Greenbrier teen has summer of success

You'll be hard-pressed to find a local athlete who had a better summer than Rich Poythress.

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On the baseball field these past few months, the Greenbrier High School sophomore served notice he is fast becoming one of the top prospects in Georgia.

Playing for the Savannah Chain 16-and-under team, Poythress was named the most valuable offensive player in the World Wood Bat Federation World Series in mid-July.

Poythress went 10-for-14 with four doubles and hit the only home run of the tournament, leading the Savannah team to the championship. The event was held at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla., the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians.

Savannah and East Cobb are considered the premier under-16 all-star teams in the state.

"From there, things just took off for him," his father Richard Poythress said. "He made a pretty good name for himself down there."

Pretty good, indeed.

His dominant performance earned him an invitation to play for Team Florida USA in the Super Seven Series held in Marietta, Ga.

Another great performance there led to yet another prestigious invitation. Team Florida USA asked Poythress to play for them next year in the USA Baseball Junior Olympic Tournament.

Team Florida USA general manager Mike Scott said Poythress - who turned 16 on Aug. 11 - has unlimited potential and a big future in the game.

As a freshman at Greenbrier last season, the 6-foot-3 infielder hit .379 with 13 doubles, which led the Augusta area. He also struck out just eight times in 100 at-bats. With that, he became only the second freshman in Columbia County history to be named to the all-county team.

Even before this year, Poythress has assembled an impressive resume.

He was a member of the Columbia County 12-and-under team that won the Dixie Youth World Series, the first such title in county history. He also won a title with the 14-and-under Dixie Boys team last year.

KICKIN' IT: After several years of high-level kickboxing, Augusta's Terrie Hicks is a national champion.

Hicks, a physical therapist at Sports Medicine Associates of Augusta, beat defending champion Chrisanne Roselip of Denver for the super welterweight title at the International Kickboxing Federation USA National Amateur Championships on Aug. 18 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Former Augustan John Greubel, who now lives in Atlanta, won his fourth national title in the men's welterweight division, beating Marcelo Bezon of Wavonda, Ill., by majority decision.

Another local kickboxer, Brad Taylor of Bath, finished third in the men's middleweight division.

BOYS OF SUMMER: The Aiken D'Backs 12-and-under team won the End of the Summer baseball tournament at Augusta's Riverside Park last weekend, winning three straight games Saturday for the title.

The team defeated the Evans Sliders, Appling Titans and Augusta Cyclones to win the championship.

Stephen Leopard pitched a complete-game shutout in the championship game, a 1-0 victory over a Cyclones team that defeated the D'Backs 11-5 in tournament play Friday.

Strong pitching from Tanner Hawley and Zach Madden and clutch hitting from Tyler Bass, Bryce Clifton, Brad Chapman and Andrew Faulkner also paced the D'Backs in the tournament.

Reach Rob Mueller at (706) 823-3425

--From the Thursday, August 28, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle