Photo courtesy of NBC Sports
Trenton Gill: Following an impressive training camp, Gill will become the first former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf to play in the National Football League. On Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Bears reduce its roster from 80 to 53 players. Gill, as widely expected, made the final cut. In May, Gill was selected in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Bears. He will replace veteran Patrick O’Donnell, who the Bears let leave in free agency last winter. In his final exhibition game last week against Cleveland, Gill averaged 48.3 yards on five punts. One of the punts was downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest attempt was 58 yards. When the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers at Solider Field on September 11, Gill will become the first player from Hillsborough to play in the NFL since Alvis Whitted, who played wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders in 2006. Whitted also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons in a nine-year career. He is now the wide receivers coach at the University of Wisconsin.
Mia Davidson: Davidson completed her first professional season with Athletes Unlimited over the weekend. Davidson finished 21st among 60 players. For the final week of the season, Davidson played for Team Mulipola. The captain of Team Mulipola, Dejah Mulipola, wound up winning the individual championship with 1,782 points. Davidson ended the season with 1,280 points. In the final game of the season on Sunday, Team Mulipola defeated Team Chidester 10-6. Davidson hit her fourth home run of the season in the first inning, a two-run blast. Davidson ended up with 150 points on Sunday (60 for inning points, 50 for the win and 40 for the home run). Team Mulipola lost the other two games last weekend. On Friday, Team McCleney edged Team Mulipola 5-4. Davidson went 0-for-2 and finished with 18 points (10 for winning one inning, eight for getting hit by a pitch). On Saturday, Team Denham defeated Team Mulipola 4-0. Davidson finished with eight points (hit by a pitch). She also made a diving catch in right field, which was the first time she had played a defensive position this year (she was a designated player in her previous 13 games). Davidson ended the year with a .278 batting average with four home runs and eleven RBIs.
Bryse Wilson: Wilson had two starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the past week. On Monday night, Wilson had a no-decision as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied to defeat the Pirates 7-5. Wilson allowed three runs on five hits in three innings. He struck out two and walked two. Pittsburgh had a 5-3 lead going into the eighth inning before the Brewers scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth. On Friday, Wilson started as Philadelphia defeated the Pirates 7-4 at Citizen’s Bank Park. Wilson was chased after one inning where he gave up four runs on five hits. Wilson is now 2-8 with a 6.12 ERA.
Kayla Hodges: The Virginia Commonwealth University women’s soccer team continued its season with a 1-1 tie against former conference rival UNC Wilmington at SportsBackers Stadium in Richmond, VA on August 25. Hodges came off the bench to play 29 minutes. On Sunday, the Rams played to a 1-1 tie against UNC Greensboro. Hodges played 41 minutes as a reserve. VCU is 0-1-2. They will host William & Mary on Thursday night.
Emerson Talley: The Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team opened its season with a 2- 2 tie against Lees-McRae at Tate Field in Banner Elk on Saturday. Talley, the all-time leading goal scorer in Cedar Ridge women’s soccer history, came off the bench to play eleven minutes.
Avery Miller: Former Orange High volleyball player Avery Miler has started her freshman season at Pitt Community College. The Bulldogs are off to a 3-0 start. They opened the season with a 3-0 win over Central Carolina Community College in Sanford. Miller started and finished with seven kills and two digs. On August 23, Pitt defeated CCCC again 3-0, this time in Winterville. Miller had six kills, two aces and seven digs. On August 24, Pitt traveled to Elizabeth City and defeated Mid-Atlantic Christian University 3-0. Miller had two kills and a dig.