Friday, October 2, 2026
®
The World's Local News Source®
Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Cherryville Ironmen Athletics continue to make headlines across multiple sports this past week. Two Ironmen basketball players earn All-Southern Piedmont Conference recognition, and the Lady Ironmen soccer team secured its first victory of the season. Meanwhile, the boys' tennis team split a pair of home matches to open their week of competition.
(Please click the above arrows to scroll through the photo gallery)
More player recognitions have been awarded for Winter sports, this time in basketball. Senior starting point guard Kate Bookout and Senior forward Paxton Pruett were named to the All-Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference teams. Bookout started the past two seasons for the Lady Ironmen and played an integral role on both offense and defense. Paxton Pruett led the Ironmen in several categories. He was the top scorer with 305 points and the top rebounder with 141 for the season, which was 1 ahead of Camden Williams, who averaged 6.1 rebounds per game to Pruett’s 5.9. Pruett played one game more than Williams. Paxton doubled his scoring average from last season to lead the team this season with 12.7 points per game. Shooting 34% from three-point range helped with his increased production. He was second in field goal percentage with 42%, finishing behind Darius Pullen’s 48%. Pruett was also third in blocks with 14 on the season.
The Lady Ironmen had three matches on tap this week. They won one non-conference match for their first 2026 victory and lost two conference matches. The ladies will have another busy week, traveling to Gastonia to play Hunter Huss on March 9, returning home on March 10 to host Burns, and making a trek to Shelby to take on the Golden Lions on March 12. All matches will begin at 6 pm.
East Gaston at Cherryville, March 3, 2026: The Lady Warriors invaded Rudisill Stadium and came away victorious by a score of 8-0. Alexa Cloninger led them with 3 goals and 6 points, Payton Lenox with 3 goals, 8 points, and 2 assists, and Ella Wise made 2 saves with zero goals against. Elizabeth Sanderson added 1 goal and 2 points, while Kayla Mairs also scored 1 goal, 3 points, and had 1 assist. Cherryville got 22 saves and 8 goals against. Kaydence Ellis took the most shots on goal with 4, followed by Kate Bookout with 3, and Eleanor Sermersheim, along with Gracie Adkins, each took 1 shot.
The Lady Ironmen Soccer Team posed for a group photo after their first win of the 2026 season.
Cherryville Ironmen Athletics Facebook
Chase at Cherryville, March 4, 2026: Home was more friendly to the Lady Ironmen on this night as they secured their first win of the season, 6-0 over the visiting Lady Trojans of Chase in a non-conference bout. Cherryville jumped out to a quick lead and was up 3-0 at the half. Adding 3 more goals in the second half to seal the 6-0 victory. Kate Bookout set the pace with 4 goals and 8 points on 5 shots. Kaydence Ellis scored the other 2 goals and gained 4 points off 2 shots. Gracie Adkins took 7 shots, and Mallie Emerson took 1 shot. Emily Allen held the Trojans scoreless with 12 saves and zero goals against.
Cherryville at Highland Tech, March 6, 2026: This match was all Lady Rams, as they jumped out to a big lead early on their way to a 10-1 conference win over the Lady Ironmen. Highland Tech improved to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference as Cherryville dropped to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the conference. Savannah Butler and Audrey Holder each scored 3 goals and 6 points, while Lydia Gould scored 1 goal and 3 points and made 1 assist for the Lady Rams. Izzy Edsel made 1 save and allowed 1 goal. Kate Bookout scored Cherryville’s lone goal and 2 points. Kaydence Ellis took 2 shots, and Gracie Adkins took 1 shot. Emily Allen made 20 saves but gave up 10 goals against.
The boys’ tennis team hosted two matches at Donna Lavery Courts, winning one and losing one. Their record now stands at 2-1. The Ironmen will next travel to Gastonia on March 10 to face Ashbrook and then return home on March 12 to open conference play against Lincolnton. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 4 pm.
Piedmont Community Charter at Cherryville, March 3, 2026: The Ironmen defended their home court well as they won 7-2. In singles action, Kingston Odom (PCC) defeated Steven Bell 8-3, Cole Kelly defeated Cameron Ladin 8-4, Gage Johnson defeated Keyton Jenkins 8-0, Nathan Esquivel (PCC) defeated Hunter Griffin 8-4, Gabriel Stergiou defeated Josef Gwinn 8-4, and Trevor McSwain defeated Ryan Clanton 8-3. Cherryville swept the doubles matches as Steven Bell and Hunter Griffen defeated Kingston Odom and Keyton Jenkins 9-7. Gage Johnson and Gabriel Stergiou defeated Cameron Ladin and Nathan Esquivel 8-5. Cole Kelly and Jonah Harrison defeated Josef Gwinn and Ryan Clanton 9-8 (7-4).
Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, March 4, 2026: The Ironmen fell short at home against Thomas Jefferson 8-1. In singles, Jasper Fagan (TJ) defeated Steven Bell 8-2, Jack Hamrick (TJ) defeated Cole Kelly 9-7, Jack Perison (TJ) defeated Gage Johnson 8-2, Ishan Palikh (TJ) defeated Hunter Griffin 8-6, Sam Sutton (TJ) defeated Gabriel Stergiou 8-4, and Dylan Betancur (TJ) defeated Trevor McSwain 8-3. In doubles, Jasper Fagan and Jack Peirson (TJ) defeated Steven Bell and Hunter Griffin 8-3, Jack Hamrick and Sam Sutton (TJ) defeated Gage Jonson and Gabriel Stergiou 9-7, and Cole Kelly and Trevor McSwain defeated Grayson Hamrick and Ishan Palikh 8-6.
For further WNN articles and news stories, visit https://wisenewsnetwork.com
For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork
Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com
North Carolina Press Association Member
©️Copyright 2026 Wise News Network. All rights reserved.
