From staff reports
West Rowan junior running back K.P. Parks gave Virginia’s football program a verbal commitment on Monday.
Parks, who has rushed for 7,121 yards and scored 99 touchdowns in three varsity seasons, indicated in a story in Sunday’s Salisbury Post that he was leaning heavily toward the Cavaliers.
Parks, 5-foot-7, 185 pounds, carried 386 times for 2,864 yards and 43 TDs as a junior for the 3A state champions and has already broken every Rowan season and career mark for rushing and scoring.
A solid student, Parks owns a 3.4 GPA.
Parks followed through with scheduled visits to East Carolina, Clemson and N.C. State over the weekend, but he remained sold on Virginia and gave coach Al Groh a commitment by phone on Monday.
Parks, a backup point guard on the basketball team who provides solid insurance for freshman phenom Keshun Sherrill, played in West’s first-round playoff victory against A.L. Brown last night and scored two points.
Junior defensive end Chris Smith, also involved with basketball, is likely to be the next big-timer to announce in Mount Ulla.
– Prep boys basketball
West Rowan will travel to Jamestown Ragsdale for a sectional semifinal on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Ragsdale shook off a sluggish, eight-point first quarter Monday to oust Carver 64-50.
The players to watch for Ragsdale are Jay Canty and Wally Jones.
Jones, a smooth ballhandler, hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter for the Tigers (26-1) in Monday’s game and finished with 20 points.
Canty, a long-armed wing player who is headed to High Point, racked up 19 points and 11 boards.
Josh White had six assists.
Tyquan Roberts, a soph, has been a beast in the paint at times.
* Matt Abernethy scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Wilkes Central rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat West Stanly 67-62 on Monday in Moravian Falls.
Other leaders for Wilkes Central Monday were Roddie Bridges (17 points) and Trae Alexander (16).
Wilkes Central will play at Salisbury on Wednesday.
* Kyle Branson scored 14 points for East Davidson in its 65-62 loss against Ashe County.
* Allan Jones scored 31 points for West Forsyth in an 87-63 victory over Person.
* Will Carpenter led R.J. Reynolds past Grimsley 73-55 with 17 points.
* Tyler Honeycutt scored 11 points for Northwest Cabarrus in a 72-48 loss against Reagan.
* Concord blasted Asheboro 95-67 as Roger Smith (17 points) led five Spiders in double figures.
– Prep girls basketball
Salisbury’s girls are home tonight against East Lincoln, while East Rowan goes to Southwest Guilford.
East Lincoln has a terrific post player in Lindsy Wright, who is averaging about 23 points a game.
Kiandra Long has scored 1,000 career points for the Mustangs, and Kristen Wakefield also averages double figures.
– Women’s basketball
Shayla Fields (Salisbury) scored 13 points for N.C. State in a 74-57 loss against UNC on Monday.
– Overseas basketball
Terris Sifford (West Rowan) had 24 points and 18 rebounds in his most recent outing in Italy.
– College baseball
Lenoir-Rhyne (11-4, 3-0 SAC) is ranked 15th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Bears have won seven straight.
L-R takes on Belmont Abbey today in Belmont.
* Bench Press ClassicKendall Mowery was named Most Outstanding Lifter in the Winter Blast Bench Press Classic held at Hurley Family YMCA.
Mowery lifted 2.27 times his body weight and won the 150-under open division with a lift of 340 pounds.
Other weight-class winners in the open competition were Chris Foster, Michael Johnson, Josh Drye, Kevin Mason and Curtis Rabon.
Foster won the 167-pound division with a lift of 315 pounds. Johnson’s 330-pound lift won the 198-pound weight class. Drye took the 220-pound class. Mason’s lift of 405 pounds topped the 242-pound division. Rabon paced the heavyweight division by lifting 480 pounds.
Micah Cunningham lifted 105 pounds to win the women’s open division.
West Rowan football players Matt Bishop, Ricky Moore and Marco Gupton won the high school divisions.
Rabon placed first in the 35-44 age division.
Max Rabon’s lift of 330 pounds won the Masters (45-54) competition. He edged Tim Smith.
Carlos Poteat won the 55-over Grand Master Division.
– 7th-grade hoops
Erwin’s girls topped North Rowan 47-16 on Monday.
Josie McNeely and Karleigh Wike had double-doubles. McNeely had 13 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Wike had 10 points, 13 boards and six blocked shots.
Lauren Thomas added 10 points for Erwin (8-0, 7-0). Katie Kepley had six points and eight rebounds.
North Rowan is 1-7.
* North Rowan’s boys rolled over Erwin 55-15. Michael Bowman had 12 points for the Mavericks (7-1). Cameron Sifford had nine and Jaquan Boyd eight. Antoine Payne, Michael Bost and Michael Connor added seven points each.
Erwin dropped to 1-7 overall and 1-6 in the conference.