Georgia High School Association

East Cobb sports update: Pope and Walton volleyball cruise to state titles

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For Walton, a 13th state championship in volleyball was entirely expected. For Pope, which hadn’t claimed a title in seven years, getting back into the winner’s circle was a new experience for current players and coaches.pope volleyball

On Saturday, the East Cobb teams finished up the Georgia High School Association volleyball finals at Marietta High School with convincing performances.

The Greyhounds toppled Cobb rival Allatoona in four games, 25-17, 15-25, 25-18 and 25-21, to win the 6A championship match. Pope finished with a record of 40-9 under coach Shawn Darling, who is in his second season.

Some of the team leaders for Pope this season were Stella Dees (370 kills), Zeren Yesilova (467 digs) and Eliza Dees (855 assists). While Eliza Dees is one of four seniors on this year’s team, the Greyhounds will have many of their regular players back for the 2019 season.

Other members of the Pope team include Lily Harvey, Alyssa Linde, Madison Mims, Ella Burris, Madison Cross, Ava Vikovic, Sophie Gould, Caroline Wiseman, Adair Hutchinson, Mackenzie Kahill, Renee Bissel and Brianna Dempsey.

Walton Volleyball teamAfter that, Walton took to the court against Milton, and the Raiders won in three straight games, 25-14, 25-15, 25-14, to claim the Class 7A championship. In winning a fourth consecutive state title, Walton was 41-3 on the season and did not lose to an in-state opponent.

Walton’s seniors were dominant, especially Gabby Gonzales and Riley MacNeill, who will be attending Ohio State for college.

The other Raiders seniors this season were Riley Spurlin, Jordan Rush, Caroline Cheney, Molly Pember, Meghan Froemming and Lauryn Burrows. Other team members include Madison Morey, Phoebe Awoleye, Katie Strickland, Kendall O’Brien, Sydney Barrett, Catherine Cheney, Chandler Parker, Emery Dupes, Caroline Kiehnau, Greta Hans and Aviah Miller.

This is the seventh title for Walton under head coach Suzanne Fitzgerald, who is in her 13th season.

The Pope community had another team to celebrate this weekend, as the boys cross country squad brought home the Class 6A GHSA title at the state meet in Carrollton on Friday.

The Greyhounds collected 51 points, with Harrison coming in second with 77 points (like golf, lower scores are better). Four Pope runners finished in the top 14, led by by Will Brown (8th), KC Heron (10th), Axel Mateo (11th), Cole Heron (13th) and Anthony Parisi (14th).

Also competing in the 5K race for Pope were, Conor Krause and Nicholas Corso.

The Pope girls were 4th in the Class 6A meet, which was won by region rival Cambridge. Sophie Boice of Pope finished fourth and Lorel Golden was 11th.

The Walton boys came in third in the Class 7A cross country meet. The top finisher for the Raiders was Zac Shaffer, who was 16th.

The Walton girls also were third in Class 7A, which was won by Marietta. Abigail Robertson of Walton finished in seventh place.

 

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East Cobb Sports Update: Walton and Pope volleyball reach state finals

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Two East Cobb teams will be playing for state championships Saturday in the Georgia High School Association volleyball tournaments, and they won’t have to venture too far from home.GHSA logo, Walton and Pope volleyball

The Walton and Pope volleyball teams will be playing in back-to-back matches in the finals at Marietta High School.

Pope, which downed Creekview Tuesday in a comeback victory, will be meeting fellow Cobb school Allatoona in the Class 6A championship match that begins at 4 p.m.

The Lady Greyhounds are 39-9 and are in the finals for the first time since they won their last state title in 2011 (they also won state in 2009). Since then, Pope has finished in the Sweet 16 three times, the Elite 8 once and last year the Final Four.

Pope lost the first game to Creekview 25-19 on Tuesday but came back to sweep the match by scores of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-10.

Walton had little trouble dispatching North Gwinnett in straight sets on the road Tuesday to reach the state finals yet again. The Lady Raiders (40-3) will defend their Class 7A state championship at 6:30 p.m. against Milton.

Walton is attempting to win its fourth consecutive state title. The Lady Raiders have a total of 12 GHSA crowns and are heavily favored to make it 13.

The Walton and Pope matches will conclude a day of four title matches at Marietta High School (1171 Whitlock Ave.). All-session tickets are $8 a person. For more information visit the GHSA volleyball page.

 

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East Cobb Sports Roundup: Pope baseball seeks repeat state title; Walton girls close in on all-sports crown

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The end of the school year means the end of prep sports in Georgia, and several East Cobb high school teams are still in action with quite a bit at stake

The Walton girls and boys golf teams are competing Monday and Tuesday in the Georgia High School Association Class 7A state championships in Tifton, and Moultrie, respectively. The Lassiter boys also are in the hunt.

On Tuesday, the Pope baseball team will try to defend its Class 6A GHSA state title in Rome in a finals series against fellow Cobb County school Allatoona.

For the Greyhounds and Buccaneers, there’s also something else that could be riding on the outcome of their best-of-three series: the overall championship in all-sports standings for Class 6A, compiled by the Georgia Athletic Directors Association.

The competition is called the Directors’ Cup, and the awards go to schools receiving the most points in overall, boys and girls competitions.

In the current Class 6A standings, Allatoona is third with 955 points, and Pope is fourth with 940 points. The winner of the baseball title will get 100 points, and the runner-up will receive 90.

Pope’s Region 7 rival Alpharetta (1007 points) and Harrison (992) hold down first and second places, respectively. The Harrison girls and the Allatoona boys both have teams competing in the golf championships.

Pope earned the 2017 Directors’ Cup for Class 6A.

The Walton girls, led by their dominating volleyball and tennis teams that repeated as state champions, currently lead the Directors’ Cup standings in Class 7A with 669 points. But Lambert High School of Forsyth County, which downed Lassiter Saturday to win the girls Class 7A state lacrosse championship, is right behind with 601 points, and is vying for its sixth straight state title in girls golf.

Walton is 5th overall in Directors’ Cup standings in Class 7A, and Lassiter is 9th. On the boys’ side, Lassiter is 9th and Walton is 12th. The Lassiter girls are 13th.

In the 6A boys standings, Pope is 8th, and the Greyhounds’ girls are 5th.

In Class 5A, Kell finished its sports season in 11th place overall, while the boys were 15th and the girls were 9th.

 

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