Honor roll
Basketball
Alysha Rudnik, Buford: Averaged 15 points in two games.
Luke Crumley, White County: 19 points in a loss to Dawson County.
T.J. Shipes, Buford: 20 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to East Hall.
Peyton Robertson, Chestatee: 25 points in a win over Gilmer.
Jacob Evans, Dawson County: Averaged 19 points in two games.
Stephen Scaife, Dawson County: 19 points in a win over White County.
Morgan Jackson, East Hall: 14 points in a win over Union County.
Bailey Soucie, East Hall: 14 points in a loss to Lambert.
J.C. Hampton, East Hall: 17 points in a win over Buford.
Charles Perry, East Hall: 16 points in a win over Buford.
Joshua Hampton, East Hall: 14 points in a win over Wesleyan.
Jessica Harper, Flowery Branch: 14 points in a win over Lumpkin County.
Ishmael Hollis, Flowery Branch: 26 points in a win over Lumpkin County.
Jaymee Carnes, Gainesville: 15 points in a win over West Hall.
Blake Sims, Gainesville: Averaged 18.5 points in two games.
Breanna Drew, Jackson County: 25 points in a win over East Jackson.
David Watson, Jefferson: 23 points in a win over Riverside Military.
Ty Odem, Johnson: Averaged 23 points in two games.
Maddie Haymore, Lakeview Academy: Averaged 15.5 points in two games.
Daniel Olvera, Lakeview Academy: 19 points in a win over Hebron Christian.
E.J. Young, Lumpkin County: 20 points in a win over Creekview.
Taylor Guthrie, Lumpkin County: 18 points in a win over Creekview.
Chris Barnes, North Hall: 25 points in a win over Wesleyan.
Kanler Coker, North Hall: 17 points in a win over Wesleyan.
Richard Tribble, Riverside Military: Averaged 17.5 points two games.
Brandon McKinney Riverside Military: 31 points in a win over Oglethorpe County.
Jaymee Carnes, Gainesville: 15 points in a loss to Gainesville.
Jarquise Young, West Hall: Averaged 16 points in three games.
Shunquez Stephens, West Hall: Averaged 13.3 points in three games.
Luke Crumley, White County: 19 points in a loss to Dawson County.
Wrestling
Jose Reyes, Chestatee: Four wins by pin at 103 pounds at the Red Raider Duels.
G. Casas, Chestatee: Four wins by pin at 189 pounds at the Red Raider Duels.
J.W. Gilbert, Chestatee: Three wins by pin at 112 pounds at the Red Raider Duels.
Aaron Verduco, Chestatee: Three wins by pin at 130 pounds at the Red Raider Duels.
Daniel Moreno, Chestatee: Three wins by pin at 160 pounds at the Red Raider Duels.
Luis Melendez, East Hall: Second place at the John Smith Mountain Classic.
Todd Berry, Lumpkin County: Two wins by pin in a tri-match against Murphy (N.C.) and White County.
Travis Barton, Lumpkin County: Two wins by pin in a tri-match against Murphy (N.C.) and White County.
Josh Berry, Lumpkin County: Two wins by pin in 145 pounds in a tri-match against Murphy (N.C.) and White County.
Tyler Kratzer, North Hall: Second place at 119 pounds in the Longhorn Hook ‘Em Holiday Classic.
Colby McClain, North Hall: Second place at 215 pounds in the Longhorn Hook ‘Em Holiday Classic.
Wesley Adams, North Hall: Third place at 130 pounds in the Longhorn Hook ‘Em Holiday Classic.
Lee Sisson, North Hall: Third place at 189 pounds in the Longhorn Hook ‘Em Holiday Classic.
Justin Bryne, West Hall: Two wins by pin in a tri-match against Morgan County and Jackson County.
Tanner Yates, West Hall: First place at 125 pounds in an individual tournament.
Logan Herford, West Hall: Second place at 135 pounds in an individual tournament.
Justin Byrne, West Hall: Third place at 130 pounds in an individual tournament.
Chris Price, West Hall: Third place at 189 pounds in an individual tournament.
The Buford girls basketball team graduated eight seniors last year. The losses left a large hole in the Lady Wolves’ roster in terms of experience and prompted some skepticism that the team would be able to match the heights reached last season.
To refresh, Buford went 32-1 and won its first state title in the 2008-09 season.
But having sophomore Andraya Carter — who averaged 10 points, seven assists, five steals and two rebounds per game as a freshman — leading the team to a 4-0 start this season doesn’t hurt.
Carter has become the Lady Wolves’ team leader in scoring early this season and averaged 25 points in two wins last week.
The sophomore shooting guard sank five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 31 points to lead the second-ranked Buford team to a 70-47 win over North Hall that ended the Lady Trojans’ unbeaten start on Friday at the Achasta Christmas tournament in Dahlonega.
Carter went on to score 19 points to lead the Lady Wolves in a 60-45 win over East Hall on Saturday.
For her efforts, she has been chosen as The Times Athlete of the Week.
“What more can I say about Andraya?” coach Gene Durden said after his team’s win over North Hall. “The thing about Andraya is that she’s only going to get better.”
With the Lady Wolves’ roster now boasting nine freshman, Carter has had to change roles to keep the momentum up this season.
“This year we needed her to play another role,” Durden said. “Last year she could play a backup role, but this year we needed her to step up and lead our team experience wise.”
“We had so many different athletes last year and I could take a back seat,” Carter added. “But this year I have to try to keep going and lead by example. It’s my job to be there for (the inexperienced players). We have to be there for each other and for the team, especially when things are going wrong.”
For Carter, this year is also about the details.
“Last year we didn’t have to focus on little things as much because we had such incredible talent,” Carter said. “(This year) we have to focus on the little things. Things like not putting your hand on a player when they drive and boxing out. We didn’t have to box out last year because the had (the seniors) there to rebound.”
As for the skeptics, the Lady Wolves have shown their ability to succeed this season and Coach Durden thinks that has to do with the team’s motivation to prove the naysayers were wide of the mark.
“A lot of people thought we wouldn’t be in contention for our region or state this season,” he said. “(So the team) practices hard to prove that statement wrong.”
Carter, who is already being recruited by Georgia, Tennessee and Connecticut, proves that working hard leads to success both on and off the court: she leads in scoring and is second in her class academically.
“The greatest thing about her is the intangibles,” Durden said. “She’s a great student. She’s has a great character. She’s what we call a total package.”
For the modest sophomore, it’s more about staying focused on the future.
“It’s hard because you’re a teenager and you have to put your phone down and turn off the television,” she explained. “I have to multi-task and I take grades seriously. It makes the choice in college easier.”