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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ashara Spruill

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Ashara Spruill

Ashara Spruill  |  Uwharrie Charter Academy, girls’ basketball Spruill had a couple of strong outings as the Eagles stayed in the mix to finish in the upper half of the Piedmont Athletic Conference. She posted 19 points, on 8-for-10 shooting from the field, and eight rebounds in a 64-49 road loss to undefeated Randleman in the team’s first game of the week. That marked the third-closest game of the season in conference play for Randleman. UCA led 20-13 after the first quarter before the Tigers cranked out a 23-8 edge in the second quarter. Then the junior tallied 26 points…
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Trinity tops PG as Gentry tops 1,000 points for career

Trinity tops PG as Gentry tops 1,000 points for career

TRINITY — Another local player has reached the 1,000-point milestone in girls' basketball. Trinity's Autumn Gentry accomplished the career feat in a 47-40 victory against Providence Grove Patriots on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs and Patriots played a close first half with the Bulldogs holding a two-point edge at the half. The Patriots battled back with a strong third quarter giving Providence Grove a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Gentry, a junior, and her teammates dominated the fourth quarter, holding the Patriots to six points to punctuate Gentry's milestone night. Gracyn Hall of Randleman reached 1,000-point mark with a couple…
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UCA advances to state wrestling championship

UCA advances to state wrestling championship

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Jair Ulloa works the arm bar against East Davidson’s Bryson Young in the 145-pound match in November. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL ASHEBORO —Randolph County will be represented in the Class 1-A dual team wrestling state championship meet as Uwharrie Charter Academy is the last remaining of the five county teams that qualified for the postseason. UCA (35-0) will face Avery County for the state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Fieldhouse on the Greensboro Coliseum grounds. UCA defeated Pamlico County 45-40 in the regional semifinal before toppling host Rosewood 44-34 in the East Region final Wednesday.…
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Patriots try to keep hold of PAC’s top spot

Patriots try to keep hold of PAC’s top spot

It safe to say that it’s heating up in Piedmont Athletic Conference boys’ basketball. Teams are chasing Providence Grove with a couple of weeks to play, but it’s clear the Patriots might not be in cruise control. “We’re banged up,” Providence Grove coach Wes Luther said. “Who can survive the longest? Hopefully, we’re going to keep grinding it out.” An example of the challenges that exist came with last week’s 55-52 escape at Southwestern Randolph. The Cougars made it difficult for much of the night on the first-place Patriots, who cranked up their defense at opportune times. “They turned up…
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UCA, Trinity open strong in state duals

UCA, Trinity open strong in state duals

Trinity’s Casey Hohn, top, works against West Wilkes’ Holt Hanchey during the first round of the Class 2-A dual team state tournament Monday at Trinity. Wrestling teams from Uwharrie Charter Academy in Class 1-A and Trinity in Class 2-A advanced through the first two rounds of the dual team state tournament. UCA and Trinity were both home teams for the first and second rounds Monday. These teams moved on to third- and potentially fourth-round meets Wednesday. The winning teams from that advance to the state finals. The goal is to make it to Saturday’s championship meets at the Fieldhouse at…
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Asheboro girls make waves at league meet

Asheboro girls make waves at league meet

KERNERSVILLE – Two Asheboro swimmers notched individual championships in the Mid-Piedmont Conference championships last week at Kernersville Family YMCA. Maci Columbia of Asheboro was the winner in two events on the girls’ side. She topped the field in the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 freestyle. Columbia’s time in the 200 freestyle was 2 minutes, 9.73 seconds as she topped a field that began with 17 entrants. She swam the 500 freestyle in a winning time of 5:41.23. There were 11 entrants in that even. Also for Asheboro, Fiona Wolfe-Roberts was the winner in the 100 backstroke among 15 competitors. Wolfe-Roberts…
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Citizens make voices heard against vaccine mandates

Citizens make voices heard against vaccine mandates

PINEHURST — Citizen groups across the globe are protesting vaccine mandates as vaccine effectiveness against new variants of the COVID-19 virus has waned and Americans who are vaccinated are not showing high demand for boosters. On January 23, tens of thousands of people rallied on the National Mall to oppose government vaccine requirements. Mitch Lancaster, a Moore County resident and former Southern Pines councilman, was one of the attendees from across the country to attend the event. “I was thoroughly impressed with the doctors, their speeches and their commitment to the patient/doctor relationship. These men and women have taken a…
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Asheboro ABC Board seeks additional site

Asheboro ABC Board seeks additional site

ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ABC Board is looking to open another location in Asheboro, board general manager Rodney Johnson said. Business has been on the uptick for Asheboro’s only ABC store and keeping enough inventory in stock has been troublesome at times. The best-case scenario would be to secure a second venue in north Asheboro. “We’re trying to do everything we can to help north Asheboro,” Johnson said. Johnson said traffic studies and addresses of building permits have gone into determining where another store should be located. He said it’s clear that’s a part of the city and county that…
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Moore County book controversy heads to school board

Moore County book controversy heads to school board

Alex Gino on September 15, 2016 in front of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Berlin during their participation at the section International Children´s and Young Adult Literature of the 16th International Literature Festival Berlin. (Christoph Rieger | CC BY-SA 4.0) RALEIGH — The controversial book “George” remains on the library shelves in two of Moore County's public schools while a complaint filed over the book heads to the Moore County Public Schools board. The book, written by Alex Gino, has been considered controversial for its transgender storyline of a fourth-grade boy who believes he is a girl named Melissa.…
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Davonte Brooks

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Davonte Brooks

Davonte Brooks  |  Eastern Randolph, boys’ basketball Brooks racked up 25 points as the Wildcats ended a four-game losing streak with Friday’s 68-64 victory at Wheatmore. Brooks, a junior who was coming off a strong football season, has boosted the Wildcats on the basketball court. Eastern Randolph nearly ended its skid earlier last week, but it dropped a 50-46 overtime decision at home to Randleman. Eastern Randolph began the season with five straight wins before some rough patches. The Wildcats entered this week with an 8-9 overall record and 2-6 mark in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
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