North Surry hosts two-day basketball tournament

North Surry, Surry Central and Mount Airy compiled half of the six-team field in the Chick-Fil-A Holiday Invitational, hosted by North Surry High School. Elephant Wire Winding Machine

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

North Surry’s Jahreece Lynch (3) attempts to dunk over Starmount’s Zack Armstrong (25).

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Surry Central’s Layla Wall (12) boxes out a Starmount player.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Mount Airy’s Morgan Mayfield (12) goes up for a layup against West Stokes.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Greyhound Cam Taylor goes back up after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Josh Pardue puts up a contested layup during Surry Central’s game against Galax.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Mount Airy’s Tyler Mason (5) releases a jump shot over West Stokes defenders.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Sadie Badgett fires a 3-pointer for North Surry against Starmount.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Surry Central’s Tripp McMillen (2) shruggs off content as he shoots from the low block against Galax.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

Mount Airy’s Alissa Clabo (4) shoots through contact against West Stokes.

Charles Leftwich | Special to the News

North Surry host five other schools as part of the Chick-fil-A Mount Airy Holiday Invitational on Dec. 28-29.

Varsity girls and boys teams from the following schools took part in the two-day basketball invitational: North Surry, Surry Central, Mount Airy, Starmount, West Stokes and Galax (Va.).

The festivities began at noon with the three Surry County teams competing in the same time slots both days. Surry Central competed in its girls and boys games, followed by the Mount Airy girls and boys, then each night closed with the North Surry girls then boys.

North Surry and Mount Airy’s girls both went 2-0 in the tournament. North Surry is currently ranked No. 14 in the 2A West by MaxPreps, while Mount Airy is No. 10 in the 1A West.

Surry Central and Starmount’s girls split their games, while Galax and West Stokes went 0-2.

Two of the 2A West’s top-ranked boys teams according to MaxPreps – No. 1 North Surry and No. 6 Surry Central – went 2-0 in the tournament. Mount Airy and West Stokes went 1-1, while Starmount and Galax went 0-2.

The six teams hold the following overall records as 2022 comes to a close:

—DAY ONE: DEC. 28—

Surry Central girls vs. Starmount

Surry Central had to fight from behind all game and couldn’t overcome Starmount as the Rams held on to win 57-48.

The Rams went up 14-6 after the first quarter and consistently scored between 13-15 in each subsequent quarter. The Eagles added 17 second-quarter points, but fell short by one or two points in the third and fourth quarters.

Two of Central’s three losses this season came against Starmount.

Despite tying its second-most points of any game this season, Surry Central tied its second-lowest overall field goal percentage (26%) and its second-lowest 3-point percentage (8%) of the season.

Layla Wall nearly had a double-double with 11 points and seven rebounds.

SC: Layla Wall 11, Ashley Santamaria 11, Mallie Southern 9, Jenna Cave 7, Ragan Hall 5, Gaby Montero 4, Presley Smith 1

Surry Central boys vs. Starmount

Though it was closer than their first encounter, Surry Central defeated Starmount for the second time in a month. A strong third quarter from the Eagles gave them the win 74-66.

Central made a season-low four 3-pointers on a season-low 20% shooting from deep, but used a strong interior presence – making 58% of 2-point field goals – to come away with the victory. The Eagles were led by Tripp McMillen’s career-high 22 points, which came on 46% shooting from inside the arc.

Central’s four leading scorers all shot at least 45% on 2-point field goals.

McMillen added six steals to go with 22 points, and Jacob Mitchell had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

ST: Xavier King 18, Cole Longworth 15, Zack Armstrong 12, Zack Dezern 7, A.J. Pardue 6, Anthony Rangel 4, Jadon Hurt-Bailey 4

SC: Tripp McMillen 22, Jacob Mitchell 17, Ayden Wilmoth 12, Josh Pardue 11, Mason Jewell 4, Lucas Johnson 3, Landon Johnson 3, Adam Hege 2

Mount Airy girls vs. Galax

Having competed in the Fort Chiswell Holiday Tournament the week prior, Mount Airy’s game against Galax was its fourth consecutive meeting with a team from Virginia.

The Granite Bears dropped their opening game of the Fort Chiswell tournament to Blacksburg, but won the next two before capping off its Virginia road tour with a 45-33 win over Galax.

Mount Airy led 23-19 at halftime before outscoring the Maroon Tide by 10 in the third quarter. Morgan Mayfield, who led the way with 18 points, had eight points in the quarter to outscore Galax’s entire team. Addie Marshall matched Galax’s six points in the third quarter.

Clabo and Marshall also finished in double figures with 12 and 11 respectively.

GX: Jenna Sawyers 13, Makayla Miller 6, Carly Sturgill 5, Jayden Leonard 4, Emily Edwards 3, Lena King 2

MA: Morgan Mayfield 18, Alissa Clabo 12, Addie Marshall 11, Kancie Tate 4

Mount Airy boys vs. Galax

Mount Airy posted its largest win of the season by defeating Galax 67-49.

Granite Bears Tyler Mason (26), Caleb Reid (14) and Ethan Clabo (12) combined to outscore the Maroon Tide 52-49. Mason and Reid both tied career highs in the win, while the freshman Clabo scored eight more than his previous high this season.

Galax’s Josh Jimenson, Xavier Blevins and Mason Cox scored all but three of the Maroon Tide’s points. Jimenson’s 15-point second half wasn’t enough to close the gap as Mount Airy saw scoring contributions from seven players in the half alone.

GX: Josh Jimenson 18, Xavier Blevins 16, Mason Cox 13, Tommy Jones 2

MA: Tyler Mason 26, Caleb Reid 14, Ethan Clabo 12, Carson Hill 5, Logan Fonville 4, Taeshon Martin 3, Mario Revels 2, Zach Goins 2

North Surry girls vs. West Stokes

Sadie Badgett went off for 17 first-half points as North Surry defeated West Stokes 61-21. The junior hit three first-half 3-pointers as she nearly outscored West’s entire team in the game.

Seven different Greyhounds scored in the win, with Badgett, Reece Niston and Peyton Utt each reaching double figures.

North Surry led 54-10 through three quarters before West scored 11 in the final quarter.

WS: Meg White 6, Sadie Knox 4, Jessica Beasley 4, Kathryn Davis 3, Ashlyn Elbadla 2, Ava Santoro 1, Mikayla Nixon 1

NS: Sadie Badgett 17, Reece Niston 12, Peyton Utt 10, Sarah Mauldin 8, Josie Tompkins 7, Kayln Collins 5, Jaxie Draughn 2

North Surry boys vs. West Stokes

North Surry and West Stokes have played each other close in most of their recent meetings, with seven of the past nine meetings being decided by single digits. Wednesday’s 79-71 win by North continued that trend.

Neither side led by more than four points in the second half until the final two minutes. North and West were tied at 68-68 with 2:32 to play, then the Greyhounds closed the game with an 11-3 run

West Stokes’ Cam Edmonds was the game’s leading scorer with 32 points. He had 29 points through three quarters, but only added three in the fourth. The Wildcats’ Matt Allen controlled the paint with eight of his 18 points in the final quarter.

All of West Stokes’ 71 points were scored by four players, while North Surry had scoring contributions from six players in the fourth quarter alone. James McCreary hit a pair of 3-pointers and a jumper in the fourth, helping the junior finish with a team-high 23.

McCreary nearly had a double-double with eight rebounds to go with his 23 points, while also adding three assists, two steals and a block. Jahreece Lynch had a team-high four steals to go with his 21 points, and Kam McKnight led the Hounds with five assists.

Edmonds had four steals, three rebounds and two assists to go with his 32 points. West Stokes’ Bryson Bowman fell a point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 boards.

WS: Cam Edmonds 32, Matt Allen 18, Keyon Rawley 12, Bryson Bowman 9

NS: James McCreary 23, Jahreece Lynch 21, Kolby Watson 16, Cam Taylor 12, Kam McKnight 5, Jackson Smith 2

—DAY TWO: DEC. 29—

Surry Central girls vs. Galax

Surry Central bounced back from its third loss of the season by defeating Galax 46-42. Individual stats for the game were not available on MaxPreps at the time of publication.

More details will be added online as they become available.

Surry Central boys vs. Galax

Surry Central posted its second-highest scoring total of the past 15 seasons in an 88-38 win over Galax. The game was second to 90-63 win over East Wilkes on Jan. 18, 2012.

Central had 78 points through three quarters in Thursday’s victory. Led by a career-high 25 points from Ayden Wilmoth, four Golden Eagles scored in double figures: Wilmoth, Tripp McMillen (13), Mason Jewell (13) and Josh Pardue (12).

Surry Central shot 46% from the field overall and 42% from deep, knocking down 15 3-pointers. Wilmoth led the way with seven triples on 7-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc.

Pardue had a 12 point, 12 rebound double-double as well as three blocks.

The Eagles assisted on 24-of-30 field goals, with Adam Hege leading the way with seven assists.

SC: Ayden Wilmoth 25, Tripp McMillen 13, Mason Jewell 13, Josh Pardue 12, Jacob Mitchell 9, Landon Johnson 6, Mason Cox 6, Lucas Johnson 3, Brian Williams 1

Mount Airy girls vs. West Stokes

A strong finish overshadowed a cold start for Mount Airy as the Bears defeated West Stokes 41-29.

After scoring just three points through the first 6:32 of the third quarter, Mount Airy’s Alissa Clabo drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 29-27 lead. Kancie Tate and Morgan Mayfield hit free throws early in the fourth quarter, then a 3-pointer from Mayfield capped off an 8-0 run.

Ava Santoro put back an offensive rebound to end the run, but it didn’t matter as Mount Airy scored the next seven points without giving up any.

The Wildcats ran ahead to a 13-6 lead in the game, scoring nearly half their total points in the first quarter. Mayfield, who led all scorers with 23, helped bring the Bears back to life with a 10-point second quarter in which Mount Airy outscored West Stokes 17-6.

Though West kept the game close in the third quarter, Mount Airy’s 12-2 fourth quarter proved to be the difference maker.

Mayfield was also Mount Airy’s leader in rebounds (5), steals (4) and assists (3). Clabo added three rebounds a block to go with her 12 points, while West’s Santoro nearly had a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds.

WS: Ava Santoro 10, Sadie Knox 6, Meg White 5, Mikayla Nixon 4, Jessica Beasley 4

MA: Morgan Mayfield 23, Alissa Clabo 12, Kancie Tate 3, Addie Marshall 2, Niya Smith 1

Mount Airy boys vs. West Stokes

A strong third-quarter from Mount Airy wasn’t enough to catch up to West Stokes as the Wildcats held to win 50-37.

Mount Airy started the game with a 12-6 advantage, but West closed the gap with a 11-0 run from the 3:02 mark of the first quarter until the 5:21 mark of the second quarter. Caleb Reid ended the run by scoring in the paint for the Bears, but West followed with a 9-0 run.

West Stokes ran away with the lead by outscoring Mount Airy 18-4 in the second quarter, shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc during this span. Wildcats Cam Edmonds and Matt Allen each hit double figures in scoring by halftime.

Tyler Mason spearheaded a 12-2 run for the Bears in the third quarter. Logan Fonville scored nine second into the third off a steal, then Mason had the next 15 points for the Bears. Mount Airy never closed the gap completely despite trailing by just two at 33-31 and 35-33. A 3-pointer from Bryson Bowman extended the lead to five at the end of the quarter.

Scoring was slow in the fourth as each team only scored once in the first two minutes of the quarter. Edmonds, who led the game with 25 points, converted an old fashioned 3-point play with 5:37 to play spark a 10-2 run.

Mason had 21 points through three quarters to record his fourth 20-point game of the season, but did not play the final five minutes.

WS: Cam Edmonds 25, Bryson Bowman 10, Matt Allen 9, Tyler Moran 3, Keyon Rawley 3

MA: Tyler Mason 21, Logan Fonville 6, Caleb Reid 6, Carson Hill 2, Mario Revels 2

North Surry girls vs. Starmount

North Surry and Starmount had the closest finish of any game in the tournament at 48-46, with the Hounds taking the victory. The game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.

The Greyhounds were held without a field goal in the final 3:45 of the game, but made 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch to hold on the victory.

Sadie Badgett had one of her four blocks in the game that set Peyton Utt up to score on the other end and tie the game at 39-39. Kalyn Collins drove to the basket to score North’s final field goal with 3:45 left in the game, which also put North Surry up 41-39 for the game’s final lead change.

Starmount’s Amelia Vanhoy hit a pair of free throws with 2:34 to play, but then the Rams wouldn’t score again until there were 21 seconds remaining. In the time between Starmount points, North Surry’s Sarah Mauldin went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, Collins made both of her free throw attempts, and Josie Tompkins went 1-of-2 from the line.

The Rams trailed by four before Vanhoy hit a 2-point shot at the buzzer.

Badgett led all scorers with 16 points. The junior scored nine of her points in the first quarter; she assisted Jaxie Draughn on the game’s first field goal, then scored the next nine points herself as North went up 11-2.

Badgett also had four blocks, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Tompkins led the team with seven rebounds.

ST: Morgan Pinnix 13, Molly Swaim 12, Amelia Vanhoy 9, Layken Mathis 8, Emma Smith 4

NS: Sadie Badgett 16, Sarah Mauldin 10, Kayln Collins 9, Josie Tompkins 7, Jaxie Draughn 2, Reece Niston 2, Peyton Utt 2

North Surry boys vs. Starmount

A second-quarter scoring surge lifted North Surry over Starmount 79-56 in the final game of the two-day tournament.

Six Greyhounds contributed points in a 31-point second quarter in which Starmount was held to just nine points. The Hounds were even without one of their two leading scorers, James McCreary, for most of the game.

The teams were actually tied 16-16 through the first eight minutes. North Surry shot just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc, while Starmount pounded the ball inside and had 10 first-quarter points from Zack Armstrong.

Starmount took the lead when Anthony Rangel hit the team’s first 3-point attempt early in the second quarter. A steal and score from Kolby Watson gave North Surry its only two points through the first 2:52 of the quarter.

North Surry held on to its lead by a slim margin, 25-23, with 3:00 left in the half. Jahreece Lynch scored to spark a 22-2 Greyhound run in the final three minutes of the second quarter.

Starmount came out of halftime and went on a 12-2 run of its own, but North found its groove again and held on to win by 23.

Lynch led the way for North with 25 points, eight rebounds, five steals, three assists and one block. Cam Taylor was the team’s leading rebounder with 11 to go with three steals and four points.

Starmount’s Cole Longworth was a rebounding machine, grabbing 15 total boards in the game while the rest of the team combined for 19 rebounds.

ST: Zack Armstrong 16, Xavier King 10, Cole Longworth 8, A.J. Pardue 7, Anthony Rangel 5, Jadon Hurt-Bailey 3, Dylan Ball 3, Zack Dezern 2, Preston Williams 2

NS: Jahreece Lynch 25, Kolby Watson 20, Kam McKnight 15, Jackson Smith 11, Cam Taylor 4, Fisher Leftwich 4

Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports

Chamber’s Collins resigns post as CEO

Millennium Middle students win state writing title

WALNUT COVE – After sweeping Mount Airy in convincing fashion during the regular season, No. 2-ranked South Stokes had its hands full against MAHS during the second round of the NCHSAA State 1A Playoffs.

After trailing by two at halftime, the Sauras overcome the Bears 61-47 by outscoring the visitors 32-16 in the second half.

“We struggled to score in the second half,” said Bears coach Bryan Hayes. “Their pressure is tough and we were down a couple of guys who are big parts of who we are, but [we] struggled to get shots off, struggled making shots when we got them off, and we missed a lot in the paint and some open jumpers.

“But I am so proud of my guys. To be undermanned, and only have eight guys to compete against a really, really good South Stokes team, I’m proud of them.”

Mount Airy (12-14) started quick and outscored South Stokes 13-8 in the first quarter behind Caleb Reid’s inside presence.

Reid added five more points in the second quarter helping the visitors to a 31-29 half time lead. The Bears defense held Barry Hairston Jr. scoreless in the first quarter, but the junior added eight in the second to help his team to a 21-point quarter that closed the gap on Mount Airy’s lead.

Hairston continued his hot hand in the third quarter with 10 more points and helped his team take a 48-41 advantage heading into the last quarter of play.

South Stokes extended its lead in the fourth by outscoring Mount Airy 13-6. The Sauras defense only allowed 16 second half points against the Bears.

Hairston led the Sauras with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Teammates Ethan Moran and Isiah Lash scored 14 and 11 points in the effort, respectively.

Reid and Mario Revels each scored 12 for the Granite Bears. Reid led Mount Airy in rebounds with eight.

“Our guys have believed in us, they trusted the system, and have done everything we’ve asked them to do,” said Hayes. “We definitely have played some good basketball over the last few weeks of the season. I’m proud of them and the growth the guys have made though the season.”

South Stokes followed its win over Mount Airy by winning its 18th consecutive game, taking down No. 7 Bessemer City 70-62. The Sauras (25-4) will host No. 3 Eastern Randolph in the fourth round on Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

MA: Mario Revels 12, Caleb Reid 12, Carson Hill 8, Logan Fonville 7, Jourdain Hill 4, Taeshon Martin 2, Ethan Clabo 2,

SS: Barry Hairston Jr. 22, Ethan Moran 14, Isiah Lash 11, Jonah Fie 4, Brendon Bradford 4, Larsen Gallimore 3, Carson White 3

North Surry’s storybook season came to a close on Feb. 25 with an 85-82 overtime loss to Lincoln Charter.

The Greyhounds jumped out to a 35-12 lead in the first half, but there was a lot of basketball still to be played. Lincoln Charter’s Kelan Flowers scored 19 of his 26 points across the fourth quarter and overtime to tie the score at 72 at the end of regulation.

The Eagles started overtime by taking their first lead since the first, then held on to that lead through the entirety of the four-minute period. A 3-pointer from North’s Jackson Smith cut the lead the one with five seconds to play, but Flowers hit both his double-bonus free throws with 0.2 seconds on the clock to secure the win.

“There were eight teams left in the west, and we knew all eight were capable of making it to the state championship,” said North Surry coach Tyler Bentley. “With a pretty even level of talent across the board you have to bring your A-game every night and the ball has to bounce your way sometimes.

“We had a heck of a season and had times where the ball bounced our way. It just didn’t tonight, and we lost to a very well-rounded team that played a really good game.”

North Surry finishes the season 27-3 overall. No. 8 Lincoln handed No. 1 North its first loss to a 2A opponent since the 2A West Regional Championship in March 2022. Mount Tabor (26-3), who went on to earn the 2-seed in the 4A West, was previously the only team to defeat North Surry this season, doing so in the championship game of the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic.

In the past two seasons, North Surry: won 50 games while only losing seven, won back-to-back regular season championships in the Foothills 2A Conference with an undefeated record, won back-to-back conference tournament championships, reached at least the Sweet 16 both years and finished 2A West Regional Runner-up in 2021-22.

“We talked about it in the locker room after the game that, yes, our goal was to be in the state championship game and win a title, but just because we didn’t make it that far doesn’t take away from all we accomplished,” Bentley said. “When the dust settles, I hope the guys can appreciate the incredible run we had. You just don’t see this type of success that often.”

Lincoln Charter (24-11) advances to the Elite Eight after winning its 17th consecutive game. The Eagles will travel to No. 4 East Gaston (25-2) on Feb. 28.

The Eagles led 7-5 in the first quarter before the home Greyhounds scored 30 of the game’s next 35 points. Lincoln Charter began a steady comeback through the remainder of regulation, cutting the lead to eight by halftime and four by the end of the third quarter.

“I thought for the first half we really executed our game plan that we had prepared and jumped out to a good lead,” Bentley said. “When you’re in the playoffs, no one is going to lay down and just hand it to you. We knew they were going to fight back, especially given their experience in nonconference play.”

North Surry played 29 games through the third round of the playoffs. This was tied for the second-most in the 2A West behind only Lincoln Charter, who competed in its 35th game of the year when facing North – the most of any team in the NCHSAA.

“They played a lot of really talented private schools, including a lot of players going to Power 5 schools, during November while a lot of the schools around here were still playing football,” Bentley said. “Playing against those great teams definitely gave them resiliency and taught them stay composed through anything, so we knew it wasn’t going to be a sure thing even up that much.”

A 3-pointer from Joseph Bruce tied the score at 59 with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter, marking the game’s first tie since 7-7. Elijah Burnett, who recorded a 13-point, 11-assist double-double for the Eagles, assisted on Bruce’s triple.

The Greyhounds countered the 3-pointer with an 8-2 run. Kam McKnight hit a pair of free throws to begin the run, then James McCreary picked up a steal and finished on the other end. McCreary picked the Eagles’ pocket once again and found Kolby Watson in transition, then did the same with Jahreece Lynch with 3:19 to play.

McCreary, Watson and Lynch combined for 63 of North Surry’s points, while Crawford and Flowers combined for 53 of Lincoln Charter’s total.

“They had some of the quickest, most athletic guards we’ve faced this season,” Bentley said.

Down 67-61, Flowers scored the next five points for the Eagles to make it a one-possession game. Flowers scored 13 of his 26 in the fourth quarter, then added six in overtime.

“We did a good job defending him (Flowers), for the most part, through the first three quarters,” Bentley said. “He just went off in the fourth.”

Lynch attacked the basket to make it 71-66 Greyhounds.

The Eagles missed their chance to score and match Lynch’s drive, but a steal from Crawford set the senior up with an easy layup in transition. Watson missed for the Hounds on the other end, which allowed Burnett to find Flowers open in the lane and cut the lead to 71-70. North left the door open after Watson went 1-of-2 from the free throw line.

“It’s not that we made bad turnovers, just turnovers at bad times,” Bentley said. It was the same with our free throw shooting: we didn’t shoot terrible overall, but we just missed them at bad times.”

Crawford scored the game-tying layup with 4.5 seconds to play, after which North used its final timeout of regulation. Crawford stole the inbounds pass and heaved up a 3-point shot at the buzzer that landed off target.

Lincoln won the tip in overtime and held possession for nearly 90 seconds. Flowers scored a floater for the visitors, but McCreary went to the line for the double bonus 10 seconds later. McCreary missed his first foul shot, but a portion of fans in Ron King Gymnasium claimed a whistle was blown as McCreary shot. The senior missed his second attempt, and the group of fans once again complained of a whistle and pointed to one side of the bleachers.

Play continued and Flowers hit two more free throws to extend the lead to four. North’s Cam Taylor responded with a 3-pointer, then Crawford went 2-for-2 from the line.

McCreary returned to the free throw line down 78-75 with 1:06 to play. He made his first attempt, and this time the officials also heard the sound of a whistle coming from the stands. The game was briefly paused as an announcement was made in the gym. McCreary then missed his second free throw.

Bruce hit a jump shot to make it 80-76, then the Eagles turned a missed 3-pointer from the Hounds into two more points from the foul line after grabbing the defensive rebound.

Lincoln Charter finished plus-11 on the boards in Saturday’s game. North Surry had 10 rebounds in the first quarter, then combined for just 13 the rest of the game. This included just one rebound in the fourth quarter and two in overtime.

McKnight hit a 3-pointer to make it 82-79, then Burnett went 1-of-2 from the line. North turned the ball over with less than 30 seconds on the clock, but Flowers missed both his double bonus shots the next time down. Taylor rebounded for North Surry and set Smith up for a 3-pointer with five seconds to play.

North Surry made 3-of-4 3-point attempts in overtime after shooting 4-of-11 from deep during regulation.

The Eagles let the clock run down before inbounding to Flowers, who was fouled with 0.2 seconds left to play. The senior scored his 25th and 26th points to put the game on ice as North wouldn’t have time to get a shot up.

McCreary led North Surry in two categories by finishing with 25 points and four steals, also tacking on six assists and four rebounds. Taylor had nearly half of the Greyhounds’ rebounds with nine, while also leading the team in assists with nine and blocks with two. Watson and Lynch each added four assists, and McKnight had one.

The Hounds finished with more assists, 24, than rebounds, 23.

Crawford scored a game-high 27 points and led his team in steals with five. Cairo Morales led the Eagles with nine rebounds despite fouling out midway through the fourth quarter, followed by Flowers with eight boards and David Reed with six.

Burnett’s 11 assists tied his career high.

‘It’s been a great ride’

“The big thing we try to tell our kids is that it is hard to cherish moments while you’re in them,” Bentley said. “We tried to make a conscious effort to stress that during the season. We’re spoiled with the support we have, ranging from our fans, parents, students, administration and community. A lot of people don’t have that.

“These players brough some camaraderie to our community and brought people together. Of course people show up when you’re winning games, but our community came out every night and took an interest in these kids.

Bentley added that the Hounds served as role models in the community – whether they knew it or not.

“It’s so cool to see the stands packed every night, especially with kids from the youth leagues that really look up to our players,” Bentley said. “We hold kids camp during the summer and have had really good groups the past few years. Our current players serve as the coaches for camp, and that’s where these relationships started. Credit goes to these players for their actions and how they carry themselves on and off the floor.”

The Greyhounds were led by nine seniors, many of whom have been with the varsity program for three or more years.

“We kind of grew up together since many of these guys have been with me since my second year here,” Bentley said. “Most of them have played together forever. This is the end of an era for them, but I know they’re going to have success in everything they do – both in sports and in life.

“I’m really proud to have coached this group and been a part of this great ride.”

Two of North Surry’s seniors finish their high school careers ranked in the top five in school history for career points. Kevin Strickland tops the list with 2,031 points, followed by Lynch with 1,815, Mason Hawks with 1,512 and McCreary with 1,497.

“Just imagine what James, Jahreece and Kolby could’ve done had they played a full season as sophomores,” Bentley said of the 2020-21 Covid-shortened season.

McCreary averaged 19.6 points in 11 games as a sophomore, while Lynch averaged 19.3 in eight games that year. Both scored more than 600 points this season.

Watson finished just below the 1,000-point mark with 893. He averaged 10.5 in 11 games during the Covid season.

North Surry was much more than a three-man band, though.

“What made these guys so good was their unselfishness and how they played together as a team,” Bentley said. “Yeah, we had three primary scorers, but the guys’ ability to step up and do a job every night was amazing. [Starters] Jackson and Cam may not have eye-popping numbers every night, but they’re invaluable to our success. Defense, rebounding, passing, scoring when needed, leadership, you name it.

“There were even guys on our bench that would’ve started for most teams. Most of these guys have played together forever, so their chemistry was never an issue.”

Bentley said the seniors will be missed after their all-time great run for the program, and that he’s also looking forward to future teams continuing that tradition.

“It’s been a great ride,” Bentley said. “It’ll be a very different team next year, but the culture stays the same. We’ve got a lot of talented young players ready to step up.

“I’m optimistic for the future, but for now I just want to say thank you to these seniors for all they’ve done for this community and North Surry High School.”

LC: Xavier Crawford 27, Kelan Flowers 26, Elijah Burnett 13, Joe Bruce 13, David Reed 4, Kasey Hudson 2

NS: James McCreary 25, Kolby Watson 19, Jahreece Lynch 19, Kam McKnight 10, Jackson Smith 5, Cam Taylor 4

Mount Airy senior Morgan Mayfield went out with a bang during her senior season of basketball.

On Feb. 15 Morgan became the latest Granite Bear to score 1,000 career points, doing so during a semifinal game in the Northwest 1A Conference Tournament. The senior is the first Mount Airy girl to hit 1,000 points since Shaunae Sawyers did so in 2019.

Morgan hit 1,000 points in her 83rd high school game and graduates with 1,037 points.

“Morgan has worked really hard to be a leader for our team this season,” said Bears coach Angela Mayfield. “She has done a little of everything for us. We are very proud of her, and we are happy to see her reach that milestone.”

Morgan was named Northwest 1A Conference Player of the Year two days after recording her 1,000th point.

A four-year varsity starter, Morgan took on a new role as the team’s primary scorer for the 2022-23 season. She was the team’s second-leading scorer as a freshman and sophomore, then led the team in points per game as a junior while being second in total points.

As a senior, Mayfield more than doubled her scoring total from any of her previous seasons by scoring 473 points in 27 games (17.5 average). This helped her make up for the games lost during the shortened 2020-21 Covid season, during which Mount Airy only played 13 games.

Morgan averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks this season, and led the team in three of those categories: points, assists and steals.

Mount Airy earned the No. 19 seed in the 1A State Playoffs. The Bears upset No. 14 Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in the first round, then lost to No. 3 Cherokee in the second round.

Mount Airy finished the season 16-11.

East Surry’s Jordan Davis capped off his senior basketball season with three milestone achievements.

In the past two months, Davis, who will continue his career at Geneva College (Pa.), set East Surry’s single-game record for made 3-pointers with 10, scored his 1,000th career point and set the school record for career 3-pointers with 136.

Jordan set the single-game 3-point record on Jan. 10, making 10-of-12 attempts as part of a 36-point performance against Forbush. Less than a month later, Davis scored his 1,000th point as part of a 26-point performance against West Wilkes.

“To score 1,000 points is a huge accomplishment for anyone, but especially for someone that had to play during a Covid year,” said East Surry coach Chad Motsinger. “They only played 14 games that year, so that’s a lot you’re missing out on and have to make up for.

“He also averages around 4.5 assists a game, which speaks to his abilities not only as a scorer but as a facilitator on our offense.”

He is the first Cardinal to score 1,000 points since Jefferson Boaz, East Surry’s all-time leading scorer, hit the mark in Jan. 2019.

Finally, Davis set East Surry’s career 3-point record during a first-round playoff win on Feb. 21. He knocked down six triples en route to a team-high 24 points, breaking a record set more than two decades ago by Andrew Burge at 160.

Davis graduates with 167 made 3-pointers.

No. 22 East Surry upset No. 11 Maiden 57-52 in the first round of the 2A State Playoff, but fell to No. 6 Salisbury in the second round. The Cardinals finish the year 13-13.

North Carolina has the largest Senior Games in the nation.

At least, that’s the message from Bradley Key, the coordinator of programs, special events, and volunteerism for Surry County Parks and Recreation when he was speaking during Monday’s meeting of the county commissioners at which local competitors were honored.

“Thanks for highlighting one of the positive things going on in our community,” Key said. “We were very well represented at the state level.”

The participation was robust, he said, and out of 140 participants that competed at the local level with Yadkin Valley Senior Games in the spring there were 27 participants went on to seek greater glory at state finals in the fall.

Yakin Valley Senior Games and Silver Arts is one of the 53 sanctioned programs making up the North Carolina Senior Games Inc. which encourages and challenges all senior adults aged 50 or better to stay healthy and active.

North Carolina Senior Games is sponsored state-wide by the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services.

Since its establishment in 1983, the senior games have become the largest Senior Olympic program in the nation, serving more than 60,000 participants across the state each year.

Key said the Yadkin Valley Senior Games and Silver Arts offer 25 different sporting events. For those seeking enrichment along with their friendly competition there are 30 cultural, literary, heritage and performing arts events each year as well.

“We set the bar for California for New York, for states that are bigger and have more seniors than us. They look to us to set the bar for senior programs that provide and encourage a healthy lifestyle year round,” Key said with pride.

It takes help to achieve the level of success the Yadkin Valley and North Carolina Senior Games have achieved, he said. “Without folks like Jackie Lewis, Bob Keck, and Randy Moore – these guys make this program work.”

“They are participants and certified ambassadors and without folks like these guys spreading the good news about senior games to our community, we wouldn’t be as strong and healthy as we are.”

Registration for the 2023 Yadkin Valley Senior Games and Silver Arts will run from March 1 – Mach 31 with events taking place in May and June.

There are many ways to register he said including at local fitness or senior centers, on the Surry County website under parks and recreation, on Facebook at Surry County Parks and Recreation, on ncseniorgames.org or by calling 336-401-8235.

John Brame: Silver Tennis Mixed Doubles

Pattie Brame: Silver Tennis Mixed Doubles

Linda Edwards: Gold Line Dancing – Small Group

Jon Foresman: Silver Pickleball Doubles

Elizabeth Freas: Bronze 50-yard Freestyle, Silver 100-yard Freestyle

Hobert Freeman: Bronze 400-meter Dash

Bonnie Hensel: Silver Pickleball Doubles

Susan Howlett: Gold Pickleball Doubles

Robert Keck: Bronze 50-meter Dash, Bronze Pickleball Doubles, Gold Tennis Doubles

Winston Kobe: Gold Pickleball Doubles

Jackie Lewis: Silver Basketball Shooting, Bronze Football Throw, Silver Croquet, Bronze Pickleball Doubles, Bronze Pickleball Mixed Doubles, Gold Tennis Doubles

Traci McGuire: Gold Line Dancing – Small Group

Daniel Merritt: Silver 10k Run

Randy Moore: Bronze Football Throw, Silver Softball Throw, Silver Billiards, Bronze Bocce, Bronze Horseshoes, Gold Mini Golf

Mary Jane Russell: Gold Line Dancing – Small Group

Sherry Smith: Gold Line Dancing – Small Group

Kathy Taylor: Gold Pickleball Mixed Doubles

Mitchell Taylor: Gold Pickleball Mixed Doubles

Phyllis Wagoner: Silver Pickleball Doubles

Derek White: Silver Pickleball Singles, Silver Pickleball Doubles

Judy Absher, Michelle Brown, Gary Stevens, and Linda Tilley were also among the contingent representing Yadkin Valley Senior Games.

Monroe’s combination of size and speed proved too much for North Surry in its second-round playoff game.

The visiting Redhawks out-rebounded the Greyhounds 42-26 on Feb. 23, including 11-5 in the crucial fourth quarter.

Despite the stark contrast in rebounding numbers, No. 7 North Surry cut a double-digit lead to just three points with less than a minute to play in Thursday’s game.

Greyhound Sadie Badgett hit a 3-pointer with 6:21 left in the fourth to cut the Redhawks’ lead to 47-39. Monroe’s 6-foot center, Saniya Gingham, followed by putting back an offensive rebound, but then Badgett found Callie Robertson for an easy layup. North Surry (17-9) forced a turnover on defense, then Robertson repaid the favor by setting a screen that gave Badgett room to knock down another 3-pointer.

Gingham, who grabbed 16 rebounds in Thursday’s game, scored the next four points for Monroe. The Redhawks (19-7) kept up their lead and went ahead 56-48 with 1:57 to play.

Badgett grabbed one of her three fourth-quarter steals to score and cut the lead to six. Monroe’s Gingham and Dynastee Parker each grabbed offensive rebounds on the team’s next possession, but a block from Badgett led Peyton Utt hitting a 3-pointer on the other end.

North shot 1-of-14 from 3-point range through three quarters before making 3-of-5 attempts in the fourth.

Monroe’s rebounding was the difference down the stretch. Parker went to the free throw line in the bonus with 57 seconds to play and missed her first shot. The senior came away with her own rebound and passed to Saniya Wallace, who evaded being fouled until the clock read 33 seconds.

Wallace had two attempts from the charity stripe for the double bonus, but missed both and the ball went out of bounds last touched by North Surry following the second free throw. Parker was fouled again and missed both free throws, but Gingham grabbed the offensive board. The Redhawks again relied on Wallace to run around their side of the court to waste time, then Parker was sent to the line with seven seconds left to play.

Parker hit the first of two free throws to go up 57-53, then North Surry missed its final 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded.

Foul trouble affected North Surry all night as Monroe looked to attack the basket on every possession. The Redhawks had the speed to attack the basket, both in a halfcourt offense as well as in transition, and even when they missed had a good chance to grab the rebound.

Of Monroe’s 42 total rebounds, 23 came off the offensive glass.

North Surry capitalized on Monroe turnovers to take a 20-12 lead with 4:13 remaining in the second quarter. Robertson was big for the Greyhounds during this stretch, guarding Gingham on defense while also grabbing four rebounds and recording two assists. North actually held the rebounding advantage in the quarter until Robertson went out with foul trouble.

Monroe turned things around and closed the half with a 13-4 run, then scored the first six points of the second half.

Monroe attempted 34 free throws in the game to North Surry’s six. The Hounds shot 5-of-6 from the line (83%), while the Redhawks made 17-of-34 attempts (50%). Parker alone shot 11-of-23 (48%) from the line.

Badgett led North Surry with 20 points, while also posting a team-high six assists, four steals and three blocks. Badgett was second on the team in rebounds with five.

Robertson had a double-double for the Hounds with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and also dished out three assists. North Surry’s lone senior, Sarah Mauldin, finished with 11 points, two assists and one rebound.

Parker was Monroe’s leading scorer with 25 and posted a double-double with 13 rebounds. Gingham also had a double-double as she finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Monroe advances to the Sweet 16 and will travel to No. 2 Shelby (25-1) on Feb. 25.

MR: Dynastee Parker 25, Saniya Gingham 18, Saniya Wallace 8, Summer Jones 6

NS: Sadie Badgett 20, Callie Robertson 12, Sarah Mauldin 11, Kalyn Collins 7, Peyton Utt 3

A strong start helped propel North Surry over No. 17 West Stokes in the second round of the NCHSAA Playoffs.

Greyhound senior Kolby Watson matched a season-high 23 points, 11 of which came in the third quarter, to help No. 1 North Surry win 75-62 and book its ticket to the Sweet 16.

Seeding was thrown out the window when it was announced the No. 1 Greyhounds (27-1) and Wildcats (15-11) would meet in the postseason as these teams have played a number of close games in recent years. Prior to Thursday, North and West were 2-2 in their past four meetings, and all four were decided by single digits.

“It’s difficult to beat a team multiple times in a season, especially one you’ve been very familiar with the last couple of years,” said North Surry coach Tyler Bentley. “Both teams have got a lot better as the season’s progressed, and that’s what you hope for: to be playing your best ball around February or March.

“Both of these teams really were at their best and I’m really happy to come away with the win.”

Bentley was also aware of the added motivation West Stokes had to take down the No. 1-ranked team in the bracket.

“We’ve had a target on our back all season,” Bentley said. “When you’re the one seed everybody expects you to go deep in the playoffs, and we have those expectations too, but the big thing for us is that we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We’re going to focus on who our opponent is at the time not even look at any other round or team.

“Tonight, all of our focus was on West Stokes and West Stokes only.”

The Hounds came out swinging and scored the game’s first nine points. Not out of the fight, the Wildcats battled back and made it a one-possession game midway through the second quarter.

North Surry jumped ahead by 10 at halftime, then went up 37-24 early in the third quarter. West’s Keyon Rawley and Bryson Bowman led the Wildcats on a 12-4 run to cut the lead to 41-36 with 3:05 remaining in the quarter.

The Greyhounds then took their largest lead of the game thanks to a 12-2 run in the final three minutes of the third quarter. North scored 21 in the quarter, and Watson scored 11 of the 22 while assisting on another field goal.

Bowman, Rawley and Cam Edmonds led West on its best scoring quarter in the fourth by combining for 19, but West never got back within single digits of North.

“I thought our defensive effort and mentality is what separated the game for us,” Bentley said. “They’ve got some really good scorers and some smart basketball players, so we wanted to emphasize defense in this game and the guys did a great job across the board.”

Edmonds, who dropped 34 in a first-round playoff win over No. 16 Surry Central, was a focal point of North Surry’s defense. The Hounds went to a box-and-1 for most of the game, with Jahreece Lynch staying on Edmonds for most of the game. Makiyon Woodbury and Fisher Leftwich each took turns guarding the Wildcat junior as well.

“I’m really proud of Fisher and Makiyon for the minutes that they gave,” Bentley said. “There was no drop off from when Jahreece was guarding him. When Jahreece needed to take a break those guys were there and ready to step up, and they did great.”

With Lynch, who leads the Greyhounds with 22.5 points per game this season, primarily focused on defense in the game, North relied multiple players to help pick up that slack on the scoreboard. Watson recorded his third game of 23 points this season, adding three assists and a team-high three steals, while James McCreary (19) and Kam McKnight (14) also finished in double figures.

“I thought Kolby played a great game tonight, especially on the offensive end. He really stepped up,” Bentley said. “That’s what makes this team really good and really fun to coach: we’ve got so many guys that can step up in big moments and do whatever needs to be done.”

Lynch still managed to score 12 points in the victory, with 10 coming in the second half. Lynch led North Surry assists with six while adding five rebounds and two steals.

Cam Taylor led the Greyhounds with six rebounds, and all five Hounds that scored also dished out at least three assists.

West Stokes alternated between zone and man-to-man defense, looking to use its size advantage to disrupt North Surry’s path to the basket while also controlling the boards. While the Wildcats were able to finish plus-10 in rebounding, North’s patience in a halfcourt offense set the team up for a high field goal percentage.

Rawley led the Wildcats with 19 points, followed by Bowman with 17 and Edmonds with 15. Bowman nearly had a double-double with his nine rebounds, and Edmonds finished with five rebounds, three assists and a team-high three steals.

Dillon Stanley was West Stokes’ leader in assists with five and blocks with two. Tyler Moran added four assists.

North Surry will host No. 8 Lincoln Charter (22-11) on Feb. 25. Lincoln Charter defeated No. 25 Brevard 88-58 in the first round, then beat No. 24 Burns 99-64 in the second round.

WS: Keyon Rawley 19, Bryson Bowman 17, Cam Edmonds 15, Tyler Moran 9, Derek Studer 2

NS: Kolby Watson 23, James McCreary 19, Kam McKnight 14, Jahreece Lynch 12, Cam Taylor 7

Surry Central led Surry County with six state qualifiers for the 2A Wrestling State Tournament, and four of those finished in the top six of their respective brackets.

Jacob and Jeremiah Price each won state titles, and a full article on the Price boys’ victories can be found in the Feb. 21 print edition of the News or online at mountairynews.com/sports.

Junior Xavier Salazar qualified for his second state tournament and placed for the first time, taking fifth in the 2A 120 bracket.

Salazar (35-10) won his opening match via fall in the second period after taking a 3-0 advantage, then wrestled close matches for the remainder of the tournament. This included two matches decided in sudden victory periods.

Salazar met Seaforth’s Layne Armstrong in the quarterfinals and went back and forth all match.

“Xavier for the most part was winning, but near the end gave up some back points,” said Central coach Stephen Priddy. “He made a mistake, and at that level it’s going to cost you.”

Armstrong, who went on to finish fourth in the bracket, scored a late takedown to tie the score at 7-7, then pinned Salazar in the sudden victory period.

Salazar won his first consolation match via fall after taking a 4-3 lead, then found himself in another sudden victory period against Louisburg’s Braulio Nolasco-Rayo. The pair were tied at 2-2 at the end of three periods, but this time is was Salazar that got the takedown to advance.

Salazar then faced two familiar opponents from the Foothills 2A Conference. Salazar fell to West Wilkes’ Carter Minton, who went on to finish third, via fall in the consolation semifinals, then defeated North Surry’s Will Brickell 5-2 in the fifth-place match.

“Xavier really picked things up about three weeks before regionals,” Priddy said. “He peaked at the right time and wrestled some of his best matches at regionals and states.”

Sophomore Ayden Norman (37-10) finished sixth at 106 in his first state championship appearance.

“Ayden decided early on that he was going to be the 106 for the year,” Priddy said. “He made that choice and really had to watch what he ate, and it was a full time job to maintain weight and keep himself in the best shape. He had an outstanding year, and I think all of his losses came against state qualifiers or placers.

“He definitely had the toughest draw of any of our guys at states.”

After dropping his first-round match to the eventual state runner-up, who came into the tournament 34-1, Norman picked up three consecutive wins. The first came via forfeit, the second was a 3-2 decision and the third was a win via fall.

Priddy called Norman’s 3-2 win over Hendersonville’s Alexander May, “the biggest match of the year for Norman.”

“The kid from Hendersonville came into states 48-1,” Priddy said. “His only losses at states came against the guy that got third and then Ayden.”

Norman eventually fell to Forbush’s Jose Pina-Velasquez via 4-2 decision in the consolation finals, then dropped a 3-0 decision to R-S Central’s Sam Gosnell, the 2A West Regional Champion, in the fifth-place match.

While Norman had the toughest overall draw for the Eagles, Priddy said Jose Trejo (35-9) had the most difficult first-round match by far against Newton-Conover’s Isaiah Pittman.

“Drawing Pittman was really bad luck for Trejo,” Priddy said. “That’s a really talented wrestler that came into states with 50 wins this season, and I hate Jose ran into him so early.”

Trejo fought back to win his first consolation match via fall, then dropped his second consolation match.

“Him reaching states a freshman is a really big deal,” Priddy said. “Yeah, it may not have ended like he wanted to, but he’s had a great year. He, Ayden and Xavier have really pushed each other all year and I think it made them all a lot better.”

Trejo is the fifth freshman to qualify for states during Priddy’s tenure as coach, joining: West Brown, Kaleb Dunn, Jeremiah Price and Jacob Price.

“All four of those guys went on to compete in a state championship, so statistically that bodes well for Trejo,” Priddy said. “Brown and both Prices won state titles, and Dunn finished second.”

Senior Enoc Lopez (29-9), competing in his second state tournament, won his first match in the 195 bracket. Lopez went up 13-4 before picking up the pin in the third period.

Lopez then went scoreless for two periods against Morehead’s Xavier Roberts in the quarterfinals. An escape and takedown from Roberts put him up 3-0, and an escape from Lopez wasn’t enough to come back. Lopez then dropped his first consolation match via 10-6 decision.

“That consolation match was a one-point match with like 15 seconds to go, but then the Manteo guy put up five late and Enoc only added one,” Priddy said.

The competitors that defeated Lopez at states went on to finish fifth and sixth in the bracket.

Lopez joins Jeremiah Price as Central’s two senior state qualifiers.

“Especially over the past two years, Enoc has covered every class from 195 to heavyweight,” Priddy said. “He’s been a key piece to our team during this great run the past few years. He’s contributed a lot to the success we’ve had as a team because we could count on him to wrestler anything. Ultimate team guy.”

East Surry sent three wrestlers to the 2A State Championship Tournament on Feb. 16-18, and two finished the final day on the podium.

Eli Becker, a senior, finished on the podium for the third consecutive season. He finished third in the 1A 182 bracket as a sophomore, second in the 2A 182 bracket as a junior and now fourth in the 2A 182 bracket as a senior.

“Eli’s had a phenomenal career and it seems like the past four years with him have just flown by,” said East Surry coach Darrin Haywood. “Win or lose he’s got the same attitude and comes ready to work every day. He strived to be the best every time he stepped on the mat, but just came up a little short this time.

“I’m really proud of him and totally enjoyed coaching him.”

Becker (33-6) won his opening match via 6-3 decision. He and Trinity’s Gavin Hardister went scoreless for two periods in the quarterfinals, then Becker scored two points early in the third period before holding on to win 2-1.

Becker went down 4-2 after the first period of the semifinals and had to fight his way back into the match. He ultimately fell 6-3 to West Lincoln’s Mason Avery.

“He caught Eli early with a 2-point takedown and got another two on a near fall, so now we’re fighting out of a hole,” Haywood said. “Eli came back at the end and made it close though. He lost 6-3, but that’s how semifinals go. Everybody’s good and a lot of those matches are close.”

Prior to the finals, Haywood said of Avery, “That kid’s a very good wrestler and will probably be the state champ.” Avery went on to win the 182 championship via 12-5 decision.

After a scoreless first period in the consolation semifinals, Becker picked up a quick takedown and pinned his opponent 10 seconds into the second period. He then took a 9-4 lead over Southwest Onslow’s Jason Rodriguez before Rodriguez caught him for a pin in the third period.

“Eli was definitely better for most of the match, he just got caught. He gave everything he had in that match, though, and that’s all I can ask for,” Haywood said.

Andrew Meadows (39-9) and Michael Fischer (25-14) are the first East Surry freshmen to qualify for the state tournament since Eddie Nunez did so in 2012. Meadows made history by becoming the first East Surry freshman to place at the state meet by finishing fifth in the 2A 160 bracket.

“To be a state placer as a freshman is a great accomplishment,” Haywood said. “Andrew fought through a tough bracket and maybe didn’t get some good breaks, but wrestled well. Looking for some exciting things out of him in the future.”

Meadows won his first match via 16-2 major decision. He and Wheatmore’s Dominic Hittepole were tied 2-2 in the quarterfinals before Hittepole picked up the win via fall in the second period. Hittepole went on to finish fourth in the bracket.

Meadows went up 10-4 in his first consolation match before picking up the pin, then won his consolation quarterfinal match via fall as well before falling to the eventual third-place winning, Bandys’ Ian Moore, in the consolation semifinals.

Meadows clinched his fifth-place finish by pinning Madison’s Kyle Jamerson in 39 seconds.

“Andrew is just not quite as strong as some of the kids in his class yet as he’s still developing his body, but I think we’re going to see a huge jump with him next year,” Haywood said. “He got beat this year, but fought back to place. The two kids that beat him finished third and fourth.”

Fischer had a tough draw by facing the eventual state champion, Reidsville’s Rayshun James, in the opening round. Fischer then drew North Pitt’s Hayden Manning and fell in the first round of the consolation bracket.

“Michael may not have had the success he wanted to in terms of victories, but to be a state qualifier as a freshman gives him a lot to build off of,” Haywood said. “I’m looking for him to compete for a spot on the podium next year and the years to come.

“He’s got a great work ethic and always finding somewhere to go work out to do mat work.”

Becker is East Surry’s only state qualifier graduating this year, and Haywood has high hopes for the returning Cardinals.

“It’s a joy to coach these guys,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids, so I’m looking forward to coaching them and seeing their progress.”

Eight teams from four local schools each made the state playoffs for basketball.

Six of those teams, three girls teams and three boys teams, won their opening matchups and advanced to the Round of 32.

East Surry girls vs. Community School of Davidson

East Surry bounced back from a close loss in the Foothills 2A Conference by winning 70-22 in the opening round of the 2A State Playoffs.

The No. 5 Cardinals jumped ahead by double digits in the first quarter against Community School of Davidson, then never looked back. Tuesday’s victory was East’s third game of at least 70 points this season.

Senior Addie Phipps led East Surry with 19 points on 88% shooting. East Surry shot 51% from the field as a team and 60% from 3-point range.

Phipps and Merry Parker Boaz each had five assists, and Boaz led the team in steals with five. Bella Hutchens came close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Khloe Bennett added eight rebounds and the Cards’ only block.

No. 12 East Surry (20-5) will travel to No. 5 East Burke (24-2) in the second round.

CSD: not available on MaxPreps

ES: Addie Phipps 19, Merry Parker Boaz 13, Izzy Cline 9, Bella Hutchens 9, Maggy Sechrist 8, Emory Anderson 4, Khloe Bennett 4, Addyson Boaz 4

East Surry boys at Maiden

No. 22 East Surry got back above .500 with upset win over Maiden, 57-52.

East’s road win not only gave No. 11 Maiden (22-5) just its second home loss of the season, but it was tied for the third biggest upset in the 2A boys bracket by seeding. The largest upset in the 2A West saw No. 23 Walkertown beat No. 10 Monroe, and the largest upset in the 2A East saw No. 26 North Lenoir beat No. 7 East Bladen.

Despite the win being labeled an upset, East led at the end of each quarter. The Cards went up by double figures at the end of the first quarter and led 36-10 at halftime. East Surry’s two leading scorers, Jordan Davis with 24 and Luke Brown with 15, combined to outscore Maiden 26-20 in the first half.

The Cardinals held on to win despite Maiden outscoring East 32-21 in the second half.

Davis hit six 3-pointers in the game and now holds the East Surry school record for career 3-pointers with 163. He sets the record despite only playing two full varsity seasons.

East Surry (13-12) travels to No. 6 Salisbury (20-5) in the second round.

ES: Jordan Davis 24, Luke Brown 15, Daniel Creech 10, Folger Boaz 5, Braxton Davis 3

MD: Chris Culliver 19, Jalen Robinson 14, Landon Teague 8, Raheim Misher 7, Ben Gibbs 2, Parker Pait 2

Mount Airy girls at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy

The Granite Bears went on the road and upset the No. 14 seed in a close 44-40 game. Neither side outscored the other by more than four points in a single quarter.

Mount Airy senior Morgan Mayfield scored seven points through the first three quarters, then added eight in the fourth as the Bears held on to advance.

Thomas Jefferson freshman Samara Jones scored 12 points in the first half, but went scoreless in the third before adding six in the fourth quarter.

Mount Airy improves to 16-10, and Thomas Jefferson’s season ends at 14-11. Mount Airy advances to the second round to play No. 3 Cherokee (24-3).

MA: Morgan Mayfield 15, Addie Marshall 11, Alissa Clabo 8, Niya Smith 4, McKenna Watson 4, Da’nya Mills 2

TJ: Samara Jones 18, Breasia Ussery 6, Sara Hargro 6, Sydney Jones 5, Jazzelle Martinez 3, Julissa Bell 2

Mount Airy boys vs. Hayesville

The No. 15 Bears hosted No. 18 Hayesville and came away with the 62-45 win.

Mario Revels led Mount Airy with 29 points, including five 3-pointers. The junior scored 12 as part of a 20-point first quarter. Logan Fonville added 12 points, with all 12 coming in the second half.

Mount Airy improves to 12-13, and Hayesville’s season ends at 14-12.

Mount Airy advances to the second round to play No. 2 South Stokes (23-4). South Stokes won both meetings against Mount Airy this season.

HV: Logan Caldwell 16, Ethan Hooper 11, Seth Hedden 6, Taylor McClure 4, Slade Crouch 3, Kyle Lunsford 2, Cade Denton 2, Isaac Chandler 1

MA: Mario Revels 29, Logan Fonville 12, Caleb Reid 8, Tyler Mason 4, Carson Hill 4, Jourdain Hill 4, Nassir Lemon 1

North Surry girls vs. Owen

2022-23 Foothills 2A Conference Champion North Surry began its playoff journey with a 7-point victory over No. 26 Owen.

The No. 7 Greyhounds spread the love as eight players scored in the victory. No North Surry player scored in all four quarters, but whenever someone had an off quarter the Hounds were there to make up for it. Kalyn Collins led the way with 15 points, but never had more than six a quarter.

Four other North Surry players had a least six points: Reece Niston, Sadie Badgett and Josie Tompkins each had eight, and Jaxie Draughn had six.

North Surry is now 15-1 when scoring at least 46 points.

No. 26 Owen finishes its season at 10-16.

North Surry improves to 17-8 and will host No. 10 Monroe (18-7) in the second round.

ON: Carly Hancock 16, Maesyn Gardner 12, Ellie Martin 8, Savannah Hollingsworth 5, Mia McMurry 4

NS: Kalyn Collins 15, Sadie Badgett 8, Reece Niston 8, Josie Tompkins 8, Callie Robertson 4, Zarah Love 2, Sarah Mauldin 1

North Surry boys vs. Owen

The second part of the North Surry-Owen double header saw the home Greyhounds win 83-48.

Similar to the girls game, the No. 1 Greyhounds (26-1) saw contributions across the board as 11 players scored. James McCreary led four double-digit scorers with 20 points, followed by Kam McKnight with 14, and Jahreece Lynch and Kolby Watson with 11 each. McCreary scored all his points in two quarters, while Lynch and Watson did all their scoring in three.

North Surry broke free of a 14-14 tie at the end of the first quarter by outscoring No. 32 Owen 31-4 in the second quarter. Eight Hounds scored in the second to bring the halftime lead to 45-18.

North Surry hit 10 3-pointers in the win.

Owen finishes the year 12-15.

North Surry will host No. 17 West Stokes (15-10) in the second round. North Surry defeated West Stokes 79-71 earlier this season.

ON: Eli Lewkowicz 12, Jacob King 7, Asante Martin 7, Jaheem O’hara 5, Caleb Mooney 4, Aidan Warnock 4, Hunter Inabinett 4, Jack Wesley 2

NS: James McCreary 20, Kam McKnight 14, Jahreece Lynch 11, Kolby Watson 11, Makiyon Woodbury 6, Isaac Johnson 6, Jackson Smith 4, Fisher Leftwich 4, Cam Taylor 4, Keaton Leonard 2, Brady Bennett 1

Surry Central girls at Monroe

Surry Central’s young core led the team to the 2A State Playoffs, although a first-round date with No. 10 Monroe was less than ideal for the Golden Eagles.

The Redhawks, now 18-7 on the season, won 13-of-14 games heading into the state playoffs and only have one loss against a 2A opponent all year. Monroe jumped out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and maintained in through all four quarters.

No. 23 Central had to reload after losing all five starters from the 2021-22 team, but coach Mandy Holt is very optimistic for the future. Underclassmen scored 26 of Central’s 34 points against Monroe, while Monroe upperclassmen scored 49-of-62 points.

The Golden Eagles finish the season 12-13.

Monroe advances to take on No. 7 North Surry (17-8).

SC: Ragan Hall 10, Layla Wall 7, Ashley Santamaria 6, Presley Smith 4, Jenna Cave 3, Ally Crotts 2, Mallie Southern 2

MR: Saniya Gingham 16, Dynastee Parker 15, Saniya Wallace 15, Summer Jones 11, Taleah Hallman 3, Angel Mckay 2

Surry Central boys vs. West Stokes

Surry Central’s historic season came to an end following a 68-62 loss to West Stokes.

The No. 16 Golden Eagles finish the year 19-8, marking the team’s most wins since at least 2005-06.

The No. 17 Wildcats controlled the boards and used their height advantage to make attacking the basket difficult for the Eagles. West led by as many as 14 in the game behind Cam Edmonds’ 34 points.

West Stokes led by 11 with three minutes to play before Central used an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 59-57. It was a 2-point game with less than a minute to play, but Central was unable to hit shots down the stretch. West scored seven of the game’s final 10 points.

Tripp McMillen led Surry Central with 19 points, followed by Adam Hege 15 on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Hege and Josh Pardue led Central in assists with four each, and Pardue had the Eagles’ only block. Mason Jewell’s three steals were the most by a Golden Eagle.

West Stokes (15-10) advances to the Round of 32 and will face No. 1 North Surry (26-1). North Surry defeated West Stokes 79-71 earlier this season.

WS: Cam Edmonds 34, Bryson Bowman 14, Tyler Moran 9, Keyon Rawley 5, Dillon Stanley 4, Derek Studer 2

SC: Tripp McMillen 19, Adam Hege 15, Ayden Wilmoth 12, Jacob Mitchell 6, Mason Jewell 6, Josh Pardue 4

DOBSON — West Stokes held off a fourth-quarter comeback from Surry Central to advance in the NCHSAA 2A State Playoffs.

The visiting Wildcats, the No. 17 seed in the 2A West, never trailed after the first quarter and led by as many as 14 points in the game. The No. 16 Golden Eagles cut that lead to two points with less than a minute to play, but the Cats scored seven of the game’s final 10 points to win 68-62.

West Stokes picks up its first playoff victory since the 2019-20 season and the first under coach Rhett Bonner. This is also West’s first win over Central this season as Central won the two regular season matchups.

The Wildcats improve to 15-10, while Surry Central’s season ends at 19-8.

Central finishes the year with its most wins in the MaxPreps era (2005-present). This season’s team surpassed the 2011-12 team’s record of 18-11, which was also the last Golden Eagle team to host a playoff game.

Junior Cam Edmonds led the Wildcats with 34 points, while senior Bryson Bowman added a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Edmonds scored 13 of West’s 20 fourth-quarter points, including five of the team’s six field goals in that span.

West Stokes’ height advantage helped limit Central’s interior presence with a zone defense. The Cats won the rebounding battle 28-17, with Bowman and Keyon Rawley combining for 19 boards. West also held Central to just 10 2-point field goals on Tuesday.

The Wildcats set the pace for the Feb. 21 victory with an efficient 21-point opening quarter which came after a bumpy start. Surry Central reacted to the zone by hitting shots from the perimeter to take an 8-2 lead; senior Adam Hege knocked down two of his first five 3-pointers on the night, and sophomore Tripp McMillen hit nothing but net on a long 2-point jumper.

Hege’s five 3-pointers and 15 total points were both career highs. According to his dad, Mark, the secret to Adam’s shooting success against West Stokes was his backward shorts.

West Stokes survived the initial onslaught from Central and responded with a 19-4 run. After turning the ball over on two of their first three possessions, the Wildcats only had one offensive possession that didn’t result in points for the remainder of the quarter.

The teams combined for just six rebounds in the first quarter, with West grabbing five of them, because West rarely missed and Central couldn’t get inside to get an offensive rebound.

The Wildcats’ lead grew to 14 in the second quarter after an 8-3 run. The Eagles’ defense stepped up to force turnovers and responded with a 9-2 run, then Edmonds scored his seventh, eighth and ninth points of the quarter on a 3-pointer just before time expired. This put West up 34-24 at the midpoint.

Hege’s sharpshooting helped Central cut into the lead as he hit three 3-pointers in the third. The lead was cut to six at 38-32, then Edmonds and Bowman scored the next seven points to extend the Wildcat advantage to 13. Hege hit his third triple of the quarter, then assisted on the next two field goals scored by Jacob Mitchell and Mason Jewell to make it a five-point game.

Central seemed to have momentum heading into the fourth quarter, but another late 3-pointer – this time from Tyler Moran – put West up 48-40 with eight minutes to play.

West Stokes led by double-digits for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter. Then, an offensive rebound from Mitchell set Wilmoth up for a drive to the basket with 2:49 to play, cutting the lead to 57-48. McMillen then forced a turnover in Central’s full-court press that gave Wilmoth another easy drive to the basket.

Jewell forced a turnover on the Wildcats’ next possession, then McMillen converted a layup while being fouled. Edmonds put a stop to the 6-0 run with 1:57 to play, but Central kept going with a 5-0 run after Edmonds’ bucket to make it 59-57.

Edmonds and McMillen traded 2-point field goals as the clock ran below a minute. Edmonds scored a layup, was fouled and made the free throw to make a two-possession game with 47 seconds to play, then Central missed 3-point attempts on its next three possessions. West turned those misses into points by hitting free throws.

A 3-pointer from Jewell was too little too late as West Stokes booked its ticket to the second round.

Central finished the night 10-of-27 from beyond the arc (37%), with Hege leading the way by making his first five attempts. West Stokes had a similar shooting percentage from deep by making 6-of-16 attempts (38%). Central shot 9-of-12 (75%) from the free throw line, and West made 10-of-12 attempts (83%).

McMillen led the Eagles with 19 points and six rebounds while adding three assists and two steals. Hege was next in scoring with 15 points, followed by Wilmoth with 12.

Hege and Josh Pardue led Central in assists with four each, and Pardue had the Eagles’ only block. Jewell’s three steals were the most by a Golden Eagle.

Edmonds’ 34 matched the total of Central’s two leading scorers. The junior also finished with two rebounds, two assists and a team-high four steals.

Bowman was the Wildcats’ other double-digit scorer with 14 while leading the team with 11 rebounds and two blocks. Dillon Stanley led West with four assists, and Rawley and Bowman each had three assists. Rawley also added eight boards.

West Stokes advances to the Round of 32 and will face No. 1 North Surry (26-1) on Feb. 23.

North Surry, who defeated No. 32 Owen 83-48 in the opening round, won the only regular season meeting against West Stokes 79-71 on Dec. 28.

WS: Cam Edmonds 34, Bryson Bowman 14, Tyler Moran 9, Keyon Rawley 5, Dillon Stanley 4, Derek Studer 2

SC: Tripp McMillen 19, Adam Hege 15, Ayden Wilmoth 12, Jacob Mitchell 6, Mason Jewell 6, Josh Pardue 4

A game that started as a defensive standoff soon turned into a one-sided affair as North Wilkes defeated North Surry 61-30.

The teams combined for just three points for nearly four minutes to start the game, then North Wilkes (22-5) went up 13-0 before North Surry’s Kalyn Collins hit a pair of free throws late in the quarter.

The Vikings’ alternated between a 1-3-1 and 2-1-2 zone, using their height and length advantage to make attacking the basket harder for the Hounds (16-8). The Greyhounds found success shooting the three as the season progressed, even posting three games of at least nine triples in the final weeks of the regular season, but struggled to replicate that success in the title game.

North finished 5-of-28 (18%) from deep. Three of those 3-pointers game in the second quarter. North Surry’s defense once again was able to slow the visitors from Wilkes County down at times, and when the threes were falling the lead was cut to 24-14.

The Hounds kept the Vikings from scoring for nearly 2:30 of game time, but failed to score themselves after a Reece Niston 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the half.

Each team scored five points in the first four minutes of the second half; North Surry’s Collins put back an offensive rebound followed by a Sadie Badgett 3-pointer from NBA range, and North Wilkes made five free throws. The Vikings then built on a 32-19 lead with a 10-2 run. The Hounds did manage to go on a 6-2 run to close the third quarter and make it 44-27.

North Surry turnovers opened the door for North Wilkes to go on a 6-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter, resulting in a platoon swap for North Surry. Peyton Utt had North Surry’s only three points of the fourth quarter, hitting a 3-pointer off an assist from Westyn McCraw.

Badgett led North Surry with 11 points in eight rebounds, and tied Callie Robertson with two assists. Collins and Sarah Mauldin led the way and steals, while Robertson and Zarah Love each had blocks.

North Surry’s Shane Slate repeated as FH2A Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Greyhounds to a 10-2 conference record and the FH2A Title game.

North Wilkes’ Bare was named FH2A Player of the Year after averaging 16.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 4.9 steals in 12 conference games.

Bare was named MVP of the Conference Tournament, during which she averaged 23.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 5.0 steals. This included 32 points in the title game.

North Wilkes, who outscored tournament opponents 184-109, earned three selections for the FH2A All-Tournament Team: Bare, Kate Brown and Olivia Rhodes.

North Surry’ had two All-Tournament selections, while East Surry and Forbush each had one selection; Badgett and Tompkins represented the Greyhounds, Addie Phipps was selected from the Cardinals and Mallory Chapman was selected from the Falcons.

NW: Ralee Bare 32, Kate Brown 15, Olivia Rhodes 7, Allie Farrington 5, Brook Settle 2

NS: Sadie Badgett 11, Reece Niston 6, Josie Tompkins 5, Kalyn Collins 4, Peyton Utt 3, Sarah Mauldin 2

Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.

North Surry defended its Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Championship with a 99-49 statement win over West Wilkes on Feb. 17.

The Hounds, now 25-1 on the season, led by as many as 22 points in the first quarter, then went up by 39 with 4:15 remaining in the second quarter. At one point, North Surry went on a 26-2 run in the first half.

The Greyhounds put a running clock into effect by taking a 41-point lead with 4:15 to play in the third quarter. The shot that gave North the running clock was a made 3-pointer from Jahreece Lynch, which was the most common sight of the night in Ron King Gymnasium.

Lynch scored a game-high 35 points to record his fourth game of at least 30 this season. The senior scored all of his points in the first three quarters: four in the first, 15 in the second and 16 in the third. He made 13 field goals in the game, and only two of those weren’t dunks or 3-pointers.

Jahreece came into Friday’s championship averaging 34% shooting from beyond the arc while attempting 6.3 3-pointers per game. He made each of his first six 3-pointers against West Wilkes, matching his career-high for a single game, then made three more to finish 9-of-15 (60%) from deep.

North Surry started the game 1-of-6 (17%) on 3-point attempts but finished the night 16-of-31 (52%). The Hounds scored 48 points on 3-pointers while the Blackhawks scored 49 total points.

Lynch finished the game with 35 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. Lynch’s scoring total combined with that of either of the Greyhounds’ next two leading scorers, senior James McCreary with 20 and senior Kolby Watson with 17, surpassed West Wilkes’ entire team.

North assisted on 30 of its 38 total field goals. Sophomore Kam McKnight had a double-double off the bench and led the way with 10 assists, followed by Lynch with seven, Makiyon Woodbury with four, McCreary with three, Watson and Fisher Leftwich with two, and Cam Taylor, Keaton Leonard and Julius Brintle with one each.

The Blackhawks (13-13) relied heavily on 3-point shots during their recent run winning seven of their past eight games coming into the championship.

While North Surry tied its most made 3-pointers in recent memory, West Wilkes was held to just two made triples as North’s defense focused on eliminating open looks from the perimeter. West Wilkes made a combined 25 3-pointers in its first two conference tournament games, then was held to 2-of-15 shooting (13%) from deep against North Surry. This included 10 consecutive missed 3’s to start the game.

The Greyhounds swept the FH2A Conference’s top honors in 2023.

Coach Tyler Bentley repeated as Coach of the Year after leading the Greyhounds to another 12-0 conference season in which North won both the regular season and conference tournament championships.

McCreary was named FH2A Player of the Year after averaging 22.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.1 steals and 0.8 blocks in 12 conference games.

Lynch was named MVP of the Conference Tournament. He averaged 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 0.5 blocks during the tournament while shooting 13-of-22 (59%) from 3-point range and 20-of-33 (61%) from the field.

North Surry, who outscored tournament opponents 166-97 in two games, earned three selections for the FH2A All-Tournament Team: Lynch, McCreary and Watson.

West Wilkes had two All-Tournament selections, while East Surry and Surry Central each had one selection; Andin Ashford and Harrison Holbrook represented the Blackhawks, Luke Brown was selected from the Cardinals and Tripp McMillen was selected from the Golden Eagles.

The following players were named to the All-Conference team:

WW: Andin Ashford 19, Jaheim McDougald 10, Daniel Lambert 8, Harrison Holbrook 8, Jayden Walker 4

NS: Jahreece Lynch 35, James McCreary 20, Kolby Watson 17, Kam McKnight 10, Keaton Leonard 6, Cam Taylor 4, Fisher Leftwich 2, Julius Brintle 2

GREENSBORO — The cost of reaching the state championship may be high for student-athletes, but the experience of winning North Carolina’s ultimate prize is simply priceless.

That said, the NCHSAA Individual Wrestling State Championship Tournament has been anything but “Price-less” the past four years. Injuries, nationally ranked opponents and even a worldwide pandemic weren’t enough to stand in the way of the state meet’s one constant since 2020: a Price brother winning a state title.

After winning the 2019-20 2A 145-pound State Championship, Jeremiah Price – a freshman at Surry Central at the time – said: “I just came here looking to place. Since I’m a freshman and wasn’t supposed to win it, I just came here looking to do the best I could do.”

On Feb. 18, 2023, Jeremiah and his younger brother Jacob each won state championships, bringing their family’s total up to six in four seasons.

That’s something that money can’t buy.

“They put the time in and both are well-deserved,” said Josh Price. Josh is Jeremiah and Jacob’s father as well as the Eagles’ assistant coach.

Jeremiah put his name in the state’s record book by becoming the 12th person in N.C. history to win four wrestling state championships. The senior won the 2A 145-pound Championship in 2020 and 2021, then won the 2A 152-pound Championship in 2022 and now 2023.

“When I was a kid I always dreamed of it,” Jeremiah said. “It was a dream, but you’ve always got to work and attack that dream to make it a reality.”

Jacob wrestled one match after Jeremiah on the same mat. The junior captured the 2A 160-pound Championship, becoming just the sixth Surry County wrestler to win multiple individual titles.

Jacob joins: Mount Airy’s Cameron Pack, Jacob Hogue and Connor Medvar, North Surry’s Justin Jones, and of course his brother Jeremiah from Surry Central.

“You can’t say enough about them,” said Surry Central coach Stephen Priddy. “Both of them are tremendous young men with great character. They just come out here and they get it done. It’s just fun to be a part of.”

To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man

Jeremiah set the bar high by going 56-1 as a freshman, with his only loss that season coming against a multi-time state champion in the 3A division. Following that defeat on Dec. 27, 2019, Jeremiah won his next 96 matches as he went undefeated for nearly three years.

This would be his only high school loss to an in-state opponent.

“My freshman year was going to be the hardest year, so once that year kind of rolled into place I knew that now was the time to make my dream a reality,” Jeremiah said.

When asked if he thought Jeremiah had a legitimate shot at making history after winning as a freshman, Priddy didn’t even have to think before responding.

“Yes, no question,” Priddy said. “I knew it was possible and that he wasn’t going to slow down. There are obviously things you can’t plan for like injuries, but with his work ethic I knew the potential was there.”

Jeremiah won titles his sophomore and junior years without losing. As a sophomore, he outscored opponents 57-3 in the state tournament to repeat as 145 champion. The Golden Eagle moved up to 152 as a junior, but won his first two matches at states in 10 seconds and 26 seconds. He won via 25-10 technical fall in the semifinals, then 26-9 tech fall in the championship.

Only three wrestlers in North Carolina won their 2021-22 championship match via technical fall, and Jeremiah’s 26 points total of 26 points was 10 more than the other two wrestlers. He went on to be named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2A Tournament.

Jeremiah won his first four matches as a senior before falling in the third round of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Tournament, a national tournament that featured 64 wrestlers in each bracket. He lost twice in the 150-pound bracket to competitors from Florida and Colorado, but came back to finish fifth in the nation.

Jeremiah got payback over the wrestler who handed him his first loss in the fifth-place match.

“It’s fun for us to talk about individual records and win streaks, but I can tell you he really does not care a bit about that stuff,” Priddy said. “All he cares about is getting better, and him winning four state titles on top of being a multi-time All-American tells you all you need to know.”

Jeremiah wrestled 45 matches his senior year, and only seven of those matches lasted all three periods without ending via tech fall. All seven came in the Walsh Tournament.

“I train to be the best, and to be the best I’ve got to beat the best,” Jeremiah said. “If kids are gunning for me it keeps me motivated to work out and work harder.”

It was another clinic put on by Jeremiah in the 2023 state tournament. He won all four of his matches via fall, the first of which only lasted 18 seconds, and wrestled for less than nine minutes in the three-day tournament. He outscored tournament opponents 61-17 and was named Most Outstanding wrestler for the second consecutive year.

Jeremiah finishes his high school career with a record of 161-3 with the following records by year, beginning with his freshman season: 56-1, 20-0 (Covid-shortened season), 43-0 and 43-2.

NCHSAA records state that his record his 159-3, but do not include his two wins as part of the 2020 and 2022 dual team state tournament.

“I just want to say thank you to all my coaches,” Jeremiah said. “My dad (Josh) has been my coach since I was eight and has been a huge part of my journey. Coach Priddy has helped me get into tournaments, even at Combat and Roundtree.

“Just all of my coaches and family have been awesome through the whole thing.”

There were times in the 2022-23 season that Jacob was doubtful to even compete in the state tournament, but he wasn’t about to let anything stand in his way.

The defending 2A 145 State Champion didn’t start wrestling this season until January after undergoing surgery for a hernia in Nov. 2022. Once he returned, he was put back on the shelf with Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV.

“It’s messed with my breathing, and I’ve had to get treatments for asthma related to the RSV,” Jacob said.

Jacob dominated when he was available. He wrestled 13 matches through the end of January, winning the 170 bracket of the Jeff Peal memorial as well as the Foothills 2A Conference Championship at the same weight.

The junior went down to 160 for regionals. He earned a first-round bye, then picked up a pair of victories via fall to advance to the championship.

Jacob ran into a 2021-22 state placer in the finals: Bandys’ Ian Moore. Price went up 2-0 in the first period, and held on to that slim lead heading into the third. Moore caught Price late in the match and won via fall.

If the two were going to rematch in the state tournament it would be in the championship.

Jacob won his first match at states via forfeit, and Priddy said he was never told why the forfeit occurred. The Golden Eagle then came back from a 3-2 deficit in the third period of the quarterfinals with a late near fall, defeating Bunker Hill’s Donta Davis 4-3.

Price nearly used up his five minutes of injury time in the match.

Jacob found himself in another close match in the semis against Wheatmore’s Dominic Hittepole. Price struggled to breathe, but went up 6-2 after the second period and held on to win 7-4.

“He managed to survive that first day, and I’m proud of how he fought through everything,” Josh said. “He had us worried at times with all the injuries and sickness, but he really battled.”

A potential rematch with Moore was spoiled by the 2A East Regional Champion, Southwest Onslow’s Jeremiah Jones. Jones defeated Moore via 9-5 decision in the semifinals.

A takedown and near fall put Jones up 4-0 in the period, but Jacob scored a late reversal and 2-point near fall to tie things up. Price started on the bottom in the second period and went up after a reversal, then Jones earned a point with an escape.

Similar to the first period, Jacob earned four points at the end of the second period with a takedown and near fall. This put the Eagle up 10-5 with 2:00 left on the clock.

The championship match was stopped a few times as Jacob used injury time, but he kept fighting back.

“I knew I had to capitalize on that lead,” Jacob said. “I tried to keep myself from getting gassed out too much more and just capitalize on it.”

“He knew he had to hold on but still keep moving because you don’t want the ref to call stalling,” Josh said. “We told him he had to finish it out, but had to be smart about it and stay in good position.

“I told him in the beginning: you’ll win the match on position because there’s a lot kids that wrestle now that don’t get taught position. It’s something you have to learn over a long period of time.”

Jacob held on to his lead and scored two points in the third period while giving up two as well. He won his second title via 12-7 decision.

Priddy said that the championship was “probably one of the smartest matches he’s wrestled in his three years.”

Jacob put everything he had into the match and had to be helped off the mat before his hand could be raised. He was able to make it to the podium after, and said he felt “exhausted, but happy.”

Jacob moves to 70-6 overall as a Golden Eagle. He finished 18-3 as a freshman, 33-2 as a sophomore and 19-1 as a junior.

Surry Central’s Jacob Price and Jeremiah Price captured individual state championships at Saturday’s NCHSAA Championship Meet and made history in the process.

Jeremiah put his name in the state’s record book by becoming the 12th person in North Carolina history to win four wrestling state championships. The senior won the 2A 145-pound Championship in 2020 and 2021, then won the 2A 152-pound Championship in 2022 and now 2023.

The full list of N.C. Four-Time State Champions is featured at the bottom of this article.

Jeremiah was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2A Division for the second consecutive season. He won all four of his matches via fall, the first of which only lasted 18 seconds, and wrestled for less than nine minutes in the three-day tournament.

He outscored tournament opponents 61-17.

Jacob captured his second consecutive championship by winning the 2A 160-pound title, previously winning the 2A 145-pound title in 2022. The junior is the second multi-time State Champion in Surry Central history, and is just the sixth multi-time state champion in Surry Co. history.

Jacob joins: Mount Airy’s Cameron Pack, Jacob Hogue and Connor Medvar, North Surry’s Justin Jones, and of course his brother Jeremiah from Surry Central.

Jacob won his first match via forfeit, then won the next three via decision: 4-3, 7-4 and 12-7.

Stay tuned to mtairynews.com/sports and the Feb. 21 print edition for full coverage of the NCHSAA Wrestling State Championship.

North Carolina Four-Time State Champions

1) Mike Kendall, Albemarle, 1988-91 (103, 112, 119, 130 – All in combined 1A/2A)

2) JohnMark Bentley, Avery County 1994-97 (119, 125, 135, 140 – All in combined 1A/2A)

3) Drew Forshey, St. Stephens 2000-03 (103, 112, 119, 125 – All in 3A)

4) Dusty McKinney, East Gaston 2001-04 (4A 103, 3A 112, 3A 119, 3A 125)

5) Chris Bullins, McMichael 2004-07 (160, 160, 170, 160 – All in combined 1A/2A)

6) Justin Sparrow, East Gaston 2004-07 (3A 119, 3A 140, 4A 145, 4A 160)

7) Corey Mock, Chapel Hill 2006-09 (103, 112, 125, 135 – All in 4A)

8) Jacob Creed, Ragsdale 2006-09 (103, 119, 130, 135 – All in 3A)

9) Landon Foor, Fred T. Foord, 2018-21 (170, 182, 182, 182 – All in 2A)

10) Levi Andrews, Avery County 2019-22 (220, 220, 285, 285 – All in 1A)

11) Kyle Montaperto, Central Academy 2019-22 (2A 106, 2A 120, 2A 120, 3A 126)

12) Jeremiah Price, Surry Central 2020-23 (145, 145, 152, 152 – All in 2A)

Two Surry County wrestlers reached the gold medal match and will compete for an NCHSAA State Championship later this afternoon.

Surry Central’s Jacob Price and Jeremiah Price are set to defend their state titles, with the Parade of Champions scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Jacob won the 2A 145-pound championship in 2022, and Jeremiah is a three-time defending state champion. Jeremiah is one match away from becoming the 12th wrestler in North Carolina history to win four state titles.

Both Prices are guaranteed medals, bringing the county’s total up to 11 among 19 state qualifiers.

East Surry – Eli Becker fourth in 2A 182, Andrew Meadows fifth in 2A 160

Elkin – David Rojas fourth in 1A 113

Mount Airy – Alex Cox third in 1A 138, John Martin fourth in 1A 145

North Surry – Ty Gwyn fifth in 2A 285, Will Brickell sixth in 2A 120

Surry Central – Jeremiah Price first/second in 2A 152, Jacob Price first/second in 2A 160, Xavier Salazar fifth in 2A 120, Ayden Norman sixth in 2A 106

RESULTS PRIOR TO THE FINALS – SORTED BY SCHOOL

Michael Fischer (25-14) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Rayshun James (Reidsville) 36-2 won by fall over Michael Fischer (East Surry) 25-14 (Fall 1:09)

• Cons. Round 1 – Hayden Manning (North Pitt) 38-9 won by tech fall over Michael Fischer (East Surry) 25-14 (TF-1.5 2:18 (16-1))

Andrew Meadows (39-9) placed 5th and scored 16.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 won by major decision over Dylan Polatty (Manteo) 52-10 (MD 16-2)

• Quarterfinal – Dominic Hittepole (Wheatmore) 43-7 won by fall over Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 (Fall 2:36)

• Cons. Round 2 – Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 won by fall over Tristian Kirkwood (TW Andrews) 15-9 (Fall 3:40)

• Cons. Round 3 – Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 won by fall over Donta Davis (Bunker Hill) 29-8 (Fall 3:23)

• Cons. Semi – Ian Moore (Bandys) 39-4 won by major decision over Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 (MD 8-0)

• 5th Place Match – Andrew Meadows (East Surry) 39-9 won by fall over Kyle Jamerson (Madison) 43-10 (Fall 0:39)

Eli Becker (33-6) placed 4th and scored 14.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Eli Becker (East Surry) 33-6 won by decision over Izreal Wrighton (Shelby) 24-10 (Dec 6-3)

• Quarterfinal – Eli Becker (East Surry) 33-6 won by decision over Gavin Hardister (Trinity) 39-11 (Dec 2-1)

• Semifinal – Mason Avery (West Lincoln) 43-2 won by decision over Eli Becker (East Surry) 33-6 (Dec 6-3)

• Cons. Semi – Eli Becker (East Surry) 33-6 won by fall over Jadyn Virgil (Polk County) 46-12 (Fall 2:10)

• 3rd Place Match – Jason Rodriguez Jr. (Southwest Onslow) 43-3 won by fall over Eli Becker (East Surry) 33-6 (Fall 4:36)

Manuel Salas (27-16) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Josue Gomez (Thomasville) 48-2 won by fall over Manuel Salas (Elkin) 27-16 (Fall 0:38)

• Cons. Round 1 – Kale Stephenson (Swain County) 42-16 won by fall over Manuel Salas (Elkin) 27-16 (Fall 1:17)

David Rojas (36-10) placed 4th and scored 10.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Jayden Test (North East Carolina Prep School) 47-11 won by decision over David Rojas (Elkin) 36-10 (Dec 4-2)

• Cons. Round 1 – David Rojas (Elkin) 36-10 won by fall over Kreed Smith (Rosman) 32-15 (Fall 4:40)

• Cons. Semi – David Rojas (Elkin) 36-10 won by fall over Cooper Wingate (The North Carolina Leadership Academy) 35-9 (Fall 1:29)

• 3rd Place Match – Loxston Hooper (Robbinsville) 38-10 won by decision over David Rojas (Elkin) 36-10 (Dec 7-4)

Alex Cox (24-9) placed 3rd and scored 10.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Giovani Rivera (Rosewood) 41-9 won by fall over Alex Cox (Mt Airy) 24-9 (Fall 5:13)

• Cons. Round 1 – Alex Cox (Mt Airy) 24-9 won by decision over Staley Griffith (Avery County) 17-22 (Dec 5-2)

• Cons. Semi – Alex Cox (Mt Airy) 24-9 won by decision over Owen Craig (Swain County) 25-11 (Dec 11-10)

• 3rd Place Match – Alex Cox (Mt Airy) 24-9 won by major decision over Giovani Rivera (Rosewood) 41-9 (MD 10-2)

John Martin (23-3) placed 4th and scored 9.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – John Martin (Mt Airy) 23-3 won by decision over Stephen Ribustello (Tarboro) 35-7 (Dec 2-0)

• Semifinal – Willie Riddle (Robbinsville) 35-17 won by decision over John Martin (Mt Airy) 23-3 (Dec 2-1)

• Cons. Semi – John Martin (Mt Airy) 23-3 won by fall over Roman Perna (Mountain Island Charter School) 30-20 (Fall 3:37)

• 3rd Place Match – Ranfere Garcia (South Stanly) 33-6 won by fall over John Martin (Mt Airy) 23-3 (Fall 1:53)

Traven Thompson (14-10) place is unknown and scored 1.0 team points.

• Quarterfinal – Grayson Roberts (Uwharrie Charter Academy) 50-4 won by fall over Traven Thompson (Mt Airy) 14-10 (Fall 4:35)

• Cons. Round 1 – Traven Thompson (Mt Airy) 14-10 won by decision over Lucas Sutton (Swain County) 32-15 (Dec 9-7)

• Cons. Semi – Kam Bolin (Cherryville) 38-12 won by decision over Traven Thompson (Mt Airy) 14-10 (Dec 9-4)

Will Brickell (35-12) placed 6th and scored 13.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 won by fall over Wyatt Reavis (South Lenoir) 22-15 (Fall 1:27)

• Quarterfinal – Carter Minton (West Wilkes) 49-2 won by decision over Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 (Dec 6-2)

• Cons. Round 2 – Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 won by fall over Christian Wylie (Maiden) 26-12 (Fall 0:27)

• Cons. Round 3 – Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 won by fall over Phoenix Michaud (Newton Conover) 47-11 (Fall 0:44)

• Cons. Semi – Layne Armstrong (Seaforth) 39-5 won by decision over Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 (Dec 11-8)

• 5th Place Match – Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 won by decision over Will Brickell (North Surry) 35-12 (Dec 5-2)

William France (34-11) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Chase Eller (North Wilkes) 33-9 won by tech fall over William France (North Surry) 34-11 (TF-1.5 5:23 (16-1))

• Cons. Round 1 – William France (North Surry) 34-11 won by fall over Kaelob Pearce (Randleman) 20-14 (Fall 1:36)

• Cons. Round 2 – Trey Swaney (Wheatmore) 42-13 won by fall over William France (North Surry) 34-11 (Fall 2:49)

Garrett Shore (32-6) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Nathan Tucker (Burns) 28-8 won by fall over Garrett Shore (North Surry) 32-6 (Fall 4:24)

• Cons. Round 1 – Garrett Shore (North Surry) 32-6 won by fall over Jack Ewell (Ayden-Grifton) 35-20 (Fall 1:50)

• Cons. Round 2 – Jordin Moore (North Johnston) 32-11 won by major decision over Garrett Shore (North Surry) 32-6 (MD 12-3)

Adam Slate (20-15) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Adam Slate (North Surry) 20-15 won by fall over Tanner Whitehead (Southwest Onslow) 26-3 (Fall 2:20)

• Quarterfinal – Alex Maximov (Hendersonville) 50-11 won by decision over Adam Slate (North Surry) 20-15 (Dec 14-8)

• Cons. Round 2 – Asher Eason (Heide Trask) 37-11 won by fall over Adam Slate (North Surry) 20-15 (Fall 4:56)

Ty Gwyn (36-7) placed 5th and scored 15.0 team points.

• Championship.Round 1 – Ty Gwyn (North Surry) 36-7 won by fall over Mason Clubb (Madison) 25-9 (Fall 1:53)

• Quarterfinal – Ty Gwyn (North Surry) 36-7 won by fall over Nhycer Kelly (Reidsville) 7-4 (Fall 0:43)

• Semifinal – Dyllin Ellis (Bunn) 34-6 won by fall over Ty Gwyn (North Surry) 36-7 (Fall 1:56)

• Cons. Semi – Camden Sain (West Lincoln) 43-13 won by fall over Ty Gwyn (North Surry) 36-7 (Fall 1:35)

• 5th Place Match – Ty Gwyn (North Surry) 36-7 won by forfeit over Nick McClellan (East Gaston) 24-16 (For.)

Ayden Norman (37-10) placed 6th and scored 10.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Gabe Rogers (Seaforth) 37-1 won by decision over Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 (Dec 4-1)

• Cons. Round 1 – Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 won by forfeit over Christian Price (Washington) 31-13 (For.)

• Cons. Round 2 – Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 won by decision over Alexander May (Hendersonville) 49-3 (Dec 3-2)

• Cons. Round 3 – Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 won by fall over Alex Monks (Bunn) 37-7 (Fall 2:04)

• Cons. Semi – Jose Pina-Velasquez (Forbush) 42-6 won by decision over Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 (Dec 4-2)

• 5th Place Match – Sam Gosnell (Rutherfordton-Spindale) 47-13 won by decision over Ayden Norman (Surry Central) 37-10 (Dec 3-0)

Jose Trejo (35-9) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Isaiah Pittman (Newton Conover) 52-5 won by fall over Jose Trejo (Surry Central) 35-9 (Fall 0:42)

• Cons. Round 1 – Jose Trejo (Surry Central) 35-9 won by fall over Keller Guthrie (Ayden-Grifton) 29-8 (Fall 2:13)

• Cons. Round 2 – Brandon Nolasco-Rayo (Louisburg) 28-14 won by fall over Jose Trejo (Surry Central) 35-9 (Fall 0:52)

Xavier Salazar (35-10) placed 5th and scored 13.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 won by fall over Levi Jaramillo (Heide Trask) 24-22 (Fall 2:39)

• Quarterfinal – Layne Armstrong (Seaforth) 39-5 won by fall over Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 (Fall 6:22)

• Cons. Round 2 – Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 won by fall over Bladen Ingle (West Lincoln) 34-20 (Fall 4:07)

• Cons.Round 3 – Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 sudden victory – 1 over Braulio Nolasco-Rayo (Louisburg) 28-16 (SV-1 4-2)

• Cons. Semi – Carter Minton (West Wilkes) 49-2 won by fall over Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 (Fall 1:38)

• 5th Place Match – Xavier Salazar (Surry Central) 35-10 won by decision over Will Brickle (North Surry) 35-12 (Dec 5-2)

Jeremiah Price (42-2) placed 2nd and scored 24.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Jeremiah Price (Surry Central) 42-2 won by fall over Brayden Helms (Rutherfordton-Spindale) 35-22 (Fall 0:18)

• Quarterfinal – Jeremiah Price (Surry Central) 42-2 won by fall over Ethan Powel (South Granville) 41-18 (Fall 1:40)

• Semifinal – Jeremiah Price (Surry Central) 42-2 won by fall over Jason Brawley (Newton Conover) 55-5 (Fall 3:07)

Jacob Price (18-1) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Jacob Price (Surry Central) 18-1 won by forfeit over Traquan Haywood (Washington) 19-6 (For.)

• Quarterfinal – Jacob Price (Surry Central) 18-1 won by decision over Donta Davis (Bunker Hill) 29-8 (Dec 4-3)

• Semifinal – Jacob Price (Surry Central) 18-1 won by decision over Dominic Hittepole (Wheatmore) 43-7 (Dec 7-4)

Enoc Lopez (29-9) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Enoc Lopez (Surry Central) 29-9 won by fall over Gavin Pierce (Holmes) 26-10 (Fall 4:51)

• Quarterfinal – Xavier Roberts (Morehead) 39-9 won by decision over Enoc Lopez (Surry Central) 29-9 (Dec 3-1)

• Cons. Round 2 – Nick Brewster (Manteo) 46-19 won by decision over Enoc Lopez (Surry Central) 29-9 (Dec 10-6)

CARY — Local swimmers competed in the 1A/2A State Championship on Feb. 8-9 at the Triangle Aquatic Center, and the Elkin High School girls messed around and got a triple-double…kind of.

In basketball, a triple-double occurs when a player records reaches double figures in three of the five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals or blocks.

No such accomplishment officially exists in swimming, and the title of Double Triple Crown is already taken in the sport; the title refers to swimmers that complete a famous trio of outdoor marathon swims twice.

The Elkin girls may have just invented a triple-double in swimming by winning all three state relay titles for the second consecutive season. Elkin captured 1A/2A State Chamionships in the 200-Yard Freestyle and 400-Yard Freestyle Relays in both 2022 and 2023, and actually won the 200-Yard Medley Relay State Title in each of the past three seasons.

A double-triple might make more sense. However, not only is it already taken in the sport, but it doesn’t allow for a reference to the modern poet Ice Cube. One might justify they won “triple” titles in two, or double, years.

The Buckin’ Elks’ 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams has consisted of the same four swimmers for each state championship: Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles and Sophie Welborn. Sedessa Hatcher joined the 400 freestyle relay team this season to win with Welborn, Wiles and Presley.

Presley was also named the recipient of the NCHSAA’s 2023 Sportsmanship Award.

Elkin’s girls finished with eight medals at the meet, helping the school finish 1A/2A State Runner-up in the team competition. The only team ahead of the Buckin’ Elk girls was 2A Lincoln Charter.

Surry County’s fourth state champion swimmer also came from Elkin as Marshall Wells won the Boys 100 Breaststroke State Championship. Marshall captured his first individual state title and his second overall, having previously been part of the 200 freestyle relay team that won the state championship in 2022.

Surry County swimmers finished with 11 medals. Elkin had eight girls and one boys medal, while Mount Airy’s Matheson Williams won two silver medals. Williams finished second in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke.

The Northwest 1A Conference boasted another swimmer from outside Surry Co. that won a pair of medals. Starmount’s Peyton Ponce de Leon finished second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 100 backstroke.

Local swimmers finished just outside the top four in seven events.

In the girls’ competition: Surry Central’s Mallory Cave finished fifth in the 200 freestyle, North Surry’s Kara Bryant finished fifth in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke, and East Surry’s 200 freestyle relay team finished sixth. Making up the Cards’ 200 freestyle relay team was: Ilihanie Caro, Kaci Collins, Kennedy Cook and Claire Hull.

For the boys: North Surry’s Jackson Graves finished sixth in the 100 backstroke, while Elkin’s 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay teams finished sixth as well. Both Buckin’ Elk relay teams consisted the same four swimmers: Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells, Troy Snow and Luke McComb.

Full results for local swimmers are listed below by event. Swimmers that have a ‘(P)’ next to their name competed in the preliminary round only and finished No. 17-No. 24. Preliminary races were held for every race except the 500 freestyle.

The top eight preliminary times advanced to the championship race, while spots 9-16 competed in the consolation finals. If a swimmer finished first in the consolation finals, the highest overall spot they could finish in the standings is No. 9. Because of this, some 9-16 consolation finals times may be faster than some 1-8 finals times.

1. Elkin 1:48.92: Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, Sophie Welborn

(P) East Surry 2:10.80: Kennedy Cook, Aby Caro, Haley Joyce, Ilhanie Caro

6. Elkin 1:43.91: Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells, Troy Snow, Luke McComb

(P) East Surry 1:54.15: Aiden Richardson, Colby Goins, Andrew Needham, Gavin Atkins

(P) North Surry 1:56.40: Jackson Graves, Konnor Mauldin, Javier Villalon-Lopez, Jordan Inman

(P) Kennedy Cook, East Surry, 2:21.14

(P) Brayden Lapham, West Stokes, 1:58.92

(P) Ilihanie Caro, East Surry, 27.48

(P) Jackson Graves, North Surry, 23.57

2. Peyton Ponce de Leon, Starmount, 50.25

1. Elkin 1:40.39: Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, Sophie Welborn

6. East Surry 1:49.20: Ilihanie Caro, Kaci Collins, Kennedy Cook, Claire Hull

6. Elkin 1:34.04: Troy Snow, Henry Snyder, Luke McComb, Marshall Wells

14. West Stokes 1:41.19: Griffin Sparks, Luke Nickless, Matthew Howell, Brayden Lapham

(P) Mount Airy 1:41.81: Matheson Williams, Noah Moore, John Stafford, Hayden Bender

3. Peyton Ponce de Leon, Starmount, 54.32

1. Elkin 3:49.72: Morgan Wiles, Amelia Presley, Sedessa Hatcher, Sophie Welborn

8. East Surry 3:58.73: Haley Joyce, Kaci Collins, Kennedy Cook, Claire Hull

7. Elkin 3:31.54: Troy Snow, Luke McComb, Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells

(P) Mount Airy 3:53.03: Matheson Williams, Noah Moore, John Stafford, Hayden Bender

Certain basketball teams live and die by the 3-point shot, and West Wilkes was living it up against Surry Central on Feb. 15.

The Blackhawks knocked down 12 3-pointers while shooting better than 46% from beyond the arc to defeat the Surry Central 69-59. This came just two days after West Wilkes made 13 3-pointers in an 87-56 victory against Forbush.

The win gives the Hawks the edge over the Eagles in their season series.

West Wilkes (13-12), the No. 2 seed in the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament, advances to the championship game to face No. 1 North Surry (24-1) on Feb. 17. Surry Central falls to 18-7 overall and will face East Surry (12-11) in a third-place tiebreaker.

West has now won seven of its past eight games after starting the season 6-11. The Blackhawks’ only loss in the past 30 days was a 102-60 defeat at the hands of North Surry.

West Wilkes had the game’s two leading scorers: Andin Ashford with 22 points and Harrison Holbrook with 21 points. Holbrook scored all his points in the first half, while Ashford scored 18 of his 22 in the second half.

Even with West’s wild shooting numbers, Surry Central only trailed by four points with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Central had to adjust its lineup in the second half after forward/center Josh Pardue left the game with an injury in the second quarter. Pardue is one of four Eagles averaging double-digit points, leads the team in offensive rebounds and blocks, and is third in assists. His 2.4 blocks per game ranks No. 4 in the 2A West and No. 28 in the state overall.

Pardue had five points, five rebounds, two steals and three blocks when he left the game at the 2:52 mark of the second quarter.

Jacob Mitchell, Central’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, and leading scorer Tripp McMillen split duties at center in Pardue’s absence, though McMillen usually plays small forward/point forward for the Eagles. The pair combined for eight points and eight rebounds in the third quarter, but Central had trouble keeping up with a West team that hit five 3-pointers in the same span.

The Blackhawks’ moved to a 2-3 zone to make attacking the basket that much harder on the Eagles. Guards Ayden Wilmoth, Adam Hege and Mason Jewell each hit jump shots in the quarter, while Hege and Wilmoth each added 3-pointers.

Central went down 58-47 after West Wilkes’ Daniel Lambert hit a 3-pointer. Jewell responded by scoring off an offensive rebound, which sparked a 7-2 run for Central that saw McMillen score inside and Wilmoth knock down his third triple of the night.

Even after West scored again, Hege drilled a 3-pointer and Jewell converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. Jewell’s made free throw with 2:12 to play cut the Blackhawk lead to 63-59.

Central wouldn’t score again in the game. The Eagles missed three 3-point attempts and turned the ball over twice in the final two minutes, meanwhile West’s Ashford scored the final six points.

McMillen and Mitchell each finished with double-doubles. McMillen had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists, while Mitchell had 12 points, 12 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Jewell led Surry Central with three steals, and Pardue led the way with three blocks despite not playing the second half.

SC: Tripp McMillen 14, Jacob Mitchell 12, Ayden Wilmoth 11, Mason Jewell 7, Josh Pardue 5

WW: Andin Ashford 22, Harrison Holbrook 21, Daniel Lambert 13, Jaheim McDougald 6, Jayden Walker 5, Cal Crumpto 2

The fourth time was the charm for North Wilkes against East Surry.

East Surry handed North Wilkes three of its five regular-season losses in 2022-23, with two coming in conference play and one as part of an in-season tournament. The Wilkes Vikings finally got their win in the series on Feb. 15 during the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament, upsetting the No. 2 Cardinals 57-52.

North Wilkes (21-5) created separation with a 21-point second quarter. The Vikings led by 16 in the fourth quarter before the Cardinals went on a 9-1 run in the final 1:51. The Cards’ comeback came up just short as the Viks held on to win by five.

North Wilkes sophomore Ralee Bare led all players in four statistical categories as she posted her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals.

Large chunks of Wednesday’s game were spent on the free throw line beginning in the second quarter. The Cards and Vikings combined for just five team fouls in the first quarter, but then the teams were whistled for five more fouls in the first 1:12 of the second quarter.

The teams combined to shoot 49 free throws in the game. North made 19-of-29 attempts, and East made 13-of-20.

Prior to East Surry (19-5) being whistled for the fifth foul of the second quarter, which happened with 6:48 left on the clock, there had been eight lead changes and four ties. North Wilkes’ Kate Brown hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the score at 16-16, then Olivia Rhodes made both her bonus free throws 24 seconds later to force the game’s ninth and final lead change.

Rhodes scored 11 points in the second quarter, including North Wilkes’ only two 3-pointers of the game.

North Wilkes led 33-21 in the second quarter before East scored the final four points of the first half.

Merry Parker Boaz, Addie Phipps and Izzy Cline combined for 21 of East Surry’s 25 points in the first half. Cardinals Khloe Bennett and Bella Hutchens then started the third quarter by scoring to cut the lead to 33-28, but the Vikings responded with a 10-2 run.

North Wilkes took its largest lead of the game at 56-40 after Bare hit two free throws with 1:57 to play. Six seconds later, Brooklyn Gammons found Phipps open for a 3-pointer. North Wilkes committed an offensive foul on its next possession, then Maggy Sechrist scored for East with 1:16 to play.

Boaz, who led East Surry with 16 points, fouled out with 1:13 to play. She joined Cline who fouled out earlier in the quarter. Bare hit 1-of-2 free throws in the double bonus to score North Wilkes’ only point of the final 1:56.

Phipps hit a quick 3-pointer on the other end to keep East’s chances alive. The Cards forced a turnover on defense, then Phipps hit another triple to make it 57-51 with 35 seconds left on the clock.

Bare, who made nine of her first 10 free throw attempts in the game, missed both of her foul shots with 29 seconds left. East’s Addyson Boaz was fouled not long after, hitting one of two shots to cut the North lead to five.

North Wilkes called a timeout with 14 seconds on the clock, then turned the ball over with eight seconds to play. East had made four of its past six 3-point attempts, but missed from deep as the clock winded down.

Merry Parker Boaz led East with 16 points and added four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Phipps wasn’t far behind in scoring with 14 points while leading the team with six assists and three steals. Bennett had the Cardinals’ only block.

North Wilkes advances to the FH2A Tournament Championship and will face No. 1 North Surry (16-7). The teams split their meetings during the regular season, with each defending home court.

North Surry won 61-53 on Dec. 2, then North Wilkes won 69-41 on Feb. 10.

NW: Ralee Bare 19, Olivia Rhodes 15, Allie Farrington 12, Kate Brown 7, Natalie Mathis 2, Brook Settle 2

ES: Merry Parker Boaz 16, Addie Phipps 14, Izzy Cline 7, Maggy Sechrist 4, Bella Hutchens 4, Khloe Bennett 3, Brooklyn Gammons 3

Even though the NBA All-Star festivities are still a few days away, North Surry and Forbush competed in their own 3-point competition on Feb. 14.

North Surry advanced to the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Championship after defeating Forbush 56-43 in a game that featured 43 3-point attempts.

The Greyhounds have a chance to sweep the FH2A Conference’s top honors having already won the regular season title for the second consecutive season. North Surry won the FH2A regular season title in 2021-22 but lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament, while Forbush went on to win the tournament championship.

Last year’s tournament wasn’t the only fuel for North Surry heading into Tuesday’s game. The first of two semifinal games served as the rubber match for North and Forbush. The Hounds won the first meeting versus the Falcons 49-47 on Dec. 16, but the Falcons responded with a 54-32 win in the Jan. 27 rematch.

Not only was that Jan. 27 game North Surry’s second-lowest scoring output of the year, but it was also the Greyhounds’ first loss to a 2A this season.

North Surry (16-7) trailed for less than a minute on Tuesday. Forbush’s Brooke Davis knocked down a 3-pointer 34 seconds into the game, then Sadie Badgett matched with a triple 56 seconds later to force one of only two ties in the game. Greyhound Kalyn Collins then nailed a 3-pointer to force the game’s only lead change.

Forbush (18-8) and North Surry had vastly different ideologies concerning 3-point shots this season.

Of the 22 games on MaxPreps in which stats are included, the Falcons attempted an average of 23.3 3-pointers per game while shooting 24% from beyond the arc. Forbush attempted at least 20 3-pointers in 17 of those games, including a season-high 31 against Stratford (S.C.) on Dec. 30.

North Surry has stats on MaxPreps for 21 games at the time of publication, and in those games the Greyhounds averaged 14.8 3-point attempts while shooting 30% from deep. The Hounds have only attempted more than 20 3-pointers in three games.

In Tuesday’s game, North Surry made nine 3-pointers on 50% shooting without attempting a triple in the fourth quarter. Forbush, however, made its first attempt of the game but finished the night 3-of-25 (12%) from beyond the arc.

The Falcons stayed in the game early due to their presence on the boards. Forbush shot 2-of-10 from 3-point land in the first quarter but made up for it by grabbing six offensive rebounds. North Surry also struggled with turnovers in the first half, yet still led 26-19 at halftime due in large part to its defense as well as three second-quarter 3-pointers from Josie Tompkins.

It was a three-possession game for the first part of the third quarter before the Hounds went off. A jump shot from Reece Niston started an 9-2 run for North Surry.

The Greyhounds went up 44-29 at the start of the fourth quarter, then scored five of the first seven points in the quarter to take their largest lead of the game at 49-31.

North Surry’s top three scorers – Badgett, Tompkins and Collins – combined for 42 points while Forbush scored 43 as a team. Badgett led the way with 15 points, followed by Tompkins with 14 and Collins with 13.

The Greyhound trio also combined to shoot 8-of-15 (53%) on 3-pointers, with Collins making 4-of-5 attempts (80%).

Badgett posted a double-double with 10 rebounds as well as two blocks, an assist and a steal. Jaxie Draughn led the Hounds in assists with four, while Callie Robertson set the pace in steals and blocks with two and three respectively.

Katie Furno led the nine Falcons that scored with nine points. Mariah Livingstone nearly had a double-double for Forbush with eight points and 10 rebounds, and was the only Falcon with more than one assist. Mallory Chapman led Forbush in steals with three and had the team’s only block.

North Surry advances to the FH2A Tournament Championship and will face No. 3 North Wilkes (21-5). The teams split their meetings during the regular season, with each defending home court.

North Surry won 61-53 on Dec. 2, then North Wilkes won 69-41 on Feb. 10.

FB: Katie Furno 9, Mariah Livingston 8, Natalie Scott 4, Mallory Chapman 4, Emily Eads 4, Brooke Davis 3, Carrie Vestal 3, Jane Helton 2, Salem Parker 2

NS: Sadie Badgett 15, Josie Tompkins 14, Kalyn Collins 13, Sarah Mauldin 5, Reece Niston 4, Peyton Utt 2

North Surry has a chance to repeat as Foothills 2A Conference Tournament Champions after defeating East Surry in the semifinals.

With the 67-48 win, the Greyhounds surpassed their win total (23) from the 2021-22 2A West Regional Runner-up season.

Including the regular season, conference tournaments and state playoffs, North Surry’s boys have now won their past 28 games against FH2A teams.

Similar to the Jan. 24 clash between North and East, the Cardinals held the Greyhounds below 70 points for just the fifth time this season. This was due in large part to a 29-point first half from North Surry.

The top-seeded Hounds (24-1) switched gears in the second half, though, and outscored the No. 4 Cards 38-22 to punch their ticket to the FH2A Championship.

James McCreary, who led all scorers with 19 points, scored 14 in the second half. He and Jahreece Lynch combined to match East Surry’s 22 points in the second half.

Six Greyhounds scored in a third quarter that saw North outscore East 22-10, including a 19-6 run to start the second half. East Surry only scored two points in the first 4:53 of the half.

North turned three steals into eight points in the quarter, and the team assisted on 6-of-8 field goals in the third.

The Greyhounds led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter at 65-44.

The second half may not have featured any lead changes or ties, but there was no shortage or either in the first half. North and East traded leads nine times in the first half, including seven times in just the first quarter, and were tied up five times.

Lynch scored eight of his 18 points in the first quarter. He found himself in a 3-point dual with East’s Luke Brown and Jordan Davis as neither team scored uninterrupted field goals until the final 90 seconds.

The back-and-forth exchange continued in the second quarter as Davis added nine points for the Cardinals. He and Brown combined for all 14 of East’s second-quarter points, while North Surry’s 14 points in the quarter came from five different players.

Four players in the game came close to a double-double, and one flirted with a triple-double.

For North: McCreary scored a team-high 19 while adding eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Lynch wasn’t far behind with 18 points, while leading the team with nine rebounds and nine assists. Cam Taylor also grabbed eight boards to go with his eight points and an assist.

Brown led East Surry with 17 points and eight rebounds to go with two assists. Brett Clayton tied Brown with eight boards, and Folger Boaz dished out a team-high three assists while also leading the Cards with three steals. Brown and Boaz each had one block.

No. 1 North Surry advances to the FH2A Tournament Championship and will face No. 2 West Wilkes. North Surry won both regular season meeting against West, winning 82-70 on Jan. 6 and 102-60 on Jan. 31.

ES: Luke Brown 17, Jordan Davis 12, Daniel Creech 11, Brett Clayton 4, Folger Boaz 3, Levi Watson 1

NS: James McCreary 19, Jahreece Lynch 18, Kolby Watson 11, Cam Taylor 8, Jackson Smith 8, Makiyon Woodbury 3

Surry County will be represented by 19 wrestlers at the NCHSAA Individual Wrestling State Championship on Feb. 16-18.

Wrestlers qualified for their respective state tournaments by finishing in the top four of the regional competition. East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central competed in the 2A Midwest Regional Championship, hosted by Walkertown High School, while Elkin and Mount Airy competed in the 1A West Regional Championship hosted by Mitchell High School.

All five county schools with wrestling teams had at least two state qualifiers, led by Surry Central with six. North Surry boasted its most state qualifiers, five, since the 2015 season.

East Surry and Mount Airy each had three wrestlers finish on the podium, and Elkin had two.

Ten of the 19 state qualifiers reached the championship match of their respective bracket, and four of those 10 captured Regional Championships: East Surry’s Eli Becker, Mount Airy’s Alex Cox, and Surry Central’s Jeremiah Price and Xavier Salazar.

Jeremiah Price was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the meet.

Surry Central finished third in the 2A team standings, followed by North Surry in fourth and East Surry in sixth.

Mount Airy finished fourth in the 1A team standings, and Elkin finished ninth.

*Individual records are listed in parentheses, and all records came from TrackWrestling.

Medalists: Eli Becker 182-pound Regional Champion, Andrew Meadows 160 third place, Michael Fischer 126 fourth place

Becker, a senior who finished 2A 182 State Runner-up in 2022, is headed to his third state tournament after repeating as the 182 Midwest Champion.

He won his first two matches via fall in the first period, then topped Bandys’ Camden Mongene in a tight semifinal that ended via 10-9 decision.

Becker (30-4) then faced a familiar foe in the finals: North Surry’s Garrett Shore. The Cardinal entered the third period up 3-2, then an early near fall by Shore gave the Greyhound the lead. Becker responded with a reversal and near fall to go up 8-4. Shore scored an escape late in the match to make it 8-5.

Meadows, a freshman, earned a first-round bye at 160 then won his next match via second-period fall. Meadows then fell to the eventual regional champion, Bandys’ Ian Moore, via fall in the semifinals.

Meadows (35-7) won his next two matches via second fall in the first period to finish in third.

Like Meadows, Fischer (25-12) is a freshman that was knocked out of the championship bracket by the eventual champion. Fischer won his first match at 126 via fall, then made it nearly three rounds with Mount Pleasant’s Josh Hammac before being pinned.

Fischer won twice via fall in the consolation bracket, then advanced to the bronze medal match with a forfeit win. Bandys’ Trey Story pinned Fischer in the third-place match.

Medalists: David Rojas 120 Runner-up, Manuel Salas 113 fourth place

Rojas returns to the state tournament for a second consecutive season, while Salas is set for his first appearance at states.

Rojas (34-8), a senior, went nearly three periods in his first-round match, but led 13-2 when he picked up the fall. He then outlasted Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy’s Dylan Sims 13-8 after scoring eight points in the third period.

Rojas then topped Alleghany’s Marcos Sagahon in the semifinals 11-7. He faced Avery County’s Benjamin Jordan in the championship match, but fell via first-period fall.

Salas (27-14), a senior, cruised to the semifinals of the 113 bracket by outscoring his opponents 23-0. Salas won with a 15-0 technical fall in the opening round, then went up 8-0 in the first period of the quarterfinals before pinning his opponent.

Salas ran into the eventual 113 champion, Robbinsville’s Alexis Panama, in the semifinals and lost via fall in the first period. Salas battled back to win his consolation semifinal match via 10-2 major decision, then fell to Bradford Prep’s Hayden Puskar in the consolation finals.

Medalists: John Martin 145 Regional Champion, Alex Cox 138 Runner-up, Traven Thompson 170 fourth place

Martin (21-1), a sophomore, is set to make his first state tournament appearance after winning the 145 bracket. He did so by outscoring opponents 32-4 at regionals.

Martin won his opening match via fall in 1:06, then posted back-to-back major decisions, 12-1 and 13-3, in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Martin went up 5-0 in the championship match before pinning Hayesville’s Gage Michael.

Alex Cox (21-8), a senior, will make his third state championship appearance after taking second in the 138 bracket. Cox coasted through he first three rounds, winning via 15-0 tech fall, 8-4 decision and winning via second-period fall after leading 7-0.

Cox faced Alleghany’s Cameron Worrick in the regional championship. Neither side scored in the first period, then Worrick scored an escape in the second period. Worrick went up 3-0 in the third period before Cox scored a two-point reversal. A late reversal by Worrick gave the Trojan the 5-2 win.

Thompson (13-8), a senior, will make his first state tournament appearance. He won his first regional match via fall in the first period, then fell to Cherryville’s Kam Bolin via 6-2 decision in the quarterfinals.

Thompson battled back with three consolation wins to reach the bronze medal match. He won via first period fall in all three and outscored opponents 8-2 in the process. The bronze medal match put Thompson in a rematch against Bolin, which the Cherryville wrestler won via 9-1 major decision.

Medalists: Will Brickell 120 Runner-up, Garrett Shore 182 Runner-up, William France 132 third place, Ty Gwyn 285 third place, Adam Slate 195 fourth place

Brickell, France, Gwyn and Slate all qualify for their first state meet, while Shore returns after qualifying in 2022.

Brickell (32-9), a senior, earned a first-round bye, then won via fall in 17 seconds and 1:17 in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The Greyhound faced a familiar foe, Surry Central’s Xavier Salazar, in the finals.

A two-point reversal in the second period gave Salazar the only points of the match as he won the regional championship.

Shore (31-4), a junior, won his first three matches of the 182 bracket via fall. He never trailed in the first round or semifinals, but was actually down 2-1 in the quarterfinals when he won via fall in the second period.

As mentioned previously, Shore took a 4-3 lead over East’s Becker in the third period of the championship match, but five points from Becker in the span of four seconds was too much for Shore to overcome.

France (33-9), a senior, earned a first-round bye, then took a 14-0 lead over East Surry’s Whitaker before winning via fall. France then fell to East Davidson’s Dylan Poole in the semifinals, but won a quick match in the consolation semis to compete for a bronze medal.

France and West Davidson’s Derek Freeman faced off for third place and were tied 2-2 through three periods. France secured third place with two points in the extra period.

Gwyn (33-5), a junior, earned a first-round bye at 285, then won a quick match via fall in the quarterfinals. Gwyn fell to Bandys’ Andrew McCrary via fall in the semifinals, though the competitors were tied 2-2 when the fall occurred.

Gwyn won his two consolation matches in 47 and 45 seconds, respectively, to finish third in the bracket.

Slate (19-13), a senior, went up 8-0 in the opening round of the 195 bracket before pinning his opponent in the second period. Slate fell to Surry Central’s Enoc Lopez in the quarterfinals, but won his next three matches to reach the consolation finals.

Slate won his first two consolation matches in 45 seconds and 1:39, respectively, then ran into East Surry’s Villasenor in the consolation semifinals. The pair were tied at 3-3 after three periods, then ended up in a tiebreaker where Villasenor scored first before Slate countered for the 5-4 win.

Slate led Surry Central’s Lopez 7-1 in the consolation finals before being pinned in the second period.

Medalists: Jeremiah Price 152 Regional Champion, Xavier Salazar 120 Regional Champion, Jacob Price 160 Runner-up, Jose Trejo 113 Runner-up, Ayden Norman 106 third place, Enoc Lopez 195 third place

Surry Central’s Jeremiah Price, Jacob Price, Salazar, Norman and Lopez have each qualified for the state tournament before, with Jacob making his third state appearance and Jeremiah his fourth.

Jeremiah is a three-time defending state champion looking to become just the 12th wrestler in North Carolina history to win four state titles. The senior (39-2) cruised to another regional championship in 2023, outscoring his opponents 30-8 in three matches and only wrestling for a combined 4:25 in the 152 bracket.

Jeremiah, an Appalachian State University signee, was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Regional Championship.

Salazar (31-8), a junior, didn’t give up a single point en route to the 120 championship. Following a first-round bye, Salazar won via first period fall after leading 8-0, won via 9-0 major decision in the semifinals then defeated North Surry’s Brickell 2-0 in the championship.

Jacob Price, a junior and the defending 2A 160 champion, came into the regional tournament with just 13 matches under his belt this season after undergoing surgery. He was still 13-0 on the season.

Jacob (15-1) had a first-round bye in the 160 bracket, then outscored opponents 12-3 in his first two matches while wrestling for less than four minutes. The junior ran into Bandys’ Ian Moore in the final, and even led 2-0 before Moore managed to win via fall.

Trejo (34-9), a freshman, will make his first state appearance after finishing second in the 113 bracket. He earned a first-round bye, then won via second-period fall in the quarterfinals after trailing 4-2. Trejo advanced to the championship match with a 9-0 major decision win in the semis.

Mount Pleasant’s Seth Almond won the 113 title via 14-0 major decision.

Norman (34-7), a sophomore, earned a first-round bye at 106 before winning a quick match in the quarterfinals. Norman fell to the eventual champion, Mount Pleasant’s Cameron Gue, via technical fall in the semifinals.

Norman went up 5-0 before winning via second-period fall in the consolation semifinals, then won via 12-4 major decision in the third-place match.

Lopez (28-7), a senior, earned a first-round BYE in the 195 bracket, then defeated North Surry’s Slate via fall late in the first period of the quarterfinals. Lopez dropped his only match of the tournament to the eventual 195 champ, Bandys’ Zack Evans’, via technical fall.

Lopez went up 2-0 in the consolation semifinals before winning via fall in the second period. He faced North Surry’s Slate in the third-place match, but this time went down 7-1. Lopez still pulled off the victory with a pin in the second period.

PILOT MOUNTAIN — Surry Central rallied from its lowest-scoring first half of the season to beat East Surry in the regular season finale.

East Surry seemed well on its way to securing a season sweep against Central after holding the visiting Eagles to just 15 points in the first half. The Cardinals, who recognized seven seniors prior to the Feb. 10 game, nearly doubled the Eagles’ point total at one point in the third quarter.

Surry Central found new life late in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles scored 27 points in the final 6:32 of Friday’s game after combining for just 29 through the first 25:28 of game time.

The Eagles scored 31 of the game’s final 42 points to secure the 56-44 win.

Surry Central’s win created a three-way tie for second place in the Foothills 2A Conference, with East Surry and West Wilkes also finishing 8-4 in league play. The tiebreaker gave West Wilkes the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, while Central is the No. 3 seed and East is No. 4.

Friday’s game served as Senior Night for seven East Surry players: Matthew Keener, Folger Boaz, Brett Clayton, Daniel Creech, Jordan Davis, Luke Brown, and Colby Johnson

East Surry (11-10, 8-4 FH2A) took its largest lead at 28-15 early in the third quarter. The Cards outscored the Eagles 16-4 in the second quarter while outrebounding the visitors 11-3 in the same span. Only three Cardinals scored in the first half, but that was enough to build a lead.

Brown, who led all scorers with 21, had 10 points at halftime, and fellow seniors Davis and Clayton each had six.

The second half appeared to be more of the same after Brown hit a free throw and Davis knocked down a 3-pointer.

The Eagles (17-6, 8-4 FH2A) began to rally in the third quarter and used a 14-4 run of their own to cut East’s lead to 32-29 entering the fourth. Tripp McMillen began the run with a pair of made free throws, then Central scored each of its next five field goals inside the paint.

Boaz scored inside and Davis hit a 3-pointer to put East up 37-29 with 6:37 to play, but then Central responded with a 17-0 run. Foul trouble kept East Surry from building any kind of momentum, and the Eagles entered the double bonus with 5:13 to play.

Central, meanwhile, continued to attack the basket and draw more fouls. After attempting just four free throws through the first three quarters – none in the first half and four in the third quarter – the Eagles made 16-of-20 attempts in the fourth. This included 14 consecutive made free throws for Central from the 5:13 mark until there were 40.6 seconds on the clock.

The Cards offense couldn’t get going in the fourth, and second-chance opportunities were rare as East only had one offensive rebound in the final quarter.

East Surry only had two more points in the second half (20) than team fouls (18). Even when fouling intentionally late in the game in hopes of a Surry Central miss, East struggled to convert on offense.

McMillen led the Eagles with 15 points while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing two assists and recording one steal. Central’s Josh Pardue picked up a double-double by recording 10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist. Adam Hege dished out a team-high five assists and tied Pardue for a team-high two steals.

Brown led East in scoring with 21 points, and Davis was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 12. Clayton grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, and Brown added seven. Clayton also had the team’s only block, and five Cardinals each had one assist.

SC: Tripp McMillen 15, Josh Pardue 10, Jacob Mitchell 10, Mason Jewell 9, Adam Hege 7, Ayden Wilmoth 5

ES: Luke Brown 21, Jordan Davis 12, Brett Clayton 6, Daniel Creech 3, Folger Boaz 2

East Surry and Surry Central both picked up wins in the opening round of the FH2A Tournament, held Feb. 13 at their respective schools.

No. 3 Surry Central defeated No. 6 North Wilkes 76-44, while No. 4 East Surry defeated No. 5 Wilkes Central 72-57. No. 2 West Wilkes defeated No. 7 Forbush 87-56 in the other first-round game.

The win over North Wilkes gives Surry Central win No. 18 of the season, which ties the 2011-12 team for the program’s most wins in a single season in the MaxPreps era (2005-present).

Surry Central will face West Wilkes (12-12) in one semifinal match, and No. 1 North Surry (23-1) will face East Surry in the other semifinal. The semifinals and conference championship will take place at North Surry’s Ron King Gymnasium.

North Surry defeated East Surry twice during the regular season, winning 72-50 in Pilot Mountain on Jan. 9 and 62-59 in Toast on Jan. 24.

Surry Central and West Wilkes split during the regular season, with each team winning at home. Central won 77-62 on Dec. 9, and West won 71-70 in overtime on Jan. 20.

PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry secured the Foothills 2A Conference’s No. 2 seed with a 52-36 victory over Surry Central on Feb. 10.

The Cardinals to recognized three senior basketball players prior to the Feb. 10 victory: Grace Phillips, Brooklyn Gammons and Addie Phipps.

The trio helped East Surry pull away from a tightly contested game with Central in the fourth quarter. After trading leads six times in the first three quarters, East put the game on ice by outscoring Cetnral 15-1 in the fourth.

Both teams quickly realized that the regular season finale wouldn’t follow the same script as the Cards and Eagles’ first meeting on Jan. 17. In that game, East Surry (18-4, 9-3) held Central to just seven first-half points as East went up by 17 at halftime. The Cardinals went on to win that game 48-26.

In the Feb. 10 rematch, it was Surry Central (12-11, 3-9 FH2A) that jumped out to a big lead. The Eagles went up 9-2 as the Cards struggled to make a shot, but East’s cold streak soon ended. East Surry used a 9-2 run of its own to tie things at 11 late in the first.

Both teams had balanced attacks throughout the game as eight players scored for East Surry and seven for Surry Central. Neither team had a player score more than five in a quarter, and the only player on either team to score in all four quarters was Phipps – who was also the only player to hit double figures with 15 points.

Despite the lack of a dominant scorer that took over the game, big swings continued in the second quarter. East scored 14 of the first 19 points to go up 25-17, but this time Central rallied back to cut the lead to one by halftime. An Ashley Santamaria buzzer-beating 3-pointer made it 26-25 at the midpoint.

The game speed increased in the third quarter. The teams combined to attempt 25 free throws in the first half, then combined for just six in the second half.

Central led 35-33 with three minutes left in the third quarter when East flipped a switch. East scored the remaining four points of the third quarter to take a 37-35 lead, then kept on rolling by recording the first nine points of the fourth.

A free throw from Central’s Ragan Hall served as Central’s only fourth-quarter point.

Phipps was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, as well as the leader in steals by tying a season-high seven. Khloe Bennett and Maggy Sechrist tied for the most rebounds on the team with seven, Sechrist led the team in assists with five and Bennett had a team-high three blocks.

Seven Golden Eagles scored between three and eight points, led by eight from Santamaria. Jenna Cave and Layla Wall tied for the most rebounds and assists on the team with five in each category, while Cave and Hall each had three steals.

Cave and Santamaria each recorded one block.

SC: Ashley Santamaria 8, Brianna Wilmoth 7, Layla Wall 6, Gaby Montero 4, Presley Smith 4, Ragan Hall 4, Jenna Cave 3

ES: Addie Phipps 15, Merry Parker Boaz 8, Brooklyn Gammons 7, Izzy Cline 7, Khloe Bennett 6, Maggy Sechrist 5, Grace Phillips 2, Addyson Boaz 2

East Surry, the No. 2 seed in the FH2A Tournament, advanced to the semifinals by defeating No. 7 West Wilkes 77-40 on Feb. 13. The Cards’ 77 points are the team’s most in a game this season.

Surry Central, the No. 5 seed in the FH2A Tourney, dropped its opening round game to No. 4 Forbush 48-37. No. 3 North Wilkes defeated No. 6 Wilkes Central 66-27 in the other first-round game.

East Surry looks to record its 20th win of the season when it takes on North Wilkes (20-5) in the semifinals. East Surry has defeated North Wilkes three times this season: 50-47 on a neutral court on Nov. 23, 55-46 in Hays on Dec. 9 and 52-48 in Pilot Mountain on Jan. 20.

No. 1 North Surry (15-7) will face Forbush (18-7) in the other semifinal. The Greyhounds and Falcons split this season as each team won at home. North Surry topped Forbush 49-47 on Dec. 16, and Forbush won 54-32 on Jan. 27.

The semifinals and conference championship will take place at North Surry’s Ron King Gymnasium.

WINSTON-SALEM — The underdog became the favorite in just a year’s time, and both times he delivered on the biggest stage.

North Surry senior Jared Hiatt ran it back in 2023 by winning the NCHSAA 1A/2A Boys Long Jump State Championship. Hiatt’s long jump titled headlined his three-medal performance at the state meet, improving on his gold and bronze finishes in 2022.

Surry County athletes won a total of 10 medals at the state meet, led by three each from Hiatt and Elkin’s Aniya Edwards.

In 2022, Hiatt became just the third Greyhound to win an indoor state title, joining 2014 girls shot put champion Alex Cooke and 2018 boys shot put champion Ryan Eldridge. This year, Hiatt – an Appalachian State University commit – became the first North Surry athlete to win multiple state championships in indoor track.

This marks Hiatt’s third overall state title as he won the 2022 long jump championship for outdoor track.

Jared won the 2023 long jump title with a mark of 21-09.00 feet, which was 6.25 inches longer than the second-place finisher.

Hiatt went 3-for-3 at the state meet by also medaling in high jump and triple jump.

He took silver in high jump after winning a bronze medal in 2022, matching the 2022 gold medal height of 6-04.00. The only person to finish ahead of Hiatt was East Burke’s Kenneth Byrd at 6-06.00. Byrd went on to be named Most Outstanding Performer of the meet, and East Burke’s boys won the team championship.

Hiatt also found himself on the podium for triple jump after finishing fifth in 2022. Hiatt finished third in the event this year with a mark of 41-10.25.

Also jumping his way to two medals was Mount Airy junior Blake Hawks. Hawks previously landed on the podium for triple jump and long jump his sophomore year, then replicated that success in 2023 with a pair of bronze medals.

Hawks fell just a few inches shy of a silver medal in long jump with a mark of 21-01.25, which was just 1.5 inches behind Union Academy’s Ezra Martin. There was a similar situation in triple jump as Hawks, the fourth-place finisher at 41-10.25, and Hiatt were separated by 0.25 inches.

Edwards, a sophomore from Elkin, was set to defend two of her state titles from 2022. Edwards showed out with three medal-winning performances at the 2023 meet – twice in individual events and once in a relay race – but was unable to replicate her championships from a year prior.

Instead, the sophomore finished second in the 55-meter dash, 500-meter run and 4×400-meter relay. She also qualified for the 300 meters, but did not compete in the event at the state meet.

Edwards faced a new obstacle in the 500 meters in 2023: Albemarle’s Akala Garrett. Garrett, a senior, transferred to Albemarle from Harding University High School, where she was named Most Outstanding Performer of the 4A Meet in 2022.

Garrett, who will continue her career at the University of Texas – Austin, ranks No. 1 in the nation in 55- and 60-meter hurdles, holds the No. 5 all-time mark in state history for the 300 meters and holds the No. 6 all-time for N.C. in the 500 meters.

Garrett was named Most Outstanding Performer of the 2023 1A/2A Meet with three gold medals and one bronze medal. Garrett edged out Edwards in the 500 meters 1:15.86 to 1:21.58 – setting a new 1A/2A State Record in the process – while Edwards finished higher than Garrett in the 55 meters.

Edwards’ time of 7.16 seconds was .02 seconds behind the gold medalist and .05 seconds ahead of Garrett.

Edwards also teamed with sophomore Alyssa Davis, junior Ragan Speer and junior Maggie Tomlin to finish second in the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 4:24.45. The team of Buckin’ Elks was seeded No. 9 in the event ahead of the state meet.

Another Surry County sophomore, North Surry’s Ella Riggs, also took home a silver medal. Riggs finished second in girls shot put with a mark of 35-00.50, which was 17.75 inches behind the championship-winning distance.

Riggs has now finished on the podium twice in her two years of high school, previously finishing fourth in the event in 2022.

Surry County’s final medalist was Surry Central junior Ignacio Morales. Morales finished fourth in the boys 3,200 meters with a time of 9:53.97.

The second, third and fourth-place finishers in the boys 3,200 meters all crossed the finish line within 13 seconds of one another, while the state champion – Andrew Parker of the N.C. School of Science and Math – set a new 1A/2A state record with a time of 9:28.43.

Surry County had six other state qualifiers, three individuals and three relay teams, that did not medal at the state meet.

• Millennium Charter senior Ava Utt finished No. 15 in girls high jump with a mark of 4-06.00

• North Surry junior Ariana Liberatore finished No. 11 in girls long jump with a mark of 15-04.50, and competed in the girls triple jump but did not place

• North Surry freshman Lenae Sumner finished tied for No. 16 in girls high jump with a mark of 4-04.00

• Surry Central’s girls 4×400 relay team finished No. 7 with a time of 4:36.07; team members include Aylin Rodriguez, Ivy Toney, Wendy Cantor and Rubi Cortes-Rosa

• Surry Central’s girls 4×800 relay team finished No. 9 with a time of 11:31.17; team members include Cortes-Rosa, Toney, Cantor and Abigail Hernandez

• Surry Central’s boys 4×800 relay team finished No. 15 with a time of 9:35.35; team members include Morales, Sony Orozco-Flores, Alexis Pedraza and Brangly Mazariegos

• Surry Central also qualified for the girls 4×200 relay, but did not compete in the event at the state meet; qualifying members included Cantor, Rodriguez, Toney and Cassie Sneed

Mount Airy High School recognized two senior girls basketball players prior to a Feb. 8 game against East Wilkes.

Seniors Morgan Mayfield and Kancie Tate were honored in front of the Granite Bear faithful inside Howard M. Finch Gymnasium. This was just the team’s second game inside Finch Gym since December.

The Bears faced an unfortunate draw for Senior Night against the Northwest 1A Conference’s top-ranked team, East Wilkes. The visiting Cardinals improved to 17-4 overall and 10-1 in the conference with the 49-19 victory.

East Wilkes ran ahead to an 11-2 lead, but a layup from Niya Smith and 3-pointer from Mayfield cut the lead to just four late in the quarter. East Wilkes responded with two early 3-pointers in the second quarter to jump ahead to a 25-11 lead at the half.

Mount Airy had its best scoring quarter in the third, but was still outscored 12-8 by East. The Cardinals closed the game out with a 19-point fourth quarter.

EW: Peyton Mastin 17, Payton Spicer 6, Kyleigh Lane 6, Kierstin Johnson 6, Lilly Adams 4, Briley Church 3, Lauren Macemore 3, Olivia Stanley 2, Bailey Stanley 2

MA: Da'nya Mills 8, Morgan Mayfield 5, Alissa Clabo 4, Niya Smith 2

GREENSBORO — Mount Airy made a big impact at the NCHSAA Women’s Wrestling State Invitational Championship for the third consecutive year.

A pair of Granite Bear juniors, Jamie Hearl and Hope Horan, became the first Mount Airy wrestlers to compete in the tournament back in 2021 and qualified each of the past three years.

Both girls took home hardware from the 2023 meet held Feb. 3-4. Hearl finished on the podium for the first time by winning a silver medal in the 100-pound bracket, and Horan medaled for the third consecutive year by winning bronze in the 114-pound bracket.

Nearly 200 wrestlers statewide, regardless of school classification, competed in the state championship tournament. An additional 180 or so wrestlers took part in the NCHSAA Women’s Showcase Tournament, held concurrently for wrestlers that didn’t qualify for states.

“This is always an awesome experience and shows just how far the sport has come,” said Mount Airy coach Cody Atkins. “They’ve basically doubled in numbers every year.”

The two-day state tournament began at Friday evening at the RISE Indoor Sports Complex in Advance and featured all non-medal matches. The wrestlers then competed at the Greensboro Coliseum Saturday morning in both the championship and consolation finals.

The 2023 women’s invitational will be the final installment of the tournament as women’s wrestling is set to become an NCHSAA sanctioned sport in 2023-24.

Following the first-ever women’s regional championship, Mount Airy – who finished Regional Runner-up in a field of 47 teams – had four wrestlers qualify for the state tournament: Hearl, Horan, Constance Melton and Jenevy Olalde.

“It surprised me to walk out of regionals with a trophy purely because of our numbers,” Atkins said. “I was on top of the world. The girls have worked very hard this year, so I expected to do well, it’s just that regionals is 1A through 4A and we’re a really small school.

“If we could fill all 12 weight classes I feel like we could definitely win regionals and make a run for states considering how well we did with seven wrestlers.”

Hearl came into the 2023 tournament looking to continue her ascent from the two previous installments. She was eliminated in the first round as a freshman, then won twice in the 2022 tournament before falling to the eventual 100 pounds champion: South Brunswick’s Lily Prendergast.

Jamie came into the championship tournament as one of the top four seeds after winning the Midwest Regional Championship. She won comfortably via decision in the first round against Hoke County’s Azya Monrow, then earned a victory via fall in the second round.

Hearl faced Manteo’s Thalia Aguirre Gomez in the quarterfinals. A takedown, reversal and near fall gave Hearl a 7-2 lead after the first period, then the Granite Bear added a near fall in the second period before pinning Gomez in the third period.

The semifinals provided a rematch from 2022, with Hearl taking on the defending champion Prendergast.

This year’s match went much differently than the previous installment. Hearl scored the first 11 points of the match, then only gave up one point late in the third period to win via major decision.

Hearl faced another familiar opponent in the championship: Freedom High School’s Jeulenea Khang.

“They’ve faced off a few times and Khang has won each won, though it’s gotten closer each time they wrestle,” Atkins said. “Most recently they battled in the Holy Angels Tournament this year.

“Khang is a senior, and both girls are nationally ranked.”

Neither side scored in the first period, then a two-point reversal gave Khang the lead midway through the second period. The reversal would provide the only points of the match as Khang went on to win 2-0.

“Jamie came in just wanting to place, and I was super happy with her for making it all the way to the finals,” Atkins said. “I know she was a little upset after the match, but losing to a Super 32 All-American in the finals is nothing to hang your head about, especially after beating the defending state champion in the semifinals.”

Khang, who improved to 43-6 on the year with the championship victory, was named Most Valuable Performer at the state meet. Hearl holds a record of 37-6.

“That 100 bracket was stacked, so a lot of people thought that whoever won it would be named MVP,” Atkins said.

Horan came into the 2023 tournament having won a silver medal at 113 her freshman year and a gold medal at 114 her sophomore year.

Hope, who finished runner-up at the Midwest Regional Championship, topped Clayton’s Savannah Lee in the first round. Horan took a 2-1 lead in the first period with a takedown, then pinned Lee late in the second period.

Horan then upset the West’s No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals, doing so in dominating fashion. Horan led 7-0 against Hoke County’s Sara Warren in the first period, then pinned Warren before the end of the period.

Hope fell in the semifinals to Lumberton’s Teresa Canady, but nearly pulled off an improbably comeback. After trailing 9-1 entering the third period, Horan outscored Canady 5-0 in the final two minutes to cut the lead to 9-6 before time expired.

Despite falling short of a repeat, Atkins said Horan’s ability to come back the next day and win bronze was incredible to watch.

“I wanted her to win again, but for her to come back after losing in the semis was a big deal,” the coach said. “Kids that win a year before then lose before the finals have a hard time, but to come back says a lot about her. It shows a lot about her character to pick herself back up after a loss and win third.

“I was so proud of her for that.”

The bronze-medal match was another tight contest. Horan led 2-0 at the end of one period after scoring a takedown, then went up 4-1 with another takedown in the second. Cleveland’s Addison Vindigni cut Horan’s lead to 4-2, but couldn’t complete the comeback.

Horan moves to 29-17 overall after the tournament.

Two Granite Bears competed in their first state tournament: sophomore Constance Melton and freshman Jenevy Olalde.

Melton competed in the 132 bracket. The sophomore, who finished fourth at regionals, trailed just 2-0 in her opening match against the East Regional Champion before losing via fall. Her first-round opponent, Heide Trask’s Lauren Hall, went on to finish third in the bracket after losing to the eventual champion.

Melton battled back with a consolation victory over Swain County’s Asiah Ball. Constance led 7-0 after the first period, then held a 9-4 advantage before pinning Ball.

The Granite Bear then fell to Green Hope’s DeAnna Fox.

“For her to qualify for states in just her second year wrestling is a big deal,” Atkins said. “She’s already improved so much and is only going to get better with time.”

Melton finishes the year with a 16-7 record.

Olalde competed in the 107-pound bracket for Mount Airy.

“She’s just a freshman and has been part of our wrestling club since she was younger,” Atkins said. “She won middle school states last year and has done well in high school.”

Atkins added that Olalde and Hearl weigh about the same, but Olalde had to wrestle up for states.

Jenevy fell to North Henderson’s Liliana Zapote via 6-0 decision in the opening round, then dropped her consolation match to Croatan’s Kaylum Mills via 4-2 decision.

Olalde finishes the year 22-7.

“For her to finish regional runner-up as a freshman while wrestling up is a big deal,” Atkins said.

Mount Airy had the highest team finish of any 1A or 2A school in the state, taking the No. 8 spot among 101 teams.

“To come in there with four wrestlers and finish in the top 10, especially against some of the giant 3A and 4A schools, was really impressive in my mind,” Atkins said. “It surprised me that we were up there in the mix; not because we didn’t have quality wrestlers, but some of these schools with 1,500 kids have teams three or four times our size.”

Three Granite Bears competed in the Women’s Showcase Tournament: Alexis Atkins at 126, Grace Segrest at 138 and Jasmine Davis at 195.

“It was great that they held a tournament for the people that didn’t qualify for states, because getting that mat time against girls from all over the state is going to help us so much in the long run,” Atkins said. “All seven of our wrestlers are much better off having competed last weekend, and we are fortunate to get all seven back next year.”

Hearl and Horan are both set to compete in the 1A West Regional Championship Tournament, which features the top boys and girls wrestlers in the region, on Feb. 10-11.

Hearl will compete in the 106-pound division, and Horan is set for the 113-pound division.

Wednesday’s conference clash between Mount Airy and East Wilkes won’t be easily forgotten by anyone that attended Howard M. Finch Gymnasium.

Mount Airy defeated East Wilkes 54-48, staving off a fourth-quarter comeback from the Cardinals to win by single digits. The Bears also survived a fourth-quarter Cardinal comeback in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 20, which Mount Airy won 43-42, though that’s where the similarities to that first game – or any other game in recent memory – ended.

The Granite Bears led 21-0 in the Northwest 1A Conference rematch before the Cardinals scored their first point, which came on a Braxton Long free throw 1:08 into the second quarter. Mount Airy scored the next eight points to lead 29-1 at halftime.

If a one-point half wasn’t strange enough, East Wilkes battled back and outscored Mount Airy 47-25 in the second half. This included a 31-point fourth quarter from East.

The Cardinals scored 13 points in the final 1:51, cutting the deficit to just four points, but the late scoring flurry wasn’t enough to overcome Mount Airy’s early lead.

Long led the Cards’ comeback effort by scoring 22 points in the second half.

Mount Airy (9-12, 5-6 NW1A) came into Wednesday’s rematch having won 4-of-6 games, with its only losses in that span coming against 20-win squads in North Surry and North Stokes.

The Bears’ defense was lockdown in the first quarter. The home team forced seven steals, held the Cards (8-15, 3-8) to just seven shot attempts and held a 12-4 rebounding advantage. Six Bears scored in the quarter, led by Mount Airy’s two players in the Class of 2023 – Carson Hill and Logan Fonville – that were recognized as part of Senior Night prior to tipoff.

Turnovers continued to hinder the visitors in the second quarter, but East Wilkes was able to establish a presence on the boards while stepping up its defensive effort. Despite only scoring one point in the quarter, the Cards held the Bears to eight points after the 21-point outburst to start the game. All eight of Mount Airy’s second-quarter points came off offensive rebounds.

Seeds were planted for Mount Airy’s impending foul trouble when Fonville and Caleb Reid, who combined for 12 points and 12 rebounds in the first half, both picked up their second personals in the second quarter.

Tyler Mason, Mount Airy’s leading scorer this season, left the game with an injury 32 seconds into the third quarter. East Wilkes’ Daniel Handy scored the team’s first field goal not long after.

The Cards went on a 14-6 run to close the quarter, led by 10 points from Long in the period, but the score stood at 39-17 with eight minutes to play.

Mount Airy, who was whistled for 15 team fouls in the second half, put East Wilkes in the bonus with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter. Fonville left the game after picking up his fourth and fifth personal fouls early in the quarter, and a technical foul on the Bears also allowed the Cards to score with time stopped.

East Wilkes used a 14-3 run to make it an 11-point game with 4:47 to play; Briggs Gentry scored the basket that made it 42-31.

Reid, who recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, scored to end the run, then the teams traded baskets until Hill was fouled with 1:57 to play. The senior made both foul shots to put the Bears up 50-35.

What followed was a 13-2 Cardinal run. Turnovers were costly for the Bears, and once they entered the bonus they missed the front end of the one-and-one twice.

East Wilkes continued to draw fouls and score with time stopped. East scored nearly 42% of its points from the free throw line by making 20-of-27 attempts, shooting 15-of-17 from the line in the fourth quarter.

The Cards’ Owen Combs hit a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds to play to cut the lead to 52-48. Bear freshman Zach Goins was quickly fouled, then went 2-for-2 at the line to put the game on ice.

EW: Braxton Long 23, Ledger Blackburn 8, Westin Brown 6, Eric Adams 6, Daniel Handy 2, Owen Combs 3

MA: Caleb Reid 17, Carson Hill 11, Mario Revels 8, Logan Fonville 6, Taeshon Martin 4, Tyler Mason 4, Jourdain Hill 2, Zach Goins 2

The 2023 1A/2A Indoor Track State Championship will feature 21 athletes from Surry County.

For some, championships will be defended, while others look to make the podium for the first time. Athletes qualified for the state championship based on their top performances throughout the season.

North Surry and Elkin boast returning state champions. Elkin sophomore Aniya Edwards is the defending 1A/2A State Champion in the girls’ 55-meter dash and 500-meter run, and North Surry senior Jared Hiatt is the defending state champion in boys long jump.

Mount Airy and Millennium Charter both have qualifying athletes that medaled in 2021-22, while Surry Central – who leads the county with 11 athletes competing in the state meet – looks for its first indoor track medalist since Sarah Brown shattered the 1A/2A pole vault record in 2019-20.

Other returning 2022 medalists from Surry County include: Mount Airy junior Blake Hawks, who won bronze in boys long jump and triple jump; Millennium Charter senior Ava Utt, who won bronze in girls high jump; and North Surry sophomore Ella Riggs, who won bronze in girls shot put.

The 2023 Indoor Track State Championship will be held Feb. 11 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. The 1A/2A competition will begin at 9 a.m.

Sophomore Aniya Edwards will compete in four events for the Buckin’ Elks.

Edwards looks to defend her crown in both the 55 and 500 meters. She is seeded No. 3 in the 500 meters with a time of 1:21.08, and No. 4 in the 55 meters with a time of 7.27 seconds. Edwards won those events in 2022 with times of 1:20.53 and 7.20 seconds, respectively.

The Buckin’ Elk will also compete in the 300 meters, in which she is seeded No. 5 with a time of 41.66 seconds, as well as the 4×400-meter relay. The team of Edwards, Alyssa Davis, Ragan Speer and Maggie Tomlin are seeded No. 9 with a time of 4:38.66.

Ava Utt became the first Millennium Charter athlete to medal in indoor track in 2022 and looks to improve upon that performance in 2023.

Utt, a senior, is tied for the No. 10 seed in the girls high jump with a mark of 4-08.00 feet – the same height that earned her a bronze medal this past season.

Blake Hawks returns to the state meet looking to improve on his two bronze medal performances in 2022.

Hawks, a junior, is seeded No. 3 in triple jump with a mark of 41-06.00 feet, while holding the No. 4 spot in long jump at 21-00.00 feet

Senior Jared Hiatt will compete in three events at the state for the second consecutive season: long jump, high jump and triple jump.

Hiatt was seeded No. 8 in long jump in 2022 before winning gold in the event. He enters the event as the favorite this year with a mark of 22-02.00 feet.

Hiatt is also seeded in the top four in high jump and triple jump. The senior’s mark of 6-03.00 is No. 3 in high jump, and his height of 41-05.50 is No. 4 in triple jump.

Junior Ariana Liberatore and freshman Lenae Sumner will also represent the Greyhounds in the three jumping events. Sumner is seeded No. 12 in high jump with a mark of 4-08.00 feet, while Liberatore is No. 13 in triple jump at 32-04.00 feet and No. 20 in long jump at 15-04.50 feet.

Sophomore Ella Riggs is seeded No. 2 in shot put with a distance of 36-04.00. This is more than three feet better than her 2022 bronze medal mark of 33-02.50.

Surry Central’s 11 qualifying athletes come in the form of four relay teams and one individual competitor.

Three of the Golden Eagles’ relay teams will compete in the girls’ competition: the 4×200 team of Wendy Cantor, Aylin Rodriguez, Ivy Toney and Cassie Sneed is seeded No. 15 at 1:56.62; the 4×400 team of Rodriguez, Toney, Cantor and Rubi Cortes-Rosa is seeded No. 15 at 4:44.90; and the 4×800 team of Cortes-Rosa, Toney, Abigail Hernandez and Lanie Fitzgerald is seeded No. 8 at 11:19.56.

Central’s boys will compete in the 4×800 relay as well. The team of Sony Orozco-Flores, Alexis Pedraza, Brangly Mazariegos and Ignacio Morales is seeded No. 18 with a time of 9:17.03.

Morales is also set to compete in the 3,200 meters, in which he is seeded No. 6 with a time of 9:52.81.

Defense was the name of the game as two Surry County rivals did battle in Ron King Gymnasium.

North Surry and Surry Central combined for 167 points in the teams’ initial meeting on Jan. 13, a game North won 97-70. The rematch saw both teams held to season lows, barely combining to break the 100-point mark.

The Greyhounds took a lead in the second quarter and held on for the remainder of the night to win 55-49.

The Greyhounds recognized nine seniors prior to the Feb. 7 win: Kolby Watson, Jahreece Lynch, Makiyon Woodbury, Isaac Johnson, Keaton Leonard, Jackson Smith, James McCreary, Cam Taylor and Zeke Moore.

North Surry clinched the Foothills 2A Conference Championship outright with the victory, defending their conference title from this past season. The Greyhounds improve to 22-1 overall and 11-0 in FH2A competition, while the Golden Eagles drop to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, North Surry had only been held to fewer than 72 points twice this season: a 69-60 win over South Stokes on Dec. 6, and a 62-59 win over East Surry on Jan. 24.

Having already tried and failed to win a shootout against North Surry, Surry Central instead focused on its defense in the rematch with the 2A West’s top-ranked team.

The Hounds were taken aback out of the gate, trailing 11-2 six minutes into the first quarter. It was the Eagles’ intensity on defense and patience on offense that allowed them to build their initial lead. Central had no problem passing the ball around while waiting for the best shot, which resulted in all seven of the team’s first-quarter field goals coming off assists.

Jacob Mitchell led Central with six points in the quarter, while Josh Pardue and Ayden Wilmoth each added five.

North Surry closed the first quarter by scoring nine of the final 14 points, cutting Central’s lead to 16-11 after eight minutes of play, then opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run. The Hounds assisted on six of its seven field goals in the second period, while the Eagles had no assists on six second-quarter points.

Jahreece Lynch, who led North Surry with six assists, dished out four assists in just the second quarter.

North Surry spread the love in the first half, with no player scoring more than seven points across the first two periods. Six Hounds scored in the first half, led by seven from Lynch, six from Kolby Watson and five from Kam McKnight.

North led 26-22 at halftime, then both teams came out of the break locked in on defense. The teams combined for just one point through the first two minutes of the third quarter as each took a more methodical approach.

James McCreary, who led all scorers with 15 points, scored 11 of the Greyhounds’ 17 points in the third quarter. This included North’s first seven points of the second half.

Central managed to tie the game at 28 after a 3-pointer from Adam Hege, then Pardue scored inside after McCreary hit a 3-pointer for North. The Greyhounds pulled ahead with a 6-0 run, but the Eagles still had fight in them and fired off the next four points.

What followed was the run that would ultimately be the difference-maker in the game. Cam Taylor scored a layup alley-oop on a pass from Watson, then McCreary and Makiyon Woodbury added field goals as North closed the quarter with a 6-0 run. The Hounds then opened the fourth quarter with a Lynch dunk and two free throws from McKnight.

The 11-0 run across quarters put North Surry up 47-34 with less than 5:30 to play.

Central opened the fourth quarter with four turnovers and a pair of missed free throws, which would come back to haunt the visitors. Despite efforts to rally, North held on to its double-digit lead until just 2:30 remained in the game.

Hege found McMillen open for a 3-pointer with 2:30 to play. McMillen’s triple made it 51-42, then Pardue put back an offensive rebound to make it a 7-point game. McCreary scored his final field goal of the game with 1:30 to play, but it was countered by a Wilmoth 3-pointer to make it 53-47 with 40 seconds on the clock.

Central elected not to foul on North Surry’s next possession, which allowed McKnight to find Lynch open for two points. Central was still in the game, but couldn’t get a quick shot up as North played some of the tightest defense it had all game.

Pardue finally scored for the Eagles with 11 seconds to play and was fouled as well. He missed the and-1 free throw, which was rebounded by North Surry, and Surry Central didn’t foul in the final seconds to stop the clock.

Surry Central shot a season-low 1-of-7 (14%) from the free throw line in the six-point loss. North Surry only attempted seven free throws as well, but made 4-of-7 attempts (57%).

Neither team made a free throw in the first half.

McCreary was the leading scorer in the game with 15, also finishing with four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Taylor nearly had a double-double for North with eight points and eight rebounds, and Lynch was the Hounds’ leader in assists and steals with six each. Lynch added 13 points and three rebounds.

Mitchell had a double-double for Surry Central with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Pardue added six rebounds, two blocks and five assists to go with 11 points, and Hege tied Pardue with a team-high five assists. McMillen led the Eagles in scoring with 12 points.

SC: Tripp McMillen 12, Josh Pardue 11, Jacob Mitchell 10, Ayden Wilmoth 9, Mason Jewell 4, Adam Hege 3

NS: James McCreary 15, Jahreece Lynch 13, Cam Taylor 8, Kam McKnight 7, Kolby Watson 6, Jackson Smith 4, Makiyon Woodbury 2

GREENSBORO — Local swimmers punched their tickets to the state championship meet at the 1A/2A Central Regional Championship.

The regional championship was held at Greensboro Aquatic Center on February 4 and hosted by both Mount Airy High School and Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School.

The following local schools had swimmers qualify for the state championship: Elkin, East Surry, North Surry, Surry Central, Mount Airy, Starmount and West Stokes

Swimmers from these schools combined for 25 top-3 finishes at regionals – 18 in individual events and seven in relay races. Twelve of these medal-winning performances earned regional championships; eight in individual events and four in relay races.

All four local relay championships came from Elkin swimmers. The girls team of Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles and Sophie Welborn won the 200-yard medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, while the team of Wiles, Presley, Welborn and Sedessa Hatcher won the 200 freestyle relay.

Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells, Troy Snow and Luke McComb won the regional title in the boys 200 medley relay for Elkin.

Elkin also had the most individual championships of local swimmers. Welborn, Presley and Wiles each won individual titles for the girls, and Marshall Wells won a title for the boys.

Surry Central, Mount Airy and Starmount also boasted individual regional champions. Surry Central’s Mallory Cave won a title on the girls side, then Mount Airy’s Matheson Williams and Starmount’s Peyton Ponce de Leon won titles in the boys competition.

Elkin finished regional runner-up in the girls team competition. East Surry’s girls had the next highest finish at fourth, followed by Surry Central in 11th, West Stokes in 13th, North Surry tied for 16th, Mount Airy in 18th, Forbush tied for 22nd and Starmount in 24th.

Elkin’s boys also had the highest team finish of local schools, finishing fourth overall. Mount Airy’s boys were next at seventh, followed by West Stokes in ninth, East Surry in 11th, North Surry in 13th, Starmount in 14th, Surry Central in 21st and Forbush in 25th.

Competitors that finished in the top-6 of a regional event automatically qualified for the 1A/2A State Championship Meet. Then, the six next fastest times from across the state fill the 24 spots per event.

State qualifiers are listed below by event. Individual races are formatted as: regional finish, name, school, time. Relays are formatted as: regional finish, school, time, relay members.

All race distances are measured in yards.

1. Elkin 1:50.36: Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, Sophie Welborn

7. East Surry 2:08.91: Haley Joyce, Claire Hull, Aby Caro, Ilihanie Caro

8. West Stokes 2:12.57: Hannah Fulp, Gordon Grabs, Kylie Holmes, Morgan Sargent

1. Elkin 1:44.35: Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells, Troy Snow, Luke McComb

5. East Surry 1:50.18: Aiden Richardson, Colby Goins, Andrew Needham, Gavin Atkins

7. North Surry 1:55.73: Jackson Graves, Konnor Mauldin, Javier Villalon-Lopez, Jordan Inman

1. Peyton Ponce de Leon, Starmount, 51.39

1. Elkin 1:41.38: Amelia Presley, Mattie Wells, Morgan Wiles, Sophie Welborn

2. East Surry 1:48.79: Ilihanie Caro, Kaci Collins, Kennedy Cook, Claire Hull

2. Elkin 1:34.11: Troy Snow, Henry Snyder, Luke McComb, Marshall Wells

4. Mount Airy 1:41.20: Matheson Williams, Noah Moore, John Stafford, Hayden Bender

6. West Stokes 1:42.51: Griffin Sparks, Luke Nickless, Matthew Howell, Brayden Lapham

1. Peyton Ponce de Leon, Starmount, 53.91

1. Elkin 3:44.25: Morgan Wiles, Amelia Presley, Sedessa Hatcher, Sophie Welborn

4. East Surry 4:02.71: Kaci Collins, Ilihanie Caro, Kennedy Cook, Haley Joyce

2. Elkin 3:31.60: Troy Snow, Luke McComb, Henry Snyder, Marshall Wells

7. Mount Airy 3:52.85: Matheson Williams, Noah Moore, John Stafford, Hayden Bender

North Surry clinched the Foothills 2A Conference Championship outright on Tuesday by defeating Surry Central 54-43.

The Greyhounds, now 15-6 overall and 10-1 in conference play, repeat as FH2A Champions while matching their conference win total from a year ago. North can improve on its 10-2 FH2A record from 2021-22 with a win over North Wilkes in the regular season finale.

In the first meeting between North Surry and Surry Central this season, junior Sadie Badgett was the only Greyhound that had much luck scoring. Badgett finished that game with 27 points, while no other North Surry player had more than three.

This wasn’t the case in the rematch. The same seven Greyhounds that scored in the first North-Central game also scored in the Feb. 7 game, but this time three Hounds scored in double figures as part of a balanced attack.

The Greyhounds’ only senior, Sarah Mauldin, put up a season-high 14 points while dishing out a team-high four assists. Mauldin was recognized after the game as part of Senior Night.

Freshman Kalyn Collins tied Mauldin for the most points by a Greyhound. Collins added three rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in the victory.

Surry Central first-year Layla Wall was the only Golden Eagle to hit double figures, leading all scorers with 15 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Greyhounds built an early lead that survived the final three quarters of play.

The teams were tied 10-10 after Wall scored off an assist from Ashley Santamaria with 2:11 to play in the first quarter. A give-and-go between Badgett and Callie Robertson put North up by two, then a steal from Jaxie Draughn set Reece Niston up for a transition layup to close the quarter up 14-10.

North Surry’s run extended to the second quarter as the Hounds scored the first 10 points uninterrupted, taking a 24-10 lead. The Greyhounds scored four field goals during this stretch, and all four came in the same way: a cut across the lane to set up an open look in which the scorer didn’t even have to dribble. Four different players assisted on the four field goals.

North assisted on 17 of its 21 total field goals in the game.

Central responded by scoring the next seven points. Jenna Cave, who led Central was four steals, had two during this run.

North Surry’s lead increased to 37-23 with 3:15 left in the third quarter. Not ready to quit just yet, Central went on a 7-0 run with scoring contributions from Wall, Ragan Hall and Mallie Southern.

The Greyhounds maintained their 10-point lead throughout the fourth quarter. Surry Central managed to get to the free throw line for 10 attempts in quarter, making seven, but failed to slow North Surry’s offense down.

Surry Central drops to 12-10 overall and 3-8 in the FH2A Conference with the loss. The Golden Eagles sit in fifth place in the conference standings, and can secure the No. 5 spot in the conference tournament with a win over East Surry on Feb. 10.

SC: Layla Wall 15, Ragan Hall 8, Ashley Santamaria 7, Mallie Southern 4, Jenna Cave 4, Gaby Montero 2, Presley Smith 2, Brianna Wilmoth 1

NS: Sarah Mauldin 14, Kalyn Collins 14, Sadie Badgett 12, Reece Niston 7, Jaxie Draughn 4, Callie Robertson 2, Josie Tompkins 2

EAST BEND— Nothing came easy for Forbush or East Surry in Friday night’s hotly-contested Foothills 2A Conference girls basketball tilt.

But when it was all said and done, the Falcons scored a big 43-36 win over the Cardinals and avenged their second conference loss in the past three games.

Forbush, which improved to 16-6 overall and 7-3 in league play, avenged an earlier loss to conference leader North Surry last Friday.

The win also created a logjam for second place in the league as the Falcons, Cardinals and North Wilkes (which defeated Surry Central 58-42 on Friday) are all tied with two games to play. The top two teams earn automatic bids for the upcoming North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A playoffs.

On the other side, East Surry (16-4, 7-3) struggled offensively in the second half and it prevented them from giving itself a potential one-game cushion over the Falcons and Vikings.

Tied 26-26 at halftime, both teams struggled to put up points out of the break; they combined for just seven points in the third quarter, but the Cardinals still held a 30-29 advantage.

Forbush battled back to the tie game 32-32 on the first of two Natalie Scott 3-pointers that the sophomore hit in the quarter.

The two teams then traded the lead; Scott responded again with a stop and pop triple from the top of the key to retake the advantage for good (36-34).

Katie Furno connected on just a single basket in the game but the freshman certainly made it count as she hit a runner and then drew a key foul on East Surry’s Addie Phipps. The freshman hit both free throws to make it a two-possession game with around three minutes to play.

Compounding matters, Phipps, who finished with eight points (all in the first half), fouled out of the game.

After Izzy Cline missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Falcons used a pair of clock-draining possessions; however, the Cardinals were still within striking distance with less than a minute to play.

Merry Parker Boaz had a chance to make it a one-possession game when she collected a steal at midcourt. But the sophomore couldn’t convert and the put back was no good, forcing the Cardinals to foul.

From there, Carrie Vestal and Scott iced with the game with a trio of free throws.

In a game with four ties and nine lead changes, the Falcons stormed out of the gates, scoring the game’s first seven points. But the Cardinals responded with a 12-0 run, punctuated with a Boaz three-point play.

Forbush used a key 11-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Vestal and Emily Barnes to help the Falcons build the biggest lead by either team at 24-17.

Vestal paced Forbush, which hosted North Wilkes on Tuesday night (and face Wilkes Central in the regular-season finale) with 10 points and Scott finished with nine. Mallory Chapman added seven points.

The Cardinals, which hosted West Wilkes on Tuesday night, were led by 10 points from Brooklyn Gammons and eight from Boaz.

EAST SURRY: Merry Parker Boaz 3 2-3 8; Grace Phillips 0 0-0 0; Khloe Bennett 2 0-2 4; Brooklyn Gammons 3 2-3 10; Addie Phipps 3 0-0 8; Maggy Sechrist 1 0-0 2; Izzy Cline 1 2-3 4. Team Totals: 13 6-11 36.

FORBUSH: Brooke Davis 2 0-0 4; Natalie Scott 3 1-3 9; Mallory Chapman 2 3-3 7; Mariah Livingston 1 1-2 3; Carrie Vestal 3 2-2 10; Katie Furno 1 2-2 4; Katelyn Eads 0 0-0 0; Seanna Armstrong 0 0-0 0; Emily Eads 1 0-1 2; Emily Beavers 1 0-0 3. Team Totals: 14 9-13 43.

THREE-POINTERS: East Surry: Phipps 2, Gammons 2. Forbush: Scott 2, Vestal 2, Beavers.

EAST BEND — East Surry showed it could put together runs in a very short amount of time in Friday night’s boy’s basketball contest.

And those little runs turned into a 90-57 win over Forbush to put them in a good shape heading into the final week of the regular season.

With the win, the Cardinals moved a game ahead of Surry Central for second place in the Foothills 2A Conference at 8-2. East Surry trails conference leader North Surry by two games with two to play.

East Surry (11-8) used runs of 16-4 and 12-0 in the first half to build a 51-28 halftime advantage.

The first run came following the Falcons jumping out to a strong start behind the 3-point shot.

Triples from Jacob Boyles and Josh Brown highlighted an 8-0 run to build a six-point lead early in the game.

But the lead wouldn’t last long as the Cardinals quickly attacked the rim and turned a six-point deficit into an eight-point lead (27-19) after one quarter.

The Falcons (1-20, 0-8) did their best to keep the game close as Pierce Sprague knocked down a jumper to cut the deficit to 26-21.

That would be a close as Forbush would get the remainder of the game as tough basket from Brett Clayton in traffic sparked the second big run.

After an alley-oop layup from Luke Brown, Jordan Davis extended the advantage to 18 (39-21) on a 3-pointer.

East Surry pushed the lead to 30 on a Colby Johnson layup in the fourth quarter.

All but one Cardinal on their roster scored in Friday’s game, led by Brown’s game-high 22 points — one of four East Surry players in double figures.

Davis added 15 points, thanks to a quartet of 3-pointers; Clayton and Daniel Creech each chipped in 11.

Caden Funk paced Forbush with 19 points and Boyles finished with eight. Cody Thompson and Sprague added seven points apiece.

The two teams combined for 17 3-pointers in game, which included nine from the Cardinals.

EAST SURRY: Folger Boaz 2 0-0 5; Brett Clayton 5 1-1 11; Daniel Creech 4 2-2 11; Jordan Davis 5 1-2 15; Luke Brown 9 3-6 22; Matthew Keener 2 0-1 4; Jace Goldbach 1 0-0 3; Jace Hazelwood 1 2-2 4; Will Jones 1 0-0 3; Tyler Reeves 1 4-4 6; Logan Fagg 0 0-0 0; Levi Watson 1 0-1 2. Team Totals: 34 13-19 90.

FORBUSH: Josh Brown 1 2-2 5; Cody Thompson 3 0-0 7; Jacob Boyles 3 0-0 8; Gavin Maines 2 1-4 6; Caden Funk 7 4-4 19; Braylen Beane 0 0-0 0; Holden Moxley 1 0-1 2; C.J. Boyd 0 0-0 0; Nick Weisner 0 0-0 0; Pierce Sprague 3 0-0 7; Wyatt Graham 1 0-0 3. Team Totals: 21 7-11 57.

THREE-POINTERS: East Surry: Davis 4, Boaz, Goldbach, Creech, Jones, Brown. Forbush: Boyles 2, Brown, Thompson, Maines, Sprague, Graham, Funk.

Friday’s rematch between Mount Airy and North Surry gave both sides a little bit of déjà vu from their first meeting.

A closely contested first quarter once again turned into a double-digit deficit after two strong quarters from North Surry. The Greyhounds won their initial meeting against the Bears 51-33, but kept their foot on the gas this time around and topped their Granite City foes 68-40.

When the Bears and Greyhounds faced off on Jan. 3, North Surry led by two after the first quarter then outscored Mount Airy by 24 over the next two quarters. In the Feb. 3 rematch, North Surry led by two after the first quarter then outscored Mount Airy by 19 over the next two quarters.

The rematch wasn’t all the same, though.

Friday’s game saw a more balanced scoring output by both squads. The first North Surry versus Mount Airy game saw Greyhound Sadie Badgett and Granite Bear Morgan Mayfield go off for 24 and 23 points, respectively. Badgett accounted for 44% of her team’s points, while Mayfield scored nearly 70% of the Bears’ points in that game.

Mayfield and Badgett scored 13 in the Feb. 3 game.

Mayfield led the Bears in scoring, though Addie Marshall wasn’t far behind with nine points. Alissa Clabo, Jalaya Revels and Da’nya Mills each scored between five and seven points. Kalyn Collins led North with 16 points this time around and was one of four Hounds to reach double figures, joined by Badgett with 13, Josie Tompkins with 12 and Callie Robertson with 10.

The balanced scoring attack by both teams was on display early. North scored the final four points of the first quarter to lead 13-11; five Greyhounds scored in the quarter, while the Bears saw scoring contributions from four players. The same was true for each side in the second quarter.

Reece Niston nailed a 3-pointer for North to begin the second quarter with a 6-0 run. Mayfield scored a free throw, then Revels added a field goal from the paint to cut the lead to 19-16.

North Surry added eight uninterrupted points within 33 seconds. Robertson, who scored eight points in the second quarter, hit a 3-pointer off a pass from Jaxie Draughn with 5:47 left in the half. Collins grabbed a steal on the other end and heaved a pass to Mauldin, who made the layup and drew the foul.

The Hounds went to a full-court press after Mauldin’s made free throw. This time it was Badgett who grabbed a steal, then she passed to Robertson for an open layup with 5:14 on the clock.

North went up by as much as 14 in the quarter. Late Granite Bear rebounds in the quarter, most of which were grabbed by Mills who finished with 11, allowed the Bears to cut the lead back to 10 before Niston added two free throws with a second on the clock. North led 35-23 at the half.

The Greyhounds hit three 3-pointers in the first half, with two coming from Robertson and one from Collins. North Surry matched that mark by hitting three 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half.

A Mount Airy turnover set Badgett up for a 3-pointer, then another turnover opened the door for Tompkins to hit her first triple of the night. Robertson assisted on both. Collins drove to the basket on North’s next possession, then followed it up with a 3-pointer of her own.

The Hounds turned a 35-23 lead into a 46-23 lead with an 11-0 run, scoring on four of their first five offensive possessions.

The Bears fired back with a 9-2 run of their own. Marshall added her second 3-pointer of the night on the run, while Revels added a pair of field goals and Clabo scored off a steal.

North Surry still led by 16 despite the Mount Airy run. This lead increased to 25 as the Hounds went on an 11-2 run to close the third quarter and open the fourth.

The final run of the game occurred in the last 3:36 as the Hounds scored the final nine points of the night.

North Surry (14-6) has now won five of its past six games and 10 of its past 12. Mount Airy (12-8) is 6-7 in 2023, but only two of those losses have been against 1A opponents.

Despite being a nonconference bout, North Surry clinched a share of the Foothills 2A Conference title on Friday as Forbush took down East Surry. The Greyhounds lead the conference at 9-1, while East Surry, Forbush and North Wilkes are all tied for second at 7-3.

A win over Surry Central or North Wilkes in the final week will give North Surry the FH2A title.

Mount Airy is still alive in the Northwest 1A Conference race with three games remaining. The Bears sit in second at 7-2 with only East Wilkes ahead at 9-1. Mount Airy closes the regular season with games against Elkin, East Wilkes and Alleghany.

NS: Kalyn Collins 16, Sadie Badgett 13, Josie Tompkins 12, Callie Robertson 10, Reece Niston 7, Sarah Mauldin 6, Jaxie Draughn 4

MA: Morgan Mayfield 13, Addie Marshall 9, Alissa Clabo 7, Jalaya Revels 6, Da'nya Mills 5

DOBSON — North Surry stormed back from a 9-point halftime deficit to defeat Mount Airy 79-65 on Feb. 3.

A true tale of two halves saw the Greyhounds score 54 points after halftime following a 25-point first half. This included a 30-point fourth quarter from visiting North Surry.

The Hounds’ two leading scorers on the season – Jahreece Lynch (22.9 PPG) and James McCreary (21.4 PPG) – each missed stretches of the game with foul trouble. Both picked up their fourth personal fouls in the third quarter, while Kolby Watson, the team’s third-leading scorer with 13.5 PPG, and Fisher Leftwich finished with three personals.

Despite the foul trouble, Lynch and McCreary combined for 51 points on 57% shooting. The Hounds also showed their strength as a unit, with Cam Taylor putting forth a big second half, while Kam McKnight and Makiyon Woodbury had key contributions off the bench.

The rematch between Mount Airy and North Surry came exactly one month after their first encounter in Toast, which North won 73-50. This lopsided victory was the largest by either team in the rivalry since 2008, but both coaches knew their opposition had improved exponentially for the rematch.

That Jan. 3 meeting was just Mount Airy’s seventh game of the season, with the Bears’ run to the state championship in football delaying the season’s start to mid-December. North Surry had nearly two months of practice under its belt, was already ranked No. 1 in the 2A West and held an 11-1 record by the start of 2023.

North Surry continued its ascent through January and held a 20-1 record coming into the rematch with Mount Airy. The Bears went 5-6 in the month following the first NS-MA game, but won 3-of-4 games heading into Friday’s clash.

Just as Mount Airy did two days prior against Surry Central, the home team looked to score inside while also controlling the boards. The Bears never trailed in the first quarter, scoring all 14 points inside the paint and holding a 7-1 rebound advantage through the first three minutes of play.

The Bears (7-12) led 14-11 with 3:50 left in the first quarter, then a dunk from Lynch on a McKnight assist provided the only points from either team in the time remaining in the quarter.

Granite Bear juniors Caleb Reid and Mario Revels combined for 21 in the first half, nearly outscoring the Greyhounds’ team in the span. Reid also grabbed six boards in just the second quarter en route to a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double in the game.

Despite McCreary leaving the game midway through the second quarter after picking up his third foul, North Surry (21-1) stayed within an arm’s reach. Back-to-back offensive boards from Woodbury set McKnight up for a 3-pointer that tied the game at 20-20 with 4:18 left in the first half, which triggered the Bears to call a timeout.

Mount Airy came out of the timeout and outscored North 14-5 heading into halftime. McKnight’s triple was the final Greyhound field goal of the first half, with five free throws from Lynch giving North its five points. All five Bear starters scored in the 20-point second quarter, with the team knocking down 9-of-11 free throws during that time to go up 34-25.

North Surry was on pace for 50 total points after scoring at least 100 in each of its past two games.

Mount Airy matched each of North Surry’s first three field goals of the second half to stay up by nine at 41-32. Jackson Smith then scored inside for North Surry to spark a 12-1 run for the Greyhounds. McCreary had nine in the third quarter alone after scoring just seven in the first half.

The teams were then tied at 46-46 when North called a timeout with two seconds to play. Leftwich found Taylor at the 3-point line out of the timeout, and Taylor drew a foul on a shot attempt. He hit all three free throws to put the Hounds up 49-46 while also giving the Bears’ Tyler Mason his third personal foul.

Lynch and McCreary were on the bench to start the fourth quarter, but that wasn’t an issue for the Greyhounds. North started the quarter with a 10-4 run with McKnight, Watson and Taylor all scoring on the run.

Despite not scoring on the initial run, Lynch scored 12 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. He also dished out three of his team-high nine assists in the fourth. Lynch either scored or assisted on 18 of North Surry’s final 20 points of Friday’s game.

Lynch wasn’t the only Greyhound with a big second half. McCreary scored 17 of his 24 points in the final two quarters, while Watson scored seven of his nine, and Taylor recorded eight points, seven rebounds, two assists and a block all in the second half.

Lynch also flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 27 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals.

Mason scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, with Revels adding five points and Reid scoring four. Revels led the Bears with 18 points in the game, while also dishing out a team-high six assists and tying Hill with one block.

Friday’s game was the final nonconference bout for both teams as they head into the final week of the season.

North Surry has already won at least a share of the Foothills 2A Conference Championship by starting 10-0 in the conference. The Greyhounds host Surry Central and travel to North Wilkes this week, and one win during that stretch will give them the outright title over second-place East Surry.

Mount Airy sits at 3-6 in the Northwest 1A Conference but could finish as high as third. South Stokes (10-0) and North Stokes (10-1) hold the top two spots, but the next four teams are all within two games: Starmount is 4-5, Alleghany is 4-6, Mount Airy is 3-6 and East Wilkes is 3-7.

Mount Airy hosts Elkin and East Wilkes this week, then finishes the regular season at Alleghany.

Note: Mount Airy will host its games against Elkin and East Wilkes at the school’s gym, Howard M. Finch Gymnasium. The Bears have held its previous 2022-23 home games at Surry Community College.

NS: Jahreece Lynch 27, James McCreary 24, Kolby Watson 9, Cam Taylor 8, Kam McKnight 5, Makiyon Woodbury 2, Jackson Smith 2, Fisher Leftwich 2

MA: Mario Revels 18, Caleb Reid 16, Tyler Mason 15, Carson Hill 12, Logan Fonville 4

Surry Central basketball coach Mandy Holt didn’t even have time to celebrate a nail-biting victory on Wednesday before a surprise ceremony was announced.

The Golden Eagles had just walked through the handshake line after defeating Mount Airy 44-42 and were headed for the locker room when the announcement was made. Holt was perplexed by the request for her team to stay on the floor, but that confusion soon turned to joy.

The Feb. 1 win was Holt’s 200th career win, and the Golden Eagles celebrated that accomplishment with the longtime coach.

Central Athletic Director Wes Evans approached Coach Holt with a bouquet of flowers as the milestone win was announced. Not only was the recognition a surprise, but Holt was also presented with a framed letter from UNC men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis congratulating her.

“I definitely want to thank my husband Travis and my daughter Addy for all their love and support. They got me on the surprise presentation tonight.” Holt said. “I didn’t realize anything was about to happen. I kind of knew where the mark was, but the girls didn’t know because I really didn’t want it to be about me. To me, 200 has nothing to do with me and represents the whole program.”

All 200 of Holt’s wins have come at Surry Central.

Holt took over as Surry Central girls basketball coach in 2008. After a 4-21 start her first year, Central doubled its win total in 2009-10 then steadily improved in the column each year. Central hit double-digit win in Holt’s third season, then the team leaped to an 18-10 record in 2012-13.

The Golden Eagles didn’t stop their ascent there as Surry Central finished 19-7 in 2013-14 and 21-6 in 2014-15. Central won a share of the Western Piedmont 2A Conference Championship in both of those seasons.

The Eagles went on to set the school record for single-season victories by going 24-6 in 2018-19, breaking the previous record of 22 wins that was set in 1994-95.

Surry Central won double-digit games in 10 consecutive seasons from 2010-11 to 2019-20; the 2020-21 team finished 7-5 in a season shortened by covid.

“I love being the leader of the Surry Central basketball program,” Holt said. “It’s really a dream come true that I’m living it. This is something that I’ve wanted since I was little.”

On her milestone victory, Holt said: “It represents not just the players and coaches I have right now, which I’ll forever remember for being with me tonight, but it’s all the players and all of the coaches I’ve had in the past. A lot of hours have been put in by a lot of people.”

When asked who she wanted to recognize and thank for helping her reach this point, Holt said: “It really is my girls, first and foremost, and all the coaches that have helped me, and this accomplishment is really about them. I definitely want to thank my family that has always supported me night in and night out throughout the years. and the whole community. I love being here.”

DOBSON — Mount Airy started strong and never looked back in a 75-57 win over Surry Central on Feb. 1.

The Granite Bears went up by 13 points in the first quarter and led by as many as 26 points behind a combined 43 from juniors Caleb Reid and Tyler Mason.

The Bears have won three of their last four games after starting the season 4-10.

Mount Airy’s defense and rebounding was on full display in the lopsided first half. Central’s Mason Jewell knocked down the first bucket of the game, a 3-pointer, just 10 seconds into the first quarter, but the Eagles only scored five more points through the remainder of the period.

Reid, meanwhile, went on a rampage as he scored 18 of his 21 points in the first half. Reid, who finished with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double, grabbed six boards in the first quarter alone – doubling Surry Central’s entire team in the same span.

Reid recorded his seventh double-double of the season in the win while tying his career-high in rebounds.

Mount Airy’s five offensive rebounds in the first quarter, four of which came from Reid, matched Surry Central’s total for the game. The Bears had 14 rebounds in the quarter, going on to out-rebound the Eagles 35-22 in the game.

Surry Central (15-5) missed its next seven 3-point attempts after Jewell’s initial make. Tripp McMillen broke the streak with a triple from NBA range with 6:29 left in the second quarter, but Mount Airy made its first 3-pointer of the game not long after to extend its lead to 27-11.

Six Bears scored in the first half, but Reid continued to be the team’s top scoring option. Mario Revels, who finished with a game-high six assists to go with 11 points and six rebounds, found Reid cutting along the baseline three times in the quarter. Reid also scored once from the free throw line in the second, then grabbed an offensive rebound with 1.4 seconds on the clock and put it back up to put the Bears up 38-23 at the half.

Surry Central found some success from 3-point land in the second quarter by making 3-of-8 attempts, but struggled to establish any offense inside the arc. The Eagles made just four two-point field goals in the first half.

Surry Central didn’t give up, though, and fought back in the third quarter. Revels hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter, but then Mount Airy was held to just three total points over the next four minutes.

The Eagles exhibited their best passing of the night and penetrated Mount Airy’s tough defense in the third. Jacob Mitchell, who tied McMillen with a team-high 12 points, scored on the block to begin a 10-3 run for the home team. McMillen, Ayden Wilmoth and Josh Pardue all scored on the run to cut the lead to 11 at 44-33. Mason made his first 3-pointer of the night to break up the run, but Pardue scored on the inside twice in the next 20 seconds to make it a 10-point game for the first time since 15-5.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, though, they went scoreless for the final 2:25 of the third quarter and the first 3:12 of the fourth quarter. The Bears used this time to go on a 15-0 run to go up 62-37.

Mason and Revels, who combined for eight steals, picked the pocket of Central early in the fourth, then Ethan Clabo added a block. The Eagles once again struggled to get inside on offense, then had no solution for Mason on defense. Mason scored 10 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Pardue managed to record two of his four blocks in the fourth quarter, but Mount Airy’s ability to convert on second chances kept Central from making a comeback.

Mount Airy has now won 17 consecutive meetings against Surry Central, with Central’s last victory in the rivalry coming in Dec. 2012.

MA: Tyler Mason 22, Caleb Reid 21, Zach Goins 12, Mario Revels 11, Logan Fonville 3, Ethan Clabo 2, Carson Hill 2, Jourdain Hill 2

SC: Jacob Mitchell 12, Tripp McMillen 12, Ayden Wilmoth 11, Josh Pardue 10, Mason Jewell 6, Adam Hege 4, Brian Williams 2

DOBSON — Surry Central used a strong fourth quarter performance to overcome Mount Airy 44-42.

The Feb. 1 nonconference clash featured five lead changes and four ties, but only one of those lead changes occurred in the fourth quarter. After scoring just three points in the third quarter, Central used a 9-3 run early in the fourth to go up by six.

Mount Airy stormed back and made it a one-point game, holding Central to just two points for more than four minutes in the period. The Eagles held on to their slim advantage and put the game away with late points from Layla Wall.

Wall and Ashley Santamaria combined for 14 of Central’s 16 fourth-quarter points.

Surry Central has now won three consecutive meetings against Mount Airy, last doing so in 2012-13. The win also served as career win No. 200 for Central coach Mandy Holt.

The second quarter was the only one without a lead change as the Eagles (12-8) never trailed. Mount Airy’s Morgan Mayfield, who led all scorers with 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds, attacked the basket to tie things up at 14 early in the quarter, then a Santamaria 3-pointer put the Eagles back out front.

Surry Central has struggled at times this season shooting from deep, averaging just 23% from beyond the arc, but made four of its first 10 attempts against Mount Airy. Three of these came from Ragan Hall, who made each of her first three attempts while going on to shoot 4-of-7 (57%) from deep on the night.

Central slowly extended its lead in the quarter to go up 25-18 with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half. Mayfield made two free throws with 26 seconds to play, then another pair with 1.4 on the clock.

Mayfield’s late free throws built momentum for the Bears (12-7) that carried into the second half. The senior began the third quarter by knocking down another two free throws, then converted a tough layup to give Mount Airy the 26-25 lead. Alissa Clabo found Niya Smith on the low block soon after to cap off a 10-0 Mount Airy run.

Hall made a 3-pointer off an assist from Jenna Cave with 5:06 on the clock for Central’s only points of the quarter. Mount Airy led 31-28 entering the fourth by outscoring Central 9-3 in the third.

The Golden Eagles quickly matched their third-quarter scoring total after two points from Santamaria and a free throw from Wall. Central forced a five-second call on defense, then Santamaria knocked down a 3-pointer to regain the lead for the home team.

Addie Marshall made it a one-point game with a jump shot for the Bears, but Wall and Santamaria quickly added five more points to go up 39-33 with 4:35 to play.

Mount Airy’s defense stepped up and held Central to just two points over the next four minutes. During this time, Marshall banked in a 3-pointer and Mayfield went 2-for-2 at the line. Presley Smith scored inside to bring the Eagles ahead by three, but her basket was quickly countered by one from the Bears’ Da’nya Mills.

The Golden Eagles led 41-40 and had possession coming out of a timeout with 1:51 to play. Mount Airy elected to not foul and instead tried to force a turnover, which Mayfield and Clabo managed to do with 1:20 to play. Mayfield got a shot off on the other end, but the shot was off the mark and rebounded by Central’s Smith.

Presley Smith tied Wall for the most rebounds on the team with seven.

Central held possession until Mount Airy fouled with 31 seconds to play, though Central was not yet in the bonus. Cave passed to Wall inside soon after, and the freshman converted the basket while drawing the foul with 22 seconds left. Wall made her free throw to put the Eagles up 44-40.

Mount Airy missed a 3-point attempt and had to foul again with 11 seconds to play, but the Bears caught a break when Santamaria missed her first bonus free throw.

Mills, who led Mount Airy with eight rebounds, grabbed the defensive board and found Mayfield. Mayfield missed on the other end and grabbed her own rebound to score two points, but her basket came as the final buzzer sounded.

MA: Morgan Mayfield 20, Addie Marshall 9, Niya Smith 6, Alissa Clabo 5, Da'nya Mills 2

SC: Ragan Hall 14, Ashley Santamaria 13, Layla Wall 9, Jenna Cave 4, Gaby Montero 2, Presley Smith 2

DOBSON — Surry Central overcame a slow start to defeat Forbush with a fourth-quarter comeback.

The Golden Eagles survived a potential upset against the Forbush Falcons by outscoring the visitors 25-10 in the final quarter. This scoring outburst, which led Central to a 67-56 win, came after the Eagles scored just 25 total points in the first half.

Surry Central closed the game with a 10-2 run to cement the win No. 15 this season.

Golden Eagle Jacob Mitchell scored a career-high 27 points in the win, spreading his scoring across all four quarters. The senior scored eight points in the first quarter, four in the second quarter, eight in the third and seven in the fourth. Only two other Eagles scored more than eight points in the game.

Mitchell also grabbed 13 rebounds – eight of which came off the offensive glass – to record his fifth double-double of the season.

Another Surry Central stat stuffer was senior Josh Pardue, who nearly recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. Pardue recorded his fourth double-double of the season while also setting a new career high in assists.

Mitchell and Pardue were both instrumental in the Golden Eagle comeback. In just the fourth quarter, Mitchell had seven points and four rebounds, while Pardue had six boards, three assists and two blocks.

Central seemed to have its first-half scoring issues solved in the third quarter. After scoring just 10 points in the second quarter, the Eagles put 11 points on the scoreboard in the first three minutes of the second half.

Surry Central led by as many as six at 40-34, but then gave up a 12-2 run over the final 3:30 of the quarter.

The Eagles began the fourth quarter with another big run. The Falcons had their longest scoring drought of the game as Central turned a 46-42 deficit into a 53-48 advantage.

Mitchell started the fourth quarter by grabbing an offensive rebound and going back up for two points and the foul. His free throw miss was rebounded by Pardue, who dished to Mason Jewell for a 3-pointer. Central then forced a quick turnover to set up a Tripp McMillen 3-pointer.

The Golden Eagles shot 2-of-3 (67%) from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter after combining to shoot just 2-of-16 (13%) from deep through the first three quarters.

Forbush’s Caden Funk was the only Falcon to score during the first 3:30 of the fourth quarter.

Funk did a bit of everything for the visitors, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. He scored Forbush’s first five points of the fourth, then assisted on the team’s next field goal.

Despite Central’s big run to start the quarter, Forbush only trailed 55-53 with 3:00 left to play. Golden Eagle Brian Williams, who provided a spark in the fourth quarter off the bench, knocked down a jumper to put Central up four, then the Falcons’ Cody Thompson hit a free throw with 2:33 to play to make it 57-54.

Surry Central followed with a 10-0 run that put the game on ice.

Pardue scored inside for Central with 2:08 to play. Forbush called a timeout following Pardue’s bucket, then called another timeout before inbounding to prevent a 5-second call. A Falcon turnover led to Pardue hitting a bonus free throw, and Forbush’s next two possessions would end with a turnover and a blocked shot courtesy of Pardue.

Funk attempted a 3-pointer on the other end and it too was swatted by Pardue.

Central made 5-of-7 free throw attempts in the final minute while Forbush missed five 3-point attempts in the same span. The Falcons’ final missed 3-pointer was rebounded by Thompson and put back as the buzzer sounded.

Forbush started the game shooting 3-of-6 (50%) from deep, but shot just 1-of-18 in the next three quarters to finish 4-of-24 (17%) from beyond the arc.

Thompson had a solid game for Forbush with 12 points, and teammate Jacob Boyles added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Surry Central improves to 15-4 overall and 6-3 in the Foothills 2A Conference with the win, while Forbush drops to 1-20 overall and 0-9 in conference play.

FB: Caden Funk 21, Cody Thompson 12, Jacob Boyles 12, Gavin Maines 8, Josh Brown 2, Pierce Sprague 1

SC: Jacob Mitchell 27, Josh Pardue 11, Tripp McMillen 9, Ayden Wilmoth 7, Mason Jewell 7, Adam Hege 2, Brian Williams 2, Eli Scott 2

WINSTON-SALEM — Local indoor track and field athletes competed in their respective conference championships on Jan. 24.

Surry County high schools compete in three different conferences: Mount Airy and Elkin and the Northwest 1A Conference (NW1A), Millennium Charter in the Northwest Piedmont 1A Conference (NP1A), and East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central in the Foothills 2A Conference (FH2A).

The Mid-State 2A Conference also took part in the meet hosted at the JDL Fast Track, though no Surry schools are part of that conference.

Across the three conferences, at least one Surry County team medaled in 29-of-30 events (15 boys, 15 girls).

The meet featured six individual performances that met MileSplit US Second Team Standard. Three of the six came from Surry County athletes: North Surry’s Jared Hiatt in the boys high jump, and Elkin’s Aniya Edwards in 300-meter dash and 55-meter dash.

Three Surry teams took home conference championships: North Surry’s boys, and both the boys and girls’ teams from Elkin.

Full results for all the conferences can be found at bit.ly/3Y2i8eg

Athletes and Coaches of the Year from Surry County

Elkin’s Clarence Edwards – NW1A Coach of the Year for Boys and Girls

Elkin’s Connor Ball – NW1A Male Athlete of the Year

Elkin’s Ragan Speer – NW1A Co-Female Athlete of the Year

Elkin’s Aniya Edwards – NW1A Co-Female Athlete of the Year

North Surry’s Daniel Draughn – FH2A Boys Coach of the Year

North Surry’s Jared Hiatt – FH2A Co-Male Athlete of the Year

Surry Central’s Ignacio Morales – FH2A Co-Male Athlete of the Year

Surry County medalists by event

1. Mount Airy 1:40.78 – Connor Burrell, Caden Ratcliff, Ian Gallimore, Blake Hawks

2. North Surry 1:42.57 – Jared Hiatt, Talan Vernon, Jake Simmons, Malachi Powers

3. East Surry 1:44.84 – Lindann Fleming, Matthew Edwards, Noah Felts, Gabriel Harpe

1. Surry Central 2:02.78 – Aylin Rodriguez, Ivy Toney, Wendy Cantor, Cassie Sneed

2. North Surry 2:03.56 – Cassie Hiatt, Sarah Sutphin, Kim Elias, Ariana Liberatore

1. Mount Airy 4:05.52 – Connor Burrell, Ian Gallimore, Declan Conner, Caden Ratcliff

2. Elkin 4:06.77 – Luke Altemueller, Mason Day, Holt Canter, Jericho Edwards

3. East Surry 4:14.97 – Jonathan Parker, Noah Felts, Tristain Hernandez, Banks Johnson

1. Elkin 4:38.66 – Alyssa Davis, Maggie Tomlin, Ragan Speer, Aniya Edwards

1. Surry Central 4:47.45 – Wendy Cantor, Aylin Rodriguez, Ivy Toney, Rubi Cortes-Rosa

1. Elkin 9:41.86 – Luke Altemueller, Connor Ball, Mason Day, Connor Allen

2. Mount Airy 10:03.54 – Freddy Hernandez, Alex Leiva, Declan Conner, Caden Ratcliff

2. Surry Central 9:44.69 – Sony Orozco-Flores, Alexis Pedraza, Brangly Mazariegos, Ignacio Morales

3. East Surry 9:57.36 – Joe Cook, Noah Felts, Jonathan Parker, Banks Johnson

1. Surry Central 11:19.08 – Rubi Cortes-Rosa, Ivy Toney, Abigail Hernandez, Lanie Fitzgerald

3. East Surry 14:04.17 – Addison Goins, Emmory Taylor, Sophie Hutchens, Katie Collins

1. Ava Utt (MCA) 4-08.00 feet

3. Steven Johnson (Mount Airy) 35-03.00

3. Sam King (MCA) 30-05.00 feet

2. Ava Hiatt (MCA) 24-01.00 feet

DOBSON — Forbush defeated Surry Central on Jan. 31 to remain in contention for the Foothills 2A Conference Championship.

The visiting Falcons used a second-quarter scoring surge to create separation, outscoring the Eagles 16-4 in the quarter, then held on to that lead to secure their 15th win of the season.

The FH2A Championship race is down to four teams: North Surry, East Surry, North Wilkes and Forbush. North Surry holds the top spot in the conference at 9-1, but a recent loss to Forbush kept the door open. East Surry is in second at 7-2, with both losses coming to North Surry, while North Wilkes and Forbush are tied for third at 6-3.

Though out of the conference championship race, the young Surry Central squad came into Tuesday’s game looking to win its fifth-consecutive game. The Golden Eagles (11-8, 3-6 FH2A) also looked to avenge a 62-36 loss to the Falcons on Jan. 6.

Surry Central kept pace with Forbush at different points in the game, particularly in the first and third quarters, but was hurt by long scoring droughts. Central built some momentum in the second half and even outscored Forbush 22-19 during that stretch, but the early lead accumulated by the visitors was too much to overcome.

A 3-pointer from Ragan Hall with 1:36 left in the first quarter cut Forbush’s lead to 12-10, but the Falcons would score the next seven points uninterrupted and 18 of the next 21. The 12-10 lead late in the first quarter ballooned to 30-14 by halftime.

Eight Forbush players scored in the first half, led by Carrie Vestal’s eight.

The teams combined for just two points in the first 3:44 of the quarter, but that changed when Brooke Davis made a 3-pointer for the Falcons. Golden Eagle Layla Wall scored for Central 15 seconds later by attacking the basket, then Brianna Wilmoth added a point for the Eagles from the free throw line.

After Surry Central’s brief flurry, Forbush scored the next 11 points before Hall added a free throw with 26 seconds left in the half.

Central showed new life in the second half, scoring more in the first 50 seconds of the third quarter than in the entire second quarter. Hall hit her second 3-pointer of the night off an assist from Ashley Santamaria, then Wall scored off a steal not long after.

It was Santamaria’s turn to hit a 3-pointer next, doing so off a pass from Jenna Cave, then Hall scored off a steal to cap off a 10-0 run.

Forbush missed its first five 3-point attempts of the third quarter, but came out of a timeout with 4:03 to play and hit back-to-back triples. Natalie Scott, who led the team with 12 points, hit both 3-pointers.

Mariah Livingston went 3-of-4 from the line in the third to score Forbush’s remaining points in the quarter. Central, meanwhile, added five points after establishing an inside presence.

The Eagles outscored the Falcons 15-9 in the third quarter, but still trailed 38-29 entering the fourth due to the lopsided second quarter.

Surry Central hit another dry spell in the fourth, scoring just three points in the first 5:28 of game time. Forbush’s Emily Eads took over and scored all seven of her points in the quarter, helping the Falcons go up 46-32 with 2:45 to play.

Six of Forbush’s 10 fourth-quarter points came from the free throw line. Neither team had their best night at the line, with Forbush making 11-of-22 attempts (50%) and Central making 6-of-17 attempts (35%).

FB: Natalie Scott 12, Carrie Vestal 8, Emily Eads 7, Mallory Chapman 6, Mariah Livingston 5, Brooke Davis 5, Katelyn Eads 2, Seanna Armstrong 2, Emily Beavers 2

SC: Ragan Hall 14, Ashley Santamaria 11, Layla Wall 6, Brianna Wilmoth 3, Mallie Southern 2

Four individuals and a State Championship-winning team are the newest inductees to North Surry’s Athletics Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor.

The NSHS Hall of Fame Class of 2022 consists of: Mason Hawks, Carter Phillips, Kristina Rumplasch, Kendal Tucker and the 2009-10 Greyhound volleyball team. The class was recognized during a Dec. 2022 basketball game in Ron King Gymnasium.

Hawks, a 2017 graduate, was a four-year varsity basketball player that helped lead North Surry to the 2A State Championship his senior year.

Mason was a four-year starter that graduated as North Surry’s all-time leader in assists with 515, and was also second on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,512.

He earned All-Conference Honors three times, was selected for the Western Piedmont 2A Conference All-Tournament team twice and was named WPAC Player of the Year in 2016. Hawks was also named All-Northwest twice, First-Team All-District twice and was selected for the N.C. East-West All-Star game.

During Hawks’ career, North Surry had the following team accomplishments: three-time conference champions 2015-17, two-time conference tournament champions 2016-17, 2A West Regional Champions 2017 and 2A State Runner-up in 2017.

After high school, Mason continued his basketball career at Lenoir-Rhyne University where he competed in 98 career games. He started every game his junior and senior seasons, averaging 12 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds.

Hawks ranks in the top 20 at Lenoir-Rhyne for 3-pointers made in a season (69), 3-pointers made in a career (133), career free throw percentage (81%), and assists per game (4.0), all while making the dean’s list his final three years.

Phillips, a 2017 graduate, was also a four-year varsity basketball player that helped lead North Surry to the 2A State Championship.

A three-year starter for the Greyhounds, Phillips graduated third on North Surry’s all-time scoring list with 1,469 points. He also finished his high school career with 575 rebounds, 294 assists, 153 steals, and 142 made 3-pointers.

Carter earned All-Conference Honors three times, was selected for the WPAC All-Tournament team twice and was named WPAC Player of the Year in 2017. Phillips was also named All-Northwest, First-Team All-District, District Player of the Year and was selected for the N.C. East-West All-Star game after averaging 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists his senior year.

During Phillips’ career, North Surry had the following team accomplishments: three-time conference champions 2015-17, two-time conference tournament champions 2016-17, 2A West Regional Champions 2017 and 2A State Runner-up in 2017.

Phillips was named North Surry’s Most Outstanding Player of the 2A State Championship game. He finished the game with 26 points on 57% shooting, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Carter continued his basketball career at Catawba College where he played for three years, being part of the school’s conference championship during his sophomore year. He played his last season at Lees-McRae College as a graduate transfer.

Phillips’ finished his college career with 461 points, 152 rebounds and 59 made 3-pointers.

Rumplasch, a 2013 graduate, was a four-year member of the volleyball and basketball teams at North Surry.

She made her biggest impact on the basketball court as a four-year varsity player. During her career, Kristina: scored 1,399 points, recorded two of the top-5 scoring seasons in North Surry history with 528 points her junior year and 431 her senior year, ranks in the top five in career free throw percentage at 68% and is top 10 in free throws made with 260.

Rumplasch recorded one of the top scoring performances in program history when she dropped 41 points in a 2012 state playoff game.

North Surry won conference championships during all four of Kristina’s seasons. She earned All-Conference and All-Northwest Honors twice.

She was also a three-year member of the varsity volleyball team, earning All-Conference Honors twice. Rumplasch was part of three conference championship teams as well as the 2012 2A State Championship team.

Kristina continued her basketball career at Cape Fear Community College for her freshman and sophomore years, starting in 56 of 57 games. She averaged more than 17 points and close to eight rebounds during her two seasons with CFCC, earning All-Region Honors her sophomore year. The team combined for a two-year record of 44-14 after holding its first-ever season in 2012-13.

Rumplasch transferred to Wingate University for her junior and senior seasons. She averaged 8.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists as her teams combined for a 47-15 record. Wingate won the South Atlantic Conference Championship during Rumplasch’s senior season.

Tucker, a 2017 graduate, was a four-year member of North Surry’s basketball and baseball teams.

Kendal received top honors from both the school and school system his senior year. He was named Ron King Senior Male Athlete of the Year as well as the Surry County Schools Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 2017.

Tucker was a three-year starter with the basketball team and a member of the 2017 team that finished 2A State Runner-up. In 107 games played, he accumulated 1,181 points scored and 149 made 3-pointers. Tucker earned All-Conference Honors twice, while also being named to the Western Piedmont 2A Conference All-Tournament team twice.

During Kendal’s career, North Surry had the following team accomplishments on the basketball court: three-time conference champions 2015-17, two-time conference tournament champions 2016-17, 2A West Regional Champions 2017 and 2A State Runner-up in 2017.

Tucker made perhaps his biggest impact on North Surry as a member of the baseball team. As a four-year varsity starter, he accumulated the following career stats in 101 games played: .428 batting average, 99 hits, 24 doubles, seven home runs, 54 runs scored and 55 RBIs.

Kendal finished his baseball career with the following individual honors: two-time selection to the N.C. All-State Team, two-time selection for the N.C. Powerade State Games, three-time All-Conference selection and two-time All-Tournament team. He helped the 2015 Greyhounds win the Western Piedmont 2A Conference Championship and finish 2A West Regional Runner-up.

Tucker continued his baseball career at Winthrop University before transferring to Winston-Salem State University for his sophomore year. Following a 35-16 season, the WSSU baseball program was shut down.

He finished his career at Greensboro College as a three-year starter with a .262 batting average and .360 on-base percentage.

Ring of Honor: 2009 North Surry volleyball team

The 2009-10 North Surry volleyball team captured the NCHSAA 2A State Championship. The team was led by head coach Shane Slate and assistant coach Victoria Calhoun.

The 09-10 Greyhounds finished 33-0 overall and 14-0 in conference play. North Surry won 99 sets while only losing five, with 29 of the team’s 33 wins being 3-0 sweeps – including both the 2A West Regional Final and 2A State Championship matches.

This team was the first of four consecutive North Surry volleyball teams to reach at least the regional championship. North went on to win the state championship again in 2012.

The 2009 team also started a run of nine consecutive conference championships for the program, during which the team didn’t lose a single match during the conference regular season or conference tournament.

Team members included: Sara Parker, Emily Edwards, Nicole Martin, Ellie Atkins, Morgan Bunker, Courtney Smith, Kara Hodges, Summer Robertson, Emily Culler, Brooke Johnson, Courtney Campbell, Nicole Rumplasch, Morgan Midkiff and Aubrey Hiatt.

Hodges was named Conference Player of the Year, and Campbell was MVP of the State Championship.

Parker, Hodges, Robertson, Campbell and Rumplasch were named to the All-Conference team, while Bunker and Culler were All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

Mount Airy High School honored two senior swimmers during a Jan. 25 home meet against North Surry and Surry Central.

The Granite Bears recognized Matheson Williams from the boys team and Emma Bowman from the girls team.

Both swimmers picked up victories in their final meet at Reeves Community Center, which served as a last chance for local swimmers to post qualifying times for the upcoming regional competitions.

Individually, Williams won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.90 seconds, then Bowman won the 200 freestyle at 2:28.00 and the 500 freestyle at 6:45.01.

Both Williams and Bowman were part of victorious relay teams as well.

Williams was part of the Bears’ 200 freestyle relay and 400 freestyle relay teams. The team of Williams, Hayden Bender, John Stafford and Noah Moore won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:46.86 and the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:08.42.

Bowman teamed with Laura Livengood, Eleanor Edwards and Katelyn York to win the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 2:08.34, then the same group won the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 4:56.45.

DOBSON — Surry Central graduate Mia McMillen returned to Dobson on Jan. 13 to receive her State Championship Ring.

McMillen closed her high school career by winning an N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A State Championship ring in track and field. After finishing state runner-up in both her prior championship appearances, Mia captured the state title in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.08 seconds.

The 2022 Golden Eagle graduate also took home a bronze medal in 100 hurdles at the 2022 state meet. McMillen qualified for four events at the state meet, additionally finishing fifth in the long jump and was sixth as part of Central’s 4×200 relay team.

The 2021-22 Foothills 2A Conference Female Athlete of the Year holds school records in the following events: 300 hurdles, 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, long jump and was part of the record-setting 4×200-meter relay squad.

Mia is currently a freshman at Limestone University where she is a member of the volleyball team. McMillen played 76 sets for the Saints in the fall of 2022, accumulating: 184 kills on 621 attacks, 238 digs, 14 service aces and 11 blocks.

North Surry strengthened its hold on the Foothills 2A Conference’s top spot with a 50-48 win over East Surry on Jan. 24.

The rematch between North and East went down to the final seconds, just as it did in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 9. But instead of one team staging a late comeback after trailing by double digits, the county foes stayed within arm’s reach all night – only being separated by more than two possessions for a few minutes in the third quarter.

The Hounds found themselves on top after six fourth-quarter lead changes, then held on to the victory by limiting the Cardinals to just two points in the final three minutes of play.

The game’s final lead change was forced by one of the most common sights in Ron King Gymnasium that night: a 3-pointer from Greyhound junior Josie Tompkins. Tompkins set a new career-high with 19 points in the game, knocking down 5-of-7 3-pointers (71%) – another career best – in the process.

Tompkins’ triple put North up 48-46 with 2:42 to play in the fourth quarter. The teams’ exchanged possessions before either could score again, with the next points coming from Tompkins as she grabbed her own miss and put it back up for two points.

The Hounds held a 50-46 lead as the clock went to less than a minute to play. East Surry’s Addie Phipps grabbed a steal, her eighth of the night, and scored on a fast break to bring the deficit to two with 33 seconds on the clock. Izzy Cline then forced another turnover, this time with less than 20 seconds to play, and passed ahead to Phipps on the Cards’ half of the court.

Phipps dribbled a few times then passed to Maggy Sechrist, who quickly threw a cross-court pass to Merry Parker Boaz as the clock changed to single digits. Boaz dribbled to her left before pulling up for an elbow jumper that fell short of the mark and into a sea of red and white jerseys.

The two teams fought for possession before the ball eventually rolled out-of-bounds near the East Surry cheerleaders, and the official indicated it was North Surry’s ball with 2.5 seconds to play. Callie Robertson inbounded for the Greyhounds and aimed for a streaking Sadie Badgett, though Boaz was able to deflect the pass out-of-bounds.

Boaz’s deflection left just 0.5 seconds on the clock. Kalyn Collins inbounded to Tompkins and time expired to solidify the Greyhound win.

The teams staying close all night wasn’t the only difference between their two regular season meetings. Free throws played a big factor in the first meeting. North made a season-high 19 shots from the line on 86% shooting on Jan. 9, while East attempted a season-high 28 free throws but made just 50% of those.

The Greyhounds and Cardinals combined to attempt just 12 free throws in Tuesday’s game; North Surry shot 5-of-6 (83%), while East shot 2-of-6 (33%). Neither team attempted a bonus free throw in the game, and only 15 fouls were called all night between both teams.

North Surry, who improves to 12-5 overall with the win and was eight of its last nine games, had its best 3-point shooting game of the season. The Hounds finished 11-of-17 (65%) on perimeter shots after only making at least seven in a game once this season.

Stats are available on MaxPreps for every North Surry girls basketball game since the 2009-10 season, with the exception of the 2020-21 Covid-shortened season, and Tuesday’s win over East Surry is the only game listed in which North Surry made double-digit 3-pointers.

Tompkins had two 3-pointers in just the first quarter, and Collins and Robertson each added one in that time as the Hounds opened the game shooting 4-of-5 from deep. East Surry made four 3-pointers as a team on 14 attempts (29%).

Despite the disparity in 3-point success, East Surry found success in other areas to stay competitive. The Cardinals trailed 12-8 after the first quarter but went on a 12-3 run to begin the second quarter, with Phipps scoring seven during that stretch. Phipps led East Surry with 16 points and grabbed eight of the team’s 15 steals.

The Cardinals (13-3, 6-2 FH2A) scored 14 points in the first 3:19 of the second quarter to go up 22-17, but then only scored two points in the final 4:41 as they turned the ball over six times. This opened the door for North Surry to battle back and take a halftime lead.

Robertson, who scored a season-high 13 points in the win, scored seven consecutive points to help North go on an 8-2 run to close the half. Robertson also tied Sarah Mauldin with a team-high three assists.

East Surry’s dry spell continued into the third quarter. The Cards only scored two points between the 4:41 mark of the second quarter and the 3:45 mark of the third quarter, during which time North Surry scored 14 points. East stepped up on defense to slow North down, then built up its inside presence to eventually retake the lead at 34-33 as part of a 10-2 run.

This would be the last big run of the game by either team. The fourth quarter was neck-and-neck until North pulled ahead at the end.

North Surry controls its own destiny in the FH2A Conference at 8-0. East Surry is second at 6-2, then North Wilkes and Forbush are tied for third at 4-3. Surry Central is next at 3-5, followed by Wilkes Central at 2-6 and West Wilkes at 0-8.

East Surry has already defeated North Wilkes twice and Forbush once, but lost to North Surry twice. North Surry still has to face North Wilkes and Forbush once each, and both of those games take place on the road.

North Surry defeated North Wilkes 61-53 on Dec. 2, then beat Forbush 49-47 on Dec. 16.

ES: Addie Phipps 16, Grace Phillips 8, Khloe Bennett 6, Bella Hutchens 6, Merry Parker Boaz 6, Brooklyn Gammons 2, Maggy Sechrist 2, Izzy Cline 2

NS: Josie Tompkins 19, Callie Robertson 13, Kalyn Collins 9, Sadie Badgett 8, Sarah Mauldin 1

North Surry withstood a furious fourth-quarter comeback to win its 20th consecutive conference game.

Despite a 16-5 run by East Surry in the final quarter, North Surry never trailed in the second half. In fact, the Hounds only trailed for 64 seconds of game time during the Jan. 24 clash, with that entire stretch coming in the first quarter.

After the Cardinals tied the game at 53-53 – which was the only tie of the game – the spirited Greyhound duo of Kolby Watson and James McCreary scored the home team’s next nine points. North held on to win 62-59.

Watson and McCreary combined for 42 points in the game, with Watson leading all scorers with 22. The duo not only scored North Surry’s final nine points of the night, but 11 of the team’s 14 fourth-quarter points.

Tuesday’s Foothills 2A Conference game coming down to the wire was a rarity for NCHSAA’s No. 1-ranked team in the 2A West. The Greyhounds (18-1, 8-0 FH2A) hadn’t played in a conference game decided by less than 12 points this season, and even that 82-70 win over West Wilkes was considered an outlier; North’s first seven conference wins came by an average of 30.1 points.

East Surry’s season changed after playing North Surry on Jan. 9, with the Hounds taking that win 72-50. The loss was the Cardinals’ fifth in a row, and four of those losses came by double figures.

East Surry won its next five games after the North loss. The Cardinals scored at least 70 in all five victories after averaging 49.4 during the losing streak. The Cards (9-6, 6-2 FH2A) sat in second place in the conference after taking down Surry Central, and could share the top spot by slaying the Greyhounds.

The Cardinal plan was evident from jump street: slow the game down as much as possible, focus on defense with a 3-2 zone and dominate the boards.

East stuck to its zone all night, only occasionally shifting to a box-and-one to defend a hot hand. The Cards also won the rebounding battle 34-17 with Folger Boaz and Brett Clayton grabbing 10 each.

North Surry still held the edge, though. With Cam Taylor operating out of the high post, the Greyhounds took time to make the extra pass while running a halfcourt offense. This patience allowed the Hounds to slowly grow their lead while assisting on 21-of-25 made field goals, led by Taylor with eight assists.

While the game remained relatively low scoring for a Greyhound team that averages north of 81 points, North Surry’s lead grew to as much as 15 in the third quarter at 48-33. The game was trending in the direction of another double-digit victory for the Greyhounds, but then buckets from East’s Luke Brown and Clayton at the end of the quarter closed the gap to 11.

Brown grabbed a steal to start the fourth quarter and passed ahead to Jordan Davis for two points, but Watson countered with an acrobatic drive to the rim on the other end. Daniel Creech then knocked down a 3-pointer for East Surry, a change a pace for the team that shot just 1-of-9 (11%) from deep through the first three quarters.

Once again, though, North Surry countered. McCreary made one of his five assists to Kam McKnight who buried his own 3-pointer.

Davis then hit a 3-pointer for East on a Boaz assist to make things interesting. The Cardinals got a stop on defense, then Brown found Creech for two more points after making a defensive rebound. The Hounds missed a 3-pointer on offense, then gave up an offensive rebound and putback to Brown.

North Surry went three minutes in the fourth quarter before grabbing a rebound. East Surry, meanwhile, continued to get stops and converting on offense. East used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to tie the game for the first time at 53-53.

A Greyhound scoring drought of nearly four minutes ended when McCreary inbounded to Watson for an easy two points. The Cardinals held on to the ball for a while on their next possession before being whistled for an offensive foul, then a swift 3-pointer from McCreary put the Hounds up 58-53 with 1:59 to play.

The Cards came out of the timeout and hit a 3-pointer of their own, with Boaz making his fifth assist of the game to an open Brown. Watson had a rare miss on the other end – as he shot 9-of-11 (81%) from the field in the win – but McCreary was there to clean it up with just North Surry’s third rebound of the fourth quarter.

East Surry wasn’t out of the game just yet. Clayton found Davis available on the perimeter, and Davis let a high-arching 3-pointer fly from NBA range. His shot sailed through the net as East made its fourth 3-pointer of the quarter in just five attempts, cutting the lead to 60-59 with 59 seconds on the clock.

The Hounds came out of a timeout and held the ball for 25 seconds until Jahreece Lynch was fouled. This was just East Surry’s fifth team foul as neither side was in foul trouble. The Cards quickly fouled again with 27 seconds to play, then again with 21 on the clock to send Watson to the line.

Watson scored his 21st and 22nd points to extend the lead to three. East made a quick inbounds pass and called a timeout at halfcourt with 12 seconds to play.

Boaz put the ball into play out of the timeout by finding Davis, who was quickly fouled by North Surry. The Greyhounds only had one team foul through the first 15 minutes and 45 seconds of the second half, giving them plenty to spare in the closing seconds.

Davis was fouled with 11 seconds to play, then Creech was fouled with eight seconds on the clock. Needing to get a shot up before being fouled, Boaz found Creech open on the perimeter for a 3-point look but his shot fell short and was rebounded by Watson.

Watson was quickly fouled and sent to the line for the bonus with three seconds to play. The Greyhound missed his first attempt, but the rebound bounced around from player to player in the final seconds to prevent a final shot.

North Surry and East Surry can both hang on to their spots in the FH2A standings by winning out. North Surry leads the way at 8-0, followed by East Surry at 6-2, Surry Central and West Wilkes at 5-3, Wilkes Central at 2-6, North Wilkes at 1-6 and Forbush at 0-7.

ES: Luke Brown 18, Folger Boaz 14, Jordan Davis 14, Daniel Creech 8, Brett Clayton 4, Tyler Reeves 1

NS: Kolby Watson 23, James McCreary 20, Jackson Smith 8, Jahreece Lynch 6, Kam McKnight 3, Cam Taylor 2

PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry, North Surry and Surry Central all walked away from the Foothills 2A Conference Tournament with individual championships.

The tournament was hosted by East Surry on Jan. 28. The parity of the conference was on display as all seven FH2A teams had at least one conference champion, and no school had more three.

North Wilkes, Surry Central and East Surry each had three champions, West Wilkes had two champions, and North Surry, Wilkes Central and Forbush each had one champion.

North Wilkes narrowly edged out Surry Central, winners of the previous four conference tournaments, by a score of 188-183. North Surry finished third with seven wrestlers finishing in the top three.

Surry Central senior and three-time defending state champion Jeremiah Price was named FH2A Wrestler of the Year and Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Conference Tournament. Jeremiah won the 160-pound bracket and won all three of his matches via fall in the first period, only wrestling for a combined three minutes and nine seconds.

North Wilkes’ Jason Bollen was named FH2A Coach of the Year.

PILOT MOUNTAIN — The Northwest 1A Conference Swim Championship was held Jan. 21 at the Armfield Civic Center.

Elkin swept the NW1A team titles for the second consecutive years. The Buckin’ Elks won individual conference titles in all 11 girls events and 7-of-11 boys events.

Mount Airy’s boys won one individual title, and Starmount won the remaining three.

Elkin’s Amelia Presley was named NW1A Female Swimmer of the Year, and Starmount’s Peyton Ponce de Leon was named NW1A Male Swimmer of the Year. Elkin’s Oz Prim was honored as NW1A Coach of the Year for both the boys and girls programs.

Swimmers that finished first or second were given All-Conference Honors, and those that finished third were named All-Conference Honorable Mentions.

Points for each races were award as follows:

Six of the seven NW1A teams sent swimmers to the conference championship, with North Stokes being the exception.

Team results are listed below, followed by individual results for Mount Airy swimmers. Full meet results can be found at bit.ly/3WHnZEv

3. Mount Airy A 2:06.13 – Bradyn Durham, Luca Livengood, Matheson Williams, Hayden Bender

4. Mount Airy B 2:33.38 – Steven Huang, Leeman Haynes, Isaac Griffith, Luke Golding

4. Mount Airy 2:22.61 – Laura Livengood, Katelyn York, Emma Harmon, Emma Bowman

3. Mount Airy 2:07.21 – Noah Moore, John Stafford, Bradyn Durham, Cyle Johnson

2. Mount Airy 4:58.51 – Emma Bowman, Laura Livengood, Eleanor Edwards, Katelyn York

2. Mount Airy A 4:07.17 – Matheson Williams, Hayden Bender, John Stafford, Noah Moore

3. Mount Airy B 5:45.39 – Luke Golding, Steven Huang, Luca Livengood, Cyle Johnson

INDIANAPOLIS — More than 75 leaders from about 50 sports organizations will converge in downtown Indianapolis January 26-28 during the NFHS Officials Consortium 2.0 at the Conrad Hotel to continue tackling a nationwide shortage of sports officials.

This second consortium serves as a follow-up to the first NFHS Officials Consortium held last April when a similar group of leaders came together to discuss practical solutions.

“It is an honor to continue to collaborate with sports organizations and entities from across the country and at all levels of sport to work together to recruit and retain officials, and to make the sport atmosphere better for all involved,” said Dana Pappas, NFHS director of officiating services. “We are bringing some new players to Consortium 2.0 to help us spread our message so we can develop a consistent vocabulary within the sport environment with regard to behavioral expectations from youth sports to high school sports and beyond.”

Leaders attending the Consortium – who come from the youth, high school, collegiate and professional levels of sport – plan to discuss additional practical solutions and the application of those solutions to the sport landscape with the intent of providing a better atmosphere for not only officials, but players, coaches, parents and spectators as well.

“When Dana Pappas hosted the first NFHS Officials Consortium last year, it was made loud and clear that we need to do something about behavior,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS during a Media Availability Session on January 17. “Since then, the NFHS has launched a #BenchBadBehavior campaign. It’s designed to be edgy and it’s designed to be a clear and direct toolkit that is available at www.benchbadbehavior.com.”

“We dedicated time to really develop potential solutions for different organizations to use because we understand within the NFHS family that we’ve got to go bigger and broader than just our state associations because there’s so much overlap with officials,” Pappas said of the first Officials Consortium during the Media Availability Session. “Now what we’re doing is taking those recruitment and retention strategies, and meeting with state association leaders with National Governing Body (NGB) leaders to really talk about how to implement some of the ideas that came out of the first Consortium.

“As a result of all of this has been collaboration, and we are seeing a little bit of an upward trend in the number of officials. But that doesn’t mean that our efforts stop. That means we have to work harder, and we have to accelerate more by keeping our foot on the gas.”

Retired NFL referee Gene Steratore serves as the Consortium’s keynote speaker on Thursday. Steratore, who officiated his first NFL game in 2003 and first NCAA Division I men’s basketball game in 1997 before retiring from both in 2018, currently serves as a rules analyst during CBS’s coverage of the NFL, Southeastern Conference (SEC) football and the NCAA’s Division I men’s basketball tournament.

Steratore was assigned as the alternate referee for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, and the referee for Super Bowl LII in Minnesota

Other speakers at the Consortium include representatives from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Bose Public Affairs Group, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), National Association of Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) and members of various coaches associations, state associations and national governing bodies for Olympic sports.

“We are hoping to see results in terms of how officials are treated at events by spectators and in terms of the overall tenor about officials in the media and on social media,” Pappas said. “As we continue these conversations, we have to take the approach that this is a marathon and not a sprint. We are in it for the long haul.”

Wire Top Pointing Machine © 2018 The Mount Airy News