Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Several Ironmen teams had good weeks, while others have hit a slight bump in the road. Tennis and cross country had successful weeks, while the volleyball and soccer teams are making strides but still fell a little short in the search for the conference win. Due to the Labor Day holiday and Friday's homecoming game, fewer events were on the schedule this week. A condensed schedule did not throttle the action and excitement on the course, on the courts, and on the pitch. Even with some teams in a slight slump, these young Ironmen and Lady Ironmen never quit to the very end. At each event, they showed class, sportsmanship, competitiveness, and pride.
Coach Bella, as she is affectionately known by her team, enjoyed not only a victory in the conference opener at Lincolnton but also a shutout to begin the conference schedule. Although Bella's girls enjoy their home court, they might just symbolically adopt Lincolnton as their home away from home. On September 9, the opening matches for the Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference were played. Cherryville headed to Lincolnton for a showdown with the Lady Wolves. The Lady Ironmen came away with a 9-0 shutout of the host and began conference play 1-0, improving to 2-2 overall. After a couple of tough non-conference matches, the Cherryville ladies were more than relieved with their most recent performance. Next week, they will return home to face Highland Tech on September 15, and Shelby will come to town on September 17.
Individual Sets: Morgan Wray (CHS) defeated Elizabeth Bailey (L) in two sets, 6-4 and 6-4. Laney Spangler (CHS) defeated Reece Russell (L) 6-4 and 6-4 in two sets. Bailey Bryant (CHS) defeated Karina Arrendondo (L) 6-0 and 6-0. Laney Jones (CHS) defeated Aislin Mejia (L) 6-3 and 6-1. Maddie Avery (CHS) defeated Melanie Vue (L) 6-0 and 6-0. Ava Freeman (CHS) defeated Addyson Smith (L) 6-1 and 6-0.
Dual Team Sets: Laney Jones/Bailey Bryant (CHS) defeated Elizabeth Bailey/Reece Russell (L) 8-2. Miley Dalton/Maya Torres (CHS) defeated Aislin Mejia/Karina Arrendondo (L) 8-0. Kimsey Stephens/not listed (CHS) defeated Dairel Guzman Lopez/Riley Avery (L) 8-5.
As a team, Cherryville has played 36 individual matches, winning 21 and losing 15 for a winning percentage of 58.33 through 4 matches. Top performers are Ava Freeman, 4-0, and Maddie Avery, 3-1, in singles. In doubles team action, Maddie Avery and Ava Freeman are 2-0.
The men's and ladies' cross-country teams had another outstanding week. Their latest meet was held at Southside Park Complex, hosted by Lincolnton High School, on September 8. The men placed third, and the ladies placed second. The men's team competed without one of their top runners due to a prior commitment to another CHS athletic team. The Ironmen didn't skip a beat as it was next man up. The weather is still hot and humid; however, these young athletes have not only survived but thrived. Running 3.1 miles in high heat and humidity takes endurance, strength, and courage. These two teams have shown they are up to the challenge. Next week, they will travel to Gastonia for a meet hosted by Ashbrook High School on September 15.
Ironmen: The team standings were: 1st Shelby 20 points, 2nd West Lincoln 35 points, 3rd Cherryville 113 points, 4th Highland Tech 128 points, 5th East Gaston 135 points, 6th Stuart W. Cramer 149 points, 7th Lincolnton 191 points, and 8th Bessemer City 191 points.
Individual results were; 14th Mason Powers 21:14.99 – 12 points, 27th Abraham Gomez 24:00.87 – 23 points, 29th Dylan Hughes 24:04.94 – 25 points, 30th Bryson Yarbro 24:24.96 – 26 points, 32nd Isaiah Champion 24:28.73 – 27 points, 33rd Charlie Morgan 24:37.92 – 28 points, and 52nd Phoenix Poulter 29:07.64 – 44 points.
Lady Ironmen: Team results were: 1st West Lincoln 23 points, 2nd Cherryville 60 points, 3rd Burns 69 points, and 4th Shelby 81 points.
Individual results were; 4th Clara Skamarock 23:53.72 – 4 points, 13th Laighna Snider 25:43.77 – 10 points, 20th Lydia Skamarock 28:46.96 – 14 points, 21st Ella Rayfield 29:06.93 – 15 points, 24th Ava Jones 30:21.26 – 17 points, 27th Grace Brown 31:50.87 – 18 points, and 38th Myla Parnell 37:25.26 – 24 points.
These girls show up to play every match; they don't let anything curb their enthusiasm and fight to the last point. They are still searching for their first conference win and have approached each match with a "why not us" attitude. Their record is currently 2-8 overall and 0-7 in conference play, but they have played many close sets and hung tough with some very good teams. This week they had two matches, one at home and one on the road. Next, they head out on an extended road trip with three away matches. First up will be a stop in Bessemer City on September 15, then Shelby on September 16, and ending the week at West Lincoln on September 17.
The Lady Ironmen began the week at home, hosting the conference-leading Storm of Stuart W. Cramer. The Lady Storm are 8-2 overall and 6-0 in the conference. The first set was so tightly contested that it was difficult to tell which team was undefeated in the conference standings. This set saw many lead changes and was tied as late as 17-17 and 18-18. The Lady Ironmen took a brief lead before Cramer came back to close it out at 25-20. The second set began much like the first, with both teams swapping leads early. By midway through the set, the Storm began to pull away and won 25-15. The final set saw Stuart Cramer start off hot, and Cherryville had to play catch-up most of the way. The final in the third set was Cramer 25-15 over Cherryville.
The Lady Ironmen looked like they were in business in Lincolnton as they started the night winning the first set 25-22. The second set was brutal, as Cherryville could never get things going and fell 25-7. The Lady Ironmen regrouped for the third set yet came up short 25-19. The fourth set was also heavily in favor of the Lady Wolves as they went on to win 25-12. Lincolnton was led by a huge night by Torie Lykins. She served 8 aces with the team serving 21, had 6 of the team's 13 kills, and recorded 14 digs. Maelyn Carr added 7 aces, Fabiana Villalobos-Espinoza had 25 digs, and Aerilyn Armstrong added 13 digs for the Lady Wolves.
It was a rough week for Ironmen soccer. They began the week at home against Highland Tech. The Rams built an early lead and never gave Cherryville a chance to catch up. The final was 10-1 in favor of Highland Tech. Leading the way for the Rams was Ben Kelly, scoring 4 goals and 4 assists, and Gavin Mosse allowed only 1 goal and made 1 save. Max Rodriguez made 2 assists as he and Korede Gbadamosi each scored 2 goals. Luis Jaramillo made 2 assists as he and Ethan Distefano each scored 1 goal.
The second match of the week was a trip to play the undefeated Burns Bulldogs. This match went better than the first one of the week, yet Cherryville fell short, losing 6-0. The Ironmen are searching for their first conference win of the season and will have two shots in the coming week. Two matches are scheduled at home: the first on September 14th against Shelby, and then on September 16, the Ironmen will host Stuart W. Cramer.
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