Monday, October 12, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Both cross-country teams finished second in the final regular-season meets. The Lady Ironmen tennis team was off this week, but is preparing for the state playoffs, while the volleyball team closed out the regular season, and the soccer team competed in two matches. Winter sports are just around the corner; however, there is still plenty of regular-season action in football and soccer, and the other teams' playoffs are just beginning. If you follow Ironmen and Lady Ironmen sports, there will still be a full schedule for several more weeks as the seasons begin to overlap.
Both teams were back to full strength and rode that momentum to second-place finishes for both the Ironmen and Lady Ironmen teams in a meet hosted by West Lincoln on October 7, 2026. This was the final scheduled meet of the regular season. The Gaston County Championship meet will be next at Forestview High School on October 13 at 4 pm. The date was incorrectly reported in our last article due to an overlooked schedule correction. Cherryville hopes to make a strong showing during the County Champion, based on its results throughout the season. This year's teams have been smaller in number and plagued by minor injuries, but huge in heart and determination, with positive results.
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Ironmen: The guys finished in second place in the team results: 1st West Lincoln with 30 points, 2nd Cherryville with 55 points, 3rd Highland Tech with 97 points, 4th Stuart W. Cramer with 109 points, 5th East Gaston with 112 points, 6th Shelby with 140 points, and 7th Bessemer City with 177 points. Individual performances; 4th Geovanny Martinez 20:41.03, 6th Bryson Yarbro 21:12.90, 7th Mason Powers 21:15.65, 16th Seth Locklear 21:37.10, 25th Isaiah Champion 23:30.38, 27th Charlie Morgan 23:54.60, 28th Dylan Hughes 24:00.41, and 47th Phoenix Poulter 28:15.56
Lady Ironmen: The ladies also finished in second place. The team results were: 1st West Lincoln, 27 points; 2nd Cherryville, 45 points; 3rd Highland Tech, 62 points; and 4th Shelby, 81 points. Individual performances were; 3rd Clara Skamarock 23:36.59, 7th Laighna Snider 25:00.78, 16th Saharay Hernandez-Kerr 28:46.37, 17th Lydia Skamarock 29:12.32, and 18th Ella Rayfield 29:20.02
The Lady Ironmen are gearing up for the women's dual-team tennis state playoffs, which begin October 12. Cherryville is ranked 12th in North Carolina in the 2A classification. They will have the 6th seed in the West and host Cornerstone Charter Academy (11th seed) in the first round on Monday, October 12, tentatively scheduled for 4 pm. The winner will play in the second round on October 14, at the home of the higher seed. Time to be determined.
The volleyball regular season ended this week with three matches; one was non-conference. Playoff eligibility and pairings will be determined on October 15 with the release of the final brackets. It's been an up-and-down year for Head Coach Matt Powers and Assistant Coaches Abby Hawkins and Allison Raines. The team has been very competitive in almost every match, yet the record doesn't reflect their grit, determination, and gusty play throughout the season. Although frustrating, it helps strengthen their foundation for the coming seasons. Throughout the season, they have shown they are capable of playing with any team. Moving forward, this should be very beneficial for them.
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Piedmont Community Charter 3 Cherryville 0 – October 6, 2026: The Lady Ironmen had an away non-conference match on Monday at Piedmont. The results of the sets were: set 1, PCC 25 – CHS 15, set 2, PCC 25 – CHS 12, and set 3, PCC 25-CHS 14 for a 3-0 Piedmont Community victory. Madelyn Wyatt led PCC with 6 kills and 3 aces, and Lola Barone led with 7 digs.
Burns 3 Cherryville 0 – October 7, 2026: It was a return home to Nixon Gym on Wednesday for a match against the Lady Bulldogs of Burns. The Lady Ironmen did not make it easy for the girls of Burns. In each set, Cherryville cut deep into the Burns' leads and made them earn every point. In the first set, the Lady Ironmen ran out to an early 3-point lead and chipped away at the margin that Burns created once they took the lead, before eventually trailing by 14 in a 25-11 loss. The second set was much the same, with Burns winning 25-15. The final set again saw Cherryville take an early lead, then Burns led by as much as 10 points. The Lady Ironmen would not give up and kept battling throughout the set, before Burns was able to close it out at 25-20.
Cherryville 3, Bessemer City 1 – October 8, 2026: The final regular season match was also senior night and the final match in Nixon Gym for 5 senior girls. Before the match, gifts and honors were bestowed upon Madison Orren, Mallie Emerson, Amber Brittan, Sophia Williams, and Kate Mulvey. A special presentation was also made to Kate Mulvey, who set the all-time school record for aces served with 240 the previous night against Burns. It was a great final night for the seniors and their teammates, ending the regular season with a victory. The win improved Cherryville's record to 6-14 overall and 4-12 in the conference.
The first set began very close early and went back and forth. Cherryville soon took control and led by as much as 12 points. The Lady Yellow Jackets fought back, cutting the Cherryville lead down to 9 twice before Cherryville went back up by 12 and ended with a 25-14 Lady Ironmen advantage. The second set was led early by BC by 2 points, then widened to a 9-point margin at its largest lead. Cherryville made a few runs, yet Bessmer City pulled out a 25-16 win. The third set was the closest of the night and began with the Lady Jackets leading by 5. Cherryville erased the deficit to lead by 1 before Bessmer City went ahead by 4 again. The Lady Ironmen tied it at 17-17, BC then went back up by 2, and Cherryville once again tied at 19-19. It was again tied at 20-20 before Cherryville went up by four and won 25-21 in a hard-fought set. Set four appeared to be headed for a quick finish as Cherryville jumped out to a 9-point lead, but Bessemer City still had some sting left as they fought back to tie at 14-14. Cherryville settled down and went up by 7, which proved to be the margin of victory at 25-18.
After the match, the senior girls had a special request for one final set, this one with their parents. It was a special and emotional moment for each girl and her parents as they said goodbye to their high school career.
The Ironmen had two matches this week; unfortunately, they lost both. Both matches were played on the road. We could not include the stats in the last article about the win over Bessemer City, so we're including them along with this week's results. The 5-3 victory saw Cole Kelly score 4 goals on 5 shots with 1 assist. Geovanny Martinez took 4 shots on goal and made 1 assist. Nasiere Armstrong scored 1 goal with 1 shot and made 1 assist. Alex Alvarez made 1 assist and took 1 shot. Carson Davis and Trevor Dalton each took one shot on goal. Ethan Johnsen allowed 2 goals and made 6 saves before Cole Kelly relieved him for the final 10 minutes of the match, making 1 save and allowing 1 goal.
East Gaston 2, Cherryville 0 – October 5, 2026: This was a hard-fought, heartbreaking loss for the Ironmen as they battled through a scoreless first half, only to give up 2 goals in the final half. The Warriors' defense was tough, only allowing Cherryville 2 shots on goal, one each by Cole Kelly and Trevor Dalton. Ethan Johsen was given a workout, making 19 saves and allowing only 2 goals.
Highland Tech 9 Cherryville 0 – October 7, 2026: The first half was not too bad. The match was scoreless for the first 10 minutes. After the Rams hit their first goal, they did not score again until just under 12 minutes into the half, and then again just under 4 minutes later, for a 3-0 lead at the break. The second half was a different story as Highland Tech found its offense and went on to record a 9-0 victory. Ethan Johnsen made 22 saves and allowed 7 goals, and Cole Kelly made 1 save and allowed 2 goals.
Next on the schedule for Cherryville is a return home on October 12 to face Burns, then back on the road once more as they travel to Shelby on October 14 to continue their conference matchups.
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