Editorial: Area’s athletic successes continue

Published 3:53 pm Monday, February 6, 2017

Following a fall high school sports calendar filled with successes on the volleyball courts, softball diamonds, cross country trails and on the gridiron, the area’s best scholastic athletes continue to shine on the brightest stages.

This past weekend saw Dalton State College’s basketball team run its winning streak to 15-straight games and the Roadrunners sit as the fourth-ranked team in NAIA.

The halls of the local high schools will be filled with celebrations as the state wrestling tournaments will be held later this week in Macon. The area’s schools will be represented by 26 wrestlers who advanced out of the sectionals to compete for an individual state championship. Leading the way is Northwest Whitfield’s Jordan Lewis, who brought home the lone sectional championship.

Northwest will lead the area with nine individuals competing at state, followed by Dalton (8), Southeast Whitfield (5) and Coahulla Creek (4). Area wrestlers will be competing in every weight class at state with the exception for 160 pounds.

In the pool over the weekend, it was a tougher time as none of the area’s swimmers or divers advanced to the finals at the state swim and diving meet in Atlanta. The Dalton boys finished 19th as a team, but moving up to the state’s highest classification in swimming hurt the chances of the Catamounts.

Still, the weekend was another athletic success and with region basketball tournaments set to begin this week, area fans can count on plenty of more successes as the school year keeps moving along.