Basketball:
Looking to cap off last season’s impressive win in the State Tournament, the men’s basketball team, led by Coach Sharman White, hopes to continue their dominance over Georgia basketball and repeat as AAAA (4A) State Champions. The team is commanded by two seniors who recently announced they would be continuing their athletic careers into college: Kyle (KJ) Greene (the University of Central Florida (UCF)) and Lamar (LJ) Moore (the University of Chicago). The team has a great opportunity this year to play in a tournament in Hawaii. Moore said, “I’m looking forward to getting a new perspective on Basketball through the eyes of Hawaii. I’ve been to things like this before with Pace, but it’s always cool playing basketball in places that I don’t really associate with. Hopefully, we can bring another trophy back to the Castle.” Along with London the team will be playing in seven other tournaments this year. The season started off strong for the team with a 90-55 win over Douglass.
The women’s team is led by a solo senior this year: Reed Millner. Regarding the upcoming season, junior Kate Grice said, “I’m so excited for this season. It’s a super young team and all of the sophomores and freshmen have already proven themselves to be great players. We played really well in our first few games, which has made us all super excited about what is in store for the rest of the season. I can not wait to see what the rest of the season entails.” The team has an incredible opportunity this year playing in a few tournaments such as Carrollton Girls Night Out and Cedar Shoals Winter Classic. The team began the season with wins against North Cobb Christian and Tucker High School.
Swimming and Diving:
The men’s swimming and diving team strive to accomplish an overall team State Championship this year. Led by Coach John Ague as well as seniors Lane Canova, Hayden Harris, and Walker Smith, the swimmers have broken many individual records as well as individual State Champions, however, they look to accomplish something that has never been accomplished in Pace history. Sophomore Tyler Swartz said “After last year’s finish for the boys at state, we are all excited to get back in the pool and do our best at bringing home the hardware. After observing from the bench as a freshman, I am looking forward to seeing what myself and some of the other young guys can provide to the team.” The team has started off hot and looks to continue their dominance throughout the rest of the season. They have competed in two meets thus far, losing a close matchup to Loganville and defeating Lovett.
The women’s swimming and diving team is also coached by Ague and student led by three seniors: Morgan Goldstrom, Claire Easterling, and Ansley Freudenstien. They hope to lead the team to a successful season including a strong appearance at the State Championship. Sophomore Grace Richardson said, “I am really looking forward to this season. We’ve spent a lot of time during the offseason in the pool making sure we are where we need to be to bring a State Championship to Pace. I’m also really looking forward to becoming closer with some of the other people on the team. ” The swimmers began the season with a split start, going 1-1, however, there is a bright future ahead for the Aquaknights.
Wrestling:
The wrestling team is led by seniors Roland Foster and Will Moore. Losing no members of the team from the previous year, the grapplers look to cap off of their young squad and bring a little bit of hardware back to campus. Junior Dylan Hirokawa said, “We’re looking forward to seeing what our young team can do this year and in the next couple of years. Hopefully we can continue the wrestling culture that has been established over the past few years. I think we’ve all put a lot of work in though and hopefully it pays off.” The team had successful meets against Mclntosh High School, at the Harrison Tournament, and the Archer Tournament, and will continue their hard work in order to capitalize on their young team.
Flag Football:
The flag football team began its fourth year as a program hoping to repeat its success from last season. Under the coaching of Ty Johnson, the program made history by advancing to the State Championship Quarterfinals as well as being named the area champions for the third year in a row. The team has left all of their competition in the dust this year, handily winning a fourth area championship as well as cruising into the State Championship playoffs. Senior Erielle Harris said “The team spirit in Flag Football is unlike any other! The bond on the team makes it so much easier to fit in as a new player this year. I love it. We’ve already had so much fun this season and we still have so much more to prove. I hope we can all reach our goal and bring a ring back to Pace in just our third season.” This year, the girls have already won 12 games and look to continue their success into the playoffs.