base percentage and was 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts.

Last fall, Troupe had 62 catches for 672 yards and six touchdowns; rushed 19 times for for 120 yards, returned eight kickoffs for 194 yards and had 14 punt returns for 108 yards.

Troupe went on to p play in the GACA North-South All-Start Game and participated in the East Meets West All-American Game.

Jones, who is just a junior, became the first girl outside the Atlanta area to win an all around title in 2006 and she repeated the feat this year.

Text Only
Local Sports
Business Marquee
Echoes from the Titanic
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
House Ads
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Popular Searches
Powered by Local.com
More
weatherradar
Seasonal Content
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Poll

If the vote were held today, would you support the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax?

Yes. We need these projects, and this is the only way we can pay for them.
No. We don't need any more taxes.
No. The process is undemocratic and wrong.
     View Results