By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
Another school year is in the books, and with it another year of Wolverine athletics has come and gone as well. When looking back at Woodruff athletics during the 2022-23 school year, it will be remembered as a season marked by tremendous success, vast improvements, and extraordinary individual accomplishments. Here is a look back on the year that was in Woodruff Wolverine athletics.
Tucker Cements His Legacy as a Wolverine Great
Woodruff quarterback Carson Tucker capped an all-star caliber career for the Wolverine football program with his third consecutive 1,000-yard passing season. Tucker, a three-year starter, finished his career with just shy of 6,000 passing yards, which ranks him fifth all-time in the Woodruff record book. Carson also finished his career in the top five in career touchdown passes and will be remembered as one of the great Woodruff quarterbacks.
Wolverines get Redemption
During the 2022 football regular season, the Wolverines were defeated by Broome at home in heartbreaking fashion, 21-19. Undaunted, Woodruff fought their way into the postseason, where they would face off once again with the Centurions in the first round of the playoffs. Woodruff would have their way in the second meeting, with Tucker lighting up the Broome defense in the first half with the Wolverine defenders holding on in the final two quarters. With the win, the Wolverines defeated Broome for the 18th time in their past 21 meetings and won a playoff game for the third straight season.
Burnette Makes History
During the 2022-23 basketball season, Woodruff sophomore shooting guard Sadie Burnette shattered the school record for three-point shots made in a career. Burnette, who set the single-season record as a freshman, eclipsed the career mark held for seven years by now-Woodruff assistant coach Rodasia Foster. With well over 100 career three-pointers made, Sadie has two more seasons to add to a total that could very well stand for a long time.
A Glimpse of a Bright Future
The sub-varsity Woodruff basketball teams gave fans a sneak peek into what looks to be a very bright future during the winter sports season. The Wolverines’ junior varsity team finished with a record of 19-3, winning the region championship while often blowing out opponents. Meanwhile, the middle school boys’ basketball team was even better. The Cubs finished a perfect 15-0 season with the Peachtree Conference championship, which was the first for the program in nearly a decade. All told, both sub-varsity boys basketball teams finished with a combined record of 34-3, which indicates the future of Wolverine basketball should be very bright indeed.
Going out on Top
Woodruff senior Genaro De La Garza has been one of the most dominant forces on the mat in the history of Wolverine wrestling. De La Garza not only is the all-time pins leader in school history as well as top five in career wins, but he capped his Woodruff career with his long sought-after first state championship. Genaro, the undisputed senior leader of the Wolverines, has no doubt secured his future place in the Woodruff Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Baseball Fever
For two months this spring, Woodruff caught a case of baseball fever. A struggling program that had finished the previous two seasons with a combined record of 5-40, the Wolverines took 2023 by storm. Under new head coach Wesley Brown, Woodruff barnstormed through their non-conference schedule with two wins each over Broome, Gaffney, and Blacksburg, a win over perennial powerhouse Landrum, and region sweeps of Chester and Emerald. The Wolverines played eventual 3A state champion and region rival Clinton to within one run in both of their meetings and would go on to eliminate title contender, and top-3 ranked Chapman in the district round of the play-offs. As the team bus made it’s way back through town, hundreds lined Main Street to welcome their diamond heroes home and usher in a new and exciting era of Woodruff baseball.
Sensational Spring
The 2023 spring sports season was one for the record books for multiple Woodruff teams. In total, the Wolverines won five region championships during the spring campaign. Both the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams won conference crowns, the softball team took home the title for the first time since 2018, and the golf and girls’ track teams added to the total of region championships in the season’s final two weeks. With five championship teams out of the eight squads competing this spring, it was a season to remember for Woodruff athletes.
We are the Champions
The last hurrah of the spring sports season was the loudest. The Wolverine golf team won the Class 3A state championship by one stroke in a one-hole playoff over Beaufort at their home course of Three Pines Country Club. It was the second state championship in three seasons for Woodruff golf, which was led by individual medalist, state champion, and 3A golfer of the year Gage Howard. The accomplishments of this history-making team will now be enshrined forever with another photo on the Woodruff High School gym wall.
Author: Tracy Sanders
