With signing day, high school basketball and the county swimming championships, it was quite a busy week in Gwinnett County. Mill Creek and Parkview took home the girls and boys county swimming and diving championships, respectively, last weekend. On the girls side, Mill Creek edged out six-time defending champion Brookwood 1,037-1,033. The Hawks won the meet’s final event, the 400 freestyle, to claim the title. Mill Creek received wins in the 200 IM from Frederique Lefebvre as well as Rachael Dudley in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke and Sommers Creed in the 500 freestyle. For Creed, it was her third straight county title in the event. Caroline Kenney won the 100 and 200 freestyle for North Gwinnett and the Bulldogs also won the 100 breaststroke with Allison Carr. Brookwood won the 200 freestyle relay and grabbed the 50 freestyle with Kelsey Gouge. The Broncos had won 10 of the last 11 county titles. Mill Creek coach Rick Creed won his 17th county title, after 16 with Parkview.
Speaking of Parkview, the boys team won yet another county title after easily outdistancing Brookwood 1,006-843. The Panthers won just one event, the 100 breaststroke, with Ricky Lehner. However, the team placed well in most of the other events including third in the 400 freestyle relay and second in the 200 IM. Brookwood took home multiple events including the 200 freestyle with Conor Sweeney and the 50 free with Michael Trice. Sweeney also won the 500 free and helped in the 200 freestyle relay. Peachtree Ridge’s Luke Upchurch was a beast in the water, grabbing the 100 freestyle event as well as the 100 backstroke event.
ON THE HARDWOOD …
Norcross high school was the site for the Second Annual Marriott Invitational, featuring several local teams going against some national powers. Peachtree Ridge got things off on the right foot with a 70-49 win over Berkmar. The Lions received 17 points from Jordan Grant and were aided by C.J. Blackwell’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Blackwell started last week fourth in Gwinnett County with over 19 points per game and led the county in rebounds with 11 per game. Berkmar fell to 3-17 after the loss.
Greater Atlanta Christian’s participation in the event was a homecoming of sorts for coach Eddie Martin. The current GAC coach led Norcross to three state titles before leaving to serve as head coach for the Spartans before last season. His current team was on cruise control last weekend against Greene County (Ala.) with an 82-60 victory. Junior Malcolm Brogdon finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, outplaying Neiko Hunter, Greene’s best player. GAC hit 25-44 shots including its first three shots, all from three point range.
Host Norcross had maybe the toughest time in the event with a 65-63 win over Quality Education Academy (N.C.). Malcolm McDonald hit the game-winning shot on a layup with three seconds left. Norcross improved to 17-2 with the win, after knocking off Mill Creek the night before. Norcross is No. 5 in the latest AJC poll and No. 1 in the latest Georgia Sports Writers Association rankings.
Other big performances from the weekend include Lavon Hooks’s 26 points and 18 rebounds for Meadowcreek as the Mustangs knocked off Brookwood 66-47. Terrance Glass and Shaq Morris both contributed 12 points in the victory. Avonte Hall scored 26 points but it was not enough as Duluth fell to Chattahoochee 58-52 in overtime.
The girls hit the hardwood as well over the weekend as Katie Mallow had 21 points to lead all scorers as the Brookwood Lady Broncos toasted Meadowcreek 64-27. No. 2 Parkview was at it last Saturday, crushing South Gwinnett 71-23 thanks to 21 points for Katie Carroll. Lauren Coleman chipped in with 13 points. Norcross fell 60-56 to Mill Creek for the team’s first loss to a team inside the state of Georgia. Mill Creek used 12 points from Tamara Williams and Moneshia Simmons had eight points and six rebounds in the win for the Hawks. Norcross was led by freshman phenom Diamond DeShields’s 18 points.
ON THE DOTTED LINE …
Finally, Gwinnett County once again was the place to be for local talent looking to play football at the next level. National Signing Day found several local athletes officially signing with major BCS schools across the country. Peachtree Ridge’s Brad Roby made his switch official when he committed to Ohio State after initially thinking that he would be a Vanderbilt Commodore. South Gwinnett’s Jonathan Krause did make it official by deciding to join up with Bobby Johnson in Nashville. North Gwinnett’s JuWuan James has already enrolled at Tennessee, but Wednesday made things official with his LOI. His high school fellow offensive lineman Austin Shepherd went west to play for defending SEC and NCAA champion Alabama. He’ll be joined by Norcross DE Adrian Hubbard, who accepted a scholarship after a big senior year.
Proctor can be reached at fproctor@scoreatl.com.
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