North Surry’s Jared Hiatt jumped his way to three first-place finishes in Thursday’s track meet, winning the long jump, high jump and triple jump.
Surry Central’s Claire Marion seperates herself from the pack in the 200-meter dash.
Runners from East Surry and Surry Central compete in the 200-meter dash. Pictured, from left: Layton Allen (ES), Kyle Zinn (ES), Brian Williams (SC) and Colby Johnson.
East Surry’s Faith Braithwaite sprints the final stretch of the 4x100-meter relay.
North Surry’s Isabel Delfin grinds out the last few strides of the 400-meter dash.
North Surry’s Derek Vannieuwkoop easily clears the bar while competing in high jump.
Allen Huffman competes in his leg of the 4x400-meter relay for Surry Central.
East Surry’s Tyler Reeves, left, and North Surry’s Chuck Powers are locked in during the 200-meter dash.
Surry Central’s Ella Priddy stays focused on the finish line while running the 400-meter dash.
East Surry’s Chloe Anne Tew leaps over her final obstacle in the 100-meter hurdles.
DOBSON — Surry Central hosted four other schools on Wednesday for its second outdoor track and field meet of the 2022 season.
Three other teams from the Foothills 2A Conference – North Surry, East Surry and Forbush – joined Surry Central at the meet. West Stokes, of the Mid-State 2A Conference, also took part in the meet.
Forbush’s girls and East Surry’s boys came away with team victories. Points were awarded for each top-5 finish: 6 for first, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth.
Team results and individual breakdowns are included below for each Surry County school.
Mia McMillen was the only athlete at the April 14 meet – male or female – to win four gold medals in individual events. The Surry Central senior finished first in the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and long jump.
Ivy Toney and Lanie Fitzgerald also had first-place finishes that helped the Lady Eagles finish second in the team competition. Toney won in pole vault, and Fitzgerald won in the 3,200 meters.
In addition to the Eagles’ six first-place finishes in individual events, the school finished first in two relay races. The team of Toney, Madelyn Wilmoth, Ella Priddy and Yeira Munoz won the 4×800, while the team of Toney, Priddy, Aylin Soto and Andrea Gonzalez won the 4×400.
Central finished in the top-3 six additional times: Soto was second in the 200 meters followed by Toney in third, Priddy was second in the 400 meters, Wilmoth was third in the 300 hurdles, and Cassie Sneed finished third in both shot put and discus throw.
The Lady Cardinals had eight top-3 performances, three of which won gold medals.
Clara Willard had the team’s only individual win of the meet by finishing first in the discus throw.
East Surry’s 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams also finished first. Faith Braithwaite, Merry Parker Boaz, Reese Edmonds and Chloe Anne Tew made up the 4×100 team, and Boaz, Braithwaite and Edmonds were joined by Arianna Liberatore for the 4×200.
The Lady Cards also had relay teams finish second and third in their respective events. Jada Lindsay, Kenadie Ayers, Alexis Cummings and Chloe Cruise made up the 4×800 team that finished second, and Liberatore, Karlee Bryant, Grace Needham and Sara Colasuonno finished third in the 4×400.
Braithwaite, Tew and Liberatore had the Cardinals’ other top-3 performances. Tew took second in high jump, Liberatore was second in long jump and Braithwaite finished third in the 100 meters.
Ella Riggs had the Lady Greyhounds’ lone first-place performance. The Greyhound freshman finished first in shot put by more than five feet, and also finished fifth in discus throw.
North’s 4×100 relay team took second in the event, but team members were not listed on Milesplit.
No Greyhound girls finished third, but Isabel Delfin and Anna Escobar each had fourth-place finishes. Delfin finished fourth in the 200 and 400 meters, while Escobar did so in shot put.
Sophomores Ignacio Morales and Evan Wall each had first-place finishes for the Golden Eagle boys. Morales finished first in the 800 and 1,600 meters, while Wall won the 200 meters.
Allen Huffman had a second-place finish individually in the 300 hurdles, and was also part of the Eagles’ 4×400 relay team that finished second. Huffman was joined by Morales, Brangly Mazariegos and Cannon Gates in the 4×400. Surry Central’s other second-place finish came in the 4×800 relay thanks to the team of Edinson Gonzalez, Daniel Urquiza, Chris Nava and Jonathan Avila.
Wall and Brian Williams added individual third-place finishes, doing so in the 100 and 200 meters respectively. Surry Central’s 4×100 relay team also finished third, but team members were not listed on Milesplit.
The Cardinal boys finished first in seven events, comprised of four individual events and three relay races.
Individually: Isaac Vaden swept the throwing events with first-place finishes in shot put and discus throw, Cooper Motsinger won the 3,200 meters and Kyle Zinn won the 100 meters.
The relay team of Zinn, Layton Allen, Lindann Fleming and Colby Johnson won both the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. East’s team of Jonathan Parker, Joe Cook, Banks Johnson and Noah Felts won the 4×800.
Three East Surry boys had second-place finishes in the meet: Allen in the 100 meters, Zinn in long jump and Eli Becker in shot put.
Four East Surry boys finished third in their respective events: Tyler Reeves in high jump, Colby Johnson in long jump, Layton Allen in triple jump and Kole Pruitt in shot put.
Jared Hiatt had all three of North Surry’s first-place finishes on the boys’ side. He won the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Hiatt was also part of the Greyhounds’ 4×100 team that finished second in the event. Team members included Hiatt, Talan Vernon, Jake Simmons and Matthew Senter. Vernon, Simmons and Senter also earned a silver medal in the 4×200 relay, this time joined by Chuck Powers.
Derek Vannieuwkoop had North Surry only second-place finish in an individual event by being runner-up in high jump. Vannieuwkoop was also one of two Greyhounds to finish third in an individual event, doing so in the 400 meters. The other third-place individual finish was Aaron Mauck in the discus throw.
North’s final top-3 finish came in the 4×400 relay, including team members Vannieuwkoop, Ray Pell, T. Kole Bryant and Elijah Shelton.
Full meet results can be found at bit.ly/3KUOTUw
Reach Cory on Twitter @MrCoryLeeSmith
Cardinal baseball ascends to 14-0
Bears clinch NW1A Tennis Title
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry recorded its second no-hitter in seven days with a 7-0 win over West Wilkes on April 19.
East Surry clinched at least a share of the Foothills 2A Conference Regular Season Championship with Tuesday’s victory. The Cardinals are 9-0 in conference play, and the FH2A’s second-place team – Surry Central – dropped to 6-3 in the conference with a loss to North Surry.
The Cardinals (15-0) can clinch the FH2A title outright by winning one of its next three conference games.
Junior pitcher Folger Boaz was on the mound for both of the Cards’ recent no-hitters. Boaz threw 16 strikeouts in seven innings in an April 12 win over North Wilkes, then threw 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings against West Wilkes.
Anthony Ayers closed the West Wilkes game by throwing three strikeouts in 1.1 innings.
The Blackhawks (10-9, 7-4 FH2A) had seven players get on base against the Cardinals, but the visitors only advanced past second base one time. West Wilkes players were walked five times, one reached first on an East Surry fielding error and another struck out but made it safely to first after a dropped third strike.
After Boaz’s third strikeout of the fourth inning was dropped and the player safely reached first, the junior pitcher struck the next batter out to leave two men stranded. The Cards also executed two double plays when runners did get on base.
Even though West Wilkes was held hitless, there were plenty of hits to go around from players in red jerseys.
Ayers, Luke Bowman and Caden Lasley each recorded multiple hits for East Surry. Bowman and Lasley each had two singles, and Ayers had two singles and a double. Bowman and Tristen Mason each scored twice, while Boaz, Trey Armstrong and Matthew Keener each crossed the plate once.
Boaz set the tone early with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, which was hit off the first pitch thrown his way. Trey Armstrong led off the bottom of the third with a double, then used two ground outs by Boaz and Brown to score East’s second run.
The Cardinals added three runs in the fourth inning after leaving two Blackhawk baserunners in scoring position in the inning’s top half. Keener got things going with a single, then Brett Clayton was hit by a pitch. Mason laid down a bunt intended to serve as a sacrifice, but made it to first after a West Wilkes miscommunication at first.
Bowman placed a pop fly just inside the right-field line to score Keener, then Armstrong scored Clayton on a fielder’s choice to make it 4-0. Boaz was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. This nearly paid off as Brown hit an infield fly for the second out, but a single hit by Ayers brought in run No. 5.
East went scoreless in the fifth, but padded the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. A sacrifice bunt from Armstrong scored Mason, and a single from Brown scored Bowman.
East Surry returns to FH2A action on Friday by traveling to West Wilkes.
Four Surry County wrestlers were recognized as some of the best in the state by HighSchoolOT.
HighSchoolOT’s awards not only featured student-athletes from all four public school classifications in the N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), but private schools and homeschools in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA).
This season marks the second consecutive season in which HSOT has recognized All-State Wrestling teams. There are two wrestlers per weight class on the first, second and third teams respectively. Then, 20 honorable mention All-State wrestlers are selected without regard to weight class.
This year’s teams feature 45 repeat selections.
Surry County wrestlers recognized on the teams are listed below in alphabetical order.
East Surry’s Eli Becker was named Third-team All-State in the 182-pound weight class.
Becker qualified for the NCHSAA State Championship Meet for the second time in his career as a junior, previously finishing third in the 1A 182-pound bracket as a sophomore. In 2021-22, Becker started the season 27-0 and won the Foothills 2A Conference and 2A Midwest Regional Championships in the 182 class.
Becker reached the 2A 182 State Championship and finished runner-up.
Mount Airy’s Connor Medvar was named Second-team All-State in the 170-pound weight class.
Medvar is one of the 45 repeat selections, having been named to the HSOT Wrestling All-State Third Team as a junior.
Medvar qualified for his fourth NCHSAA State Championship Meet as a senior. He previously finished third in 1A 138 bracket as a sophomore and won a state title in the 1A 152 bracket as a junior.
In 2021-22, Medvar was named Northwest 1A Conference Wrestler of the year and won the NW1A Title, 1A West Regional Title and 1A 170 State Titles with a 34-1 record.
Medvar helped Mount Airy win the dual team conference titles for both the regular season and conference tournaments.
Surry Central’s Jacob Price was named Third-team All-State in the 145-pound weight class.
Jacob qualified for his second NCHSAA State Championship Meet as a sophomore. He competed in the 2A 138 bracket as a freshman, but did not place.
In 2021-22, Jacob was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament, won the FH2A Championship, 2A Midwest Regional Championship and 2A 145 State Championship with an overall record of 32-2.
Jacob helped Surry Central win the dual team conference titles for both the regular season and conference tournaments.
Surry Central’s Jeremiah Price was named First-team All-State in the 152-pound weight class.
In addition to being on of 45 total repeat selections, Jeremiah was one of just 11 wrestlers to be selected for the All-State First Team for a second time.
Jeremiah qualified for his third NCHSAA State Championship Meet as a junior. He won the 2A 145 Championship as both a freshman and a sophomore.
In 2021-22, Jeremiah was named Foothills 2A Conference Wrestler of the Year, won the FH2A Championship, 2A Midwest Regional Championship and 2A 145 State Championship with an overall record of 43-0. He was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2A State Championship.
Jeremiah helped Surry Central win the dual team conference titles for both the regular season and conference tournaments.
Mount Airy High School senior Noah Hart officially signed his NCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue his academic and soccer careers at Concord University.
“I feel awesome,” Hart said. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted to do was play at least somewhat professionally, so this is the next step. I want to do the best I possibly can at college and improve every year.
“I’ve always loved sports, especially soccer. I’ve been all around and have competed in swimming, baseball and tennis, but this has always just been special to me. I grew up watching England’s Premier League with my dad. It’s just my passion.”
Hart is a four-year member of the Granite Bears’ soccer program, and was a varsity starter his junior and senior years. During those two seasons, Mount Airy: finished 20-0-1 in conference matches and 35-2-3 overall, went undefeated inside Wallace Shelton Stadium, didn’t lose a single regular season match, won two Northwest 1A Conference Championships and finished 1A West Regional Runner-up.
The 2021-22 Bears team won 26 consecutive games, a school record, and lost its only match in the 1A West Regional Championship to the private school that won the state title.
“Noah meant a lot to the team both of his years on varsity,” said Mount Airy coach Will Hurley. “As great as he was his junior year, I think, this past year, he was just phenomenal. He was part of that big push we needed. He was a true leader.”
Hart gave Mount Airy an advantage over most opponents with his rare skill set. Instead of playing the traditional left back position on defense, Hart had the green light to push up the field as an additional midfielder or forward. Being left footed allowed him to create instant offense with runs up the sideline.
“Through his high school career I put him everywhere, but when we moved him there we knew it was his spot,” Hurley said. “People would doubt his ability to dribble as a defender, so we dribbled down their throat. He didn’t just do it once or twice a game; we wore it out. Because, well, it worked.”
Hart was primarily used on offense as a JV player. Hurley said he loves taking players with offensive experience and putting them on the back line because they know what they’re going against. That experience on offense also honed Hart’s ability to spread the field and find open teammates when he did push up.
“Manchester City uses it, and so does Leicester,” Hart said. “I was watching them play and my dad said, ‘hey, look at this guy,’ and we saw him pushing up. I looked up the formations and it worked, so I thought I’d try it. I first asked about it at my club team, and just started working it and eventually took it to the high school.”
Hart immediately put his skills to use during his first varsity game. Mount Airy opened the 2020-21 season at Bishop McGuinness and trailed 2-0 at halftime. The Bears cut the lead to 2-1 early in the half, and tied things up when Hart made a run up the left sideline.
“I had seen Elkin [Lopez] at the six-yard box right in front of the goal and he wasn’t offsides, so I passed to him. Well, he missed the header and it went straight over the goalie’s head to make it 2-2. It was insane because I had already looked away. We went on to win 3-2 in overtime.”
Despite being a defensive player, Hart was second on the team in assists as a junior and third as a senior. He also scored seven goals those two seasons.
Defensively, Mount Airy only allowed 17 goals during its 27 games in 2021-22 for an average of 0.63 goals per match. The Bears had 16 shutouts.
“He was worthy of being an All-State player, and anyone that watched him would agree, but it was difficult to put on paper just how integral he was to our success,” Hurley said. “His contributions came on both sides. He was absolutely a great defender, but what made him special was how he was a key to our offense most of the year.”
Hart had numerous people to thank for helping him get to this point.
On coaches Will and Holden Hurley: “No matter if we were losing, we were winning, how bad we thought we were doing…they’d always be the drive that we needed. Coach [Will] Hurley would always have so much passion for everything, even when he sounded like he was mad but really wasn’t.”
On Coach Wes Hurley, who previously served as an assistant coach: “When Coach Wes was still here, he pretty much pushed me to be a part of everything and to keep going. I never thought of giving up, but I kind of lost hope and Wes was always there to push us up and get our limits sky high. I needed some ego and self-confidence, and he really pushed everybody’s out. That’s why we would always come out and scare people the first time they played us.”
On former teammate Juan Gomez Rios (class of 2021): “One person I really want to thank is Juan. Whenever he was a sophomore I was bigger than him, and I was small. He grew so much and is now playing for Emory & Henry, a great program in a tough division. He proved to everyone on the team that he could make it to the college level.”
On his dad: “When I was a freshman I thought it was so embarrassing, but every single day he would come and watch us practice. He’d be the only parent out there. I just realized that he loved to watch me play. When we’d lose, he was never one to be mad… he’d just tell me ‘You can be mad about it for a minute, but forget about it the rest.’ He really taught me to be competitive, but if you lose to learn from it. Crying and screaming over it doesn’t do any good.”
On his teammates: “This is the best team I’ve ever had. The chemistry is there, the talent is there and the teamwork is definitely there. Everybody gets along. It really was a family and so much more than a team to me.”
East Surry High School senior Bradley Davis Jr. officially signed his NCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue his academic and golf careers at Gardner-Webb University.
“It’s awesome to finally sign and it’s awesome that everyone’s here for it,” Davis said. “Ever since I’ve been playing it’s been the dream to make it to the next level. I always wanted to just keep going up in levels, and so hopefully after college golf I can turn pro and try to make it there.”
Davis is a four-year member of the golf team at East Surry, and has helped the Cardinals bring home a good amount of hardware each season.
“Bradley has dedicated himself to this and he’s reaping the rewards of that with this offer from Gardner-Webb,” said East Surry coach Darrin Haywood. “He’s a great ball-striker. He has a great temperament with golf and stays on level. He’s developed over time, he’s worked at it and he’s spent hours upon hours practicing.”
Haywood said Davis has been in the Cardinals’ starting lineup since his freshman year. Davis has also been the team’s No. 1 seed as a junior and senior.
“Shooting No. 1, that’s a lot of pressure on you every time you go out there and he’s done well with that,” Haywood said. “We’ve placed well because of people like Bradley.”
Before he was tearing it up in the high school ranks, Davis recalled getting his start in the sport at the age of five.
“I really just started because my grandpa cut down a club and put some electric tape on it and I started playing with that,” Davis said. “It took off from there; I played when I was young and then through middle school. I started playing tournaments, and kept doing that throughout high school…all the North Carolina and South Carolina Tournaments.”
Some of the tournaments in which Davis competed were held by the Carolinas Golf Association (GCA), American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA).
One of his crowning achievements on the tournament circuit came in April 2021 when he won the AJGA Preview Series Event at the Anderson Creek Golf Club in Spring Lake. The event featured 54 golfers from 18 states ranging from Florida to California to Massachusetts. Davis won the event with a score of three-over par, which was three strokes better than the second-place finisher.
“Finally winning the AJGA tournament last year was awesome,” Davis said.
Davis has completed two golf seasons at East Surry: 2019 and 2021, since the season was cancelled in 2020. In those two seasons, East Surry has won: two conference championships, one regional championship and two state runner-up trophies.
Davis was East Surry’s top finisher in both the 1A Midwest Regional and 1A State Championship in 2021. He finished eighth out of 37 competitors at regionals, then tied for the third-best score out of 48 competitors at the state championship.
“Bradley has matured tremendously over the past few years,” Haywood said. “He’s stepped up: both as a golfer and as a leader. His maturity kind of settles everyone else. There’s a time and place to have a good time, but a time to be serious and he’s one of the ones that’s figured out how to stay level. As a coach that means a lot and makes my job a whole lot easier.”
For 2022, Bradley said his goal as an individual is to win Foothills 2A Conference Player of the Year.
“His No. 1 competition for golfer of the year is a teammate, and I think that’s great,” Haywood said. “It breeds competition, and they both have stepped up their game this year.”
Haywood also mentioned placing high in the state rankings as a goal for Davis this season.
As for the Cardinals’ goals as a team, Haywood said: “We have plaques in the office from regional championships and being state placers, but our goal is to bring home the big one. He knows that goal, and I know that goal.”
“We’ve got two runner-up trophies, so hopefully we can get it done this year,” Davis said. “We didn’t lose anybody last year, so we should be the same team if not better.”
Davis extended his thanks to his coaches, at all levels, and his family for helping him reach this point in his career. He also thanked former Cardinal golfer Landon Barnes (Class of 2020), who signed his own NLI with Guilford College, for “playing a huge part in getting me to college since he’d already been through most of it being two years older than me,” Davis said.
“I just can’t say thank you enough to everybody for helping me get here.”
The Mount Airy boys tennis team secured the Northwest 1A Conference Championship by closing the season with seven consecutive wins.
By finishing 10-0 in the conference, Mount Airy captures its first outright conference championship since 2010. The Bears won conference titles during the 2010s, but always shared the title with Bishop McGuinness since the schools would split meetings.
Mount Airy earns the NW1A Conference’s automatic playoff bid and will compete in the NCHSAA Dual Team 1A State Playoffs. The playoffs are being held for the first time since 2019; the 2020 season was cancelled, and no dual team playoffs were held in 2021.
The Granite Bears finish the regular season 13-4 overall, and all four losses were to teams in higher divisions.
DOBSON — Surry Central hosted four other schools on Wednesday for its second outdoor track and field meet of the 2022 season.
Three other teams from the Foothills 2A Conference – North Surry, East Surry and Forbush – joined Surry Central at the meet. West Stokes, of the Mid-State 2A Conference, also took part in the meet.
Forbush’s girls and East Surry’s boys came away with team victories. Points were awarded for each top-5 finish: 6 for first, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth.
Team results and individual breakdowns are included below for each Surry County school.
Mia McMillen was the only athlete at the April 14 meet – male or female – to win four gold medals in individual events. The Surry Central senior finished first in the 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles and long jump.
Ivy Toney and Lanie Fitzgerald also had first-place finishes that helped the Lady Eagles finish second in the team competition. Toney won in pole vault, and Fitzgerald won in the 3,200 meters.
In addition to the Eagles’ six first-place finishes in individual events, the school finished first in two relay races. The team of Toney, Madelyn Wilmoth, Ella Priddy and Yeira Munoz won the 4×800, while the team of Toney, Priddy, Aylin Soto and Andrea Gonzalez won the 4×400.
Central finished in the top-3 six additional times: Soto was second in the 200 meters followed by Toney in third, Priddy was second in the 400 meters, Wilmoth was third in the 300 hurdles, and Cassie Sneed finished third in both shot put and discus throw.
The Lady Cardinals had eight top-3 performances, three of which won gold medals.
Clara Willard had the team’s only individual win of the meet by finishing first in the discus throw.
East Surry’s 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams also finished first. Faith Braithwaite, Merry Parker Boaz, Reese Edmonds and Chloe Anne Tew made up the 4×100 team, and Boaz, Braithwaite and Edmonds were joined by Arianna Liberatore for the 4×200.
The Lady Cards also had relay teams finish second and third in their respective events. Jada Lindsay, Kenadie Ayers, Alexis Cummings and Chloe Cruise made up the 4×800 team that finished second, and Liberatore, Karlee Bryant, Grace Needham and Sara Colasuonno finished third in the 4×400.
Braithwaite, Tew and Liberatore had the Cardinals’ other top-3 performances. Tew took second in high jump, Liberatore was second in long jump and Braithwaite finished third in the 100 meters.
Ella Riggs had the Lady Greyhounds’ lone first-place performance. The Greyhound freshman finished first in shot put by more than five feet, and also finished fifth in discus throw.
North’s 4×100 relay team took second in the event, but team members were not listed on Milesplit.
No Greyhound girls finished third, but Isabel Delfin and Anna Escobar each had fourth-place finishes. Delfin finished fourth in the 200 and 400 meters, while Escobar did so in shot put.
Sophomores Ignacio Morales and Evan Wall each had first-place finishes for the Golden Eagle boys. Morales finished first in the 800 and 1,600 meters, while Wall won the 200 meters.
Allen Huffman had a second-place finish individually in the 300 hurdles, and was also part of the Eagles’ 4×400 relay team that finished second. Huffman was joined by Morales, Brangly Mazariegos and Cannon Gates in the 4×400. Surry Central’s other second-place finish came in the 4×800 relay thanks to the team of Edinson Gonzalez, Daniel Urquiza, Chris Nava and Jonathan Avila.
Wall and Brian Williams added individual third-place finishes, doing so in the 100 and 200 meters respectively. Surry Central’s 4×100 relay team also finished third, but team members were not listed on Milesplit.
The Cardinal boys finished first in seven events, comprised of four individual events and three relay races.
Individually: Isaac Vaden swept the throwing events with first-place finishes in shot put and discus throw, Cooper Motsinger won the 3,200 meters and Kyle Zinn won the 100 meters.
The relay team of Zinn, Layton Allen, Lindann Fleming and Colby Johnson won both the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. East’s team of Jonathan Parker, Joe Cook, Banks Johnson and Noah Felts won the 4×800.
Three East Surry boys had second-place finishes in the meet: Allen in the 100 meters, Zinn in long jump and Eli Becker in shot put.
Four East Surry boys finished third in their respective events: Tyler Reeves in high jump, Colby Johnson in long jump, Layton Allen in triple jump and Kole Pruitt in shot put.
Jared Hiatt had all three of North Surry’s first-place finishes on the boys’ side. He won the high jump, long jump and triple jump.
Hiatt was also part of the Greyhounds’ 4×100 team that finished second in the event. Team members included Hiatt, Talan Vernon, Jake Simmons and Matthew Senter. Vernon, Simmons and Senter also earned a silver medal in the 4×200 relay, this time joined by Chuck Powers.
Derek Vannieuwkoop had North Surry only second-place finish in an individual event by being runner-up in high jump. Vannieuwkoop was also one of two Greyhounds to finish third in an individual event, doing so in the 400 meters. The other third-place individual finish was Aaron Mauck in the discus throw.
North’s final top-3 finish came in the 4×400 relay, including team members Vannieuwkoop, Ray Pell, T. Kole Bryant and Elijah Shelton.
Full meet results can be found at bit.ly/3KUOTUw
PILOT MOUNTAIN — For the second consecutive season, East Surry is riding a win streak of more than 10 games.
Of the 100 baseball teams in the 2A division – 52 in the West Region and 48 in the East Region – only two have yet to lose in 2022: East Surry in the West, and East Duplin in the East. Recent wins over North Wilkes and Starmount have the Cardinals at 14-0 overall and 8-0 in the Foothills 2A Conference.
East Surry opened the week with a home game against North Wilkes on April 12. Junior Folger Boaz threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts, and East Surry won 7-0 for its second shutout of the year.
Luke Bowman and Trey Armstrong led the Cardinals with two hits each; Bowman had a single, a double and was walked once, while Armstrong had two singles and was walked once. Boaz, Luke Brown, Caden Lasley and Brett Clayton each added hits for the Cards.
Bowman scored three of East’s seven runs, and Armstrong, Caden Lasley, Brett Clayton and Tristen Mason each scored once vs. the Vikings.
East Surry was back in action the next night in a home nonconference game against Starmount.
The Rams became one of the few teams this season to hold a lead against the Cardinals thanks to a 3-run second inning. East trailed 3-1 until tying the game in the bottom of the third, and then neither team scored again until the seventh inning.
Anthony Ayers was East’s lead batter in the bottom of the seventh. Ayers took the second pitch thrown his way and sent it over the fence at Barry Hall field for the walk-off home run.
The Cards only had more than four players bat in an inning one time, finishing with six overall hits. Bowman had two hits in the Starmount game, a triple and a single, and Ayers had a single to go with his solo homer. Armstrong and Clayton each added one hit.
Matthew Keener threw 6.0 innings and struck out four batters, walked one, and gave up three runs on four hits. Ayers pitched the final inning and finished with one strikeout and one walk.
East’s bats came alive the next night in the second game against North Wilkes. Eight different Cardinals combined for 11 hits in the 15-2 win, highlighted by a Boaz home run, triples from Bowman and Clayton, and doubles by Mason and Lasley.
Brown threw all five innings in the mercy rule victory. The junior pitcher struck out seven batters, walked one, and gave up two runs on four hits.
East Surry is currently first place in the FH2A Conference with an 8-0 record. Surry Central is second at 6-2 after dropping back-to-back games to West Wilkes, who is in third at 7-3. Forbush is fourth at 4-4, followed by North Surry at 3-5, Wilkes Central at 2-8 and North Wilkes at 0-8.
The Cardinals have six games remaining in the regular season. East Surry will play a two-game series against West Wilkes, a two-game series against Surry Central and a pair of home games against Davie and North Stokes.
The Cards are back in action on April 19 in a home game against West Wilkes.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A steady stream of runs through the five innings was enough to lift East Surry past Surry Central.
The Cardinals recorded 15 hits and scored at least once in each of the first five innings. East Surry errors opened the door for a Surry Central comeback when leading 7-3, and the Eagles took advantage with two quick runs in the top of the sixth. The Eagles put two more runners on base, but the Cards left the potential game-tying runs stranded on base in the sixth inning.
East held on to the 2-run advantage to win the Foothills 2A Conference game 7-5.
Cardinal pitcher Elise Marion finished the game with 12 strikeouts, one base on balls and gave up three runs on five hits. Riley Pennington also spent time on the mound for East, allowing two hits and two runs.
Marion, Rosie Craven and Bella Hutchens each had three hits for East Surry: Hutchens had three singles, Craven two singles and a double, and Marion two singles and a triple. The trio each scored for the Cardinals (4-10, 3-6 FH2A) as the home team built a 3-0 lead through two innings.
Craven led the game off with a single and was scored by a Marion RBI triple. Clara Willard followed Marion’s triple with an RBI double to make it 2-0. In the second inning, Hutchens led with a single, stole second and was scored on a Craven double.
Surry Central pitcher Carlee Jones left East Surry runners on base to keep the lead from growing even more. Jones, who pitched a complete game for the Eagles (3-9, 2-7 FH2A), had four of her six strikeouts in the first two innings.
Central’s offense got going in the top of the third inning. Erica Coe singled with two outs, and was scored on a hit from Arial Holt. Holt herself rounded the bases and scored the Golden Eagles’ second run to make it a one-run game.
East Surry maintained a slim lead as both squads continued to score through the fourth inning: Haley Chilton scored on a Hutchens RBI in the bottom of the third, Kaylin Moody hit a home run for Surry Central in the top of the fourth and Craven scored on a Marion RBI in the bottom of the fourth.
The Cards built their largest lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Hutchens recorded her third single with two outs, and Sara Scott followed with a single for her first hit of the night. Addy Sechrist scored both teammates on a 2RBI single, then Sechrist herself reached third due a fielding error.
The Golden Eagles were at the top of the lineup in the top of the sixth, now down four runs. Holt and Emma Gentry each singled, and Moody scored both to cut the lead to 7-5 with only one out. The next out came when Moody was tagged out at second base, but Central battled back by putting Jones and Kailea Zurita on base. Both runners were left on after Marion threw her 10th strikeout.
Willard and Chilton each had singles in the bottom of the sixth inning, but neither scored as East was held scoreless for the first time in the game.
Central’s last chance to put up runs came in the top of the seventh. However, two strikeouts thrown by Marion and fly out ended the game.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry completed its season sweep of North Surry with a 2-0 shutout victory on April 12.
Addison Goins got the Cardinals on the scoreboard early with a goal eight minutes into the first half. Samantha Blose added the cushion on East Surry’s lead by scoring on a quick strike with just 31 seconds remaining in the first half.
Liannette Chavez assisted both goals.
“It was a great team win tonight,” said East Surry coach William Hart. “I felt like we had a pretty good hold on the midfield, and that really opened up a lot of doors for us. Lia and Sam did a great job of controlling the pace of play and distributing.”
Tuesday’s win moves the Lady Cardinals to 6-4-2 overall and 5-3 in the Foothills 2A Conference. East has won three of its past four matches.
“The girls have worked hard this year,” Hart said. “We got a couple girls back from injury that we’re trying to incorporate into the rotation, so we’re excited about that as well.”
North Surry coach Eric Jessup applauded his team’s improvement from their first meeting against East Surry, which the Cardinals won 6-0 on March 18. Jessup felt his team competed all 80 minutes, however the Greyhounds were plagued with an issue that’s impacted them all season.
“We’ve had a lot of trouble this season finding the back of the net in these close games,” Jessup said.
North Surry (2-10, 1-7) lost its leading scorer of the past two seasons, Cynthia Chaire, to an injury early in the season. The Hounds’ first few games following Chaire’s injury were lopsided losses, but five of the team’s next six losses were decided by just one goal.
“The team really is improving as a whole, and I’m very proud of our girls for that,” Jessup said. “We’re hanging in these close games against comparable teams, and we’re playing teams tighter the second time around like Mount Airy and East Surry. We’re getting more offensive opportunities, we just have to find a way to score.”
The Lady Cards’ midfield and back line remained pressed up for most of the match, which put pressure on the Greyhounds’ defense. North Surry two center-backs, Weatherly Reeves and Kim Elias, were able to bend but not break for most of the match, which kept East Surry’s from firing too many shots from inside the 18-yard box.
Jessup said there wasn’t a lot his team could’ve done to prevent the first goal, as East Surry made a strong run and finished it off decisively. The second goal, however, he thinks could’ve been prevented had the team made a few minor tweaks.
East Surry’s second goal was set up by a Cardinal run up the right sideline. Unable to cross near the end line, East cut back and looked to funnel a pass into the center. Chavez found Blose near the semicircle at the top of the 18, and Blose, despite numerous defenders crowding the box, sent a line drive to the lower-90 for the goal.
“Their first goal was a great one, but the second one we really could’ve – and probably should have – stopped before it got to the goal,” Jessup said. “The shot itself was strong, but we had so many people in the box that could’ve got in the way had we been on our toes. We’re holding pretty good teams to one, two or three goals, so the defense has been playing pretty good, but that one lapse at the end of the half really hurt us.”
The Cardinals defense has also come into its own this season. East Surry keeper Katie Collins has four shutouts on the year, and only two teams have scored more than two goals in a single game: Forbush and Wilkes Central, which are both juggernauts of the 2A division.
Hart said the was proud of the progress his girls have made not only this season, but across multiple years. East Surry only played a combined 16 matches the past two seasons due to the pandemic, but his team has continued to put in work during the times of uncertainty.
“Of our four seniors, three have been with the team all four years: Liannette, Sam and Brianna [Whitaker],” Hart said. “I’m so happy that they’re finally getting a full season and have seen great success so far, which is something they’ve been working toward for four years. Obviously we still have things we want to improve on, but I’m grateful to see their hard work yielding results on the field.”
As North Surry pushes into the final stretch of the regular season, Jessup said he knows his girls will get over the hump and start putting games away like he knows they’re capable of.
“We’ve been learning how to play as a unit, and we’re getting a lot better every time we step on the field,” Jessup said. “We’ve got some winnable games down the stretch, but we as coaches as well as the girls know it’s not going to be easy; we wouldn’t expect it to be.”
Addison Goins goal on Liannette Chavez assist (ES) 8’, Samantha Blose goal on Liannette Chavez assist (ES) 40’
DOBSON — A 15-strikeout performance on the mound paired with a 10-hit night lifted Mount Airy to an 8-1 win over Surry Central.
Surry Central had chances to pile runs on early in the game, but left six runners on base through the first three innings. Mount Airy, held scoreless through the first two innings, took over in the top of the third. The Granite Bears scored at least once in each of the remaining five innings to pick up win No. 11 on the season.
Both squads came into Wednesday’s nonconference game in need of a win.
The Golden Eagles (11-5, 6-1 Foothills 2A) were less than 24 hours removed for their first conference loss of 2022. After winning eight of its past nine games, Central fell 14-9 at West Wilkes on Tuesday.
Mount Airy faced a similar situation. The Bears (11-7, 6-2 Northwest 1A) had won 6-of-7 conference games and were hot off a 7-0 win over North Stokes. Mount Airy went on the road on April 8 and lost 10-3 in the rematch against North Stokes, then dropped a close nonconference game to South Iredell on April 11.
Rylan Venable pitched a complete game for the Bears with 15 strikeouts. In seven innings, Venable walked three batters, hit three batters and gave up one run on four hits.
Despite three of Central’s four hits coming in the first two innings, the Eagles wouldn’t score until the bottom of the fifth.
Leadoff Dakota Mills singled to begin the bottom of the first after the Bears went three up, three down in the top of the inning. Clay Whitaker was then hit by a pitch, and both players shifted to scoring position on stolen bases. Venable kept the board clean with three consecutive strikeouts.
Another quick batting appearance for the Bears put the Eagles at the plate once again. Lucas Johnson nailed a single to right-center field, and Spencer LeClair soon joined him on base with a single of his own. Mills was walked to load the bases with two outs, but Venable fired his sixth strikeout of the game to leave all three runners on base.
Momentum shifted in the top of the third when Brison George hit a double for the Bears’ first hit of the evening. Central’s Aiden Shropshire threw his first of two strikeouts when he faced the next batter, but gave up a single to Landon Cox that put George on third. A balk moved Cox to second and scored George.
From here, Mount Airy’s lead continued to slowly grown. Surry Central used four different pitchers for varying lengths of time, but none could completely contain the Bears. Shropshire led the way with 4.1 innings pitched, Mills and Mason Jewell each threw one inning and LeClair pitched 0.2 innings. The quartet combined to throw six strikeouts and walk four batters.
The Granite Bears’ lead doubled in the fourth inning when Logan Dowell went home on a Golden Eagle error. It doubled once again in the fifth when George, Cox and Ian Gallimore each had singles.
Central got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Mills was hit by Venable’s first pitch of the inning, then Whitaker was hit by Venable’s next pitch. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and a ground out by Kade Norman provided the distraction for Mills to score. Venable tossed his 12th strikeout to prevent additional scoring.
Surry Central had two batters walked, one in the sixth and one in the seventh, but neither player advanced past first base.
Mount Airy, meanwhile, added one run in the sixth and three in the seventh. Dowell was walked as the leadoff hitter, and singles from Kamden Hawks and Reece Deaton scored the fifth run. The bases were loaded with no outs as the Bears looked to pad their lead even more, but Central executed a defensive play that – after much discussion – resulted in a double play.
Josh Penn hit a short grounder that was fielded by Johnson and thrown to Mills at the plate for the force out. Mills turned and fired a throw toward first, but the ball hit Penn instead of Kade Norman’s glove. The umpires met and called Penn out for interference, then had George and Hawks move back to second and third. Central’s Jewell then picked up the third out with a strikeout.
The Bears made up the difference in the seventh inning with three final runs. Dowell scored Gallimore on an RBI double, a wild pitch scored Venable and an Eagle fielding error allowed Dowell to score run No. 8.
Surry Central and Mount Airy will play again on April 20, this time in the Granite City. In the meantime: Surry Central travels to West Wilkes on April 15 and Mount Airy hosts Elkin on April 19.
DOBSON — No one in Dobson seems to know when Surry Central’s most recent conference championship was.
Some say it’s been well over a decade, while others estimate an even longer drought. The one thing Golden Eagle fans can agree on is that teams won’t have a problem answering that question moving forward.
Surry Central completed its perfect conference campaign on Wednesday by defeating East Surry 6-3.
“I am so excited for my guys and our community,” said Golden Eagle coach Mason Midkiff. “We have had such great support from the students, staff and entire Central district all season. At the beginning of the season our team made it a goal to win a conference title. I am extremely proud of the dedication this team has shown to improve every day, and especially thankful for the leadership of our senior captain Jacob Edmonds in achieving that goal!”
Surry Central finishes the regular season 13-1 overall and 12-0 in conference play. In addition to the conference championship victory, the Eagles also celebrated Edmonds as part of the team’s Senior Night.
The Cardinals, who finish second in the conference, pushed the Eagles like no other FH2A team this season. When the two teams met in Pilot Mountain earlier this season, East (11-6, 10-2 FH2A) handed Central its first singles and doubles losses of 2022, but still came up short 7-2. Four singles matches had to be decided by third-set tiebreakers that day.
This time around only two singles matches went to third-set tiebreakers, but most of the matches were still hotly contested.
East Surry’s two singles victories came on courts No. 3 and No. 5.
Noah Hopkins defeated Maddox Martin 6-2, 6-4 in No. 5 singles. Hopkins led 3-2 in the first set before winning the next three games. The two traded wins in the second set until Hopkins closed the match with three-straight wins.
East’s Kade Talton and Central’s Michael Tucker needed two tiebreaker to determine a winner on court No. 3. Tucker won the first set 6-1, then Talton led most of the second set but couldn’t put Tucker away. Once the two were tied 6-6 in games they played a 7-point set tiebreak, which Talton won 7-4.
By winning the second set, Talton forced a third-set 10-point tiebreak. Tucker led 5-4 at one point, but Talton won six of the next seven points to win 10-6.
Surry Central’s singles wins came on courts No. 1, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6.
The Eagles’ Tripp McMillen and Isaac Eller each won in straight sets. McMillen defeated Lupe Chavez 6-0, 6-2 in No. 4 singles, and Eller defeated Hayden Douglas 6-4, 6-1 in No. 6 singles.
The final two singles matches to finish were on the top two courts. Edmonds topped Levi Watson 7-5 in the first set, but Watson won the second set 6-3. The Central senior led at each switch, first 4-2 then 7-5, before going on to win the 10-point tiebreak 10-7.
Though court No. 1 did not feature a tiebreak set, the match between Central’s Josh Pardue and East’s Cooper Motsinger was by far the longest of the afternoon. The pair went to war, and by the end of the match had the attention of a huge crowd. Pardue came away with the win in the end 7-5, 6-4.
Pardue finishes the season 14-0 in singles. Motsinger, who finishes 14-2 in singles, is the only one of Pardue’s opponents to win more than four combined games in a single match.
Also finished undefeated was the No. 1 doubles duo of Pardue and Edmonds. The pair defeated East’s Talton and Hopkins 8-1 to finish the regular season 14-0.
Tucker and McMillen teamed together in the No. 2 doubles match to take down East’s Motsinger and Nick Lowery 8-4. The Cardinal team cut the Eagles’ lead to 4-3, but Central closed out strong for its sixth individual win of the match.
East Surry got its third overall win of the match in No. 3 doubles. Watson and Colsen Semones initially trailed 2-1 against Central’s Martin and Eller, but the Cardinals’ battled back to win 8-5.
East and Central will likely have individuals meet again at the FH2A Tournament, which is scheduled for April 21 at North Surry.
DOBSON — Surry Central High School announced that Mr. Marty Behrens will be the school’s new varsity boys basketball coach.
Principal Misti Holloway and Athletic Director Wes Evans introduced Behrens to the community at a meet-and-greet in the school’s gymnasium Tuesday afternoon.
“I just can’t tell you how excited I am for this opportunity,” Behrens said at the meet-and-greet, sporting the Surry Central insignia on his shirt for the first time. “I can’t thank Coach Evans, Mrs. Holloway as well as the rest of the interview committee enough for giving me this opportunity.”
Behrens is a 1991 graduate of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., that earned his teaching certification in 1998. He began teaching and coaching basketball the same year at Bennett High School, located in his home state of Colorado. Behrens went on to teach and coach at multiple other schools, including Lake Gibson High School in Florida, as well as North Wilkes and East Surry High Schools in N.C.
“We are excited for Coach Behrens to join our Golden Eagle family,” said Holloway in a press release. “Our interview committee was impressed with Coach Behrens’ knowledge of basketball, enthusiasm for coaching, experience with building a positive culture, and ability to create strong, hard-working relationships with players. Many former coaching colleagues and athletic directors speak highly of Coach Behrens’s determination, mindset and love of helping players grow in their basketball abilities.”
Behrens’ most recent coaching stint came at East Surry High School from 2018-2021. The Cardinals posted a record of 39-24 in those three seasons, made back-to-back playoff appearances and won the Northwest 1A Conference Tournament in 2020 – which was the school’s first conference tournament championship in 12 years.”
“We are pleased and excited to have Coach Behrens working with our basketball program,” Evans said. “His breadth of knowledge, experience and personable demeanor will be a very positive influence on the players in the program and the students in our school. We look forward to what we believe to be great things at Surry Central.”
Behrens told the crowd at Tuesday’s gathering that he believed his coaching career was finished after departing from East Surry following the 2020-21 season. However, he just couldn’t stay away. When Surry Central’s Myles Wilmoth announced he was stepping down as head coach after six seasons, Behrens saw his opportunity to get back in the game.
”Taking those few months off, I found out that I still had that fire burning,” Behrens said. “I always admired this program and the kids here during my years at East Surry and North Wilkes. It just seems like a place I’ve always wanted to be a part of quite honestly.
”I grew up in a small farming community out in Colorado, which is where I was born and raised, and Dobson reminds me a lot of that community. I’m excited to get to know you guys, build some relationships and get started.”
Behrens currently serves as the boys lacrosse coach at West Stokes, but said he’s ready to hit the ground running at Surry Central as soon as lacrosse season ends.
The Golden Eagle community is optimistic regarding the boys basketball program moving forward. Central returns seven varsity players from the 2021-22 team that tied for the most wins for an Eagles team in a decade, and the school’s JV team finished 19-2.
The road won’t be an easy one, though, as the Foothills 2A Conference is expected to be just as competitive next season.
“I’m very familiar with the challenges we have in front of us with the conference we’re in, and I know of the success of the top three teams in our conference last year,” Behrens said, referencing North Surry, Forbush and East Surry. “That being said, I know how close y’all were to beating all three of those teams at different times throughout the year.”
The 2021-22 Eagles took both East Surry and Forbush to overtime, and played North Surry – who went on to finish 2A West Regional Runner-up – to a pair of single digit games. Surry Central only lost to North Surry by a point in the FH2A Conference Tournament, after which North Surry won the conference championship by 17 points and three of its four playoff wins by double digits before falling to the eventual state champion.
“Hopefully, we can take that next step through hard work and dedication. Like I said, I’m just excited to meet y’all and get started.“
Behrens and his wife Julie have been married since 1993. They have two children: Kayleigh Bobbitt, who lives in King with her husband Taylor and their two children, Lane and Keo, and Troy Behrens, who lives in Wilkesboro with his wife Keri and two children, Brayden and Bristol.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry moved to 10-1 in the Foothills 2A Conference with back-to-back wins over West Wilkes on Monday.
With rain pushing back the Cardinals’ first meeting with the Blackhawks, the two teams decided to play a double header on April 11. East Surry swept both matches 9-0, meaning the Cards recorded double-digit conference wins in a single season for the first time in more than 15 years.
Monday’s match was also special as East recognized two senior athletes: Cooper Motsinger and Nick Lowery. The duo went undefeated in singles and doubles on their senior night.
East Surry and West Wilkes played eight-game pro sets in both singles and doubles to expedite the double header. The Cards only gave up eight total games in the entire first match – seven in singles, one in doubles – then surrendered just total three overall games in the second match.
In the first match: Motsinger won No. 1 singles 8-0, Levi Watson won No. 2 singles 8-0, Kade Talton won N0. 3 singles 8-1, Lupe Chavez won No. 4 singles 8-6, Noah Hopkins won No. 5 singles 8-0 and Hayden Douglas won No. 6 singles 8-0.
In doubles: Motsinger and Watson won No. 1 doubles 8-0, Chavez and Hopkins won No. 2 doubles 8-1, and Talton and Lowery won No. 3 doubles 8-0.
In the second match, for singles: Motsinger won No. 1 8-0, Watson won No. 2 8-1, Talton won No. 3 8-0, Hopkins won No. 4 8-0, Douglas won No. 5 8-1 and Lowery won No. 6 8-0. For doubles: Watson and Talton won No. 1 8-0, Motsinger and Lowery won No. 2 8-1, and Hopkins and Kevin Blakeney won No. 3 8-0.
East Surry will compete for a share of the FH2A Championship against top-seeded Surry Central (12-1, 11-0 FH2A) on Wednesday. Surry Central defeated East Surry in their first matchup 7-2.
North Surry hosted the final Foothills 2A Conference golf meet of the 2021-22 regular season on Monday.
Being the only match of the year hosted by the Greyhounds at Mount Airy Country Club, the team recognized four senior golfers prior to the match: Carson Stanley, Aiden Oakley, Nic Grey, Zane Hardy.
East Surry won the match as a team, besting second-place Forbush by 14 strokes.
East Surry won the meet with a team score of 160. Forbush was second at 174, followed by North Surry at 195, Surry Central at 196, Wilkes Central at 222, West Wilkes at 224 and North Wilkes at 243.
Cardinal senior Bradley Davis was the medalist for the meet with a nine-hole score of 36 strokes. East Surry had at least one medalist for each FH2A meet this season; some meets saw multiple players tie for the top score.
The FH2A Championship will take place on April 25 at Cedarbook County Club in State Road.
*The top four individual performances contribute to team score
Offensive explosions in the second and sixth innings led North Surry to an 11-5 win over South Stokes.
The Greyhounds were quick to respond to any threats made by the visiting Sauras. South went up 1-0 in the top of the second, and North responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning. Later, in the sixth inning, South scored twice to cut the lead to 6-4. Like clockwork, North rattled off five more runs in the bottom of the inning.
North Surry (8-7) gets back over .500 with Monday’s win. The Hounds have now won back-to-back games for the first time since March 11, which was also a win over South Stokes. The Greyhounds look to build off this win as they begin their final stretch of the regular season.
Myles Draughn got the win on the mound for North Surry. In 4.2 innings, Draughn had five strikeouts, four walks, and allowed three hits on three runs.
Jackson Smith and Cam Taylor bookended the game on the bump: Smith threw three walks and allowed one run through 1.1 innings, and Taylor had one strikeout, allowed one run and two hits in the seventh inning.
Seven Hounds recorded hits against the Sauras, and seven also scored. Ethan Edwards and Draughn each had two hits, with Brodie Robertson, James McCreary, Jake Beamer, Keaton Hudson and Trevor Isaacs hitting once. The night of nine hits was highlighted by a 3-run home run hit by Hudson in the second inning.
Edwards crossed home plate three times, McCreary and Caleb Collins did twice, and Kolby Watson, Robertson, Hudson and Isaacs each scored once.
South Stokes used four pitchers during North Surry’s six at-bats. The quartet of Saura pitchers did manage to combine for eight strikeouts, but none could quite contain the Hounds playing at The Kennel. In addition to allowing 11 runs on nine hits, Maddox Nelson, Jonah Fie, Carson White and Blake Hughes walked six batters and hit one.
North Surry’s first scoring streak began with a double from Draughn in the bottom of the second inning. James McCreary was walked, then back-to-back Greyhounds struck out. Things looked bleak before Hudson gave the team life with a 3-run homer.
Isaacs kept things going with a single on the first pitch thrown his way. Edwards reached first on an error, then bases were loaded when Watson was walked. Robertson next scored Isaacs and Edwards with a 2RBI single to left field to make it 5-1.
The Sauras added a run in the top of the third, but the Greyhounds countered in the bottom of the fourth. Edwards hit a blooper to center field for a single, then ran all the way around the diamond to score on an RBI double hit by Robertson.
South cut the lead to two runs in the top of the sixth. After back-to-back batters were walked and hit by a pitch, Connor Young nailed a 2RBI triple to right-center field. The score was 6-4 with a runner on third, but North escaped before any further damage.
Draughn took a grounder to the foot, but made the throw to Robertson at the plate for the tag and the second out. Draughn then picked up the third out with a strikeout.
A new pitcher started the bottom of the sixth by hitting Hudson. Collins, running for Hudson, advanced to second on a wild pitch then scored on an RBI single hit by Edwards.
Watson and Robertson were both walked to prompt another pitching change. Draughn broke the new pitcher in with a 2RBI single to left field, increasing the lead to 9-4. McCreary bunted to load the bases, and four balls thrown at Taylor scored run No. 10.
South got Robertson out at the plate on a force play, but McCreary stole home on a wild pitch for run No. 11.
The Sauras added one final run in the top of the seventh.
North Surry resumes play in the Foothills 2A Conference this week with a two-game series against Wilkes Central.
Mount Airy hosted six other schools in Monday’s Northwest 1A Conference golf match.
Though no formal Senior Night festivities were held, the match served as the final home competition for Granite Bear seniors Eli Morrison and Brooks Sizemore.
The senior duo of Morrison and Sizemore led the Bears to a team victory.
Mount Airy won the meet with a team score of 161. South Stokes was second at 167, followed by Elkin at 172, East Wilkes at 175, Starmount at 205, North Stokes at 211 and Alleghany at 232.
South Stokes’ Larson Gallimore was the medalist for the meet with a nine-hole score of 36 strokes.
*The top four individual performances contribute to team score
With winter sports all wrapped up, The News is recognizing the local student-athletes that were presented with All-Conference Honors for their respective sports.
East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central all compete in the Foothills 2A Conference (FH2A), Millennium Charter Academy competes in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference (NWPC) and Mount Airy competes in the Northwest 1A Conference (NW1A).
All-Conference Honorable Mentions will include (HM) following the selection’s name.
East Surry – Cadence Lawson, Merry Parker Boaz, Bella Hutchens, Kylie Bruner (HM), Rosie Craven (HM)
Millennium Charter – did not field a girls basketball team in 2021-22
Mount Airy – Kylie Hollingsworth, Morgan Mayfield, Grey Moore (NW1A Player of the Year), Sofia Stafford (HM)
North Surry – Sadie Badgett, Callie Allen (FH2A Co-Player of the Year), Khloe Bennett, Callie Robertson, Sarah Mauldin (HM)
Surry Central – Mia McMillen (FH2A Co-Player of the Year), Jaylyn Templeton (HM), Brittany Frausto (HM)
East Surry finished 17-9 overall and 7-5 in conference play. The Cardinals were tied for third in the FH2A regular season standings, and finished runner-up in the conference tournament.
The Cardinals qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 12 seed in the 2A West. East Surry reached the second round before falling to eventual West Regional Runner-up Shelby.
Mount Airy finished 15-9 overall and 12-0 in conference play. The Granite Bears won the NW1A Regular Season Championship, and finished second in the conference tournament. Senior Grey Moore was named NW1A Player of the Year, and Angela Mayfield was named Coach of the Year.
The Granite Bears qualified for the 1A State Playoffs as the No. 9 seed in the 1A West. Mount Airy reached the second round before falling to Albemarle.
North Surry finished 19-6 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The Greyhounds won the FH2A Regular Season Championship and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. Senior Callie Allen was named FH2A Co-Player of the Year, and Shane Slate was named Coach of the Year.
The Greyhounds qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the 2A West. North Surry reached the third round, but fell to the eventual state champions, Salisbury.
Surry Central finished 8-1 overall and 2-10 in conference play. The Golden Eagles were seventh in the FH2A standings and were eliminated in the first round of the FH2A Tournament. Senior Mia McMillen was named FH2A Co-Player of the Year.
The Golden Eagles qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 31 seed in the 2A West. Surry Central lost to the eventual state champions, Salisbury, in the first round.
With winter sports all wrapped up, The News is recognizing the local student-athletes that were presented with All-Conference Honors for their respective sports.
East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central all compete in the Foothills 2A Conference (FH2A), Millennium Charter Academy competes in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference (NWPC) and Mount Airy competes in the Northwest 1A Conference (NW1A).
All-Conference Honorable Mentions will include (HM) following the selection’s name.
East Surry – Jordan Davis, Luke Brown, Folger Boaz (HM), Daniel Creech (HM)
Millennium Charter – Tristan Shockley (HM)
Mount Airy – Brooks Sizemore, Zeb Stroup, Tyler Mason, Caleb Reid (HM), Mario Revels, (HM)
North Surry – Jahreece Lynch, James McCreary, Kolby Watson, Jackson Smith (HM), Cam Taylor (HM)
Surry Central – Dakota Mills, Josh Pardue, Brady Edmonds, Christian Robinson, Jacob Mitchell
East Surry finished 17-8 overall and 9-3 in conference play. The Cardinals were tied for second in the FH2A standings and reached the semifinals of the FH2A Tournament.
The Cardinals qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 16 seed in the 2A West. East Surry reached the second round before falling to top-seeded R-S Central.
Mount Airy finished 19-6 overall and 10-2 in conference play. The Granite Bears finished second in the NW1A regular season standings, and also finished runner-up in the Conference Tournament. The Bears won 11 consecutive games at one point.
The Granite Bears qualified for the 1A State Playoffs as the No. 11 seed in the 1A West. The Bears reached the second round before falling to Bessemer City.
Millennium finished 4-24 overall and 0-12 in conference play. The Lions were seventh in the NWPC standings and were defeated by Bishop McGuinness in the NWPC Tournament.
North Surry finished 23-5 overall and 12-0 in conference play. The Greyhounds swept the FH2A Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships. Junior Jahreece Lynch was named MVP of the FH2A Tournament, and Tyler Bentley was named FH2A Coach of the Year.
The Greyhounds qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the 2A West. North Surry reached the West Regional Championship as part of a 9-game winning streak, but fell to the eventual state champions, Robinson.
Surry Central finished 13-14 overall and 5-7 in conference play. The Golden Eagles were fourth in the FH2A standings and reached the semifinals of the FH2A Tournament.
The Golden Eagles qualified for the 2A State Playoffs as the No. 29 seed in the 2A West. Surry Central lost to eventual Regional Runner-up North Surry in the first round.
Mount Airy’s boys tennis team celebrated three seniors players prior to Friday’s match against Starmount.
Each member of the senior trio – Noah Hart, Martin Cooke and Dylan Tilley –competed in both singles and doubles, helping the Granite Bears sweep Starmount 9-0.
The win puts Mount Airy at 11-4 overall as the Bears win their fifth consecutive match. The Bears have won 11 of their past 12 matches, including all eight Northwest 1A Conference contests, which helped the team rank as high as No. 2 in the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association Class 1A Poll.
The week five rankings from the NCHSTCA put Mount Airy at No. 3 overall after Uwharrie Charter (11-0) leapfrogged the top two teams to take the No. 1 spot.
The win over Starmount grants the Granite Bears at least a share of the NW1A Conference Championship. Mount Airy would have to lose its final two matches while Elkin, currently 5-2 in the conference, won its next three.
The Bears defeated the Elks 6-3 earlier in the season.
With storm clouds looming over the Granite City, Mount Airy and Starmount agreed to compete in eight-game pro sets for singles as opposed to the usual best 2-of-3 six-game sets. No Mount Airy player lost more than two games in singles, and the Bears only lost a combined two games in doubles.
In descending order from the top singles seed: Georgie Kriek, Carson Hill, John Juno and Martin Cooke each won their matches 8-1; Dylan Tilley won 8-0, and Noah Hart won 8-2.
In doubles: Kriek and Cooke won No. 1 doubles 8-1, Hill and Tilley won No. 2 doubles 8-0, and Juno and Hart won No. 3 doubles 8-1. Starmount’s roster was not listed on MaxPreps.
Mount Airy can clinch the NW1A Championship with a win over Elkin on Tuesday.
Things are looking up for North Surry’s varsity softball team.
After a 1-4 start to the season, the Lady Greyhounds have won 4-of-6 games. The most recent of these wins came against county and conference foe Surry Central on April 7.
A four-run first inning set the tone for North Surry on a night the team would finish with 12 hits. Surry Central failed to score more than one run, while also struggling to contain the Hounds’ offense.
North improved to 5-6 overall with the 10-1 win over Central.
Greyhound pitcher Trista Berrier struck out seven batters and gave up four hits in seven innings. Berrier did walk four batters, but the Hounds’ defense did well to stifle Central’s offense which left seven Eagle runners on base.
Carlee Jones threw all six innings for Surry Central. The Eagle senior had five strikeouts, no walks and allowed 12 hits.
Fielding errors proved costly for the Golden Eagles, and this was seen as early as the first inning. After Jones struck out North’s leadoff, Sarah Mauldin singled and Carley Puckett reached first on an error. Central forced a fielder’s choice at third base for the second out.
Jordan Snow scored Puckett with an RBI single, then moved to second on the throw home. Marissa Casstevens came up next and crushed a 3-run home run out of left field to make it 4-0 right off the bat.
Central looked like it might retaliate in the top of the second inning. Kaylin Moody singled to start the inning, then a Kailea Zurita single and Kylee Schendel walk loaded the bases with just one out. Moody scored on an Erica Coe fielder’s choice. Central still had two runners on base, but would strike out to leave both stranded.
Micah Felts had her first of two doubles in the game to start the bottom of the second. Felts only stayed on base for four pitches as she was soon scored on an RBI single hit by Sarah Sutphin, increasing the Hounds’ lead to 5-1.
Central put runners in scoring position in next three innings, but couldn’t make it past second base. North Surry, however, tacked on two more runs before the fifth inning.
Felts was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth. Sutphin put the ball into play with an infield ground ball, and a throwing error by the Eagles allowed her to safely reach first while Felts went to third. A Bella Aparicio slap put the ball in right field and scored Felts.
Central’s Clara Brooks did make the throw from right to Emma Gentry at the plate to get Sutphin out, though it didn’t hold off North for long. Mauldin got her first RBI of the game with a single to center field. Aparicio sped around third and reached home to score run No. 7.
Surry Central put runners on base in each of the next two innings, but once again failed to move them. Central even tried small ball in the fifth. Arial Holt led off with a walk, so Gentry sacrifice bunted to put Holt on second with one out. A ground out forced out No. 2 while keeping Holt on second, then Puckett made a diving catch in center field to keep the scoreboard clean.
After a calm fifth inning, North Surry ramped back up for three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Felts hit her second double to lead off the inning, and then scored when a fly ball hit by Sutphin was dropped in the outfield. The error allowed Sutphin to move all the way to third.
Mauldin hit an RBI single to score Sutphin and make it 9-1, then Puckett doubled to score Mauldin and make it 10-1. Berrier hit a double that put Mauldin on third as the Greyhounds had a chance to win via mercy rule, but a fly out forced the seventh inning to be played.
The Eagles went three-up three-down in the seventh to drop the Foothills 2A Conference game.
Surry Central drops to 3-6 overall, with Thursday’s game being the team’s sixth consecutive loss. North Surry improves to 5-6 overall.
Friends, teammates and partners in crime.
After successful high school football careers, Mount Airy seniors Mason Hill and Sao Lennon will continue their academic and athletic journeys at Methodist University.
“They don’t come better than those two guys,” said Granite Bear coach J.K. Adkins.
Hill and Lennon joined forces prior to the 2020-21 football season and instantly became great friends. The duo served primarily as offensive lineman – with Lennon at guard and Hill at tackle – but played some on the defensive line as needed.
“Those two guys played beside each other, so a lot of what we did enabled them to double team defensive linemen up to backers,” Adkins said. “They were by far the best double-team combo when we needed yards; we knew where we could go. It didn’t matter what you put in front of them, they would take care of business. They were extremely consistent every Friday and continued to get better as the year went.”
Hill and Lennon had very different football backgrounds before becoming a dynamic duo.
Hill was involved in the sport for most of his life.
“I feel great,” Mason said after signing his NCAA National Letter of Intent. “This is just a huge blessing to me. This has always been the dream, and I’ve been playing since I was six. It’s unreal.”
Nearly a decade into his athletic career, Hill said college football truly became a reality for him in 2020.
“After sophomore season and going into junior summer, I was working to find that path you could say,” Hill said. “That’s when I realized I was good enough to play at the next level, and coaches started reaching out.”
Lennon, on the other hand, didn’t even start playing football until his junior season.
“It’s really nice because I get to keep playing the sport and keep doing what I like to do, even though I’ve only played for two years,” Lennon said. “Being able to keep on doing it, and going with one of my best friends to a college to play, it’s really nice. It feels good.”
“Early on, we could tell that there was tremendous potential there for when he figured it all out,” Adkins said of Lennon. “Man, he really became a dominant player. High intelligence, high work ethic. Those two kids are very similar in their demeanor, and how they practice and carry themselves. I’m just so proud they get a chance to continue their education and get a lot of it paid for through sports.”
Lennon said his junior season wasn’t the best, and that he realistically didn’t even consider playing college football when he first started. What helped him tremendously was the layout of high school sports in 2021. Football was held in the spring, and Lennon went straight from that into wrestling season.
Sao was a state qualifier in wrestling, meaning his season lasted until the final weekend in June. From there, he jumped directly into football workouts and into his senior season in August.
“It just kept me fit and ahead of the game,” Lennon said. “It took me a little bit to get the technique, but once I got the technique it was like second nature. It was easy to go through the plays.”
Lennon had the added benefit of training beside an experienced player like Hill, which helped him overcome the learning curve.
“Our friendship really didn’t start until junior year, and despite what people may think we are really good friends,” Lennon said. “He comes over to my house all the time, we spend a bunch of time together outside of school and plan on being roommates in college. So, I’m betting this friendship will last for a long time, and being able to keep it going on and off the field is something nice.”
“It was great playing with him,” Hill said of Lennon. “I taught him a lot, too. Me and him, we were working together a lot junior year, which was easy because he’s a really good athlete. I feel like we’ll be really good in college too because we get four more years.”
Adkins said Hill is a classic example of a student-athlete that developed himself into a great football player. Despite not having a natural size advantage over defenders, Hill perfected his technique and became a huge part of Mount Airy’s success on the gridiron.
“At times this year, Mason dominated in ways I have not seen an offensive lineman dominate games in a long time,” Adkins said. “We had two opponents this year play us completely different just because of his ability to block the second and third level. Their alignment was different because of him, which is a great testament to what he can do.
“If he was 6’4” he would be rolling into a Division-I school no question. Methodist is getting a great player, and an even better person. He’s everything you want in a kid. I’m really proud of him and what he’s been able to do the last four years.”
Adkins added that Sao and Mason’s intelligence was a big part of their success on the football field. Mount Airy switched from a passing to a rushing offense for the 2021-22 season, and a strong offensive line was pivotal.
The duo helped the Bears rush for more than 3,600 yards and 56 touchdowns this past season, and the team finished 13-1 overall. Hill and Lennon both said they didn’t mind if more attention was given to the running backs and quarterback because the team recognized how valuable the line was.
“We’re always getting shoutouts from our running backs when they get offensive player of the game or whatever, because they know that without us it wouldn’t be as easy to go and run as much as they do,” Lennon said. “Getting recognition from the people and the players who actually know what the linemen mean to the team, that feels really good.”
Hill echoed Lennon’s statement, saying: “Everybody just gave us credit. We knew we were working, making holes for all the guys. They shouted us out, for sure.”
Lennon and Hill each had people to thank on their signing day.
“I’d like to thank my parents, my coaches, my friends who helped me motivate myself, and I want to give a shoutout to my friend Mason; He’s my partner in crime,” Lennon said.
“I want to thank my parents, friends, coaches and especially God for giving me this opportunity,” Hill said.
Adkins said it was going to be difficult replacing Hill and Lennon next season, but he does have a potential solution to the problem.
“They have two younger brothers, so maybe we’ll recreate this combo in a year or two,” Adkins said. “Oddly enough, they play their positions too.”
DOBSON — Surry Central hosted its first outdoor track and field meet of the 2022 season on Wednesday.
The Golden Eagles were joined by fellow Foothills 2A Conference teams East Surry and West Wilkes, as well as a former conference foe West Stokes.
East Surry’s girls and West Wilkes’ boys came away with team victories. Points were awarded by finish: 10 for first, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and one fewer points per finish through eighth.
Team results and individual breakdowns for each Surry County school are included below.
Golden Eagle senior Mia McMillen took home four gold medals for the Lady Eagles. McMillen won the 100-meter dash, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump. Her long jump mark of 18-02.00 feet not only set a new school record (which she previously held), but it also met the MileSplit US Second Team standard.
Four other Lady Eagles won gold medals in individual events, and one of Surry Central’s relay teams finished first.
Ella Priddy, Aylin Soto, Ivy Toney and Madelyn Wilmoth teamed up to win gold in the 4×400 relay, and three of those team members also won individual events. Soto won the 200 meters, Toney won the 400 meters and Wilmoth won the 800 meters.
Central’s final gold medal performance for the girls came in the 1,600 meters, with Yeira Munoz winning that race.
Surry Central’s girls had multiple top-three finishes that weren’t first. Priddy took second in the 200 meters, followed by Toney in third. Andrea Gonzalez was less than six seconds behind Toney in the 400 meters, finishing third, and Lanie Fitzgerald took second in the 1,600 meters behind Munoz.
In field events, Cassie Snead took second in shot put.
Despite only having five first-place finishes to Central’s nine, East Surry had competitors finish in the top three in 15 events and earn points in even more.
Four of East’s gold medals came in individual events: Joanna Parker won the 3,200 meters, Madeline Dayton finished first in triple jump, Clara Willard took the win in shot put and Chloe Ann Tew won high jump.
The Lady Cards’ fifth gold medal came in the 4×100. Relay team members were not listed on MileSplit. Two of East Surry’s second and third finishes also came in relay races, with the Cards’ 4×200 team finishing second and the 4×400 team taking third.
Seven East Surry girls had top-3 finishes in individual events. The only two that also won gold were Parker in the 1,600 meters, where she finished third, and Willard in shot put, where she finished third.
The five remaining Cardinal finishes on the podium were: Faith Braithwaite finished second in the 100 meters, Ember Midkiff took second in high jump, Arianna Liberatore was second in triple jump, Sophie Hutchens finished third in the 800 meters and Tara Martin was third in high jump.
Brian Williams had three top-3 finishes for Surry Central’s boys. Williams, a freshman, won the 100 and 200 meters while taking second in long jump.
Ignacio Morales and Allen Huffman combined to win the Eagles’ other two gold medals. Huffman ran away with a win in the 300 hurdles, and Morales won both the 800 and 1,600 meters.
Josue Rodriguez added a second-place finish for Central by taking a silver medal in the 400 meters. Brangly Mazariegos had two third-place finishes, doing so in the 800 and 1,600 meters.
The Golden Eagle boys’ final podium appearance came in the 4×400 relay. The team of Morales, Huffman, Rodriguez and Ayden Wilmoth finished third.
The Cardinal boys won five gold medals: two in individual events, and three in relay races. Isaac Vaden had both individual wins, doing so in the discus throw and shot put.
East Surry’s 4×100, 4×200 and 4×800 relay teams all won gold medals. Layton Allen, Kyle Zinn, Colby Johnson and Lindann Fleming made up the 4×100 team; Allen, Fleming, Zinn and Joshua Parker were on the 4×200 team; and Parker, Noah Felts, Banks Johnson and Joe Cook were on the 4×800 team.
East had four other top-3 finishes: Zinn finished third in the 100 meters, Allen was third in triple jump, Sam Whitt finished third in discus throw and Eli Becker was third in shot put.
Full meet results can be found at bit.ly/36VzjJy
DANBURY — Teams from Surry, Stokes, Guilford and Wilkes Counties convened at North Stokes High School for a track meet on April 6.
The host school, Mount Airy, South Stokes and East Wilkes represented the Northwest 1A Conference, while Millennium Charter Academy and Cornerstone Charter Academy represented the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference.
South Stokes’ girls and Mount Airy’s boys came away with team victories. Points were awarded by finish: 8 for first, 6 for second, 4 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth
Team results and individual breakdowns for each Surry County school are included below.
The Lady Lions had two first-place finishes in Wednesday’s meet: one in an individual event, and the other in a relay event.
Sophomore Clara Minix won gold for Millennium in the 400-meter dash, winning by nearly six seconds. The Lions 4×800 team also won gold. Relay team members for the race were not listed on MileSplit.
In addition to the pair of gold medals, Millennium’s girls added four more top-3 finishes. Ava Utt finished second in high jump, while three more Lions finished third: Minix was third in the 200 meters, River Edge was third in the 400 meters and Ruby Hoerter took third in the 1,600 meters.
The Lady Bears won two gold medals: one in an individual event, and one in a relay race. Senior Sydney Seagraves won the shot put, and the Bears’ 4×200 relay team finished first in that event. Relay team members for the race were not listed on MileSplit.
Audrey Marion and Kancie Tate each had top-3 finishes for the Lady Bears. Tate was third in the 800 meters, and Audrey Marion was third in high jump.
Also finishing in the top five: Carrie Marion was fourth in the 800 meters, Seagraves was fourth in discus throw and Niya Smith was fifth in the 200 meters.
Lion senior Calvin Devore had Millennium’s only top-3 finish in the boys competition. He was third in the 800 meters and 1,600 meters.
Liam Allred finished just outside the top-3 with a fourth-place finish in the 400 meters.
The Granite Bears had seven first-place finishes.
Senior Mason Hill and sophomore Mario Revels the way with two gold medals each. Hill won the shot put and discus throw, while Revels won the 100 meters and high jump.
Caden Ratcliff added a first place finish in the 800 meters, and Blake Hawks won the 200 meters. Mount Airy also won the 4×100 relay, but team members were not listed on MileSplit.
In addition to two gold medals, Revels won silver in the 200 meters. Mount Airy actually took the top four spots in that race, with Connor Burrell finishing third and Caleb Reid taking fourth.
Tyler Mason, Deric Dandy and Hawks posted top-3 finishes as well. Mason was second in long jump, Hawks was second in triple jump, and Dandy won silver in the 400 meters and discus throw. Dandy also had a third-place finish in shot put.
Full results from the meet can be found at bit.ly/3xblnpe
Nick Lowery was No. 6 on the field during his four years at East Surry High School, but will be remembered as No. 1 in the history books.
Only one player – in two decades of East Surry boys soccer – has earned a college scholarship to continue his soccer career. That honor goes to Lowery, who made things official when he signed his NCAA National Letter of Intent with Concord University.
“I’m very excited; this is what I’ve worked for,” Lowery said. “Signing has been one of my dreams.”
Lowery said becoming a starter his freshman year was proof that he was, in his own words “not too terrible,” since he could contend in the more competitive environment. This gave life to his dream of playing at the collegiate level.
“I was like ‘I want to be able to make it to college soccer so my parents won’t have to pay, or not pay as much,’ and I’ve done it. That’s what I was hoping for,” Lowery said.
“His impact on East Surry soccer has been huge,” said Cardinal soccer coach Andy Jessup. “When you think of Nick, you really just think of what a great teammate he is. He’s a hard worker, puts in the time and he’s always at 100% on the field. He’s just a great kid.”
Jessup started as East’s soccer coach in 2019, which was Lowery’s sophomore season.
“When I got here, Nick had a very high floor because his skillset was already there,” Jessup said. “I would love to stand here and say I was instrumental in Nick’s development as a soccer player, but, to a large degree, by the time kids get to high school their floor is pretty much cemented. Their work ethic plays a big role into how they develop, and Nick’s dad, Mr. Mike Lowery, was a great role model for him and really taught him the game well. Nick is a coach’s dream.”
Nick began with recreational soccer at a young age. He realized how much he really loved the sport right away, and that passion only grew when he reached middle school.
“Once I got into it more I started playing competitive, and I really like that more competitive side of the sport,” he said.
He joined Northern Triad Soccer Club four years ago, and was coached by East Surry assistant soccer coach Sam Lowe. Nick still competes for NTSC and will continue playing with the club until he goes off to school.
As Nick made the jump to high school, his coaches considered him Mr. Reliable due to his work ethic and dedication to the team.
“If I sit here and think about it, I can’t think of a single practice he’s missed,” Jessup said. “I can’t say that for any of the rest of the kids. Practices on Saturday? Nick was there. Anything we did, Nick was there for.
“He also never really had a bad game. He might have a rough 10 minutes or so, maybe where a call didn’t go our way and he lost a little bit of focus, but he shook it off and was always there to help pick his teammates up. He was very coachable and reliable for us.”
Jessup also said he thought of Nick as an extra coach on the field due to his high soccer acumen.
“With our numbers being what they were the last couple years, it was integral having somebody on the field that could help out with coaching,” Jessup said. “Whether that meant relaying changes to the far side, making sure out set pieces were lined up correctly or whatever else we asked him to do.”
Lowery had his hands on just about everything the Cardinals ran on the field. He spent most of his time in the midfield, either as a holding defensive mid or a center attacking mid.
“If you think about the position he played, everything that we did moving forward was through Nick,” Jessup said. “Speaking to his work rate, he was always great to get back on defense; just doing more than his part. We wish him nothing but the best. He’s a smart kid, too, so I’m sure the classroom part of college won’t be any issue for Nick.”
Nick was a multi-time All-Conference selection at East Surry, both in the Northwest 1A Conference and the Foothills 2A Conference. He was selected for the N.C. Soccer Coaches Association’s All-Region 1A team as a junior, and the All-Region 2A team as a senior.
Lowery also competed in the N.C. BodyArmor State Games between his junior and senior seasons, helping the South team win a silver medal. He currently holds the East Surry school record for assists in a single game with four.
“This whole journey though East Surry has been really fun,” Nick sad. “It’s been enjoyable and very competitive. It’s been just a really good journey.
“I want to thank my parents for motivating me and helping me learn the skills that I have now, and my coaches for making it enjoyable and helping me like the sport more.”
Will Hurley’s 12th season as Mount Airy’s girls soccer coach is already one for the history books.
A 1-0 road win over North Surry on April 4 gave Hurley his 300th win at Mount Airy High School. The Bears coach has record of 181-40-12 in boys soccer, and a 119-93-13 record with the Mount Airy girls.
The nonconference win over the Bears’ crosstown rival also extended the team’s best start in program history. Mount Airy is 9-0-3 on the season, with all three ties coming against teams in higher divisions.
“They’ve done really, really well,” Hurley said. “I’m proud of them. They’ve worked hard.”
Nine of the Bears’ wins have been shutouts, with senior goalie Mackenzie Hudson wearing the gloves in each game. Hurley applauded the effort of his defense, and said it helps to have two of team’s three seniors defending the goal while the third does a lot of work in the defensive midfield.
Offensively, Mount Airy’s Alex Rose leads the Northwest 1A Conference with 20 goals, and teammates Kate Deaton and Paola Ramirez are both ranked in the top seven with 10 and eight goals respectively. Granite Bear Karyme Bueno is one of three players in the conference with at least 10 assists.
Rose’s 20 goals this season are the most of any player in the 1A West and second across the 1A division. She has four hat tricks on the year, and Ramirez has one.
Despite outscoring opponents 48-8, not all the Bears’ wins have been blowouts. A few of the wins have been too close for comfort, and Mount Airy’s three ties are the most in a single season during Hurley’s tenure.
“Sometimes it’s a 1-0 game or 1-1 game,” Hurley said. “When you’re not on, good teams find a way to win and I think sometimes we do that. It may be ugly, but it’s not like the girls aren’t trying. Sometimes they’re trying so hard that they they’re putting too much pressure on themselves and complicating it.”
Despite the team’s occasional struggles, particularly with Monday games, no one has got the better of Mount Airy yet.
The season is just getting interesting as the Bears get into the thick of conference play. Three Northwest 1A Conference teams are ranked in the top 10 of MaxPreps’ 1A West poll: South Stokes (8-2) is No. 3, Mount Airy (9-0-3) is No. 6 and the Bears’ next opponent Elkin (4-1-1) is No. 10.
Mount Airy hosts Elkin on April 7.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A strong start from Mount Airy wasn’t enough to overcome undefeated East Surry.
The visiting Granite Bears put up two runs in the top of the first inning, with the team’s first two batters circling the bases to score. The Cardinals responded with nine unanswered runs to improve to 11-0 on the season. Mount Airy had chances to add to its two runs throughout the game, but left eight runners on base.
Luke Brown got the win on the mound for East, throwing five strikeouts, three walks and hitting one batter in five innings. Brown also gave up two runs on three hits.
Anthony Ayers threw the final two innings, and finished with two strikeouts and two walks.
Cameryn Wilson was Mount Airy’s starting pitcher and stayed on the bump for four innings. Wilson threw two strikeouts, two walks and hit one batter, while also giving up seven runs on seven hits.
Ashton Gwyn closed the game with three strikeouts and no walks. Gwyn surrendered two runs on two hits in the final two innings.
Mount Airy (9-5) came into Monday’s nonconference game having won three straight. During that streak, Mount Airy put up 31 runs while allowing 11.
The Granite Bears seemed destined for another high-scoring performance after the team’s first five batters against the Cards all got on base.
Rylan Venable, Ian Gallimore and Wilson loaded the bases right out of the gate. Reece Deaton was walked with three men on base to bring Venable in for the Bears’ first run. Kamden Hawks then scored Gallimore with an RBI single. With no outs in the game, Mount Airy had surpassed its run total from its first game against East Surry this season.
But Mount Airy’s scoring stopped here. The Bears still had bases loaded with no outs after the second run scored. However, back-to-back-to-back strikeouts from Brown left all three players stranded, and East would put up six runs before Mount Airy put another man on base.
East Surry also came into Monday’s game riding a scoring streak. The Cards, who scored 96 runs through their first 10 games, put up 32 runs in a two-game series against Wilkes Central.
Trey Armstrong was the first Cardinal on base, doing so by bunting and beating the throw to first. When the throw did sail toward first it went past the first baseman’s glove and into right field, allowing Armstrong to make it all the way to third. His position on the bases didn’t matter, however, as Folger Boaz hit a bomb over the center field fence to tie the game at 2-2.
East added to its lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Caden Lasley and Ayers started off the inning with singles, and the pair moved into scoring position on a ground out by Brett Clayton. A single up the middle from Tristen Mason scored Lasley, then a 2RBI single from Luke Bowman brought Ayers and Mason back to the plate.
Matthew Keener scored the Cards’ sixth run in the bottom of the third. The junior was walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lasley, then Keener rounded third and scored off a Bears fielding error.
Mount Airy ended its cold spell in the fourth when Landon Cox and Gwyn hit back-to-back singles with just one out. Josh Penn came up and hit a hard line drive to left field, but it was caught by East’s Gabriel Harpe. Harpe’s quick throw to second beat Cox’s attempt to tag up.
The Cards scored for the fourth-consecutive inning when a Boaz hit bounced off the center field fence. Bowman scored from third, and Boaz made it all the way to second before the ball returned to the infield.
Mount Airy ended the fourth inning with a double play, then opened the fifth by putting two runners on base. Gallimore singled with one out, and Wilson was walked. Gallimore even made it to third after tagging up on a pop fly, but both Bears were left on base after a ground out.
Brison George was walked to begin the sixth inning after Mount Airy held East scoreless in the fourth. A Cardinal error attempting to pick George off at first allowed the runner to advance to second, then George went to third on a Gwyn ground out. The Bears once again found themselves on third, but failed to convert on the opportunity.
East Surry had its final bit of scoring in the bottom of the sixth. Mason led with his second single of the night, then stole second with Bowman up to bat. Bowman scored Mason with a hit to the outfield, then went to second on the throw home. Bowman tagged up on two fly balls to reach third and then go home for the ninth run.
Surry Central is riding a wave of momentum at the midpoint of the 2022 baseball season.
Putting up video game-like numbers in its past few games has propelled the Golden Eagles to a 9-3 overall record.
Surry Central is currently tied for first in the Foothills 2A Conference. The Eagles, ranked No. 20 in the 2A West in the latest MaxPreps poll, are 4-0 in conference play. The only other undefeated team in the FH2A Conference is East Surry, ranked No. 2 in the 2A West, at 6-0.
After dropping back-to-back games in the Cook’s Sports Spring Break Tournament, Central has won 6-of-7 games. This included four consecutive FH2A wins, two of which were shutouts, in which the Eagles outscored opponents 33-15.
Surry Central suffered its only loss since March 10 on the 26th: a 5-4 nonconference loss at Shelby. After the loss, Central won its next two games via mercy rule after outscoring a pair of opponents 37-10.
The Eagles first hosted Walkertown on March 28. Walkertown (8-5) put up two runs in the top of the first inning, but was shut down for the rest of the game. Brady Edmonds pitched all five innings of the mercy rule game and finished with 13 strikeouts and one walk.
Surry Central’s bats came alive and the Eagles scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Golden Eagles added eight more runs in the second inning, then four more in the third. Walkertown’s one run in the top of the fourth wasn’t enough to keep the game from ending after just five innings at 19-3.
Edmonds also had three hits, two RBIs and one run in the victory. Kade Norman and Dakota Mills each had two hits, and four Eagles each had one: Spencer LeClair, Mason Jewell, Kendall White and Max Lambert.
Mills had a home run against the Wolfpack. White and Mills each had a double, and Edmonds had two.
Mills and Clay Whitaker each scored three times in the win. LeClair, Jewell, White and Lambert each scored twice, and scoring once for Central was: Norman, Edmonds, Lucas Johnson, Javen Jenkins and Justin Reeves.
The 16-run difference matches Central’s largest margin of victory in the past five seasons.
Another big win awaited the Eagles two days later at Elkin. Here, Central led 4-1 after three innings before exploding for six runs in the top of the fourth. Elkin scored another run in the bottom of the fourth, then Surry Central went off for eight more runs in the top of the fifth to lead 18-2.
Elkin’s five runs in the bottom of the fifth weren’t enough to keep the game from ending via mercy rule.
Reeves got the win on the mound for Surry Central. He started and threw five strikeouts, two walks, and allowed two runs on four hits in four innings. Aiden Shropshire pitched the final inning and had one strikeout, one walk and allowed five runs on three hits.
Mills and Norman each had four hits against Elkin. Two of Norman’s hits were doubles, and Mills and Edmonds had a triple. Johnson added three hits, Jewell and Edmonds each had two, and Whitaker, LeClair and White each had one.
Ten different Eagles scored in the 11-run win over the Elks: Norman led the way with four, followed by Mills with three; Johnson, Lambert and Edmonds with two; and Jewell, Jenkins, Whitaker, White and LeClair with one.
Surry Central looks to extend its hot streak when it hosts Forbush (8-5) on April 4.
Mount Airy completed its season sweep of East Surry on Friday with an 8-1 victory.
The Granite Bears, ranked No. 2 in the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association 1A Poll, have won eight of their past nine matches after starting the season 0-3.
East Surry came into Friday’s match riding a hot streak as well. Since falling to the Bears on March 8, the Cardinals had won 5-of-6 matches. The only loss during that time came against the top team in the Foothills 2A Conference: Surry Central.
Mount Airy (8-4, 5-0 Northwest 1A) secured the team victory by the end of singles play. East won on court No. 1, while Mount Airy won the remaining singles matches in straight sets.
Mount Airy’s Georgie Kriek and East Surry’s Cooper Motsinger are very familiar with one another. The two No. 1 seeds were competing in their fifth head-to-head singles match in the past two seasons; three were in the 2021 regular season, and the fourth was in the 2021 NW1A Singles Championship match.
Kriek won their first battle in a third-set tiebreaker, Motsinger won the second in straight sets, then Kriek won again in another tiebreaker. Kriek took a 3-1 advantage over Motsinger by winning the NW1A Singles Championship in straight sets.
Motsinger got his revenge Friday with a comeback win over Kriek. The Bears’ top seed won the first set 6-2, but the Cardinal senior went up 5-1 in the second set before winning 6-3.
Motsinger took a 1-0 lead in the third-set tiebreaker and never trailed. Kriek managed to tie the score at 2-2, but Motsinger won the next four points. Kriek battled back and cut the Cardinal lead to 6-5 before another Motsinger 4-0 run ended the match.
Carson Hill won the No. 2 singles match for Mount Airy, defeating East’s Levi Watson 6-3, 6-2. The No. 6 singles match between the Bears’ Martin Cooke and the Cards’ Hayden Douglas also tilted heavily in Mount Airy’s favor, with Cooke winning 6-1, 6-0.
Granite Bear John Juno won the first set of the No. 3 singles match 6-1, but found himself down 2-1 to Kade Talton in the second set. Juno jumped back out front 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 before winning the set 6-4.
The Cards’ Lupe Chavez also came close to a second-set comeback. Connor Sechrist won the first set of the No. 4 singles match 6-1, then led 4-3 in the second when Chavez took back-to-back games. Juno secured the victory by winning the next three games and winning 7-5.
After winning the first set of the No. 5 singles match 6-1, Mount Airy’s Kieran Slate found himself down a game to start the second set. East’s Noah Hopkins won the first game of the second set, but Slate won the next two. The pair exchanged games until Slate went up 4-3 before winning back-to-back games.
The Bears added an exclamation point with three big wins in doubles: Kriek/Hill defeated Motsinger/Watson 8-3 in No. 1 doubles, Juno/Dylan Tilley defeated Talton/Chavez 8-1 in No. 2 doubles, and Cooke/Jared Pinto defeated Hopkins/Douglas 8-2 in No. 3 doubles.
Mount Airy resumes NW1A play on April 4 by traveling to No. 8-ranked East Wilkes. East will also face a team from the NW1A Conference, hosting No. 4 Elkin the same day.
Surry Central graduate Emma Bullin (‘21) was recently named Softball Rookie Pitcher of the Week for the USA South Athletic Conference.
Bullin is currently a freshman at Pfeiffer University. She earned a 2-0 record and a 0.81 ERA in two appearances, one start, last week for the Falcons. In 8.2 total innings pitched, Bullin allowed one run on five hits with zero walks and seven strikeouts as Pfeiffer swept a doubleheader from USA South rival Mary Baldwin.
Also nominated for the award: Emily Humphrey, N.C. Wesleyan; Madison McIntosh, Berea; Maggie Harris, Covenant; Abby Delp, Brevard.
Mount Airy completed a three-win week by coming back to beat Starmount 12-8 on Friday.
The Granite Bears scored a combined 31 runs in five days to stay neck and neck with the top teams in the Northwest 1A Conference. Mount Airy is now 5-1 in conference play, which ties South Stokes and North Stokes for the top spot.
Mount Airy’s first win of the week avenged the team’s only conference loss this season. The Bears, who improve to 9-4 overall with Friday’s win, lost a 5-4 game to South Stokes on March 22 in the Granite City.
After the game was postponed a few days due to bad weather, the Bears got their rematch with the Sauras on March 28. Mount Airy scored two runs in the top of the second inning, then South got on the board with one run in the bottom of the third. The Granite Bears put the game away with a four-run sixth inning, winning 6-1.
Ryan Venable got the win on the mound, throwing 4.2 innings for Mount Airy. The sophomore threw five strikeouts, walked two batters, and gave up one run on two hits.
Reece McDuffie threw 2.1 innings and had two strikeouts. McDuffie didn’t walk anyone or allow any hits.
Kamden Hawks had two hits and two RBIs for the Bears, while Venable added an RBI and a hit, and Ian Gallimore and Reece Deaton each had a hit.
Mount Airy turned around and played another road game the next day at Starmount. The Rams actually led 1-0 through two innings, but the Bears scored twice in the third to take its initial lead. Mount Airy then exploded for 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings while only allowing just one Starmount score.
McDuffie threw a complete game on the mound in what would be his final high school baseball game. The Tennessee Tech signee will undergo season-ending surgery, but went out with a bang by throwing seven strikeouts, walking one batter, and allowing two runs on four hits.
Venable led the way with three hits, including a triple, as well as three runs. Hawks added two hits, and McDuffie, Cameryn Wilson, Reece Deaton and Landon Cox each had one hit. Deaton led the team with three RBIs; Gallimore, Hawks, Venable and McDuffie each had two; and Wilson added one RBI.
The week concluded with the Bears playing their first home game in 10 days. Friday’s game was a stark contrast to the first Starmount-Mount Airy game in which the teams combined for three runs through four innings. This match-up was a shootout at first.
Starmount scored twice in each of the first two innings, and Mount Airy scored five times in the same span. The Rams tied things up 5-5 in the third, then took a 7-5 lead in the top of the fourth.
Gallimore started the comeback by getting on first with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Wilson doubled to put Gallimore on third, then Deaton scored both with a 2RBI single. Hawks moved Deaton to third with a single of his own, and a Starmount error committed during an attempt to catch Hawks stealing second gave Deaton the opening to run home.
Mount Airy added two more runs before a single out could be made in the bottom of the fifth. Ashton Gwyn singled to start the inning, then Josh Penn was hit by a pitch and Venable was walked. Gallimore scored Gwyn and Penn with a 2RBI single up the middle, then a fielder’s choice hit by Deaton made it 11-8.
Starmount scored one run in the top of the sixth, but Mount Airy wasn’t done scoring just yet. Landon Cox was walked in the bottom of the sixth, and a sacrifice bunt from Gwyn put Cox in scoring position.
Leland Atwood entered the game to run for Cox, and would soon return to the plate. Landon Gallimore singled to score Atwood for the 12th and final run.
Mount Airy used three different pitchers in the 12-8 win. Hawks started and threw two innings, finishing with three strikeouts, five walks and allowed five runs on five hits.
Wilson spent four innings on the mound for the Bears. He threw two strikeouts, two walks and gave up four runs on four hits.
Venable pitched the final inning of the game. After the first Starmount batter grounded out, Venable struck out the next two.
Mount Airy takes a break from conference play to travel to East Surry (10-0) on April 4, then the Bears host North Stokes on April 5.
The Millennium Charter Lions fell short in a conference tennis match against Cornerstone Charter on Wednesday.
Conference matches for the Lions are few and far between, as only three of the seven schools in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference fielded teams: Millennium, Cornerstone and Bishop McGuinness. Unfortunately for MCA, Bishop McGuinness (11-1, 3-0 NWPC) has the top-ranked team in the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association’s 1A State poll, while Cornerstone (7-1, 2-1) is ranked No. 9.
The Lions still managed to take three individual matches in each meeting against Cornerstone this season. The March 30 match was hosted by Millennium at Cross Creek Country Club. Individual match scores were not available.
Foster Baird picked up the Lions’ lone singles win of the match, doing so in the No. 4 spot. Baird picked up the win by topping Cornerstone’s Graem Hargrove.
In the remaining five singles matches: No. 1 Luke Simpson was defeated by Jacob Stanfield, No. 2 Zeke Harrison was defeated by Wyatt Kemp, No. 3 Eric Sorrell was defeated by Walker Witz, No. 5 Nick Johnson was defeated by Dylan Wilkins and No. 6 Jacob Smith was defeated by Holden Brown.
The Lions won both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Simpson and Harrison topped Cornerstone’s Wilkins and Josh Berard in No. 1 doubles, and Sorrell and Baird defeated Hargrove and Evan McNees in No. 2 doubles.
Cornerstone picked up its sixth win of the match in No. 3 doubles, where Turner Pyrtle and John Hitchcock defeated Millennium’s Smith and Daniel Fitzpatrick.
Surry Homeschool senior Faith McClary officially signed her National Letter of Intent and will continue her academic and basketball careers at Bob Jones University College.
BJU currently competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association’s (NCCAA) Division, though the school was approved to provisionally join the NCAA’s Division III in 2020.
“Honestly, I just feel blessed to have made it this far,” McClary said. “None of this would’ve been possible without my family, wonderful coaches, and awesome teammates.”
McClary joins Sydney Bedsaul (class of 2015) and Hannah Tompkins (class of 2012) as recent graduates of Surry Homeschool to continue their basketball careers at Bob Jones. The most recent Runnin’ Patriot to sign an NLI was Krissa Hill (class of 2019), who signed with Gordon College.
On choosing BJU as her home for the next four years, McClary said: “One of their recruiters came up to my teammate and I at East Coast Nationals Tournament, and began talking with us. So, that spring we went to a recruit camp that they hosted, and I also went to their individual basketball camp that summer. Whenever I was there, I always felt welcomed and at home – kind of like when I came to the Patriots. So this encouraged me to consider them to further my education.”
Finding a school that reminded McClary of home was important for academic, athletic and religious reasons. Runnin’ Patriots basketball was a huge part of her life for so long, and being able to find a similar environment meant everything.
McClary started playing basketball at age six. However, it wasn’t until she joined the Surry Homeschool team that she truly appreciated the sport and the relationships built while playing it.
“I’ve played on several teams over the years, but none of them felt like family until I came to the Surry Runnin’ Patriots,” McClary said. “At the first practice I went to with them, I just felt so at home and welcomed by the team. Here I am, on my last year playing with them, and love it more than ever.”
McClary helped the Runnin’ Patriots to an overall record of 21-7 for the 2021-22 season. The varsity girls finished second in the N.C. Home Educators Athletic Commission West Division with a 4-2 record, and McClary received All-Conference Honors.
The Lady Pats also went on to compete in the Homeschool Basketball East Coast Nationals in Gatlinburg, where they finished fifth overall in the varsity girls’ top bracket.
McClary had many people to thank for helping her get to this point.
“I’d like to say thank you to all of my coaches over the years, but especially to my coaches the last few years: Todd and Delores Hill, Greg Williams, and Dwight Spence,” McClary said. “Thank you to all of my awesome and supportive teammates at the Surry Runnin’ Patriots as well.
“I would also like to say thank you to my Dad for being my lifetime basketball coach, and for always supporting me and believing in me. Thank you to my mom – my personal cheerleader – who has been at almost every game of my entire high school career, and for always driving me the long distances two and three times a week.
“Most of all, I would like to say thank you to God, my Savior, for giving me the ability to play basketball and for allowing me to play this sport for so long.
“Oh! I almost forgot, last but not least, a huge thank you to my two older brothers.”
DOBSON — Rarely is a softball game measured in anything other than innings, but Tuesday’s game between Surry Central and Wilkes Central can be divided into two distinct halves.
Through four innings, the Golden Eagles of Surry County and the Eagles of Wilkes County each recorded three hits and scored one run. Scoring opportunities were few and far between, and the game sped through thanks to quick outs. Surry Central pitcher Carlee Jones had two innings – the first and the fourth – where she didn’t reach double-digit pitches.
Everything changed in the fifth inning when Wilkes Central piled on three runs, then added an additional three in the sixth. Surry Central had late chances to cut into the deficit, but ended up falling short in the 7-2 loss.
Wilkes Central pitcher Isabelle Curry was a problem all night for the home team. Curry threw 12 strikeouts, walked one batter and gave up four hits.
Jones threw all seven innings for Surry Central and finished with two strikeouts, one base on balls and 12 hits allowed.
Even when the Golden Eagles struggled to get hits off Curry in the first four innings, Surry Central’s strong defense kept the score at 1-1. Of the 12 outs called on Wilkes Central through the first four innings, 10 were ground outs and two were fly outs.
Wilkes Central put quickly put two runners on base in the top of the fifth: Aurora Higginbotham was walked, and Kambriana Blackwell earned a single via Surry Central error. Sydney Ferguson scored Higginbotham with an RBI single, then a 2RBI single from Curry scored Blackwell and Ferguson.
Wilkes Central went back on the attack after Surry Central went three up, three down in the bottom of the fifth. Abby Underwood and Saleen Miller each singled to start the inning. Jones struck out two of the next three batters, but Eryn Ferguson hit an RBI double between the strikeouts. Sydney Ferguson added two more runs with a 2RBI single.
Surry Central began its comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. Erica Coe singled up the middle with two outs, and then rounded the bases on a Kaylin Moody hit to the center field fence. Moody’s hit was dropped in the outfield, which allowed Coe to score and put Moody on third.
Despite only scoring one run in the sixth, Surry Central prevented any further damage by keeping Wilkes Central scoreless in the top of the seventh.
Jones was walked on four consecutive balls to begin the bottom of the seventh. A Wilkes Central fielding error on a hit from Kailea Zurita moved Cheyenne Rippey, who was running for Jones, to second base. Wilkes Central picked up outs over the next two batters with a strikeout and fielder’s choice, then the game ended with a Golden Eagle ground out.
Surry and Wilkes Central remain next to each other in the Foothills 2A Conference standings after Friday’s game. West Wilkes leads the conference at 4-1, followed by Forbush at 3-1, North Surry at 2-1, Wilkes Central at 3-2, Surry Central at 2-3, East Surry at 1-4 and North Wilkes at 0-3.
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
North Surry closed the month of March with a strong victory after droppings its previous four games.
After four very lightning-fast innings with just one combined run having been scored, Ashe County scored three times in the top of the fifth. North Surry responded in a big way the next two innings: the Hounds had 21 batters across the fifth and sixth innings, while the visiting Huskies were held scoreless in the same span.
The Greyhounds got back above .500 with the 10-3 win.
Jackson Smith got the win on the mound for North Surry. Smith started and threw six innings, striking out three batters, walking four, allowing three runs on five hits. Kolby Watson pitched the final inning, walking one batter and allowing one hit.
Ethan Edwards, Myles Draughn and Jake Beamer each had two hits for North Surry, and Edwards, Alec Singleton and Corbin Dollyhigh each scored twice. The highlight of the game came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Draughn, a.k.a. the birthday boy, crushed a 3-run home run over the fence in left-center field.
The celebrations of the sixth and seventh innings seemed like they might not make an appearance Wednesday when North found itself down two runs. Prior to the fifth inning, the only run by either team came in the bottom of the third when Dollyhigh crossed the plate thanks to a sacrifice bunt from Watson. Apart from that, neither team had more than four batters in an inning or advanced past second base until the fifth.
During its four-game skid, North Surry had been on the receiving end of a few multi-run innings that had a hand in the final result. The fifth inning of Wednesday’s game was a make-or-break situation for the Greyhounds if they wanted to stay above .500.
After a ground out by the North Surry leadoff, Edwards got the home team going with a stand-up double. A Watson hit to left field was dropped, moving Edwards to third, then Brodie Robertson scored Edwards with an RBI single. Watson added the game-tying run by scoring on a wild pitch thrown at Draughn.
James McCreary hit a hard ground ball down the third-base line to move Singleton – who was running for Robertson – to third with two outs. Beamer scored Singleton and put McCreary on second with a blooper to left field that triggered a pitching change.
Smith immediately ruined the new pitcher’s no-hitter by smacking a grounder to left field. The hit moved McCreary to third, but a fielding error allowed McCreary to round third and score the Greyhounds’ fifth run.
Ashe County hit a single and earned a base on balls in the top of the sixth, but both players were left on base after North forced a third out.
Dollyhigh led off in the bottom of the inning by hitting a single off the first pitch thrown his way. He was soon joined by Edwards and Watson to load the bases with no outs. Watson was called out at second on a Robertson hit, but it did allow Dollyhigh to score run No. 6. Three more runs were added when Draughn’s homer scored Edwards, Watson and himself.
Ashe County changed pitchers once again after Beamer singled and Keaton Hudson was walked. The new pitcher loaded the bases after walking Caleb Collins, then Beamer scored the 10th and final run on a wild pitch.
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
DOBSON — Things are coming together for the Surry Central girls soccer team.
The young Golden Eagles team posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Central defeated East Wilkes 2-0 on March 28, then topped North Wilkes 5-0 the following day. Surry Central’s mark of seven goals in those matches exceeds the amount of goals scored through its first 10 matches.
Central dominated play against North Wilkes and spent three-quarters of the match or more on offense. After struggling to find the back of the net in the first 20 minutes of play, the Golden Eagles (4-5-3) scored three times before halftime.
The first goal of the game was credited an own goal on North Wilkes. Yuri Ramirez took the second of back-to-back corner kicks in the 21st minute and sent a scorcher inside the six-yard box. The Viking keeper went to clear the ball out of North Wilkes’ defensive third, but unintentionally redirected it into the goal.
The Eagles added to the lead two minutes later on a left-footed shot from Estefany Avila. Her goal was assisted by Dafne Salgado-Perez. Ramirez made it 3-0 at halftime by finishing a cross from Ashley Santamaria in the 36th minute.
Karlie Robertson made it 4-0 with an unassisted goal in the 64th minute, and Wendy Cantor came in to score the Eagles’ final goal in the 70th minute.
“Both of those second half goals started with quality runs from the back and good passing to move the ball forward,” said Eagles coach Adan Garcia.
Garcia said the team has come a long way this season, especially the past two weeks. In addition to the wins over East and North Wilkes, Central tied Starmount and Ashe County 0-0, while falling to Forbush 3-0.
“Each of those games we were progressing,” Garcia said. “That’s what I’m looking for on this first round of conference games and with our nonconference games: progression.”
Garcia said the team’s effort against North Wilkes was a culmination of everything they’d worked on to this point.
“Those nonconference games don’t hurt our conference record, so can I feel more comfortable trying something different,” Garcia said. “That way, in case we do get into a big scenario with another team in conference or playoffs, we’ve had game experience doing that.”
Central used the games against Starmount, Ashe and East Wilkes to experiment with new formations, although this was done somewhat out of necessity with three Golden Eagle starters sidelined with injuries.
“[Former Surry Central soccer coach] Blake Roth has a lot of great quotes, and one those goes something like, ‘you’re a bad coach if you don’t mix it up,’ meaning a good coach knows how to manipulate his team to the scenario that’s going on,” Garcia said. “If I’m behind a goal with 10 minutes left, why am I still playing defensive? We’re already losing; what’s the difference between losing 2-1 or 3-1. Sometimes we need to ramp things up and push for a tie or the win depending on the situation.”
Garcia said his team has even responded well to its loss against Forbush.
“Roth would always tell me with the guys, ‘that’s what you call a good loss,” Garcia said. “We played them head on. I wasn’t playing all defensive like I was with Wilkes Central, and that was just because Wilkes Central is on another level. But Forbush, we played normal. They were very good, but we were able to get in some offense and run what we wanted to run. We just made three deadly mistakes and those cost us. We got a lot better because of that game, though.”
The win over North Wilkes is Surry Central’s first win in Foothills 2A Conference competition. The Eagles had a trial by fire to start conference play with matches against the teams that currently sit in first, second and third in the standings.
Central looks to continue its progress this season against North Surry on April 1.
Own goal scored by NW 21’, Estefany Avila (SC) 23’, Yuri Ramirez (SC) 36’, Karlie Robertson (SC) 64’, Wendy Cantor (SC) 70’
The Mount Airy and Surry Central tennis teams are making their names known statewide.
Both squads are ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisional polls conducted by the N.C. High School Tennis Coaches Association (NCHSTCA). The Granite Bears took down the previously top-ranked 1A team to ascend to the No. 2 spot, and Surry Central kept its undefeated season alive another week to enter the top 10 of the 2A poll at No. 9.
The NCHSTCA preseason 1A poll included three teams from the Northwest 1A Conference: Elkin at No. 1, East Wilkes at No. 2 and Mount Airy at No. 8. Bishop McGuinness, who is playing outside the NW1A Conference this season for the first time in more than a decade, was ranked No. 3.
All four of the aforementioned 1A teams kept their seeds through the first week of the season. Minor changes occurred in the week two poll when Bishop took the No. 2 spot, East Wilkes dropped to No. 4 and Mount Airy moved up to No. 7. A 7-2 Mount Airy victory over East Wilkes put the Bears at No. 4 for week three, and the Cardinals dropped to No. 7.
The Granite Bears went on the road on March 24 to face the top-seeded Elkin Buckin’ Elks. Elkin’s only prior loss was a 6-3 road match against Watauga, who is currently 8-0 in the 4A division.
Mount Airy won 4-of-6 singles matches, and all four wins came in straight sets. The Bears secured the 6-3 win over the Elks with wins in No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Due to this “upset” victory, Mount Airy now sits at No. 2 in 1A trailing only Bishop McGuinness.
Surry Central received votes for the NCHSTCA 2A poll in the preseason, week one and week two polls, but finished just outside the top 10 each time. After one week without any votes, week three, Central catapulted to the No. 9 spot for week four.
The Golden Eagles currently boast an overall record of 8-0, while leading the Foothills 2A Conference at 7-0. Of the 64 individual matches in which Central has competed, the Eagles have only lost twice: once in singles, and once in doubles.
Surry Central’s top wins have come against East Surry and Forbush.
Central defeated Forbush 9-0 on March 9. The Falcons became the first team all season to win a set against the Eagles, but Central still came away with the win in that match. Forbush currently sits at 9-2 overall and 5-2 in conference, with both losses coming against East Surry and Surry Central.
East Surry, currently 7-2 overall and 6-1 in conference, gave Surry Central its toughest test of the season so far. The Cardinals lost the match 7-2, but forced third-set tiebreakers in 4-of-6 singles matches. Other than the loss to Surry Central, East’s only other defeat on the season came against Mount Airy.
Mount Airy senior Zeb Stroup officially signed his NCAA National Letter of Intent and will continue his academic and football careers at Presbyterian College.
“To play college sports has always been the goal for me since I started playing sports, and it’s everything for me to get an opportunity like this one to go play at a great school with great coaches,” Stroup said.
Stroup’s role on Mount Airy’s football team changed year to year, and sometimes game to game. As the team’s Swiss army knife, Bears coach J.K. Adkins said he felt comfortable using Stroup just about anywhere on the field.
“Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he’s an elite athlete,” Adkins said. “[He’s] probably the best all-around football player on our team. He did it all for us at some point it seems like.
“He’s a good enough player that we snuck him down into the box some nights, we put him on the other team’s best player some nights, then other nights his job was to take the top off the defenses and score. Whatever we asked him to do, that’s what he was willing to do. He’s just a great competitor with a strong will to win, and that characteristic bled off on everybody around him.”
Offensively, Zeb graduates with more than 1,000 yards passing (1,186), just under 1,000 yards receiving (965) and more than 500 yards rushing (512). He also scored 16 offensive touchdowns and ran in three 2-point conversions.
Defensively, Stroup scored two touchdowns on fumble recoveries, grabbed eight interceptions, defensed 11 passes and racked up 153 total tackles. He also served on the return team and took a kickoff to the house his senior year.
Zeb was named to the Northwest 1A All-Conference squad twice. As a senior, Mount Airy finished 13-1 and won the NW1A Championship. The 2021-22 Granite Bears also set a school record with nine shutout victories, only giving up 46 points all year while scoring 680.
What makes Stroup’s resume even more impressive is the fact that his senior football season was just the sixth school season of his career.
“I actually didn’t start playing football until seventh grade, and before that basketball was my first love,” Stroup said. “I always thought of myself as a better basketball player than football, but after playing football for a few seasons I quickly realized that it was the sport for me.”
Now Division-I bound, Adkins said that – above all Zeb’s physical gifts and high football IQ that helped the team in all three phases – what really separated Stroup from the pack was his competitive nature.
“The biggest attribute that he brought to the table was that he was an extreme competitor,” Adkins said. “His competitive nature elevated how we practiced and how we played. He’s a big part of the puzzle that we have to figure out how to replace next season.”
“I was extremely blessed to play at Mount Airy all four years, and be a part of such successful teams,” Stroup said. “Playing at Mount Airy has helped me develop the mindset that losing isn’t really an option, and that’s the mindset I plan to carry with me into college. All of my high school coaches expected the best and pushed every single one of us day in and day out, and that rubbed off on me: always striving to be the best.”
In addition to his coaches, Stroup expressed gratitude to his mother, Angela, for helping him achieve his dream.
“I would really like to thank my mom for everything,” he said. “Growing up with two other brothers that played sports as well, she never missed a game, always got us to and from practice and loves sports just as much as I do. She truly has been in my corner through this entire process and has given me wisdom and her thoughts, but never being overbearing and I can never thank her enough for that.”
With high school football and basketball seasons now over, Zeb turns his attention to becoming a Division-I student-athlete at his home for the next four years.
“Presbyterian just seems to be the right fit for me,” Stroup said. “With an entirely new coaching staff, I know there won’t be any favoritism and I’m gonna get my shot, but what really attracted me to it was the relationships between my recruiters and I. They made me feel wanted and pursued me relentlessly for months, and in the end it just feels like home.”
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Two tennis teams riding mini win streaks met Monday in Foothills 2A Conference Competition.
East Surry won back-to-back matches after suffering its only conference loss of the season, and North Surry won consecutive FH2A matches after starting the season 0-5.
East held on to its second place standing in the FH2A Conference with a 9-0 win over North. The Cardinals improve to 6-1 in conference play, while the Hounds drop to 2-5.
The Cardinals (7-2) won all six singles matches in straight sets. Cooper Motsinger had the only double bagel victory, doing so at the No. 1 spot. Motsinger improved to 7-1 in the top spot with a 6-0, 6-0 win over North’s Holdin Hall.
Levi Watson remained undefeated at the No. 2 spot with a win over North’s Nathan Lattimore. Lattimore battled back to cut the first set to 5-3 before Watson won the next game, then Watson ran away with the second set 6-1.
The Cards only dropped a combined four games in the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches. Kade Talton defeated Colby Calloway 6-1, 6-1 on court No. 3, Lupe Chavez topped Jordan Inman 6-0, 6-1 on court No. 4 and Noah Hopkins bested Ryan Woodruff 6-1, 6-0 on court No. 5.
Freshmen Hayden Douglas and Ty Richardson faced off on court No. 6. Like Lattimore on court No. 2, North’s Richardson cut the first-set lead to 5-3 before Douglas won the next game. Douglas then won the second set 6-1 to secure the victory.
In doubles: Motsinger and Watson defeated Hall and Lattimore 8-1 on court No. 1, Talton and Nick Lowery defeated Inman and Woodruff on court No. 2, and Hopkins and Douglas defeated Calloway and Richardson 8-3 on court No. 3.
Mount Airy softball broke into the win column on March 25 with a 7-1 win over North Stokes.
North Stokes won all 23 matchups against Mount Airy during the 2010s: a decade in which the Lady Vikings won two state championships and finished state runner-up once. Since then, the Bears and Vikings have gone back-and-forth. Mount Airy topped the North Stokes 6-5 in their first of three games in 2021, but North won the next two before Mount Airy won their most recent meeting.
Sydney Seagraves had a strong performance on the mound for the Bears with 15 strikeouts. The senior only gave up four hits, one walk and one earned run.
The Granite Bear trio of Seagraves, Skylar Partin and Sofia Stafford combined for six hits and six runs.
Partin singled in the first inning, then scored on an RBI double from Seagraves. Stafford had a double of her own that scored Seagraves, and an RBI single from Isabella Beck scored the third run.
After North Stokes scored its only run in the top of the second, neither team scored again until Mount Airy piled on four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Partin tripled with just one out on the board. The bases were loaded after Seagraves was walked and Chloe Potts singled, and a 2RBI single from Stafford increased the Bears’ lead to 5-1.
Potts and Stafford scored the remaining two runs for the Bears win.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A pitching duel in Pilot Mountain ended with East Surry keeping its undefeated season alive.
When East and North Surry faced off on March 22 in Toast, the Cardinals put up 10 runs in the first five innings to defeat the Greyhounds. When the teams met at Barry Hall Field three days later, East and North Surry’s pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts, and the Cardinals held on for the 2-1 win.
East Surry, ranked No. 1 in the 2A West, improves to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play by sweeping the series against North.
East had three of its six total hits in the third inning of Friday’s game. The Cards capitalized on the burst of offense to score two runs, but wouldn’t advance past second base for the remainder of the game.
North Surry had four total hits to East’s six, but the Greyhounds (5-4, 2-2 FH2A) had seven players get on base that were either walked or hit by a pitch. The Hounds loaded the bases three times after scoring their only run in the fourth, but never could get back to the plate.
Cardinal pitcher Folger Boaz got the win on the mound with 11 strikeouts, three walks and three hit batters in six innings, while also giving up two hits and one run. Anthony Ayers came in for the save in the seventh inning; he threw one strikeout and gave up one hit during his time on the mound.
Ethan Edwards pitched a complete game for the visiting Greyhounds by throwing all six innings. Edwards struck out nine batters while walking none, and he gave up six hits and two runs.
The Cardinals’ game-changing third inning began with Brett Clayton reaching first after a hit to right-center field. Tristen Mason laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Clayton to second, then Luke Bowman singled to put Clayton on third. Both runners crossed the plate on a 2RBI single hit by Boaz.
East Surry’s two other scoring opportunities came in the fourth and fifth innings. Caden Lasley singled in the bottom of the fourth, then stole second base before being stranded. Trey Armstrong added a single in the bottom of the fifth, but his hit came with two outs on the board and the next Cardinal flied out.
Cam Taylor had North Surry’s only hit of the first three innings. The junior singled to right field to leadoff in the top of the second, and even stole second base. However, he was left on base after the next three batters flied out, struck out and struck out.
Kolby Watson singled to start the top of the fourth inning. Watson attempted to steal second, but had to return to first when Brodie Robertson was called for interference at the plate. Watson eventually advanced to second, then went to third on a wild pitch. Taylor joined him on base after being walked. Watson scored and made it 2-1 after a Cardinal fielding error on a hit by James McCreary.
Taylor and McCreary went to second and third, respectively, after a wild pitch, and Miles Draughn was walked to load the bases with just one out. The Cardinals prevented further damage by forcing a fly out and a strikeout.
North Surry found itself in a similar situation in the fifth inning, although the ending to the inning was anything but ordinary. Corbin Dollyhigh was on third, Watson was on second and a courtesy runner for Robertson was on first with just one out.
Taylor struck out for the second out, and Cardinal catcher Luke Bowman quickly made a throw to third to try and get Dollyhigh out after the third strike. Bowman’s throw ricocheted off Dollyhigh’s foot and rolled toward short. With Dollyhigh down after the throw, the other two retreated back to their bases. The Cardinals were too late to get Watson out, but made the throw to first in time to tag the courtesy runner.
The bases were loaded for the Hounds once again in the top of the seventh. Dollyhigh and Edwards led with back-to-back singles, Watson grounded out and Robertson was intentionally walked. The Cardinals picked up the final two outs after Ayers struck out Taylor and McCreary flied out to Matthew Keener in right field.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Mount Airy and East Surry went back and forth for 80 minutes exchanging haymaker after haymaker.
Neither team held an advantage for very long as one opponent was always eager to one-up the other. Everything balanced out in the end, and the teams walked away with a 2-2 tie.
The Bears and Cards have now tied in back-to-back seasons after tying only once from 2012-2019.
Early goals set the tone for what looked destined to be a high-scoring affair. East Surry’s Morgan Bryant scored the opening goal for the Cardinals, but Mount Airy’s Lily Morris quickly tied the match at 1-1 with a goal in the 14th minute. Bryant netted her second goal to put the Cards back on top in the 35th minute, but a goal from the Bears’ Kate Deaton 100 seconds later left the teams tied up once again.
The Bears wasted little time pushing into Cardinal territory in the second half. Mount Airy’s Jayden McKeithan put a shot on goal just 24 seconds after the opening whistle, and it was saved by East’s Katie Collins. Alex Rose was then set up with one player to beat in the 45th minute, but Cardinal defender Evelyn Ruedisueli made the stand to prevent the shot. A few minutes later, Karyme Bueno and Rose each put shots on frame that were both saved by Collins.
Following Mount Airy’s flurry of offense, East’s Samantha Blose found herself with an open look at the Bears’ goal in the 50th minute. Blose kept her shot grounded as she aimed for the near post, and a diving save by Mount Airy keeper Mackenzie Hudson gave East Surry a corner kick. Liannette Chavez’s corner sailed into the 18-yard box before Mount Airy’s Grey Moore booted it out.
Chavez had a 25-yard shot saved by Hudson in the 52nd minute, then put in the legwork for another shot in the 56th minute by carving up the midfield and centering to Joanna Parker. Parker found herself one-on-one with Hudson, but Moore slid in to prevent the potential goal. Blose created a shot off Moore’s slide that was saved by Hudson.
Each team started the second half with three shots and three saves. After Blose’s shot was saved, Mount Airy would attempted the next five shots in the game. Deaton (twice), Bueno, Rose and Paola Ramirez combined to put four of the five shots on target, but none made it past Collins.
The Cardinals’ final bit of offense came in the 38th minute when Blose sent a through ball to Ember Midkiff. Midkiff made it past a defender to have just Hudson standing between her and the goal, but Aliyah Flores sped back on defense to clear the ball out for a corner kick.
Chavez took the corner kick with less than 90 seconds remaining. Goins redirected the corner at the goal, but her shot was saved by Hudson.
Mount Airy charged into the Cardinals’ defensive third with time winding down. The Bears weren’t able to get a shot off before a foul was called on Mount Airy, and East let time expire before taking the free kick.
Morgan Bryant (ES), Lily Morris (MA) 14’, Morgan Bryant (ES) 35’, Kate Deaton (MA) 37’
North Surry High School has selected the man that will head the varsity football program moving forward.
“I am pleased to announce that Jackson Smith will be the next head football coach at North Surry High School,” said Principal Dr. Paige Badgett. “He is energetic and passionate about our program. Coach Smith sets high expectations for himself and those around him. He brings a vision that will develop student-athletes into good citizens through accountability and believing in something more than themselves. I believe Coach Smith’s leadership will propel our program into winning championships.”
Smith is a 2017 graduate of Mount Airy High School, played collegiate football at Lenoir-Rhyne University then transferred to Appalachian State University where he would graduate in 2021. He served as a position coach at both Surry Central and North Surry High Schools prior to this position.
“Today is a day I have dreamed of for the entirety of my life,” Smith said. “I heard a quote that stuck with me for a very long time my freshman year of college: ‘you don’t choose to coach; you are called to coach.’ I think a lot of coaches in here would vouch for that, and I feel as if I’ve been called to take this role on.”
“I’m excited for Jackson and North Surry athletics,” said Greyhound Athletic Director Chris Butler. “He brings energy and a vision for what North Surry football can become. His ability to build and maintain relationships with players, a strong growth mindset, strong communication skills and a contagious enthusiasm will be invaluable to building and maintaining a football program that year in and year out competes for conference championships and playoff victories.”
North Surry began its search for a new head coach in mid-February after then-coach Patrick Taylor stepped down. Taylor coached for 20 years, with 12 of those coming at North Surry. He served as head coach for three seasons from 2019-2021.
Smith joined the Greyhound family prior to the fall 2021 season as a member of Taylor’s staff.
“Thank you to coach Patrick Taylor,” Smith said. “Our program is thankful for his contributions and class throughout his 12 years here with North Surry football. I wouldn’t be here without him today. He took a chance on me last summer, brought me in on his staff, and I haven’t looked back. I’m very thankful for him.”
Following the announcement on Friday, Smith addressed members of the community, members of the Surry County Schools Board of Education, the staff of North Surry and many more in the school’s media center. He also took questions from members of the media.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he said. “I’m still a little bit shell-shocked, but I’m so grateful and humbled and blessed to be in the position I’m in today. This program has so much rich tradition and history, I’m so glad I have my ability to add another chapter to it. I’m just ready to get to work; I’m so excited.
“My goal as the next head football coach at North Surry High School is to mold our student-athletes into productive young men and win football games in the process,” Smith said. “North Surry Football will enable student-athletes to compete at a high level while developing skills that will equip them to be successful in their next chapter of life. I believe that this investment into our athletes will make North Surry Football a premier program in North Carolina.”
Smith pointed out that North Surry will not be rebuilding, but rather restructuring thanks to the “fantastic foundation” on which to build.
The Greyhounds return all four of its offensive All-Conference selections, 4-of-6 defensive selections and both Honorable Mentions. Many in the class of 2023 have been starters or key role players most of their high school career.
“I think there are so many pivotal pieces here that the community can get excited about,” Smith said. “Jahreece Lynch is a phenomenal athlete coming off two years of All-Conference play. Jake Simmons is another name that is going to be on the radars of a lot of teams. There are a lot of people that I think people don’t know about yet that we’re going to put into positions to really showcase their abilities.”
Jared Hiatt, James McCreary, Eli Ramey and D’Marcus France were among the players Smith expects to have big offseasons for the Greyhounds.
Smith comes into the head coaching job having worked with some of Surry County’s finest. He played varsity football for Kelly Holder, and coached under Taylor as well as Surry Central coach Monty Southern. Smith extended thanks to the aforementioned men, as well as Levi Goins, Darren Taylor, Michael Johns, Tyler Bentley and many more, for “unselfishly mentoring” him along the way.
“I would not be in this position without you, your guidance and your support in this process,” Smith said.
“I want to thank Dr. Badgett, Mr. Chris Butler and others for their faith in me. We share the same vision of creating the best student-athlete experience possible, all while competing at the highest level here at North Surry High School. Both are vital in the progression of our football program. Both, being former coaches and athletes, understand the importance for efficiency through management, accountability and discipline. These three things will be the pillars of our program moving forward.”
Golf season is in full swing for local high schools.
The Northwest 1A Conference has played one conference match, and the Foothills 2A Conference recently completed its third conference match.
Mount Airy tied South Stokes in the NW1A opening match held at Hemlock Golf Course in Walnut Cove. The Bears and Sauras each finished with four-player team scores of 165 strokes. Elkin wasn’t far behind at 168, and the Elks were followed by East Wilkes at 179, Starmount at 200, North Stokes at 215 and Alleghany at 232.
Elkin’s James Owings was the medalist for the meet with a nine-hole score of 35 strokes. Mount Airy’s Brooks Sizemore and South Stokes’ Larsen Gallimore tied for second at 37.
The top four scores for each school contributed to the team score.
The FH2A Conference held meets on back-to-back days. The conference competed at Yadkinville Country Club on March 21, then traveled to Silo Run Golf Course on March 22.
East Surry won both meets, and had the medalist in each as well.
Chase Harris was the medalist at Yadkinville with a 37, and East Surry won with a team score of 163. Bradley Davis was the medalist at Silo Run with a 32, and the Cardinals won by 12 strokes with a score of 141.
Forbush came in second at Silo Run with a team score of 153, followed by Surry Central at 162, North Surry at 173, West Wilkes at 197, North Wilkes at 2013 and Wilkes Central at 204.
Results for Surry County teams and the top individual performances at Silo Run are included below:
T-10. Reece Hanson (SC) 4o
Joined by his friends, family, coaches and a five-foot tall Eagle, Surry Central senior Avery Wilmoth signed his NCAA National Letter of Intent to play football at Ferrum College.
“It means a lot to me,” Wilmoth said. “I’ve always enjoyed football so much. It’s crazy to think I get four more years of it.”
First impressions are important, and that’s part of the reason Avery chose Ferrum as the next stop on his academic and athletic journeys. The school turned out to be a perfect fit for him.
“I was immediately attracted to the school more than the other schools that were interested,” he said. “The coaching staff there is amazing, and they stay in great contact with me. They have helped me in setting up everything to get prepared for Ferrum. They also check in on me and my family weekly.
“I also love the layout of the college as it’s smaller and around some beautiful land.”
Much like Ferrum, Wilmoth said he was in love with football “from day one.”
“This has been a dream ever since I could remember. I have always been so intrigued with football, and it brings me so much happiness,” he said. “Most of the guys I played with my senior year were out there with me in first grade…we haven’t left each other’s side since then.”
“I’m excited for him,” said Central football coach Monty Southern. “We’re gonna miss him, and not just his performance on the field. He’s a great kid to have in your program. The level of self-motivation he has is fairly uncommon for people his age, and I know he’s gonna be successful at Ferrum and in whatever he does later in life.”
Wilmoth’s varsity football experience didn’t start off like he’d planned. His junior season was pushed back from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not only was the team limited in the amount/type of preseason workouts they could participate in, but the regular season was limited to just seven games.
The already-shortened season was cut down even more when Wilmoth suffered an injury in the team’s third game.
“The timing was just awful because he was going to get valuable reps in that Atkins game and the Carver game right after,” Southern said. “He came back and played in our last game of the season, but that was more because it was the end of the season and he only played a limited amount. Truthfully, he probably had 2.5 games where he was 100%.”
Wilmoth had a quick turnaround for his senior season in the fall, so he and Southern didn’t waste any time. Avery was expected to be the Golden Eagles’ starting quarterback for week one, and he was dedicated to doing everything on his part to make sure that happened.
“We tried to throw a lot that summer, and he struggled some in the beginning but really came around,” Southern said. “More than anything, I attribute his success to his drive and self-motivation. He wants to be successful and will figure out a way to get there. He’s a hard worker and is very intelligent.
“Avery really is part of a dying breed. He pushes himself, he’s hard on himself and, if he feels like he hasn’t done as well as he thought he should, he gets on himself. Some people do that and will get in a funk, but he doesn’t.”
“Our group worked very hard over the summer and was ready for the season,” Wilmoth said. “My senior year was very memorable. We had a great time with each other, and I wouldn’t trade that season for anything else. The community surrounding us is amazing. We had so much support behind us every Friday night, and being in a small town it’s hard not to know anyone.”
Surry Central won six games during the fall 2021 season, tied for second in the Foothills 2A Conference standings and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Southern said he loved having Avery at quarterback because of his flexibility. He could throw when the Eagles needed to move through the air, and he could barrel through defenders when the team needed to move the chains on the ground.
“He’s a powerful kid,” Southern said. “He wasn’t receiving many blows; most of the time he was giving them. We could run him a lot. Then if we needed two or three hard yards, he got it. Lots of teams have a running back or two that can do that, but not everybody can say that about their QB.”
As big as Avery’s impact was on the field, Southern said his influence as a team leader really helped set the Eagles up for success.
“He gets along with everybody,” Southern said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s talking with a senior starter like Karson Crouse, or a young kid that doesn’t play a lot, he treats them all the same. He’s very mature. A really positive kid on and off the field.
“He’s a great big brother too, making sure his brother is doing what he needs to do and not cutting corners. He’s just a good kid overall; the type of kid you pull for.”
Knowing he didn’t get this far on his own, Avery extended his thanks to some of the people that helped him along the way.
“I want to thank my mother for supporting me all these years,” he said. “She always made sure I had everything I needed, and made sure I was at practice every day when I was younger.
“I would also like to thank that group of 17 seniors. Those guys shaped me into what I am today. From knocking the wind out of each other in practice to pushing each other to our limits, I wouldn’t want to play beside anyone else.”
DOBSON — Surry Central shook off a slow start against Starmount on Tuesday, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Eagles to victory.
Neither squad scored in the 80 minutes of non-conference action. The Eagles came alive and controlled possession in the latter 20 minutes of each half, but struggled to find the back of the net against the Rams.
The 0-0 tie moves Surry Central to 2-4-2 on the season.
“Starmount came out completely different,” said Central coach Adan Garcia, referencing the Eagles’ March 14 game against the Rams in Boonville. Surry Central won that game 4-0 behind Wendy Cantor’s first-half hat trick.
“They were a little bit more organized and their spirits were lifted, so they gave us a little run for our money. That’s always good because it pushes us and makes us question what do we need to do to get better. That’s what you do when you face a good opponent.”
Garcia described the Eagles start to the season as “patchy.” Central opened the season with a 1-0 win over East Wilkes, then dropped its home opener to West Stokes 1-0.
“We didn’t have a lot of time together as a unit since some of the girls came in later than others because of winter sports,” Garcia said. “It’s no fault of their own, it’s just the way certain sports cross over and how playoffs affect things.”
Getting as much as time together as possible was key for a young Surry Central team that has just two seniors ,as well as three freshmen starters. The Golden Eagles didn’t have a full roster the next week either due to spring break, and lost to Elkin and tied Ashe County.
Following the Starmount win on March 14, Central dropped back-to-back conference matches to West Wilkes and Wilkes Central.
“There were definitely areas of improvement, but I also saw a lot of positives in those first few games,” Garcia said. “Even if it’s a bad game you have to take the positives with it. We’re just trying to find some consistency.”
Speaking to the team’s consistency, Garcia said Surry Central’s performances in the first 20 minutes of each match against Starmount were complete opposites.
“In that first part of the first half we were too slow for my liking,” he said. “We progressed as the game went on, but coming out flat really hurt us.”
Central’s strong back line kept their goal protected even during the slow start. The offense began to pick up in the 18th minute, and Dafne Salgado-Perez put a shot on frame that could’ve opened the game up.
Salgado-Perez’s shot from 30 yards was deflected by the Starmount keeper and hit the crossbar. Central’s Karlie Robertson beat the Rams to the rebound, but her shot sailed wide of the frame.
Yuri Ramirez and the Golden Eagle midfield kept Central on Starmount’s half of the field for most of the half. Ramirez, Salgado-Perez, Cantor and Abigail Hernandez each had breakaways, but none could set up a scoring opportunity.
Starmount managed to push into Central territory with six minutes remaining in the first half, but a Golden Eagle counter resulting from this push nearly resulted in a goal. Ramirez stole the ball near midfield, then sent a through ball up the right sideline to Rubi Cortes. Cortes cut in toward the goal and sent a lead pass to Cantor in the center.
Cantor chased after the pass while running shoulder-to-shoulder with a Starmount defender. Cantor got a touch on the ball to get past the charging keeper, but the touch was just strong enough to roll wide of the goal before she could chase it down for a redirect.
The Eagles picked up their intensity late in the game to try and set up the decisive strike. Center back Lillian Orozco pushed up on an attack to give the Eagles numbers, then Ashley Santamaria also took a spot on the front line as the Eagles dropped to just three defenders. Despite this, the score remained 0-0.
Cantor broke free of the Starmount defense on a swift counter with just three minutes remaining. Cantor dribbled all the way from the center circle to just outside the 18-yard box when she was fouled. Brittany Frausto attempted a shot on the 25-yard free kick, but it sailed north of the crossbar.
Central had one final chance as the scoreboard clock went below 60 seconds. Miranda Calderon took a quick throw-in on the Eagles’ sideline and found Ramirez at the top of the 18. Ramirez was able to turn toward the goal and set up a shot on her right foot, but a Starmount player was a step faster than Ramirez and cleared the ball before a shot could be taken.
Although he was glad Central avoided the loss, Garcia said it was tough not getting a win when he knows his team could have.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we progress,” Garcia said. “Every game I do see some positives and negatives. We could have the best game of our lives, and I’d still find little things to take care of. But like [Blake] Roth always said: ‘You have to take it game by game, so don’t starting thinking about the next one until you finish the one you’re on.’
“Right now we’re focused on us and what we can do to get better to face Ashe County.”
DOBSON — Some might confuse two schools in the Foothills 2A Conference given their similar names and mascots.
What wasn’t in doubt on Tuesday was which of those teams reigned supreme on the baseball diamond.
The Surry Central Golden Eagles won their third consecutive game by defeating the Wilkes Central Eagles 7-0.
Brady Edmonds got the win on the mound for Surry Central. The senior pitched the first 5.2 innings and had 11 strikeouts, two walks, and allowed no runs on three hits. Justin Reeves closed the sixth inning with one walk and one strikeout, and Dakota Mills had two strikeouts, one walk and allowed one hit in the seventh.
Wilkes Central used three pitchers, but couldn’t seem to slow the Golden Eagles down. Camdyn Key threw three innings and had four strikeouts, one walk, and allowed three runs on three hits; Gus Keener threw one inning and had no strikeouts, two walks, and allowed four runs on three hits; Jacob Demeny pitched two innings, had one strikeout and allowed one hit.
Surry Central’s leadoff got on base in each of the first five innings. The only time the leadoff got on base but did not score was in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff Dakota Mills opened the game with a double, moved to third on a ground out but was left on base.
After Edmonds struck out three consecutive batters in the top of the second, Max Lambert was hit by a pitch to begin the bottom of the inning. Lambert stole second, then advanced to third on a Wilkes Central error. Mason Jewell struck out for the second out, but a dropped third strike allowed Jewell to safely reach first and Lambert to score the game’s opening run.
Surry Central got in its groove in the third inning and scored two runs in each of the next three innings.
Clay Whitaker singled to begin the bottom of the third. Whitaker stole second, moved to third on a ground out by Edmonds then scored on a double hit Lucas Johnson. Lambert, who was walked just before Johnson’s hit, also scored on the double.
Mills was able to score in the fourth inning after being stranded in the first. Spencer LeClair opened with a double before successfully stealing third. A Mills hit put the senior on base and scored LeClair, and a fielding error by Wilkes Central allowed Mills to get all the way to third. This set Mills up to steal home and increase the Golden Eagles’ lead to 5-0.
Surry Central’s lone fielding error of the game put a runner on base in the top of the fifth inning. Another Wilkes Central player was walked, then both stole to advance to scoring position. Surry Central forced three outs on three consecutive batters, including two Edmonds strikeouts, to keep the visitors scoreless.
Kade Norman took the second pitch of the bottom of the fifth inning and smashed it over the center field fence. Surry Central’s final run was scored by Lambert, who returned home all three times he batted. Lambert was walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a ground out hit by Jewell.
Surry Central improves to 6-2 overall with its second shutout of the season. The Golden Eagles have already matched their win total from the shortened 2020-21 season and still have 15 regular season games remaining.
The Surry Eagles and Wilkes Eagles will face off again on March 25.
With winter sports all wrapped up, The News is recognizing the local student-athletes that were presented with All-Conference Honors for their respective sports.
East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central all compete in the Foothills 2A Conference (FH2A), Millennium Charter Academy competes in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference (NWPC) and Mount Airy competes in the Northwest 1A Conference (NW1A).
Any athlete that earned All-Conference Honors in multiple events will have the number of events following their name.
East Surry – Haley Joyce (4), Claire Hull (4), Aby Caro (2), Elise Marion, Savannah Raths
Millennium Charter – did not field a girls swim team in 2021-22
Mount Airy – Laura Livengood (2), Jessica Sawyers (3), Eleanor Edwards (2), Emma Bowman (3)
North Surry – Gwendolyn Bode, Cassidy Hull (4), Kara Bryant (4), Baley Hawks (2), Kalei Mauldin
Surry Central – Mallory Cave (3), Joanna Arroyo, Kayli Grizzell, Audrey Poindexter
East Surry finished third in the team competition at the FH2A Championship.
The following Cardinals finished in the top six of the 1A/2A Central Regional Swim Meet and qualified for the State Championship: Joyce, Caro, Yard and Claire Hull in 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay; Claire Hull in 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke; Caro in 100 butterfly; Joyce in 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
No East Surry girls competed in the championship race (top eight) at the State Championship.
Mount Airy finished second in the team competition at the NW1A Championship.
The following Bears qualified for the State Championship: Sawyers in 100 freestyle and 100 breaststroke.
No Mount Airy girls competed in the championship race (top eight) at the State Championship.
North Surry’s girls won the Foothills 2A Conference Championship, Cassidy Hull was named Female Swimmer of the Year and Susan Bryant was named Girls Coach of the Year.
The following Greyhounds qualified for the State Championship: Cassidy Hull in 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle; Kara Bryant in 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke; Cassidy Hull, Kara Bryant, Hawks and Mauldin in 400 freestyle relay.
Cassidy Hull and Kara Bryant competed in championship races at the State Championship. Cassidy finished sixth in the 200 individual medley, while Bryant finished fourth in the 100 butterfly and seventh in 100 backstroke.
Surry Central’s girls finished second overall at the FH2A Championship.
The following Golden Eagles qualified for the State Championship: Cave in 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle; Arroyo in 100 butterfly.
Cave competed in two championship races at the State Championship. The Golden Eagle finished fifth in 200 freestyle and sixth in 500 freestyle.
East Surry – Aiden Richardson (3), Colby Goins (4), Andrew Needham (4), Vann Kipple, Jonathan Parker (2), Derek Freeman (3), Gavin Atkins (2)
Millennium Charter – did not field a boys swim team in 2021-22
Mount Airy – Noah Moore (2), Collin Phillips (2), Matheson Williams (4), Hayden Bender (2), Martin Cooke (3), Peter Cooke (2)
North Surry – Kinston Nichols, Konnor Mauldin (2), Jackson Graves (3), Alec Singleton (4), Jordan Inman (2)
Surry Central – no male swimmers named All-Conference
East Surry’s boys won the FH2A Championship, Needham was named Male Swimmer of the Year and coach Krista Cox was named Coach of the Year.
The following Cardinals qualified for the State Championship: Colby Goins in 200 individual medley; Needham in 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke; Goins and Richardson in 500 freestyle; Goins, Freeman, Atkins and Needham in 200 freestyle relay; Goins, Richardson, Atkins and Needham in 400 freestyle relay.
Needham was the only Cardinal to compete in the championship race (top eight) at the State Championship. He finished sixth in 100 butterfly.
Mount Airy finished second in the team competition at the NW1A Championship. Jay Williams was named NW1A Boys Coach of the Year
The following Bears qualified for the State Championship: Martin Cooke in 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke; Matheson Williams in 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke; Matheson Williams, Peter Cooke, Bender and Martin Cooke in 200 freestyle relay; Matheson Williams, Peter Cooke, Moore and Martin Cooke in 400 freestyle.
Matheson Williams was the only Granite Bear to compete in the championship race (top eight) as an individual. He won the 1A/2A State Title in 100 backstroke, and finished eighth in the 200 individual medley. The 400 freestyle relay team of Matheson Williams, Peter Cooke, Martin Cooke and Moore finished eighth at the state championship.
North Surry finished fourth as a team at the FH2A Championship.
The following Greyhounds qualified for the State Championship: Graves in 100 backstroke.
No North Surry boys competed in the championship round at the State Championship.
Surry Central’s boys finished third overall at the FH2A Championship. No Golden Eagle boys qualified for the regional or state competitions.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — The only two tennis teams still unbeaten in the Foothills 2A Conference met Monday with the conference’s top spot on the line.
East Surry and Surry Central are both on a crusade for their first conference championship in more than a decade. Both the Cardinals and Golden Eagles were 4-0 in conference play prior to the March 21 match, but only one could remain undefeated moving forward.
The Golden Eagles emerged victorious by a score of 7-2, but the lopsided final score doesn’t tell the full story. Five of the six singles matches were decided by third-set tiebreakers, and two of those tiebreakers ended with one side winning by the two-point minimum.
Surry Central didn’t drop an individual match through its first five team victories of the season. Prior to the match against the Cardinals, the Eagles (6-0, 5-0 FH2A) had only lost a combined one set, 42 singles games and eight doubles games. East Surry alone took four sets, 49 singles games and 11 doubles games on Monday, but even that wasn’t enough to take down Central.
The only two singles matches that didn’t involve a tiebreaker were held on court No. 3 and court No. 5. Surry Central’s Michael Tucker defeated Kade Talton 6-3, 6-3 in No. 3 singles, and the Eagles’ Maddox Martin topped Noah Hopkins 6-3, 6-1 in No. 5 singles.
East Surry (4-2, 4-1 FH2A) won the first set of the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 6 matches, but lost the first set of No. 2 singles. Coincidentally, Surry Central went on to win the second set and tiebreakers of the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 6 matches, while East came away the victor in No. 2 singles.
The Cardinals lone singles win was earned by Levi Watson. Central’s Jacob Edmonds took the first set of No. 2 singles 6-2, but Watson won the second set 6-3 and the tiebreaker 10-8.
Court No. 1 featured East Surry’s Cooper Motsinger, the 2021 Northwest 1A Conference Player of the Year, taking on Surry Central’s Josh Pardue, the 2021 Western Piedmont 2A Conference Singles Champion. Both came into Monday’s match undefeated in 2022.
Motsinger took the first set 7-5, but Pardue won the second 6-2. A late surge in the tiebreaker kept Pardue’s undefeated streak alive with a 10-6 win.
Lupe Chavez won the first set of the No. 4 singles match 6-0 against Central’s Tripp McMillen. McMillen stormed back to win the second set 7-5, then put the match away with a 10-8 win in the tiebreaker.
East’s Hayden Douglas won the first set of No. 6 singles 7-5. Central’s Isaac Eller forced a third set tiebreaker in the battle of the freshmen by taking the second set 6-4, then won the match by besting Douglas 10-5 in the tiebreaker.
East Surry’s Motsinger and Nick Lowery became the first duo to defeat Central in doubles by taking down Tucker and McMillen 8-5 on court No. 2. The Eagles won the two remaining doubles matches: Pardue and Edmonds defeated Talton and Chavez 8-2 in No. 1 doubles, and Martin and Eller defeated Watson and Douglas 8-4 in No. 3 doubles.
The rivalry between East and Central will continue for years to come. Of the 13 players to compete in singles and/or doubles, there are: three seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — A few minutes after signing her NCAA National Letter of Intent on February 10, North Surry senior Micah Felts laid out some goals for her final season of high school softball.
Amid the talks of potential conference championships and playoff runs, Felts emphasized that the team needed to play as a unit in order to achieve a common goal. She even said: “It doesn’t matter who we go against because we’ve got that grit: that Greyhound Grit.”
That Greyhound Grit was on display Monday as North Surry beat East Surry in Pilot Mountain for the first time in eight years.
The Lady Greyhounds came back from a 2-0 hole to beat the Cardinals 6-2. A 3-run home run hit by Jordan Snow gave North Surry its first lead of the game in the fifth inning, and an additional run scored by Sarah Sutphin in the sixth secured the road win for North.
The class of 2022 was in eighth grade when North Surry most recently beat East Surry in 2017, and that game was hosted by the Hounds. Before that, the class of 2022 was in elementary school when the Hounds last topped the Cardinals on Palmer Field.
Trista Berrier pitched a complete game for North Surry (3-4). The senior had seven strikeouts, two walks, allowed three hits and two runs in seven innings.
Riley Pennington started on the mound for East Surry and threw five innings. Pennington finished with five strikeouts and no walks, giving up seven hits and five runs. Elise Marion threw the final two innings and had three strikeouts, one walk, allowed one run and three hits.
The Cardinals (1-7) quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff Rosie Craven reached first on a Greyhound fielding error, then moved to second on a single from Maegan Banks. The bases were loaded after Marion was hit by a pitch.
Berrier struck out the next two East Surry batters, but a Greyhound fielding error on a hit from Sara Scott scored Craven and Banks.
North Surry left runners on base in each of the first two innings, but finally crossed the plate in the third. Carley Puckett tripled on a deep shot right field as the Hounds’ leadoff in the inning. A hit from Bella Aparicio was mishandled by the Cardinals, allowing Puckett to score.
The Lady Hounds had a chance to add more runs after Sarah Mauldin crushed a hit to the center field fence. However, the umpires ruled that Mauldin was out after passing Aparicio between first and second base; Aparicio was waiting to tag up on the high-arching hit. Aparicio was then tagged out trying to go to third.
East Surry’s Marion singled in the bottom of the third, but courtesy runner Addy Sechrist was involved in double play later in the inning. Then, both teams left runners on base in the fourth inning.
Action picked back up in the top of the fifth with Puckett led with a single to left field. The Cards picked up an out, then Puckett moved to third and Mauldin reached second on an error. Another Cardinal error allowed Berrier to get on base while Puckett scored the game-tying run.
The tie lasted all of two pitches as Snow pummeled a home run over the center field fence to put North Surry up 5-2.
North added its final run in the top of the sixth after East went three-up three-down in the bottom of the fifth. Sutphin was walked to start the inning, then she moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out hit by Puckett. Aparicio picked up her second RBI of the evening with a line drive to right field.
The Cardinals once again failed to put a runner on base in the sixth, so the Hounds had one final chance to pad their lead. East Surry forced two quick outs, then Sadie Montgomery and Felts hit back-to-back singles. Sutphin hit a grounder to short stop that resulted in Montgomery being called for offensive interference.
Scott began the bottom of the seventh with East Surry’s third hit of the night. Haley Chilton sent a grounder to first base, which North Surry used to quickly tag out Chilton at first before throwing to get Scott out at second on the double play. Berrier then threw her seventh strikeout to end the game.
Monday’s game served as the conference opener for both teams. The two teams will face off again on March 29.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Two championship contenders in a star-studded conference began league play with a two-game series this past week.
The Foothills 2A Conference series marks just the fourth and fifth meetings between East Surry and Forbush since 2008, with the Falcons having won in 2008, 2009 and 2018.
The Cardinals came away victorious in two close games: East won 5-3 in East Bend on March 15, then defended Barry Hall Field with a 4-3 victory on March 18. East Surry improves to 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in conference play, while Forbush drops to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in conference.
The two baseball powerhouses spent years atop their respective conferences before both joining the FH2A.
East Surry came into the 2022 season having won four consecutive Northwest 1A Conference Championships. The 2021 Cardinals won the school’s fourth West Regional Championship and earned the State Runner-up trophy for the fourth time as well.
Forbush won the Western Piedmont 2A Conference Championship in four consecutive seasons from 2016-2019, then finished second in 2021 after no conference champion was crowned in 2020. The 2021 Falcons reached the 2A West Regional Championship and finished runner-up.
Folger Boaz got the win on the mound for East Surry on Friday. In six innings, the junior had 10 strikeouts, six walks and hit one batter. He allowed two hits and two runs; one of which was earned.
Matthew Keener came in for the save in the seventh inning, hitting one batter, allowing two hits and one run.
The Falcons used two pitchers as well. Thomas Conrad threw the first four innings and had five strikeouts, one walk and hit one batter. Conrad gave up five hits and four runs.
Will Summers pitched the final two innings and held East Surry hitless. Summers tossed six strikeouts and walked one batter.
Forbush got on the board first just as they did in their first meeting earlier in the week. After the Falcons left a runner on base in the first and second innings, Holden Moxley and Logan Beane were walked to begin the top of the third. Moxley later scored on a fielder’s choice hit by Cannon Doub.
The Cardinals countered in the bottom of the inning. Luke Bowman reached first after hitting a fielder’s choice that saw Tristen Mason called out at second base, then Trey Armstrong joined Bowman on base after being walked with a full count. Boaz scored both his Cardinal teammates with a 3-run home run.
The Falcons cut the lead to 3-2 by capitalizing on a Cardinal error in the top of the fourth. Dawson Graham was on second with two outs when CJ Boyd hit a hard grounder between first and second, which sent Graham to third. Hesitation by the fielders led to a wild throw to first that gave Graham time to round third and score.
East Surry had a runner on second in the bottom of the fourth, but a double play ended the inning before the Cards could add another run. A fourth run did come in the fifth inning though. Mason led with a single, then stole second with Bowman up to bat. Bowman scored Mason with an RBI single to force a pitching change. Bowman made it all the way to third, and Boaz – who was intentionally walked – made it to second before a pair of Summers strikeouts ended the inning.
Forbush loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with only one out on the board. Graham attempted to steal home on a wild pitch, but Cardinal catcher Bowman chased down the pitch and flipped it to Boaz for the tag. Boaz struck the next batter out to keep the two-run lead intact.
The Falcons’ made the Cards sweat in the top of the seventh. East Surry picked up two quick outs in which Keener and Anthony Ayers chased down grounders and made the throws to Brown at first, but then Doub was hit by a pitch. Doub moved to second on a balk called on Keener, then Conrad hit a line drive to center field to score Doub and cut the lead to 4-3.
Graham followed with a single that moved Conrad to second. Chase Smitherman also got hit bat on the ball, but hit a grounder right to Ayers at third to make an easy force out.
East Surry is just the second team since the 2016 season to hand Forbush multiple conference losses in the same season. The only other instance of this was when West Stokes beat the Falcons twice in 2021.
The Cardinals have now won 19 consecutive regular season games.
© 2018 The Mount Airy News