McCallie is hosting its second Dr Pepper TEN Classic for basketball this weekend, and the Blue Tornado's first opponent is the Lakers. No, not the NBA team, but perhaps a prep-school version of one.
The La Lumiere Lakers (20-1) from LaPorte, Ind., are No. 2 in the CBS MaxPreps Independent Top 10 national rankings. They'll take on McCallie tonight at 8 in the second game of the showcase. Christ School, from Arden, N.C., plays Hamilton Heights, which is the first team listed under "Keep an eye on" in the MaxPreps poll, at 6.
Christ School and La Lumiere will clash at 6 p.m. Saturday, when the local teams play at 8.
Tickets are $20 per night. Courtside seats are $50.
There is a coaching clinic for grades 1-5 from 10 a.m. until noon Saturday. For clinic registration or tickets, see attend.com/2017DrPepperTENClassic.
Georgia sectionals
The GHSA traditional wrestling state championships field will be set Saturday in the sectional round. Half of each sectional field will advance to next week's tournament in Macon, meaning competitors must win once before losing twice this weekend.
Dalton will have 10 wrestlers in the 6A event at Lanier as coach Michael Keefe's team tries to rekindle past Catamounts glory. Multi-time state champion Gilmer has 12 in the AAAA sectionals at Woodward Academy, and so does Northwest Whitfield with 106-pounder Griffin Hughes added as an alternate. Ridgeland has 11 and Heritage eight.
Sonoraville has 10 competitors in the AAA sectional at Bremen, including 2006 state champions Tyler Hunt and Trevor Burdick. Coahulla Creek and Ringgold will take six each. Chattooga has a surprising nine in the AA tournament at Rockmart, while Trion has 12 and Gordon Lee seven in the Class A event at Darlington.
Hackett takes over
Longtime assistant coach Daniel Hackett will succeed Shane Pendley as the softball coach at Ringgold.
Hackett, who played baseball at Ringgold, was part of Rachel Hodge's staff, which included a state-runner-up finish in 2012, and spent the last three seasons helping Pendley's teams win 83 games and finish second in the state in 2014.
"Daniel has been a big part of the softball team's success," athletic director Robert Akins said. "He knows the program and he knows the girls and the expectations. We feel he's the right guy for the job, and we plan to give him some experienced help in the dugout."
Trimiar records 1,000th rebound
Soddy-Daisy junior Alexis Trimiar collected the 1,000th rebound of her career this week. She has ranked among the area leaders in rebounds the past three seasons and is averaging 14.3 this year, along with 11.8 points. A team captain, she has had a double-double in 13 of her team's 23 games this season.