Area Sports Briefs
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 20, 2008
From staff reports
Qualifying for the annual Labor Day Four-Ball Memorial Golf Tournament will get under way Friday at the Country Club of Salisbury.
Teams also will post qualifying scores on Saturday and Sunday, setting a field of 120 two-man teams for the tournament.
The tournament begins Saturday, Aug.30. The second round will be played Sunday, Aug. 31. Championship in flights will be decided Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1.
Qualifying pairings are in Scoreboard.
n Dogwood tournament
Allison Lee (Salisbury) shot a 78 and was sixth after the first round of the Dogwood State Junior Championship golf tournament held in Gastonia.
Alex Nianouris shot 75 and was tied for 20th in the boys division and tied for third in th 14-15 age group. Nianouris is a ninth-grader.
Roy Dixon (Salisbury) shot 77 to tie for 32nd after the first round. The sophomore was tied for seventh in the 14-15 age group.
n Corbin ladies golf
The team of Ruth Bowles, Susan Morris and Karla Swanson won low gross in a Corbin Hills Ladies Golf Association tournament with a Best Ball format on Tuesday.
Gail Capone, Beverly Cobb, Phyllis Durland and Joy Maughmer won low net. Sharon Deal, Mariam Gruber and Toni Iossi finished second.
n Bell sidelined
Catawba senior tailback George “Duke” Bell is sidelined indefinitely.
Coach Chip Hester described Bell’s setback as a thyroid condition, and there is no timetable for his return. Hester said Bell’s comeback will depend on how well he responds to medication.
Bell, 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, made a splash in his first season with the Indians in 2007 after transferring from Virginia Tech.
Bell had a history of serious knee injuries, but he stayed healthy and rushed for 715 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He set school records for rushing TDs (18) and points (122).
Bell scored three touchdowns in Catawba’s thrilling win at Carson-Newman last season.
Catawba still has senior tailback Jamelle Cuthbertson (646 rushing yards last season), junior Antonio Hall and prize freshmen Princeton Brooks and Bobby Morrison.
Catawba has been mentioned often as a likely destination for Jamaal Edwards, who is transferring from Florida State, but that remains a matter of speculation.
Edwards rushed for 4,300 yards and scored 52 touchdowns his last two years at Greensboro Dudley before suffering injuries and seeing limited carries in Tallahassee.
n Holmes MVP
Kevin Holmes, the son of Rose Holmes of Salisbury, was recently named MVP at the USA Junior National All-State Basketball Festival in Greensboro.
He has been chosen to participate in the International Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio July 21-27.
Holmes, A Durham Jordan graduate, is currently playing in a pro-am league at N.C. Central.
n Cavs, War Eagles win
North Rowan’s tennis team beat South Rowan 7-2 on Monday.
North’s Corbin Bennett closed out two tough sets and won 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
Kelli Berry battled back after dropping the first set at No. 5 to win the next two decisively.
Caitlin Crawford, Kayla Morgan and Melinda Mitchell also won singles matches for the Cavaliers.
“I was really proud of the way the girls played, especially for our first match,” North coach Sallie Hundley said.
Leslie Freeze won for the Raiders.
n Davie County’s tennis team opened with an 8-1 non-league victory over Southwestern Randolph in Mocksville.
Results are in Scoreboard.
n Cross country poll
Salisbury’s girls cross country team is ranked 10th in the NCRunners.com preseason 2A poll.
Mooresville’s boys are No. 1 in 3A. Northwest Cabarrus’ boys are seventh in 3A, while the Mooresville girls are rated ninth.
n Catawba men’s soccer
Catawba was picked seventh in the preseason SAC men’s soccer poll.
Lincoln Memorial was picked to win the championship. The Railsplitters were followed by Tusculum, Carson-Newman, Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry.
n ASU No. 1 in poll again
Appalachian State received 97-of 101 first-place votes in TSN’s FCS preseason poll, easily out-distancing No. 2 North Dakota State for the top spot.
ASU’s Sept. 20 opponent, James Madison, comes in at No. 6 despite receiving three of the four first-place nods that did not go to the Mountaineers.
Four of the Apps’ eight Southern Conference foes are also nationally ranked รณ No. 13 Wofford, No. 15 Elon, No. 17 Georgia Southern and No. 23 The Citadel.
Coming into the 2008 campaign, Appalachian has played 42-consecutive games as a nationally ranked team. ASU has been ranked in the top 10 for each of its past 37 contests, including No. 1 14 times.
The Mountaineers open the season on Aug. 30 at defending BCS national champion LSU. The 2008 opener versus No. 7 LSU is set for 5 p.m. EDT and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
n ASU baseball recruits
Appalachian State baseball rounded out its 2009 club by inking six players to National Letters of Intent during the late signing period.
The six-player class includes lefty pitcher Michael Brogan Pitt Community College), lefty pitcher Ethan Cox (West Brunswick), right-handed pitcher Alex Robertson (West Forsyth), lefty pitcher Ryan Waldrep (South Brunswick) and right-handed pitcher Andrew Webster (Miami, Fla) and utility player Chris Alessandria (Ponte Vedra, Fla.),
“We were left with holes in our roster due to the graduation of a terrific senior class and the loss of three top-notch juniors who were drafted by major league clubs,” coach Chris Pollard said.
n Minor leagues
Vancouver’s David Thomas (Catawba) went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs in a 16-9 loss to Boise on Tuesday.
Thomas raised his batting average to .270. He has 22 RBIs, mostly out of the leadoff spot.
n Intimidators lose
The Kannapolis Intimidators lost 10-4 to Augusta on Tuesday to open the season’s final homestand.
Thomas Neal’s sixth-inning grand slam buried the Intimidators.
n South Rowan football
South Rowan plans to honor members of the 1983 Raiders football team, who set a school record with 11 wins. The team will be recognized at the Sept. 12 home game against Northwest Cabarrus.
Team members wishing to attend should contact coach Jason Rollins at 704-762-0268, AD Danny Crosby at 704-239-3265 or Darren Corriher, the QB on the ’83 team, at 704-239-5377.
n Youth football
Rowan County Youth Football League has announced registration sites and times for the upcoming season.
Players and cheerleaders must attend Rowan County schools and be in grades 3-6.
n Saturday, Aug. 23, 10-2 at Salisbury Mall
n Monday, Aug. 25, 6-8 at Knox Middle
n Tuesday, Aug. 26, 6-8 at Erwin Middle
n Wednesday, Aug. 27, 6-8 at West Rowan Middle
n Thursday, Aug. 28, 6-8, at South Rowan High
n Saturday, Aug. 30, 9-12, at North Rowan Middle (final registration)
Playing sites will include the West, North and Carson high school fields. Visit the league site at www.rcyfl.org for information.