Photo by Jennifer Freeland
Braden Crawford: In his freshman season, Crawford has qualified for the National College Wrestling Association Nationals. On Saturday at Liberty University, Crawford finished fifth in the NWCA Mid-Atlantic Regionals 141-pound division competing for Division II Ferrum College. Crawford, who was seeded fifth, reached the semifinals of the championship bracket after winning his opening two matches. In the opening round, Crawford pinned Daniel Hudson of Liberty in 1:51. Trailing 3-0 in the quarterfinals, Crawford pinned Steven Stotler of James Madison in 26 seconds. Michael Phoutasen of the Apprentice School defeated Crawford in a 9-5 decision on his way to the 141-pound championship. In the consolation round, Landon Yoder of the Apprentice School defeated Crawford 19-10. In the fifth place match, Crawford secured a spot in the NCWA Nationals by pinning Michael Schick of Clemson in 3:44. Crawford led the match 7-1 at the time of the pin. Ferrum finished 3rd in the team standings with 169 points. The NCWA Nationals will be held March 26-28 at Brookshire Grocery Arena in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Andre Hill: A former Central Conference wrestling champion at Orange, Hill is now on the club team with the Charlotte 49ers. At the NCWA Mid-Atlantic Regionals over the weekend, Hill won a match in the 197-pound tournament. In the consolation round, Hill defeated Chase Smith of the Apprentice School via pinfall at 1:45. In his senior season at Orange, Hill went 39-2.
Katie Belle Sikes: This week, Sikes will compete in the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships in Atlanta. Sikes will compete in the 200 yard freestyle relay with freshman Hayden Hollingsworth, senior Emma Norton and freshman Marin Clem. In the Bulldog Invitational Last Chance meet in Athens, GA on February 28, Sikes, Hollingsworth, Clem and Norton came in with a B-cut time of 1:28.68. Sikes also finished first in the 50 yard freestyle at 22.49 seconds.
Sophia Stinnett: The Le Moyne women’s swimming team finished out the season at the Northeastern Conference championships in Geneva, Ohio on February 20. Stinnett, a freshman and former All-State competitor at Cedar Ridge, finished tenth in the 1,650-yard freestyle at 18:04.68. Le Moyne finished fifth in the women’s standings with 334 points over the course of four days. On day two on February 18, Stinnett finished 12th in the 500 yard freestyle at 5:11.26. Stinnett started the NEC Championships by joining Shea Gillespie, Shannon Swezey and Kalya Fraley in the 800 yard freestyle relay. They came in sixth place with a time of 7:51.84.
Evelyn George: After a record breaking start to the season, the season is over for the Division III Guilford Quakers women’s basketball team. Shenandoah University defeated Guilford 61-60 in the opening round of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament at the Wilkins Athletic and Events Center in Winchester, VA. George, who played the sixth woman role as a freshman throughout the year, was the first player off the bench. She played 16 minutes and finished with five points and four rebounds. This season, Guilford got off to the best start in school history at 11-0. They finished 18-8 overall, 9-7 in the ODAC. The Quakers dropped its final four games of the year. On January 21, George scored 14 points in Guilford’s 76-57 win over Averett. George ends her freshman season averaging 5.3 points, playing in all 26 of Guilford’s games. She also averaged 3.5 rebounds per game.
Amiyah Ware: As a redshirt sophomore at Division II North Greenville, Ware suffered an injury that sidelined her for the second half of the season. She missed the last 14 games of the season for the Timberwolves. Ware played 14 games and was second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game at the time of her injury. North Greenville ended the year 9-19, 4-16 in Conference Carolinas. Ware scored a season-high 16 points against Converse on December 3. At Cedar Ridge, Ware broke the Orange County record by scoring 54 points in a game against Western Alamance in 2023.
