Beat Goes On For Wolfpack

It was business as usual for Whitefield Academy on the hoops court Saturday night as the Wolfpack rolled to a 78-60 win over Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. The victory was the 10th straight for the Pack, 17-3, which remains ranked No. 2 in the Class A polls.

Senior Kenny Gaines paced the attack with 37 points, 12 rebounds, five steals, and three blocks. Eric Lockett added 12 pts, 11 rebounds, and two steals, while Lorenzo Carter chipped in with 10 points, 8 blocks and six rebounds.

"I am not sure how many style points we will get after that win, but style points do not factor in the region standing,’’ said Whitefield coach Tyrone Johnson, whose team improved to 8-0 in Region 9-A play heading into Tuesday’s home game against Our Lady of Mercy. “It was good to get another region win, especially against our long time rival.”

At , the Spartans snapped a three-game losing skid with a 66-62 overtime win over South Gwinnett on Saturday. The win upped Campbell’s record to 9-11 entering Tuesday’s game versus Region 4-AAAAA rival Pebblebrook. For more on the Spartans, The Marietta Daily Journal recently ran a nice feature on Campbell’s fraternal triplets, Bryce, Nick and Chris Mitchell.

The Lady Spartans are 9-10 on the year after Friday’s 83-53 loss to nationally-ranked McEachern. Campbell had won seven of eight before its current three-game losing streak.

The Lovett boys produced a regular season sweep of rival Westminster with their 59-48 Friday night win over the Wildcats. The win evened the Lions’ mark at 10-10. The Lovett girls remain one of the top-ranked teams in Class AA heading into Tuesday’s contest at South Atlanta.

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A belated congratulations to the Lovett wresting team for taking second place honors at the Class AA state team duals earlier this month. After winning the Area 6-AA duals title, the Lions advanced all the way to the state finals before falling to Jefferson. Among the key contributors this year for the Lions have been Kyler Allen, James Hite, Jonathan Kopelman, Spencer Lee, Jack Young, Corey Erdoes, Patrick Emerson and William Henagan.

On the mat at Campbell, heavyweight Alex Cooke recently placed second in the Cobb County Invitational, the first Spartan to make the county finals in almost two decades. Jaderis Victurm placed fourth in the 113–pound class for Campbell.

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Campbell’s Dalton Isley placed third at the Cobb County Diving Championships.  It’s now on to the GHSA state championships for Dalton, who will be the first diver to represent Campbell at state in well over a decade. Lovett’s Halle Payne and McKenzie Richards will also be among the local divers at the state championships at Georgia Tech on Feb. 10 and 11.  

In the pool, Campbell’s Morgan Lehr recently set a new school record in the 500 Freestyle event. She was also selected as this month’s ‘Academic Athlete’ for In-The-Game-Magazine. Only 12 athletes per year are selected for this honor from more than 10,000 student-athletes in both public and private high schools for Cobb and Cherokee Counties. 

Lehr’s GPA of 4.29 along with her state-qualifying times in the 200 Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley, 100 Freestyle, 500 Freestyle, 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle Relay, and 400 Freestyle Relay soundly demonstrates why she deserved this recognition. 

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The Feb 1 National Signing Day arrives this week as many area scholastic athletes will be inking college scholarships. Included will be Whitefield’s state champion track and cross country performer, Cameron Thornton, who will be signing with Texas A&M.

If you know of an athlete signing next week, let Smyrna-Vinings Patch know and don't forget to submit those photos!

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Finally, the 14th Annual Campbell High School Educational Foundation Golf Tournament is set for April 16 at . Contact Glenn Jardine at 404-946-2150 or see here for more information.