The latest edition of Bartow County’s Athletes Beyond Bartow checks in on local athletes competing at the professional, collegiate, and university levels nationwide. Trevor Lawrence continues to put up big numbers in the NFL, while Boo Weekley advances to the final event of the PGA Tour Champions season. College football, cross country, volleyball, rifle, soccer, and wrestling also provide plenty of local connections.

The October 2026 Elite Athletes of the Month include: Jake Barszcz (Adairsville HS), Clayton McArdle (Woodland HS), Mckenzie Wilkie (Cartersville HS), and Shyia Woods (Cass HS).

The Cartersville girls’ and boys’ cross country teams finished runner-up among Region 7-5A teams and placed third in the Class 5A Sectional 2 race held Saturday at Sam Smith Park in Cartersville. Those runs earned the Lady Canes and Hurricanes a spot in the Class 5A State Championship meet on Friday in Carrollton. The Woodland girls' team also punched its ticket to the Class 5A State meet with an eighth-place finish at the Sectional. The top 12 teams qualified.

The Purple Hurricanes received an early challenge, but rolled to over 500 yards of total offense to clinch their fourth-straight region title by defeating visiting Dalton on October 30 at Weinman Stadium.

October 31, 2026 Charles Wilson / BartowSportsZone.com The Lady Canes finished the 2026 season with a 32-4 record and third in Class 5A. Photo: Louis Tonsmeire The Cartersville Lady Canes’ state playoff run ended Saturday with a 4-2 loss to Central-Carroll in the Class 5A tournament at the Columbus Softball Complex. Cartersville had two wins to begin the Elite Eight double-elimination bracket, but fell to finalists Jefferson and Central-Carroll in the next two rounds to plac

The Adairsville Tigers scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and never let up, rolling to a 38-0 shutout of the Ridgeland Panthers on Friday night at Tigers Stadium.

The Allatoona Buccaneers used a defensive touchdown and a special-teams score to build a 21-point halftime lead, then pulled away in the second half for a 42-14 victory over the Woodland Wildcats on Friday night at Wildcats Stadium.

The Jefferson Lady Dragons scored six runs in the seventh inning on Friday, becoming the first Class 5A team to beat the Cartersville Lady Canes all season, 8-2.

For the second straight day, the Lady Canes won on the final swing of the game and have now advanced to the final three teams in the Class 5A State Softball Championship Tournament at the Columbus Softball Complex.

LaKiaya Banks delivered the decisive blow Wednesday evening, launching a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Cartersville Lady Canes to an opening-round victory over Marist in the GHSA Class 5A state Elite Eight tournament at the Olympic Softball Complex in Columbus.