Braxton Walker

Welcome aboard and welcome back: Willard, Brown boost Post 45 past Post 81

Welcome aboard and welcome back: Willard, Brown boost Post 45 past Post 81

Ethan Willard (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record) RAMSEUR – Ethan Willard arrived to play with Randolph County Post 45 and Carter Brown is back with the American Legion team. That combination proved big for Post 45 in its first intra-county matchup of the season Wednesday night. Willard belted the game’s first pitch for a home run. After a walk to Jake Riddle, Brown smacked a two-run home run. Those were the key hits to go with six innings of pitching from Braxton Walker in a 5-2 victory against Liberty Post 81 at Eastern Randolph. Willard finished his high school career…
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Randleman keeps the faith, overcomes Trinity in state-playoff baseball thriller

Randleman keeps the faith, overcomes Trinity in state-playoff baseball thriller

Randleman’s Jackson Hill heads for the plate to score the winning run in the Tigers’ Class 2A state-playoff victory against Trinity. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record) ASHEBORO — Members of the Randleman baseball team were certain they’d figure out a way to win the third-round round game of the Class 2A state playoffs against Trinity. They just weren't quite sure how. “We always had faith that we were going to win the game,” infielder Tate Andrews said. “That helps us not let the pressure get to us.” The Tigers erased a two-run deficit and then went to the bottom of…
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UCA, E. Randolph, Randleman, Trinity advance in baseball; Cougars, Tigers, Eagles move on in softball

UCA, E. Randolph, Randleman, Trinity advance in baseball; Cougars, Tigers, Eagles move on in softball

Randleman's Jake Riddle made key contributions as the Tigers advanced through two rounds of the baseball state playoffs. (Randolph Record file photo) ASHEBORO — Two-time defending state champion Uwharrie Charter Academy pulled out a 3-2 baseball victory against 12th-seeded East Wilkes in the Class 1-A second round Friday. Brett Smith and Logun Wilkins combined to strike out 10 batters for the fifth-seeded Eagles, who travel to fourth-seeded North Stokes in the third round. UCA opened the playoffs with a 14-2 stomping of No. 28 seed Bessemer City. DJ Brandon, who drove in two runs, and Brody Eagle both supplied three…
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Randleman slams Trinity, secures another PAC baseball title

Randleman slams Trinity, secures another PAC baseball title

Randleman’s Braxton Walker unloads for a tiebreaking grand slam against Trinity in the Tigers’ PAC-clinching victory. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record) RANDLEMAN — Randleman’s baseball team ended up in a familiar spot by the time the Piedmont Athletic Conference portion of its season was complete. The Tigers are in first place again. “I had no doubt,” pitcher / first baseman Braxton Walker said. “The guys come to practice and we and the team morale is as high as it ever has been.” The clinching victory came with an 8-1 decision against visiting Trinity on Friday night as John Kirkpatrick threw…
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Prep baseball: Area teams collect mixed results during spring break

Prep baseball: Area teams collect mixed results during spring break

Trinity’s Nick Beane dives toward the plate to score a run against Wilmington Christian. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record) There were many winners among Randolph County baseball teams during spring break. Asheboro and Randleman both won twice, while other teams largely struggled. Here’s a look at some of the results: ** In the ZooKeepers Classic at McCrary Park in Asheboro, Wheatmore, Southwestern Randolph and Eastern Randolph all finished with losing marks. Southwestern Randolph went 1-2, winning with an 11-1 whipping of Southern Lee behind three runs batted in apiece from Brady Armfield and Jake Gainey combined with Lane Poole’s pitching…
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Prep Roundup: Cougars halt Randleman’s long baseball hex

Prep Roundup: Cougars halt Randleman’s long baseball hex

Here’s a look at high school sports results from last week: Baseball All area teams split in conference competition during the past week, though Southwestern Randolph and Trinity had notable Piedmont Athletic Conference results early in the week. ** Jonah Campbell handled 6 2/3 innings of the pitching and Brady Armfield homered in Southwestern Randolph’s 5-2 road victory against Randleman, which suffered its first league loss. That marked the first time since at least 2009 that the Cougars defeated Randleman, a string of at least 21 games. Randleman prevailed 11-4 in the rematch on the road behind Braxton Walker’s pitching.…
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Prep roundup: Tigers, Cougars excel in softball; Providence Grove keeps winning in soccer

Prep roundup: Tigers, Cougars excel in softball; Providence Grove keeps winning in soccer

Here are some highlights from last week’s spring sports competitions: Softball Kaylee Phillips homered and doubled when host Randleman defeated Eastern Randolph 6-1. Kinzie Ivey pitched six innings and Addyson Dees finished in the circle in Randleman’s 4-3 home victory vs. Montgomery Central. Dees had a double and triple in the Tigers’ 6-3 victory at Wheatmore. ** Southwestern Randolph’s Kami Dunn drove in three runs in a 16-1 victory against visiting Trinity. Macie Crutchfield fired a five-hitter as Southwestern Randolph defeated North Davidson 2-1 at home. Then came Crutchfield’s 12-strikeout effort in the Cougars’ 8-0 victory at Providence Grove. **…
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Braxton Walker

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Braxton Walker

Randleman, wrestling / baseball Walker dominated in four matches in the Class 2A state tournament at 215 pounds, winning the championship last week at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro. Walker, a senior, used three technical falls and a major decision in securing the title. He defeated Seaforth’s Ethan Kuball 14-2 in the final, completing the season with a 40-3 record. Walker had placed fourth last year in the 190-pound class. He racked up 89 victories across a two-season period. Later in the week, he went to the mound for the Randleman baseball team and delivered 13 strikeouts against host Northwest…
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Photo gallery of Randolph County’s nine wrestling champions

Photo gallery of Randolph County’s nine wrestling champions

Trinity fans gathered at the state finals at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, where five wrestlers from the school reached individual state finals. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record) GREENSBORO — There were nine individual wrestling state champions from schools in Randolph County schools during the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s state tournament, which ended Monday at First Horizon Coliseum. Those titlists represented five different schools — Eastern Randolph and Uwharrie Charter Academy in Class 1A and Randleman, Trinity and Wheatmore in Class 2A. Here’s a look at some of the scenes from the championship round:  
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Titles at nearly every turn in Class 2A for Randolph County wrestlers

Titles at nearly every turn in Class 2A for Randolph County wrestlers

Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners leaps into the arms of coach Kyle Spencer after winning the 126-pound state championship in Class 2A. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record) GREENSBORO — Trinity and Wheatmore shared some of the glory in the Class 2A division of the wrestling state tournament. There was plenty to go around. Randleman’s Braxton Walker joined in the fun as part of Randolph County’s huge presence in the classification during Monday's finals. Trinity’s Aiden Burkholder (106 pounds) and Lawson Coltrane (165) won championships along with Wheatmore’s Ayden Sumners (126) and Dominic Hittepole (175). So of the 14 weight classes in Class…
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