Area Athletes Update: Jones sets personal record

Jason Jones

By Mike London

mlondon@salisburypost.com

Area athletes update ...

N.C. State's Jason Jones (East Rowan) kicked off the college outdoor track season in the Charlotte 49er Invitational with the best shot put effort of his career.

Jones threw 59 feet, 101/2 inches on his last attempt

n Charlotte's Jake Deaton (Mooresville) finished fourth in the shot (53-11/2).and won the meet by 5 feet.

n N.C. State's Nolan Stehr (East) was 21st in the discus (112-3).

n Charlotte's Makenzie Mullinax (South Rowan) tied for second in the pole vault by clearing 10-6.

n Western Carolina's Olivia Jacobs (South) was fifth in the 5000 meters in the Shamrock Invitational held at Coastal Carolina.

n UNC Pembroke freshman Diricka Mitchell (North Rowan) was seventh in the shot and ninth in the discus in UNC Wilmington's Seahawk Invitational.

n Appalachian State's Phillip Bush (North) was 33rd in the 200 (22.29) in the Wake Forest Open and 24th in the long jump.

Golf

Virginia's Will Collins (Salisbury) tied for sixth in the Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.

Collins shot 3-under for the event — 68-73-72 — and helped Virginia finish third.

n Allison Lee (Salisbury) shot 85-80-89 — 254 and tied for 38th in the recent Winthrop Intercollegiate Tournament.

ML Baseball

New York Mets pitcher Bobby Parnell (East) is 0-1 with a 3.24 ERA this spring.

Parnell has pitched 81/3 innings, striking out eight and walking four.

He pitched two scoreless innings against Minnesota on Friday.

Minor Leagues

The Milwaukee Brewers released pitcher Garrett Sherrill (A.L. Brown), their 12th-round pick in 2008 after he turned in a strong, three-year career at Appalachian State.

An elbow injury wrecked Sherrill's 2009 season, but he had recovered after months of rehab and was looking forward to getting back on track in 2010.

n Former Duke standout and Cincinnati draft pick Brett Bartles (A.L. Brown) has retired and is now a math teacher at West Charlotte. Bartles was picked in the 30th round in 2007.

n Seattle prospect Kyle Seager (NW Cabarrus) was hit near the elbow by a pitch thrown by famous (and rich) lefty Cliff Lee in a Mariners intrasquad game in spring training.

College baseball

Charlotte shortstop Justin Roland (East) had two hits and scored twice in an 18-10 win against Harvard on Saturday.

n Brevard pitcher Jake Koontz (West Rowan) allowed one run and two hits in 22/3 innings in a 2-0 loss to Wingate on Saturday.

n Liberty's Keegan Linza (North) watched his ERA swell, but he battled to an 8-6 victory against Manhattan on Sunday. Linza (4-0) pitched 81/3 innings, struck out six and walked three.

n Guilford Tech's Alex Britt (Salisbury) is 2-2 with 25 Ks in 24 innings.

n Wilkes Community College's Billy Veal (North) is batting .387. Jess Cartner (Davie) is hitting .405 for the Cougars.

Tanner Brown (North) is one of the top pitchers for Wilkes. He's 3-2 with 24 strikeouts in 29 innings.

n Jacob Wright (A.L. Brown) hit nine home runs in Stanly CC's first 16 games.

Tennis Gardner-Webb's Allie Mills (North) was 3-0 on Saturday, winning singles matches against Pfeiffer and North Greenville and also contributing to a doubles victory.

Softball

Mars Hill's Lindsey Barrier (East) was 1-for-3 in an 8-7 win against Newberry on Saturday.

n Union's Gina Loflin (West) was 2-for-3 in a 3-2 win on Saturday.

n Walters State's Erin Foster (West) had two hits and three RBIs on Friday.

n Louisville freshman Chelsea Leonard (C. Davidson) is 4-1. She lost recently in extra innings to Michigan State.