Elite Stone Supply, in conjunction with WBHF and Bartow Sports Zone, presents the ELITE ATHLETES OF THE MONTH. Each month, local high schools are provided the opportunity to name an Elite Athlete of the Month from their varsity programs and present the information on their honoree through Bartow Sports Zone and on 100.3FM and AM1450, WBHF in Cartersville. The Cartersville High School Elite Athlete of the Month for February 2024 is Ced McClinic. A senior guard on the Canes’ region championship basketball team, he is the son of Kimberly and Cedric McClinic, Sr. “Ced has always been one of the hardest workers in our program,” said Cartersville basketball coach Mike Tobin. “ He has improved tremendously in his four years and has a bright future because of his commitment and work ethic.” McClinic scored 23 points and added seven steals in the Region 7-5A title game. He also won the annual Meet the Hurricanes slam dunk contest and three-point shooting contest. He plans to go to college and study business. Kriecg Roe has been named the February 2024 Elite Athlete of the Month representing Cass High School. A junior member of the Colonels' wrestling team, he is the son of Sanh and Santee Roe. Roe is a three-time state placer — finishing fourth as a freshman, third as a sophomore, and won the 175-pound Class 5A state title this season. He was also an important part of the two most recent team state duals titles for the Colonels. He is a two-time High School All-American and was named to the All-Academic Team for Class 5A wrestling. With a 4.0 grade point average, Roe is in the top 15 percent of his class. He plans to attend one of the service academies following high school to continue his academics and wrestling. “Kriecg has been a great leader and a role model for the team,” said Cass wrestling coach D.L. Koontz. “We look forward to many more great things during his senior season.” The February Elite Athlete of the Month for Adairsville High School is Michael Spinks. A senior member of the Tigers’ tennis and cross country teams, Spinks is the son of Naomi Collins. “Michael is the most improved player in the Tiger Tennis program,” said Adairsville coach Jayme Laney. “His dedication to his sport is impressive and contagious. He is a determined, coachable, and reliable young man.” Spinks plays Line 3 singles for the Tigers. He plans to attend Georgia Tech after graduation. Connor Stermer is the February 2024 Elite Athlete of the Month for Woodland High School. He is a senior shortstop and pitcher on the Wildcats baseball team and is also involved in rodeo. Stermer, a 1st Team All-Region 7-5A selection in 2023, is the son of Danielle and Lance Stermer. “Connor is a leader on and off the field for our baseball program,” said Wildcats baseball coach Todd Eubanks. “He is a tremendous student of the game and a leader for our younger players to follow. In thirty years as a head coach, he may be the best shortstop I have ever coached.” Stermer has a 3.5 grade point average and plans to attend Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to continue his academic and baseball career. Editors Note: Photos and bios are supplied to Bartow Sports Zone and WBHF by the respective schools and athletic departments. Elite Stone Supply Co., LLC is the monthly sponsor. Athletes receive a plaque along with recognition during a radio feature on WBHF. #EliteAthletesoftheMonth #Cass #Cartersville #Woodland #Adairsville #highschool

March 1, 2024 Cartersville pitchers Logan Shrewsbury, Nicholas Hruby, and Andrew Purdy combined for a two-hit shutout Thursday night in Hoover, to lead the Purple Hurricanes in a 2-0 win over the Calera (Ala.) Eagles in the first round of the 2024 Perfect Game High School Showdown. Shrewsbury made the start and completed five innings on the bump to collect the pitching win. His scoreless outing yielded just two hits and one walk. Hruby and Purdy faced the minimum in the sixth and seventh innings with Purdy recording two strikeouts. Meanwhile, Cameron Cochran drove in a run in the third innings with an RBI single and the Canes scored on an Eagles’ infield error in the sixth to escape with a tightly contested victory. Aidan Larkin had two hits for the Cartersville offense. Cochran (RBI), Caleb Daniel, and Tristan McKibben added one hit for the Canes. Cartersville (7-0) plays Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Red Bracket quarterfinal round. A win by the Canes advances them to the semifinals on Saturday morning at the Hoover Met Sports Complex at 10 a.m. ET. The Cartersville/Bob Jones winner will play the Parkview (Ga.)/DeSoto Central (Miss.) winner. Teams not advancing through the single-elimination bracket receive an option for consolation games giving all teams four games in the event.

March 1, 2024 The Adairsville High tennis teams split matches with the visiting Trion Bulldogs Thursday night. The Adairsville boys won 3-2 and the Lady Tigers lost 1-4. There were multiple close matches including a pair that went to tiebreakers. Adairsville results: Boys singles Line 1----Braden Potter lost 7-6, 0-6, 0-1 Line 2----Michael Spinks won 6-0, 6-2 Line 3----Bryson Gooden lost 3-6, 0-6 Boys doubles Line 1-----Camen Teems/Carter Collum won 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 Line 2-----Braden Mathis/Jack Baxter won 6-1, 6-0 Girls singles Line 1-----Madison Abernathy lost 4-6, 6-7 Line 2-----Adysen Garvey lost 3-6, 1-6 Line 3-----Allison Potter lost 1-6, 1-6 Girls doubles Line 1-----Darby Adams/Stella Rood won 6-0, 6-4 Line 2-----Gio Marraquin/Sophie Hovatter lost 3-6, 6-2, 0-1 Next for Adairsville will be matches against Coahulla Creek on Monday at 4 p.m. at the Lakeshore Tennis Center in Dalton.

February 29, 2024 The Adairsville Tigers earned a series split with visiting Cass Thursday night by holding off the Colonels, 4-3. Cass scored a run in the top of the first inning and led 1-0 until Adairsville scored four times in the bottom of the fourth. The Colonels narrowed the margin to 4-3 in the top of the fifth but that would be the end of the scoring. Jack Nelson (5 IP, 3R, 2ER, 6H, 2BB, 7K) started on the mound for the Tigers and picked up the pitching win. Ryan Farr (2 IP, 0R, 0H, 5K) worked two spotless innings and struck out five of six batters faced. Cayden Roberts (4 IP, 4ER, 6H, 2BB, 1K) suffered the pitching loss for Cass. Trenton Payne (2 IP, 0ER, 1H, 3K) pitched the final two frames for the Colonels. Jarrett Scott led the Tigers with three hits. Peyton Bowen followed with two hits. Nelson (solo HR) and Hudson Parr (double, two RBIs) contributed one hit. Easton Elrod added one RBI. Chase Tatum (two RBIs), Devan Hutchinson (RBI), Payne, Roberts, Caleb Freeman, and Jesiel Moctezuma had one hit for Cass. Adairsville (4-2) hosts Sonoraville on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Cass (4-4) plays at Central-Carroll on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. WOODLAND 11, SONORAVILLE 1 The Wildcats posted runs in four of five innings and a pair of Wildcats’ pitchers limited the Phoenix to just one hit as Woodland beat visiting Sonoraville Thursday evening, 11-1. Zach Lambert pitched the first four innings and allowed just one, unearned run on one hit and three walks. He struck out three. Lucas Baker worked a hitless and scoreless fifth inning. He struck out one. Conner Lujan and Ayden Ray led the Wildcats’ offense with two hits each including a double and one RBI. Jake Clowers (two RBIs), Mason Williams (two RBIs), Connor Stermer, Logan Bentley (RBI), Joshua Hicks (RBI), and Cam Williams contributed one hit. Woodland (5-3) plays at Pepperell on Friday at 5:45 p.m. and hosts Wheeler on Saturday at 1 p.m. EXCEL CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 19, UNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 0 The Excel Christian Eagles completed a two-game, regular season sweep of Unity Christian School Thursday evening with a 19-0 win and a second, no-hitter in three innings in Rome. Gavin Dyson pitched all three innings for Excel striking out six of the ten batters he faced. David Jinks and Jacob Jinks (double) had three hits and two RBIs each to help lead the office. Dyson contributed two hits including a double and five RBIs. Kamarion Profit (three RBIs), McKaden Gentry (RBI), and Kohl Williams (RBI) also finished with two hits. Cameron Adams (RBI) and Carter May had one hit and one RBI each. Russell Jones drove in two runs. Excel (2-0) hosts Cornerstone Prep on Monday at 3 p.m. and Oakwood Christian for a doubleheader that starts at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

February 28, 2024 The Woodland Lady Cats scored seven first-half goals Wednesday night at Rockmart and finished off the Yellow Jackets in the second half with three more for a 10-0, mercy rule win. Ansley Burns and Reagan Weightman scored two goals and had one assist each., Brionna Carver also scored a pair of goals for Woodland in the second half. Libby Morgan, Maddie Weightman, and Carlie Forman finished with one goal and one assist. Taylor Moore scored a goal and Ximena Avendano added one assist. The loss dropped Rockmart to 2-2 on the season. Woodland (2-0) hosts Adairsville on Friday at 5 p.m. WOODLAND BOYS 11, ROCKMART 1 The Woodland boys led 6-1 at the intermission and added five second-half goals to complete an 11-1 win Wednesday night at Rockmart. Eight different Wildcats scored goals with Luis Olvera Sanchez and Emilio Gonzalez scoring two goals each for Woodland. Juan Mendoza, Chris Sanchez, Hunter Limbaugh, and Joel Alberto contributed one goal and one assist. Deiby Sanchez and Miguel Pineda had one goal apiece while Wmillio Gonzalez and Saul Ortega added one assist each. Woodland keeper Miguel Pineda finished with four saves. The Wildcats (4-0) host Adairsville on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

February 28, 2024 The Cass girls and the Cartersville boys won a tri-meet Tuesday night hosted by Cass High School at Cochran Stadium. The Lady Colonels scored 41 points to defeat Cartersville (36) and Adairsville (22). The Canes’ boys totaled 75 points with Adairsville and Cass following with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Event winners: Girls Discus Throw - Nicole Perez - Adairsville - 97-9 Boys Discus Throw - Thoreau Lipscomb - Cartersville - 126-1 Girls Triple Jump - Nyliah Woods - Cass - 29-8 Boys Triple Jump - Jackson Montgomery - Cartersville - 38-4.25 Girls High Jump - Aliya McBryde - Adairsville - 5-4 Boys High Jump - Cam’ren Collum - Cartersville - 6-2 Girls Shot Put - Nicole Perez - Adairsville - 33-6.25 Boys Shot Put - Thoreau Lipscomb - Cartersville - 39-11.25 Girls Long Jump - Aliya McBryde - Adairsville - 15-4.75 Boys Jump Jump - Charles Coleman - Adairsville - 20-9.25 Girls 100m Hurdles - Aliya McBryde - Adairsville - 16.82 Boys 100m Hurdles - Victor McQueen - Adairsville - 18.05 Girls 100m Dash - Kaitlyn Godwin - Cass - 12.54 Boys 100m Dash - Dakari Young - Cartersville - 11.55 Girls 1600m Run - Vivi Vest - Cartersville - 6:20.82 Boys 1600m Run - Carson Robinson - Cartersville - 4:52.94 Girls 4x800m Relay - Cass - 16:12.50 Boys 4x800m Relay - Cass - 10:10.69 Boys 4x200m Relay - Cartersville - 1:39.13 Girls 4x100m Relay - Cass - 52.64 Boys 4x100m Relay - Cartersville - 42.58 Girls 400m Dash - Kaitlyn Godwin - Cass - 1:06.90 Boys 400m Dash - Kemarie Mitchell - Cartersville - 52.18 Girls 300m Hurdles - Leyla Booth - Cartersville - 51.03 Boys 300m Hurdles - Jimmy Channell - Cartersville - 44.90 Girls 800m Run - Kylie Ham - Cartersville - 2:43.26 Boys 800m Run - Will Feuerbach - Cartersville - 2:01.55 Girls 200m Dash - Kaitlyn Godwin - Cass - 26.37 Boys 200m Dash - Bryson Everett - Cartersville - 23.48 Girls 4x400m Relay - Cartersville - 5:17.71 Boys 4x400m Relay - Cartersville - 3:53.95 Next scheduled meets: Adairsville - Saturday, March 2 - Southeast High School Invitational - Dalton Cartersville - Saturday, March 2 - Purple Hurricane Invitational - Cartersville Cass - Saturday, March 2 - Southeast High School Invitational - Dalton

February 28, 2024 The Adairsville tennis teams played their first Region 6-AAA matches Tuesday night against Gordon Lee. The Tigers won 5-0 and the Lady Tigers won 4-1. Adairsville boys' results: Singles Line 1 -- Braden Potter won 6-4, 6-3 Line 2 -- Micahel Spinks won 6-0, 6-0 Line 3 -- Bryson Gooden won 6-1, 7-5 Doubles Line 1 -- Camden Teems/  Carter Collum won 6-0, 6-4 Line 2 -- Braden Mathis/ Jack Baxter won 6-0, 6-1 Adairsville girls' results: Singles Line 1 -- Madison Abernathy lost 6-2, 4-6, 2-6 Line 2 -- Adysen Garvey won 6-2, 6-3 Line 3 -- Camdyn Collins won 6-0, 6-0 Doubles Line 1 -- Ella Baker/ Darby Adams won 6-3, 6-3 Line 2 -- Stella Rood/ Caroline O'Kelley won 6-2, 7-6 Adairsville's next match is Thursday at Trion.

February 28, 2024 The Georgia Highlands College baseball Chargers blasted visiting Roane State on Tuesday (Feb. 27) 18-1 and 14-3 in a doubleheader sweep. Pitchers Chandler Anderson and Andrew Arnold combined for seven strikeouts in the first victory. Brodie Chestnutt, Hunter Ward, and Reece Robertson combined to scatter five hits with six strikeouts in Game 2. Luke Orfi led the Chargers’ offensive attack with seven hits in the doubleheader including a home run, two doubles, and six RBIs. Barrett Eldridge followed with five hits including a homer, a double, and five RBIs. Grayson Godbee was next with two homers and two doubles that produced five runs. Davis Newman had three hits including a home run, a double, and five RBIs. Clay Wiesen homered and tripled with two RBIs, and Gray Wilson finished with a pair of doubles and one RBI in the two games. Ali Banks (triple, two RBIs), Will Cawthon (RBI), Ryan Martin, Trevor Lovett (sac fly, two RBIs), and Tyler Phillips added one hit. Roane State CC fell to 8-9 with the two losses. Georgia Highlands (18-2) hosts USC Salkehatchie on Saturday and Sunday in a four-game series.

February 27, 2024 The Adairsville girls' soccer team raced to a 6-0 lead in the first half Tuesday night at Hiram en route to a 7-0 blanking of the Lady Hornets. Jordyn Hartline opened the Lady Tigers scoring off a corner kick in the third minute. Alexa Damer quickly followed with an unassisted goal in the 11th minute. The Adairsville scoring barrage continued in the 13th minute when Alivia Joslin found the net off an assist from Damer.  Joslin then assisted Damer in the 17th minute and Joslin scored in the 24th minute from a penalty kick. Samantha Gough put Adairsville up 6-0 at the half with a goal in the 35th minute off a feed from Damer. Gough added the only goal of the second half in the 77th minute with the assist going to Joslin. “This was our best game of the season,” noted head coach Dave Sexauer following the game. “The team passed well, communicated, and used their speed to control play most of the game.” Adairsville (5-1) plays at Woodland on Friday. ADAIRSVILLE BOYS 1, HIRAM 1 The team report coming soon.

February 27, 2024 The Cass High tennis teams dropped a pair of 3-2 decisions Tuesday night to visiting Gordon Central. GORDON CENTRAL 3, CASS GIRLS 2 Singles Line 1 — Carley Cagle lost 2-6, 0-6 Line 2 — Bridget Galloway lost 0-6, 1-6 Line 3 — Riley Rogers lost 0-6, 0-6 Doubles Line 1 — Dariana Sosa and Reese Howard won 6-1, 6-0 Line 2 — Makenna Martin and Rainey Parham won 6-2, 6-0 GORDON CENTRAL 3, CASS BOYS 2 Singles Line 1 — Cliff Chatman lost 2-6, 1-6 Line 2 — Kadin West lost 3-6, 0-6 Line 3 — Jerlen Plala lost 0-6, 1-6 Doubles Line 1 — Lincoln Ritter and Drake Bush won 7-5, 6-2 Line 2 — Nick Moser and Jackson Armona won 6-2, 6-2 The Colonels return to the hardcourts at Sonoraville on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Matches at the Gordon County Rec Department.

February 27, 2024 Pitchers McKaden Gentry and David Jinks combined on a five-inning, no-hitter Tuesday night at Joe Cowan Park in Euharlee as the Excel Christian Academy Eagles opened their 2024 baseball campaign with a 10-0 win over Unity Christian School of Rome. Gentry struck out eleven and yielded just three walks in the first four frames. Jinks walked one in the fifth inning and fanned two. Cameron Adams paced the Eagles’ offense with a pair of doubles. Gavin Dyson (RBI), David Jinks (double, two RBIs), Gentry (two RBIs), Jacob Jinks (two RBIs), and Kohl Williams contributed one hit each. Excel (1-0) plays at Unity Christian (0-1) on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

February 27, 2024 It was another hard-fought road victory for the Lady Canes Tuesday night at Harris County launching the Cartersville girls to their first Final Four appearance since 2010. The Lady Canes traded leads with the host Lady Tigers throughout the night, but it was Cartersville that came out on top following a frenzied fourth quarter, 47-46. The Hurricanes led 8-4 in a sluggish first quarter. KK Arnold and Taff Bradley had two buckets each for Cartersville and Allana Coulter scored both baskets for the Lady Tigers. The pace picked up in the second period. JaNiya Broome, who led Harris County with 17 points, scored nine in the period and Brooke Bass added four. Cartersville stayed within three points at the intermission with Arnold, Ansley Griffin, Nayel Camper, and Senai Camper scoring two points each. Bradley scored five in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Cartersville regained the lead 38-36. Griffin posted eight in the period including a pair of threes. Senai Camper made a three-pointer and had five points in the quarter. Three-pointers by Bryanna Jordan and Cauley plus six points by Coulter kept the Lady Tigers close. With the score tied at 38-all, Arnold’s drive to the basket and subsequent layup gave Cartersville a 40-38 lead with 5:15 remaining. Harris County regained the lead on their next possession with a bucket and a free throw. A Lady Canes’ turnover resulted in another Lady Tigers score and a 43-40 Harris County lead with 4:12 to play. Bradley scored in the post on the Lady Canes’ next two possessions and Cartersville held a 44-43 advantage with 3:15 left in the game. Following two more stops by Cartersville, another Bradley power move underneath gave the Lady Canes a 46-43 lead with 2:31 remaining and coach Karisma Boykin used a timeout. Harris County cut the lead to 46-45 on their ensuing possession and Cartersville went right back the Bradley in the post. She was fouled and made one of two free throws for a 47-45 Canes’ lead. With 1:16 left in the game, Broome went to the charity stripe for Harris County and made one of two free throws narrowing Cartersville’s lead to 47-46. Following a Bradley miss on the next trip, Griffin made a timely steal and the Canes called timeout to set up the final stretch. Coming out of the timeout, Arnold missed on a drive to the basket but made a steal following the Harris County rebound, and again the Canes — up by one — used a timeout with 0:33 remaining. The frenetic pace continued with a Cartersville turnover on the throw-in, but Arnold was able to force a held ball with 0:15 to play. The possession arrow favored Harris County giving the Tigers an opportunity for a go-ahead basket in the final seconds. Broome was forced to pass off her dribble to Bass in the waning seconds. She missed a last-second shot attempt and it appeared Bradley had the rebound to secure the Cartersville victory. Unfortunately, however, Bradley was whistled for a foul with 0.4 seconds left in the game. The foul sent Harris County to the free throw line with a chance to win or tie, but the Lady Tigers’ shooter missed both attempts and the Lady Canes escaped with another thrilling tournament win. In addition to Broome’s 17 points (8 of her team’s 10 in the fourth quarter), Coulter scored 14 for Harris County. Bass contributed seven. Cauley scored five and Bryanna Jordan added three for the Lady Tigers (25-4). Bradley scored a game-high 18 points for Cartersville including seven of the Lady Canes’ nine points in the final period. Ansley Griffin followed with 10 points. KK Arnold tossed in eight. Senai Camper and Nayel Camper added seven and four points, respectively. Bradley added nine rebounds and three steals. Griffin had a pair of boards and one assist. Arnold contributed seven assists and three steals, and Senai Camper added eight assists with five rebounds. Cartersville (18-12) will play 2nd-ranked Jackson-Atlanta in the Final Four on Friday afternoon at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. Jackson knocked off top-ranked Union Grove 80-55 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night. The other Class 5A girls' state semifinal will be Dalton against Midtown — also at UWG — at 5 p.m. on Friday. Dalton beat Arabia Mountain 71-52 and Midtown topped Jones County, 58-37.