Menu

Trinity

Athelete-of-the-Week

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Spencer May

, , , , , ,

Trinity | wrestling

In this match from last season, Trinity’s Spencer May works over Riley Shaw of West Wilkes in a 113-pound bout. (Randolph Record file photo)

May claimed tournament titles on back-to-back weekends.

He won on his home mats Dec. 10 on his way to winning the Most Outstanding Wrestler award in the Trinity Invitational.

In capturing the 120-pound division, May recorded pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. In a high-level matchup in the final against Asheboro’s Xavier Santos, May prevailed with a 10-7 decision.

May, a junior, followed that performance by winning the title this past weekend’s Porter Ridge Invitational.

MadisonAthelete-of-the-WeekRectangle

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Madison Burgiss

, , , , , ,

Madison Burgiss  | Trinity, volleyball

Burgiss, a senior setter, has been a steady contributor as Trinity has gone on a good stretch early in the season. She helped the Bulldogs to three victories last week.

It began when the Bulldogs avenged a loss to Asheboro by winning in three sets at home as Burgiss provided 28 assists. Burgiss recorded 31 assists as the Bulldogs swept Southern Guilford and then posted 21 assists in a three-set sweep of High Point Central.

Teammate Karrington Batten helped finish many of the assists from Burgiss by racking up 31 kills during the week. Kaitlyn McCoy had 29 kills during the same span, while Sarabeth Johnson notched 23 kills across the three matches.

After dropping a season-opening match, the Bulldogs went on a five-match winning streak.

Vickers_Athelete-of-the-WeekRectangle

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Thomas Vickers

, , , ,

Trinity  |  boys’ track and field

Vickers was productive in his senior season for the Bulldogs, who he helped to the Piedmont Athletic Conference title.

In the PAC championships, he was part of three point-producing events for Trinity.

He placed second in the 400 meters in 58.63 seconds and took third in the triple jump at 35 feet, 1½ inches. While he didn’t place in the long jump, he posted a mark of 16-5 for 10th place.

Vickers was part of the winning 1,600 relay, which had a time of 4:00.97. He was joined by teammates Ayden Harlow, Mason Lewis, and Jonathan Hill.

Braxton Craven School

Early voting site moves to Trinity

,

ASHEBORO — An early voting site for the Archdale and Trinity areas is moving to a new location to help alleviate congestion and create a smoother voting experience, the director of the Randolph County Board of Elections said.

The board gave its approval Monday to move the one-stop early voting site to the former Braxton Craven School gym for this spring’s primary.

The new location is near Trinity High School. The address is 3037 N.C. Highway 62, Trinity.

This is 3.2 miles from the previous location in Archdale.

Early voting is scheduled from April 28-May 14.

Board director Melissa Johnson said gaining more room was a priority.

Based on turnouts for the 2020 general election, it became clear to some board members that a different location should be sought, Johnson said. She said concerns from representatives of both major political parties also factored into seeking a different site.

“We had just an enormous number of people coming for that election and we also had a need for more curbside voting,” Johnson said. “We really didn’t have enough room. We just wanted to be making sure we had the most space available.”

The past location was at 213 Balfour Dr. in Archdale. It’s a Randolph County-owned building that also houses some offices for the county health department and the Archdale-Trinity Chamber of Commerce.

At the former Braxton Craven School, which most recently had been a middle school, there should be more parking available. The set-up also will make it easier to have a better entrance and exit so those can be separate.

There’s also more space for covered areas that should make it more comfortable as voters wait for their turn at the voting booths.

With early voting lasting several weeks, a venue that could accommodate an extended period was needed, Johnson said.

She said there will be extensive signage to direct voters to the site, though she said many community members are familiar with the location because of the school.

Johnson said several issues wouldn’t have been solved at the Balfour Drive site, while making some accommodations to adjust the flow in the voting process there would have cost $8,000-$10,000, so moving was the ideal solution.

Plus, the parking situation at the past location tended to be split in different areas. That sometimes meant quite a bit of uncertainty about where campaigners might focus their efforts.

This is the only change in voting locations in the county for this election cycle, Johnson said.

UCA_Bowles

Area wrestlers stick with it for solid finishes

, , , , , ,

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Doug Bowles lifts Mount Airy’s Connor Medvar in the air during the 170-pound bout in the Class 1-A finals Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL

GREENSBORO – It was an encouraging start to the state tournament for Randolph County wrestlers Thursday. And not a bad finish either by Saturday.

Aside from state champions David Makupson (138 pounds, Class 2-A) of Trinity and Aldo Hernandez (132, Class 1-A) and Grayson Roberts (160 pounds, Class 2-A), there were solid performances that lasted all the way to their final matches.

Randolph County wrestlers excelled in the first rounds in Class 3-A and Class 2-A. Of the combined 15 entrants in those classes, 12 of them won in the opening round. And the three that lost in the first round won at least one consolation bout.

In Class 1-A, four of UCA’s 13 entrants won in the first round.

By the end, UCA teammates Byan Lackey (138) and Doug Bowles (170) were state runners-up, while several others placed in the top six.

Among those were four wrestlers in third place, including impressive bounce-back efforts from Asheboro’s Logan Lambeth in Class 3-A at 182 and Southwestern Randolph’s Clay Sugg in Class 2-A at 195.

In title bouts, Lackey was pinned in 49 seconds by Avery County senior Ethan Shell, who won his third state title. Lackey received a forfeit and recorded a major decision to reach the final.

Bowles suffered a 10-3 loss to Connor Medvar of Mount Airy in the final. Medvar was the 152-pound state champion in Class 1-A last year.

Bowles notched a 39-second pin of Cherokee’s Darius Saunooke in the quarterfinals and a pin of Avery County’s Seth Blackledge in 2:31 of the semifinal.

Lambeth and Sugg racked up five consecutive wins for their third-place spots.

Lambeth lost by a 4-3 decision to Pisgah’s Alex Almaraz in his opening bout. He responded by posting a 9-0 decision against First Flight’s Gage Tomlin. Then came a 12-4 decision against St. Stephens’ Andre Britt, a 7-2 decision against West Carteret’s Hiroki Cruz, an 8-3 sudden-victory outcome against Union Pines’ Nicholas Mascolino and then a second-period pin of Harnett Central’s Jose Zambrano.

That was an ideal way to cap his high school career.

“Pinning the dude in my third-place match,” Lambeth said of his highlight.

How did he recover from the opening-day disappointment? “Support from my coaches and friends and family,” he said.

Sugg lost via pin in the first round to eventual champion Owen Clark of Newton-Conover before rattling off five wins in a row, beginning with a third-period pin of North Pitt’s Alexis Lar Ramirez in 3:50 in the first consolation round. Next came a 49-second pin of North Carolina School of Science and Math’s William McMahon, an 11-5 decision against Bandys’ Zachory Evans, a 2-1 squeaker against Forbush’s Luke Hurley and a 6-2 decision against East Surry’s Daniel Villasenor.

Providence Grove’s Brooks Freeman (182, Class 2-A) placed third, taking a smoother route early on. Freeman opened with a 9-3 upset of Bartlett Yancey’s Dylan Wall. Freeman then secured a third-period technical fall against West Lincoln’s Braxton Young in the quarterfinals.

Then Freeman was derailed by East Surry’s Eli Becker’s second-period pin. He got back on track with an 8-3 decision against Raydyn Brooks of Bandys before finishing by dominating Oxford Webb’s Nicholas Harris, who didn’t score in Freeman’s technical fall victory in 2:43.

UCA’s Brandon Jordan was third at 113. After a loss in the first round, he won his next three matches, two of those by pins. He stuck Leadership Academy’s Cooper Wingate in 1:35 of the third-place match.

Fourth place went to Asheboro’s Xavier Santos (113, 3-A), Trinity’s Spencer May (113, 2-A), UCA’s Ethan Hines (106, 1-A) and UCA’s Jaden Maness (182, 1-A).

Santos, the Midwest Regional champion, edged East Lincoln’s Devean Huskey 6-5 to start the states. Santos followed that by defeating West Brunswick’s Marquis Shaw 7-2. His title hopes ended in a semifinal loss to eventual champion Charlie Sly of Cramer. Then Santos won by a decision and lost by a pin.

Trinity’s Spencer May pinned Louisburg’s Brandon Nolasco-Rayo to open competition. He lost in the quarterfinals in a 5-3 decision to R-S Central’s Sumter Horton. In the consolation bracket, May posted back-to-back pins and a decision before he was pinned by Mount Pleasant’s Trent Almond in the third-place match.

Hines lost in his first match and then won twice before losing. Maness took a similar path to fourth place, though receiving a forfeit in his first consolation assignment.

Sixth-place spots went to Asheboro’s Luke Lambeth (160, 3-A) and Providence Grove’s Colton Wood (285, 2-A).

Luke Lambeth topped Dixon’s Shawn Disbennett 6-0. Lambeth was on the other end of a shutout in a 3-0 quarterfinal loss to Foard’s Zane Birtchet. He then scored a 32-second pin and won by decision before dropping his last two bouts by decisions.

At 285, Providence Grove’s Colton Wood registered a 16-second pin of Trask’s Javier Corona. Wood had to go the distance in the quarterfinals, losing 5-3 to Brevard’s Jarek Stewart-Karolweics. Wood then notched two pins before he was pinned twice.

Others from the county had encouraging starts before stalling and ending up short of a final place finish.

Diego Gutierrez (126) of Asheboro handled Orange’s Dillon Heffernan 11-4 before losing in a 6-5 decision to Swansboro’s Isaac Gawronski.

Asheboro’s Michael Brady (195) fell in a 4-2 overtime decision to West Carteret’s Joshua Knipe. He bounced back with an 11-4 handling of Scotland County’s Michael Locklear before he was ousted.

Trinity’s Brayden Hall (106) needed overtime to defeat Southwest Onslow’s Carter Duhan 6-5. In the quarterfinals, he fell in a 3-2 decision to Kaden Shoup of Shelby Burns before posting a shutout in his first consolation-bracket match.

Southwestern Randolph’s Luke White (132) flattened Trask’s Christian Still in one minute. White dropped a 9-6 decision to West Craven’s Walker Bell in the second round. White had another pin before he was eliminated in a one-point loss

Casey Hohn (152) of Trinity stuck Burlington Cummings’ Zyneal White in the second period. But Hohn was a first-period pin victim against Newton-Conover’s Jason Brawley in the quarterfinals. Then came a pin for Hohn before he lost an elimination bout by two points.

6Trintiy_Makupson

Winning it all motivates state champs Makupson, Roberts, Hernandez

, ,

Trinity’s David Makupson, top, controls Will Nix of Bandys in the Class 2-A 138-pound final Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

GREENSBORO – Contending for state championships in years past was part of the motivation for Trinity’s David Makupson and Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Grayson Roberts.

Experiencing the winning feeling again was part of the quest for UCA’s Aldo Hernandez.

All three wrestlers ended up as titlists Saturday at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Makupson, a senior, put together a dominating four-match run through the 138-pound division in Class 2-A, winning the states after fourth-place finishes in each of the past two years.

“Fourth place back-to-back years, that really motivated me to work harder,” Makupson said. “Because I realized what I was doing wasn’t enough. In my head, I thought I was working hard enough. When I didn’t see the outcomes I wanted, that really got me going.”

He got moving to such a level that he couldn’t be stopped during the three-day meet.

Makupson opened the tournament with an 11-0 decision against West Caldwell’s Rakeem Smith. He next notched a second-period fall against North Pitt’s Jayvion Perry. Then came a pair of major decisions, first handling East Carteret’s Shane Hatfield by 13-1 in the semifinal and then controlling Bandys’ Will Nix by 10-0 in the final.

“Not letting him score any points, just dominating the whole match, just staying in control,” said Makupson, who finished the season with a 50-1 record. “Just pace myself because I already knew I had a better gas tank than he did.”

Both of the UCA champions are juniors, each needing three victories in Class 1-A.

“Getting third two years in a row really, really hurt,” Roberts said. “Motivation. Always motivated.”

Roberts, a 160-pounder, won the final with a 7-5 decision against Union Academy’s Isaac Williams in a rematch of an East Regional final a week earlier. Roberts won that previous matchup by 10-3.

“This felt amazing,” Roberts said. “I was still unsatisfied with my finals performance. I felt I could tighten things up. I’ll just come back next year better.”

Roberts (48-4) never trailed, but Williams pulled even at 5-5 in the third period because of a point awarded when Roberts was called for stalling. Roberts immediately secured the winning takedown.

In earlier rounds, Roberts pinned Elkin’s Adrian Rodriguez in 2:33 and flattened Avery County’s Bradley Parker in 2:49.

Hernandez was the Class 3-A champion at 120 last year while competing for Montgomery Central. He moved to 132 this season.

“It does feel like there’s more pressure on you during the season,” he said. “I feel like everyone is trying to wrestle you their best.”

Hernandez (49-3) never went the distance in his three matches, beginning with a pin in 1:57 of Mount Airy’s John Alex Cox. Then came a pair of technical falls while allowing just one point. The semifinal with Bradford Prep’s Lucas Ellis ended in 3:17 and then the title bout with Alleghany’s Bryson Church was done in 2:22 with Hernandez rolling up a 15-0 score.

“The plan was to go out there and score points,” Hernandez said. “The game plan was to take him down and then get to work on top.”

UCA was third in the Class 1-A team standings behind Avery County and Robbinsville.

Trinity placed ninth in Class 2-A. Bandys was the team champion.

UCA_harrison

SWR pulls upset; UCA, Trinity also advance in boys’ basketball state playoffs

, , , , , , ,

ASHEBORO — Southwestern Randolph knocked off Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champion Providence Grove on the opening night of the state playoffs in boys’ basketball Tuesday night.

Uwharrie Charter Academy and Trinity will continue their boys’ seasons. Asheboro, Randleman and Eastern Randolph bowed out along with Providence Grove.

In Class 2-A, Southwestern Randolph, which holds the No. 25 seed in the West Region, won 61-58 a rare in-county road playoff game against No. 8 seed Providence Grove.

No. 12 seed Trinity beat the No. 21 seed Lexington 55-46.

No. 30 seed Randleman traveled to Shelby, losing 52-47.

In Class 3-A, No. 13 seed Asheboro, fresh off capturing the Mid-Piedmont Conference Tournament title Friday night, couldn’t solve No. 20 North Lincoln in a 68-51 home defeat.

UCA, which is the highest seeded Randolph County boys’ team with a No. 3 seed in Class 1-A, turned back former conference foe Albermarle, No. 30 seed, by 63-51 in Ulah.

Also in Class 1-A, No. 18 Eastern Randolph Wildcats lost by 89-54 at No. 2 seed Winston-Salem Prep.

UwharrieCharter_team

UCA rolls in Class 1-A wrestling with seven regional champs

, , , ,

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s wrestling team gathers for a photo after finishing as the runner-up in the Class 1-A dual team state playoffs, falling to Avery County on Feb. 5. A week later, the Eagles were overwhelming champions in a Class 1-A regional.

Seven wrestlers from Uwharrie Charter Academy won individual championships in the Class 1-A regional, which was held Friday and Saturday at Rosewood.

The Eagles soared to the regional championship and built all sorts of momentum heading to the state tournament. Thirteen of the team’s wrestlers will head to states.

UCA’s champions were freshman Brandon Jordan at 113 pounds, junior Aldo Hernandez at 132, senior Byan Lackey at 138, sophomore Carson Robertson at 152, junior Grayson Roberts at 160, senior Doug Bowles at 170 and senior Jaden Marion at 220.

They’ll all be among the top seeds for the state tournament.

Jordan became UCA’s first freshman regional champion.

Bowles moved to 104 career pins, one away from the school record of 105 held by three-time state champion Hayden Waddell.

Bowles’ pins in the regional included a 38-second flattening of Jordan Ruedi of Voyager Academy in the final. His other two matches lasted 51 and 17 seconds.

Bowles and Roberts are both listed with 45-4 records this season. Roberts recorded two first-period pins before a 10-3 decision against Union Academy’s Isaac Williams in the final.

Hernandez is 46-3 and Marion is 30-3.

UCA’s 290 points gave it an overwhelming margin in the team standings. Rosewood was second with 189.

Wrestlers finishing in the top four in the regionals move on to states.

So regional runner-up Ethan Hines (106) and Jaden Maness (182) of UCA will join third-place finishers Jack McArthur (126), Aiden Carter (195) and Jake Morin (285) along with fourth-place finisher Jair Ulloa (145) at the state tournament.

Eastern Randolph will send Adrian Lopez (126) and Bryce Foland (170) to states based on their fourth-place spots in the regional.

The Class 1-A states begin Friday afternoon, while other classes start Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. All divisions finish Saturday in the three-day event.

Class 2-A

At Concord, Trinity teammates Spencer May and David Makupson and Providence Grove’s Colton Wood claimed titles in the Midwest Regional at the Cabarrus County Arena.

May, a sophomore, won all three of his bouts at 113, with a pin of Mount Pleasant’s Trent Almond in the title bout to improve to 41-4.

Makupson, a senior with a 46-1 record this season, was 4-0 at 138, including a technical fall in the final against Eden Morehead’s Cole Pritchard.

Wood, a junior, was unbeaten in four matches at 285. He notched three pins and then won by a forfeit in the final.

Trinity has three others going to states. Casey Hohn (152) and Gavin Hardister (182) placed third, while Brayden Hall (106) was fourth. Hardister won the third-place bout against Providence Grove’s Brooks Freeman, also a state qualifier.

Southwestern Randolph will send three to states with Luke White (132) taking third place and Clay Sugg (195) and Jose Flores (220) ending up in fourth place in the regional.

Trinity was the team runner-up with 127 points, behind only Surry Central’s 153. Southwestern Randolph was eighth with 69.5 and Providence Grove was 10th with 63.5.

Gentry_1kjpg

Trinity tops PG as Gentry tops 1,000 points for career

, , ,

TRINITY — Another local player has reached the 1,000-point milestone in girls’ basketball.

Trinity’s Autumn Gentry accomplished the career feat in a 47-40 victory against Providence Grove Patriots on Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs and Patriots played a close first half with the Bulldogs holding a two-point edge at the half. The Patriots battled back with a strong third quarter giving Providence Grove a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

Gentry, a junior, and her teammates dominated the fourth quarter, holding the Patriots to six points to punctuate Gentry’s milestone night.

Gracyn Hall of Randleman reached 1,000-point mark with a couple of strong games in late January.

 

Load More