Asheboro’s Arianna Lovingood-Smith’s makes an attempt in the high jump during the Class 3-A state championships last month at North Carolina A&T. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
There was plenty to digest for spring prep sports involving Randolph County teams in addition to Wheatmore’s girls’ soccer team and Randleman’s baseball team winning Class 2-A state championships.
Those accomplishments were certainly among the highlights, but other developments deserve certain attention as well.
Blue Comets jump ahead
Asheboro’s girls’ track and field team won the program’s first conference championship by capturing the Mid-Piedmont Conference title.
“We’ve had some good talent come through, but not spread out enough,” said coach Blake Brewer. “We never had a team this well-rounded.”
The Blue Comets churned out this championship in the Class 3-A league with only 17 participants.
Brewer said the elite runners and jumpers on the team were able to gobble up enough points to make up for shortcomings in some other areas.
That was led by senior Arianna Lovingood-Smith, who was named the Most Valuable Performer in field events in the league. She’ll take her talents to college at Charlotte, where she’s expected to be a member of the cheerleading squad.
Back for more
Multi-sport athletes are aplenty within the county, but a few of those turned in accomplishments that might have been a bit under the radar this spring because of their achievements in other sports in previous seasons.
Let’s take a look:
• Dominic Payne of Trinity is on the all-PAC teams for boys’ tennis and track and field this spring. That adds to his place on the all-conference teams in football and basketball earlier in the school year.
• Randleman’s Kylie Vaughan also doubled up with all-conference honors this spring, landing on the All-PAC lists for girls’ soccer and track and field.
• Providence Grove senior Zane Caudle placed fifth in the PAC Tournament for boys’ golf. He was the Player of the Year for boys’ basketball in the conference.
• Trinity’s David Makupson was the PAC champion in the 400 meters barely two months after becoming the Class 2-A state champion at 138 pounds in wrestling.
• Southwestern Randolph football and baseball standout Adam Cole made a venture to the track for late-season competitions and ended up the PAC and Midwest Region champion in the boys’ 100 meters.
• Asheboro golfer Salem Lee, who was fifth in the state last fall in Class 3-A, was the lone Blue Comet on the Mid-Piedmont Conference all-conference team for softball.
• Trinity’s Autumn Gentry, a junior who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in her career for girls’ basketball, was an All-PAC selection in girls’ soccer.
• Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Jazmin Palma, who was a state runner-up in girls’ wrestling at 113 pounds, was picked to the All-PAC team for girls’ soccer. This came after last fall’s selection as Runner of the Year for PAC girls’ cross country.
• Providence Grove’s Luke Thomas (baseball) and Chase Whitaker (boys’ tennis) were on All-PAC teams this spring after they were the major award winners in football as the PAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. They were both on the PAC regular-season champion boys’ basketball team, with Whitaker an all-league pick.
• Eastern Randolph’s Brecken Snotherly placed third in the 1,600 meters and seventh in the 3,000 in the Class 1-A state meet. She was the school’s lone representative on the All-PAC girls’ basketball team.
• Southwestern Randolph’s Josie Allred placed second in the high jump in Class 2-A track and field after being an all-league pick for the Cougars’ Class 2-A state champion volleyball team in the fall.
• Randleman’s Chris Gentry was a state qualifier in boys’ track and field after landing on the All-PAC team for football.
