As Michael N. Castle, State Representative for Delaware, put milestones into words, the North Georgia College & State University athletic department put milestones into print in the 2006-07 athletic seasons.
 Justin Rickett |
Castle, addressing Delaware State, once said, “I think this is one of the greatest strengths of this school. Not only do students go on to achieve great milestones in their own lives, they never forget their roots and the school that gave them the chance they needed to improve their lives and their families’ lives.”
That same motto could be used for North Georgia this past season as they graduated seven student-athletes in December and May, and set new standards for any upcoming class that walks the hallowed halls in Dahlonega.
For instance, not only did North Georgia student-athletes make their marks on the record books, but they also enabled three coaches to reach once-unreachable milestones of their own.
The coaching milestones began in December and went through the month of May, as women’s basketball coach Buffie Burson notched her 300th career coaching victory at the institution with a 79-50 victory over Claflin University on December 29. The milestone kept coming for the coaching staff as head baseball coach Tom Cantrell notched his first of two on the season, notching his 300th career victory at North Georgia with a 2-1 victory over West Alabama on February 10. Softball coach Mike Davenport became the next coach to grab a milestone when he recorded his 250th victory at North Georgia with an 8-2 victory over Barton on March 4. The final milestone reached this season by the coaching staff at North Georgia, came courtesy of a 5-2 upset over then-eighth ranked Georgia College & State University, giving Cantrell his 500th victory overall.
Ironically, all of the coaching milestones were reached on the road this season.
 Megan Huffman |
Coaching milestones were not the only members of the athletic department that reached a milestone this season, as two members of the women’s basketball team reached the pinnacle of scoring by connecting for their 1000th career point. Junior guard/forward Megan Huffman and junior forward Kourtney Singleton each reached the plateau in the same game, against USC Upstate on January 31 in front an estimated 2,500 fans. Huffman has scored all of her points at North Georgia, while Singleton scored the majority of her points at Emmanuel College. The women’s basketball program went on to place two players on the Peach Belt All-Conference Team (Syretha Marble and Huffman), and were awarded their third consecutive Freshman of the Year Award (Porsha White) at the conclusion of the season.
The Saints softball program rewrote portions of their own record book, as well as the Peach Belt Conference record book this past season. As a team, the Saints tied two records in the homerun category by hitting five grand slams this season, and by connecting for three homeruns in an inning against Belmont Abbey on February 16. Freshman shortstop Leslee Smith tied four records this season for an individual, while Whitney Propes did the same with three records. At the conclusion of the season, the Saints placed four players on the All-Conference Team in Smith, Propes, Andrea Moss and Page Raynor.
The baseball program joined the ranks of rewriting the record books this season, as seniors Justin Rickett and Creston Warner continued their assault on the top ten. Rickett became the school’s all-time leader in homeruns, runs batted in and hit by pitch in the final two weeks of the season, while Warner will finish in the top five in homeruns and runs batted in. Rickett will also finish in the top ten in six other categories.
While the coaching milestones were reached on the road, all but one of the milestones reached by student-athletes this season were completed at home.
The baseball program added two more major awards in the postseason when Cantrell grabbed the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year Award, while Craig Brisson added the Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Award at the conclusion of the season.
Propes and Chris Curtis were named Second-Team All-Region in the respective sports. Freshman catcher Daniel Petitti was named to the South Atlantic Region Gold Glove Team at the conclusion of the season, due in part to defensive effort.
The athletic department placed 13 players on All-Conference Teams, and two more on All-Tournament Teams. In addition to the six placed by women’s basketball and softball, the women’s soccer team added three (Brittney Bruner, Kelly Orear and Lauren Cappy), men’s soccer added one (Jeremy Bouasy), cross country added one (Alan Schmitz), baseball added one (Chris Curtis) and men’s basketball added one (Jay Anderson). In addition, Kelly Curran (women’s soccer) and Sheldon Best (men’s soccer) were named to their respective All-Tournament teams.
If 2006-07 is any indication of things to come for the athletic department at the NCAA Division II level, the record books better watch out as milestones will continue to be set with some student-athletes all ready poised to enter them next season.
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