When school resumed last August at JCHS, there was little time to wait around for the fall sports season to begin. With preseason practice for some sports well underway in early August, season openers for volleyball, softball and cross country soon followed as some teams aimed to meet the success of the year before with others eager to take a forward step.
Volleyball
In their second year as a program, the Volley Hounds made tangible steps forward in multiple areas.
Not only did the program grow enough to field varsity, JV and ninth-grade squads, but JCHS also won varsity matches for the first time in program history, a definite building block as the Lady Hounds go into the offseason and build toward year three and also lose just one senior from last year’s group.
Softball
On the softball field, the Lady Greyhounds came into the season wearing the heavy mantle of expectations on a seniorladen team that included eventual University of Georgia signee Destin Howard that was coming off a state title. JCHS handled the regular season competition, going on to win a region title and the top seed from the region for the state playoffs.
A dramatic secondround win in the first game of a doubleheader against Walnut Grove propelled the Lady Greyhounds to the state’s epicenter of softball – the GHSA Elite Eight. There, the Greyhounds saw their season come to an end, all the while continuing to keep a high standard as a program in advancing to Columbus once again.
The Greyhounds will now look to replace a strong core of seniors as they move toward next season.
Competition Cheerleading
Competing on a more traditional schedule, JCHS was once again among the top competition cheerleading squads in the region, fighting through waves of adversity to be well in position for a spot in the state meet, only to come up just short.
Cross Country
There’s been a constant in recent years in that any conversation about the top cross country teams in the region, including Jones County High School.
That held true again this season as both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds battled injuries and illnesses to be among the region’s top teams. By season’s end, both were in the top 20 of the state’s AAAAA teams, with Kyle Whipple and Joshua Barber being top performers in the state meet. The Lady Greyhounds, who return the bulk of last year’s team, got their top state finishers from Kamryn Wommack and Katlin Malone.
That returning group should equip the Lady Hounds as they go into the summer and fuel aspirations of challenging for a region title next fall.
Football
The Greyhounds high-powered offense quarterbacked by John Alan Richter once again put up big numbers, and the result was a third region title in a row and a week-two win against North Gwinnett, the program’s first win over a AAAAAAA foe in its history.
In fact, the Greyhounds scored 38 points or more in seven straight games, helping to set the stage for the region-title clinching win in the season finale against Dutchtown.
For the second season in a row, the Greyhounds were eliminated from the postseason by eventual state champion Warner Robins, as the Demons blew open a close game after Richter exited the game after halftime with an injury.
Richter and placekicker Evan West are two key leaders from last year to replace for JCHS, whose region this season will now include Warner Robins.
The Greyhounds will once again take on a challenging non-region schedule this fall with matchups on the docket against Peach County, Perry and Dacula, as well.
