ASHEBORO — Four Randolph County girls’ basketball teams advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with wins Tuesday night, while two others saw their seasons end.
Uwharrie Charter Academy, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph and Wheatmore cruised in their first-round playoff games.
UCA, a No. 3 seed in Class 1-A in the West Region, topped No. 30 seed Bradford Prep 54-38. Also in Class 1-A, Eastern Randolph fell short in a 65-62 loss to Cherokee.
Randleman, the top seed in the Class 2-A, dominated No. 32 seed Shelby Burns with a 64-17 victory.
No. 11 seed Southwestern Randolph was a 49-38 winner against No. 22 seed Bandys with a home win at Castelloe Gym.
No. 14 seed Wheatmore won 61-42 against No. 19 seed Monroe. Meanwhile, Providence Grove suffered a 71-25 road loss to Shelby.
Ashton Troutman of UCA lets out a big yell prior to the buzzer going off in a victory against top-seeded Providence Grove.
RANDLEMAN – Uwharrie Charter Academy put together a solid boys’ basketball campaign in the Piedmont Athletic Conference, and the Eagles might have saved their best for late in the season.
Uwharrie Charter Academy team members celebrate the tournament championship against Providence Grove on Feb. 18 at Randleman. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
They capped this part of the surge by winning the PAC Tournament with Friday night’s 66-52 toppling of regular-season champion Providence Grove.
Coach Brad Monroe’s team won three of its last four regular-season games before last week’s three-game sweep in the conference tournament while holding the No. 3 seed. The Eagles (18-6) were set to embark on play in the Class 1-A state playoffs this week.
In the title game, Ashton Troutman poured in 26 points, while Jordan Harrison had 16 points and Pierce Leonard added 11 points.
Troutman, a post player, was too much of a load for the Patriots.
“We have to play almost perfect weak-side defense to control him,” Providence Grove coach Wes Luther said.
UCA led for a large portion of the title game, but was up just 42-37 after three quarters.
“They made the shots we didn’t make,” Luther said. “Ultimately, we got to make shots.”
Zane Caudle racked up 22 points and Chase Whitaker had 12 points for Providence Grove. The Patriots didn’t convert enough on free throws, drawing Luther’s concern.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Jordan Harrison lays the ball up against Providence Grove’s Zane Cheek, right, during the PAC Tournament championship game. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
UCA and Providence Grove split two regular-season meetings, with the road team winning each of those.
UCA won 72-43 at home against sixth-seeded Wheatmore in the tournament quarterfinals before going to second-seeded Trinity and pulling out a 66-57 victory.
Providence Grove, which received a bye in the quarterfinals, survived a 73-72 overtime semifinal scare from visiting Randleman, the No. 4 seed.
Luke Thomas tallied 24 points, Caudle had 17 points and Michael Fee added 10 points in the semifinal. The Patriots had won the first outright boys’ basketball regular-season conference championship in school history.
Randleman’s Lucas Gneiting and Dylan Wheatley both had 15 points, Baylor Petty notched 13 points and Christian Long scored 12 points in the semifinal.
Uwharrie Charter Academy held homecoming activities last week prior to the varsity basketball games against Chatham Charter on December 3. The varsity girls won 47-37 and the boys won 57-56. Senior Carter Duggins was crowned homecoming queen and Joseph Phetmixay was named homecoming king.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Ethan Hines holds down an East Davidson opponent during a season-opening match last month.PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Ethan Hines | Uwharrie Charter Academy | Wrestling
Hines went undefeated in Saturday’s Rumble in the Jungle dual-team event at Carrboro. Hines was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler among lightweights.
Hines, a sophomore, improved his season’s record to 11-0. He’s primarily a 106-pounder.
The Eagles defeated Granville Central 84-0, Kernersville Glenn 69-10, Seaforth 72-12, South Granville 84-0 and Oxford Webb 70-6.
Also going undefeated during the day for UCA were Jack McArthur, Aldo Hernandez, Byan Lackey, Carson Robinson, Grayson Roberts, Doug Bowles, Jaden Maness, Jaden Marion and Jake Morin.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Madi Duvall spikes the ball against Gray Stone Day School’s Mandi Stoyanov during Class 1-A state playoffs at Uwharrie Carter Academy in Asheboro on October 28, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy’s volleyball team will face its first road test in the Class 1-A state playoffs after a straight-sets home victory against Gray Stone, a charter school from Stanly County, on Thursday night.
The Eagles punched their ticket to the fourth round — and a trip to the mountains during — to face second-seeded Murphy on Saturday.
Uwharrie Charter Academy coach Lee Kennell watches Gray Stone Day School warm up during in the Class 1-A state playoffs at Uwharrie Carter Academy in Asheboro on October 28, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
The Eagles are riding a six-match winning streak. In these playoffs, UCA hasn’t lost a set with victories against Andrews (25-8, 25-9, 25-14), Cornerstone Charter (25-23, 25-20, 25-23) and Gray Stone Day School (25-21, 25-18, 25-14).
The Eagles traveled to Cherokee County on Friday night and will face Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Max DeNamur takes a shot on goal against Wheatmore during their conference soccer game last month in Asheboro. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Four boys’ soccer teams from Randolph County schools will open the state playoffs with home games Monday.
Asheboro tops the list as a No. 4 seed in the West Region bracket for Class 3-A. The Blue Comets (14-1-3) take on North Lincoln in the first round.
Asheboro gained the top spot for seeding out of the Mid-Piedmont Conference after it tied with Ledford in the regular season. Both teams had 8-0-2 records, though the Blue Comets won a postgame shootout after Tuesday night’s tie to determine a seeding tiebreaker should one be needed. It turned out to be necessary after each team completed its regular season by winning again.
Asheboro defeated visiting Montgomery Central 5-0 in Wednesday’s regular-season finale, with two goals from Diego Valdez Plata and one each from Julio Ruiz, Daniel Gutierrez Resendez and Jose Cortes.
In Class 2-A, No. 9 seed Trinity (11-6-1) is home against No. 24 seed North Surry. Wheatmore (9-8) is the No. 28 seed with a trip to fifth-seeded North Forsyth.
In Class 1-A, No. 6 seed Uwharrie Charter Academy (10-3-1) is home against No. 27 seed Avery County. Eastern Randolph (10-4-2) is the No. 12 seed with a home matchup with Cornerstone Charter.
UCA and Eastern Randolph were tied at 9-2-1 in Piedmont Athletic Conference play. They split two games, with Eastern Randolph winning 3-1 and UCA claiming the rematch by 5-1.
Eastern Randolph scored four or more goals in nine of its last 11 games. The Wildcats are 6-0-1 in home games.
ASHEBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy’s volleyball team has advanced to the fourth round of the Class 1-A state playoffs after a 25-21, 25-18, 24-14 victory against visiting Gray Stone Day School on Thursday evening.
Greene also had 12 kills, Madi Duval supplied seven kills and two blocks, Bre Brooks posted six kills and two blocks and Dacia Lowery added four kills and two blocks.
The Eagles have swept all three playoff matches.
UCA (20-5) travels to Murphy (22-2) for Saturday’s next round.
Uwharrie Charter’s Gabi Greene serves against Andrews in the NCHSAA 1A West bracket playoffs at Uwharrie Charter in Asheboro, NC on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
GABI GREENE
Uwharrie Charter Academy | Senior | Volleyball
The senior outside hitter was a key contributor as the Eagles won all four of their matches.
The first three triumphs came on consecutive days in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament as UCA was a surprise winner. Then came the opening round of the Class 1-A state playoffs against Andrews. Greene was charted for a total of 51 kills, 41 digs, 11 aces, seven blocks and strong serve receiving in those matches.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Carter Duggins spikes the ball against Andrews’ Rylie McDonald in the first set in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Coming off of a conference tournament championship, Uwharrie Charter Academy volleyball coach Lee Kennell hoped his team would maintain its momentum in the the first round of the Class 1-A state playoffs.
The Eagles did just that with a three-set victory against Andrews on Saturday, winning 25-8, 25-9, 25-14.
The third-seed Eagles were tied at 12-12 in the third set before turning up the tempo to clinch the outcome.
Uwharrie Charter Academy players cheer after their victory in straight sets against visiting Andrews in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Kennell said he was worried early that some post-season jitters were affecting his team. “I figured there would be a little bit of nerves early,” he said. “We had a lot of momentum coming from the conference tournament, beating three really good teams.”
In the third set, Andrews called a timeout trailing 16-12. Kennell said he rallied his team and told them to focus on their serving. “We made some uncharacteristic mistakes,” he said. “I thought we did really good serving.”
The Eagles will play host to Cornerstone Charter on Tuesday in the second round. No. 14 seed Cornerstone Charter defeated No. 19 seed Cherokee in four sets in the first round.
Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Dacia Lowery blocks the ball against Andrews’ Brooke Phillips in the Class 1-A West state playoffs in Asheboro on October 23, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
ASHEBORO — Uwharrie Charter Academy rallied from two sets down to beat in-county rival Southwestern Randolph and capture the Piedmont Athletic Conference Touranment for volleyball Wednesday night.
UCA’s Bre Brooks spikes the ball past Southwestern Randolph’s Josie Allred during the PAC championship match at Southwestern Randolph in Asheboro on October 20, 2021. PJ WARD-BROWN/NORTH STATE JOURNAL
SWR took the first set 26-24 and the second set 25-16. Facing a win-or-go-home third set, UCA charged back to capture the third set 25-13. The Eagles took the fourth set 25-13 and the deciding fifth set 15-13.
Southwestern Randolph finished 12-0 in regular-season conference play and will play host to the first round of the state playoffs Saturday in SWR’s Castelloe Gym. For the Cougars, Payton Shiflet had 29 kills and nine digs, Coley Shiflet had 22 digs, Carleigh Whitson had 19 digs, Josie Allred had eight kills, eight digs and two blocks, and Raegan LeRoy had 39 assist, 17 digs and three aces.
