Jay Dillard had a three-run double and then scored a run for the Asheboro ZooKeepers against Holly Springs on Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of ZooKeepers)
ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ZooKeepers didn’t make a push for the first-half title in the Coastal Plain League’s West Division.
But they did develop momentum and created some good vibes by the midway mark of the season.
Among the highlights was Thursday night’s 5-4, 10-inning victory against visiting Holly Springs Salamanders at McCrary Park.
“We strung a couple of nights like that together,” first-year ZooKeepers coach Korey Dunbar said. “We’re starting to finish games.”
The next night, the ZooKeepers ended the CPL’s first half with a 12-5 loss at Holly Springs. That left Asheboro with an 8-12 record, though that’s washed away with the second half of the split season beginning on the weekend.
“I think we’re starting to figure it out as a team,” first baseman Tyler McPeak said.
The ZooKeepers were in their home ballpark for games for only a week during the season’s first half because of renovations. That created a bunch of road assignments and select home games at UNC Greensboro. There were logistical challenges as the roster continued to evolve.
“It seems like this first half has flown by,” Dunbar said.
McPeak set a Lenoir-Rhyne single-season home run record with 18 this year in his first season since transferring from Campbell. He said the ZooKeepers are starting to develop the right mindset.
“Just getting out here and playing every day,” McPeak said. “You can’t dwell on every game. You move on.”
In the first half’s home finale, the ZooKeepers were one strike away from winning in the top of the ninth. An appeal on a check-swing by Nate Carriere was denied and he took advantage of the chance by singling to left field to drive in two runs.
The Salamanders had runners at first and third with no outs in the 10th but Jacob Halford escaped.
With a runner placed at second base based on the extra-inning rules, Todd Hudson, the first batter for Asheboro in the 10th, drilled a single to right-center field to drive in the winning run.
“It’s fun to do,” Hudson said of the walk-off hit. “You like it for the team.”
That marked the ZooKeepers’ second victory in a row following a doubleheader split with the High Point-Thomasville HiToms on Tuesday night.
Hudson, a rising sophomore for Liberty, said it might have been prior to high school when he had a previous walk-off hit. This might have been just what the ZooKeepers needed.
“We’ve been very close in a lot of games,” Hudson said. “Good to pull one out.”
Asheboro scored four second-inning runs on Jay Dillard’s three-run double and Cole Laskowski’s double.
ZooKeepers pitcher Jacob Dienes of North Carolina State rolled through five innings. Then he beaned Austin Hawke to begin the sixth and that was followed by Win Johns’ home run.
On Friday night, Andrew Grande, who played for Asheboro last year, homered for the Salamanders.
SOPHIA – It was as much about the scene as it was the racing Wednesday night at Caraway Speedway.
And the racing was pretty good.
The biggest crowd in at least a decade showed up at the speedway and there was quite a show.
The main event was the 125-lap CARS Tour Late Models feature.
The first to cross the finish line in the Firecracker 125 was Layne Riggs. But by Thursday, his victory had been overturned because of a failed post-race inspection.
So Riggs was disqualified and that moved Jared Fryar into the first-place spot. Riggs was steering a car owned by Kevin Harvick.
At issue was the size of the sway bars on Riggs’ car.
“I really hate this for the team and all my fans,” Riggs posted on social media. “I don’t think this should overshadow what a good showing we had. It’s disappointing that it was over something that was not a performance advantage and unintentional.”
The new runner-up is Mason Diaz, while Carson Kvapil was third and Kaden Honeycutt took fourth in the 32-car field. Pole-sitter Chase Burrow, who had a qualifying time of 16.779 seconds, exited with car damage during a caution on the 45th lap and didn’t return until the leaders were on the 60th lap, so he ended up in 22nd place.
“Biggest crowd I’ve seen out here in 10 years,” Caraway race director Doug Smith said. “You hope the stars line up. Tonight, they did.”
Crowd estimates ranged from 3,5000 to 4,000. Track publicist Randy Myers agreed with those numbers.
“I’ve never seen so many people here and I’ve worked here since I was 15,” said a concessions worker, who’s now 26.
“I’ve never seen it like this,” Dale York, mother of Caraway regular Jason York, said of the masses on hand to witness the mid-week special.
The main attraction was Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He placed seventh in his first Late Models competition in 10 years. He started in the 16th position.
“It was honestly much more fun than I was expecting,” Larson said. “The cars were much quicker than what I remembered them being. Obviously, I would have liked to have done a little better, but I’m not a short-track racer. This style of racing has been difficult for me, and it showed against the guys who do this for a living.”
Many fans showed up clearly supporting Larson based on their apparel.
The experience at Caraway might have perked Larson’s interest in Lake Models.
“This obviously worked out because it was a good week and close to home, so that makes things a lot easier,” he said. “I’ve never even looked at a Late Model schedule before, so I don’t even know what else is out there.”
York, the points leader at Caraway, didn’t finish and was in 28th place.
To open the racing, Bryson Brinkley won the Bandoleros event.
In the Pro Late Models, teenager Caden Kvapil won the 100-lapper ahead of runner-up Kate Hettinger among 17 entrants. It marked the first 2023 victory for Kvapil, who won the same event last year at the track.
The race card ended with the Legends division. That race endured multiple cautions – including a wreck that ended Neil Dulin’s race – and was ultimately placed under a time limit. It turned out that the race was reduced from 25 laps to 19 laps, with 17-year-old Landen Lewis of Supply the winner. London McKenzie of Asheboro was the runner-up.
Another big event is set for Saturday night at the track. It’s the Rusty Harpe Memorial. Among the races will be a 99-lap SMART Modifieds Tour event with 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte behind the wheel of one of the entries
Carter was rated among Randleman’s top producers in several categories during her senior season on the volleyball team. She was the leader among the Tigers in service percentage and second on the team in aces.
She also made strong contributions in blocks and kills per set. She played as an outside hitter and defensive specialist.
Randleman racked up a 17-6 record in 2022 for its fifth consecutive winning season.
Carter was also a member of Randleman’s Piedmont Athletic Conference champion girls’ basketball team.
** During the summer, we recognize seniors from the past school year.
SOPHIA – Kyle Larson has entered Wednesday night’s CARS Tour $10,000-to-win race at Caraway Speedway in a No. 5 car prepared by JR Motorsports.
He will be seeking his first victory in a Late Models car in 10 years since winning on Daytona International Speedway’s backstretch short track.
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will serve as a teammate to current series points leader and defending champion Carson Kvapil.
“It’s really cool that Kyle is coming to Caraway with us,” Kvapil said according to information provided by the track. “He’s a NASCAR champion and one of those guys who can drive anything and be really competitive right away. As a team, we’ve been pretty good at Caraway, with the win last season in the Old North State Nationals, and I know how our cars perform there. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to race with him.”
Layne Riggs will also be on hand piloting the No. 62 Late Model owned by Kevin and DeLana Harvick. Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Justin Marks are the owners of the series. Harvick plans to do triple duty Wednesday night as an owner of the series, a car owner and a father as his son Keelan competes in the Legends cars 25-lapper.
Other drivers expected for the 125-lap feature for the Late Models are Brenden “Butterball” Queen, Connor Hall, Chad McCumbee and Deac McCaskill. Local drivers Ronnie Bassett, Jr. and Dylan Ward are also entered in a field expected to exceed 25 drivers.
There will be a feature race CARS Tour Pro Late Models as well. Also on tap are features for the US Legends Cars and the Bandoleros.
Prerace activities begin at 6:30 p.m. and race time is 7 p.m.
On Saturday night, the speedway will hold the Rusty Harpe Memorial with the SMART Modified Tour along with Challengers, Mini Stocks, 602 Modifieds, UCARs and Bootleggers.
Asheboro’s Jay Dillard reaches second base as the ball skips away from Boone’s Carlos Amezquita during last week’s game at McCrary Park. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ZooKeepers, a college summer league baseball team, finally got to play a game in their home ballpark.
Even that situation lasted only so long.
It was a winning endeavor for the ZooKeepers, who topped the visiting Boone Bigfoots 9-6 on Thursday night at McCrary Park.
The second game of the Coastal Plain League doubleheader was wiped out during the first inning because of lightning and then rain.
Jared Beebe and Tyler McPeak both smashed two-run home runs in Asheboro’s victory. Beebe also had a run-scoring single and McPeak provided a two-run double. Ethan Snyder was the winning pitcher.
On Saturday night at Martinsville, Va., the ZooKeepers split a doubleheader with the Martinsville Mustangs. Asheboro won 3-1 before falling 8-2.
In the victory, Win Scott pitched a complete-game in the seven-inning tilt and Jay Dillard’s two-run single broke a tie.
On Friday night, the ZooKeepers prevailed 11-10 in 10 innings against the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at Finch Field. Jarrett Pokrovsky drove in four runs, Dylan Driver scored three runs and McPeak had three hits.
The winning at home didn’t last as the Macon Bacon topped the ZooKeepers 6-5 on Sunday night despite McPeak’s home run. The ZooKeepers led 5-3 through six innings.
That result dropped Asheboro’s record to 6-10.
Earlier last week, the ZooKeepers’ final two scheduled games at their temporary home at UNC Greensboro Baseball Stadium were rained out.
After a pair of home dates this week, the ZooKeepers will be back for a July 4 matchup with the Holly Springs Salamanders.
Randolph County Post 45’s Grat Dalton reaches for the plate but is tagged out by Cleveland County Post 82 catcher Hagan Hoyle. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
ASHEBORO – Randolph County Post 45 won all three games it completed in its first games this year at McCrary Park in Asheboro.
The weekend victories against three different opponents pushed Post 45’s record to 14-1.
With stadium renovations incomplete, the Randolph County team played road games or at Randleman High School in the first few weeks of the season. Then games early last week were rained out.
The three-day event at McCrary Park began with a game with Morgantown (W.Va.) Post 2 suspended by lightning Friday night with Post 45 up 4-0 in the third inning. The game ended up being cancelled.
Post 45 defeated Cleveland County Post 82 by 4-1 with Samuel Asbill logging six innings and Tanner Marsh finishing on the mound in Saturday’s first game. Marsh doubled twice and drove in two runs.
The dramatics came against St. Mary’s (Md.) Post 255 on Saturday night. Braylen Hayes hit a game-winning three-run home run to complete a comeback to lift Post 45 to a 7-4 victory.
Post 45 rallied from a 4-1 deficit. The four-run seventh included Hunter Atkins driving in the tying run. Robert Garner was the winning pitcher with three innings of no-hit relief.
On Sunday, Hayes knocked in three runs in a 14-5 triumph against Morgantown. Connor Adams was the winning pitcher. Hayes, Marsh, Atkins, Pierce Leonard and Josh Meadows were all credited with two hits.
Southwestern Randolph’s Adam Cole runs behind teammate Eli Gravely during a 2022 football game. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Southwestern Randolph product seeks more fast times in football
ASHEBORO – Adam Cole figured out pretty early that the best way to make an impression was to do it fast.
He sprinted to a special high school career for Southwestern Randolph.
It mostly came about through football and baseball, allowing his foot speed to set him apart.
By his senior year, he became the face of the football program.
“It’s kind of a role I have to take,” he said. “It’s not like I control it. I definitely like it. It gives me a sense of responsibility, too. I like that. I definitely think I’m a leader on the field.”
That helped translate into a record career, setting the school standard for career touchdowns. He was a receiver and cornerback.
A center fielder on the baseball field, he gave track and field a try and ended up in the Class 2-A state meet as a junior.
But football has had his attention.
“I’m just not this big, huge guy you’d look at and say he’s going D-I,” Cole said this spring. “I’m 180 pounds.”
While the speed component is nice, a commitment to build himself as an overall athlete allowed him to excel.
“I was playing at 150 pounds last year,” he said last August in reference to his junior season. “I’m about 170. I want to be about 185. Just playing baseball and football and going to camps every day, I really haven’t had a day off this summer. It’s definitely not letting me gain as much as I want to.”
The workload largely paid off as Cole ended his high school career by being selected as the Male Athlete of the Year in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
Faster, faster
Cole’s speed puts others in awe, but he looks at the fine print.
“I’ve always been fast,” he said. “I was running a 4.7 40(-yard dash). That’s honestly terrible for a receiver if you’re trying to go play college football. I’ve put in a lot of work over the summer. I’d get up early before we had baseball practice or before football practice, go do field work. I’d go do work. I work out every day. I went from a 4.7 40 to a 4.4.”
For Southwestern Randolph, Cole’s speed gave the Cougars a valuable weapon.
“Fastest dude I’ve seen around here,” said Easton Clapp, a classmate and quarterback. “No one can keep up with him, if not the best athlete we got. Crazy fast. He can run routes like crazy.”
Opponents knew it, too.
“He’s crazy fast,” Randleman linebacker Thomas Dobias said. “He’s probably the fastest kid in our conference, for sure.”
Prior to his freshman year, Southwestern Randolph coaches had an inkling Cole might be an impact player. They had him work with varsity players in summer camps.
“I started enjoying it because I knew by my sophomore, junior, senior year, I would really be one of the best around,” he said.
A broken ankle mostly derailed that first season in high school. He called his junior season the best when he scored 23 touchdowns.
Cole accepted the attention that followed.
“It makes me play better because I know I have a standard to play up to,” he said. “I know people are watching and really expecting a lot of me. I like that. I like the pressure knowing I have to be something. It just gives me a sense of confidence.”
As the touchdown totals soared, his reputation as a speedster grew.
“They joke about it all the time. Yeah, they know,” Cole said of reaction from teammates. “I don’t remember any time in four years of high school football, I don’t think I’ve ever been run down.”
Betting on himself
Cole is joining the East Carolina football program as a preferred walk-on. Division I scholarship offers weren’t coming his way, but he didn’t want to settle for anything else.
“I’m not trying to be cocky in any way, but I feel like I’m more talented than to go D-II, D-III,” he said. “I’m just betting on myself. I’m going to work my way up and I think I’ll be on scholarship after a few years if I work as hard as I can and everything goes to plan.”
Here’s Adam Cole at Southwestern Randolph football practice last August. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)Adam Cole had a notable baseball career while with Southwestern Randolph (here) and Randolph County Post 45. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)Adam Cole competed in select track and field meets for Southwestern Randolph. (Bob Sutton/Randolph Record)
Yet he sensed interest from the Pirates and assistant coach Roy Tesh, who was his primary recruiter. Cole’s workout last year in Greenville made a difference.
“I just showed out at that camp,” he said. “They talked to me more consistent than really any other school did which is surprising.”
At the outset, he’ll be pegged as a defensive back.
“I would rather be scoring touchdowns, but I like defense, too,” he said.
He might also try punt returns and kickoff returns.
Too fast, this time
While getting to spots on the field faster is generally a bonus, it doesn’t always have the greatest results.
That’s what happened in the Cougars’ third-to-last football game last fall. Randleman’s Chesney Welch made a catch and took off toward the end zone.
“It was a play across the field and I chased him down and punched the ball out,” Cole said. “When I punched, I hit just his elbow with this pinky right here. It snapped this bone right here.”
He was pointing to his right hand.
But on that mid-October night, Cole wasn’t finished. He stayed in the game, ending up filling in at quarterback in the Cougars’ 34-7 loss.
“I played through the game,” he said. “I didn’t really feel it until I came off.”
It marked his final high school football game. The next day he went for an exam. Surgery was scheduled.
Cole sent a photo of X-ray to Welch, who probably could have done without a reminder of the sequence.
“Adam running his 4.3 came down and poked it out,” Welch said. “You don’t want to be chased by him.”
Even now, there’s a sliver of satisfaction for Cole that came from that play. He not only caused the fumble, he recovered the ball.
Cole said he made the most of the rehabilitation.
“My grip strength increased because I did therapy for it,” he said.
Adam Cole puts down a bunt for Randolph County Post 45 during last year’s Southeast Regional. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Burning up base paths
Cole’s baseball numbers might suggest a future in that sport. He led the Cougars this year by batting over .490 in addition to swatting four home runs. He had been a mainstay in the Randolph County Post 45 lineup for two years, and even spent a couple of weeks with the team this spring prior to football commitments in Greenville.
“I don’t really enjoy baseball like I do football,” he said. “I go out of my way to go put in work for football. Baseball, I just kind of go out there and play.”
Played it quite well. Classmate Tyler Parks, a North Carolina baseball signee, saw up close what Cole’s speed could do.
“With baseball, speed doesn’t slump,’ Parks said. “He can fly. He has always been fast. As he got older, he just got faster. He just keeps getting faster. I work out with Adam. It’s just unreal how quick he is.”
Show it on the track
While Cole’s speed wasn’t camouflaged, it hadn’t been on display in the most obvious way – on the track – until his junior year.
“I was joking around with the track coach: When you going to put me on the roster and let me run?” Cole remembered.
Next thing he knew, he was sprinting in the 100 meters and then taking off to go play baseball.
Adam Cole competed in the 2022 Class 2-A state meet. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
It resulted in more than a spring fling. Cole became the Class 2-A Midwest Regional champion in the 100 in 2022.
“I didn’t expect to go out there and win regionals, and went to the states,” he said. “I’d never run track in my life. Definitely pretty cool.”
For the most part, track became a part-time pursuit.
“I don’t practice track,” he said. “I just go to baseball.”
But extra sprinting had side benefits.
“It’s really good for me,” he said. “Because baseball isn’t a ton of running, it’s keeping me in shape. Keeping me fast. Last year when I needed to go to camps to get recruited, it helped my 40-yard dash a lot. It’s helped my form. It’s a good way to compete.”
That might have been the biggest factor. A chance to test himself in a different forum.
“Really, I just like to compete,” he said. “That’s the big thing.”
Still, at this spring’s Randolph County Championships, Cole said there were doubters. He referred to it as guys talking smack.
For his part, Cole won the 100 and 200 meters.
“It’s in one ear and out the other,” he said. “I’m a baseball player. I’m fast, too, and I can do good in things like this. Coming out here not training for track and just being able to win all these track meets like I am makes me feel good. Really, I like to win.”
JEFFERSON – Asheboro golfer Sam Davidson has made a habit of runner-up finishes.
Davidson tied for second place in the North Carolina Amateur, a four-round event that ended Sunday.
The winner was UNC Wilmington golfer Walker Isley of Oak Island. Isley shot a 3-under-par 281 at Jefferson Landing.
Davidson, a rising senior at Guilford College, and Winston-Salem’s Davis Womble, a former college golfer for Wake Forest, finished at 1-under.
Davidson was also the runner-up in the Asheboro City Amateur earlier this month.
In the N.C. Amateur, Davidson shot rounds of 68, 72, 74, and 69. The final-round score was the best of the day Sunday.
Isley’s 64 in the first round gave him a four-shot edge on Davidson.
Yet Davidson entered the final round tied for fifth place before rallying to improve his position. He passed Connelly Springs’ Samuel Mace, who was tied with Isley to begin Sunday’s round.
Jake Clodfelter of Trinity missed the cut after rounds of 82 and 73.
Josh Lowder, left, accepts the trophy for winning a Modifieds race at Caraway Speedway. (Courtesy photo)
SOPHIA – Josh Lowder dominated the Modifieds race for a victory Saturday night at Caraway Speedway.
Lowder was the fastest qualifier and once he moved into the lead he never gave up the front spot in the 40-lap race. He won the fifth time this year at the track.
Kevin Orlando made a late bid after a caution, but he ended up in second place. Justice Calabro, who’s the division’s points leader, ended up third, Mitchell Wright was fourth and Junior Harvill claimed fifth.
In the Challengers class, Allen Vance cranked out another victory despite track promoter Darren Hackett’s bounty that would have rewarded a different winner.
Corey Rose was the runner-up, followed by Dante Curtis, Josh Waldron and DJ Dean.
The UCARs feature included 19 drivers, with Steven Collins hanging on to win the race.
Josh Phillips was second, followed by Ron Mock, Daniel Hughes and Jason Garwood.
In the Bootleggers race, Jon Morton stayed in command for a victory, fending off Robbie Perkins and Brandon Collins.
Collins also was in action in the Any Car Enduro, winning that event.
Racing returns to the speedway June 28 with the CARS Tour Late Models competing in the Firecracker 265. This marks the second year in a row the touring series will conduct a mid-week event at that track in a throwback nod to the “Firecracker” events that Russell Hackett made so popular, according to information from the speedway.
A field of more than 25 Late Models cars is expected, while there’s also a Pro Late Models feature on the card. A national points race for U.S. Legends Cars plus Bandoleros sets the stage for the CARS Tour stop.
Also, on July 1 is the annual Rusty Harpe Memorial, with a 99-lap in the SMART Modifieds Tour plus regular Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Challengers, UCARs and Bootleggers.
