Congratulations to the Panther Wrestling Team
Community, Sports, TeamFYNSports, Union County Panthers November 28, 2022
Congratulations to the Panther Wrestling team for an outstanding showing in the North Hall Invitational. Anderson Clouse, Zander Rotko, Payton Legatt, and Brooke Kennedy finished 1st place (varsity) Jackson Arthur and Thomas Gary were also JV champions! David Heredia, Shelby Agacenski finished in 2nd. Asa Smith-Foot and Strauss Miller finished in 3rd place.
Panthers had multiple State Medalists at 2A Track & Field State Championships
Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track May 16, 2021
Powder Springs, Georgia- The Union County Track team had multiple state championship competitors at the 2A Track & Field State Championship. The Panthers competed in Girls High Jump, Boys & Girls 4x800m relay finals, Boys 4×100 relay, Boys 400m dash, Boys & Girls 800m run, Girls 110m hurdles, Boys & Girls 1600m run finals, Boys & Girls 4x400m relay, Boys 3200m Finals, and Boys Discus & Shot Put. The events were spread out into 3 days, with the 3rd day being all “finals” events from qualifying events on Thursday & Friday. Some events had finals on the days they were on and some events were qualifying.
The Panthers had the following top 8 finishes that placed for a state medal.
Girls High Jump- Riley Allison 10th Place
Boys Discus- Noah Underwood 7th Place
Boys Shot Put- Noah Underwood 3rd Place
Boys 3200m- Luke Gambrell 7th Place
Boys 800m- Hunter Hartzog 6th Place
Girls 4×800 relay- 5th Place
Boys 4×800- 4th Place
Panthers show out in Sectional meet @ Gordon Central.
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track May 9, 2021
Calhoun, Georgia- The Union County Track team competed in the 2A sectional meet against the best teams from regions 5-8 on Saturday. The Panthers showed out and proved to be an all around team. The Panthers had multiple qualifiers for the State Championships.
The Panthers have the following teams/players advancing to the State Championship.
Shot-put & Discus- Noah Underwood
Girls High Jump- Riley Allison
Girls 1600m- Hana Gregory
Girls 800m- Hana Gregory & Allie Brey
Boys 1600m- Hunter Hartzog
Boys 800m- Hunter Hartzog
Boys 4×800 team
Girls 4×800 team
Boys 4×100 team
Girls 4×400 team
Boys 4x400m team
Boys 400m- Trace Wright & Zander Rotko
Girls 100m Hurdles- Hannah Long
Girls 300m Hurdles- Linley Jones
Boys 3200m- Luke Gambrell
Both Boys & Girls Panther Track team finish 2nd in Region Championship
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track May 2, 2021
Homer, Georgia- The Union County Track team traveled to Banks County to face Banks, Rabun and Elbert Counties in a 2-day region championship.
Hana Gregory was Individual Region Champion for the highest scoring athlete.
The Panthers had the following Region Champions
Boys 400m- Zander Rotko
Girls 800m- Hana Gregory
Boy & Girls 4x400m
Girls High Jump- Riley Allison
Girls 1600m- Hana Gregory
Discus & Shotput- Noah Underwood.
Region Runner ups
Boys High Jump- Daniel Griggs
Boys 1600m- Hunter Hartzog
Boys 4×800
Boys 4×100 (school record)
Girls 400m- Hana Gregory
Boys 400m- Trace Wright
Girls 800m- Allie Brey
Boys 800m- Hunter Hartzog
Girls 300 Hurdles- Linley Jones
The Panthers will have a lot of participating athletes in the Sectional meet @ Gordon Central on Saturday May 8, as the top 3 places from each event will move on.
Jackson completes hat trick in first 20 minutes as Panthers dominate Haralson County 10-1.
Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer April 25, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The #1 seed Union County Panther soccer team hosted the #4 seed Haralson County in the first round of the GHSA State Playoffs.
The Panthers came out of the gate and attacked immediately, as they do in almost every game. The Panthers had multiple shots on goal to begin the game. Senior Zach Jackson quickly got the Panthers on the board off of a corner kick. Jackson scored again less than a minute later to extend the lead to 2-0. Senior Zuriel Mancillas also scored 5 minutes later to extend the lead to 3-0. Jackson scored again 5 minutes later to complete the hat trick in the first 20 minutes of the game while also extending the lead to 4-0. Kyler Robbins and Benton Gregory also scored to put the Panthers up 6-0 to end the first half. The Panthers defense denied any kind of run that Haralson County could start, there weren’t many. The Panthers put all JV players in to play during the second half but that didn’t mean the scoring stopped. The talent the Panthers have doesn’t stop on varsity. Haralson County scored to begin the second half but that’s the only goal they could get throughout the game. Freshman Wes Seiler, Freshman Nicholas Depalma, Sophomore Trent Baker and Senior Noah Spilane all scored in the second half. The Panthers defeat Haralson County 10-1 to advance to the Sweet 16. The Panthers will host Lovett on Thursday April 29.
Lady Panthers advance to Sweet 16 after victory versus Temple 3-1
Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer April 25, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The #2 seed Union County Lady Panthers soccer team hosted the #3 seed Temple Tigers in the first round of the GHSA Soccer State Playoffs.
The Lady Panthers came out and attacked offensively and forced the Lady Tigers to stop them. The Panthers had multiple shots on goal to begin the game but just couldn’t get anything in. The Panthers defense turned everything back as the Lady Panthers were doing a great job shutting the Tigers down. After the first 20 minutes, the Lady Panthers finally scored as Sophomore Haleigh Helcher made the great assist to Freshman Lara Turner as she scored the Lady Panthers first goal. The Lady Panthers had possession most of the first half and really controlled the pace of the game. The Lady Panthers led 1-0 to end the first half. To start the second half, the Lady Panthers stayed in attack mode and had a lot of shots on goal right out of the gate. After the first 15 minutes Junior Kaylee Helton scored to put the Lady Panthers up 2-0. Less than 10 minutes later, Turner made a great pass to assist Helton as she scored her 2nd goal in less than 10 minutes to put the Lady Panthers up 3-0. The Lady Tigers later scored to cut the Panther lead but couldn’t complete the comeback. The Lady Panthers defeat the Tigers 3-1 and advance to the Sweet 16. The Lady Panthers will travel to Lovett on Wednesday April 28.
Boys 4×4000 relay team breaks school record as Panther Track team finishes third overall @ Banks County
Featured Stories April 18, 2021
Homer, Georgia- The Union County Track team traveled to Banks County to compete against Banks County, Madison County, Elbert County, Oglethorpe County, Athens Christian, and Chestatee. The Panthers finished 3rd overall.
Girls High Jump- Riley Allison 1st place
Boys 400m- Zander Rotko 1st place
Boys 4×400 Relay- 1st Place & broke school record
Girls 300m Hurdles- Linley Jones 2nd place
Girls Long Jump- Mia McCombs 2nd place
Girls 400m- Hannah Long 2nd place
Boys 1600m- Hunter Hartzog 2nd place
Boys Long Jump- Riley Thomas 2nd place
Girls Triple Jump- Riley Allison 3rd place
Girls 100m Hurdles- Hannah Long 3rd place
Girls 1600m- Hana Gregory 3rd place
Boys 800m- Hunter Hartzog 3rd place
Girls High Jump- Katie Byers 3rd place
Panthers lose second game of season 2-0 versus Pickens County
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer April 13, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers hosted the Pickens County Dragons in a non region matchup on Monday evening.
The game was gonna be played with mainly Varsity players in the first half and then JV players in the second half. To begin the first half, the Dragons came out and showed their speed. They showed exactly why they are 11-2. The Panthers had to adjust quickly as this was the quickest team they have played. The Dragons would quickly score in the first 7 minutes of the game. That goal was only the 6th goal Senior Aaron Helton has given up all year. This game moved very quick as both teams are quick and can get up and down the field as fast as anyone in the state. Both defenses are very good so goals were hard to come by. The Panthers had some opportunities to score but just couldn’t catch any luck. Th Dragons would score again with 10 minutes left to go in the half to make it 2-0. The Panthers had multiple chances to score in the last 10 minutes but give credit to the Dragons goalie for not letting the Panthers score. The Panthers fall to the Dragons 2-0 as the Panthers lose only their 2nd game of the year. The Panthers cap off their season on Thursday @ Gilmer County in another non region matchup.
Lady Panthers tie versus Lady Dragons 0-0
Lady Panthers, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer April 13, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The Lady Panthers hosted the Lady Dragons of Pickens County (2-9-1) in a non region matchup on Monday evening. The Lady Panthers are still looking for their first win.
The game was a defense battle. Both teams weren’t letting any breakaways happen and that led to a lot of turnovers. The Lady Panthers had possession throughout most of the first half of the game. The Panthers attacked a lot but just couldn’t get a goal. The Dragons didn’t get many chances at a goal in the first half because the Panthers defense denied anything that got close. The game was tied 0-0 to end the first half. To begin the second half, the Dragons immediately attacked the goal but failed to score. The Lady Dragons stayed in attack mode throughout the whole second half and looked like a completely different team. Both teams had plenty of chances to score in the second half but give credit to the goalies on both sides for allowing none. The game would end in a tie 0-0. The Lady Panthers and Lady Dragons battled it out the whole game.
Panther Track team performs very well @ Gilmer
Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track, Union County Panthers March 31, 2021
Ellijay, Georgia- The Union County Track team traveled to Gilmer County to compete against Gilmer, Murray, and Dawson Counties. The Panthers performed very well and had many first place finishers.
Boys
Shot put & Discus- 1st Place Noah Underwood
Long Jump- 1st Place Kanon Abercrombie
Triple Jump- 1st Place Riley Thomas
Boys 4×100 Relay- 1st Place
200M Dash- 1st Place Elliot Stepps
Girls
Discus- 1st Place Shelby Whitney
4X800 Relay Team- 1st Place
4×100 Relay team- 1st Place
100m Hurdles- 1st Place Hannah Long
300m Hurdles- 1st Place Linely Jones
Panthers track team battles in Battle of the Blue Ridge in Habersham
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track March 29, 2021
Clarkesvillle, Georgia- The Union County Track team traveled to Habersham Central High School to compete in the Battle of the Blue Ridge. The Panthers competed against Commerce, East Hall, Franklin County, Habersham Central, Hart County, Rabun County, Stephens County and Tallulah Falls. The Panthers track team broke 3 school records. Girls 4×100, Girls 400m and Girls 300m Hurdles. The Panthers boys & girls individual scores are below.
Girls Events
100m Dash- Lexi Sisum 4th & Mia McCombs 12th
200m Dash- Lexi Sisum 4th & Katie Byers 12th
400m Dash- Hannah Long 4th & Allie Brey 11th
800m Run- Hana Gregory 2nd & Campbell Chambers 9th
1600m Run- Hana Gregory 3rd & Natalie Payne 7th
3200m Run- Natalie Payne 5th & Rachel Reid 7th
100m Hurdles- Hannah Long 6th & Karaline Silver 7th
300m Hurdles- Linley Jones 4th & Allie Brey 7th
4x100m Relay Team- 4th
4x400m Relay Team- 4th
4x800m Relay Team- 4th
High Jump- Riley Allison 1st & Katie Byers 5th
Long Jump- Mia McCombs 9th & Karaline Silver 12th
Triple Jump- Riley Allison 6th & Karaline Silver 9th
Discus- Shelby Whitney 7th & Trinity Queen 11th
Shot Put- Trinity Queen 12th & Shelby Whitney 13th
Boys Events 
100m Dash- Elliot Stepps 4th & Riley Thomas 12th
200m Dash- Elliot Stepps 3rd & Trace Wright 8th
400m Dash- Zander Rotko 3rd & Brady Guild 7th
800m Run- Hunter Hartzog 1st & Zander Rotko 5th
1600m Run- Hunter Hartzog 3rd & Hunter Payne 9th
3200m Run- Luke Gambrell 6th & Hunter Payne 10th
110m Hurdles- Damon Wallace 12th & Luke Miller 13th
300m Hurdles- Luke Miller 10th & Damon Wallace 13th
4x100m Relay Team- 4th
4x400m Relay Team- 4th
4x800m Relay Team- 5th
High Jump- Kanon Abercrombie 7th & Daniel Griggs 10th
Long Jump- Riley Thomas 8th & Kanon Abercrombie 10th
Triple Jump- Riley Thomas 9th & Trace Wright 10th
Discus- Noah Underwood 3rd
Shot Put- Noah Underwood 7th & Tyler McBride 18th
Panthers fall 5-3 vs Leopards, fall to 0-4 in region play
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Baseball March 24, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers hosted the Banks County Leopards in a home region matchup on Tuesday night. The Panthers are looking for their first region win of the season.
The Panthers got things going early after Junior Lake Hughes pitched a quick first half inning. The Panthers got on the base paths early as Hughes walked, Junior Thomas Dyer bunted him over to second base, Senior Isaak Mullinack got a hit, and Senior Zeke Swartz hit a single to score Hughes. The Panthers had an early 1 run lead after the 1st inning. The Leopards responded quickly with a single, hit batter, an infield single and a double to score 2 runs. The Leopards showed exactly why they’re ranked in the top 2 of the region. The Panthers responded to tie the game in the 3rd inning after Hughes was walked, stole 2nd and 3rd base and scored on a fielders choice off of a Mullinack hit. The Leopards responded again as they scored 3 runs in the 4th inning. After a hit batter, the Leopards hit a deep fly ball that rolled to the fence, scored a run but the batter was thrown out as he attempted an in the park home run. With 2 outs, the Leopards didn’t back down, hitting 2 doubles that scored 2 more runs. The Panthers were able to score 1 run in the bottom half of the 5th inning after Dyer was walked, Mullinack singled, and Swartz singled to score Dyer. The Panthers failed to score any more as 2 runners were left on base. The Panthers fall to the Leopards 5-3 as the Panthers fall to 5-11 and 0-4 in region play. The Panthers travel to Banks County to play a double header on Friday night.
Panthers dominate in rainy evening, beat Riverside Military 8-0
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer March 17, 2021
Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers (4-1) hosted Riverside Military Academy (2-2) in a very rainy region matchup. The Panthers are looking to bounce back from their first loss on the season at East Hall.
The Panthers started the game slower than usual. Riverside came ready to play and attacked in most of the first 10 minutes of the game. The Panthers started to wake up, playing great defense and attacking the goal. The Panthers started their high scoring first half as Junior Kyler Robbins scored on a penalty kick. The Panthers would score again 9 minutes later as Senior Malachi Patrick headed a corner kick in to score. The Panthers would quickly score again less than 5 minutes later as Kyler Robbins would score his second goal in the first half. Less than 3 minutes later the Panthers would score again as Riverside scored in their own goal, defending a corner kick. The Panthers led 4-0 at halftime. To begin the second half, the Panthers were attacking right out of the gate. Just as the rain started to come down, Freshman Brenton Gregory was fouled and injured. Senior Goalie Aaron Helton would attempt the penalty kick for him and score to extend the Panther lead to 5-0. Less than 4 minutes later, as the rain was falling even harder, Senior Zach Jackson scored off a nice assist by Freshman Zuriel Mancillas. The lead was now 6-0 very early in the second half. Freshman Brenton Gregory would make a very long goal as he also joined the scoring to extend the lead to 7-0. Senior Clayton Lester would join in on the scoring also and extend the Panther lead to 8-0. The Panthers beat Riverside Military Academy 8-0. The Panthers are now 4-0 in region play and 5-1 overall on the season. Both Boys and Girls Panthers soccer teams host Banks County on Friday Night.
Panthers Track team finishes 4th @ Ridge Runner Classic
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Track, Union County High School March 15, 2021
Cleveland, Georgia- The Union County Track team competed in the Ridge Runner Classic @ White County High School. The Panthers competed against White County, Franklin County, Rabun County, Lumpkin County, Chestatee, and Tallulah Falls. The Panthers finished 4th overall in both Girls and Boys team scores. White County finished 1st in both Boys and Girls team scores.
The Panthers results are below
Girls Events
100M Dash- Lexi Sisum 3rd, Mia McCombs 10th, and Katie Byers 13th
200m Dash- Lexi Sisum 3rd, Emma Lander 9th, and Katie Byers 13th
400m Dash- Riley Allison 7th, Emma Lander 9th, and Linley Jones 11th
800m Run- Hana Gregory 1st, Katelynn Rash 9th, and Rachel Reid 12th
1600m Run- Hana Gregory 4th, Natalie Payne 12th, and Campbell Chambers 14th
3200m Run- Natalie Payne 4th, Rachel Reid 6th, and Katelynn Rash 8th
100m Hurdles- Hannah Long 8th, Linley Jones 10th, and Karaline Silver 12th
300m Hurdles- Linley Jones 4th and Allie Brey 10th
4×100 Relay Team- 5th
4×400 Relay Team- 3rd
4×800 Relay Team- 1st
High Jump- Riley Allison 3rd, Katie Byers, 7th and Allie Brey 9th
Long Jump- Mia McCombs 4th, Lexi Sisum 5th, and Hannah Long 9th
Triple Jump- Riley Allison 5th, Karaline Silver 7th, and Mia McCombs 9th
Discus- Trinity Queen 9th, Shelby Whitney 10th, and Brooke Kennedy 18th
Shot Put- Trinity Queen 8th, Shelby Whitney 10th, and Brooke Kennedy 17th
Boys Events
100m Dash- Elliot Stepps 2nd, Riley Thomas 12th, and Eli Peugh 17th
200m Dash- Elliot Stepps 3rd and Nolan Thompson 9th
400m Dash- Zander Rotko 4th, Brady Guild 9th, and Luke Miller 11th
800m Run- Hunter Hartzog 5th and Brady Mull 16th
1600m Run- Hunter Hartzog 3rd, Luke Gambrell 6th, and Hunter Payne 10th
3200m Run- Luke Gambrell 5th, Hunter Payne 8th, and Brady Mull 9th
110m Hurdles- Damon Wallace 12th and Luke Miller 14th
300m Hurdles- Luke Miller 12th and Damon Wallace 13th
4x100m Relay Team- 3rd
4×400 Relay Team- 5th
4×800 Relay Team- 2nd
High Jump- Kanon Abercrombie 9th and Sam Page 11th
Long Jump- Kanon Abercrombie 3rd, Riley Thomas 4th, and Trace Wright 6th
Triple Jump- Trace Wright 4th, Riley Thomas 7th, and Kanon Abercrombie 9th
Discus- Noah Underwood 1st, Tyler McBride 7th, and Lane Lance 19th
Shot Put- Noah Underwood 2nd, Tyler McBride 16th, and Eli Underwood 19th
Panther fall @ East Hall 1-0, suffer 1st loss of season
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer March 11, 2021
Gainesville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers (4-0,3-0) travel to East Hall to face the Vikings (5-1-1). The Panthers hope to keep the offensive dominance rolling against a very talented East Hall team.
The Panthers offense was quiet but Senior Goalkeeper Aaron Helton and the Panther defense was very busy. Helton only allowed 1 goal all night. Credit to Helton and the whole Panther defense for not letting the Vikings get any good looks throughout the entire game. In the middle of the first half, Helton made a huge save to keep the game tied at 0. With less than a minute to go in the half, Helton suffered a leg injury and had to leave the game. Helton did return in the second half. The game was tied 0-0 at the half. The Vikings kept possession for most of the first half. The Panthers were fatigued from the previous game the night before @ Rabun County. Early in the second half, the Vikings would score to take a 1-0 lead. That was the first goal Helton has given up through the first few games this season. The Panthers started to get some good looks on offense and gain some moemnetum. Junior Kyler Robbins would barely miss his attempted header off of a corner kick. With less than a minute left in the game, Robbins would barely miss another header off of another corner kick. The Panthers failed to tie the game. The Panthers suffer their first lost of the season as they fall 1-0 to East Hall. The Panthers are now 4-1 on the season. The Panthers will travel to Riverside Military Academy on Tuesday March 16.
Panthers dominate @ Rabun County, win 6-0
Sports, Team FYN Sports, UCHS Soccer March 11, 2021
Tiger, Georgia- The Panthers offense exploded in the second half, scoring 5 of 6 goals in the half. The Panthers offense was in complete control the entire game.
The Panthers are 1st in region and haven’t lost a game yet. Senior Goalkeeper Aaron Helton has yet to letup a goal as the Panthers are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents 16-0.
The Panthers offense kept that same offensive dominance against the Wildcats. Junior Kyler Robbins scored late in the first half on a penalty kick to put the Panthers up 1-0. In the second half, the Panthers were in full attack mode right out of the gate. Zach Jackson scored early in the second half off of a nice pass by Sophomore Wilson Walker to give the Panthers a quick 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Walker nearly scored. Senior Clayton Lester scored off a header as Robbins got the assist. The Panthers extended their lead to 3-0. Quickly after that, Walker scored and extended the lead to 4-0. After multiple opportunities to score again, Freshman Benton Gregory scored a long goal to extend the lead to 5-0. Another great assist by Robbins led to Senior Captain Malachi Patrick scoring to make the score 6-0. The Panthers had multiple great looks to score again but would fail to extend their 6-0 lead. The Panthers defeat the Rabun County Wildcats 6-0 to improve to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in region play. The Panthers would travel to face a very good East Hall team on Wednesday.