Randleman

Randleman girls will seek more after deep run

Randleman girls will seek more after deep run

Randleman’s Audra Petty shoots a 3-pointer against Shelby during the Class 1-A West Regional semifinals March 1 at Randleman. RANDLEMAN – Another deep run into the state playoffs for the Randleman girls’ basketball team might just be incentive to take it another round or two next time. “We’ll be back,” coach Brandon Varner said. “We’re close. We’ve just got to keep getting after it, building toward next year. We’ll be back.” The Tigers finished the season with a 25-1 record, with the only loss coming in the Class 2-A regional semifinals. When defending state champion Shelby knocked off host Randleman…
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Prep basketball: Season comes with highlights for area teams

Prep basketball: Season comes with highlights for area teams

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Alijah Barker shoots the ball against Albemarle’s Walker Wilkins in the first round of the Class 1-A state playoffs Feb. 22 at Uwharrie Charter Academy in Asheboro. Basketball season came to a close for Randolph County boys’ teams in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association by the end of the second round last week. On the girls’ side, only Randleman and Uwharrie Charter Academy made it to the weekend’s third round. Randleman’s season was still going this week. Here are a few notables as the postseason unfolded: Patriots tripped by familiar foe Providence Grove’s boys’ season-ending…
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SWR pulls upset; UCA, Trinity also advance in boys’ basketball state playoffs

SWR pulls upset; UCA, Trinity also advance in boys’ basketball state playoffs

ASHEBORO — Southwestern Randolph knocked off Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champion Providence Grove on the opening night of the state playoffs in boys' basketball Tuesday night. Uwharrie Charter Academy and Trinity will continue their boys' seasons. Asheboro, Randleman and Eastern Randolph bowed out along with Providence Grove. In Class 2-A, Southwestern Randolph, which holds the No. 25 seed in the West Region, won 61-58 a rare in-county road playoff game against No. 8 seed Providence Grove. No. 12 seed Trinity beat the No. 21 seed Lexington 55-46. No. 30 seed Randleman traveled to Shelby, losing 52-47. In Class 3-A, No.…
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UCA, Randleman, SWR, Wheatmore advance in girls’ basketball playoffs

UCA, Randleman, SWR, Wheatmore advance in girls’ basketball playoffs

ASHEBORO — Four Randolph County girls' basketball teams advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with wins Tuesday night, while two others saw their seasons end. Uwharrie Charter Academy, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph and Wheatmore cruised in their first-round playoff games. UCA, a No. 3 seed in Class 1-A in the West Region, topped No. 30 seed Bradford Prep 54-38. Also in Class 1-A, Eastern Randolph fell short in a 65-62 loss to Cherokee. Randleman, the top seed in the Class 2-A, dominated No. 32 seed Shelby Burns with a 64-17 victory. No. 11 seed Southwestern Randolph was a…
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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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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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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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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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Hall, Gentry reach big point totals

Hall, Gentry reach big point totals

The 1,000-point milestone is in the works for a couple of area girls’ basketball players. Gracyn Hall of Randleman reached that mark with a couple of strong games last week. Autumn Gentry of Trinity entered this week within range of 1,000. The Bulldogs are slated for a game Friday at Uwharrie Charter Academy and a make-up game Saturday at Southwestern Randolph. Hall and Gentry are juniors, so there could be plenty of time for their point totals to swell. Hall racked up 21 points and 13 rebounds in last week’s 51-34 victory at Trinity. The next night she eclipsed 1,000…
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