Cory Lavalette – Moore County Edition

Nov

08

2024

Athletes of the Week: Sandy Grove Middle School girls’ cross-country team

Sandy Grove Middle School’s girls’ cross-county team are the Athletes of the Week. Sandy Grove Middle School competed in the co-ed middle school cross-country championships at Hinson Lake last week, and both teams had strong performances. The girls’ team brought home the conference championship, the third straight years that they’ve won the title. The boys’ team finished in fifth place in their conference meet.

Nov

08

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Kaitlyn Kruczek

SportsKaitlyn Kruczek, Pinecrest girls' golf, Pinecrest golf, Pinecrest High school, Pinecrest Patriots

Pinecrest girls’ golf’s Kaitlyn Kruczek is Athlete of the Week. Kruczek helped lead the Patriots to a third straight NCHSAA class 4A championship. Kruczek tied for first place after shooting a first-round 70 and finished with a 146, good for a fourth-place tie, along with teammate Ashley Lee (our athlete of the week two weeks ago). Kruczek improved by one stroke and moved up two spots from last year when she shot 147 for a sixth-place tie at states. The year before, she shot 172, tying for 38th.

Oct

27

2024

By Cory Lavalette

Athlete of the Week: Ashely Lee

SportsAshley Lee, Pinecrest girls' golf, Pinecrest golf, Pinecrest High school, Pinecrest Patriots

Pinecrest golf freshman Ashley Lee is Athlete of the Week. The reigning 2023 Tarheel Youth Golf Association Middle School State champion made a splash in her debut in high school golf. In her first season with Pinecrest, Lee led the Sandhills Conference in scoring average and earned first-team SAC All‑Conference honors, joining five of her Patriots teammates on the All-Sandhills team. She also won the Conference Player of the Year award.

Oct

18

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Hailey Gibbons

Sportsathlete of the week, Hailey Gibbons, Patriots, Pinecrest, Pinecrest High school, Pinecrest Patriots, Pinecrest volleyball

Pinecrest volleyball senior Hailey Gibbons is Athlete of the Week. The Patriots finished a perfect 12-0 conference season with wins over Hoke County and Union Pines. In the senior night win over Hoke, Gibbons led Pinecrest with 11 digs and 15 receptions, adding four service aces and an assist. In the regular season finale against Union Pines, Gibbons had 18 digs, 11 receptions, three assists and an ace. For the season, Gibbons leads the team in aces per set and is third in digs, receptions and total aces.

Oct

12

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Brandon Powell

Sportsathlete of the week, Brandon Powell, North Moore, north moore football, North Moore High School, North Moore Mustangs

North Moore football senior running back Brandon Powell is Athlete of the Week for the second time this season. The Mustangs won their second straight game after an 0-4 start, blowing out Bartlett Yancey 55‑22 last Friday. North Moore didn’t throw a pass in the game, rushing for 488 yards. Powell had more than half of them, carrying 23 times for 269 yards, an average of 11.7 yards per carry. He also scored six touchdowns. Powell is the state’s No.3 rusher at the 1A level and leads the Mid-Carolina Conference.

Oct

06

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Blake Pennington

Sportsathlete of the week, Blake Pennington, North Moore, north moore football, North Moore High School

North Moore football freshman Blake Pennington is Athlete of the Week. Playing with older brother Colby, a North Moore senior this season, in their only year together, Blake has quickly made a name for himself on the Mustangs defense. He is averaging more than 10 tackles a game to lead the team. In North Moore’s shutout win over Jordan-Matthews last week, Pennington had a game-high 14 tackles. He also added two tackles for loss, giving him three on the season, to go with one sack. Pennington also blocked two punts against the Jets.

Sep

20

2024

By Stanly County Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Emily Regtuyt

Sportsathlete of the week, Emily Regtuyt, Pinecrest High school

Pinecrest volleyball sophomore Emily Regtuyt is Athlete of the Week. The Patriots have won four of their last five, including two of three last week, and are now 9-5 on the year and leading the Sandhills at 5-0. Regtuyt had six blocks in a win over Scotland, adding three kills, an ace, two digs and two assists. For the year, she leads the team in blocks and is second in hitting percentage. Her 42 blocks also lead the Sandhills Conference.

Sep

12

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Brandon Powell

Sportsathlete of the week, Brandon Powell

North Moore football senior Brandon Powell is Athlete of the Week. The Mustangs fell to 0-3 on the year with a loss to Northwood, but Powell went out on his shield in the game. He rushed for 213 yards on 21 carries, scoring once. He had a long run of 61 yards and added a catch for 25. Powell currently leads North Moore in rushing and scoring and is among the conference leaders in rushing yards.

Aug

31

2024

By Cory Lavalette

Athlete of the Week: Caleb Milton

Sportsathlete of the week, caleb milton, Union Pines

Union Pines football senior Caleb Milton is Athlete of the Week. The Vikings beat Triton 42-0 to open the season, and Milton played both ways, contributing on offense and defense. Milton only had seven carries for Union Pines, but four of them reached the end zone as he made the most of his 32 rushing yards. On defense, he returned an interception 38 yards for a fifth touchdown and also recovered a fumble. Not to neglect special teams, Milton also returned a kick 45 yards.

Aug

22

2024

By North State Journal staff

Athlete of the Week: Brooke Emore

Sportsathlete of the week, Brooke Emore

Pinecrest volleyball senior Brooke Emore is Athlete of the Week. The Patriots opened the season with four straight wins and stand at 4-2, entering the week. Emore leads the team with 36 kills (3.3 per set), eight serving aces (0.7 per set) and a .274 hitting percentage. She is also third on the team in digs and blocks and second in receptions.