Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Athletes Garner Accolades For Efforts This Year

Athletes and parents gathered in the Gurdon High School cafetorium to recognize the efforts put forth by those young men and women on the field of battle.

All competition, though, did not take place on fields -- there were courses, track and court trials as well.

Helium-filled balloons of purple and gold littered the ceiling as all on hand were ready for the festivities to begin, Thursday night, May 9.

And begin they did, as the crowd feasted on barbecue beef, smoked chicken, baked beans and potato salad.

Once everyone was sated, GHS Athletic Director John Pace, who also led the grid team into combat, began passing out the accolades and honors.

First up was the GHS Go-Devil football team. "We had a good season," he said, "all groups. I'm proud of everyone.

"The students tried and did well."

All members of the football team present at the banquet were presented with certificates of participation for being in the playoffs this season.

All district players followed, with Nick Hughes, D.D. Sheppard, T.J. Curtis and Mario Charles receiving the honor as first team members.

Quarterback Brian McGalliard, Terry Golden, Wesley Buford and Chris Brown were named to the all district second team.

Then came GHS honors. Eric Hatley was named Most Improved; Curtis was the outstanding defensive player; T.J. Johnson was praised as the top offensive lineman, while Sheppard earned praise as the top offensive back.

The Go-Devil award, presented to the player who exhibits character, hard work, leadership and dedication, went to McGalliard.

Pace then bestowed all state honors on Sheppard and Curtis.

However, the most important grid honor went to McGalliard as he received the Ed Sherman Award.

Coach Ed Reese was next, handing out honors for boys track. Keone Penny took the top spot for shot put, while Marcus Wright was hailed as the best long jumper at GHS. Robert Smith finished third in the district meet.

John Ware followed with awards for the GHS golf squad. "It was a short season for us," he said. "There was only one match." However, Ware still praised Blake Norris and Rusty Freeman for their efforts.

Ware then turned his attention to boys basketball. "On our first day of practice," he said, "we had a game. We ran into a group who were ready to play.

He said the Devil roundball team, in fact, was two teams: the one at the start of the season and the one that finished strong with a chance to take the district title.

"We had some sophomores ready to go," he said. "Around Christmas we got a break and had a team meeting.

"The sophomores were pushing the seniors, and there was some division. I gave the seniors the option of being the leaders, they stepped in and did the job. The team bonded."

Behavior, Ware said, was never a problem with his team. He praised the parents for the way the students had been raised.

Once he finished lauding the team, Ware got down to the business of handing out the hardware. All district honors, along with honorable mention, went to Cliff Hunter, Wade Griffin, Corey Marsh, Eric Hatley and Penny.

Griffin took home the most improved honors, while the dedication award went to Penny. Marsh took the offensive player spot, while Wright earned the hustle award. Eric Hatley was the defensive player for the Devils, with Hunter named for the Go-Devil award.

1996 Coach of the Year, Donald Williams was next, full of praise for his senior girls team.

"We started with a lot of young players this season," he said. "We'd lost a lot of seniors. But we came on and did well (19-3) when disaster hit.

"One of our top seniors blew out a knee."

Overall, though, Williams said he was pleased with the year the Lady Devils had.

He recognized the first year lettermen first, followed by second and third year lettermen.

All conference honors went to Rasheda Dickens, Tabitha Thomas, April Simpson, Wanda Cornish and Alicia Clayborn. Clayborn was also hit with all state honors as well as being named to the SAU All Tournament team. "We expect big things from her next year," he said.

Clayborn also received the offensive player award, while Dickens took home the hustle honors. Cornish earned accolades for her dedication, with Natasha McPeak the most improved player. Simpson took top spot for defensive play, while Thomas was named for the Go-Devil award.

Williams remained at the podium for girls track. He said it was an interesting year with the 400 and 800 meter relay teams going to state. The Lady Devils finished eighth in the 800, yet won the Prescott Merchant Relays. Clayborn qualified for state in the 110 hurdles, while McPeak ran well in the district meet.

Sandra Hatley presented honors to her tennis team. There were seven girls and eight guys who stuck with the team for the entire season.

The team of McGalliard and Griffin went to state, where they did well. In fact, the duo was undefeated until the district tourney.

Carol Childs then presented the cheerleader awards. She said her girls went to the national contest in Dallas last year and finished 26th out of 74 teams.

Natalie Whitfield earned most improved honors. Tara Hughes took home the 110 percent award, while Kadra Clark was presented with the Eric Griffin Spirit Award. Clark will also represent the squad at the All Star football game in August.

Pace returned to the podium to bestow baseball honors.

He said the Diamond Devils started the season with seven seniors, but lost four to attrition.

Next year, there will be four seniors returning from this year's team.

Pace praised the team for sticking with it, in spite of the problems they had. "We had a tough time," he said. "The players recognized it and kept playing. I'm proud of them all."

Griffin, McGalliard, Hunter and Jim Ed Hayes all earned all conference honors.

Paul McMillian was named most improved; Hunter and Griffin tied for offensive player honors; McGalliard was tabbed defensive star and also earned the Go-Devil award.

Praise for the GHS weightlifting team had to wait until the team competed in the state meet in Benton Saturday, May 11.