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Thursday, February 8, 2007
Avondale girls rise to meet AA challenge
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It all seemed to be set up for another Avondale girls championship.
The entire Class AAA championship team from last season was returning, including senior star Angelica Mealing. And then the Blue Devils moved down to Class AA.
Coach Marcus Searcy listened to all the talk and dismissed it. Searcy understood that moving down a classification meant his team would have to get through Class AA three-time champion Wesleyan and title-game participant GAC, which is ranked No. 1 in the state.
Further, Avondale has gone virtually all season with two freshmen in the backcourt, replacing two injured seniors. No, it has not been easy at all, but Searcy still has his team at 21-3 going into tonight’s region tournament game against GAC.
“It’s been a fun and challenging year,” Searcy said Thursday. “I think all coaches would like the challenge of coaching without two major cogs. But then there are some nights when you’d like them there. Your team is looking at you, and you have to think of something to do at the drop of a dime.”
Searcy has dropped dimes admirably this season. With guard Shaday Woolcock (leg hairline fracture) and forward Charvez Holmes (torn ACL, meniscus) out, Searcy changed the way Avondale plays. The Blue Devils press less frequently and have become more efficient in the half court. Mealing continues to shine, but much of her assistance has come from sources who were not around during Avondale’s championship run last year.
Ninth-graders Alisha Andrews and Mecca Frost could not have more opposite games, and yet, together, they have helped the Blue Devils remain one of the state’s best.
Having seen Andrews’ brilliance as a seventh-grader, I can vouch that she is a spectacular little dynamo, a 5-foot-2 point guard who (you read it here first) will be the state’s best player as a senior — if not before then. She’s quick, fast, can shoot and has a high basketball IQ.
“She’s a freshman in grade classification only,” Searcy said. “She’s beyond her years. She’s been a huge bonus for us. It’s scary how good she is.”
Then there is Frost, who is the sister of former Stephenson guard Nafeesha Frost and daughter of AAU-coaching parents, Olin and Chantay Frost. She is a left-handed guard who plays much slower than Andrews, but has been a steadying force.
“We lost 17 points and six steals [provided by Woolcock] from a senior,” Searcy said. “Mecca hasn’t replaced her there, but she’s played solidly and been a calming influence.”
Of course, Searcy also has Nicole Stroud, the 6-foot-3 star senior who has signed with Georgia. There are also senior Cassandra Russell and a set of tenacious junior twins, Janae and Renee Thomas, who bring effort and productivity.
All that, and there remains a considerable challenge for Avondale to even get to the championship game in the lower classification.
“If people did their research,” Searcy noted, “they would know that Wesleyan has won four of the last five championships in AA. And the year they didn’t win, GAC did — and GAC was in the championship game last season.
“Five teams in the region last year won 20-plus games. So when we went down to AA, I didn’t celebrate. I was like, ‘My goodness.’ … But we’re going to give it a go.”
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Seeding process needs to be reviewed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It seems like there’s always something to talk about in the sport of wrestling. One of the more debatable topics is the pre-determined seeding of the traditional state tournament. Before each area tournament is completed, the spots at the state level are already set up. A certain area champion will wrestle a certain area’s No. 4 seed; the area’s No. 2 against the No. 3, and so on. The imbalance creates problems in the brackets, sometimes forcing the top two wrestlers in a certain weight class to matchup in the quarterfinals or the semifinals, instead of the finals. We talked with three coaches — Cliff Ramos of Class AAAAA’s Collins Hill, Ed Bland of Class AAA’s West Laurens and Doug Thurmond of Class A Jefferson — to get their opinions on what’s working, what isn’t and what can be done differently.
Q: What do you like/dislike about pre-determining the seeds in the individual tournament?
Ramos: “I’ve been on that bandwagon for years. We seed every tournament all year long, but the most important tournament of the year, we don’t seed. All the No. 1 seeds in the eight regions wrestle the No. 4 placer in the first round. It sounds like it’s fair and sometimes it is. But the two best kids in the weight class will sometimes meet in the quarter finals; it happens a lot.”
Bland:“The problem is, you may have two of the best kids in the state in the same area — one of them will get a lower seed. It really is a luck of the draw. But the [current] understanding is, the cream will rise to the top.”
Thurmond:“It works OK for us. Class A’s a little different because in Class AAAAA there’s a lot more kids. A lot of cases in Class A, those eight who qualify are pretty doggone good.”
Q: Give an example of the current system not working.
Bland: “A perfect example: Last year, Matthew Edmondson of Cook High School was the best 215-pounder [in Class AA]. Dondricus Anderson, our guy, was probably the No. 2 kid in the state at 215 pounds. But because they were on the same side of the bracket, Dondricus lost to Edmondson [early] and had to get third. And the kid who got second was probably the third or fourth best 215-pounder.”
Ramos:“Last year, Thomas Knapp (Collins Hill) and Jesse Miller (Parkview). Every coach would’ve seeded them 1 and 2, but they met in the quarters. What happened there was [North Gwinnett’s] Travis Sheehy, a solid wrestler, who lost to Knapp in the area tournament, was in the final. And that happens and it’s not fair.”
Q: What are some solutions to the problem?
Bland:“You get together and have a seed meeting and you put in a good word for your kids.”
Thurmond:“Having a seed meeting, you could look at it for the state tournament, but a lot of [the teams] don’t see each other.”
Ramos: “For a seed meeting, one thing the GHSA has said is, that’s too many coaches, it’d be too hard for everyone to agree on. I think you have one representative from each area get together and seed it. Any system like that with some kind of seeding committee is better than what we do now. I think we also need to make the area tournament tougher; we qualify too many people for the state tournament.”
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It’s not just Gwinnett and Cobb anymore
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC’s Kurt Aschermann Jr. talks H.S. wrestling each Thursday. Feel free to talk back.
A discussion of the top wrestling counties in Georgia usually starts with Gwinnett and Cobb, but it doesn’t have to end there.
Enter Henry County. Three teams in three different classifications — Union Grove in AAAAA, Stockbridge in AAAA and Henry County in AAA — can boast legitimate shots at landing in a top-three spot at traditional state next week.
And a fourth, Eagle’s Landing Christian, is not exactly a pushover in Class A.
Union Grove has a near-lock to win a state title at 152 pounds as Carrington Banks is looking for his fourth crown. Only Tyler Parker of Collins Hill has done it at the AAAA level.
But his brother Bradley could win at 160 and 119-pound Joey Lazor has a good shot as well. Throw in Jack Roberts at 145 and Justin Crozier at 125 and the Wolverines could be looking at five finalists.
And here’s something else to think about: 215-pounder Mitch Henson has been hurt all year. Imagine the Wolverines with Henson in the lineup.
The Stockbridge Tigers have already won the AAAA duals crown and should be considered the traditional favorites. The junior class is the core of the team, led by 125-pounder Nathan Allen, 171-pound Gio Graham and the fervent Jose Paz at 215. All three belong on a short list of favorites at their respective weight classes.
Finally, we come to Henry County, the forgotten player in the wild AAA race. The Warhawks’ top three wrestlers — Tim Vlcek at 152, Tyler Faulkner at 160 and Evan Warrington at 103 — all are capable of capturing gold.
But without help from the supporting cast, like 119-pound Justin Hawkins, Henry County can’t make a serious run at the big three in Class AAA.
Wait, there’s more. Eagle’s Landing Christian and Ola aren’t going to be hoisting any championship trophies this season, but the foundations are set at both places. The Eagles could have five placers at the Class A level and one, 215-pound senior Matthew Tavares, is wrestling this season for the first time since eighth grade.
Ola, in its first year, compiled a 24-9 dual record under coach Anthony Partello. Not to mention, each team is in good hands with Stockbridge’s Don Williams, Marty Hutsell at Henry County and Joey Dinino at Union Grove heading a solid group.
It wouldn’t be a shock to see the county reach double-digits in state champions. But remember, you heard it here first.
Week 5 Poll (last week’s ranking in parentheses)
1.McEachern (1)
2.Parkview (2)
3.Collins Hill (3)
4.Walton (4)
5.Stockbridge (5)
6.Gilmer (6)
7TCass (8), West Laurens (9)
9.Jefferson (7)
10.Harrison (10)
11.Union Grove (T-12)
12TLafayette (T-12), Eastside (11)
On the cusp: Whitewater, Grayson, Wesleyan, Henry County, Alexander, Hardaway, Bowdon, Lovett, Northwest Whitfield, Tucker
Pin it down and rank the rankings: Let us know who your Top 12 are and how they stack up against Kurt’s picks.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment | Categories: Pound For Pound
