Area athletes update …
Kevin Parks (West Rowan) reached the 1,000-yard plateau on his last carry of the season for Virginia on Saturday.
Parks broke a 48-yard run to reach the milestone for the season and the 100-yard mark for the third straight week.
Parks, a 5-foot-8, 205-pound junior, carried 17 times Saturday and had 105 of Virginia’s 109 net rushing yards in a 16-6 loss to Virginia Tech. Parks is the first Virginia back to reach 1,000 yards since Alvin Pearman in 2004.
“I’m happy for Kevin,” Virginia coach Mike London told Ed Miler of the Virginian-Pilot. “He’s a team player. He’ll probably say he would rather have the win, but to have a running back run for 1,000 yards is great. It speaks to the young man and the hard worker that he is.”
• Ike Whitaker (Salisbury) rushed 16 times for 67 yards as Lenoir-Rhyne beat Carson-Newman in the second round of the Division II playoffs on Saturday.
• UNC Pembroke was eliminated from the D-II playoffs by North Alabama, ending the college careers of Ben DeCelle (East Rowan), and A.L. Brown’s Jonathan Efird and T.J. Johnson.
DeCelle had two receptions Saturday for 28 yards. Efird, the backup QB, played on UNCP’s last possession and was 2-for-2 passing for 8 yards.
Junior defensive end Cadarreus Mason (South Rowan) had six tackles for the Braves and was in on two stops in the North Alabama backfield.
• Chris Smith (West) made two tackles for Arkansas in a 31-27 loss to LSU that ended his college career on Friday.
Smith had 8.5 sacks this season. He has run 4.6 40s, weighs 268 pounds and is projected to be selected in the 2014 NFL draft in the second or third round. CBS Sports ranks Smith No. 7 on its list of available defensive ends.
• Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave (North Rowan) made six tackles for South Carolina State in a 30-20 loss to Furman in the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.
Hargrave was named to the All-MEAC second team. He had 52 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles this season, despite an early-season injury.
• Domonique Noble (West) made one tackle for Georgia Tech in a double-overtime loss to Georgia.
• Guilford’s Adam Smith (Davie) was named to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference first team. The sophomore receiver had 41 catches for 780 yards and eight touchdowns.
• Michael Church (A.L. Brown) was at quarterback for Coastal Carolina’s final scoring drive in Saturday’s FCS playoff win against Bethune-Cookman.
• Keeon Johnson (A.L. Brown) had one reception for 5 yards in Virginia’s loss to Virginia Tech.
• Averett senior cornerback Zachary Grkman (Carson) was named to the Capital One Academic All-District team for the second time.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kayla Morrow (South) finished a great career at Lenoir-Rhyne with 596 kills, 282 digs, 257 blocks and 69 service aces,
She led the Bears in aces, blocks and hitting percentage this season and led the conference in hitting percentage for several weeks. Morrow was Honorable Mention on the All-SAC team.
Morrow has a 3.9 GPA and will graduate in May with a health and exercise science degree and will be pursuing a doctorate degree in physical therapy.
The Bears were 17-10 and tied for third in the SAC with a 14-8 record.
• Guilford’s Taylor Whitley (Carson) finished her career with a school-record 2,837 assists and ranks fourth all-time at Guilford in career aces with 126.
Whitley had 750 assists and 40 aces as a senior.
Whitley will graduate in May with a degree in forensic accounting and health sciences.
The Sherrill brothers (West Rowan) had good games as GRU Augusta beat Paine 80-76 on Saturday.
K.J. Sherrill scored 23 points, and Keshun Sherrill had 13 for the Jaguars.
K.J., a senior who transferred from Charlotte, shot 9-for-15 from the floor and had seven rebounds. Keshun, a redshirt freshman, was 7-for-8 on free throws and handed out four assists.
The Sherrills are playing together for the first time since K.J. was a senior at West and his brother was a freshman.
• Isaiah Cuthbertson (West) shot 8-for-9 from the field and scored 19 points as Mars Hill overcame 37 points by Michael Smith and got its first win of the season against Pfeiffer.
• Brevard’s Darius Moose (Carson) had 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in a loss to D-I Furman.
• Roanoke’s Alex Weant (Salisbury) had six rebounds and two points in a win against Greensboro College.
• Oshon West (North) scored seven points as Louisburg routed the Montreat jayvees 108-44.
• Tevin Starks (A.L. Brown) has missed the last two Sandhills CC games with an ankle injury.
Temple’s Shi-Heria Shipp (Salisbury) scored a career-best 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting in a blowout of Oakland.
Shipp had nine points and seven rebounds in a 74-70 loss to Michigan State.
• Jessica Heilig (Salisbury) had nine points and eight rebounds for Gardner-Webb in a 78-74 loss to Davidson. Doreen Richardson (Salisbury) scored four points for the Bulldogs.
• Ayana Avery (West) scored nine points for Radford in a 41-39 loss at Clemson.
• Shay Steele (West) scored three points for Morehead State in a 76-67 loss to Cleveland State.
• Charlotte’s Ayanna Holmes (Salisbury) had two points and four rebounds in a 71-64 loss to Cincinnati in a tournament in Las Vegas. Olivia Rankin (Salisbury) had two rebounds for the 49ers.
Holmes scored five points in a 63-60 win against Winthrop.