Cambridge’s Overlooked State Champions

Two years ago, Cambridge wrestlers were crowned the school’s first state champions, but they really weren’t the first.

In 2013, a different group of Cambridge athletes won a different state championship.

Cambridge and Milton hockey players united that year to win the Georgia Student Hockey League (GHSL) state championship in the A league.

Divided, they couldn’t form their own teams because they didn’t have enough players. But together, they won a state championship.

Senior and forward Adam Waggoner said the team simply spawned out of necessity; the schools were near each other, and the players wanted a team — so they banded together.

When choosing a name, the players decided to fuse the Cambridge “Bears” and the Milton “Eagles.”

“We call ourselves the Beagles,” said senior defenseman player Blake Dwane.

Waggoner, (A 10 player of the sport), said the team is comprised mostly of athletes who have played hockey on private teams for many years.

The GSHL’s policies differ from the Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA), the organization that regulates high school sports in the state. These different policies allowed Waggoner to play in eighth grade, the year the team won the state championship.

Students are generally unaware of the team’s existence and ignorant of its success. 

“We have a hockey team?” said senior Caroline Ferrero.

This can perhaps be best explained by its status as a club team, which means it is not a member of GHSA.

“I didn’t know we had a hockey team,” said senior Lauren Campbell.

The team today still exists as a combination of Milton and Cambridge hockey players. Dwane explained that Milton lacks the players to warrant its own team; thus, they play with Cambridge athletes.  

The club team is currently in the preseason and is undefeated. The athletes were state runner-ups in 2014 and placed third in the 2016 season.

The team, though not GHSA regulated, travels around the state of Georgia regularly.

Both Waggoner and Dwane explained that the team has high prospects this year.

The next game, which is against Forsyth, is scheduled for Thursday at The Ice Hockey Arena, located at 1345 Atlanta Highway in Cumming.

“It would be cool to have some fans at games,” Waggoner said in a text message.