The varsity boys basketball team’s hard work showed after their region championship win against Columbia High School. The team also had multiple players make all region teams, including Sophomore LJ Moore on the 3rd Team All-Region, sophomore Kyle Green on the 2nd Team All-Region and freshman Bryson Tiller on the 1st Team All-Region. Senior Josh Reed was named Region 6AA Co-Player of the Year. After an amazing regular season finish, the Pace Varsity Boys Basketball team took on the state tournament. The Pace Knights went to the GHSA State tournament as a 1-seed and, therefore, had a home court advantage. The first round game was against Elbert County in which Pace quickly dominated and won the game. The second round was against Butler High School. It was a hard fought game between two teams, but in the end, the Knights lost. Although this result was not what was imagined, they had an outstanding season finishing as region champions.
After a great regular season, eight wrestlers qualified for the GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Championships. This event took place between Feb. 10-12 in Macon, GA. The wrestling team had an outstanding performance at the tournament and Pace placed seventh overall, making Pace Athletics history as it was the highest Pace wrestling has ever placed. A lot of this is attributed to the team’s consistent hard work and especially the four top five placing wrestlers. Senior Sam Howe took first place in his weight class to be the first individual state title winner for the Pace wrestling team in over 25 years. Other impressive performances were from senior Ben Schiffer who placed second, senior Alex Mathias who placed third and senior Henry Leusink who placed fifth.
The girls varsity basketball team celebrated a successful season with a record of 11-5. With new coaching staff, including Head Coach Christal Caldwell, the team created close relationships with high energy. Senior Sydney Middleton made the 2nd team All-Region and senior Gabby Hudson was awarded the Region 6AA Player of the Year. The team played in the state tournament as a 2-seed against the Banks County team. The Pace Knights put up a good fight but, unfortunately, could not pull out a win. Freshman Kate Grice said, “Although the team didn’t get as far as we had hoped, the year wrapped up with a tightly knit and family-like team.”
After a long season, the pace swim and dive team season came to a close at the GHSA Swimming & Diving State Championship. The boys and girls worked very hard throughout the entire season, and 13 people qualified. Junior Carter Freudenstein dominated the pool and won the 200 individual medley. He also competed and won the 100 butterfly with a new school record time. Both the boys 200 free relay team and the boys 400 free relay team broke school records. Overall the Pace Knights did amazing and the boys ended up finishing 3rd, which was a great way to top off the season. Sophomore Claire Easterling said, “I am really proud of what our team has accomplished this year, and I am even more excited for next year.”