The Wayne County Lady Yellow Jackets soccer team had an outstanding year in 2016, finishing No. 10 in the state of Georgia and the No.2 seed out of Region 3-AAAA. Their journey wasn’t always smooth sailing; the Lady Jackets fought back to make it to the GHSA State playoffs. “They started out slow but gained momentum during the season to finish with a region record of 7-1 with their only region loss to Windsor Forest,” said coach, Jenny Fulton.
The Lady Jackets got the season started on a sour note by losing four games in a row. After a region win against New Hampstead, Wayne County fell again to South Effingham. Region victories were interspersed with non-region loses in the early part of the season. April was very good to the Lady Jackets, who went undefeated during the month; downing Tomson, Claxton and Liberty County, before heading into the playoffs. “This earned us a number seed for the state playoffs,” Coach Fulton said. “In state, we beat Mary Persons 3-0 and Chamblee 1-0 in a shoot-out, and lost to Woodward Academy 2-6 in the elite eight.” Despite their third round exit, Coach Fulton was happy with the season, calling it “successful.”
Former In The Game Southeast Georgia Rising Star, Chandler Henderson, was the leading goal scorer for the Lady Jackets. The junior midfielder and forward led the way for Wayne County in 2016, even after her late start due to post season basketball.
The Wayne County boy’s golf team ended a great 2016 season with a fifth place finish at the state AAAA tournament in Augusta with a score of 328. The Marist School took home the state championship trophy with a 302. Scoring for the Jackets were senior, Zach Sapp with 80, Zach Robinson and Mycah Feltman with 81s, and Austin Crews with 86. The Jackets qualified for state by virtue of winning the Region 3-AAAA championship. Wayne County shot a combined 310 score to beat second place finisher, Thomson, by 47 strokes. Zach Sapp was the low medalist for the region with a 75. The girl’s team finished second in the region tournament behind Burke County.
Southeast Georgia/June 2016
Wayne County
By Rob Asbell
Photos by Wayne County High School
