Sports – Moore County Edition

Mar

21

2024

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Nicole Norman

Sportsathlete of the week

Nicole Norman is a senior catcher and outfielder for the Union Pines softball team. The Vikings are 5-1 on the year and went 1-1 last week. Norman, who will be playing in college at Barton next season, leads Union Pines in batting, on-base percentage, slugging and hits. She’s tied for the lead in homers and doubles and is second on the Vikings in RBIs. Last week, she went 2-for-3 with a run, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs in a win over Richmond.

Mar

20

2024

By North State Journal Staff

Pinecrest baseball, Union Pines girls’ lacrosse remain unbeaten

SportsMoore sports

Baseball Pinecrest ran its perfect record to start the season to 5-0 before dropping two games to finish the week. The Patriots are now 5-2, 1-1 in the Sandhills Conference. Pinecrest shut out Richmond on the road, 5-0, in its Sandhills opener. The Patriots came back from a trip to Harnett Central with their first loss of the season, however, falling 6-1. A home rematch with Richmond gave Pinecrest its first Sandhills loss, 5-1. North Moore had a big week, winning all three games to stretch its winning streak to five. The Mustangs are now 6-1 on the season, 3-1…

Mar

13

2024

By North State Journal Staff

Moore County schools have successful week in spring sports

SportsMoore County, spring sports

Most of the spring high school teams continued promising starts to the season in a busy week outdoors across the county. Baseball Pinecrest is off to a perfect start this season, going 4-0. The Patriots swept all three games this past week, beating Terry Sanford, 13-1. Two days later, Pinecrest topped Oak Grove, 12-4, and they finished the week with a dramatic walk-off, 4-1 win over Myers Park. Bryant Kimbrell was the hero, with a three-run homer to end it. He also pitched the final four outs of the game to get the win on the mound. North Moore won…

Mar

13

2024

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Bryant Kimbrell

Sports

Bryant Kimbrell is a senior two-way player on the Pinecrest baseball team. The Patriots are a perfect 4-0 on the season and had three wins last week: 13-1 over Terry Sanford, 12-4 over Oak Grove, and 4-1 over Myers Park. Kimbrell hit, scored and drove in runs in all three games, going a combined 5-for-9 for the week, with 4 runs scored and 8 driven in. He also stole two bases. Against Myers Park, he hit a walk-off, three-run home run to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh, giving Pinecrest the victory. He also earned the…

Mar

06

2024

By Lauren Rose

County high schools flip the calendar to spring

Sports

Basketball season came to an end as the four teams representing the county all dropped their NCHSAA opening games. That turns the focus of Moore County to spring sports. Boys’ Basketball Union Pines and Pinecrest both lost their NCHSAA playoff openers, ending boys’ basketball season in Moore County for the 2023-24 season. Union Pines entered as a 32-seed in class 3A, giving them top-seeded Swansboro. The Vikings lost, 99-77, ending their season at 10-15. Senior Trent Hilburn scored 19 points with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in the game. Junior Jaylen Kyle also scored 19, adding 6 rebounds…

Mar

06

2024

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: RJ Sales

Sportsathlete of the week

Pinecrest, baseball RJ Sales is an alum of the Pinecrest baseball team who is currently pitching for UNC Wilmington. Sales led Pinecrest to a Sandhills Conference title in his senior season of 2021, winning conference player of the year honors. Now a redshirt sophomore with the Seahawks, Sales is off to a dominating start to the season, posting a 3-0 record. In his most recent start, he struck out six in seven one-hit innings to win on the road at South Alabama. Sales has a 0.92 ERA and is has a WHIP (walks and hits per innin) of 0.56. Opponents…

Feb

28

2024

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Azir Gillespie

Sports

Pinecrest, boys’ basketball Azir Gillespie is a senior guard for the Pinecrest boys’ basketball team. The Patriots enter the playoffs at 13-10, 7-7 in the Sandhills Conference. They earned the 22-seed in the 4A playoffs. Gillespie has been the third-leading scorer on Pinecrest this season, but he’s stepped up his production as the playoffs loomed. He’s had several double-figure scoring games over the last month, including a 20-point outburst in a win over Scotland in the conference tournament. He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the victory.

Feb

28

2024

By North State Journal Staff

Four teams from county advance to playoffs

SportsMoore County sports

The regular season and conference tournaments are over, meaning the one-and-done playoff season has begun for North Carolina high schools. Two of Moore County’s three boys’ teams, and two of the three girls’ teams will be in action this week after receiving bids from the NCHSAA. Each school in the county has at least one team representing it as teams around North Carolina begin vying for the state title. Here’s a team by team look at the county boys’ and girls’ teams. Boys North Moore saw its season end with a 80-35 loss to Northwood in the Mid-Carolina Conference Tournament…

Feb

21

2024

By Moore County Staff

Union Pines wins state title in wrestling

Sportsmoore county wrestling

A week after finishing second in the state dual team wrestling championships, Union Pines brought home the state title in the individual wrestling tournament. The Vikings were dominant as they won the first wrestling title in school history. Union Pines racked up 144.5 points to post a dominant victory in the NCHSAA 3A championships, beating second-place Eastern Guilford by a 44.5-point margin. The Vikings had two wrestlers win state titles in their respective weight classes and had a total of eight team members place in states. Junior Brock Sullivan won the state title for Union Pines in the 175-pound division.…

Feb

15

2024

By North State Journal Staff

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Christian Hackett

Sportsathlete of the week

Union Pines, track & field Christian Hackett is a senior for the Union Pines track & field team. The Vikings finished fifth in the boys’ indoor track state championships last week, and Hackett led the way in field events. His high jump of 6 feet, 8.0 inches was good for the state title, four inches higher than the next closest competitor. He also finished ninth in the triple jump with a leap of 40 feet, 5.5 inches. Hackett is a three-sport athlete who is also a forward on the boys’ basketball team and has played safety and wide receiver for…