Hibriten leads CVAC meet

Hibriten's track and field team sprinted fast out of the starting blocks Tuesday at the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference championships, taking the lead in both the boys' and girls' competition after seven events.

“I'm real happy with the way things went,” Hibriten coach Ray Suddreth said. “For the guys, I knew we had to get a big lead if we wanted to have a chance, and we did that. And for the girls, we look like we're in really good shape. It should be fun tomorrow.”

Hibriten's girls total of 76.5 points is good enough for a commanding 20-point lead over second-place Hickory. Hibriten's boys tallied 57.75 points, ahead of Suddreth's hopes for 50. Fred T. Foard is in second place with 45.75.

Brooklyn Chandler led the way for the Lady Panthers, taking conference titles in both the long jump (15 feet, 9 inches) and the triple jump (34 feet, 9.5 inches). Both marks were new conference records. Ashton Kirby took Hibriten's other individual win in the pole vault (7 feet, 0 inches).

Hannah Dula took second place in the high jump (4 feet, 8 inches), while Tori McCuen took third (4 feet, 6 inches).

Hibriten's girls also finished second in the 4x800-meter relay (11:16.52).

The Panther boys took a win in the 4x800-meter relay event with a run of 8:43.70. Individually, Darius Lipford turned in the best first day, notching a second place in the long jump (20 feet, 10 inches), second place in the high jump (6 feet, 2 inches) and fourth place in the shot put (41 feet, 8 inches).

Brett Hilton took third (11 feet, 0 inches) and Trip Patterson took fourth (11 feet, 0 inches) in the pole vault. Julius Elleby finished fourth in the triple jump (40 feet, 8.50 inches).

West Caldwell's boys, meanwhile, stood in seventh place after the first day of competition with 19 points.

“I'm very, very pleased,” Warrior coach Craig Styron said. “Coming out of day one, I thought we would have somewhere from 13 to 16 and we finished with 19. So all in all, it was a pretty good first day. Really, day one wasn't a big deal for us. It is all going to come down to tomorrow.”

Tyler Bentley paced West Caldwell by winning the triple jump (43 feet, 2.5 inches) and taking eighth in the long jump (18 feet, 11.5 inches).

West's 4x800 relay team placed second in 8:55.15 (despite missing Cesar Reyes due to soreness - Patrick Whittington filled in admirably with a personal best time).

Styron knows it will be tough tomorrow, but feels his runners are up for the challenge.

“Our kids just have to go out and run what they are supposed to,” he said. “We've got to score two to three people in every single race that we run.”

West Caldwell's girls are in 10th place with 5.5 points.

The competition resumes today in Lenoir with the women's 100-meter hurdles at 5 p.m.

Softball

Pope Ks Bears

Pitcher Ashlyn Pope carried the Hibriten softball team past Bunker Hill Tuesday with 16 strikeouts in a 9-0 shutout win. Pope didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning.

“She was in her groove,” Hibriten coach Jim Blanton said. “She just got in a rhythm where she was hitting all her spots.”

Krista Sumpter led Hibriten's offensive attack, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Candace Clark went 2-for-2.

Sumpter and Kayla Brown each delivered bases-clearing, three-RBI hits in the game.

Pope, Sarah Bentley, Jordyn Roberts, Hannah Crowe, Jesse Bruce and Bailey Goble each had one hit.

The Panthers scored eight runs in the second inning to take control.

Hibriten (15-5 overall) plays Thursday at Maiden.

Soccer

West loses at home

The West Caldwell girls' soccer team lost 3-0 to Catawba Valley Athletic Conference leader Hickory Tuesday in Gamewell.

Amy Prince, Bethany Myer and Danielle Grant scored the goals for Hickory. Still, Lady Warrior coach Andrew Kanagy was pleased with the effort.

“It was a lot better than the first time we played them (a 7-0 loss),” he said. “I'm proud of my team. We were able to give them a good run, and we let them know that we aren't pushovers.”

West Caldwell (3-12 in the CVAC) plays its last home game of the year Thursday against Newton-Conover.

Tennis

Panthers fall

The Hibriten tennis team suffered its second conference loss Tuesday, losing 8-1 to Newton-Conover.

The Panthers' No. 1 singles player, Avery Nelson, was the lone Hibriten winner. He defeated Won Lak Choi 1-6, 6-1, 8-6.

The Panthers are now 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the CVAC.

MS Soccer

Granite Falls wins

The Granite Falls soccer team defeated East Alexander 2-0 Tuesday. Lindsey Potter and Chelsea Sorrow scored for Granite Falls. Kelsey Bumgarner had two assists. Potter played the first half in goal and combined with Jana Labrose for the shutout.

Granite Falls is 5-1-2 and will play at Gamewell Tuesday.

MS Baseball

Hudson

defeats Hibriten

The Hudson baseball team posted an 11-0, five-inning win Tuesday against Hibriten District.

Thomas Redding threw a complete game, allowing just three hits and walking none. Bryson Bowman and Dylan Poarch were each 3-for-4 for the Hornets at the plate. Bowman had two doubles and Poarch, Mariano Rivera and Justin Perkins had one each. Redding, Jordan Cook and Tyler Moody had other Hudson hits.

Hudson is now 9-0 on the season and plays William Lenoir Thursday.

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