Keep an eye on several DeKalb teams and competitors as they fight for state titles this week.
Track and field champions will be crowned soon. The boys state championship meet takes place on May 13-15 at Jefferson High School, while the girls will race May 6-8 at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany.
Look out for the Redan Lady Red Raiders, who have finished in the top four every season since their state title in 2005. Now ,the likes of hurdler India Hammond, long and triple jump specialist Cynia Clark, and freshman Crystal Gray will try to win another ring after finishing second at the DeKalb Co. Championships.
Miller Grove is the defending state champ in Class 4A, but they are not the same as last year after losing Division I college signees Stephen Hill and Kenny Gilstrap to graduation. Junior Antonio Carter took home a somewhat surprising region title in 3200-meter run, but he is best known for his running in the 800-meter, and should challenge for a state title.
GOLF TOURNIES DELAYED BY WEATHER …
Rings will also be handed out in golf this week after most classifications saw their championship meets delayed due to bad weather. County champion Dunwoody goes to work in Class 3A, with their meet taking place at the Maple Ridge Golf Club in Columbus while the girls go at it at the Country Club of Columbus. The meets in Classes A and 2A were also delayed.
In tennis, St. Pius is still alive after a 3-1 win over Carrollton, setting up a matchup with region opponent Riverwood.
The Marist girls are on a great run, having stormed into the state semifinals without losing a match in the entire tournament. The Pius ladies’ quarterfinal match with West Forsyth was delayed due to bad weather and results were not available at press time.
BASEBALL REGION TITLES DECIDED …
Dunwoody and St. Pius faced off in the Region 5, Class 3A baseball championship. The ‘Cats came in hot after winning their final three games by large margins. A four-RBI game from Tim Lin helped them to a 10-0 victory over Cedar Grove. Then, the team had their way at the plate in a 15-1 drubbing of Carver. And a grand slam from Alan Pitt spurred a 25-3 blowout of Washington. But it was a different story in the regional final, as the Golden Lions swept Dunwoody by winning the first game 7-2 and squeaking by 5-4 in the second. The state tournament starts this week in all classifications.
In Class 5A, Redan is back in the state playoffs with Deion Williams and Gary Mele leading the way after strong seasons at the plate.
A strong Lakeside team won Region 6, Class 4A and faced Sprayberry in the first round. Marist struggled a bit down the stretch, and looked to rebound at home against South Paulding.
There was plenty of success for DeKalb in the state soccer tournament, as a host of teams advanced to the second round in their respective classifications. Marist dominated a Rome team that has spurred more than a few upsets in past tournaments. The Class 4A defending champs took home a 7-1 victory to book an appearance in the final 16 against Habersham Central.
Lakeside-DeKalb is also among the favorites in the region beating Osborne 4-0 in the first round to set up a showdown with Whitewater. Meanwhile, Chamblee was eliminated by Dalton.
Druid Hills finished the season in their worst form of the year in a 2-1 loss at No. 7 SE Whitfield. They may have re-discovered their early-season touch in a 5-2 first round win over Eastside. Meanwhile, St. Pius came out flat but still scored a 2-0 victory over Mountain View, and faced Lambert in the second round.
In Class 2A/A Paideia had home-field advantage against Greater Atlanta Christian, but the Pythons fired blanks and lost 1-0.
In the girls game, Lakeside-DeKalb crashed out of Class 4A in a loss to Rome. But Marist had no problems continuing their season-long dominance, beating Alatoona 5-0 to set up an intriguing matchup with No. 4 McIntosh.
Dunwoody is out in Class 3A following a 4-0 loss at Oconee Co. But St. Pius put on the performance of the first round with a 10-0 blowout of Stephens Co.
The Paideia girls season ended at the hands of GAC, just as it did for their male counterparts. They went down 4-1.
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