From staff reports
The Greensboro Coliseum will be the site this week for one of the largest high school sporting events in the Southeast.
The NCHSAA state wrestling championships are scheduled for Thursday evening and all day Friday and Saturday and will bring together over 600 of the state’s best.
Almost 1,300 individual matches will be contested en route to crowning 56 individual champions — in four classifications and 14 weight classes
Wrestling will start at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday with the 3A first round, followed later in the evening by first round matches in 4A and 2A.
Those classes will begin wrestling again at 9 a.m. on Friday, with 1A starting at 1 p.m.
The championship finals will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
North Rowan coach Tim Pittman will be taking six regional champs and three other qualifiers to the state event. Every Rowan school as well as Davie and A.L. Brown qualified wrestlers for the tournament.
College baseball
Belmont Abbey’s Caleb Shore (South Rowan) went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in Tuesday’s 12-6 win against Lenoir-Rhyne. Shore had a two-run double and a run-scoring single.
Catawba’s J.J. Jankowski has been named SAC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season.
Jankowski struck out 11 in seven innings against Mars Hill and didn’t walk a batter. He has a 1.71 ERA.
Catawba plays at St. Andrews today at 2 p.m.
Justin Roland (East) had two hits for Charlotte in a 12-5 loss to High Point on Tuesday. Ross Steedley (East) went 1-for-2, while Corbin Shive (East) pitched a scoreless inning.
Micah Jarrett (East) got his first start in left field for UNC Wilmington in a loss at N.C. State on Tuesday.
Brevard’s Alex Litaker (East) had made a team-high five appearances out of the bullpen in the Tornados’ first 10 games.
Avery Rogers (East) made his college pitching debut by finishing off Guilford’s 16-9 win against Bluefield State.
Tanner Brown (North Rowan) raised his record to 3-0 in Bryan’s 9-3 win against Asbury. Brown allowed two earned runs and five hits in seven innings.
Bryan’s Jason Ridenhour (North) pitched 62/3 innings and struck out six but lost a 5-1 decision to Madonna.
Bryan’s Billy Veal (North) had an RBI in both games. Veal is batting .303 and leads the Lions with three homers and 14 RBIs.
Tusculum beat Limestone 4-2 on Tuesday and is off to an 11-0 start. The Pioneers are the last unbeaten team in D-II’s Southeast Region.
College tennis
Briana Oliver registered the match-winning point at No. 4 singles as Pfeiffer’s women’s tennis team edged Catawba 5-4 on Tuesday.
College softball
Freshman Zebresha Blakeney (A.L. Brown) was in the lineup for N.C. A&T as it opened the season against Gardner-Webb on Tuesday.
College basketball
Pfeiffer’s men’s basketball team lost to Barton 74-67 in Wilson on Tuesday. Danny Smith scored 26 points for the Falcons (12-13, 6-9 CC), while Reggie Hollinger had 22.
Pfeiffer’s women (13-12, 8-8) lost to Barton 73-66 on Tuesday. Conference Carolinas Player of the Week Brittany Cox scored 14 points for the Falcons.
Catawba’s basketball teams are at home tonight for a SAC doubleheader against Mars Hill.
The women’s game opens the twin bill at 6 p.m.
Catawba’s women are tied for first place with Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate with two games left in the regular season. The Indians will honor their seniors tonight.
Catawba’s men are still trying to lock up a top-eight finish and a berth in the SAC tournament. Catawba rolled over Mars Hill earlier this season behind Keon Moore and Tyrece Little.
Mars Hill features Sammy Emile, a 6-foot-6 forward who leads Division II in scoring at 25.4 points per game.
Livingstone’s Cierra York was named to the CIAA All-Rookie Team on Tuesday.
The 5-7 guard from Winston-Salem averages 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Livingstone plays at J.C. Smith on Saturday. The CIAA Tournament will start on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
College football
Jordan West, a 2009 South Rowan graduate, has been selected to join the N.C. State football program as a walk-on.
Prep soccer
The Rowan County Soccer Tournament will be held at Catawba.
It starts on Monday of next week, with fourth-seeded East Rowan taking on No. 5 seed North Rowan at 5 p.m., and No. 3 seed Carson playing No. 6 seed South Rowan at 7 p.m.
In the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 29, second-seeded West Rowan will play the Carson-South winner at 5 p.m. Top-seeded Salisbury will battle the East-North winner at 7 p.m.
The third-place game will be played at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 2, with the championship game at 7 p.m.
Local marathoners
Salisbury’s Allison Dupree and Marie Auten ran the 2012 Myrtle Beach Bi-Lo Marathon in 4 hours, 9 minutes and 49 seconds. It was the second time each runner has completed a 26.2-mile race.
Dupree was the SAC cross country champion while running for Catawba. Auten was a member of the Pfeiffer cross country team.
7th-grade hoops
West Rowan’s boys beat China Grove 44-30. Kortez Weeks scored 12 points for West (6-1). Rodney Howell had 10, Armoni Hogue and Brendon Westbrook scored eight each, and Jalen White had five.
Hogue and Jovon Quarles had six rebounds each. Howell and Vance Harkey had five.
Hogue and Nick Warren had three steals each.
Jacob Cheeseman scored 10 for the Red Devils. Dillon Norton had eight.
Erwin’s girls stayed unbeaten with a 45-12 win against Southeast.
Erwin (8-0) was led by Breya Philpot with 12 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and Destiny Jackson with 10 points.
Micah Furr scored five points, while Courtney Wagner had seven rebounds.
Southeast (1-7) was paced by Arianna Williams with eight points.
Southeast’s boys beat Erwin 35-27. Southeast was led by Austin Love and Malon Herron with 11 points apiece.
Daniel Carlton and Lawrence Robinson added seven points each for the Patriots (4-4).
Erwin (2-6) was led by Datavian Davis with seven points. Jonathan Brindle scored five.