By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

Area athletes update …

East Carolina golfer Grace Yatawara, individual 1A/2A state champion in 2014 and 2015 during her high school career at Salisbury, is participating in the South Asian Games and will represent Sri Lanka at the event, which will be held Tuesday through Friday of this week at the Gokarna Forest Resort in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Yatawara has been training at the Royal Colombo Golf Club in Sri Lanka.

She closed out the fall portion of ECU’s schedule posting 75.73 scoring average. She had a top-15 finish at the Pirate Collegiate Classic with a 10-over 226.

Yatawara has participated in 21 events for the Pirates with three top-15 finishes. Her career stroke average is 76.93.

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High school basketball

Cristie Patterson Mitchell has been teaching and coaching basketball for 22 years and is currently the coach of the South Mecklenburg High girls.

She played at North Rowan High, averaging 15.9 points as a senior in the 1992-93 season, and then at St. Andrews.

Once again, this year, she was a tournament director for the Charlotte Hoops Challenge, which, over the last 10 years, has become of the nation’s biggest and most successful Thanksgiving high school tournaments.

NBA players such as Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray and Bam Adebayo have played in the tournament.

NFL

Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) made six tackles, including a sack, in Pittsburgh’s 20-13 win against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Hargrave has 45 tackles and four sacks for the season.

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College football

Gardner-Webb senior running Jayln Cagle (A.L. Brown) was named second team All-Big South Conference.

Cagle rushed for 934 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He was sixth in the Big South with 1,169 all-purpose yards and had four 100-yard games.

He finished his four-year career eighth in school history with 2,065 rushing yards.

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In Army’s 52-31 loss to Hawaii, Sandon McCoy (A.L. Brown) rushed 15 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

The Army-Navy Game is set for Dec. 14 and will be televised by CBS at 3 p.m.

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Sewanee junior DB Wesley Porter (East Rowan) was named to the All-Southern Athletic Association second team.

Porter was Honorable Mention his first two seasons. He was in tie for eighth in the conference with a career-high 68 tackles, 49 of those solo stops. He blocked a field goal and had four interceptions, including a pick-six.

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In Charlotte’s 38-22 win against Old Dominion, Chris Reynolds (Davie) was 9-for-12 passing for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for 96 yards.

Charlotte is headed to the Bahamas Bowl on Dec. 20 and will take on Buffalo.

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College track and field

The Catawba men and women were picked fifth in the 2019-20 South Atlantic Conference preseason indoor track and field polls.

Catawba sophomore jumper MeKayla White was named to the women’s watch list, while junior runner Tom Joyce was named to the men’s watch list.

The 2020 SAC Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place on Feb. 29-Mar. 1 at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem. Catawba will open its season at the JDL Fast Track on Dec. 8 in the College Kick-Off.

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College women’s basketball

Freshman McKenzie Gadson (Carson) played 36 minutes and had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Anderson in a 64-62 win on Saturday. The Trojans pulled out a win at new SAC member UVa-Wise after trailing by 11.

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Freshman Bryanna Troutman (Salisbury) had 11 points, five boards, three assists and two steals as Wingate outscored Carson-Newman on Saturday, 95-89. Troutman is among the conference leaders in rebounds and blocked shots. The Bulldogs dominated the paint in the road victory.

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UNC Pembroke’s Aliyah Farmer (North Rowan) had six points and five rebounds in a 55-51 win against Chowan.

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Tyzarea Alexander (Salisbury) had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Methodist in Sunday’s 61-56 loss to Apprentice.

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Tazah Hardin (South Rowan) is averaging 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds for Catawba Valley Community College.

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Olivia Gabriel (Carson) scored seven points for South Carolina State in Sunday’s 66-55 loss to Mercer. Gabriel scored nine in a loss to North Dakota.

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College men’s basketball

Jamarius Hairston (Carson) scored 18 points for Davidson County Community College in a 96-72 win against Wake Tech.

The DCCC Storm is 7-0.

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College wrestling

UNC Pembroke senior Brandon Sloop (Carson) had records of 17-12, 25-12 and 18-8 in his first three seasons. He wrestles at 184 pounds and won by decision in his most recent match.