Mid-Week Sports Update
Boys Track
For the second consecutive meet, the Albemarle boys track team turned in a consistent performance. Scoring in five out of six categories and winning three of those categories, the Bulldog men came in first place, outscoring North Stanly, Jay M. Robinson, and Gray Stone.
The ‘Dogs paced the field in sprints, hurdles, and jumps. The only category where the boys came up empty was distance.
Defending Triple Jump State Champion Ali Currie scored 18 points with first place finishes in High Jump, Long Jump, and Triple Jump. Slay Jackson also tied for third in the high jump. Also in field events, Miles Gregory got the ‘Dogs on the board in throwing with a third place finish in shot put, throwing 35’5”.
The ‘Dogs racked up points in the hurdles as well. Jackson placed first in the 110, with Reyli Alvarez finishing 5th for a total of 7 points. In the 300 meter hurdles, CJ Ellis placed first, Slay placed second, and Omarion Hinson placed 5th for a total of 11.
Gregory’s brother, Vincent, turned in a strong performance on the track, placing second with a 56.0 in the 400, third in the 200 with a 25.3, and joining Zyion Geiger, Jaylen Pinkney, and CJ Ellis in winning the 4x200 relay. The team’s time was 1:39.0.
Pinkney and Geiger also placed in the 200 with Vincent, taking first and second respectively. Pinkney ran a 23.3 and Geiger ran a 25.1. Pinkney also placed second in the 100, finishing with an 11.2.
Final Boys Standings:
1) Albemarle 68.5
2) North Stanly 63.5
3) Jay M. Robinson 60
4) Gray Stone 52
Girls Track
The Albemarle girls turned in another solid performance, placing second overall. The ‘Dogs were able to defeat Gray Stone, who edged them last week in the opener, but placed second behind North Stanly.
Amari Baldwin and Abigail Clayton again turned in great performances. They placed 1st and 2nd in the 100 again, both shaving time off with finishes of 12.9 and 13.4, respectively. Clayton improved her 200 time to 28.5, taking first place in the event. Clayton also won the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:07.00. She was joined by De’Narjeonia Robinson, who finished in 4th place with a 1:11.8.
Baldwin, meanwhile, rounded out her day with a first place finish in both Long and Triple Jumps – jumping 15’ and 33’1” respectively.
Kai Spencer placed second in high jump, finishing with a jump of 4’6”.
Aryjha Baldwin and Anautica Meaders both turned in solid performances, combining for 17 points with the hurdles on the track. They placed second and third in the 100 meter hurdles, and placed first and second in the 300 meter hurdles.
Mary Grace Krol made her return to the track with a dominant run in the 800, finishing a full 14 seconds ahead of the second place runner with a time of 2:45.
She was joined by Diamond Smith, Kai Spencer, and De’Narjeonia Robinson to win the 4x200 with a time of 2:07.
Overall, the ‘Dogs came up just short of a team win, despite the solid performance.
Final Girls Standings:
1. North Stanly 78
2. Albemarle 69
3. Gray Stone 53
4. Jay M. Robinson 30
Girls Soccer
The Lady Bulldogs soccer team’s home opener on Monday evening was a tough one. With a team full of hard-workers who are new to the sport, the ‘Dogs have showed marked improvement from offseason workouts to pre-season practice and from game to game in the season.
The Lady Bulldogs roster size doubled over the offseason as they look to establish a strong program under new coach Brittani Waldrip.
The ‘Dogs travel to West Stanly tonight at 6:00.
JV Baseball
There was Bulldog Baseball action at Don Montgomery Park for the first time in two years on Tuesday. The program was on a 2 year hiatus, with a season cancelled and roster size severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With an influx of freshmen and sophomores and new head coach Josh Schrump, the Bulldogs are stepping toward a post-COVID rebuild with a JV season.
In Tuesday’s game, Zach Schrump covered 2 1/3 innings on the mound for the Bulldogs before being removed for Dre Davis, who covered 2 innings. Champ Davis, in his first ever pitching performance, got the final 2 outs for the Bulldogs. Offense was tough to come by for the Bulldogs and the final inning got away from them, so they fell 14-0, but it was simply good to be back on the diamond.
The Bulldogs defense was solid, with a pickoff move by Dre Davis leading to a successful rundown between 2nd and 3rd base. Kaine McClendon and Mekhi Baldwin both made solid plays in the outfield as well.
The ‘Dogs are back in action tomorrow, paying a return trip to Mount Pleasant High School at 4:30.