The 2009-2010 Walker County Sports Year in Review
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The 2009-2010 school calendar year was another outstanding season for middle schools, high school and college teams in Walker County, highlighted by several state championship performances.
Today we look back at some of the bright spots of the year.
Softball
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans (31-4) won a seventh straight Region 6-A championship and finished second in the state tournament for the fourth straight year. Their .886 winning percentage was the best in school history.
Jonia Taylor, Holli Brooks, Sam Taylor and Brenna Nation were selected to the All-State First Team. Lesslie Bohannon was a Second Team pick while Kelsie Bickett was Honorable Mention.
Ridgeland went 21-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in Class AAA. Jessie Forrester was a First Team All-State selection. Mallory Epperson and Caitlyn Lance were named to the Second Team and Kierra Coln was Honorable Mention.
LaFayette finished with year with a winning record (13-12).
Volleyball
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans captured the first Region 6-AA/A title since 2004 and set a school mark with a 27-4 record. Sara Holder was named as the Region’s Player of the Year.
LaFayette’s Lady Ramblers ended their season 15-6.
Football
Ridgeland knocked off Carrollton, 27-25, to win its second straight Region 6-AAA championship. The Panthers placed a whopping 11 players on the All-Region squad. University of Georgia commitment Devin Bowman was Co-Player of the Year.
LaFayette was 5-5 in what turned out to be Perry Swindall’s second and final season as coach. Swindall stepped down after the season and was replaced by former Trion head coach Tab Gable.
Cross Country
Gordon Lee’s Camilla Loggins was second overall at the Region 6-A meet and the Lady Trojans finished second to go to state for the first time. Loggins placed 16th at state while the team finished in 17th place.
Corey Kay was 15th overall at the region meet for the Trojans. LaFayette had Preston McCalmon placed 11th at the Region 6-AAA meet while Laura Kelley (8th) and Kaitlyn Winter (12th) had the Lady Ramblers’ best finishes at region.
Girls Basketball
A fourth straight Region 6-A title came to Gordon Lee, who went 25-2 to tie a school-record for wins. Holli Brooks was a First Team All-State pick by the GACA and a Second Team choice by the Atlanta Journal and Constitution and the Georgia Sports Writers Association.
Kelsey Byrd was an Honorable Mention pick by the AJC and the GWSA for the 15-8 LaFayette Lady Ramblers, who also tied the school record for wins.
Ridgeland's Rhande Haskett was an Honorable Mention pick by the GWSA.
Boys Basketball
The Gordon Lee Trojans won their second 6-A title in three seasons and finished the season with a 21-6 record, losing to eventual state champion Wesleyan in the first round of the playoffs. Derek Roberts was a First Team All-State pick by the GACA and an Honorable Mention selection by the GSWA.
LaFayette’s Tyler Burse was a GSWA Honorable Mention pick for the 17-8 Ramblers while the Ridgeland Panthers saw the Chris Edge Era end with a 14-13 mark. Edge was replaced by Panther assistant David Stoker.
Wrestling
The LaFayette Ramblers and Gordon Lee Trojans each had three wrestlers win individual state championships. McCalmon, Justin Ownby and Seth Taylor each won their second consecutive titles for LaFayette while Alex Spires, David Berry and Taylor Pace won titles for the Trojans. It was the second state crown for Pace.
Gordon Lee finished as state runner-up in both the dual and traditional Class A tournaments while LaFayette was the state traditional runner-up and finished third in the Class AAA duals.
Ridgeland had a state runner-up in senior Jacob Wallace.
Baseball
The Gordon Lee Trojans returned to the Class A state playoffs after a year’s absence, going 14-13 to finish fourth in Region 6-A. Pace and Blaine Bussey were All-Region selections.
Golf
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans continued their impressive run, winning a fourth-straight Region 6-A title and placing fifth in state. Senior Rachel Mason was the individual state runner-up and won region by over 20 strokes.
The LaFayette boys outlasted North Murray in a playoff to grab 6-AAA runner-up honors and earn a trip to state, where they placed in the top 10.
Tennis
Three county teams qualified for the state playoffs. The LaFayette Lady Ramblers finished third in 6-AAA and went through the subregion slate undefeated. Gordon Lee’s girls went 11-2 to take second in 6-A while the Trojan boys pulled off a pair of upsets in the region tournament to finish third.
Track
A pair of Gordon Lee athletes won state titles. Sophomore Lil Bradbury won the girls’ Class A high jump title with a mark of 5-feet, 2-inches. A week later, senior Derek Roberts became just the second two-time state track champion in Gordon Lee history, winning the pole vault and breaking the state record with a height at 14-feet, 6-inches.
Soccer
The biggest news came off the field after the season as LaFayette head coaches Andy Arnold and Joyce Brown announced that they were stepping down from their respective programs after nearly 15 years.
Georgia Northwestern
The men’s basketball team finished third in TCSGAA Tournament and had two players, Kyle Wilson and Perie Finley, named to the All-Conference Team.
The women’s volleyball team continued to prove itself against major college club teams, going 20-12 overall, including wins over Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi State. They also had a second-place tournament finish.
The college also recently announced the start of intramural athletics, the formation of the first women’s varsity basketball team and a new mascot, the Bobcats.
Middle Schools
Walker County Schools capturing North Georgia Athletic Conference team championships this past calendar year included LaFayette (volleyball, boys’ basketball, traditional wrestling), Gordon Lee (girls’ basketball, baseball) and Chattanooga Valley (softball).
Today we look back at some of the bright spots of the year.
Softball
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans (31-4) won a seventh straight Region 6-A championship and finished second in the state tournament for the fourth straight year. Their .886 winning percentage was the best in school history.
Jonia Taylor, Holli Brooks, Sam Taylor and Brenna Nation were selected to the All-State First Team. Lesslie Bohannon was a Second Team pick while Kelsie Bickett was Honorable Mention.
Ridgeland went 21-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 in Class AAA. Jessie Forrester was a First Team All-State selection. Mallory Epperson and Caitlyn Lance were named to the Second Team and Kierra Coln was Honorable Mention.
LaFayette finished with year with a winning record (13-12).
Volleyball
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans captured the first Region 6-AA/A title since 2004 and set a school mark with a 27-4 record. Sara Holder was named as the Region’s Player of the Year.
LaFayette’s Lady Ramblers ended their season 15-6.
Football
Ridgeland knocked off Carrollton, 27-25, to win its second straight Region 6-AAA championship. The Panthers placed a whopping 11 players on the All-Region squad. University of Georgia commitment Devin Bowman was Co-Player of the Year.
LaFayette was 5-5 in what turned out to be Perry Swindall’s second and final season as coach. Swindall stepped down after the season and was replaced by former Trion head coach Tab Gable.
Cross Country
Gordon Lee’s Camilla Loggins was second overall at the Region 6-A meet and the Lady Trojans finished second to go to state for the first time. Loggins placed 16th at state while the team finished in 17th place.
Corey Kay was 15th overall at the region meet for the Trojans. LaFayette had Preston McCalmon placed 11th at the Region 6-AAA meet while Laura Kelley (8th) and Kaitlyn Winter (12th) had the Lady Ramblers’ best finishes at region.
Girls Basketball
A fourth straight Region 6-A title came to Gordon Lee, who went 25-2 to tie a school-record for wins. Holli Brooks was a First Team All-State pick by the GACA and a Second Team choice by the Atlanta Journal and Constitution and the Georgia Sports Writers Association.
Kelsey Byrd was an Honorable Mention pick by the AJC and the GWSA for the 15-8 LaFayette Lady Ramblers, who also tied the school record for wins.
Ridgeland's Rhande Haskett was an Honorable Mention pick by the GWSA.
Boys Basketball
The Gordon Lee Trojans won their second 6-A title in three seasons and finished the season with a 21-6 record, losing to eventual state champion Wesleyan in the first round of the playoffs. Derek Roberts was a First Team All-State pick by the GACA and an Honorable Mention selection by the GSWA.
LaFayette’s Tyler Burse was a GSWA Honorable Mention pick for the 17-8 Ramblers while the Ridgeland Panthers saw the Chris Edge Era end with a 14-13 mark. Edge was replaced by Panther assistant David Stoker.
Wrestling
The LaFayette Ramblers and Gordon Lee Trojans each had three wrestlers win individual state championships. McCalmon, Justin Ownby and Seth Taylor each won their second consecutive titles for LaFayette while Alex Spires, David Berry and Taylor Pace won titles for the Trojans. It was the second state crown for Pace.
Gordon Lee finished as state runner-up in both the dual and traditional Class A tournaments while LaFayette was the state traditional runner-up and finished third in the Class AAA duals.
Ridgeland had a state runner-up in senior Jacob Wallace.
Baseball
The Gordon Lee Trojans returned to the Class A state playoffs after a year’s absence, going 14-13 to finish fourth in Region 6-A. Pace and Blaine Bussey were All-Region selections.
Golf
The Gordon Lee Lady Trojans continued their impressive run, winning a fourth-straight Region 6-A title and placing fifth in state. Senior Rachel Mason was the individual state runner-up and won region by over 20 strokes.
The LaFayette boys outlasted North Murray in a playoff to grab 6-AAA runner-up honors and earn a trip to state, where they placed in the top 10.
Tennis
Three county teams qualified for the state playoffs. The LaFayette Lady Ramblers finished third in 6-AAA and went through the subregion slate undefeated. Gordon Lee’s girls went 11-2 to take second in 6-A while the Trojan boys pulled off a pair of upsets in the region tournament to finish third.
Track
A pair of Gordon Lee athletes won state titles. Sophomore Lil Bradbury won the girls’ Class A high jump title with a mark of 5-feet, 2-inches. A week later, senior Derek Roberts became just the second two-time state track champion in Gordon Lee history, winning the pole vault and breaking the state record with a height at 14-feet, 6-inches.
Soccer
The biggest news came off the field after the season as LaFayette head coaches Andy Arnold and Joyce Brown announced that they were stepping down from their respective programs after nearly 15 years.
Georgia Northwestern
The men’s basketball team finished third in TCSGAA Tournament and had two players, Kyle Wilson and Perie Finley, named to the All-Conference Team.
The women’s volleyball team continued to prove itself against major college club teams, going 20-12 overall, including wins over Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi State. They also had a second-place tournament finish.
The college also recently announced the start of intramural athletics, the formation of the first women’s varsity basketball team and a new mascot, the Bobcats.
Middle Schools
Walker County Schools capturing North Georgia Athletic Conference team championships this past calendar year included LaFayette (volleyball, boys’ basketball, traditional wrestling), Gordon Lee (girls’ basketball, baseball) and Chattanooga Valley (softball).
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