Evans athletes pushed bar higher
Of the four public schools in Columbia County, Evans moved up the most spaces in the Director's Cup standings released last month.
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Evans High School sibling swimmers include: (front row, from left) Blake and Miles Sutton; Amanda and Angela Griffin. Rear: Drew and Holly Hess; Rebekah, Nicole and Briana Moody; Christian and Martin Kata. The boys swim team finished sixth in the state.
Photo by Michael Holohan
The Knights climbed five spaces in the Georgia Athletic Directors Association standings from last year's 30th place finish.
The move up in standings can be attributed to 13 Evans teams making the state playoffs this season.
The Knights' highest-scoring sports were swimming and golf.
The boys swim team finished sixth in the state, the best finish in school history.
Senior Christian Kata won the state championship in the 50-meter freestyle. His brother, Martin, finished third in the 100 freestyle and fifth in the 50 freestyle.
The 400 freestyle relay team of Drew Hess, Peter Borchelt, Christian and Martin Kata finished fourth. The 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams also claimed top 10 finishes.
The girls team nabbed a 20th-place finish at the state meet. C.J. Hendry finished 10th in the 100 backstroke.
The boys golf team finished seventh in the state, with Adam McKenney finishing in the top 10 individually. Coach Mike Bibee will return all of his top golfers next season and should be among the favorites to win the Region title.
The girls golf team also competed in the state tournament, finishing 11th in the state. Kristen Bragg shot a 76, finishing seventh.
The boys finish was the best since the Knights won the state title in 1986, and the girls finish was the best since girls golf became a sanctioned sport seven years ago.
Team sports enjoyed success into the postseason this season at Evans.
The softball team won the region title but lost two consecutive games, eliminating them from the state tournament.
The Evans High School golf team members included: Adam McKenney (front row, from left), Allisin Kehoe, Kristen Bragg, Chrissy Price, Zac Lawless; Jeremy McDaniel (middle row, from left) Will Johnson, H.B. Chavous, Brandon Skinner, coach Mike Bibee; E.J. Evans (top row, from left) Ryan Penfield, Ben Hyman.
Special Photo
The Knights lose key seniors Ashley Brodhecker, Sheena Blackwell, Meredith Weare and Marquita Grimes and will need a great effort to win the region with Greenbrier and Lakeside next season.
The baseball team made it to the second round of the playoffs before falling to final-four bound Lassiter. In the first round, junior Hank McCladdie threw a 10-inning shutout in a 1-0 win against Dacula. In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Brad Freeman threw a five-inning no-hitter for a 10-0 win. The Knights lose Mike Armstrong, Trey Beatty and Doug Wylie but return most of the key players from last year's squad.
Both soccer teams made it to the playoffs. The girls lost in the first round to Milton and the boys lasted to the second round before falling to Kennesaw Mountain.
The tennis teams both suffered first round losses to Northview (girls) and Milton (boys).
The cheerleading team also had a strong showing in the state competition.
A number of individuals made their mark this season with the Knights.
Zack Baker pitched for Evans against Lassiter High School in the state playoff game.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Steven Lowe, Drew Hess, Karen Nowling, Amanda Griffin, Angela Griffin and Holly Hess were named to the All Metro Augusta team after the season ended.
Although the boys track team finished 23rd in the state, senior Robin Jacobs had a strong showing at the state meet. He finished fourth in the shotput and fifth in the discus.
Two wrestlers, Alex Lochren and Javier Rosa, qualified for the state meet.
Athletic Scholarships signed by Evans' Athletes 2003-2004
Mike Armstrong, baseball, Mercer
Sheena Blackwell, softball, Aiken Tech
Ashley Brodhecker, softball, Georgia Military College
Marquita Grimes, softball, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Anna Goolsby, soccer, Jacksonville State
Christian Kata, swimming, South Carolina
Evans High School's Shivani Gupta lunges for the ball in her match against North View High School, from Duluth, Georgia. The girls team finished in 11th place in the state playoffs.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Rebekah Moody, swimming, Wingate
Amanda Griffin, cross Country, Augusta State
Kristen Bragg, golf, Augusta State