Standout performances by these athletes led to individual and team success during the 2010-11 school year:
Baseball
Brandon Leibrandt, Marist: The senior left-handed pitcher was 13-0 with a 0.71 ERA for a team that finished 33-4 and won Class AAAA for the second consecutive season. Leibrandt had 120 strikeouts and only 11 walks in 79 innings. Leibrandt has signed with Florida State.
Basketball (boys)
Malcolm Brogdon, Greater Atlanta Christian: The 6-foot-4 senior guard averaged 25.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals in leading GAC to its second consecutive Class AA championship. In the 2011 final, Brogdon finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 76-36 victory over Buford. Brogdon has signed with Virginia.
Basketball (girls)
Diamond DeShields, Norcross: The 6-foot-1 small forward averaged 21.9 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals in leading the Blue Devils to their second consecutive Class AAAAA title. DeShields scored 27 points in Norcross’ 61-36 victory against McEachern in the final. The sophomore already has offers or interest from Connecticut, Stanford and Tennessee, among many others.
Cheerleading
Allie Cheek, Alpharetta: Raiders coach Katie Gumm called Cheek the most dedicated and hard-working cheerleader she has worked with. The senior led Alpharetta to the Class AAAAA title, its first cheerleading state championship. She also was a member of the gymnastics team, which finished second at the state meet. Cheek will be a cheerleader at Georgia in the next school year.
Cross country (boys)
Cody Barger, North Hall: The senior had the best time of the day at the state meet with a 15:35.91 to capture the Class AAA individual title and helped the Trojans take second place in the team standings. He also won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at the state track meet this spring. Barger will attend the U.S. Military Academy.
Cross country (girls)
Grace Tinkey, First Presbyterian: The sophomore won the Class A individual title at the state meet with a time of 18:04.74, the best time in any classification, and led her team to a second-place finish. She also finished second in the 3,200 meters at the state track meet this spring. Tinkey was the GISA Class AAA individual champion in her eighth- and ninth-grade years.
Football
Tim Byerly, Chattahoochee: The senior quarterback was 170-for-249 passing for 2,664 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing for 1,509 yards and 21 touchdowns in leading his school to a 15-0 record and the Class AAAA championship, the school’s first state title in the sport. Byerly has signed with Middle Tennessee.
Golf (boys)
Sepp and Sam Straka, Lowndes: The twins led their school to its first state championship in golf and were the only Class AAAAA players to break 70 at the state tournament at Snellville’s Summit Chase Country Club. Sepp Straka was 4-under-par 68, while Sam shot a 69. The seniors have signed with Georgia.
Golf (girls)
Jessica Welch, Franklin County: The senior shot a 5-under-par 66 at the Class AAA tournament at Chestatee Golf Club in Dahlonega to lead her school to a third state championship in four seasons. Welch was medalist by 16 strokes. She also shot a 68 in winning the Region 8-AAA tournament. Welch has signed with Jacksonville.
Gymnastics
Kelsey Kopec, Alpharetta: The junior scored a 38.05 at the all-classification state meet to win the all-around title for the second consecutive season. She won individual titles on the vault, balance beam and uneven bars and finished fifth in the floor exercise. Alpharetta finished second in the team competition to Tift County, which edged out the Raiders by two-tenths of a point.
Lacrosse (boys)
Rick Lewis, St. Pius: The senior midfielder led his team to a fourth consecutive region championship and was named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American. He finished his career with 170 goals and 82 assists. Lewis is the only Georgia player invited to try out for Team USA’s under-19 squad this summer. Lewis has signed with Ohio State.
Lacrosse (girls)
Jenna Kasmarik, Lambert: The senior led the state with 112 goals, a figure that ranked third nationally, according to ESPN Rise. Kasmarik made the U.S. Lacrosse All-America team. She helped a two-year-old school improve to 13-3 from 4-10-1. Kasmarik has signed with Johns Hopkins.
Riflery
William Cross, Griffin: The junior had an overall score of 389.7 to win the individual all-classification championship at the state meet. He also scored 10s on his final two shots of the team competition to lift the Bears to the state title, two points ahead of East Coweta. It was Griffin’s first state title in riflery and the Bears’ first team championship in any sport since 2003.
Soccer (boys)
Andrew Wolverton, St. Pius: The senior goalkeeper had 13 shutouts for a team that allowed just 14 goals, compiled a 20-0-1 record and won the Class AAA championship for the second time in three years. He had 34 shutouts and led his team to a 54-7-3 record over the past three seasons. Wolverton, a member of the under-18 men’s national team, has signed with Penn State.
Soccer (girls)
Brittney Reed, Harrison: The center fullback was the best defensive player on the state’s best defensive team. Harrison allowed five goals and had 19 shutouts in 23 games. The Hoyas also outscored their five playoff opponents 20-0 in winning the Class AAAAA championship. Reed scored eight goals and had eight assists for the season. The junior has committed to play at Florida.
Softball
Karly Fullem, Buford: The senior pitcher and first baseman was 15-1 with a 0.87 ERA and 186 strikeouts for a team that won its fourth consecutive Class AA championship. Fullem batted .382. For her career, she was 50-6 as a pitcher (19-1 in state playoffs) with 25 shutouts. Fullem has signed with Georgia Tech.
Swimming (boys)
Jack Lane, Lakeside-DeKalb: The senior set a state record in the 100-yard butterfly in 48.72 seconds at the state meet, where he also won the 200 freestyle. Those were the third and fourth individual state titles of Lane’s career. Lane has signed with Stanford.
Swimming (girls)
Samantha Bosma, Lassiter: The senior won the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke and was a member of her team’s winning relays in the 200 medley (state record 1:45.01) and 400 freestyle at the Class AAAAA meet, which Lassiter won. Bosma has signed with Texas A&M.
Tennis (boys)
Eugene Oh, Westminster: The senior won all 21 of his matches at No. 1 singles for Westminster, which reclaimed the Class AA title after having its 10-year state championship reign interrupted in 2010. Ranked No. 109 nationally among seniors by Tennis Recruiting Network, Oh will play at MIT.
Tennis (girls)
Emily Zabor, Walton: The senior completed an undefeated season at No. 1 singles for Walton, which won an eighth consecutive Class AAAAA title and ran its winning streak in team matches to a state-record 147. Zabor lost only twice in more than 70 matches as a four-year starter. Ranked No. 34 nationally among seniors by Tennis Recruiting Network, Zabor will play at Alabama.
Track and field (boys)
Justin Scott-Wesley, Mitchell County: The senior sprinter was the Class A high-point champion at the Georgia Olympics, scoring 22.5 points by winning the 100 meters, placing second in the 200 meters, and leading the 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams to first- and second-place finishes, respectively. Mitchell County finished in second place. Scott-Wesley will play wide receiver in the fall at Georgia.
Track and field (girls)
Mimieux Land, Monroe: The junior jumper/sprinter was the overall high-point champion at the state championship meet. She led Monroe to the Class AAA title by scoring 34.5 points. Land swept the jumping events (high, long and triple) and helped the 400 and 1,600 relay teams to first- and second-place finishes, respectively.
Volleyball
Kelly Murphy, Walton: The 6-foot junior outside hitter averaged 4.5 kills, 3.4 digs, 0.7 service aces and 0.2 blocks per game with a hitting percentage of .436 in leading the Raiders to a 42-7 record and the Class AAAAA championship. She had 28 kills and 10 digs in the final against Northview. Murphy’s 613 kills as a sophomore rank eighth all-time for a single season in state history.
Wrestling
Bazell Partridge, Collins Hill: The senior became a three-time state champion when he won the 125-pound weight class, and he helped the Eagles to their fourth consecutive titles in both the traditional and dual tournaments. He was 47-7 as a senior and 151-18 in his career, and his only loss to a Georgia wrestler came during his freshman year. He will wrestle next season at Newberry.
