From staff reports

HS football

Jamal Rule, a Salisbury junior running back, has been invited to the NP Champion National Combine to be held in Orlando at the Pro Bowl on Feb. 1-4.

Rule was Rowan County and Central Carolina Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He scored 39 touchdowns.

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Trevor Vaughn, an uncommitted Carson senior, is playing in the Tiki Bowl in Hawaii on Jan. 7.

HS OT All-State

West Rowan volleyball player Emma Clarke and Salisbury soccer player Yatti Avilez were named to High School OT All-State teams.

Both were Rowan County and conference players of the year.

College football

Jalon Walker (Salisbury) had two solo tackles and two assists as Georgia routed Florida State in the Orange Bowl

Baseball

Owen White (Carson) is the No. 8 prospect for the Texas Rangers and is likely to get a chance to start some games for the Rangers this season.

In the MLB draft this summer, UNC center fielder Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury) is expected to be a top-1o pick. Honeycutt went sixth to the Kansas City Royals in the latest mock draft by Baseball America.

Women’s college basketball

North Carolina Central’s Kyla Bryant (Salisbury) is averaging 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and has won multiple MEAC Rookie of the Week awards.

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Catawba’s Lyrik Thorne has been named the South Atlantic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the seventh week.

Thorne, a graduate student from Ledford, scored a team-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field along with four assists, two steals and a block to lead No. 4 Catawba to a 66-61 win over  UNC Pembroke on December 19. The Catawba Indians hold the longest home win streak in the country at 26 games.

Men’s college basketball

SALISBURY — Livingstone’s men’s basketball team won 71-67 against Converse on Tuesday at New Trent Gym.

Pharoah Lassiter led the balanced Blue Bears in the non-conference matchup with 17 points. Nathan Montaque had 14, and Paul Tako scored 10.

Converse      27    38    — 65

Livingstone  34    37     — 71

LIVINGSTONE — Lassiter 17, Montaque 14, P. Tako 10, Herd 9, Tiller 9, Broderick 6, Nipper 4, Alllen 2.

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Former North Rowan Cavalier Brandon White, who is 6-foot-10, finished his high school career at Donda Academy in California.

He enrolled at Texas A&M, although he hasn’t played so far this season.

Track and field

WINSTON-SALEM — A.L. Brown and App State alum Melissa Morrison Howard, who has led a highly decorated career at the collegiate and international levels, has been elected to the North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame.

Morrison Howard is one of 10 elected to the fifth North Carolina High School Track & Field Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony will take place on Feb. 3 during the Mondo Elite High School Invitational at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem.

Morrison won two Olympic bronze medals in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. In 2003, she collected the bronze medal for the 60-meter hurdles at the World Indoor Championship. Morrison Howard collected a gold medal for the 100-meter hurdles at the 1998 IAAF Golden League in Oslo, Norway, and a silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix in Moscow, Russia. She was also a four-time U.S. champion.

During her high school career, she was an NCHSAA state champion in the 100-meter hurdles for three consecutive years (1987, 1988, 1989) and won the triple jump title in 1989.

Morrison Howard competed at App State from 1989-93 and was a 2003 inductee to the App State Athletics Hall of Fame and a 2009 inductee to the Southern Conference Hall of Fame. She also earned the Appalachian State Trailblazer Award in 2018.

Morrison Howard remains the App State record holder in the 55-meter hurdles (7.66), 60-meter hurdles (8.33), 100-meter hurdles (13.24), and outdoor long jump (6.22m (20’ 5.25”).

The North Carolina High School Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame was founded by Brett Honeycutt and the inaugural class was inducted in 2019. A statewide committee comprised of coaches, officials, and media representatives who cover track & field and cross country nominate and elect the incoming classes.

Boys HS basketball

WINSTON-SALEM — Champ Hayden scored 38 points as North Hills won 74-67 against Forsyth Home Educators on Tuesday.

Hayden shot 13-for-30, but he was hot from 3, making six 3-pointers. He had 15 rebounds.

Jerrod Drye scored 22 points for the Eagles (10-7).  Forsyth Home Educators fell to 9-9.

North Hills     16     26     14     18    — 74

FHE                   6      20     24    17      — 67

NORTH HILLS — Hayden 38, Drye 22, Strickland 4, Rodgers 4, Strong 3, Wippenbeck 3.

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Former North Rowan jayvee player Michael Strickland is playing for Charlotte’s Lab Prep Academy Lab Rats this season.

Strickland averages double figures and scored 15 points on Tuesday.

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Central Cabarrus is ranked second in the state by High School OT.

Salisbury is ranked 20th. That’s for all classifications and includes the private schools that aren’t training academies.

HS girls basketball

KANNAPOLIS — Carson’s girls executed on back-to-back inbounds plays under the A.L. Brown basket, Laila Furr banked in two layups, and Carson head Chloe Monroe clapped her hands vigorously.

Every bucket is a small victory for the offensively challenged Cougars at this point, and at times they can even string a few together. But there’s still a long way to go.

A.L. Brown cruised to a 52-23 win against the Cougars on Tuesday, as a fresh basketball year began for Carson with another setback.

Carson (0-10) played hard again, but struggled again against a quicker, stronger and older opponent.

The suspense was over quickly. The Wonders (8-2) led 15-0 after a quarter.

Carson didn’t get on the board until Julia Burleson made a baseline runner to open the second quarter.

The Wonders held a comfortable 29-8 lead at halftime.

Sadie Faulkner made three 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead the Wonders. Faulkner scored all eight of the Wonders’ points in the third quarter.

Furr scored a season-high eight for the Cougars, while Rylee Hedrick had seven.

Carson                0       8        8      7   — 23

A.L. Brown         15     14      8     15   — 52

CARSON — Furr 8, Hedrick 7, Burleson 3, Baldwin 3, McBride 2.

A.L. BROWN — Faulkner 16, Grier 6, Stevens 6, Robinson 6, Goode-Roberts 5, Dunning 5, McNeely 4, David 3, Klutz 1,

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West Rowan’s girls are ranked fourth statewide by High School OT. Lake Norman is ranked second.

Local golf

GARS members played at Corbin Hills.

Low ‘A’ Flight player was John Struzick with a net of 68.07. Low ‘B’ Flight player was Phil Cauble with a net of 64.88.

Low ‘C’ Flight player was Carl Moore with a net of 65.34. Low ‘D’ fFlight player was Buddy Barger with a net of 64.80.

Larry Petrea shot a 75 to win low gross, while Barger won low net.

Keith Mason eagled the par-5 No. 6 hole.

Bobby Clark was the Super Senior with a net of 65.96.

Mark Yehl won closest to the pin on No. 2 . Michael VanHecke made the longest putt on No. 9. Closest to the pin on No. 5 and No. 13 was won by Tom Dodge. Struzick had closest to the pin on No. 16.

Clark. 84, shot an 82.  Barger, 89, shot an 89.

McCanless Couples

Clarence Hobart, Lenny Mauseli and David & Azalee Huneycutt  placed first in a Captain’s Choice event.

Richard Long, Byron Sheesley and Pam & Ralph Carver placed second.

Crystal Clement had closest to the pin. Mauseli had the longest putt.

Elks Hoop Shoot

The Salisbury Elks Lodge No. 699 and Salisbury Parks and Recreation will host the annual Elks National Hoop Shoot Free Throw contest on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 2  p.m. at Hall Gym,

Hall Gym is located at 1400-B West Bank St. in Salisbury. 

The event is free and open to boys and girls, ages 8-13 years old (as of April 1, 2024). 

Trophies will be awarded for first and second place in each division.

First-place winners in each of the six divisions advance to the district competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 in Winston-Salem.

In addition to the district level, there are state and regional competitions leading to the national championships in Chicago on April 20.

For more information and registration forms, contact Brian Gumiela, event coordinator at bgumiela@roadrunner.com or call the Salisbury Elks Lodge at 704-636-1161.