Coach Kim Black directs her team during Monday night’s season opener vs. Trinity. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Kim Black came back as a winner as Asheboro’s volleyball coach.
Black’s third stint as coach of the Blue Comets began with Monday night’s 25-19, 25-17, 25-14 non-conference sweep of visiting Trinity at North Asheboro Middle School.
Kaylen Nance provided 23 assists and Piper Davidson had 12 digs and eight kills for Asheboro. Sarah Hildreth’s six kills and three aces and Ellen Long’s five kills and four blocks also helped the cause for the Blue Comets.
Black, the winningest coach in the program’s history, made other coaching stops since last guiding Asheboro in 2011. She directed past Blue Comets teams to three state finals, winning the Class 3-A state championship in 1994.
Madison Burgiss’ 21 assists and Sarabeth Johnson’s nine kills and four aces paced Trinity.
Monday marked the first day of competition for fall season sports in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. A slate of boys’ soccer games involving area teams was wiped out because of inclement weather or wet conditions, with make-up dates for those games set for later in the week.
Brooks Brannon, shown here with Randleman during the Class 2-A state playoffs in May, has had a strong start to his professional career. (File photo)
Ex-Randleman star then triples twice in second game
Former Randleman catcher Brooks Brannon’s second professional plate appearance resulted in a two-run single Saturday in the Florida Complex League at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla.
“It was amazing,” Brannon said of the feeling in a text to Randolph Record.
Brannon, who was a ninth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox last month, went 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in his debut for the Red Sox rookie club in a 16-10 loss to the Minnesota Twins minor-league club. He struck out on three pitches in his first at-bat against Ryan Horstman, a 30-year-old on a rehabilitation assignment with a pro career that began in 2013.
On Monday in his second game, Brannon was 3-for-4 with a two-run triple, another triple and scored three runs in a 14-2 victory against the Baltimore Orioles rookie club. That game was shortened to six innings because of wet grounds.
Brannon was part of back-to-back state championship teams for Randleman, concluding his high school career in June. He was a North Carolina signee, but opted to turn pro after the draft.
Wes Berrier, the new athletics director for Asheboro High School, checks out the first day of football practice last week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Wes Berrier’s view of athletics at Asheboro High School is one of great potential. He’d like to see the Blue Comets’ programs return to prominence.
“A sleeping giant,” the new athletics director said. “I feel I’m coming in at a great time. I’m expecting big things as far as our athletics.”
Berrier officially became the athletics director this summer, though he filled that role for the final couple of months of the 2021-22 school year upon the retirement of Steve Luck.
Berrier had been Asheboro’s wrestling coach until taking this new assignment. He remains a business teacher at the high school.
It has been a turbulent time for Asheboro athletics because of an ongoing campus construction project that has displaced most of the teams. They’ve been without the simply comforts of team locker rooms. Some of the challenges that existed in 2021-22 will remain at least for a few more months.
“Just being out of the school has made it tough for everybody. Kids like a routine,” Berrier said. “We’ve made it work. It hasn’t been fun. Things are going to be better.”
For 2021-22, Asheboro finished fifth out of six schools in the Mid-Piedmont Conference in the Wells Fargo Cup standings that gives an indication of overall ranking of each school’s teams for a school year.
“I think the morale will be improved where we can turn this ship around,” Berrier said. “Get everything built back up.”
Berrier, who turned 54 this summer, said it’s important to have a bridge between the high school and community. Among his goals is to help build a stronger booster club.
He said he has been encouraged by interest in the incoming freshman class with up 150 potential athletes coming into the high school. He oversaw a physical night for the newcomers and a session where middle schoolers were able to meet coaches across the athletics department.
Berrier had to step down as wrestling coach because of the city school district’s policy that prevents the athletics director from being a head coach.
The new AD’s son, Jake Berrier, will move from assistant coach to head coach for the wrestling team.
“He’s definitely ready for it,” his father said.
In Wes Berrier’s eight seasons as wrestling coach, the Blue Comets had eight state championships (7 male, 1 female) earned to go with 13 total state place finishes. During the past season, nine Blue Comets received All-Mid-Piedmont Conference honors and Berrier was the league’s Coach of the Year.
Because of the uncertainty of the on-campus facilities, Asheboro withdrew its bid to be the host school for a Class 3-A wrestling regional in 2023.
Asheboro boys’ soccer players celebrate a goal during a game last year, which turned out to be a good season for the Blue Comets (File photo)
High school sports games and matches for the 2022-23 school year begin next week with competitions that count on the records.
For most sports in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the first date for competition comes Monday (Aug. 15).
Here are a few notable events on early schedules:
• On Aug. 15, Southwestern Randolph travels to Central Davidson in the first boys’ soccer game with Jimmy Walker back in charge as coach of the Cougars. He founded the program and returned to the coaching role this summer for his third different stint in charge of the program.
• Also on Aug. 15, Trinity visits Asheboro in a matchup of two of the stronger boys’ soccer teams from Randolph County based on the 2021 season.
These teams held a combined record of 26-9-4 last year, but they didn’t meet. A rematch is scheduled for Aug. 24 at Trinity.
• Also in the second week of the boys’ soccer season, Asheboro has a non-conference home game with Western Alamance on Aug. 22. Western Alamance is the reigning Class 3-A state champion. Asheboro won 3-0 last August at Western Alamance.
• On Aug. 17, Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team opens its season at Asheboro. There are numerous storylines there.
For reigning Class 2-A state champion Southwestern Randolph, it’s the season debut.
It’s supposed to be the third match for Asheboro since the return of Kim Black, who’s also a former Southwestern Randolph coach, as the Blue Comets coach.
That match is at North Asheboro Middle School, where the Blue Comets are playing again this season because of renovations on campus.
Asheboro starts the season Aug. 15 at home vs. Trinity and goes the next night to Randleman.
Southwestern Randolph has its first home match Aug. 23 vs. Oak Grove.
• In girls’ tennis, Wheatmore was unbeaten in Piedmont Athletic Conference play last season. The Warriors open this season Aug. 15 at East Davidson. The PAC slate starts with a visit from neighboring Trinity on Aug. 22.
• The Aug. 19 football openers include just one matchup involving two teams from Randolph County. That’s when Randleman goes to Asheboro.
A year ago, Asheboro secured its only victory by winning its opener at Randleman.
Other Aug. 19 football openers for county teams are: Jordan-Matthews at Southwestern Randolph, East Davidson at Providence Grove, Eastern Randolph at Eastern Alamance, Trinity at Chatham Central, West Davidson at Wheatmore.
Coley Shiflet is bound to be a key player again for Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team. (File photo)
Southwestern Randolph gears up for volleyball season after 2021 state title
ASHEBORO — Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team has a few different components this season.
There will be a new offensive make-up and a key transfer with the Cougars.
But one thing they don’t want to change is the rate of success.
“There’s a lot of excitement in our gym,” coach Darby Kennedy said. “They want to hold onto the title and defend that title.”
Southwestern Randolph is the reigning Class 2-A state champion.
Kennedy said that the core of the defensive unit has been in place since a year ago, but there will be shifting responsibilities from an offensive standpoint.
“It’s interesting because we went from having a strong offensive structure for the past few years,” she said. “Now the ball is going to be shared a lot more.”
The first match of the season comes Aug. 17 in a non-league encounter at Asheboro.
It’s a matter of Southwestern Randolph putting the pieces together, and there’s a good foundation for that.
Junior Coley Shiflet, the Most Valuable Player of the state final, is the libero. She’s joined by defensive specialist Carleigh Whitson, a senior.
Sophomore middle blocker Riley Key might show an upgraded offensive side, while outside hitter Madelyn Smith is a reliable factor. Sophomore outside hitter Gracie Hodgin, an All-Piedmont Athletic Conference selection last year and the daughter of school principal Brian Hodgin, has transferred from Wheatmore and provides good power along with solid service receptions.
Coach Darby Kennedy will hope to direct the Cougars to another special season. (File photo)
“We’re young in the middle,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got some kids who are a little less experienced at some key positions.”
Payton Shiflet and Josie Allred, who were seniors on last season’s 28-5 team, sparked much of the offense.
More responsibilities could fall on the setters in the restructured offense.
“Our strategy has to change so we can be successful all the way around,” Kennedy said. “The more they work on that, I think they’ll gain that confidence and make sure they’re building that chemistry. We’re working on finding that consistency in a new offensive structure.”
The list of potential difference makers also includes senior Julie Johnston and junior Alyssa Harbor.
With such a strong foundation, Southwestern Randolph could be a team capable of another season of excellence.
Molly Smith of Southwestern Randolph’s volleyball team sets the ball during Saturday’s multi-team scrimmage at Wheatmore High School. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
“We’ve had a lot of conversations about that you win a state championship, and that’s exciting,” Kennedy said. “You get back in the gym and have to start over. We’re always had girls who are willing to work. They’ve been putting their time in. Now it’s a matter of connecting it all together.”
The Cougars ought to learn more this weekend in a multi-team scrimmage in Raleigh that will also include the 2021 Class 3-A and Class 4-A state champions and several other established teams.
Closer to home, the Cougars will be aiming to regenerate the level of enthusiasm that built throughout last season.
“The games ought to be exciting with people flying all over the place,” Kennedy said.
Basketball standout heads to private school for senior season
BURLINGTON — One of the most highly recruited boys’ basketball players in Randolph County in the upcoming senior class will no longer will be playing for a school in the county.
Ashton Troutman is transferring from Uwharrie Charter Academy to The Burlington School.
He said he’s looking for more exposure and a higher level of competition.
“Just being in a basketball environment and for a good team,” Troutman said. “I would have never flirted with the idea of leaving if it wasn’t for basketball.”
Troutman, a 6-foot-7½, 205-pound post player, was the centerpiece of the Eagles’ Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament championship last winter.
For weeks, Troutman has been the recipient of constant praise based on his performances on the summer travel circuit with Raleigh-based Garner Road Basketball Club. He has been lauded for his toughness around the basket and the ability to play through contact.
Despite coming back from a broken fibula that caused him to miss a couple of months since the high school season, Troutman’s stock grew this summer.
“July was huge for him,” said George Marshall, the new coach and athletics director at The Burlington School (previously named The Elon School), which is a private school with a growing basketball reputation. “It’s really a credit to his grit and toughness. He’s in a place where his confidence is sky high.”
Troutman, 18, will commute from his Asheboro home to Burlington. He said he felt some pressure last summer to transfer, considering Greensboro Day School as several private schools reached out to him. But he said he wanted another go-around with UCA, which is a Class 1-A school, as it entered a new conference.
Now, he’s taking a different approach for his last high school season. He said he expects more challenging academic requirements, but that will be worth it.
“Coach Marshall and a couple of other guys hit me up,” he said. “They’re going to put me in situations to be seen by (more colleges).”
The Burlington School, a member of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, is a four-time state champion in boys’ basketball. The Spartans are the reigning Class 2-A state champions in that organization after securing back-to-back titles. In the regular season, recent teams have played in several high-profile events, though the Spartans are now an independent and no longer in a conference.
Marshall said Troutman should fit in well. NCAA Division I and Division II teams have been in contact with Troutman in recruiting. The player said he has yet to receive scholarship offers.
“He has played really competitive basketball throughout the course of his career,” said Marshall, who spent the previous five seasons at Henderson Collegiate. “We are really excited to have him as a student and a player.”
Troutman’s 20.9 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior came after as a sophomore – in the pandemic-abbreviated season – he led the Eagles with 16.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 68 percent from the field. He held a team-best 8.9 points per game on 56 percent shooting from the field and 4.8 rebounds per outing as a freshman.
With Troutman, the Eagles’ record went from 10-13 as a freshman to 10-4 as a sophomore and 19-7 last season.
Prior to last season, UCA lost guard Zane Caudle as a transfer to Providence Grove, which won the PAC regular-season title. Caudle was named the PAC Player of the Year.
Sawyer, a senior infielder, wrapped up his final baseball season with Uwharrie Charter Academy in the spring. He landed a spot on the All-Piedmont Athletic Conference team.
The Eagles finished the season with a 10-15 record after winning three games in the Class 1-A state playoffs. Their postseason run came to an end with a loss to eventual state runner-up Cherryville.
During his senior year, Sawyer committed to play baseball at Division III Brevard College. He played this summer for the High Point Hushpuppies in the Old North State League, which is a summer circuit for college players.
ASHEBORO — The Asheboro City Council met Thursday and authorized engagement with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council, the annexation of property into city limits, and the approval of a contract for turf on the Zoo City Sportsplex.
The council approved authorization to engage the Piedmont Triad Regional Council for two different projects.
The first project is for grant services related to the construction of the David and Pauline Jarrell Center City Garden.
“At the last council meeting, I informed the council of our intention to work with the Regional Council to pursue grant funds for the construction of the Jarrell Center City Garden,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall. “There’s a community involvement part of this, a permitting part of this, and they will help us manage any subcontractors that are necessary as we go through the final planning and design process.”
The second project is to provide strategic management assistance to the city for a potential waterline extension project.
“We have been in communication with Randolph County Economic Corporation since the beginning of May concerning a potential project going on at the Chatham Advanced Manufacturing Site on the Randolph County-Chatham County line,” said Water Resources Director Michael Rhoney. “Their request to us is if we’d be willing to extend certain water services to that site. The state budget was approved with a large sum of money granted for potential development there, and that was granted to the City of Asheboro to provide that service. With that, it’s a big undertaking for us, and there are several jurisdictions involved, so we have gone to the Piedmont Triad Regional Council to seek their guidance.”
The council then approved a $3,897,216.41 contract with Field Turf for the installation of turf fields and all appurtenances on Fields 5, 6, 7, and 8 at the Zoo City Sportsplex.
Along with this, the council needed to approve a budget amendment to the general fund to appropriate $2,181,790 in fund balance to transfer to the Zoo City Sportsplex fund for the new turf expense.
The council also held two public hearings, both for annexation requests into the city limits of Asheboro, the first being a request for approximately 7 acres of land at 923 Meadowbrook Road and the other being a request for approximately 20 acres of land in the Timber Ridge Subdivision along East Allred Street.
The council approved both annexation requests after no comments were brought forth during the public hearing periods.
The council then heard a request from William C. Burrow for city waterline connection authorization for property outside the city and not contiguous to the primary city limit lines.
“[The applicant] is wanting to connect to a city water main,” said City Attorney Jeff Sugg. “He does not fit under the normal exception, which is that you have to be adjoining an existing line. His situation is that he’s submitted documents from the Randolph County Health Department showing that the water is not safe to drink on that particular property. He’s not asking for access to a city sewer main; he’s asking only for access to a water main. Since he’s outside the city, the city would not extend the line, would not pay the cost to do so, and would not procure an easement. However, under the city code, the council has the authority to grant him an exemption and allow him to connect to the water main based on the peculiar facts, that being unsafe drinking water.”
The council approved the request as the applicant is taking the necessary steps to procure a private easement and pay for and maintain the line.
The City of Asheboro Council will next meet September 8.
Jeremy Knight decided to give up his job with the Asheboro ZooKeepers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Jeremy Knight has stepped away from his roles with the Asheboro ZooKeepers.
After guiding the Coastal Plain League baseball team for two seasons, he decided to resign as head coach and co-general manager.
“It was becoming too much with two kids,” he said, calling it a family decision. “This year wore me out.”
Knight’s record with the college summer team was 37-56, including a league-worst 14-33 mark this season.
He’s returning to a teaching position at Southern Alamance High School.
“It wasn’t because we didn’t have a great season,” Knight said of the change.
Knight, 37, has been a regular with college summer baseball, including time in the Virginia-based Valley Baseball League before joining the then-Asheboro Copperheads (before the nickname change).
“It’s time to be a dad a little bit more,” said Knight, who lives with his wife and two children in Whitsett.
Knight was supposed to be an assistant coach for the 2020 Asheboro team, but that season was cancelled because of the pandemic. Then he became the head coach for the past two seasons, also holding administrative duties.
He wrapped up his time with the ZooKeepers during the past weekend aiding operations for the American Legion’s Southeast Regional at McCrary Park.
He’ll remain involved in baseball at Southern Alamance, returning to a role as an assistant coach that he held in the past. He’ll also be back in a role as a teacher for exceptional children.
Southern Alamance coach Jason Smith is the father to Maddux Smith, a Davidson pitcher who was on this year’s ZooKeepers team.
ARCHDALE – Randolph County officials put out a notice about three rabid foxes in Archdale late last week as a precaution, county health director Tara Aker said.
“We don’t know if there’s any relationship with these three cases,” Aker said. “Do we have a group of foxes and they have the same den?”
The foxes have been killed after biting people last month in Archdale, according to information from Randolph County Public Health.
The people bitten have been treated. The cases stemmed from incidents on Fernwood Drive, Kreamer Drive and West White Drive.
Aker said the bites happened within a 4-mile stretch, with two of those close to each other. They occurred within a 30-day window.
“We wanted people to be aware of that,” Aker said. “We just want people to pay attention.”
Usually, the health department doesn’t issue a press release if there are random cases. These incidents might signal a larger problem.
“Only time is going to tell with that,” Aker said.
If residents see a fox, they shouldn’t be overly concerned unless the animal is acting strangely or lingering in a residential setting, Aker said. Foxes are more likely to attack if they’re rapid.
To heighten awareness, Randolph County Animal Services has distributed informational flyers in the area where the fox bites took place.
With three rabid foxes, that’s more than the last two years combined in Randolph County. Aker said for the last reporting year, the only rabies case involved a skunk. The year prior to that, there were five cases – three skunks and two foxes.
In Randolph County, the most common rabies case in recent years involved foxes, skunks and raccoons, she said.
There are ways to reduce the chances of rabid animals coming too close to people. One way is for residents to feed their pets indoors when possible, according to health department information.
Randolph County officials request that citizens report all stray animals to the animal services department.
