By Richard Walker One of Gaston College’s most accomplished alumni will be honored for his athletic accomplishments this summer in Charlotte by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Leonard Hamilton, who was a racial pioneer for the school when he played basketball there from 1966 to 1968, will be a member of the third annual […]
By Richard Walker Michael Jordan’s tenure as Charlotte Hornets’ NBA owner is coming to an end according to a ESPN report that came out Thursday evening. Jordan, one of the greatest players in NBA history, is “engaged in serious talks to sell a majority stake in the franchise to a group led by Hornets minority […]
By Richard Walker Historic runs by a pair of NCAA women’s basketball tournament participants and a NJCAA women’s basketball team, two more women’s basketball postseason teams and another junior college national tournament participant highlight six local products who remain alive in college basketball postseason play. Gardner-Webb, Catawba and Catawba Valley Community College are on historic […]
By Richard Walker Former Crest High standout Lawson Harrill of Campbell and Gardner-Webb junior pitcher Casey Young on Monday were given top baseball honors by the Big South Conference. Harrill, a 2019 Crest graduate and junior outfielder for the Camels, was named the league’s player of the week after hitting three home runs with a […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb’s history-making women’s basketball learned its NCAA tournament fate Saturday evening. And the Runnin’ Bulldogs (29-4) were announced as a No. 15 seed in one of the four regionals and will play No. 2 seed Utah (25-4) in a first round game on Friday in Salt Lake City. Gardner-Webb set school and […]
By Richard Walker Two teams will pursue unbeaten seasons when the Gaston County Conference’s boys and girls championship games are played on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The girls championship on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Ashbrook High gymnasium, Holbrook (11-0) looks to extend its winning streak to 25 games and complete a second […]
By Richard Walker For the second time in school history, Gardner-Webb’s women’s basketball team will be playing in the NCAA tournament. The Runnin’ Bulldogs completed an unbeaten run through the Big South Conference on Sunday night with a 74-61 victory over High Point at Charlotte’s Bojangle’s Arena. Gardner-Webb improved to 29-4 overall with their 21st […]
By Richard Walker It was a tough day for Lincoln County’s state championship basketball hopefuls on Saturday. East Lincoln’s girls saw their title hopes and pursuit of an unbeaten season vanquished in a 49-42 Western 3A finals loss to West Rowan at the McDowell High School gymnasium. Coach Jason Otey’s finishes 31-1 and with the […]
By Richard Walker The two remaining area state playoff basketball hopefuls took as different a paths as you can take to reach today’s regional finals. But East Lincoln’s girls and Lincoln Charter’s boys are one step away from a March 11 date in their respective state championship games. East Lincoln’s girls entered the season with […]
By Richard Walker Next week’s Gaston County Conference middle school basketball championship finals matchups have been set after Thursday’s semifinals saw three favorites and one underdog take victories. In the boys final, unbeaten Southwest (11-0) will host No. 3 seed Holbrook (9-2) next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Huss High School gymnasium. And in […]
By Richard Walker South Point, Huss and Crest lead the 2023 All-Big South 3A Conference boys basketball selections in voting by league coaches. The Red Raiders, who took their first conference regular season title in school history, were represented by first team selection Greyson Kines and second team selections Sean Gore, Jaquis Rumph and Dylan […]
By Richard Walker A pair of Lincoln County schools are the area’s last remaining playoff teams after Tuesday’s regional semifinals. And both will pursue Western titles on Saturday. Lincoln Charter’s boys advanced to the Western final for the fifth time in eight years after knocking off East Gaston 73-57. The Eagles (25-11) previously finished as […]
By Richard Walker East Gaston High’s historic boys basketball playoff run continues on Tuesday when they face the area’s most experience postseason team in the Western N.C. 2A semifinals. East Gaston (25-2), which has never been this far in the playoffs in school history, will host Lincoln Charter (24-11) at 7 p.m. The Warriors’ historic […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb’s women’s basketball team completed a historic run through the Big South Conference on Saturday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs defeated USC Upstate 83-58 on “Senior Day” to complete the first 18-0 run through the league by a men’s team or women’s team in Big South Conference history. In fact, only seven other team […]
By Richard Walker Five area high school basketball teams advanced to next Tuesday’s Western semifinals. In Class 3A boys, Crest won 85-70 at South Point to advance the No. 13-seeded Chargers into a matchup at top-seeded Central Cabarrus. In Class 2A boys, East Gaston won its first-ever third round game 58-40 over visiting Hendersonville and […]
By Richard Walker Eight area high school basketball teams enter Saturday’s third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association still in pursuit of state titles. Boys teams from East Gaston and South Point are in the midst of historic seasons while Crest and Lincoln Charter and in somewhat familiar situations. The girls team from […]
By Richard Walker The 2023 Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame will hold induction ceremonies on May 22 at the Gastonia Conference Center. University of North Carolina head football coach Mack Brown will be the featured speaker for the 5 p.m. event. Brown becomes the 10th national championship-winning coach to speak at the banquet that […]
By Richard Walker Former Forestview and Gaston Day standout Nate Hinton was invited to be a member of USA Basketball’s 12-man roster for the 2023 USA Men’s World Cup qualifying team. Hinton and his teammates have two games this week as the United State played Uruguay in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday before playing Brazil in […]
By Richard Walker The winningest basketball coach in Gaston County history had his career come to an end in Tuesday’s first round of the 2023 state playoffs. Cherryville’s Scott Harrill, who announced his retirement earlier this month, had his Ironmen eliminated 95-60 by No. 3-seeded Eastern Randolph in the Class 1A playoffs. A 1989 Cherryville […]
By Richard Walker Whether you have state playoff experience or not, this week offers the opportunity to make history for 27 high school basketball teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties as the N.C. High School Athletic Association tournament begins on Tuesday. Here are the pairings of area teams for Tuesday’s opening round games: -BOYS […]
By Richard Walker Cramer’s Charlie Sly was a superlative award from Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln counties area on Saturday as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) concluded its 87th annual individual wrestling state tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum. The event ended with four team champions and 56 individual champions in the state’s four classifications. […]
By Richard Walker Twenty seven boys and girls high school basketball teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties found out their 2023 N.C. High School Athletic Association tournament pairings for the upcoming playoffs. The tournament begins with opening round games on Tuesday, Thursday and next Saturday before regional semifinals on Feb. 28 and March 4 […]
By Richard Walker Basketball teams from East Gaston and Cramer high schools set history with their conference tournament victories on Friday night. East Gaston’s boys edged Bessemer City 76-75 in overtime for the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference title on Friday. It was the Warriors first conference tournament title since 2005 and coach Gene Farrar’s team […]
By Richard Walker In Friday night’s Big South 3A and Southern Piedmont 1A/2A boys and girls basketball title games, the regular season seeds mostly held in the first two rounds as history will be set in all four championship games. In the Big South 3A boys game at Huss, South Point will seek its first […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb basketball pioneer Laurence “Sonny” Johnson will be honored by his hometown in August. Johnson, the first African-American basketball player in Gardner-Webb history during the 1966-67 season, is part of the 2023 induction class of the Real Harlem Basketball Hall of Fame with 14 others on Aug. 12 at Salem United Methodist […]
By Richard Walker East Lincoln High’s boys and girls swimming teams won the Western Foothills 3A Conference titles and its all-conference teams. Here are the league championship results and all-conference selections and top honors: (Boys) Final Team Standings: 1. East Lincoln 373 2. St. Stephens 365 3. North Lincoln 262 4. Hickory 139 5. Statesville […]
By Richard Walker Regular season champion Gaston Christian and fourth-place finisher Gaston Day comprised five of the 16 players honored by the Metrolina Athletic Conference boys high school basketball all-league team. Gaston Christian, which went 12-2 in league play, was represented by Corey Gaines, Makoi Mabor Marier and Cameron Newman. And Gaston Day, which went […]
By Richard Walker Lincoln Charter repeated as girls Class 1A/2A N.C. High School Athletic Association champion on Friday. Also, Burns’ Jacob Jensen won top honors as the Most Outstanding Performer in the meet. He set a new 1A/2A State Meet Record in the 50 Freestyle with a 20.33-second clocking to win the event. He also […]
By Richard Walker N.C. High School Basketball Association regular seasons ended on Friday all across the state and conference tournaments are slated to begin on Monday. Once the league tournaments are completed the NCHSAA will announce state playoff pairings on Feb. 18 and begin play in that tournament on Feb. 21. Here’s the final regular […]
By Richard Walker South Point, East Gaston and Huss set basketball history for their respective high school programs on Friday night with convincing victories. South Point’s boys (21-3, 11-3) rolled past North Gaston 83-45 on Friday to wrap up the Red Raiders’ first regular season conference title in school history. Coach Kody Kubbs’ team will […]
By Richard Walker The N.C. High School Athletic Association basketball regular seasons come to a close tonight and two Gaston County boys teams and one Gaston County girls team are on the cusp of history. South Point’s boys (20-3, 10-3) needs only to win at North Gaston on Friday night to clinch at least a […]
By Richard Walker A former Shelby High football standout will be at the Super Bowl LVII as a coach – and extending a family legacy started by his father 23 years ago. Jeremiah Washburn, an offensive lineman at Shelby High from 1991 to 1993, is in his fourth season as defensive ends/outside linebackers coach for […]
By Richard Walker The coach who helped lead the Carolina Panthers into playoff contention has found a new home after the organization picked another coach to take the job on a full time basis. Steve Wilks, a 1987 West Charlotte High graduate, will become the new defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Wilks will […]
By Richard Walker Former Burns High state champion Scottie Montgomery has a new NFL coaching job. Montgomery, a 1996 Burns High graduate, has been hired as Detroit Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach. A 1994 Burns state championship player who earned All-ACC honors at Duke before playing in the NFL, Montgomery had been […]
By Richard Walker There’s been shift in the fortunes on three programs that have usually struggled in area high school basketball. East Gaston, Gaston Christian and South Point are enjoying historic seasons – and all three have either won or have a chance to win rare league titles. Gaston Christian clinched the first conference regular […]
By Richard Walker Gaston County’s all-time winningest basketball coach announced on Friday that he would be retiring from coaching at the end of this season. Cherryville High School coach Scott Harrill announced during the Ironmen’s 63-48 win over Highland Tech during “Senior Night” in their final game of the 2022-23 season at Nixon Gym. Harrill, […]
By Richard Walker Two of the winningest basketball programs in the Carolinas reside 40 miles apart in the North Carolina Piedmont. Unbeaten Conference Carolinas leader Belmont Abbey has a 15-game winning streak and is ahead by two games in the loss column with three weeks to go in its regular season starting with Saturday’s 2 […]
By Richard Walker Cleveland County’s winningest high school football coach is a member of the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association 2023 Hall of Fame induction class. Jim Taylor led Shelby High to a 201-54-2 record as head coach from 1977 to 1997. During his tenure, the Golden Lions won 11 conference championships, three state titles […]
By Richard Walker Cherryville High School added two more trophies last weekend when its cheerleading team won its 24th and 25th state championships. The Ironmen cheerleaders won the North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association on Saturday at North Raleigh Christian Academy. Cherryville took titles in the Varsity D2 Game Day Division and the Small Varsity D2 […]
By Richard Walker During the recent Carolina Panthers head coaching search, reports indicated team owner David Tepper was interested in an offensive-minded coach. At Tuesday’s news conference to officially introduce Frank Reich, Tepper confirmed them. “Every year we get in these NFL (owners) meetings and every year they put some new rule in to benefit […]
By Richard Walker Less than a week after winning its first N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling match, Lincolnton High School will host the Western N.C. 2A regional on Wednesday night. And the Wolves will be hosting familiar opponents as all four Western N.C. 2A wrestling semifinalists are members of the Catawba Valley […]
By Richard Walker History was made and extended on Saturday during the opening two rounds of the N.C. High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling playoffs. Lincolnton won its first dual match in history and followed it up with a second straight win to advance into Wednesday’s Class 2A regional finals. The Wolves, who are […]
By Richard Walker A pair of Gaston County schools won wrestling titles on Saturday as Cherryville won the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference title and Mountain Island Charter won the Catawba Shores 1A/2A Conference wrestling title. Here are Cherryville’s individual results: 113 Hunter Griffin (17-25) placed 2nd and scored 18.0 team points. Quarterfinal – Hunter Griffin […]
By Richard Walker Belmont Abbey and Gardner-Webb recorded conference sweeps on Saturday to highlight the area’s college basketball. Belmont Abbey swept visiting North Greenville in a Conference Carolinas home doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with the men winning 91-72 and the women recording its 12th straight victory by an 80-44 margin. Gardner-Webb swept nearby rival Winthrop […]
By Richard Walker Lincolnton High has a new head football coach after Jaden Angle was confirmed by the Lincoln County School Board on Tuesday night. Angle, a 2011 Lincolnton High graduate, has been a Wolves assistant football coach since 2017. A UNC Charlotte graduate, Angle teaches business and marketing classes at the school and also […]
By Richard Walker Gardner-Webb’s Jhessyka Williams continues having a record-setting season for the Bulldogs’ Big South Conference-leading women’s basketball team. Williams, a 5-foot-10 graduate student from Augusta, Ga., was on Monday named Big South Conference women’s player of the week for the fifth time this season. The league record for most player of the week […]
By Richard Walker Earlier this week, the twitter site “Friday Nights in Carolina” named its N.C. all-state high school football teams and 34 players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties were honored. Burns (4), Crest (3), Kings Mountain (4) and Shelby (2) of Cleveland County had selections, with Ashbrook (2), Mountain Island Charter (5) and […]
By Richard Walker The most influential figure in Crest High School athletic history died earlier this week. Edwin Eugene “Ed” Peeler, 86, died on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023 at Peak Resources Assisted Living Center in Cherryville. To honor the life of Peeler a memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, at 3 […]
By Richard Walker As we drop the curtain on the 2022-23 college football bowl season, there’s lots to unpack following Georgia’s 15-0 unbeaten season that ended with the school’s eighth national title – and second straight. Georgia’s 65-7 victory over TCU was the largest margin of victory in the modern national title era. CarolinaSportsHub.com has […]
By Richard Walker The Carolina Panthers enter Sunday’s game with no postseason to pursue. In truth, a loss would ensure a top 10 pick in April’s 2023 NFL Draft. But if the past is any indicator, the Panthers may well do something special in their 2022 season finale at New Orleans. Not only is the […]
By Richard Walker Calvin Camp, a 2017 Shelby High graduate, finished his college football career with a flourish under an interim coach for the Charlotte 49ers. Camp had gotten one rushing attempt in the first eight games under former head coach Will Healy but interim head coach Pete Rossomando featured Camp’s talents in each of […]
By Richard Walker When Biff Poggi was hired as Charlotte 49ers head coach in November, he vowed to improve the team’s roster. Based on his incoming recruiting class, that’s happening for the 49ers. Most notably, Poggi got an attention-grabbing commitment on ESPN2 during Tuesday’s Under Armour All-American Game from four-star running back Durell Robinson. Robinson, […]
By Richard Walker For the Carolina Panthers, the path to a NFC South title is simple: Win the last two games. It’s also happened before as the Panthers closed their 2014 season with four straight victories to win the NFC South title with a 7-8-1 record. A key to that postseason run were blowout road […]
By Richard Walker The 21st Duke’s Mayo Bowl will be played Friday at noon at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. Longtime rivals Maryland and N.C. State will meet for the first time since 2013 in the 2022 renewal of the postseason game. The ACC takes a 10-10 record into the contest – and hasn’t won […]
By Richard Walker High school basketball holiday tournaments have become commonplace in the area since the 1970s. Local teams are playing in tournaments in two states and multiple counties beginning on Monday. Here’s the full schedule of 2022 holiday tournaments for teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties: -BOYS Bud Black/Dennis Tate Holiday Classic (at […]
By Richard Walker Shelby’s Ally Hollifield scored 43 points to set a Cleveland County girls basketball single-game scoring record for the 5-on-5 rules era that started in 1969 in the Golden Lions’ 69-51 victory at rival Kings Mountain on Wednesday. Her point total was two points more than her older sister Kate Hollifield’s school record […]
By Richard Walker When Ray Cloyd took over the Cramerton Middle School boys soccer program, the Eagles had won seven Gaston County Conference titles and had even recorded five unbeaten seasons. After Cramerton’s 6-0 victory over Holbrook for the 2022 county title, the Eagles completed the most dominant season in county history, extended their county […]
By Richard Walker Some may call it “boring” football but interim Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilks is following a strategy to run the football as much as the two more successful coaches in franchise history. And that strategy has gotten his team into postseason contention. Wilks’ 4-4 record as interim coach has improved the […]
By Richard Walker Fourteen football players from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties were named to the NCHS Recruiting BlueSheet All-state academic team – 10 from the current senior class and four other underclassmen. Seniors honored include four players from 2022 N.C. Class 3A state champion East Lincoln – defensive back Keandre Walker, linebacker Ben Cutter, […]
By Richard Walker The Big South Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference announced on Tuesday its inaugural football conference schedule for the 2023 season and reigning Big South champion Gardner-Webb announced its full 2023 schedule. The 10 combined teams in 2023 – six from the OVC and four from the Big South – will play […]