Sports

Marching Ironmen Double Down on Awards, Cross Country Men Take Third in Conference, and Soccer Recap

Pictured left to right: Charles Bowles, Megan Wright, and Cole Crawford, the CHS Band Director

Credit: CHS Marching Ironmen Facebook Page

Posted Tuesday, October 27, 2026 10:11 am

By: Roger Sigmon - Wise News Network

Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The fall sports season is quickly ending, yet the marching band contest season is just heating up. Director Cole Crawford has his marching Ironmen scheduled for a full slate of competitions in October, as well as halftime performances on Friday nights. The cross-country teams continue to place well as post-season meets are underway, and the soccer team has made great strides in transforming the men’s soccer culture at Cherryville High School. They have had their best record since the 2022 season.

Band

The Marching Ironmen played at halftime on Friday night, October 16, and returned to school bright and early on Saturday, October 17. After beginning the day with a pancake breakfast, the band students loaded up for a full day of competition. They set out for not one, but two competitions. It was a good idea to begin the day with a hearty breakfast, as they would need that strength, not so much for performing but for hauling home all the hardware they won at both competitions. This group might be small in number, yet it is huge in heart and talent.
The 2026 marching band performs a competition show titled “Dragon Hunt,” and on this day, they not only hunted dragons but slew quite a few as well. The first stop was at Freedom High School. Five awards were earned at the first competition of the day. 1st place drum major class 1a, 3rd place color guard class 1a, 1st place percussion class 1a, 1st place overall drum major class 1a/2a, and 2nd place band overall class 1a.

The CHS Marching Band Students posed behind their awards

The band next headed to Newton Conover for their second competition of the day. Leadership went back to Freedom to collect the awards, then returned to Newton Conover in time to collect even more. At this competition, Cherryville brought home 2nd place in percussion class 1a, 1st place in music class 1a, 1st place in band class 1a, and 1st place in drum major class 1a. The next band contest was scheduled for Jay Robinson High School on Saturday, October 24. It’s a busy season for these young musicians and color guard members with football games and band contests. We’ll keep you up to date on their progress.

Cross Country

The Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference meet was held on October 20, 2026, at Shelby High School. Once again, for the second year straight, one of the smallest 2A schools came in third place. The men’s team had a remarkable showing in defeating 6 of the other 8 conference teams. The women’s team had runners to place well, but were
missing a few, and did not have enough participants to count toward a team score. Illness and minor injuries have followed both teams all season, yet they have battled through the adversity and still made their presence felt. Next up will be the NCHSAA West Regionals on October 31. A list of qualifiers was not yet available. The conference results are below.

Cross Country at Mount Island Charter - Pink Out Night - Mount Holly, NC - October 1, 2026

Ironmen: Team scores; 1st Shelby 25 points, 2nd West Lincoln 53 points, 3rd Cherryville 92 points, 4th Stuart W. Cramer 98 points, 5th Highland Tech 115points, 6th East Gaston 145 points, and 7th Bessemer City 206 points. Individual finishes; 13th Geovanny Martinez 19:34.53 – 11 points, 14th Mason Powers 19:39.13 – 12 points, 20th Bryson Yarbro 20:39.77 -18 points, 27th Dylan Hughes 21:29.57 – 25 points, 30th Charlie Morgan 22:03.39 – 26 points, 37th Seth Locklear 22:59.12 – 30 points, 39th Isaiah Champion 23:06.47 – 32 points, and 53rd Phoenix Poulter 25:59.52

Lady Ironmen: Individual finishes; 14th Laighna Snider 25:23.55, 18th Ella Rayfield 28:16.92, 22nd Lydia Skamarock 29:28.96, and 34th Myla Parnell 33:37.38

Soccer

The Ironmen are having their best men’s soccer season since the 2022 season. They had two matches this week and will close out the regular season with their home finale on October 27 at 6 pm, hosting Bessemer City.

The first match this week was a conference contest at Stuart W. Cramer on October 19. Cherryville fell 4-0 in that one. The Ironmen held the Storm scoreless for almost half of the first half when they scored their first goal at the 22:52 mark. They went up 2-0 with 8:50 left in the half. Stuart Cramer would add 2 more goals in the second half, one at 14:48 and the other with 4:56 left in the match. The Storm was led by Tate Ramkisson, Camden McGinnis, Derek Palmeros, and Harrison Hennard, all scoring one goal each. Everett Newton-White and Jalen Richardson contributed 1 assist apiece. Ethan Johnsen made 6 saves and allowed 4 goals against to lead Cherryville.

Cherryville High School Soccer vs Lincolnton High School - Rudisill Stadium - Cherryville, NC - September 30, 2026

A non-conference match was played in Newland, NC, against Avery County on October 22. This was a hard-fought contest with the Ironmen coming up just a little short in a 2-1 loss. The first 35 minutes of the match went scoreless as the two teams fought a tough defensive battle. Avery scored their first goal with just a few ticks over 5 minutes left in the first half. They were able to sneak one more in with 1:18 left on the clock before the break. Trailing 2-0 in the second, Cole Kelly found nothing but net on a penalty kick at the 36:09 mark. The rest of the half was a defensive contest with neither team giving up much ground nor any goals. Ethan Johnsen turned in another strong performance, making 10 saves while only allowing 2 goals against.

Soccer and football conclude regular-season play in the coming week, followed by playoffs, while cross country will continue its postseason journey. The marching band will also be competing in several more contests. Winter Sports will begin in November, as Fall sports teams conclude their playoffs. There is still plenty of Ironman athletic competition left before the Holiday season arrives in just a few more weeks.