Buford High School, 2019.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 4, 2022 | People in Gwinnett know that one thing is for sure: Buford supports the students in its independent city school system. Altogether, there about 5,800 students enrolled in the K-12 system, supported by 657 employees.
And while Buford may be best known for its football program, it ranks high in all sports. But not only that, it continually ranks among the state’s best in its Fine Arts and Literary Arts programs.
This weekend, the focus of Buford will be on its girls volleyball team. They will play Lambert High of Forsyth County at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lake Points Sports Complex in Cartersville for the 7-AAAAAAA title. They beat Lambert earlier this season, and so far, have a 37-5 record.
Coaching the girls volleyball team is Christina Lecoeudre, who is in her first year. She is a middle school “connections” teacher, who focuses on founders of business. Hadley Daniels is now the volleyball director, having coached the team in previous seasons.
Already bringing home this year’s 7 AAAAAAA state championship is Buford’s girls softball team. They defeated East Coweta 9-1 for the title last weekend in Columbus, going through four games to win in the tournament. Their overall record was 32-1.
In this double elimination super region tournament, Buford’s girls lost to Lambert 5-4 in one game, but came back and defeated Lambert by 4-2 in the championship.
Trent Adams is the softball coach, having spent 17 of 20 years in Buford, teaching health and physical education. He’s been part of 11 state championships in softball, 12 regional titles and three final fours. This is his first year as head coach.
Adams cites three key players as contributing heavily to the state title:
- Senior Olivia Duncan was their key pitcher, with a 13-1 record. In 87 innings, she struck out 103, and had only six walks. The opponent’s batting record against her was .195.
- Freshman Caroline Stanton is a pitcher and left fielder, and had a batting average of .425, making 80 appearances at bat. She had 14 home runs and batted in 37 runs.
- Junior Madison Pickens, the catcher, batted 82 times, and hit. 415, with 18 runs batted in and two home runs.
What is so impressive about the Buford School System is that the classical arts are also vitally important, again, winning statewide recognition year after year.
Buford has won 19 state literary championships in its history, and been the state champs for the last 13 years! What a record!
Teresa Hagelthorn, a Buford native who is now the high school principal, emphasizes: “We pride ourselves with Triple A excellence, in academics, athletics and the arts.”
As an indication of this emphasis, this year, as last year, Buford will host the 6 and 7-AAAAAAA Literary competition. Students from all across the state will be in Buford on March 18 to compete for the state titles in the literary categories.
In March of 2022, these Buford students won as state champions in individual events, winning enough points to earn the overall team champion again:
- Humorous interpretation: Jenna Gubran.
- Girls Solo: Mara Eva Cline.
- Girls Trio: Alyssa Lovern, Rachel Bryson and Mara Eva Cline.
Winning second place in boys solo was Dylan Appling; and in international extemporaneous speaking, Sophie Lee won.
Taking third place in dramatic interpretation was Sydney Holton; while taking fourth place for personal essay was Karyme Santibanez, and for duo interpretation, Jenna Gubran and Grace Johnson.
And watch out: tonight the football Buford Wolves hope to remain undefeated in their last regularly-scheduled game, facing Central Gwinnett (5-4) in Lawrenceville.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us