HONOR ROLL
Basketball
Gabby Arencibia, Towns County: 16 points in a loss to Union County.
Lucas Bennett, Chestatee: 16 points in a loss to Winder-Barrow.
Shaquan Cantrell, Gainesville: 21 points in a win over Franklin County.
Tyswon Cantrell, West Hall: 22 points in a win over Oconee County.
Cara Chilton, Flowery Branch: 18 points in loss to East Hall; 12 points in a win over West Forsyth.
Imani Cross, North Hall: 16 points in a win over Pickens.
Kaela Davis, Buford: 28 points in a win over Columbia; 18 points in a win over Clarkston.
Tyler Dominy, Dawson County: 18 points in a win over Lumpkin County; 23 points in a win over Gilmer.
Kelsey Gilbert, Lakeview: 12 points in win over Commerce; 18 points in a win over Lumpkin County.
Carly Gilreath, Dawson County: 16 points, four assists in a loss to Gilmer.
J.C. Hampton, East Hall: 20 points in a loss to Flowery Branch.
Matt Hollis, Johnson: 22 points in win over Winder-Barrow.
Angie Hughes, Union County: 11 points, 11 rebounds in a win over Towns County.
Morgan Jackson, East Hall: 24 points in a win over Flowery Branch.
Maegan Kenimer, Chestatee: 17 points in a win over Winder-Barrow.
Taylor Kennedy, Banks County: 16 points in a win over Stephens County.
Orlando Lynch, Riverside: 14 points, nine rebounds in a win over Towns County.
Rebecka Merritt, Union County: 29 points in a win over Towns County.
Kristina Nelson, Buford: 21 points in a win over Columbia; 26 points in a win over Clarkston.
Ty Odem, Johnson: 16 points in a win over Winder-Barrow.
Sarah Paschall, North Hall: 10 points, 12 rebounds in a win over Pickens.
Will Puckett, Jefferson: 16 points in a win over North Oconee.
James Rowe, Union County: 25 points, 11 rebounds in a win over Towns County.
Mary Kate Rushton, North Hall: 31 points in a win over Pickens.
McKenna Rushton, North Hall: 15 points, 10 rebounds in a win over Pickens.
T.J. Shipes, Buford: 19 points in a win over Clarkston.
Jamaad Stephens, Flowery Branch: 25 points in a win over East Hall.
Tavia Sykes, Flowery Branch: 10 points in loss to East Hall; 20 points in a win over West Forsyth.
Isaiah Williams, Buford: 22 points in a win over Clarkston.
Morgan Wood, Lumpkin County: 18 points in loss to Lanier; 15 points in a loss to Lakeview.
Wrestling
Dylan Brock, Chestatee: Four wins as Chestatee took second place at Red Raider Duals; scored a win
Austin Donaldson, Chestatee: Four wins as Chestatee took second place at Red Raider Duals; scored a pin in a win over West Hall
Cody Etris, Chestatee: Four wins as Chestatee took second place at Red Raider Duals; scored a pin in a win over West Hall.
C.J. Gaudlock, East Hall: Took second place at the John Smith Mountain Classic.
Tyler Kratzer, North Hall: Took first place in the 138-pound class at the Cherokee Invitational.
Taylor Marett, North Hall: Took second place in the 106-pound class at the Cherokee Invitational.
Edward Vergara, East Hall: Took second place at the John Smith Mountain Classic.
For North Hall girls basketball coach Kristi House, the benefits of a senior-laden team are twofold. Not only does she have a wealth of game-hardened experience at her beckon call, she also has a group of role models laying the groundwork for future Lady Trojan successes.
McKenna Rushton is a prime example. The 5-foot-10 guard/forward is not only one of the team’s leading scorers, she was also voted team captain by her teammates, an honor House said was a natural choice.
“A lot of it is her work ethic,” House said. “But she’s also a good communicator, she values everybody, and she’s just a good teammate. She cares about people, so her teammates are drawn to her and they look to her to see her reaction to things or to see what she thinks or what she’s doing.
“We also look to her for stability. If we need a basket, we know we can go to her when it’s tough out there.”
The 10th-ranked Lady Trojans (6-2) looked to Rushton often in last Tuesday’s win over Pickens, as she scored 31 of the team’s 70 points. The season-high total pulled her even closer to 1,000 career points, a mark McKenna and her twin sister MaryKate should each eclipse in the coming weeks.
For her efforts, McKenna Rushton is The Times Athlete of the Week.
Rushton, who has signed with Georgia College, is one of six Lady Trojan seniors who have been with the varsity team for four seasons. After a rough year as freshmen, they’ve notched consecutive winning seasons and last season reach the state playoffs. But they haven’t yet achieved the kind of success House says they’re looking for.
“We sat down and talk about it before the season,” House said. “Obviously, they were a bit disappointed in the overtime loss last year (to Carrollton in the first round of the state tournament).
“Their main goal this year was to get back to the state tournament and make a deeper run. We want to win a couple of games in that tournament, and hopefully, by then, we’ll be playing our best.”
After suffering back-to-back losses to Wesleyan and East Hall earlier this month, the Lady Trojans have now won three straight including Monday’s victory in the first round of Lanierland. But House knows her team can get better.
“We’re making progress,” House said. “We have six seniors who have been playing on the varsity team for four years, so they understand what it takes to win basketball games, and they’ve been working really hard, so hopefully we’ll continue that.”
And according to House, few work harder than Rushton.
“She’s just a seasoned player, she scores really well, and she has a great understanding of the game,” House said. “With her, the main thing has just been her work ethic this offseason. It’s better than it’s ever been. The way she’s working right now, she’s going above and beyond what we do in practice. She’s constantly working on her game and being a good role model for our younger kids, setting the bar for everybody else as far as hard work.”