Two of CSU's Newest Programs Anxious to Get Started in 2009

Columbus, GA - In just over a week, athletes at Columbus State University will start arriving on campus for preseason practices in fall sports. Two groups of athletes will be performing this ritual for the first time, as the Cougar program welcomes members of its rifle and women's golf teams. The two groups are a part of four new sports which will compete in 2009-10, joining men's and women's track which is set to begin competition in the spring.

Head rifle coach Mike Greene has spent the summer finalizing a schedule and assisting his group of seven athletes get acclimated to life at CSU. Greene welcomes five freshmen and two upper classmen to the brand new program. Of the seven team members, four are females, while the other three members are males. "All of these kids are home-grown, Georgia kids and we are proud of that," said Greene. "We have some really quality shooters who, despite their youth, already have a wealth of experience on both the local and national levels, so our expectations are very high."

Greene was able to attract some of the state's top talent despite being a brand-new program. His freshmen signees bring long lists of accolades, which include individual and team national championships in Junior ROTC competition, team state championships in high school, and lofty individual national rankings. His two transfer athletes both competed at Jacksonville State (AL) University and were very successful in the Gamecock program. It doesn't hurt that CSU has one of the finest shooting facilities in the world at which to train - Fort Benning's Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU).

"AMU is the best facility in the country and one of the best in the world. Sergeant Mike Moore, who heads up AMU, is our team's technical advisor and has a wealth of experience on the national and international levels. We believe that this, coupled with the group of shooters we have coming in, will make us competitive right away," said Greene.

Local product Forrest Klein (Northside HS) was a member of two state champion teams with the Patriots. He was an All-State performer and, in 2008, claimed a national championship title in the Small Bore Prone category. That title earned him a spot on the US Olympic Development Team and he has had the opportunity to travel to Colorado Springs with that group. He is joined by fellow freshmen Courtney Duncan and April Dunn of East Coweta High School in Newnan. Duncan was the number one precision shooter on the East Coast in the JROTC Regionals in 2008 and rated number three in the JROTC national rankings in both 2008 and 2009. She was the top Marine Corps shooter in the 2008 JROTC National Championships and was part of the JROTC national championship team as a senior. Teammate Dunn was the 2009 JROTC national champion and was a part of the Marine Corps JROTC and JROTC national championship teams as a senior. She was named captain of the GSSA All-State Rifle team in both 2007 and 2008.

A pair of Union Grove High School shooters join Klein, Duncan and Dunn. Tiffani Potter and Juli Yoder enter their first collegiate seasons after helping lead UGHS to consecutive GHSA state championships in 2008 and 2009. Potter served as team captain and was awarded the CMP Distinguished Shooter Award in 2008, as well as earning All-State honors. Yoder was a four-year shooter at UGHS and a part of those two state championship teams. She was also a member of the JROTC national championship teams in 2008 and 2009. She was Eastern Regional individual champion in 2008.

Jonathan Hall shot for Jacksonville State in 2007-08 before transferring. He is a native of Carrollton and had outstanding seasons in two years of shooting for JSU, earning NRA First Team All-American honors in 2007 and Second Team honors in 2008. Hall has also participated in the Junior Olympics and national competitions with multiple medal placements. Huckaby, who will red-shirt this season at CSU this season, was a First-Team All Ohio Valley Conference performer at JSU in Air Rifle last season, as well as a Small Bore Second Team honoree. He joined Hall as a First Team NRA All-American in 2007 in Air Rifle and was OVC Freshman of the Year in 2007. He shot for four seasons at Spalding High in his hometown of Griffin.

The Cougar shooters will compete at the Division I level (Rifle is not offered as a Division II sport) and will compete in Air Rifle and Small Bore. The first match will be September 12 at fellow Peach Belt school North Georgia in Dahlonega. CSU will host matches at AMU on October 16-18 (Cougar Invitational), October 21 (Thanksgiving Classic), and January 16-17 (CSU Open).

Across town at Bull Creek, Brian Padgett moves from his role as assistant men's golf coach and sports information director into the shoes of head women's golf coach. He starts a program from scratch. He, like Greene with the rifle team, will have a very youthful roster - for the most part - as the inaugural season commences on September 7-8 at the Battle of the Bayonet, hosted by UNC Pembroke, in Raeford, NC.

The first-ever team at CSU will be made up of five freshmen and two local walk-on players. One of those walk-ons, Leslie Hatcher, presents a great story as she is returning to college after earning a degree at the University of Georgia years ago. She will be a built-in "team mom" for Padgett as she brings wisdom and maturity to the squad - along with serious golf talent. The other walk-on, Alex Espana, has worked at the Country Club of Columbus in the pro shop there, and also strikes the ball well.

Headlining the class of freshmen is Antigua native Kimesha Anthony. Anthony is a little older than the typical freshman and brings a wealth of tournament experience and success to the CSU program. "Kimesha has won just about every amateur event available for women in the Caribbean Islands," said Padgett. She will be the number one player for the Lady Cougar linksters and will set the tone for the rest of the team. She is joined by Georgia natives Heather Altiser (St. Marys) and Samantha Hamilton (Locust Grove). Tennessean Ashley Garrett and Nebraska native Alex Schluter round out the squad.

Altiser prepped at Camden County High and is a solid player with good credentials from both high school and junior golf circles. Hamilton is young by golf experience standards but strikes the ball well and will only get better with a structured practice and preparation regimen. Garrett, from Murfreesboro, TN, is a talented young player with tremendous upside, while Schluter, from Scottsbluff, NE, is a solid ball striker who brings solid experience from high school and junior golf.

"We won't have a long time to get ready before we jump in the water and see if we can swim," said Padgett. "We go to North Carolina on September 7-8 and these ladies will get their first taste of collegiate golf. We will go to Pfeiffer's event in mid-September and then one event in October hosted by Catawba. We will basically spend our fall season in North Carolina."

Padgett also has a solid slate of competition on tap for the spring, highlighted by his squad serving as host of the first-ever Peach Belt Conference Women's Golf Championship at Callaway Gardens on April 12-13.

"We are anxious to get going and see what we have. I think with this group, we will only get better as the year goes along. I am looking forward to seeing what happens," he added.