From the notebook: Hardigree wins conference diving title for SMU

Published 10:27 am Friday, March 5, 2021

MOULTRIE – Former Colquitt County High and Moss Farms diver Parker Hardigree helped lead the Southern Methodist men’s swimming and diving team to the American Athletic Conference championship, taking the conference title on the 1-meter springboard along the way.

An all-conference selection three years in a row, Hardigree has qualified for the NCAA Zone Championships on both boards.

Johanna Holloway, who also dives for SMU and is Hardigree’s former Moss Farms teammate, was named the 2021 AAC Most Outstanding Diver.

She has been named All-Conference on platform and has qualified for Zones on both springboards.

Former Moss Farms diver Chase Lane, now a senior at Kentucky, has been named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Lane also has qualified for this year’s Olympic Trials.

He was fifth on both 1-meter and platform and seventh on 3-meter at the SEC Championships.

Auburn freshman Hunter Kebler just missed qualifying for finals on platform at the SEC Championships.

The Colquitt County and Moss Farms diver was ninth in prelims, just 27.15 out of eighth place and a berth in the finals.

Georgia’s Kelliann Howell competed on 1-meter at the SEC Championships, which were held at the University of Missouri.

Of this and that:

• Former Colquitt County football player Kamaar Bell, who spent the last two seasons at Auburn, has transferred to Florida Atlantic.

Bell is a 6-foot-3, 320-pound offensive lineman.

• Gardner-Webb’s Ty French was named the Big South Conference Freshman of the Week in the Bulldogs’ 42-20 spring season opening win over No. 24 Elon last week.

In his first career start, the former Packer was credited with 12 tackles, including five solos. He had four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.

• Another former Packer who had a fine start to the spring season was red-shirt freshman Camari Louis, who had three solo tackles in Kennesaw State’s 35-3 victory over Shorter.

• Nyquan Washington has not started either game, but he has played well in the secondary for Tennessee Tech.

In the season-opening 27-21 win over Austin Peay, Washington had two solo tackles, an assist and a pass breakup.

Last week, in a 27-10 loss to Jacksonville State, Washington had one solo and four assisted tackles.

• Senior offensive lineman Quan Stokes has played in all three games for Faulkner University, which has lost at Reinhardt and defeated Point University and Union College.

• Some members of the 2020 Colquitt County football team who have announced where they plan to play next season are snapper Max Parker, East Carolina; defensive lineman Vendarion Knighton, Fort Valley State; and defensive end/linebacker Gamal Wallace, Alabama State.

• Congratulations to former longtime Colquitt County assistant baseball coach and head softball coach Keith Croft, who has been named the headmaster at Westwood Schools in Camilla for the 2021-2022 school year.

Croft has been a principal, administrator, teacher and coach for over 30 years. His resume includes serving as principal and assistant principal positions at Cook High School, Turner County High School and Doerun Elementary School.

He was the head coach of the Lady Packers slow-pitch softball team for 10 years posting a 176-88 record and he led the fast-pitch program during its first two years.

Croft was a Colquitt County assistant baseball coach when the Packers won state championships in 1997 and 2003. He also was a fine pitcher/third baseman for the Packers.

• Callie Faircloth is a freshman on the Georgia Military College softball team and got her first career junior college hit on February 7 in a game against Northwest Florida State.

• Kelli Johnson has a 1-1 record as a pitcher for Florida State College at Jacksonville. She was the winning pitcher in the Blue Wave’s recent victory over the Thomas University junior varsity.

• Gracie Frazier is back for her third season playing for the Eastern Kentucky women’s softball team.

• UNC-Wilmington’s Za’Nautica Downs is averaging 15.9 points a game for the Seahawks women’s basketball team. She has scored in double-digits in each of the last 11 games, including 17 in each of the last two.

• Two other former Lady Packers playing college basketball are Diamond Hall, averaging 5.7 points in 13 starts for Alcorn State and Troy freshman Janiah Ellis, who is averaging 3.4 points coming off the bench.

• Cameron Singletary is playing for the Albany Tech men’s basketball team.

• Dylan Collins is back on the pitching staff at Bossier Parish (La.) Community College. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound lefthander has made two starts already this season for the Cavaliers.

• Freshman Henry Daniels is off to a hot start for the ABAC baseball team, hitting .346 with three home runs. In a recent game against Wallace Community College, Daniels went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs batted in.

• Red-shirt sophomore Raines Plant is hitting .314 in 11 starts in the outfield for Thomas University.

• Jay Saunders is hitting .400 in the early going for the Georgia College baseball team. Included among his six hits are a double and a triple. He also has six RBIs.

• John Samuel Shenker, fresh off his role as a tight end for the Auburn football team, has played in four games, including one start, for the Tigers baseball team.

• Freshman J.T. Whatley is enjoying his freshman season at Andrew College, hitting .385 with two home runs and 15 RBIs.

He went 4-for-4 with a triple and five runs batted in in a recent game against the Thomas University junior varsity.