Congratulations to Maynard Jackson High School’s Jannaco Searcy for winning the GHSA 4A 106-pound wrestling state championship!
Searcy and Jackson High School’s head wrestling coach Tiijon DaCosta secured he first state wrestling championship in Maynard Jackson High School history.
Congratulations on a great season!
The Georgia High School Association state football playoffs begin Friday, Nov. 14, and Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has five teams ready to make their runs for a state championship.
The undefeated Carver Panthers (10-0) were the 2A Region 5 champions and will host Butler at Lakewood Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Douglass Astros (7-3) tied for first in 3A Region 5, and will host Gilmer at Henderson Stadium at 7 p.m.
The Mays Raiders (5-5) will face Cass at Cass High School at 7 p.m. The Jackson Jaguars (7-3) will be on the road against Cartersville at 7:30 p.m., and the South Atlanta Hornets (3-7) will travel to Rockmart for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Good luck to our APS playoff football teams!
Fall Highlights:
APS also has fall sports champions to celebrate in other sports.
The Midtown High School boys tennis team was the only public school to reach the Final Four in the GHSA 4A State Championship tournament.
The Knights defeated Central Carrollton, Allatoona, and Northview High School on their way to the state semifinals. Midtown fell just short of the upset in a 3-1 loss to Westminster on Tuesday, May 14.
Midtown had a great season, with 60 wins in 110 matches. They finished 7-2 in region play, 13-9 overall, and ranked No.3 in the state.
Congratulations to the Midtown High School tennis team.
Coaches:
James Pressley: Head Coach
Sandi Stein: Assistant Coach
Roster:
Luca Geissler-Norseng – Sr.
Liam Geissler-Norseng – Sr.
Jackson Barr -Sr.
Max Bailey – So.
Jackson Seferovich – So.
Jerry Laster – So.
Bobby Stafford – So.
Nate Wilson – Jr.
Miles Willner – So.
Zack Clowser – Jr.
Henry Pollet – Fr.
For the first time in school history, the Benjamin E. Mays High School riflery team advanced to the GHSA State Championship meet, which was held at the Ware County Shooting Sports Center in Waycross, Ga., on March 15, 2025.
Out of the top 17 high school riflery teams in the state, Mays finished in seventh place at the State Championship.
“That was a big accomplishment because Mays had never advanced that far, and the kids were very excited,” Mays riflery coach Dexter Jimerson said. “I’m really excited for the team because they worked very hard, long hours. It required a lot of sacrifice from the kids. I let them know how much I appreciate them as the head coach and the school appreciates them. The school supported us 100%.”
The team went 14-1 in regular season matches, and Jimerson knew the team had a strong chance of reaching the state playoffs if they could average 1100 points in their competitions. Once the playoffs began, the team had to defeat Madison County and St. Vincent Academy to advance to the championship meet.
Riflery is a co-ed, team sport where shooters compete by taking 10 shots from three positions: standing, kneeling, and prone (lying down). In the state championships, shooters compete in a 3×20 format and take 20 shots from each position.
The team of Shaniyah Johnson, Nikya Smith, Dontavious Hopkins, Ariel Thompson, and Darian Hendricks combined for a team score of 2,244 to secure the seventh-place finish.
| School | Kneeling | Prone | Standing | Individual-Total | Team-Total |
| Mays High School | 756-28 | 776-47 | 712-15 | 2244-90 | |
| Shaniyah Johnson | 191-8 | 196-15 | 182-4 | 569-27 | |
| Nikya Smith | 190-9 | 197-12 | 178-5 | 565-26 | |
| Dontavious Hopkins | 189-7 | 190-8 | 177-3 | 556-18 | |
| Ariel Thompson | 186-4 | 193-12 | 175-3 | 554-19 | |
| Darian Hendricks | 187-8 | 185-5 | 179-1 | 551-14 |
Shaniyah Johnson, a junior in her second year on the Riflery team, was the Top Shooter for Area 8 this season and finished 31st in the state as an individual competitor. She was also selected as the March Athlete of the Month for Mays High School.
“The whole time she’s been shooting, she’s been outshooting everybody,” Jimerson said. “The thing about Shaniyah is she’s disciplined, motivated, determined, and when she comes to practice, she’s focused.”
After the team’s success at the state championship meet, Jimerson said more students have been asking about the Riflery team and how they can join. Not only is it another opportunity to take part in a varsity sport, but there are also opportunities to earn partial scholarships through riflery.
Riflery is not strictly for Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) members, and any student with a completed sports physical can try out for the team.
“Riflery is a very small but unique and disciplined sport,” Jimerson said. “I challenge the kids to get involved because riflery is a very unique sport. It teaches you a lot because you have to be focused.”
The coach shared that the team had a great experience at the state championship meet, and he’s already looking forward to next season. Jimerson and his team learned a great deal from other teams at the championship meet and took note of how they could improve for their next trip to the state championship.
“It was a privilege and an honor to advance to the state championship because it’s not easy,” Jimerson said. “I’m just excited because we put Mays on the map, and kids are coming out of nowhere asking about the Riflery team.”
The B.E.S.T. Academy (25-7) basketball team went to the GHSA A Division I Boys Basketball State Championship game with an eight-man roster to play Southwest Macon (27-3) in their hometown at the Macon Coliseum and came out victorious, celebrating a 62-57 win and raising the school’s first-ever championship trophy.
“It means a lot,” B.E.S.T. Academy head basketball coach Brian Weeden said. “It’s a monumental moment. Our fans, faculty, staff, and all the kids that supported us, I cannot thank them enough.”
B.E.S.T. Academy’s early lead in the first quarter didn’t last very long. Southwest outscored the Eagles in both the second and third quarters and had a 45-37 lead entering the last eight minutes of the season.
But the Eagles’ defense stepped up in the final quarter, forcing turnovers and scoring in transition to start an amazing comeback. B.E.S.T. Academy scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and pull off the upset in front of a packed arena.
“We just told our guys to keep doing the work,” Weeden said. “We’ve been facing adversity all year, and that just fuels us.”
Three players for B.E.S.T. Academy finished with double-digits in scoring, and Joshua Mickell led the team with 16 points in the championship game.
Jacob Mickell (15 points,9 rebounds), Nicholas Dozier (14 points, 9 rebounds), and Alexander Barrett (8 points, 9 rebounds) were all just shy of recording double-doubles in the game.
B.E.S.T. Academy, which opened in 2010, is bringing home its first championship trophy in any sport. Despite being a smaller school, its support system traveled down to Macon to cheer them on and celebrate the win.
“When you think about what the culture is and what the athletes went through to get to this point, it means a lot,” B.E.S.T. Academy athletic director Joshua Moore said. “That game was a microcosm of how they’ve been all season. They play to the end.”
B.E.S.T. Academy wasn’t the only APS basketball program to make a deep run into the state playoffs. The 2023-2024 state champion Maynard Jackson High School girls basketball team returned to the AAAA state championship game, and the Benjamin E. Mays High School boys basketball team reached the AAAA state quarterfinals.
The B.E.S.T. Academy Eagles 2024-2025 Roster
1 Xion Evans
4 Jacob Mickell
10 Nicholas Dozier
11 Alexander Barrett
14 Mario Lemons
15 Joshua Mickell
21 Wendell Brown Jr
25 Curtis Martin
Managers:
ZaMya Wallace
Taylor Roach’e
Athletic Trainer
Lance Parrish
Coaches:
Brian Weeden
Mario Lemons
Damian Goodwin
Jessica Johnson
Jordan Price
Jordan Lemons
Tahj Shamsid-Deen
Sarah Paisley Owen, a freshman on the Midtown High School Swim and Dive team, ended her phenomenal freshman season by breaking two state records at the GHSA 4-5A state championship meet in the McAulley Aquatic Center at Georgia Tech on February 7, 2024.
Not knowing what to expect in her first appearance at the state championship meet, Owen just wanted to make it to the finals and support her teammates. Instead, she swam a 22.65 in the 50-yard freestyle preliminaries, breaking the state record while securing her spot in the finals later that evening. She also swam a comfortable 100 freestyle preliminaries race securing the top seed for the final.
“In the morning, I was just trying to make finals and stretch it out,” she said. “In the 50 free, I saw that I was really close to the record, so I wanted to just go ahead and get it in the morning.”
That was how her morning began and she was just getting warmed up. Owen felt better going into her afternoon events with one goal already accomplished. In the 50-yard freestyle, she dropped her own state record to 22.25. Lowering her time from the morning session by .4 seconds and winning her first state championship victory.
“My start in the morning was a little slower than I wanted to be, so I adjusted that in the evening, and I think it was a good race,” she said. “I held my back half really well, which was another goal of mine.”
In the 100 freestyle, Owen shaved 1.7 seconds off her preliminary time (50.64) and broke Olympian Amanda Weir’s 2004 record (49.06) with a 48.94. Later in the meet, Owen’s 100-yard record was broken during the 4×100 freestyle relay. Owen did not compete in that final event because Midtown was disqualified during the preliminaries.
“I think my teammates were more excited than I was because it didn’t really set in that I broke this really cool state record that’s been there for 20 years,” Owen said. “My teammates, they’re just so supportive and I just love being around them. They were really excited for me and it was just a great environment.”
She didn’t realize until after her events, that her record-breaking performance happened on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
“Afterwards, I saw different posts about Women’s Sports Day and I thought that it was really cool that just happened to be the day that I broke the record,” she said. “I think it’s really inspiring to see things like that, so I really want to inspire other girls in the sport and in other sports that they can do things like this.”
Midtown Swim and Dive has been a competitive program and developed a number of impressive swimmers. They had a swimmer win gold at the state meet last season who went on to compete at the Division 1 level. The girls relay team won a bronze medal, and they also have a diver compete at the state meet who is signed to Dartmouth.
But what Sarah Paisley Owen has done as a freshman is special. In addition to the 50 free and 100 free, she also swims in the 200 and 400 free relays. In the 4 x 50 free relay finals, she recorded the fastest split (21.87 seconds) of the meet leading the team to a 3rd place finish.
“This is our very first time setting a state record,” Midtown High School head swim and dive coach Malaika Jordan said. “This is the first time that everyone who started in the prelims were able to come back for finals. We were really excited about that. Midtown’s swim and dive program is just getting better and better each year.”
Midtown took 16 swimmers, one diver and two alternates to the state championship meet this year. According to coach Jordan, the future is very bright for the program with mostly freshmen making up the girls’ team and an improved boys’ team with key seniors on the team.
After watching Owen break pool records throughout the season and ultimately the state records, coach Jordan and Midtown have a lot to look forward to.
“We’re already planning to put our G.O.A.T., SP (Sarah Paisley) in key positions, but we have a whole team that can rally around her or swim with her,” coach Jordan said. “We’re looking to be top-three. We’re really looking to be number one next year with our girls.”
| Swim Meet | Date | Event | Time | Notes |
| GA 13-14 Long Course State Championships | 07/15/23 | 100 meter freestyle | 56.78 | 1st place, 13-14 state record |
| Speedo Junior National Championship Irvine, CA | 08/04/23 | 50 meter freestyle | 25.61 | 6th place, Olympic Trials Qualifying Time, 13-14 state record |
| Speedo Winter Junior Championship East Columbus, Ohio | 12/07/23 | 50 yard freestyle | 22.21 | 6th place, 15-16 state record |
| Medeline June Brown Invitational at Marist | 12/15/23 | 50 yard freestyle | 23.05 | meet record |
| 53rd Metro Swimming and Diving Invitational at Westminster | 1/20/24 | 100 yard freestyle | 50.02 | meet record, All-American Qualifying time AA-A |
| APS City Championship Meet | 1/24/24 | 50 yard freestyle | 23.90 | meet record |
| GHSA 4-5A Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech | 2/7/24 | 50 yard freestyle | 22.25 | 1st place, gold medal, state record |
| GHSA 4-5A Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech | 2/7/24 | 100 yard freestyle | 48.94 | 1st place |
| GHSA 4-5A Swimming and Diving Championships at Georgia Tech | 2/7/24 | 200 yard freestyle relay | 21.87 (anchor split) | 3rd place, bronze medal, fastest split in the field. |
Coach Jordan’s exciting ambitions are quite realistic with Owen on the team. Not only is she also surrounded by other talented swimmers to compete with, but Owen has been knocking down goals since she began swimming competitively.
When she was younger, Owen’s first goal was to compete in a triathlon. In pursuit of this new challenge, she learned that she loved being in the water and competitive swimming. That led her to club swimming, which she has done for the last six years with Metro Atlanta Aquatics Club (MAAC). When she joined Midtown Swim and Dive, her reputation had preceded her, and coach Jordan was impressed from the first time she saw Owen hit the water.
“The buzz was all around that we have this phenomenal swimmer that will be coming to Midtown,” Jordan said. “Our first meet when she swam, all I remember is seeing these legs go “phphphphph” and I was like, ‘Look at those motorboats.’”
“When she hit the water, it was mind-blowing how fast she was. But not only how fast she is, but her overall package. She’s smart, nice, and hard-working,” she added. “Just everything about her just makes her the G.O.A.T., or we say the LeBron of the water. We’re just looking forward to what she’s going to do.”
Breaking the state record was on Owen’s list of goals heading into the season, and with each meet she crept closer and closer. Even after breaking a state record, she continues to set her goals higher.
“As far as high school swimming goes, I want to make my records faster and get records in other events,” she said. “I want to get my name on all of them.”
Even though the high school swim season is over, Owen still has another major event ahead on her calendar. She has qualified to compete in the 2024 Olympic Trials, which will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 15.
“She’s at a 48.94 in ninth grade. She just turned 15. Come on?” Jordan said. “We’re excited. We’re ready to see world records being broken. Not just state. Not just national. You’ll see her later. You’ll see her name at the Olympics. Not just this one, but in many years to come. And we’ll say she’s APS, Midtown High.”
The Maynard Jackson Lady Jaguars are the 2023-2024 GHSA Girls Basketball 5A State Champions!
The Lady Jaguars (29-1) defeated the Midtown Lady Knights 58-44 in the championship game Thursday night at the Macon Coliseum.
The replay of the championship game is available on demand at NFHS Network.
The Lady Jaguars, coached by Michelle Powell, went undefeated in region play. The team, led by seniors Talisa Cornish and Shakira Gresham, now carries the No. 1 state ranking in 5A and No.7 overall state ranking. Over the past three years, the Lady Jaguars have a 65-7 overall record and are 43-2 in region play. They defeated Midtown three times over the course of the regular season and region tournament.
Maynard Jackson playoff run:
The Lady Knights, coached by Matravious Little, finished second in the region (15-3) behind their championship opponent. The only region losses for Midtown were in games against Jackson. This year’s team, led by sophomore Devin Bockman, went on a phenomenal run to reach the state championship final.
Midtown playoff run:
It was another great, competitive game between these two APS powerhouses! Let’s Go APS!
Atlanta Public Schools is all over the GHSA football state playoff brackets with a district record eight teams reaching the postseason.
North Atlanta (9-1), Therrell (9-1) and Mays (6-4) all finished second in their respective regions and earned the right to host their opening round playoff matchups.
North Atlanta continues to build on their historic program run. They not only posted their best regular season record, again, this year, but it will also be the first time the Warriors have ever finished second in the region and hosted a playoff game.
Therrell, South Atlanta (5-5), and Washington (3-7) all clinched a playoff spot from AA-Region 6.
The Douglass Astros (6-4) finished in third place in AAA-Region 5, which was two spots ahead of Carver (2-7).
Last, but not least, Jackson (5-5) finished in fourth place in AAAAA-Region 5, two spots behind Mays.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s APS playoff matchups:
Friday, Nov. 10
Mays vs. Loganville, 7:30 p.m. at Lakewood Stadium
North Atlanta vs. Houston County, 7:30 p.m at Henderson Stadium
Carver vs. Stephens County, 7:30 p.m at Stephens County HS
Douglass vs. Oconee County, 7:30 p.m at Oconee County HS
Maynard Jackson vs. Jefferson, 7:30 p.m at Jefferson HS
Saturday, Nov. 11
Therrell vs. Model, 1 p.m. at Lakewood Stadium
South Atlanta vs. North Murray, TBA at North Murray HS
Washington vs. Rockmart, TBA at Rockmart HS
For the full GHSA state football playoff brackets, click here.
The ladies of fall are ready to get back on the gridiron this weekend at the second annual APS Flag Football Invitational.
Several high school programs participating in the invitational got the chance to hype up their program at the first APS flag football media day.
Players and coaches from each team took the stage to talk about their goals and what makes their team special heading into the season.
“I enjoyed media day. Being able to hear from every school and their perspective on the sport made me feel good,” Booker T. Washington senior multi-sport athlete Brooke Shelton said. “Hearing from other coaches, especially from teams that are more successful like North Atlanta or schools that win more than Washington does, it really inspires me to see like ‘Hey, I see what you’re doing.’”
The talking will be over Saturday, and the young ladies will hit the field at Carver High School and Lakewood Stadium for the APS Flag Football Invitational.
“We wanted to get this thing started off right before COVID hit, and COVID kind of put a damper on the numbers,” APS assistant athletic director Corrie Collier said. “But now that we’ve moved on a few years later, the numbers are starting to grow more and more. That’s why we’re having things like the media day and next week the invitational just to make sure that we show our young ladies that we support them, we’re proud of them and we’re going to do whatever we can to showcase them.”
Make sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, October 7, and support these great athletes.
The seeding for the APS Flag Football Invitational tournament bracket was selected at random and split between the two locations. Here is the tournament schedule:
Lakewood Stadium
Mays vs. Therrell, 9 a.m.
South Atlanta vs. KIPP, 10 a.m.
Jackson vs. Mays/ Therrell, 11 a.m.
Semifinal, 1 p.m.
Championship game, 3 p.m.
Carver High School
CSK vs. North Atlanta, 9 a.m.
Washington vs. Douglass, 10 a.m.
Carver vs. CSK/ North Atlanta 11 a.m.
Semifinal, 1 p.m.
North Atlanta junior Drew Sheldon placed eighth overall in the Georgia High School Association State Swimming and Diving Competition. The state’s two largest classifications compete together.
It was a big weekend for the North Atlanta swimming and diving program at the Georgia High Schools Association state meet!
Junior diver Drew Sheldon got things started on Friday when he earned the title as the top diver in Georgia’s second-largest classification (Class AAAAAA). In swimming and diving, the schools in the state’s two largest classifications – Class AAAAAAA and Class AAAAAA – compete in the same division, while schools in Class AAAAA through Class A compete against each other in another division. Drew placed eighth overall but was the highest scoring diver among competitors from Class AAAAAA schools – the first time this has ever been accomplished by a diver from Atlanta Public Schools. No other divers from Class AAAAAA placed in the top 10 and only four others placed in the top 20. It is a big week for Drew as earlier he was notified that he has been selected to compete for USA Water Polo’s 18-and-Under Olympic Development Team for the Southeast Zone.
Also on Friday, North Atlanta senior Farley Tranakos qualified to compete in the girls’ state competition. Even though she just began competing in the sport last year, Farley is believed to be the first APS female to qualify for the state diving competition.
Then on Saturday, the North Atlanta girls’ team placed seventh in Class AAAAAA. It is the first time an APS team has placed in the state meet. Outstanding performances were turned in by the Warriors’ 200-yard medley relay team (fifth), made up of sophomore Taylor Hicks and freshmen Savannah Mason, Zoe Mock and Hannah Dabney; the 200-yard freestyle relay team (sixth) of seniors Lindsey Reeves and Katherine Jackson, junior Hunter Smith and freshman Hannah Dabney; the 400-yard freestyle relay team (sixth) of senior Lindsey Reeves, sophomore Taylor Hicks and freshmen Hannah Dabney and Zoe Mock; Zoe Mock in the 100-yard breaststroke (11th); Taylor Hicks in the 100-yard backstroke (fourth); Hannah Dabney in the 50-yard freestyle (10th); and Taylor Hicks in the 200-yard intermediate (third).
The boys’ squad did not place in the team competition, however, the 200-yard freestyle relay team of juniors Ethan Roman and Bowden Maiellaro, and freshmen Ben Aspinwall and Jack Bynum placed 10th, and freshman Ben Stelle placed 11th in the 500-yard freestyle.
Farley Tranakos
