Spring sports teams looking ahead to 2022

Published 10:58 am Tuesday, April 27, 2021

MOULTRIE — Despite high school career-best rounds by Chase Blanton and David Strange, the Colquitt County boys golf team failed to advance at the Class 7A Area 1 tournament held on Friday at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Valdosta.

Blanton shot a 73 and Strange, a freshman, shot a 77 for the Packers, who turned in a 315, their second-lowest score of the season.

“The team played as good as we can play, but we just came up seven shots short of making it,” coach Andrew Eunice said.

The Packers also counted an 82 from Tucker Brown and an 83 from Marshall McCranie.

The Packers will lose just one senior, Tyler Key, from this year’s team and Eunice is already looking ahead.

“All of our guys got better by the end of the year,” he said. “It was cool to see.”

The Colquitt County girls golf team will play host to the Lady Packer Invitational on Saturday, May 1 at Sunset County Club and also will compete in the Class 7A state tournament, which also will be played at Sunset on May 17-18.

Tennis teams ousted

After winning first-round matches at home, the Lady Packers and Packers – both Region runners-up – had to travel to Marietta to face Walton in the second round.

Walton has a history of having one of the best boys and girls tennis programs in the state.

Both Colquitt teams fell 0-3.

“Walton is a real deep squad and didn’t make many mistakes,” said Colquitt County boys coach Mell Wier. “We were competitive in most of the matches and played with a lot of heart, as we’ve done all year.”

But the girls team loses just two seniors — Ava McCranie and Karli Yarbrough — and the boys team just one, Kenny Dang.

Both programs are expected to continue to be competitive next season.

“This year, we far exceeded our own expectations,” Wier said about his team. “We are already excited about next year. We’ve got a lot of players coming back and are excited about the guys moving up.”

Soccer teams fall in first round

The Colquitt County soccer teams, the No. 4 teams from Region 1, drew outstanding opponents in the first round.

Colquitt County boys had to deal with state-ranked South Gwinnett and fell 6-0 on the road.

The Packers, after being 9-1 when the 2020 season was cut short by the coronavirus, finish 9-9, but with expectations of better times in 2022 under veteran head coach Jimbo Jarvis.

The Lady Packers fell in the first round at Brookwood 10-0 to finish 2-16 overall.

Three freshman gymnasts excel

For the first time since 2018, Colquitt County had members of its gymnastics team qualify for state prelims and all three are freshmen.

Nyla Thompson qualified on vault, beam and floor; Ashley Almond, on vault and bars; and Anabele Gonzales, on vault.

To qualify, a gymnast had to score an 8.5 or higher at least twice in regular meets.

Normally, a gymnast had to make that score three times, but because of the coronavirus, it was reduced to two times for this season only.

The gymnasts traveled to meets in Winder, McDonough and Milledgeville and played host to one in Moultrie.

Team members had to juggle high school meets with USAG and cheerleading schedules.

“It was an amazing season, but not only for their achievements, but the sweet memories made with these wonderful girls,” coach Patti Wier said.

Of this and that:

• Former Colquitt County pitcher and assistant baseball coach Taylor Barber continues to do fine work at Tift County.

Barber was named the Region 1-7A softball Coach of the Year last fall and this spring is keeping the Blue Devils baseball team’s pitching staff together as Tift County prepares to play host to a first-round state playoff series.

In the Blue Devils’ doubleheader sweep of his alma mater last Friday night, Tift’s two starters did exemplary work.

Bryce Stephens, who started the first game, gave up one earned run and five hits in 6.2 innings and Charlie Miller gave up a run on five hits in 6.1 innings in the nightcap.

• Longtime Colquitt County football, basketball and baseball community coach Steven Reynolds is resigning.

“I have really enjoyed serving the past twenty-four years as a coach with a top-notch program that cares about its student-athletes, coaches, and the community as a whole,” Reynolds said in an email announcing his decision to step back.

His most recent assignment was as the assistant to head coach Matt Key on the eighth-grade baseball team that went 17-3 and won the Deep South Baseball Conference championship this month.

• Henry Daniels continues to have a productive spring for the ABAC baseball team.

In a recent four-game series with Georgia Highlands, the big freshman went 5-for-14, scoring four runs, driving in two and hitting his ninth home run of the season.

He is hitting .345 with seven doubles and a triple to go along with his nine homers.

• Jay Saunders is hitting .319 for the Georgia College baseball team.

On Friday, he went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI in the Bobcats victory over Augusta University.

The Peach Belt Conference tournament starts May 7.

• JT Whatley is hitting .318 with eight doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 36 runs driving in for Andrew College.