Sports

PAC Boys: UCA emerges with league title

PAC Boys: UCA emerges with league title

Ashton Troutman of UCA lets out a big yell prior to the buzzer going off in a victory against top-seeded Providence Grove. RANDLEMAN – Uwharrie Charter Academy put together a solid boys’ basketball campaign in the Piedmont Athletic Conference, and the Eagles might have saved their best for late in the season. They capped this part of the surge by winning the PAC Tournament with Friday night’s 66-52 toppling of regular-season champion Providence Grove. Coach Brad Monroe’s team won three of its last four regular-season games before last week’s three-game sweep in the conference tournament while holding the No. 3…
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PAC Girls: Tigers girls keep title wave going

PAC Girls: Tigers girls keep title wave going

Randleman’s Gracyn Hall shoots the ball against Uwharrie Charter Academy during the PAC Tournament girls’ championship game Friday night at Randleman. RANDLEMAN – Randleman’s girls’ basketball team made it through Piedmont Athletic Conference play unscathed, capped by the league tournament championship. The Tigers headed off to the state playoffs with a 22-0 record. Last week turned out to be rewarding for Randleman, which won twice on its homecourt in the tournament to back up its regular-season championship. “The bull’s-eye has been on our back all year,” Randleman coach Brandon Varner said. “The pressure has been building.” First there was a…
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Asheboro’s Santos finds wrestling niche, wins regional

Asheboro’s Santos finds wrestling niche, wins regional

GIBSONVILLE – Xavier Santos was relatively late to find wrestling as a preferred sport. But he’s finding it to be a good time. The Asheboro junior secured a regional championship at 113 pounds Saturday, and he’ll lead a contingent of Blue Comets to the Class 3-A state tournament. Santos won all three bouts in the two-day Midwest Regional at Eastern Guilford. The last of those was a pin in 1:12 of the regional final against Oak Grove’s John Courson. The Blue Comets will send five wrestlers to states this week at the Greensboro Coliseum, with twin brothers Luke Lambeth (160…
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Tears flow at Senior Night ceremony

Emotions flowed in a special manner on Senior Night at Providence Grove. Thursday night’s ceremony between the girls’ and boys’ basketball games against Wheatmore included recognition of senior basketball players and cheerleaders. Cheerleading and boys’ basketball seniors were honored before the girls’ basketball seniors. The final of those recognitions drew a tearful standing ovation. That’s when the parents of the late Lily Butler came onto the court. Butler, who had been a member of the girls’ program, died in July at age 17. She also had been on the cross country team. Her parents, Chip and Carol Butler, received numerous…
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Asheboro triple jumper takes third at state meet

Senior Arianna Lovingood-Smith of Asheboro claimed third place in the Class 3-A girls’ triple jump in the indoor track and field state championships Saturday at the JDL Fast Track Indoor Facility in Winston-Salem. Lovingood-Smith had a mark of 34 feet, 10 inches. Cramer’s Alexis Willis won the event with an effort of 37-10, while Lovingwood-Smith was just 2 inches off the mark from runner-up Gisele Dulnuan-Kersey of Franklinton. On Friday in Class 1-A/2-A, Randleman had two solid finishes in the girls’ shot put. Iniyah Mitchell was fifth in 31-5¾ and Kyle Vaughn placed seventh at 30-1. In the boys’ 55-meter…
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UCA rolls in Class 1-A wrestling with seven regional champs

UCA rolls in Class 1-A wrestling with seven regional champs

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s wrestling team gathers for a photo after finishing as the runner-up in the Class 1-A dual team state playoffs, falling to Avery County on Feb. 5. A week later, the Eagles were overwhelming champions in a Class 1-A regional. Seven wrestlers from Uwharrie Charter Academy won individual championships in the Class 1-A regional, which was held Friday and Saturday at Rosewood. The Eagles soared to the regional championship and built all sorts of momentum heading to the state tournament. Thirteen of the team’s wrestlers will head to states. UCA’s champions were freshman Brandon Jordan at 113 pounds,…
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PAC finals to be played at Randleman

PAC finals to be played at Randleman

Elizabeth York of undefeated Randleman goes up for a shot during a Piedmont Athletic Conference girls’ basketball game. RANDLEMAN – Randleman will be the site for Friday night’s finals in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournaments for boys’ and girls’ basketball. As the regular-season champion on the girls’ side, Randleman was designated as the host school for the finals. Quarterfinals were held Monday night, with semifinals set for Wednesday at the site of the higher-seeded teams. Undefeated Randleman is the favorite in the girls’ bracket. After a bye, the Tigers were set for a semifinal encounter with fourth-seeded Wheatmore, which eliminated…
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Spencer Hall

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Spencer Hall

Spencer Hall  |  Wheatmore, boys’ swimming Hall capped his high school swimming career that included a spot in the state meet in all four seasons. The senior’s last visit to Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary resulted in last week’s third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in Class 1-A/2-A. He posted a time of 53.51 seconds in the final. Also in the meet, Hall posted a time of 22.11 seconds for a fifth-place spot in the 50 freestyle. He has signed to compete in college for Milligan.
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Providence Grove boys grow into championship unit

Providence Grove boys grow into championship unit

Zander Cheek of Providence Grove goes to the basket during a PAC game earlier this month at Trinity. CLIMAX – As the season approached, Providence Grove boys’ basketball coach Wes Luther wasn’t sure if his team was of championship caliber. “On Nov. 1, we would have been happy with a top-three finish,” Luther said of the Piedmont Athletic Conference. The Patriots sure were happy Thursday night, but it was because of an historic reason. They’re conference champions. It’s the school’s first outright league title in boys’ basketball, secured with a 63-49 victory against visiting Wheatmore. “It’s such a great feeling…
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Seniors feted for sportsmanship

Seniors feted for sportsmanship

SOPHIA – Area high school athletes were recognized for sportsmanship during the Randolph Sports Council’s winter banquet last week at Snyder Farms Restaurant. Two senior athletes each from seven schools were recipients of the sportsmanship awards. They were: Payton Knott and Tyler Malpass of Asheboro. Fallon Cain and Elias Alston of Eastern Randolph. Alyssa Beasley and Brooks Freeman from Providence Grove. Hannah Hinshaw and Christopher Gentry of Randleman. Payton Shiflet and Keaton Reed of Southwestern Randolph. Kaylee McDonald and Aidan Blakeley of Trinity. Kara Comer and Ben Walker of Wheatmore. Each of the schools selects one male and one female…
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