Kings Of The Diamond Best Queen’s Grant 11-1

Rylan Venable, pictured, and Ashton Gwyn combined to throw 10 strikeouts in Tuesday’s playoff win over Queen’s Grant.

Granite Bear Cash Hemric loses his helmet as he speeds across home plate.

Kamden Hawks brings in Mount Airy’s first of 11 runs against Queen’s Grant.

Mount Airy’s Reece Deaton dives headfirst into third base.

Mount Airy pitcher Ashton Gwyn throws his first of three consecutive strikeouts in the top of the fifth inning.

Mount Airy’s Logan Dowell beats a throw from the Queen’s Grant catcher to successfully steal second base.

When asked about his expectations for his senior season, Mount Airy senior Reece McDuffie said the following at his college signing in November 2021:

“I don’t know the last time we had a home playoff game, so that’s a huge goal. I think it’s very possible with the team we have.”

McDuffie’s words came to fruition nearly six months later as Mount Airy hosted Queen’s Grant High School on May 10. The Granite Bears put on a show against the Stallions, winning 11-1 in five innings to advance to the second round of the 1A State Playoffs.

Mount Airy’s most recent home playoff game – prior to Tuesday – was nearly a decade ago on May 14, 2013. The 2013 Bears dropped that game 4-2 to visiting Albemarle.

The 2022 Granite Bears kept their historic season alive by shutting the Stallions down. After scoring one run on two hits in the top of the first inning, Mount Airy held Queen’s Grant (9-8) to one hit for the remainder of the game.

Rylan Venable and Ashton Gwyn split time on the mound for the Bears (18-8). The duo allowed just three hits, walked one player and struck out 10 batters.

Mount Airy finished with 12 total hits, including a team-high four hits from Logan Dowell. Venable and Reece Deaton each had two hits, while Kamden Hawks, Cameryn Wilson, Landon Cox and Brison George each had one.

Hawks and George each hit doubles, and Venable had a 2-run home run.

Ian Gallimore scored Mount Airy’s first run in the bottom of the first inning. The sophomore was walked, moved to third on a Dowell single then scored on a ground out hit by Hawks.

Wilson and John Penn added runs No. 2 and No. 3 in the next inning. Wilson led the inning with a single, and Penn was walked. An error on a George hit brought Wilson in, then Penn scored on a hit from Venable.

Dowell crossed the plate for run No. 4 in the bottom of the third thanks a bomb hit to the center field fence by Hawks.

After slowly building a lead through three innings, Mount Airy exploded for six runs in the fourth. George, who was the first of 12 batters for the Bears in the inning, led with a double, then Venable smashed a homer to increase Mount Airy’s lead to 6-1.

Gallimore was walked to prompt a pitching change for the visitors. The substitution didn’t pay off, though, as Gallimore stole second then scored on a Dowell single.

Dowell advanced to third on a wild pitch, then Hawks was walked to put runners on the corners. Cash Hemric, running for Hawks, took a lead off of first and Queen’s Grant attempted to pick him off. An errant throw sent Hemric to second and scored Dowell to increase the lead again to 8-1.

Deaton scored Hemric with an RBI single, then Deaton scored on a hit from Landon Cox to make it 10-1.

The Stallions last chance to put runs up ended after three batters after Gwyn struck out three-in-a-row in the top of the fifth. Dowell had his fourth single in the bottom of the inning and stole his way around the bases before scoring on a Deaton hit.

No. 8 Mount Airy advances to the Round of 32 and will host No. 9 Bethany on May 13. Bethany (18-9) finished second in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference and defeated No. 24 Mitchell 8-3 in the opening round.

Queen’s Grant – 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, X, X = 1

Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports

East Surry Golf wins 2A State Championship

Mother Nature could not stop Budbreak

Mount Airy High School senior Sydney Seagraves officially signed her NCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue her academic and softball careers at Concord University.

“I’m really excited,” Seagraves said. “Up until a couple months ago I didn’t want to play in college, but I loved Concord and how it felt. It made me want to play softball again.

“I like how small the college is and how you get one-on-one with the professors, and also the coaches. The coaches know what they’re doing; they’re not super old, but not super young. It’s perfect because they can relate to you and help you.”

Seagraves’ ability to play collegiate softball was never a doubt for Mack Hodges, who coached her all four years of high school.

“To see her growth as a pitcher, a leader and a hitter has been fun to watch,” Hodges said. “She’s a natural leader on the softball field. She’s our best player and she’s willing to work as hard as anybody; that’s what you ask of your best players. She’s played third, first, pitched and she’d catch if we wanted her to. She would play anywhere that we needed her to play. She’s been a big part of what we do.”

Sydney began her journey in the sport with tee-ball before joining a 10U softball team at age 8. She initially started as a second baseman, but tried pitcher when her coached needed someone to step in.

“Ever since then I’ve been a pitcher,” she said.

She moved into the ranks of travel ball later and competed for such teams as the Drillers and Firecrackers. When Seagraves and her fellow class of 2022 members reached middle school, they quickly made history.

“The middle school hadn’t won a game in years, then my seventh grade year we finally won one,” Seagraves said. “It was the same with high school.”

The class of 2022 knew it had an uphill battle when they reached high school in the fall of 2018 since Mount Airy did not field a varsity softball team the previous spring. However, Seagraves said she knew there were a few good prospects that were coming with her from the middle school that wanted to help establish a program.

“We’ve struggled with numbers over the years for sure, but that senior group has been big,” Hodges said. “They’ve been around for four years, and they’ve battled through the fact that we’ve had to struggle with numbers and had to play with a lot of inexperienced players year after year. But, it never affected how they played and how hard they worked.”

The Lady Bears went winless in 2019, but only had two upperclassmen on the team and returned nearly everyone. The next season, Mount Airy picked up its first win in close to three years.

“Sydney’s sophomore year, the COVID year, we had a team that could’ve been a decent little group,” Hodges said. “We went and played at East Wilkes, and they’re always a pretty good team; Derrick [Hill] always does a great job. We go down there and beat them 1-0, and Sydney has a really good game pitching. That’s when I realized how special of a player she was and really started to see her growth.

“I remember she came off the field so excited and was like, “wait, we won?”

Unfortunately for the Bears, the season would be postponed less than 48 hours after the win before eventually being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2021 Granite Bears won their first three games for the program’s best start in more than a decade. Mount Airy was in a tough situation though as the regular season was shortened to a maximum of 14 games. The Bears were originally only supposed to play conference games, but only four of the six schools in the conference fielded softball teams.

“After last year, she kind of had some doubts about the future,” Hodges said. “I didn’t put any pressure on her. The biggest thing I told her was to keep her mind open and don’t shut the door completely, and just let her come back to it naturally. I think as she got closer to the time she realized how much she would miss it.

“She’s had a lot of big games for us this year, and has helped give us opportunities to win.”

Returning for her senior season helped open the door for Seagraves to find her college of choice, of which she is extremely grateful.

“I want to thank all my coaches and just everybody who’s helped me get to where I am, especially my mom and my dad,” Seagraves said.

Surry Central High School is hosting the Eagles Nest Basketball Camp June 6-9.

The camp is open to boys and girls that are rising third through ninth graders.

Daily camp is from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. with the gym open at 8 a.m. each day. Cost is $110 and includes a t-shirt if registered after May 31. The early bird rate for the camp is $100 if registered by May 31.

Each day campers will take part in skill stations, instruction from coaches, individual competitions – such as Knockout, Hot Shot, 1-on-1-on-1 and free throw shooting) and daily league games.

The camp is sponsored by the Surry Central Basketball Programs. Counselors include: coach Marty Behrens and varsity boys coaching staff, coach Mandy Holt and the varsity girls coaching staff, coaches from Central Middle School and players from the Golden Eagle basketball teams.

Gatorade, water and concessions will be available all week, and pizza will be available to order each morning at $2.50 a slice.

Championship games and an awards ceremony will be held Thursday, June 9 around 2 p.m.

Registration forms can be found at bit.ly/3lJQ3ac

If you have questions, email Coach Mandy Holt (holtma@surry.k12.nc.us) or call Surry Central High School at 336-386-8842

RANDLEMAN — East Surry’s baseball season came to an end Friday in a fourth-round playoff game against the defending 2A State Champion, Randleman.

The Cardinals were held to just two hits in their first true playoff road game in six years, while the home Tigers had 10 hits – including a trio of home runs. East couldn’t convert when it chances to put runs on the board, and Randleman made the Cards pay for any mistakes.

Randleman advances to the Regional Championship for the third-straight postseason with a 10-0 win.

“I told the kids that we had to play just about a perfect game to have a chance. We didn’t, and they made us pay,” said East Surry coach Chad Freeman. “You tip your hat because they are the better team. There’s nothing else you can say about it really.”

Friday’s game marked East Surry’s fourth-consecutive appearance in the fourth round of the state playoffs, which is the second-longest active streak in the state among all classifications. The only team with more consecutive fourth-round appearances is Randleman, who competed in its 11th-straight in 2022. Since 2011, the Tigers have won two 2A State Titles and finished 2A State Runner-up three times.

“They’re so good and just relentless,” Freeman said. “One through nine, every single kid that they’ve got in the lineup takes great approaches and they don’t get fooled very often at the plate.”

Luke Brown and Anthony Ayers served as the Cards’ two pitchers against the Tigers (29-1). Brown faced 25 batters in 3.2 innings on the mound, allowing nine runs – including four earned runs – on eight hits, with five strikeouts and three walks. Ayers faced three batters to close the fourth inning and open the fifth, allowing one run on two hits.

“The score won’t show it, but Luke didn’t throw a bad game,” Freeman said, referencing costly fielding errors by the Cardinals that contributed to the five unearned runs. Freeman also mentioned the shallow outfield fence on the lines of Joe Brookshire field.

“With those first two home runs that put them up 4-0…I mean, they hit them well, but if we’re at our field or many other fields it’s at most a 1-0 lead,” Freeman said. [Luke] pitched well, it’s just that playing in this environment, at this field against this team was a different animal. They’re defending state champs for a reason, and they’re going to win states again.”

East Surry (24-2) put runners on base in the first, third and fifth innings. Leadoff Luke Bowman singled to start the game and was sacrificed over to second base, but was left on after a strikeout and a flyout.

In the third inning, Trey Armstrong was hit by a pitch and Folger Boaz rocked a double to move Armstrong to third with no outs. The Tigers met at the mound to regroup and it worked, as pitcher Drake Purvis struck the next three batters out.

Purvis, a sophomore left-handed pitcher committed to N.C. State, finished with nine strikeouts in five innings.

“Gotta give credit to Purvis,” Freeman said. “He buckled down when runners got on base, and we didn’t do what we needed to and execute in good situational approaches. That’s the difference between being in a game and still having a shot, to getting beat 10-0.”

Another Cardinal, Brett Clayton, was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning with one out. Randleman forced a double play to end the inning by catching a fly ball and getting the out at first.

East Surry finishes the year 24-2, and Freeman said the players have a lot to be proud of looking back on the season.

“The feeling right now stinks because you’re coming off of a loss, but I told the guys after the game not to let this game diminish what all we accomplished this season,” Freeman said. “I told them: ‘you bumped up to a new classification even though we’re still 1A size. We went 24-2. We made it to the fourth round against the defending 2A State Champions. It’s been one heck of a year.’

“I’m so thankful for the kids that I’ve got. They’re wonderful young men, competitive players and most importantly they’re good people. That makes it even easier and even better as a coach when you’ve got players that will play hard and love each other. It was a special season with a special group, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

East Surry had to come ready to play night in and night out, Freeman said, and added that was what pushed the team to get even better. He spoke of the “tremendous talent” in and around Surry County, and said it was evident by the close games the Cardinals had against the likes of North Surry, Forbush, Surry Central and West Stokes.

Following Friday’s game, Freeman gave a final salute to the Cardinal seniors: Bowman, Ayers, Armstrong, Peyton Inscore, Tristen Mason and Anthony Ward.

“You look back and these kids were sophomores when COVID hit, and several of them would’ve been part of a big run with that strong group that never got to play their senior season,” he said. “They took us on an amazing journey last year to a state championship appearance and played two tight games in the state finals.

“Then, they took us to a 24-2 season this year with a conference championship, a conference tournament championship and a fourth-round appearance – again, all while we are still pretty dang small and going against some pretty big and very good 2A teams. It’s a great group of kids, and I’m blessed to be their coach.

No. 1 Randleman faces No. 15 Community School of Davidson (17-6) in the West Regional Championship. The winner of the best 2-of-3 series in the West advances to the 2A State Championship Series to face the winner of the East’s No. 4 Whiteville (21-3) and No. 15 North Lenoir (19-8).

Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports

GREENSBORO — Millennium Charter and Mount Airy took part in the 1A State Championship Track and Field Meet on May 21.

The meet, held at N.C. A&T University’s Marcus T. Johnson Track inside Truist Stadium, featured four three individuals and one relay team from local 1A schools. Another local relay team qualified for the state meet, but was unable to compete.

Results are listed below by school.

Team points were accumulated for each school’s top-8 individual finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one point fewer through eighth place.

Millennium’s 4×800-meter relay team was the school’s second-ever state qualifier in outdoor track. One of the relay team members, junior Ava Utt, was the school’s first state qualifier in 2021. She was also the school’s first medalist by taking bronze in high jump last year.

Utt was part of girls 4×800 relay team that also featured Lion sophomore Clara Minix, as well as freshmen River Edge and Ruby Hoerter. The girls finished No. 11 in the race with a time of 12:00.42.

The Granite Bears had four state qualifiers in the boys competition: three individuals and one relay team.

Mount Airy’s 4×100 relay team of Mario Revels, Connor Burrell, Caleb Reid and Tyler Mason qualified by finishing fourth in the 1A West Regional Championship, but wasn’t able to compete at states due to an injury.

The three individual state qualifiers all finished just off the podium in their respective events.

Sophomore Deric Dandy competed in his first state championship meet and took fifth in the discus throw. Dandy’s best mark was 134-04.

Sophomores Blake Hawks and Caden Ratcliff also finished fifth in their respective events. Hawks competed in the triple jump as a freshman and finished No. 6 with a mark of 40-03.25. He improved to 41-02.00 in 2022 to finished fifth.

Ratcliff competed in the 800 meters as both a freshman and a sophomore. He took the No. 15 spot in 2021 with a time of 2:22.70, and improved to No. 5 with a time of 2:05.53 in 2022. The top-5 finishes in this year’s race were separated by less than six seconds.

Mount Airy’s boys were tied for No. 20 as a team with 12 points.

Members of the Surry Homeschool Basketball program are set to compete in North Carolina’s 2022 Home Educators All-Star Game.

Both the Surry Runnin’ Patriots boys and girls teams compete in the North Carolinians for Home Education Athletic Commission (NCHEAC). The NCHEAC East-West All-Star Game is scheduled for May 27 and will take place at Salem Baptist Christian School in Winston-Salem.

Four members of the Runnin’ Patriots will compete in the all-star game: Joshua Bunke will represent the boys team, and the trio of Faith McClary, Lindsay Cooper and Karlie Effler will represent the girls.

The Runnin’ Pats will team with other players from the NCHEAC’s Western Conference, which includes teams from Forsyth, South Guilford, Cabarrus and South Charlotte. The NCHEAC East features teams from Wilmington, North Wake, Rocky Mount/Wilson, South Wake and Wake Forest.

Joshua Bunke was named All-Conference for the third year in a row in 2022. He was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Triad Baptist Christmas Tournament.

For the season, Bunke averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He shot 83% from the free throw line and led the Patriots’ attack with leadership on and off the court.

Josh achieved the 1,000 point milestone last year, and finished his career with 1,905 points.

Faith McClary, an excellent shooter herself, changed roles this year and became primarily a distributor as she repeated on the All-Conference team.

McClary ran the Lady Pats’ offense and worked constantly to get other players involved. She scored 204 points on the year while also dishing out 86 assists.

Faith will continue her basketball career at Bob Jones University in the fall.

In addition to being a repeat All-Conference selection, Lindsay was selected as conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.

Cooper usually drew the toughest defensive assignment and led the team in steals with 111. As good defense often turns into offense, Cooper also scored 314 points, assisted on 101 baskets and had five double-doubles.

Another repeat All-Conference selection, Effler is a versatile and creative scorer that can also get teammates involved.

She finished the year with 465 points and 113 assists. Often drawing the other team’s best defender, Karlie still managed to score consistently as an excellent outside shooter who can also drive to the basket, score in close and draw fouls.

Karlie is a 1,000 point scorer, having achieved this feat during last season.

She is also a lockdown defender who also surpassed 100 steals during the 2022 season.

GREENSBORO — Four local student-athletes won gold medals at the 2A State Championship Track and Field Meet.

East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central competed in the 2A Championship Meet on May 20 hosted at N.C. A&T University’s Marcus T. Johnson Track inside Truist Stadium.

Two of the local state champs hail from East Surry, while North Surry and Surry Central and each had one. The three schools combined to have 12 state qualifiers.

Results are listed below by school.

Team points were accumulated for each school’s top-8 individual finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one point fewer through eighth place.

Senior Clara Willard and sophomore Isaac Vaden swept the 2A Discus Throw Championships.

Willard competed in the 2021 1A Discus Championship and finished No. 11 with a mark of 79-01 feet. She jumped to the top 2A spot in 2022 with a championship throw of 118-09 feet. Willard tied Camden County’s Kennedy Lighty for the No. 1 spot, but won the tiebreaker with her second-longest throw.

Clara is just the third female state champion in outdoor track in East Surry history. She joins Suzanne Shelton, who won the 1A 1,600-meter Run Title in 1994, and Maya Bennett, who won the 1A High Jump Title in 2003.

Willard’s 10 championship points put East Surry tied for No. 25 in the team standings.

Like Willard, Vaden had a huge leap from last year’s 1A championship to this year’s 2A meet. Vaden finished No. 15 of 16 competitors in 2021 with a throw of 95-01. He left no doubts this season by throwing a championship distance of 145-01 – which won the 2A title by more than eight feet.

Vaden is the first male outdoor track state champion in East Surry history.

Also competing in the state championship for East Surry was senior Cooper Motsinger. Motsinger finished No. 6 in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:27.20.

Vaden and Motsinger’s 13 points helped East Surry finish tied for No. 17 in the team competition.

Ella Riggs competed in her first outdoor track championship this year as a freshman.

Riggs took part in shot put and finished just off the podium in fifth place. Her throw of 34-08.50 was less than two feet behind the fourth-place finish, and she was the only freshman to finish in the top-8.

Riggs’ four points helped the Lady Greyhounds finish tied for No. 41 as a team.

Junior Jared Hiatt was the only local male competitor to compete in two different events at the state championship. He competed in long jump at the 2021 2A State Championship, but competed in both long jump and high jump at this year’s meet.

Hiatt captured the Long Jump State Championship with a final mark of 22-10.75. He narrowly defeated the defending 2A State Champion and the highest seed coming into this year’s championship, Terry Hayes of Wilkes Central, by 1.5 inches.

Hiatt wins his second overall state championship and first in outdoor track; he previously won the 2021-22 Indoor Track State Championship for long jump.

Jared is the second outdoor track state champion in North Surry history, joining 2018 2A Shot Put Champion Ryan Eldridge.

In addition to his gold medal in long jump, Hiatt won a bronze medal in high jump with a leap of 6-04. There was a three-way tie for second place in the event, and the final order was decided based on number of attempts needed to clear a mark.

Hiatt’s 15 points helped the Greyhound boys finish No. 15 as a team.

Golden Eagle senior Mia McMillen was one of only two local competitors, male or female, to compete in four events at the state championship level. She was also the only local athlete competing in their third outdoor track state championship meet.

McMillen had two finishes on the podium on Friday, including a gold-medal performance in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.08 seconds. Her championship win comes after two second-place finishes in the event as a freshman and a junior (no state championship was held in 2020).

Surry Central girls have now won a total of 25 outdoor track state championships since 1990; 20 individual titles and five relay titles. Mia wins the school’s first outdoor track championship since Sarah Brown won the pole vault title in 2019.

Like Hiatt at North Surry, McMillen added a bronze medal to go with her gold. Mia took third in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.16, which was .09 seconds behind second place.

McMillen had two other finishes just outside the top-4. She finished fifth in long jump with a mark of 17-06.50, actually tying for fourth in distance but dropping to fifth due to number of attempts, and sixth in the 4×200 relay at 1:48.48 with teammates Aylin Rodriguez, Ella Priddy and Ivy Toney.

Toney, a sophomore, joined McMillen as the only other local competitor to compete in four events at the state meet. Also making multiple appearances at the state meet were Lady Eagle teammates: Priddy with three, Rodriguez with two, Madelyn Wilmoth with two and Yeira Munoz with two.

Toney, Munoz and Cassie Snead competed in individual events for the Lady Eagles. Snead was No. 9 in discus with a mark of 100-01.00, Toney took the No. 10 spot in pole vault with a mark of 7-06 and Munoz was No. 13 in the 3,200 meters with a time of 14:30.13.

Central’s 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams each finished sixth.

Wilmoth, Rodriguez, Toney and Priddy finished the 4×400 in 4:23.35, and the team of Wilmoth, Toney, Munoz and Priddy finished the 4×800 in 10:45.63.

Surry Central’s girls had the highest team finish of any local school. The Lady Eagles racked up 29 points to finish No. 8 of more than 50 teams.

Two Surry Central boys competed at the state championship as well: sophomore Ignacio Morales and freshman Allen Huffman. Both boys were competing in the outdoor track championship for the first time.

Morales took part in the 3,200 meters and finished third with a time of 10:05.43. He was the only sophomore to finish in the top-8.

Huffman competed in the 300 hurdles and finished No. 15 with a time of 44.82.

Surry Central’s boys tied for No. 31 in the team standings with six points.

WALNUT COVE — Mount Airy’s storybook baseball season came to an end Tuesday in the Sweet 16 of the 1A State Playoffs.

Mount Airy and South Stokes were tied 1-1 through the third inning, then South added a trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears put runners on base in the fifth and seventh innings but failed to score again.

No. 1-seeded South Stokes advanced to the Elite Eight with the 4-1 win.

Mount Airy finishes the season 19-9 overall. The 2022 team’s 19 victories are the second-most in school history according to Mount Airy sports historian Doug McDaniel, trailing only the 1939 team that finished 20-0.

This year’s team also won seven consecutive games at one point – a feat last accomplished by the 1958 Bears who won 10 consecutive games.

Mount Airy was the only 1A team during the regular season to defeat South Stokes. The Sauras (18-6) defeated the Bears 5-4 in the Granite City on March 22, then Mount Airy turned around and topped South 6-1 in Walnut Cove on March 28.

The Bears quickly loaded the bases to begin the rubber match. Rylan Venable led off with a single, then Ian Gallimore was walked and Kamden Hawks reached first on an error. Reece Deaton looked to score the opening run with a hit to second base, but South turned a 4-6-3 double play to hold Mount Airy scoreless.

Mount Airy turned a double play of its own in the bottom of the opening inning to keep the game scoreless. The Bears then took a lead thanks to three hits in the top of the second.

Mount Airy’s first two batters, Cameryn Wilson and Landon Cox, singled to start the inning. Josh Penn reached first on a fielder’s choice that also sent Wilson to third, then a Brison George single sent Wilson to the plate.

South quickly put two runners on in the bottom of the inning after Nolan Coe and Maddox Nelson drew back-to-back walks with just one out on the board. The runners advanced a base on a groundout, then Coe scored on a single from Ethan Nelson.

The Granite Bears were able to put runners on base in 5-of-7 innings, but struggled to get them back home.

Logan Dowell and Kamden Hawks singled to begin the third inning. South turned another double play to get Hawks and Deaton out, but Dowell advanced all the way to third. The Bears’ senior was stranded after a flyout.

South scored the decisive trio of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Coe led off by reaching first on an error before being moved to second on a sacrifice by Nelson. Jordan Buck was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base, then both were scored on a Blake Hughes triple.

Hughes added run No. 4 when he crossed the plate after a wild pitch.

Mount Airy went three up, three down in the fourth and sixth innings, and fell victim to another double play in the fifth. South had a chance to extend its lead by loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but the Bears left all three runners stranded by forcing a pair of flyouts.

South picked up two quick outs in the top of the seventh before Brison George singled to keep the game alive. Venable followed his teammate with a double, but George got out trying to go home on the hit.

Six Bears recorded at least one hit in the game: Venable, George, Wilson, Dowell, Hawks and Cox. Wilson had the Bears’ only run, and George hit the lone RBI.

Mount Airy and South Stokes only combined to throw two strikeouts in the game.

Rylan Venable spent 5.0 innings on the mound for the Bears, throwing one strikeout, two walks and allowing four runs on five hits. Ashton Gwyn threw 1.0 inning and had two walks.

South’s Connor Young tossed a complete game with one strikeout, two walks, and allowed one run on six hits.

LOUISVILLE — Surry Community College’s trio of softball coaches was voted one of the top coaching staffs in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Surry’s coaching staff, made up of head coach Blaine Bullington and assistant coaches Joel Jones and Gary Stone, was voted an NJCAA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year for 2022 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).

According to an NFCA press release, the organization is currently made up of nearly 6,000 coaches. Known for its high regarded coaching awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels from webinars to legal counsel, in-person events and the National Convention.

Surry was chosen as the NJCAA Division II recipient from the East Region. Joining SCC was Des Moines Area Community College (Iowa) for the Midwest Region, Murray State College (Oklahoma) in the South Region.

In the national press release, the NFCA says the following of Surry’s coaching staff:

“Head coach Blaine Bullington, along with assistant coaches Joel Jones and Gary Stone, led Surry to a 35-11 overall record, 22-6 mark in conference play and a No. 18 ranking in the most recent NJCAA DII national rankings.

“Behind the tutelage of Bullington and his staff, the Knights are one of the top offensive teams in NJCAA DII, ranking in the top five in several categories, including second in home runs (48), extra-base hits (156) and slugging (.593), and third in batting average (.375), doubles (104), total bases (696) and RBI (302).”

The Lady Knights’ 35 overall wins set a program record. The team also had four players named to Region 10 All-Region teams in addition to an All-Tournament selection.

“Coach Bullington and his staff are incredible both in working with our student-athletes,” said Surry athletic director Mark Tucker. “They work to develop our student-athletes with a comprehensive approach placing emphasis on academics, personal growth, and community service while continuously developing their skills on the softball field. Surry is extremely blessed to have Coach Bullington and his staff leading our program.”

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association NJCAA Division I and II National Coaching Staff of the Year will be announced on June 6.

ASHEBORO — The Lady Bears’ soccer team fell 3-1 to Uwharrie Charter in the second round of the 1A State Playoffs.

Hot off the team’s first playoff victory since 2019, Mount Airy struck first against Uwharrie with a Karyme Bueno goal nearly an hour into Thursday’s playoff match. The No. 7-seeded Eagles netted the equalizer eight minutes later on a free kick, then scored the go-ahead goal with just six minutes left on the clock.

Uwharrie Charter added an insurance goal with two minutes left in regulation to secure the playoff win.

”I thought we did a really good job early on then scoring that first goal,” said Bears coach Will Hurley. “I thought we could’ve had them when we got that 1-0 lead. I knew we needed to rest some of the girls, but having seven players out with injuries really hurt us. Uwharrie stayed in the fight and made some good plays down the stretch.”

Tuesday’s game was given a 5:00 kickoff time since Uwharrie Charter’s field didn’t have lights, meaning it was 91-degrees when the game began. Despite the heat, Hurley felt the Lady Bears were able to keep their stamina up through the first half and part of the second.

“Everything really came together at one point, “Hurley said. “I thought some of passing was really, really good, and we were able to move the ball up the field efficiently on a field that wasn’t easy to play on. Ashley [Escamilla] came in off the bench and played significant minutes in the midfield when Paola [Ramirez] went down.”

Ramirez left the game with an injury in the 25th minute. She and Morgan Hiatt advanced up the right sideline with 1-2 passes that put Ramirez in a 1-on-1 situation with Uwharrie’s keeper. Ramirez’s shot was deflected out of bounds by the charging keeper, and the ensuing collision took the Lady Bear sophomore out of the game.

The injury led to Hurley adapting his lineup once again. Mount Airy already had its striker shifted back to defensive mid, a center midfielder moved up to striker, and a defender moved up to midfielder to compensate for the cornucopia of injuries.

Defensively, Mount Airy’s back line of Kinlee Reece, Kylie James, Aubrey Wilmoth and Aliyah Flores held Uwharrie to just four shots in the first half. The Bears caught the Eagles’ speedy forwards offside, and any chances Uwharrie had after getting through the defense were stopped by keeper Mackenzie Hudson.

Mount Airy broke the scoreless tie in the 56th minute. Kate Deaton attacked up the left sideline and crossed to Karyme Bueno in the box, and Bueno finished to put Mount Airy up 1-0.

The Bears shifted into a defensive mindset after scoring. This deterred all of Uwharrie’s goal-scoring opportunities until the 64th minute, when the Eagles’ converted on a 35-yard free kick.

Hiatt’s long throw ins had Mount Airy back into Uwharrie’s 18-yard box, but the Bears’ shots couldn’t find the back of the net. The teams were knotted up at 1-1 until Uwharrie floated a cross from the left sideline into the side-netting of the far post in the 74th minute.

The Eagles shifted their formation into a defensive 4-3-3 after the second goal. With the center of the field more crowded, Mount Airy pushed for more attacks up the sidelines which set Hiatt up for more long throw ins. Deaton had a pair of good looks in the final four minutes as a result, but both shots went off frame in an attempt to bypass the crowded 18-yard box. Grey Moore added a shot on goal that saved by Uwharrie’s keeper.

With Mount Airy’s team now in an offensive formation, Uwharrie took advantage and added its third goal. The Bears moved into Eagle territory with less than a minute to play, but it was too little too late as the final whistle signaled the end of Mount Airy’s historic season.

“One thing I have to say about Uwharrie is that their girls were really respectful and really good to our girls,” Hurley said. “They battled for 80 minutes, then brought over freeze pops for our girls and talked with them after the game. There was a lot of great sportsmanship, and it was a pleasure to see.”

The Lady Bears finish the season 17-3-4. Mount Airy captured its first-ever conference championship this season while setting school records for single-season wins (17), fewest goals allowed (20), most shutouts (14) and the most consecutive matches without a loss (17).

Hurley knew early on this team was capable of great things, but said none of it would be possible if the girls hadn’t put in the work.

“I’d have to say there really wasn’t a single player that I’d consider most improved, because that honor would go to the entire team,” Hurley said. “Everyone really bought in and worked incredibly hard to be successful.

“We probably started out as an offensive team, then injuries really hit home and we became more of a defensive team in the end. Had we not had those injuries, I think we would’ve gotten better defensively and been great at both. It just says a lot about the girls’ character to keep fighting all year long. I’m just thankful I got to be a part of it.”

Hurley credited his three senior players – Hiatt, Hudson and Moore – for really setting the tone for the team to be successful.

“They treated everybody across the board equally,” Hurley said. “These three seniors did not get senioritis like most teams either. This has been the best team I’ve ever had as far as everyone getting along, and those three seniors made all the difference.

“Everybody was pretty upset after the game. When Morgan walked off the field I could see she was crying, so I ran over to her and told her it was alright. She said, ‘It’s just the greatest team I’ve ever been a part of.’ I think she was less upset about the actual loss and more that the season was over. She didn’t want to leave this crew.

“They really have been a pleasure to coach.”

Mount Airy and Millennium Charter Academy competed in 1A Regional Track Championships over the weekend.

Mount Airy took part in the 1A West Regional hosted by East Burke High School, and Millennium competed in the 1A Midwest Regional that was hosted by Davie County High School.

Millennium had one girls relay team qualify for the 1A State Championship Meet, and Mount Airy had one relay team and three boys qualify as individuals. The 1A State Championship Meet is scheduled for May 21 at North Carolina A&T University.

Full 1A Midwest Regional results can be found at bit.ly/38xflWi, and 1A West Regional results can be found at bit.ly/3aabSxg

Millennium had nine student-athletes compete in the 1A Midwest Regionals.

Ava Hiatt, Ava Utt, Clara Minix, Ruby Hoerter and River Edge took part in the girls competition, and Calvin Devore, Hartley Devore, Brody Krakenberg and Isaac Shipley competed in the boys. Utt, Minix, Calvin Devore and Hartley Devore were the only members of the 2022 Lions team that had experience in the Regional Championship.

The duo of Utt and Minix teamed with Hoerter and Edge to finish fourth in the girls 4×800 relay. The relay team finished the race in 11:44.97 minutes. Utt returns to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A State Championship, while Minix, Hoerter and Edge will make their first appearances.

Utt and Hoerter finished just outside the top-4 in individual events. Utt took fifth in high jump with a leap of 4-06.00 feet, and Hoerter was fifth in the 3,200-meter run at 14:37.94.

Hiatt and Minix also competed as individuals for the Lady Lions. Hiatt finished seventh in discus throw with a mark of 71-03.00, and Minix finished eighth in the 800 meters at 2:49.02.

The Lions’ 4×800 boys relay team finished just outside the state qualifying mark by taking fifth. The team of Calvin Devore, Hartley Devore, Brody Krakenberg and Isaac Shipley finished the race in 9:18.16.

Calvin Devore and Krakenberg had the boys’ two individual performances by competing in the 800 and 3,200 meters, respectively. Calvin finished seventh in the 800 with a time of 2:08.84, and Krakenberg was 14th in the 3,200 meters with a time of 13:08.90.

Mount Airy sent 11 student-athletes to the 1A West Regional Championship.

Sydney Seagraves took part in the girls competition, while Deric Dandy, Blake Hawks, Mario Revels, Connor Burrell, Caleb Reid, Tyler Mason, Caden Ratcliff, Declan Conner, Ware Viers and Noah Khuri competed for the boys.

Ratcliff and Hawks, both sophomores, qualified for the state championship for a second consecutive year. Ratcliff did so by finishing second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.40, and Hawks finished second in triple jump with a mark of 41-00.00.

Five other Granite Bears qualified for their first 1A State Championship thanks to top-4 finishes at regionals. Dandy finished third in discus throw with a mark of 146-03.00, and the 4×100 relay team of Revels, Burrell, Reid and Mason finished fourth with a time of 46.22 seconds.

Hawks nearly qualified in long jump as well, finishing sixth with a mark of 20-08.50. Hawks was just an inch behind the fourth-place finisher, and 2.5 inches behind the third-place finisher.

Seagraves added two top-10 finishes in the girls competition. The senior placed eighth in shot put with a mark of 29 feet, and finished No. 10 in discus throw with a mark of 85-10.00.

Also competing at regionals for Mount Airy: Conner finished 10th in the 3,200 meters with a time of 11:36.65; Revels was No. 12 in high jump with a height of 5-04.00; the 4×200 relay team of Revels, Burrell, Reid and Hawks finished No. 13 with a time of 1:42.99; and the 4×400 relay team of Ratcliff, Viers, Dandy and Khuri finished No. 15 with a time of 4:00.40.

A 2-1 win over East Rutherford booked East Surry’s ticket to the fourth round of the state playoffs for the fourth-consecutive postseason.

Junior Brett Clayton had two of East Surry’s seven hits and both of the team’s RBIs. Fellow junior Folger Boaz threw a complete game on the mound, striking out 12 batters and allowing just two hits.

“Words can’t do justice to how much I love this group of guys and how blessed I am to be their coach,” Cardinal coach Chad Freeman said following Tuesday’s win. “Top to bottom they play hard, play for each other, have fun doing it, but most importantly they represent our program and community well.”

East Surry’s first postseason since being promoted to the 2A division ran directly through the Mountain Foothills Seven Conference (MFSC). The Cardinals (24-1) defeated the MFSC’s No. 6 seed Hendersonville 8-2 in the opening round, bested MFSC Co-Champion R-S Central 3-2 in the round of 32, then topped the conference’s other Co-Champion, East Rutherford, 2-1 on Tuesday.

Additionally, East Surry defeated the team that would finish fourth in the MFSC standings, Polk County, 8-6 back on March 5.

The Cardinals recorded seven hits against the visiting Cavaliers (21-6). Avery Strange threw a complete game for East Rutherford, striking out seven batters and walking two in six innings.

East Surry only had two hits heading into the bottom of the third inning, then opened things up when Clayton – called Hercules by his teammates – crushed a solo home run that hit the top of the scoreboard at Barry Hall Field. The homer was Clayton’s first of the season.

“Brett is just a wonderful teammate, ” Freeman said. “All the boys love him; he is selfless, he works hard and you can’t ask for a better kid than Brett Clayton. He plays a tremendous defensive center field, and his hitting has gotten better and better and better. He’s had several doubles and triples this year. He’s strong as an ox; we’ve just been waiting for him to connect on one this year and, dang, he did tonight.”

Clayton also came up clutch in the field with a pair of big catches in center field, one in the top of the fourth and then another in the top of the fifth.

“He doesn’t move like you’d think a big boy would,” Freeman said. “He’s got pretty good speed.”

East Rutherford scored its only run off one of the team’s two hits. Boaz threw his seventh strikeout to begin the fourth inning, but followed with his only base on balls. The Cavaliers’ Marshall McGowan advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a hit by teammate Isaac Lee.

Following the Cavs’ run in the fourth, East Rutherford had one player get on base for the remainder of the game – and didn’t get a ton of chances. Boaz finished with 12 strikeouts, including three innings of multiple strikeouts and two innings with three strikeouts in each.

“You can’t ask for a better performance than that,” Freeman said. “Folger was lights out on the mound. He gave us every opportunity to hold them, and the guys did what they needed to scratch across a couple runs and pull out the win. They also played great defense across the board.

“The ball that got through, which allowed them to score their run, had top spin and it hit the lip. It just squirted past Trey (Armstrong) because of the top spin. There was absolutely nothing he could’ve done about that.”

East Surry regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Anthony Ayers was walked to start the inning, then Caden Lasley laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Ayers to second. Matthew Keener hit a blooper to right field to put Ayers on third, and Clayton followed with his own hit to right to bring the run in.

Following the run, players in the dugout told Lasley, “That assist goes to you, Chuck. Great work.”

While East Rutherford failed to get past first base in the final three innings, East Surry put multiple runners on in the sixth in a situation almost identical to the fourth inning. Ayers led with a single to right and was moved to second on a bunt from Lasley. Keener singled, but Ayers stayed on second as the hit went to the Cavaliers’ shortstop.

Both players were left on after Strange threw his sixth and seventh strikeouts.

East Surry held East Rutherford to just three batters in the top of the seventh: McGowan grounded out to Tristen Mason at second, Lee struck out after facing a full count then Caleb Crain grounded out. The game ended when Armstrong fielded Crain’s grounder and made the throw to Luke Brown at first base.

“We’re excited to be moving on to the fourth round,” Freeman said. “2018 and 2019 we were one game away from the Western Finals, then last year the fourth round was the Western Finals because of COVID, and we were able to advance and make the state finals.

“Now, we get to go against the juggernaut that is Randleman.”

East Surry travels to Randleman (28-1), the No. 1 seed in the 2A West and defending 2A State Champion, on May 20. This is East Surry’s first true road game in the playoffs since 2016. The 2021 State Championship was held at a neutral site.

Only two teams in North Carolina – among all public school classifications – have made it to at least the fourth round of the state playoffs in each of the past four postseasons: East Surry and Randleman.

For the first time in Mount Airy girls soccer history, the Lady Bears are conference champions.

Despite falling 2-1 (OT) to South Stokes in the regular season finale on May 12, the Bears’ still earned a share of the Northwest 1A Conference Title. In fact, Mount Airy clinched part of the NW1A Title three days earlier with a 4-0 win over East Wilkes.

The Lady Bears’ first conference title adds to the team’s already impressive list of accomplishments for the 2022 season. This year’s team set the school record for the best start in program history by beginning 13-0-4. Mount Airy also set the program record for most wins in a season, surpassing the previous school record of 15 set in 2017 and tied again in 2019.

Prior to this season, Mount Airy’s best conference finish was third: behind Bishop McGuinness and East Surry 2014-17, then behind Bishop McGuinness and South Stokes in 2018, 2019 and 2021. The Bears previous school record for conference wins was six, which this year’s team shattered by going 10-2.

Mount Airy, Elkin and South Stokes shared the 2022 NW1A Title with identical conference records; Mount Airy defeated Elkin twice, Elkin defeated South Stokes twice and South Stokes defeated Mount Airy twice.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association’s final RPI rankings for the regular season ranked the NW1A’s top three teams No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7. South Stokes earned the top playoff spot, followed by Mount Airy and then Elkin.

Mount Airy (16-2-4) earned the No. 10 seed in the 1A West and will host No. 23 Alleghany (5-9). The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 7 Uwharrie Charter (7-6-1) and No. 26 Piedmont Community Charter (7-5-1).

Mount Airy extended its most successful soccer season on record with a 5-0 playoff win over Alleghany.

For 17 of the 20 players on Mount Airy’s roster, Monday’s win served as their first playoff victory. The remaining three – seniors Mackenzie Hudson, Morgan Hiatt and Grey Moore – competed in their only playoff victory as freshmen when the Bears defeated North Stanly 3-0 on May 7, 2019.

No postseason was held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the 2021 playoffs only let in 16 teams in the 1A West.

The Granite Bears, who improve to 17-2-4 with the win, got after it early when Kate Deaton scored in just the fourth minute. Deaton added another goal four minutes later, then Paola Ramirez made it 3-0 at halftime with a goal in the 38th minute.

Goals from Kinlee Reece and Emilee Corn in the second half led No. 10 Mount Airy to its first playoff victory in three years.

“Our goal in this game was ‘we don’t give up goals like we did at their place,’ and we did really good with that,” said Bears coach Will Hurley. Mount Airy has only surrendered 17 goals in 2022, and five of those were scored by Alleghany (5-10).

“It does hurt your offense a little bit, but I just think that’s our game; we’re more of a defensive team now. We shifted when we started getting injuries, but that’s okay. We can come out of that once we get healthy so we can play well on both sides.”

The win serves as Hudson’s 14th shutout as the Bears’ keeper this season, and was the first time this season Alleghany was held scoreless.

Mount Airy, meanwhile, fired 20 shots at the visiting Trojans while allowing just two.

Despite dealing with injuries for most of the year, the Lady Bears came into the playoffs hot off a historic regular season. Mount Airy has already set new school records for most wins in a season, most consecutive matches without a loss, most shutouts and fewest goals allowed in the regular season.

The 2022 Bears also put their names in the history books as the school’s first to win a conference championship. Hurley said he knew at the beginning of the season that the team was in for an uphill battle having to play strong conference opponents in Elkin and South Stokes – the latter of which was led by nine seniors.

“I thought it was big when we beat Elkin at Elkin. That was huge,” Hurley said. “I knew we had an outside chance, but I didn’t know if we could pull it off when we kept getting injury after injury. I think they really started believing in themselves, though. We kept telling them not to worry about rankings or what happened in the past, just play the game.

“I’m happy for them, because they’ve done really well as a team. We don’t have a true superstar.”

Hurley added that Mount Airy approached to the postseason is the exact same as the regular season: take things one game at a time. When members of the team pointed out the Bears would likely run into No. 2 Bishop McGuinness, who shared a conference with Mount Airy from 2009-2021, in the third round.

“We practiced Saturday morning at 7 a.m. and they said, ‘coach, we’ve got to play Bishop,’ and I said, ‘no, you don’t. You have to play Alleghany, and right now that’s all that matters’” Hurley said. “Sometimes it’s tough to beat a team three times in the same season, and Alleghany’s got a great group that always fights.

“This is a home game, and there’s a lot of teams out there that aren’t playing at home. We can enjoy the moment, but we have to play hard and just worry about now. We can worry about the next round if and when we get there.”

By defeating No. 23 Alleghany, Mount Airy advances to the round of 32 and will travel to No. 7 Uwharrie Charter.

Uwharrie finished third overall and first out of the 1A teams in the Piedmont Athletic 1A/2A Conference. Uwharrie Charter (8-6-1) defeated No. 26 Piedmont Community Charter 7-0 in the opening round of the playoffs.

HIGH POINT — Strong performances from Surry County’s three 2A schools led to 14 local athletes qualifying for the State Championship Meet.

The 2A Midwest Regional Championship was held May 13 at the High Point Athletic Complex Track.

East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central combined to win seven Regional Championships. Central led the way with four, followed by East with two and North with one. Any competitor or relay team that finished in the top four at Regionals qualified for the 2A State Championship.

Team points were accumulated for each school’s top-8 finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one fewer point through eighth place.

Surry Central’s girls won the 2A Midwest Regional Runner-up Trophy with a total of 76 points, which was 22 points behind Regional Champion West Stanly. East Surry’s girls finished No. 18 with 10 points, followed by North Surry’s girls at No. 26 with five points.

East Surry had the highest finish of any local team in the boys competition at No. 11 with 20 points. North Surry wasn’t far behind at No. 13 with 18 points, then Surry Central was up next in No. 14 with 17 points.

Full events results can be found at bit.ly/3yCBZHi

Three Surry County individual performances met the MileSplit U.S. Second Team Standard: Surry Central’s Mia McMillen in long jump, East Surry’s Isaac Vaden in discus throw and North Surry’s Jared Hiatt in long jump.

The full list of Elite Performances can be found at bit.ly/3LlxjYS

Clara Willard was East Surry’s lone female state qualifier and regional champion.

The Cardinal senior finished first in the discus throw with a mark of 115-06 feet, more than seven feet farther than the second-place finisher. Willard and the event’s silver medalist – Cassie Sneed of Surry Central – were the only two competitors to throw farther than 97 feet.

Willard also competed in the shot put, where she finished No. 14.

Also competing in the regional meet for East Surry: the relay team of Grace Strader, Arianna Liberatore, Kate McCraw and Ember Midkiff finished No. 13 in the 4×200 and No. 15 in the 4×100; Madeline Dayton and Arianna Liberator competed in triple jump but did not place.

Ella Riggs was the Lady Greyhounds’ only regional qualifier.

Riggs took fourth in shot put with a mark of 33-10.10. Riggs, a freshman, qualifies for the outdoor track state championship after being one of two North Surry girls to qualify for the indoor track championship during the winter.

All seven of Surry Central’s regional qualifiers finished in the top four of at least one event at the regional championship: Madelyn Wilmoth, Ella Priddy, Yeira Munoz, Mia McMillen, Ivy Toney, Cassie Sneed and Aylin Soto.

McMillen qualified for the state championship in four events, which included two regional championship victories in 300 hurdles and the 4×200 relay. She won the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.15, nearly two seconds faster than the second-place finisher, and teamed with Soto, Priddy and Toney to win the 4×200 by more than two seconds.

Central’s 4×200 time of 1:47.10 set a new school record for the Golden Eagles.

McMillen’s two second-place finishes came in 100 hurdles, with a time of 15.70, and long jump, with a mark of 18-01.25 feet. McMillen and West Stanly’s Onii Bivens, who won long jump with a mark of 18-01.75, both met the MileSplit US Second Team standard for the event.

Also winning a regional championship for Surry Central was the 4×800 relay team of Wilmoth, Toney, Munoz and Priddy. The four Eagles cruised to a victory with a time of 10:46.00, better than the silver medalists by six seconds.

Munoz and Snead added individual second-place finishes in the 3,200 meters and discus throw, respectively. Munoz finished in 13:33.45, while Snead had a mark of 108-02.00. The Eagles’ 4×400 team of Wilmoth, Soto, Toney and Priddy also finished second with a time of 4:27.15.

Toney added an additional state qualification in pole vault with a third-place finish at 7-06.00.

In addition to the state qualifiers, Soto also competed in the 200 meters and finished No. 10 at 28.56.

Isaac Vaden and Cooper Motsinger were the two state qualifiers for East Surry’s boys.

Vaden won the 2A Midwest Regional Championship in discus throw with a mark of 156-08.00, which met the MileSplit US Second Team standard. Vaden’s throw was one inch shy of being 15 feet better than the second-place finish.

Vaden also competed in the shot put, where he finished sixth overall.

Motsinger finished fourth in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 10:40.14.

Also competing in the regional meet for East Surry: Sam Whitt finished No. 7 in shot put; Eli Becker finished No. 10 in shot put; the relay team of Layton Allen, Colby Johnson, Lindann Fleming and Kyle Zinn finished No. 11 in the 4×200 and No. 12 in the 4×100.

Like Jared Hiatt qualified for the 2A State Championship in two events: high jump and long jump.

Hiatt battled his Foothills 2A Conference nemesis, Terry Hayes of Wilkes Central, in every jumping event at the regional championship. Hiatt won the regional title in high jump with a height of 6-02.00, while Hayes finished second. Hayes finished first in the long jump with a mark of 23-00.00, and Hiatt finished second at 22-07.00 – both of which met the MileSplit US Second Team standard.

Hiatt also competed in the triple jump, where he finished No. 10 with a mark of 39-07.00.

Golden Eagles. Allen Huffman and Ignacio Morales qualified for the state championship.

Morales won the 3,200 meters to capture the 2A Midwest Regional Title, doing so with a time of 10:08.16. Morales finished more than eight seconds before the silver medalist.

Huffman finished third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.07, and was less than 1.5 seconds out of first.

Central also had three relay teams compete at the regional championship: the 4×800 team of Chris Nava, Jonathan Avila, Brangly Mazariegos and Sebastian Sanchez finished No. 11, the 4×200 team of Huffman, Nava, Isaac Eller and Sony Orozco finished No. 13, and the 4×400 of Eller, Nava, Huffman and Charlie Hernandez finished No. 14.

KERNERSVILLE — The Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference held its Track and Field Championship on May 4 at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

Bishop McGuinness’ girls and Cornerstone Charter Academy’s boys came away with the team conference championships. Points were awarded for each top-6 finish: 10 points for first place, 8 for second, 6 for third, 4 for fourth, 2 for fifth and 1 for sixth.

Millennium Charter Academy finished fourth in the girls standings and sixth in the boys. The Lions won one individual conference championship, and finished second in four events.

Ruby Hoerter finished first in girls pole vault by clearing a height of 5-06.00 feet. Hoerter also earned All-Conference Honors – given to competitors that finished in the top two of an event – in the 3,200-meter run, and as a member of MCA’s 4×400 and 4×800 relay teams.

Hoerter completed the 3,200 meters in 14:36.70.

She was joined by teammates River Edge, Clara Minix and Ava Utt on both the 4×400 and 4×800 teams. Millennium’s 4×400 team finished the race in 5:17.48, and the 4×800 team finished in 12:22.51.

Minix and Utt added All-Conference performances in high jump and the 800 meters. Minix was less than five seconds out of first place in the 800 meters by finishing in 2:46.88, and Utt was two inches from tying the conference champion in high jump with a mark of 4-08.00.

Hiatt also competed in the discus throw and shot put for Millennium, taking fourth in both. Palak Patel competed in both throwing events as well, finishing seventh in shot put and eighth in discus throw.

Seven Millennium boys competed in the NWPC Conference Championship: Liam Allred, Calvin Devore, Isaac Shipley, Diego Gomez, Ford Holmes, Hartley Devore and Brody Krakenberg.

The closest All-Conference performance for the MCA’s boys came in the 4×800 relay; Shipley, Krakenberg, Hartley and Calvin Devore took third at 9:50.93.

Calvin Devore also came close in the 800 meters by finishing fourth. His time of 2:11.43 was less than three seconds behind the race-winning time, and was exactly two seconds behind the second-place finisher.

Also competing for Millennium’s boys: Hartley Devore, Holmes and Krakenberg finishes sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 3,200 meters; Shiply finished 10th in the 800 meters, followed by Gomez at 11; Holmes and Gomez took 10th and 13th in the 1,600 meters, respectively; and Allred finished 15th in the 400 meters and 16th in the 200 meters.

The following Lions qualified for the Midwest 1A Regional Championship in the corresponding events:

River Edge, Ruby Hoerter, Clara Minix, Ava Utt, Palak Patel (alternate): 4×800

Calvin Devore, Hartley Devore, Brody Krakenberg, Isaac Shipley: 4×800

Surry Central recognized seven baseball seniors before an April 29 home game against East Surry.

Spencer LeClair, Dakota Mills, Kade Norman, Austin Cave, Kayden Gage, Brady Edmonds and Kendall White were honored for their contributions to the Golden Eagles’ program, with many being with the team throughout their entire high school careers.

In the Senior Night game, Central held East Surry to its second-lowest scoring total of the season at three runs. However, the Eagles struggled to score and came up short 3-0 in the regular season finale.

The Golden Eagles entered the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed and dropped their quarterfinal game to No. 4 West Wilkes 7-3.

Surry Central qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 26 seed and opened the tournament at No. 7 Lincoln Charter. The Golden Eagles rallied late in the game when faced a big deficit, but four seventh-inning runs weren’t enough to bring Central back.

PILOT MOUNTAIN — A walk-off hit by Folger Boaz lifted East Surry to a 3-2 playoff win over R-S Central on Thursday.

The Cardinals initially took a 2-1 lead in the third inning. East held the visiting Hilltoppers from scoring additional runs through the sixth, then R-S Central tied things up in the top of the seventh. Strong defense from East kept the visitors from taking the lead, and hits from Luke Bowman and Boaz sealed the win for the Cards.

“It’s a mixture of emotions for us,” said East Surry coach Chad Freeman. “There’s nervousness, even though the game is over and we know the outcome. There’s excitement. There’s joy for our guys. Honestly, there’s heartbreak for their team. R-S has a quality coaching staff, their kids battled, they’ve got good kids; that’s the type of team you want to go up against.

“At the end of the day, it was two solid teams going after each other and we were fortunate to come away with the win.”

East Surry (23-1) put runners on base in each of the first two innings, but couldn’t score to match R-S Central’s run from the top of the first. This changed in the third inning when Bowman reached first on a fielder’s choice then moved to second on an error by the Hilltoppers. Boaz was intentionally walked with two outs, and a passed ball allowed Bowman to score.

The score was now tied 1-1 with the rain picking up. Luke Brown was walked, and Anthony Ayers singled to load the bases. Another passed ball sent Boaz home to give East Surry its second run.

R-S Central (19-7) took Drew Yelton off the mound after East Surry’s second run. Yelton threw 2.2 innings, allowed two runs on three hits and walked three batters. Hayden Wheeler took over on the mound and ended the inning with a strikeout

The Cardinals struggled against Wheeler through the sixth inning. The Hilltopper junior struck out eight of the first 11 batters he faced; one East Surry player grounded out, another flied out and only one – Boaz in the fifth – got on base via error.

“The first kid was a little bit craftier and more off-speed oriented, and [Wheeler] threw a little harder. We tried to get our guys to make an adjustment and be ready for the fastball, and we didn’t do a good job of that the first few innings he was on the mound. Finally that last inning, when we swung up to the top of our lineup, we did a little bit better job of it.”

The Hilltoppers also had chances to build a lead, leaving runners on base in each of the first six innings. Trey Shearer opened the fourth with a double, and Audrey Scruggs bunted for a single that moved Shearer to third as well.

Brown, who spent five innings on the mound for East Surry, struck out the next batter, then Ayers checked the runner on third before throwing a runner out at first. R-S Central sent a hit to left field that would’ve scored at least one run had it not been caught by Gabriel Harpe.

One inning later, R-S Central’s Tanner Boone singled and teammate Caleb White was walked. A balk put the runners on second and third with two outs, but Brown struck out his final batter to leave the runners stranded.

“Luke may not have had his best stuff today, but he battled and came up big,” Freeman said. “Part of it is a credit to R-S: they took phenomenal approaches, and their two-strike approaches were on point.”

Ayers took over on the bump in the sixth inning and East continued to stave off R-S Central’s comeback attempts. Even when the visitors managed to score the game-tying run in the top of the seventh, Freeman said his guys were able to stay calm due to their experience in high-pressure games.

One such game Freeman referenced was East Surry’s 2021 playoff opener against Community School of Davidson. The Cards, who went on to win the 1A West Regional Championship, were nearly upset in the first round by that CSD team.

“I think last year’s CSD game gave them the composure to not get rattled against Hendersonville, and even tonight when we had the shot to get the tying run at the plate and didn’t execute there,” Freeman said. “We’ve been through it enough that we’ve come back before. We’ve been in tight situations before and our guys didn’t panic, so that’s a credit to them.”

The Cards got out of the top of the seventh by forcing two fly outs, including one chased down by Harpe in left field, and got the third out when Bowman threw to Trey Armstrong at second to catch a runner stealing.

Bowman then went up to bat and picked up the first East Surry hit against Wheeler. The Cards already had one out on the board in the bottom of the seventh, then the second came on a fly out. Boaz approached the plate with two outs and hit right over the left fielder’s head. Bowman sped around the bases and reached the plate just as the ball made its way back into the infield.

As the celebration settled, Freeman praised the Cardinals for the resilience shown against a very good R-S Central team. East Surry’s goal is to survive and advance, and he said that’s exactly what they did.

East Surry will host the winner of No. 5 East Rutherford (20-5) and No. 12 Morehead (19-5) in the Sweet 16.

East Surry recognized five soccer seniors during halftime of a May 4 home match against Alleghany.

The Cardinals held a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes when four players and one manager paraded onto the field with members of their families: Brianna Whitaker, Liannette Chavez, Samantha Blose, Jamariah Lowery and manager Nick Lowery.

The Lady Cardinals went on to win the match 3-1. Blose scored both goals in the first half, with the second being assisted by Chavez. Morgan Bryant added an insurance goal in the 56th minute.

East Surry out-shot Alleghany 16-5 in the match. Cardinal keeper Katie Collins saved three of the Trojans’ shots, and one went off frame.

The win over Alleghany was East Surry’s fifth consecutive win, marking the Cards’ longest winning streak of the season. It is also East’s longest winning streak since the 2017 team won nine straight games.

The Lady Cards sit at 11-5-2 on the season, marking the program’s first season of double-digit wins since the aforementioned 2017 team finished 13-8. East Surry also finished third in the Foothills 2A Conference at 8-4.