Creekview Runner Named STAR Student
by Katelyn Presnell

As part of the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, senior Alex Ryan was selected to represent Creekview High School as its 2011 STAR Student. To be eligible for STAR nomination, high school seniors must take the SAT by November of their senior year and be ranked among the top 10 percent of their class based on grade point average. Ryan’s SAT score of 2290 and his 4.0 GPA led to his selection and to his ranking of salutatorian for his graduating class.

STAR Students have the privilege of choosing their STAR Teacher, recognizing the teacher who provided the greatest influence in their academic career. Ryan chose Tom Armstrong, Creekview cross country coach and Advanced Placement Statistics teacher, as his STAR Teacher because of the great support Armstrong gave Ryan to help him meet his goals.

Ryan has been a part of the Grizzlies cross country and track teams since his freshman year. Armstrong says Ryan has “the concept of racing and pacing down to an art” because Ryan saves his energy until the end of a race and then sprints to the finish line. Recently, Ryan placed 10th out of 77 runners in the 3.1-mile race at the region meet, recording a personal best time of 17:03, and placed eighth at the state meet.

Running is a demanding sport because of the determination and stamina it requires to compete. Last year, Ryan was the youngest finisher in the 2010 SweetH20 50K Ultramarathon, held at Sweetwater State Park in Lithia Springs.

Learning from his four years of experience as a runner, Ryan says, “It has taught me discipline and how hard work correlates to accomplishment.  Also, running has developed my passion for nature and is partly responsible for my choice of major.”

Ryan plans to major in environmental engineering because of his interest in math, science and climate change. He has already been accepted at Georgia Institute of Technology and Clemson University.

During high school, Ryan has been recognized as a College Board AP Scholar with Honors, Cherokee County Superintendent’s Key Scholar and the American Mathematics Competitions School Winner.  He was selected for the Governor’s Honors Program in Math and was the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Student. In addition, Ryan participates in extracurricular activities, including Math Club, Beta Club, Environmental Club and Cycling Club, and serves as National Honor Society vice president.

Ryan volunteers in his community, aiding the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Men’s Night Shelter, Habitat for Humanity and the Creekview Athletes Read to Elementary Schools program. He is also a supporter of Kiva, an organization that connects people via the internet in an effort to alleviate poverty.

Creekview Basketball: 2010-2011 Season
by Ryan Free • photography by Scott Martin

In its fifth year, Creekview High School has become well known academically as well as athletically. With this year marking Creekview’s third graduating class, many star athletes have contributed to the school’s solid reputation.

This year’s varsity boys basketball team has a new-look defense combined with a fast-paced “run and gun” offense. Head coach Casey Gramling says, “With the loss of our big man (Austin Younker) last year, we were really lacking in size this year. But this lack of size can be made up with our speed and stamina.”

The varsity boys team consists of a few sophomores and juniors but, most important, six seniors. The seniors are guards A.J. Johnson, Taylor McClesky and Ryan Free, and post players Dylan Bergman, Max Post and Zack Murphy. “With six seniors this year, the leadership role is always filled,” says assistant coach Jimmy Thigpen. “And this is one of the first years we have never lacked in that department.”

What’s so special about this group of seniors? Three of the seniors play two or more sports at the varsity level. All six seniors have a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, with two holding a 4.0. Additionally, four of the six are taking Advanced Placement classes. All three varsity coaches are very proud of the seniors’ success in the classroom.

The Grizzlies began their season with wins against county rivals Etowah, Cherokee and River Ridge in the 2010 Thanksgiving Tournament. “Those were big wins for us as a team,” says Johnson. Murphy adds, “Those wins definitely boosted our status as a playoff contender this year.”

One of the team’s top scorers and a leader for his teammates, Bergman, says, “Our schedule is going to be a tough one this year (moving up to 4-A), but if we practice and execute, we should do well.”

Lacking in size this year, the Grizzlies hope to make up for their disadvantage with speed. “Our new philosophy this year is to just run teams into the ground,” says McClesky, Creekview’s primary three-point shooter and one of the team’s key defenders. Post, a key player for the Grizzlies defense and rebound game, says, “I’m very excited for this new offense we are running.”

With tougher opponents like Chattahoochee, Rome and Cass, and region games against Sequoyah, Johns Creek and Forsyth Central, the Grizzlies hope to be very successful this year.

The Grizzlies have already played six games this year and have a current record of 4-2. One of Gramling’s goals this year is to be ranked in the top four in our region. “That way, we get a first round bye which would really help us out,” says Gramling. Even though the Grizzlies have suffered two losses so far, they are 1-0 in their region.

In addition to looking forward to a great basketball season, the Creekview coaching staff and administration are overjoyed to have all six seniors graduate with honors and move on to college.

Runners Dominate Region, Compete at State
by Hunter Williams

The Creekview cross country team dominated their opponents at the Region 7-AAAA meet. The boys team won its first-ever region title while the girls team took second place. “We had a tremendous day,” says Grizzlies coach Tom Armstrong. “We have been talking a lot the last few weeks about how this is a team sport and it takes all seven runners to make this team great.”

The boys team won by an unprecedented 49 points, with a field-low cumulative score of 37. The closest opponent was Chattahoochee, with a rating of 86. Grizzlies Justin Whittaker, Loren Teachey and Austin Ryan placed in the top six. Alex Ryan placed 10th while Allen Griner, Vadik Hudson and Hunter Carter placed in the top 20. “It was all team,” says Armstrong. “We were so strong we could have left our top two runners at home and still won the race. They all ran smart, strong races. They held back a little on mile one, then passed people all the way through the finish line.”

The team set a new school record for average time with 16:48. Perhaps the most amazing fact was that all seven runners garnered Georgia Elite status and Justin Whitaker earned National Elite status.

The Grizzlies soon went on to run at the state meet, where they placed as a top-10 team, scoring 244 points overall. Whitaker led the Grizzlies, finishing 28th with a time of 17:05.45. “The girls were great as well,” says Armstrong. “They have now won two consecutive runner-up trophies.”

Lambert placed first with a score of 53 while Creekview placed second with 69. Nicole Smith and Rachel Dorris led the Creekview girls, placing seventh and eighth. Madeline Ryan and Sidney Draughton each placed in the top 20. Sidney Bosley, Marisa Rink and Lindsey Taylor placed in the top 30. Bosley, Draughton and Rink are first-year runners, making their finishes more impressive. The girls ran their second-fastest team average in school history at 20:20. There were four Georgia Elites and two National Elites from the group.

The Lady Grizzlies barely missed a top-10 finish in state competition, placing 11th. Dorris and Smith led the Lady Grizzlies again, finishing 22nd and 23rd. “I am very proud of the efforts shown by both teams and it is a very good learning experience for both squads,” says Armstrong. “It was a good way to end the year. The kids ran really hard. The boys did a good job, placing in the top 10 and it is a pretty good accomplishment. We are very young, especially the girls. The boys are not quite as young but there are some very talented kids ready to step in next year.”

Daniel Bailey, Academic Athlete

Creekview High senior Daniel Bailey personifies what it is like to be on top of every aspect of a busy high school lifestyle. With hour after hour of studying, day after day of football and year after year of school, Bailey has managed to stay ahead of the game.

Bailey began his football career at the age of six. Recalling why he chose to play, Bailey says, “My grandpa was an SEC official and my uncle was the head coach of Walton High School.” He watched football on Saturdays, specifically the Georgia Bulldogs, to learn the rules and what each player was supposed to do.

As Bailey grew older and began to develop as a player, he knew he had to become serious about his game. Bailey played for Cherokee Youth Football Association until middle school. As he made the transition to Creekland Middle School and then to Creekview High School, he remembers how football became more competitive. “I remember actually having to learn the plays and where to go for each one,” he says.  “It was difficult, but I enjoyed how everything meshed together for a play to work.”

Now in his last year of high school, Bailey has shown students and spectators that he wanted to make a name for Creekview. As a freshman, Bailey proved he was ready for the Friday night lights by earning Most Improved Player as a guard and long snapper. As a sophomore and junior varsity starter, Bailey led the Grizzlies to a winning year and received JV Offensive Player of the Year.

Toward the end of his sophomore year, Bailey was presented the role of a lifetime when a Creekview varsity offensive lineman suffered a season-ending injury.  Bailey was expected to play with the same level of talent and intensity as the injured linemen. Recalling the day he discovered he would be starting, Bailey says, “I was very nervous. I remember not even eating that day I was so nervous.”

Entering his junior year, Bailey was a full-time varsity starter and proved to his coaches that he deserved the spot. He earned several awards, including Cherokee Gridiron Offensive Player of the Week, Touchdown Club Lineman of the Week and the Varsity Scholar Athlete Award.

As a senior, Bailey had to make a transition from guard to center and long snapper. “I enjoy this position a lot more” he says. Bailey was also named Iron Man of Creekview High School. The Iron Man award goes to the strongest, fastest and best all-around athlete.

With a busy schedule of daily practice, games on Friday and “surprise” Saturday practices, it is difficult to keep up academically. Bailey says he balances sports and academics by staying organized and utilizing time management. He puts a lot of emphasis on time management. “It’s very difficult to keep up with my studies, being so tired from football,” Bailey says. “But I keep an agenda of when to do certain assignments and I even try to get most work done at school.” His techniques have helped him to maintain a 4.0 grade point average throughout high school.

In addition to athletics and academics, Bailey is involved in his community. During football season, Bailey and a few other football players visit elementary schools to read to younger students as part of the C.A.R.E.S. reading program. He has served his church with frequent mission trips, including a visit to Mexico, as well as the high school church choir. “I just enjoy everything I do,” says Bailey. “I have always enjoyed being with my school friends, football friends and my church friends.”

With a résumé that includes football, basketball and track, seven AP classes and a SAT score of 1970, Bailey hopes to attend the University of Georgia, his father’s alma mater.

A Generation of Champions
by Hunter Williams and Ryan Free

The phrase “like father, like son” perfectly personifies the wrestling careers of Dr. Bob Eddy and son Grant Eddy. With an exceptional work ethic and “never give up” attitude, each half of the father-son duo persevered their way to the top of the sport.

Dr. Eddy, a former All-American high school wrestler, is principal of Creekview High School. Grant Eddy is picking up where his father left off by becoming one of the most successful wrestlers Creekview has ever had. Grant Eddy has always been around the sport because of his father’s success as a wrestler and coach.

Dr. Eddy began wrestling the summer after sixth grade and immediately showed signs of greatness. By the time he got into high school, he was a dominant wrestler. His accomplishments include an 88-8 record, a section IV championship, and three-time Section IV Class C Champion and two-time IAC League Champion titles.  Dr. Eddy also represented Team USA in meets against Iran and Norway. He went on to wrestle at Cortland with continued success. Looking back over his wrestling career, Dr. Eddy says, “I have had my share of wins and they were all very important to me.”

Dr. Eddy says that his father was not a wrestler and that is not where his love for the sport came from. “[My] brothers just brought a mat out to the backyard one day and started to show me how to wrestle,” he laughs.

After finishing college, Dr. Eddy turned to coaching and teaching. He started his coaching career by working as an assistant wrestling coach at Cortland. He then became an assistant wrestling coach at Cherokee High School. While Dr. Eddy enjoyed success at Cherokee, he gained critical acclaim as the Sequoyah wrestling coach.

“As much fun as my wrestling career was, there was no greater joy than when those kids and I went to the state championships in 1996 and 1999.” Dr. Eddy’s teams won both championships. Dr. Eddy coached 20 state wrestling finalists with 13 becoming champions. He ended his coaching career with an overall record of 186-41-1.

Grant Eddy wasted no time following in his father’s footsteps as he began wrestling at the age of six. A senior at Creekview High school, Eddy has set the standard for excellence. Eddy says the hardest part about wrestling for him is “the practices and losing or even gaining weight before the next match.” With grueling workouts, three-mile runs, and practicing technique over and over, Eddy definitely shows what having an all-star work ethic achieves.

Eddy became passionate about the sport of wrestling at a very young age as a result of his father’s coaching. While Eddy insists that his father did not push him into wrestling, he says, “It was more just embedded in my brain.”

While Grant Eddy’s wrestling accomplishments accumulate, he says his sophomore year and number four state finish is something he will never forget. Grant hopes to continue his wrestling career and attend Davidson University, perhaps further following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a coach.