Sports - Randolph Record

16 Apr

Rookie captures second of twin features at Caraway Speedway

Randolph RecordSportsBryson Pickard, Caraway speedway, Stock car racing

Bryson Pickard claimed the top prize in one of the Challengers features Saturday night. (Courtesy photo) SOPHIA – Rookie driver Bryson Pickard won the second of two Challengers features Saturday night at Caraway Speedway. After finishing sixth in the first race, Pickard began on the pole for the second of the 30-lap events. Pickard and Gary Ledbetter took turns in the lead before Pickard drove from the front across the final 20 laps. Daniel Schadt, the fast qualifier earlier in the day, placed third, followed by Easton Brewer and points leader Brody Duggins. Duggins was the winner of the first…

15 Apr

Wheatmore Warriors make most of 14-inning experience

Bob SuttonSportsAyden Byrd, Payton Mooney, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Southwestern Randolph Cougars, Trey Byrd, Wheatmore Warriors

Wheatmore coach Trey Byrd watches a game earlier this month. (PJ Ward Brown/Randolph Record) Games on consecutive nights test endurance TRINITY – Wheatmore catcher Payton Mooney didn’t let the drain of spending 14 innings behind the plate in a baseball game last week get to him. “During the game, with adrenaline going, I felt fine,” Mooney said. “Fourteen innings is a long time.” The Warriors won that game at Southwestern Randolph, then the next night had a rematch at home. Fortunately for Wheatmore, the second game lasted just six innings, but that still meant 20 innings in catching gear across…

14 Apr

Prep Roundup: Southwestern Randolph, UCA keep torrid softball paces; Wheatmore girls roll in soccer

Randolph RecordSportsAlyssa Harris, Ellie Garrison, Kinzie Ivey, Macie Crutchfield, Macy Allred, Mollie Bulla, prep soccer, Prep softball, Southwestern Randolph Cougars, Uwharrie Charter Academy athletics, Wheatmore athletics

Asheboro’s Chloe Chanmaly looks to make a move on Oak Grove’s Kyrstin Varmer during last week’s girls’ soccer game. Oak Grove claimed a 1-0 home victory. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) Southwestern Randolph’s softball team remained unbeaten in the Piedmont Athletic Conference by winning two league games to go with a non-conference triumph last week. The Cougars completed the week with a 9-0 beating of host Randleman, highlighted by Alyssa Harris’ grand slam. Winning pitcher Macie Crutchfield struck out 11 batters and added to the offense with two runs batted in. Madelyn Smith scored three runs. Southwestern Randolph’s 7-3 triumph at Providence…

13 Apr

Prep Baseball: Randleman racks up another PAC title; UCA takes down Eastern Randolph twice

Randolph RecordSportsJake Riddle, piedmont athletic conference, Prep baseball, Randleman baseball, Seth Way

RANDLEMAN – Randleman wrapped up another Piedmont Athletic Conference baseball championship by defeating visiting Providence Grove 8-1 on Friday night. The Tigers improved to 10-0 in league play. Randleman will be the top seed for the PAC Tournament in a couple of weeks, a spot clinched because the Tigers beat Wheatmore twice. Only Wheatmore can pull even with the Tigers, but that would require the Warriors winning their four remaining league games and Randleman losing twice to a sub-.500 Trinity team. Randleman has lost just two conference games in a four-season span. Jake Riddle struck out…

11 Apr

Eastern Randolph coach Burton Cates to be enshrined in hometown

Bob SuttonSportsBurton Cates, Eastern Randolph athletics, Graham, Hall of Fame, prep football

Another honor is coming for Eastern Randolph football coach Burton Cates. (Randolph Record file photo) GRAHAM – Eastern Randolph’s Burton Cates, the winningest active high school football coach in North Carolina, is receiving hometown recognition. He’ll be inducted into the Graham Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night. “Being from Graham all my life, it’s very special recognition,” Cates said. “What I’ve accomplished isn’t about me by any stretch. It’s about the people around me.” Cates, 71, has more than 360 career coaching victories. Eastern Randolph won the Class 3-AA title in 2006. Even when Cates left the Wildcats for…

10 Apr

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Walker Wilkins

Randolph RecordSportsathlete of the week

Uwharrie Charter Academy, baseball Wilkins provided a bunch of offense during the Asheboro ZooKeepers Classic as the Eagles won all three games in which they played. UCA won games by 12-1 vs. Southern Alamance, by 15-3 vs. Jordan-Matthews and by 9-0 vs. Montgomery Central. In those three games, Wilkins batted .500 (7-for-14) with four triples, 10 runs batted in and seven rusn scored. Wilkins, a senior outfielder, had a triple with three runs batted in against Southern Alamance and rapped four hits, including two triples, in the Jordan-Matthews game. The Eagles carried their second three-game winning streak of the into…

09 Apr

College baseball: In-state teams rate high halfway through season

Randolph RecordSports

College baseball teams in North Carolina remain prominent in the national rankings as the season’s regular-season midway point has passed. Duke pulled off an Atlantic Coast Conference sweep of visiting Miami to move to No. 7, according to this week’s rankings from D1 Baseball. That’s the first time the Blue Devils have ever swept Miami, winning 11-10 on Wallace Clark’s 11th-inning single Sunday at Combs Field in Durham to complete a comeback from a 7-1, eighth-inning deficit. Duke won the second game of the series by 5-4. Ben Miller’s ninth-inning, run-scoring single gave the Blue Devils a 4-3 victory to…

08 Apr

Prep baseball: UCA blasts three foes in Asheboro event; Randleman adds to win total during spring break

Randolph RecordSportsAsheboro Zookeepers, Jake Hunter, McCrary Park, Parker Kines, Prep baseball, Randleman Tigers, Seth Way, UCA Eagles, Walker Wilkins, Wheatmore Warriors

Southwestern Randolph’s Grant Kirk slides into the plate to score a run against Westchester Country Day School last week at McCrary Park in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO – Uwharrie Charter Academy’s baseball team won three times in the Asheboro ZooKeepers Classic last week at McCrary Park. The Eagles socked Southern Alamance 12-1, trounced Jordan-Matthews 15-5 and topped Montgomery Central 9-0. Wheatmore had a winning record in the classic, while Southwestern Randolph and Asheboro both finished with 1-2 records in the multi-day competition. UCA’s Jake Hunter pitched in the first game of the event. Walker Wilkins had four hits, including…

05 Apr

College league to bring baseball finals to Asheboro

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro, College baseball, McCrary Park, South Atlantic Conference

ASHEBORO – The South Atlantic Conference is moving its baseball tournament’s championship series to Asheboro’s McCrary Park next month. The NCAA Division II league was in a pinch to find a new venue and chose Asheboro, with the Asheboro ZooKeepers acting as hosts. “We reached out to them,” SAC commissioner Patrick Britz said. “We were able to work something out. … We’re only a month out. We had to move pretty quickly.” The best-of-3 finals are set for May 10 and 11 (and May 12, if necessary). The SAC Tournament finals had been held in recent years at Smokies Stadium…

04 Apr

Son finishes ahead of father at Caraway

Randolph RecordSportsCaraway speedway, Dean Ward, Dylan Ward, Jimmy Crigger, Stock car racing

SOPHIA – Dylan Ward claimed the 60-lap race in Late Models, one spot ahead of his father, Dean Ward, on Saturday night at Caraway Speedway. Dylan Ward borrowed a care from his brother Trevor Ward, so it was a full family affair. Dylan Ward took the lead by passing fast qualifier Jamie York early in the race and led the rest of the way. Camden Thomas placed third and Colby Fogleman was fourth. York had engine trouble and didn’t finish. ** In Modifieds, it was a dad who drove ahead of his son. That was Dean Lowder winning the race,…