From staff reports

Kannapolis legend Bob Mauldin, Mr. Wrestling in North Carolina for many  decades, died on Saturday.

Mauldin’s famed publication, “Mat News,” that he began in 1958, became a bible of sorts for the state’s high school wrestling coaches and wrestlers.

When Mauldin received the prestigious  Order of the Longleaf Pine from the N.C. governor’s office last August, there was an enormous gathering in Kannapolis of wresting coaches, referees and athletes who had wrestled for or against Mauldin.

Mauling got interested in wrestling when he was  theteam manager at Appalachian State.

After Appalachian, Mauldin came to A.L. Brown as an assistant in football and track and as head wrestling coach.

The late Dan Hamrick talked Mauldin into pursuing a degree in school administration, and  Mauldin served as principal at Kannapolis’ McKnight School for 24 years.

Even after Mauldin departed high school coaching, he was a familiar figure at wrestling matches as a referee.

  He also mentored aspiring referees such as Salisbury’s Howard Cowan, who went on to referee state and national  championship matches.

  In 2000, Mauldin was recognized by the N.C. High School Athletic Association as one of the 50 men and women who had made a difference in North Carolina athletics.

Mauldin was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Local golf

Local golfers Ken Clarke and Chris Owen made five birdies and shot 67 at the U.S. Amateur  4-Ball Sectional Qualifier held at Pinewild in Pinehurst on Monday.

The three qualifiers  for the national event shot 62, 66 and 66.

Clarke and Owen tied for fifth place in a field of 54 teams.  They were involved in a playoff for an alernate spot but lost to a birdie on the first hole.

Prep baseball

West Rowan rallied for five runs in the seventh and won 5-2 at Cox Mill on Monday in SPC action.

Cox Mill standout Julian Smith took a shutout into the seventh inning, but he exited after walking the first two batters.

The Falcons (7-3, 4-3) got a clutch double from Jeremy Simpson and a two-run single by Kacey Otto to key their comeback.

Simpson, a Catawba signee, had three hits.

Bryan Ketchie (2-0) pitched six innings and earned  the win. He was outstanding after allowing a homer in the first. He allowed one earned run.

Omar Bautista pitched the   bottom of the seventh for his first save.

• East Rowan got another fine pitching performance from Logan Towne (3-0) and rolled 9-2 at Central Cabarrus in SPC play.

Towne pitched a complete game and allowed one earned run for the third-place Mustangs (6-4, 5-2).

“We played a lot better than we did last week,” East  Rowan coach Brian Hightower said. “As a team, we hit the ball a lot better.”

Catcher John Owen had the key hit for the Mustangs, clearing the bases with a triple. Seth Wyrick, Samuel Wyrick and Ike Freeman had two hits each. Joseph Peeler smacked two doubles. Daniel Gonzalez was brought up from the jayvees and tripled in his varsity debut.

“He can fly, and he did a good job at second base,”  Hightower said.

East Rowan hosts first-place South Rowan on Wednesday. Joseph Peeler is expected to pitch for the Mustangs, with Blake Johnson the probable hurler for the Raiders.

• In SPC action, second-place Concord battered Northwest Cabarrus 11-3.

The Spiders have won six straight since losing at South Rowan.

• Hickory Ridge beat Carson in a 5-4 SPC struggle on Monday.

Hickory Ridge hurler Collin Sprinkle fanned 12.

Michael Morrison led the Cougars. He went 2-for-2, stole two bases, scored three runs and drove in Carson’s other run.

Heath Mitchem had a run-scoring single.

Mitchem, Owen White and Kris Peacock pitched for the Cougars. Mitchem (0-2) took the loss.

Carson led 3-0 early, and Mitchem took a 3-2 lead to the fifth, but the Cougars struggled defensively in that inning, as Hickory Ridge scored three times to take a 5-3 lead.

“We misplayed two bunts, gave them five or six outs in that inning,” Carson coach Chris Cauble said.

Carson loaded the bases in the sixth but could only push across one run.

“We’ve got a young team and we’re going through some growing pains,” Cauble said. “Hopefully, this is going to prepare us for the second time through the league.”

Carson (4-4, 2-4 SPC) has two more league games this week, hosting Cox Mill Wednesday and playing at Northwest Cabarrus on Thursday.

Prep golf

East Davidson shot 163 and won a CCC match at Colonial with Salisbury (167), Lexington (223) and North Rowan (228) on Monday. Zach King’s 37 led East Davidson.

Scorers for Salisbury were Alex Antosek (41), Gabe Steinman (41), Abraham Post (42) and Simon Post (43).

Jonathan Britton’s 51 led North Rowan. Will Lancaster’s 43 led Lexington.

• In Monday’s SPC match at Cabarrus Country Club, East Rowan and Hickory Ridge tied for first at 160. South Rowan shot 161.

Scorers for East Rowan were medalist Nick Lyerly (33), Bryson Sprinkle (41), Jacob Durham (43) and Logan Shuping (43).

Scorers for South Rowan were Davis Richards (37), Dalton Little (39), Andrew Hubbard (41) and Parker Chavis (45).

Scorers for Carson (176) were Tristen McDaniel (42), Bobby Bauer (43), Patrick Street (45) and Joseph Mitchem (46).

Tim Steele shot 43 to lead West Rowan (180). Other scorers were Denny Triche (44), Cameron Hassard (44) and Coyte Kyles (49).

Mack Sheppard shot 36 to lead Hickory Ridge. Concord’s Walker Cress shot 38.

Prep softball

Cox Mill scored with two outs in the seventh inning and beat visiting West Rowan 6-5 in SPC action on Monday.

It was the first league loss for the Falcons.

Parker Greene and Morgan Corriher had two hits each for the Falcons. Taylor Martin scored three runs.

Peyton Greene struck out seven but took the loss.

Courtney Agee had three RBIs for the Chargers.

• Carson won 3-0 against Hickory Ridge in SPC action on Monday and moved into a tie for first place with West Rowan at 5-1.

Brie Bauer had a double, while Meghan Kepley  and  Madison Barnhardt had key hits to back the pitching of Lacee Hunsucker.

Hunsucker, Kaycee Kennedy, Kayln Ellenburg, Micah Furr and  Krista Penninger also had hits for the Cougars.

• East Rowan won 6-4 against Central Cabarrus in SPC action on Monday.

• Alli Florian hit two homers as Northwest Cabarrus pounded Concord 15-0 in SPC play.

• West Forsyth won 8-3 against Davie in CPC action on Monday.

Prep soccer

Carson lost 2-0 at Hickory Ridge in SPC play on Monday, the first loss for the Cougars.

Cox Mill, which has beaten Hickory Ridge,  moved into first place by topping West Rowan 4-0.

Carson hosts Cox Mill on Wednesday.

• Salisbury beat East Davidson 4-0 for a CCC victory on Monday.

It was closer than it sounds. The Hornets led 1-0 with 20 minutes left, but that’s when they scored  three goals in a span of eight minutes.

Katie Bullock got her 16th birthday (Tuesday)  off to an amazing start by scoring twice and providing two assists.

Ceci Cardelle (still playing hurt) scored and provided an assist. Julia Honeycutt was the other scorer and Gracie Nunez had the final assist.

Juliana Anderson held the shutout in goal with help from a back line of   Amelia Steinman, Nellie Brown, Kathryn Rusher, and Mary Seifert.

Next up for the  Hornets is Lexington on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

•Laurie Fogleman scored two goals as Gray Stone beat Queen’s Grant 6-1 on Monday.

Prep tennis

Salisbury’s boys tennis team won 9-0 against East Davidson on Monday and is 7-0 on the season.

Salisbury is at Lexington on Friday.

Singles

Spencer Storey (S) d. Rodinburry 6-0, 6-0

Hunter Carlton (S) d. Lomax 6-0, 6-0

David Derrick (S) d. Domina 6-0, 6-2

Mathias DeComarmond (S) d. Haire  6-1 6-0

Matt Sukkasem (S) d. Phillips 6-0, 6-0

Ben Roy (S) d. Greer 6-0, 6-0

Doubles

Storey/Derrick (S)  d. Rodinburry/Lomax  8-0

Carlton/DeComarmond (S) d. Domina/ Phillips  8-1

Sukkasem/Roy (S) d. Haire/Greer 8-0

  

College baseball

Guilford senior Avery Rogers (East Rowan) threw two perfect innings for his first save of the season in a 2-1 baseball win over Greensboro College at NewBridge Bank Park on Monday.

• Jordan Goodman (NW Cabarrus) was 5-for-9 as Pitt Community College won three out of four from Louisburg.

Dustin Ritchie (East Rowan) went 3-for-6 and drove in three runs.

• Appalachian State’s Noah Holmes (East Rowan)  had two hits and two RBIs in the Mountaineers’ 7-0 win against Louisiana-Monroe on Friday.

Holmes is batting .300 with two homers and seven RBIs.

• Sophomore Eric Tyler (South Rowan) has been outstanding for East Carolina and is batting .337 with a homer and 12 RBIs.

• Ranked 14th in Division II, Catawba plays at home Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Mount Olive. Catawba (23-4)  has the top three hitters in the SAC in Will Albertson, T.J. Wharton and Blake Houston (South Rowan).

Albertson leads the SAC in batting average (.514), homers (11) and RBIs (45).

Craig Brooks leads the SAC in strikeouts (76) and is second in ERA (1.38).

A total of 1,658 coaching victories will be on hand. Catawba’s Jim Gantt has guided the Catawba Indians to 659 wins in 20 years at the helm, while visiting coach Carl Lancaster is one win away from a milestone 1,000th victory and is now in his 28th year at Mount Olive.

Catawba softball

Catawba junior Carley Tysinger ( set the school record for career strikeouts as the Catawba Indians split a softball doubleheader on Monday  at Belmont Abbey’s Crusader Field.

The Indians took the opener 4-0, while the Crusaders grabbed a 2-1 win in eight innings in the second game. Catawba is 11-11 on the year, while Belmont Abbey is 8-17.

Tysinger fanned nine in the complete-game shutout in the opener. She entered the game tied with Lindsay Ettinger with 720 strikeouts and set the new record when she struck out Anna Mixa to end the first inning. Tysinger now has 729 Ks for her career.

Tysinger (7-5) allowed just five hits in nailing down her third shutout of the season. She walked none.

Gina Gerone hit a two-run homer in the third.

BA’s Samantha Jacobs (North Rowan) pitched six strong innings but took the loss.

   

College hoops

GRU Augusta’s Keshun Sherrill (West Rowan) was named to the first team All-Southeast Region team by the D-II  Coaches Association.

  Local soccer

The Green Dragons FCCA U11 soccer team won a league match 3-1.

Maddox Goodnight scored two goals for the Dragons (4-3), and Colin Donaldson had one.

Christopher Portillo, Ben Childress and Luiz Avilez controlled the midfield.  Ben Sweet was outstanding on defense.

Mid. school baseball

Southeast won 13-7 against Corriher-Lipe on Monday.

Daniel Durham got the win on the mound and hit a home run.

Garrett Alewine had  four hits. Cole Hales and Luke Barringer had three hits apiece.

Southeast (2-0) is at Knox on Wednesday.

• West Rowan Middle opened with a 9-5 victory (opponent not identified). Cameron Graham was the winning pitcher. Bryson Coleman led the Bulldogs at the plate.

West Rowan plays at home on Wednesday against Corriher – Lipe.

Mid. school soccer

Southeast’s girls won 3-1 against Corriher-Lipe.

Scoring for Southeast were Lelje Mehmedovic, Adamaris Hidalgo and Gabby Loezza.

Assists were by Taylor Jones, Abbi Solano and Kayla DeNicholas.

Breanna Saelinger and Danielle Arlotta were strong on defense. Sierra Ratliff and Skylar Smith shared the shutout.

• Southeast’s boys won 4-1 against Corriher-Lipe.

Lupe Bautista scored two goals for Southeast.  Roberto Orozco and Anthony Figueroa had one each.

Alex Ortix, Alex Erazo, Kevin Vasquez and Oscar Nunez were exceptional on defense. Fernando Guerrero was tough in goal.

NHL: Hurricanes lose

RALEIGH — Joel Quenneville didn’t want to talk much about his 750th NHL coaching victory.

Instead, his focus was on the important two points the Chicago Blackhawks earned in a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Andrew Shaw scored twice and Corey Crawford made 43 saves for Chicago, which has earned a point in 18 of its past 21 games.