By Alicia Couch Payne
Buford is no stranger to success both academically and athletically. Buford Spring Athletic Teams are carrying on the winning tradition. Seems like every day there’s a new win that is blasted across Twitter and other forms of media for Buford. These wins and the teams scoring these victories could fill the entire paper. Since I cannot devote the whole paper to nothing but sports, here’s a condensed version of the success of the Buford Athletic Department this Spring.
RIFLERY:
This past Saturday, Buford’s Riflery Team placed the highest they have ever done at the State Finals held at Ft. Benning. The combined efforts of Jeremy Ethridge, Morgan Adams, Austin Cagle, Taylor King, Dylan Akins, and Braylee Davis (Alternate) saw them placing 7th out of 17 teams that were at the Finals. They were coached by Coach Brandon Manders and Coach Brian Wilson. Job well done!
BASEBALL:
Last Friday, the Wolves took on the Rome Wolves at home in a double header. Buford swept the series with final scores of 9 – 0 and 12 – 0. David Ramsey and Sean Adams were on the mound during the two games. Offensively, Buford was lead by Evan Place, Noah Ledford, Reese McIntyre, Griffin and Garrison Price, and Brandon Jolliff.
The Buford Wolves will travel to Decatur HS for a double header on Thursday, May 3rd. Alternate game if needed will be on Friday. Winner of this series plays the winner of the Wayne Co – Ola series on May 9th.
GOLF:
Both the Lady Wolves Golf Team and the Boys Golf Team won their Area 3-AAAAA titles last week. The boys played in Braselton against Flowery Branch. The Wolves bested Flowery Branch by 22 strokes with a total score of 320. Leading the field for Buford was Jackson Buchanan and Walt Smith. The girls played at the Monroe Golf and Country Club against Flowery Branch. The Lady Wolves shot a 306 which was 19 strokes better than their area rival, Flowery Branch. Kamryn Roberts and Gracie Martin were the top golfers for the Lady Wolves. Buford Golf will travel to State.
TRACK AND FIELD:
Buford Track and Field had a fantastic day at Eagles Landing HS this past Saturday for the state sectional meet. Buford had 20 individuals and 6 relays qualify to go to the state meet.
State will be held May 10th – 12th at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton for both boys and girls.
BOYS LACROSSE:
The Buford Boys Lacrosse Team took on Mount Pisgah in Johns Creek this past Saturday. The won with a final score of 10 – 4. Leading the scoring for the Wolves were Danny Raymond and Max Whalen with three goals each and Hunter Bulloch with two. Whalen had three assists while Raymond had one. Goalie Taylor Lewis totaled 16 saves for the game.
Whalen Mitchell was named to 1st Team All State LSM while Goalie Taylor Lewis received Honorable Mention – Goalie. Congrats gentlemen!
Tuesday saw a tough loss to GAC. GAC beat Buford 7 to 5. GAC will open the playoffs.
TENNIS:
Boys Tennis beat Ola HS at home on Tuesday 3-0. Cameron Deloach and Alex Pruitt earned the number 1 doubles win while Kurt Knudsen and Trent Milton won their number 2 doubles. These matches were enough to clinch the victory. Brady Todd, number 1 singles and Luke Davidson number 3 singles were both on their way to victory when the Wolves were declared the winners over Ola. The boys will advance to the Final Four. They will take on Starr’s Mill in the Final Four.
Girls Tennis traveled to Guyton to take on South Effingham on Monday. The Lady Wolves beat South Effingham 3-1. First to gain a point for Buford was number 1 singles, Alex Mann. The second point came from the number 2 doubles team of Kennedy Deloach and Ainsley Keller. Scoring the third point was the number 1 doubles team of Kenzie Harms and Sydney Grothe. The girls will take on Chamblee in the Final Four. This makes 3 times in the past 4 years the Lady Wolves have made it to the Final Four.
This is the first time in school history that both the boys and girls team have made it to the Final Four in the same year.
GIRLS SOCCER:
The Lady Wolves lost to Decatur HS in the second round of state playoffs Tuesday night. This ends their post season. Congrats on making it to the post season this year girls.
