Nine combined Gilmer High Bobcats and Lady Cats landed on all-region baseball and soccer teams at the conclusion of their spring sports season.
Bobcat soccer received four all-region nods and included first-team selections junior Julien Withrow and senior John Nix. Senior Tyler Jack and junior Ricky Ambrocio were voted to the second team. Withrow and Jack are attacking players, while Nix and Ambrocio helped man the midfield but also pressed forward offensively.
“For me, Julien got selected because he was the top goal scorer (12) and was influential in the way we played this year,” head coach Simon Phipps said. “As captain, he is a leader on and off the field. He is also a great student and participates in other activities in the school.
“Nix was selected because he is the first boy from GHS to go to college to play soccer, and this is obviously a huge achievement for him personally but also for our program as a whole.”
Phipps added, “Tyler was the next highest goal scorer this year, and he has played all four years for us and is one of those boys that never really missed a practice or a game. The same can be said for Ricky. He is a very skilled player and for us he is our defensive shield. He is also a leader on the field and a hard worker during conditioning and practice.”
Lady Cat all-region soccer players included juniors Cadence Smith and Reagan Boling. Smith was defender and selected to the first team. Boling was a second-team performer and started the season at goalkeeper before moving to an attacking position on the wing.
On the baseball diamond, infielder Jess Buckner was voted to the first team, fellow senior Gabe Wolfson landed on the second team at catcher, and junior pitcher Seth Darling received an honorable mention.
Buckner was Gilmer’s top hitter on the season and turned in a .326 batting average. He recorded 31 hits, which included five doubles, drove in nine runs and scored 20 more.
“Jess did a really good job for us at the plate this season. He spent about half the season as our leadoff hitter,” head coach Jeff Thurman said. “We made a little adjustment, and he batted second for the rest of the season. He did a great job for us in both of those spots and was just a tough out for opposing teams at the plate.”
Buckner played shortstop for most of the year but started the season at first base. He was also eventually able to return to the mound.
“I was really proud of what he was able to do in less than a year coming off that surgery,” Thurman said. “By the end of the season, pitching wise, he was back to his old self. For him, I know that was a goal he had.”
Wolfson was there for a .317 average to go along with 26 hits and 11 RBIs.
“Gabe has started for us for three years, and for the past couple seasons, he’s been getting a lot of attention from opposing coaches,” Thurman said. “They always had great things to say about him and how he handles himself. A lot of the runs we scored came from him. He also pitched a little for us while Jess was recovering and played some short stop and did a great job with that.”
Darling tossed 35 1/3 innings and posted a 4.16 earned-run average. He struck out 47 hitters and walked 23. He was sidelined for the series versus North Hall and Cherokee Bluff and only got to face four region teams.
“A couple teams didn’t see Seth and that kind of set him back a little bit,” Thurman said. “It took him a little while to get back to full speed, but he definitely was getting recognized and then some. Coaches were paying attention to him throughout the region. He did a great job for us and we are glad he’s coming back. We’re expecting some big things from him next season.”
Thurman added, “We’re proud of all three of these guys and happy the region recognized them.”