Buford's second loss is as many weeks, this time to Spencer Adams and White County in a 2-1 extra-innings affair, dropped the Wolves to No. 2 and allowed Pike County to rise to No. 1. It is the first time all season another team has been ranked at the top in Class AAA. The Pirates have won 14 straight with their last loss coming on March 15.

In Class AAAAAA, Parkview fell to Columbus in the regular-season finale and dropped behind Milton to No. 3. Undefeated Lambert remained No. 1 and is currently ranked second in the nation by MaxPreps. The defending state champion Eagles have won seven straight against tough Region 5 competition and seem to have overcome what was a slow start in their bid to win back-to-back state titles.

Loganville has lost three of five and fell out of the top five in Class AAAAA while Dunwoody jumped to No. 6 after a sweep of Stephenson. Rome appeared in this week's rankings after taking five straight and rolling up an impressive 20-5 record. McIntosh also made this week's poll after winning five straight, including a victory over previously-ranked Starr's Mill.

Redan, the defending champion of Class AAAA, is up to No. 2, its highest ranking of the season. Also in AAAA, Columbus climbed back into the top five after gaining elite wins over Parkview and Marist.

Northwest Whitfield debuted in the top 10 after winning nine straight games.

The Class AA rankings have been a story of last year's finalists, Lovett and Westminster, struggling to find consistency in recent weeks. This week, after losing two more games, Lovett dropped out of the top 10 entirely.

Westminster, after getting decisively beaten by Wesleyan and dropping a game to GAC, fell to No. 7. Jeff Davis and Union County entered the top 10 this week.

Changes to the Class A rankings this week included Hebron Christian moving up to No. 6 and Schley County returning to the poll at No. 8.

The 2014 Gymnastics state championship will begin competition Friday, 7 pm at Westminster. The top six teams in the state from last weekend's preliminary meet at Dunwoody advanced to championships. Defending champion Lambert and Carrollton, Buford, Forsyth Central, Milton and Westminster comprise the field of six. In each event, there will be 12 gymnasts competing for the individual title.

A team can put up to four gymnasts in a single event and the top three scores will be taken for the event team

Photo by LHS Gymnastics

score. Lambert will have four gymnasts for each event on Friday, including junior Katie Stuart, who won first in floor and All-around and the prelims this past weekend. Stuart will be a headliner in the all-around competition this year, which appears to be deep with talent and wide-open. 

University of Georgia "Gym Dog" and freshman Beth Roberts won the all-around title last year with Tift County by posting a 38.15. Stuart finished second in state at 37.8 and edged out third place Sydney Goad (37.2) out of Newnan. Goad edged Stuart in the vault (9.6) and beam (9.0) last year at state, but Stuart was able to outscore Goad in her floor routine (9.6) and bar (9.85). Goad scored a 38.0 all-around score in Newnan's last meet of the regular season and will contend with Lambert's Stuart for this year's all-around crown.

Carrollton has shown a lot of depth this season and head coach Nicki McGovern describes her team as more consistent than in previous years. The dependability within her lineup allowed the Trojans to finish first in a meet with a 106.9 score despite what McGovern pointed out as a day with plenty of correctable mental errors and falls. The 106.9 finish gave Carrollton a tight margin of victory over Forsyth Central, which turned in a 105.9 team score at the March 27 meet.

Buford, in just its second season of competition looks to improve on its fourth place finish last year at state. Sophomore Logan Nugent leads the Wolves and helped them finish their first undefeated regular season in school history this year.

Westminster was not one of the six qualifying teams in 2013, but the Wildcats return to state this year on their home turf. Westminster's regular season schedule allowed the team to face all the top teams in the state and its 106.45 team score on April 14 was one of the team totals in the state this season.

Milton (1990, 1991, 1998, 1999), Lambert (2013) and Westminster (1980) are looking for returns to the podium while Buford, Forsyth Central and Carrollton are searching for their program's first state titles. Warmups will start at 5:10 pm. 

SMALL, BUT MIGHTY ...

The Class AA 100-meter dash should be one of this weekend's most

Photo by Sonny Kennedy

competitive races. Thomasville freshman Mahogany Walker ran the fastest 100-meter dash with a 12.15 at sectionals but there were 16 total runners at the Class AA sectionals that finished south of 13 seconds. The 3,200-meter run could come down to a pair of teammates vying for an individual state title. Lovett senior Hailey Branch edged her freshman teammate Serena Tripodi by 0.014 of a second with her 12:22.32 finish at sectionals. This duo beat out the third-place finisher by more than seven seconds.

            In Class A-Private, Eagle's Landing Christian freshman T'aja Cameron will be busy at her first state meet. Cameron took first place in the triple jump with a 35-11.50 at sectionals and a top time of 12.15 in the 100-meter dash. Cameron's third event is the 200-meter dash and she placed second with a 25.24 behind Holy Innocents' Chelsea Zoller's 25.10.

            Eagle's Landing Christian has never won a state title, but looked dominant at sections with first-place finishes in the 4x100 meter relay and 4x400 meter relay. The Chargers will need their freshman star Cameron to come up big to reach the podium.

            In Class A-Public, Georgia Military sophomores Calli McMullen and Sutton Long earned one-two finishes in the 400 meters at sectionals. Georgia Military also earned top finishes in the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. Defending champion Marion County's only top finish in sectionals was senior Jada Gardner's triple jump of 34-00.25, but the Eagles were solid in each event and could bid for a repeat if the depth pulls them through.