Area athletes update …
The college athlete updates in the fall almost always start with football, but the ladies made the biggest news this weekend.
Catawba Valley Community College’s Aimee Cloninger (Carson) was named volleyball player of the year for Region X.
Freshmen Cloninger and Tiffany Brooks (South Rowan) have been a big part of a special 39-0 season at CVCC in Hickory. CVCC has won conference, region and district championships and qualified to compete in the national tournament in Toledo, Ohio, on Nov. 21-23.
In the district semifinal, Cloninger had eight kills and four aces in a sweep of Wake Tech.
In a 3-1 win in the district championship match against Florida’s Pasco Hernando CC, Cloninger had 16 kills, 15 digs and two aces. Brooks had nine kills and two blocks.
• Averett also is having a banner volleyball season. Setter Nicole Barringer (South) has been a leader for the Cougars, who finished 14-0 in their home matches.
The junior had 44 assists and 14 digs against Bridgewater and 41 assists, five digs and five kills against Virginia Wesleyan.
• Guilford senior Taylor Whitley (Carson) had 34 assists and six digs as the Quakers won their final match against rival Greensboro College.
• Lela Moore (West Rowan) had 22 assists for Hollins in a loss to St. Mary’s and 19 assists and 12 digs in a loss to Frostburg State.
• Lenoir-Rhyne senior Kayla Morrow (South) is finishing her career strong, but the Bears lost 3-2 matches to Newberry and Anderson over the weekend.
Morrow had 19 kills, eight digs and six blocks in the two matches.
“Kayla is just an oustanding athlete and she’s had a great year for us, playing in the middle at 5-10,” L-R coach Dave Markland said. “Obviously, she doesn’t get as many kill chances as the outside girls, but her percentage has been fantastic.”
Freshman Emma Pope will keep South Rowan’s L-R connection going after Morrow graduates. Pope had nine digs in the two matches.
Basketball exhibitions are under way.
Brevard’s Darius Moose (Carson) is back on the floor after a redshirt year in which he focused on academics. Moose scored 18 points in a loss against Wake Forest. He’ll have another opportunity to play against a D-I team when the Tornados take on UNC Asheville tonight.
• Louisburg’s Oshon West (North Rowan) had 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in a 104-66 win against Mt. Zion.
• Isaiah Cuthbertson (West) had four points and five rebounds for Mars Hill in an exhibition loss to East Tennessee State.
Ayana Avery (West) hit three 3-pointers and scored 23 points in Radford’s exhibition win against Bluefield.
• Charlotte’s Olivia Rankin (Salisbury) posted a double-double in an exhibition victory against Johnson C. Smith. Rankin had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ayanna Holmes (Salisbury) was a key player for the 49ers last season and contributed seven points, six rebounds and five assists against the Golden Bulls.
• Morehead State freshman Shay Steele (West) had seven rebounds and two points in an exhibition romp against Kentucky Christian.
• Ashia Holmes (Salisbury) has transferred from Radford to Belmont Abbey and should be a big addition for the Crusaders.
• Kennesaw State’s Kelly Dulkoski (Carson) is out with a knee injury.
USC Upstate’s Ross Oden (East Rowan) placed 11th in the Atlantic Sun Championships and was recognized as all-conference for the second time.
Oden surged from 24th to 11th over the last two miles of the 8K race. His time was 25:49.
Appalachian State’s Lily Yatawara (Salisbury) shot 88-91 — 179 and helped the Mountaineers finish sixth in the Winthrop Intercollegiate.
Virginia got mashed by Clemson, but Kevin Parks (West) had another good day. He rushed 16 times for 82 yards and had three receptions for 20 yards.
• Chris Smith’s only tackle in Arkansas’ SEC loss to Auburn was a 7-yard sack of Nick Marshall on a third-and-long that forced a punt.
• In UNC’s 27-19 win against N.C. State, Darien Rankin (Salisbury) and Damien Washington (A.L. Brown) made tackles for the Tar Heels. Romar Morris (Salisbury) got two carries and gained 10 yards.
• West Virginia’s Jared Barber (Davie) had a key play in a 30-27 OT win against TCU. TCU had first-and-goal at the West Virginia 2, but Barber recovered a fumble on a running play.
• Clemson’s Bradley Pinion (NW Cabarrus) had four touchbacks on seven kickoffs against Virginia.
• Kalif Phillips (A.L. Brown) already owned the first rushing TD in Charlotte’s football history and now he’s added the first 100-yard rushing game. In Charlotte’s 50-25 loss to Coastal Carolina, Phillips carried 15 times for 132 yards. He had a 6-yard scoring run.
• Javon Hargrave (North) had two tackles as South Carolina State smacked Savannah State 45-9.
• The Citadel’s Hunter Morris (A.L. Brown) and Wingate’s T.J. Bell (Carson) handled long-snapping duties this weekend. Morris helped The Citadel upset Samford. Wingate dropped a close one to North Greenville.
• Mark McDaniel (South) had six tackles and a pass breakup in Catawba’s win against Mars Hill. Jamal Lackey (Davie) had three tackles, including a sack. Trey Mashore (West) had a busy day for Catawba with four rushes for 16 yards, a catch for 10 yards and a special-teams tackle.
• Two former Rowan stars were on opposite sides in a D-II game played in West Virginia on Saturday. Charleston’s John Knox (Salisbury) came out a 26-9 winner against West Liberty. Knox had 23 carries for 82 yards, completed 5 of 7 passes for 40 yards and caught a 6-yard pass. Knox’s 10-yard scoring run gave Charleston a 13-6 lead.
Quentin Sifford (West) played well for West Liberty with four tackles and a pass breakup. He tackled Knox twice.
• Ike Whitaker (Salisbury) had a quiet day as Lenoir-Rhyne buried Carson-Newman. Whitaker had eight carries for 18 yards. Zach Long (Davie) made a tackle for the surging Bears.
• In UNC Pembroke’s 60-20 rout of Tusculum, Ben DeCelle (East) had three catches for 15 yards. Cadarreus Mason (South) made three tackles for the Braves, one in the backfield. Backup QB Jonathan Efird (A.L. Brown) was 2-for-3 passing for 16 yards.
• In Johnson C. Smith’s loss to St. Augustine’s, J.P. Lott (A.L. Brown) had a tackle and a fumble recovery for the Golden Bulls. Erick Amaya (A.L. Brown) only got to kick off twice for the Bulls in a 13-6 loss but both were touchbacks.
• In Averett’s loss to Huntingdon, a school from Alabama, Dante Pinkston (A.L. Brown) was busy with a 13-yard TD catch, four kick returns and two special-teams tackles. Hobie Proctor (West) had kicked PATs and averaged 54 yards on his kickoffs.
• Guilford’s Adam Smith (Davie) was held to one catch for 23 yards in a 52-0 loss to Hampden-Sydney.