High School Rewind: Charlotte Catholic golfer named to US Junior Ryder Cup team.
Charlotte Catholic golfer Will Hartman will soon be packing his bags for Rome.
Hartman, who won the 2022 N.C. 4A state high school championship as a freshman, was named to the US Junior Ryder Cup team Wednesday.
The team consists of 12 of the country’s top boys and girls junior golfers who will compete in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup from September 26-28 in Rome, Italy.
The 2023 edition of the Junior Ryder Cup marks the first time the event will take place over three days instead of two.
The US team is seeking its seventh straight victory over the Europeans and owns a 7-3-1 all-time record in the biennial competition. The US team features six boys and six girls who are U.S. citizens and members of the high school graduating class of 2024 or younger.
Past European and US Junior Ryder Cup winners include golf superstars Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau and Rory McIllroy.
Hartman, a 17-year-old rising junior from Marvin, is the 19th-ranked junior on the Rolex AJGA rankings. He won the 28th annual Bobby Chapman in October 2022 and he finished T-5 at the 2023 Junior PGA Championship and T3 at the 2023 United States Junior Amateur Championship.
Hartman won the N.C. 4A state championship as a freshman in 2022, when he was named The Observer’s boys golfer of the year. As a sophomore, Hartman finished in a tie for 18th at the 2023 N.C. 4A state finals.
Thursday’s Rewind: Weddington soccer gets big win at Providence Day
Weddington continues to look the part of a state championship contender in boys’ soccer.
The Warriors, who lost in the 4A state finals a year ago but have most top players back off that team, ran their record to 2-0 Thursday with a dominating victory at Providence Day.
Weddington won 6-2, with Carter McClain scoring two goals, and Tucker Kern adding a goal and two assists.
Liam Hedinger and Calvin Kraus scored for Providence Day.
Weddington is back in action Tuesday night, hosting Charlotte Country Day, which is ranked among the top private school teams in North Carolina.
Soccer
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Corvian Community 2, Piedmont Community Charter 2: Corvian rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
Davidson Day 2, Cannon School 0
Garinger 9, Mallard Creek 0: Garinger has won two straight convincing decisions after an opening loss.
Hopewell 3, Jay M. Robinson 0
Myers Park 2, East Mecklenburg 2: Oliver Badir scored for Myers Park, and the Mustangs also scored on an Eagle own goal.
North Mecklenburg 2, Olympic 0: Goalkeeper Ezekiel Modjinu made four saves for the shutout, and teammates Spencer Matondo and Christian Flores scored goals.
Porter Ridge 4, Palisades 1: The host Pirates outscored Palisades 3-0 in the second half.
South Mecklenburg 2, Providence 0
AREA NONCONFERENCE
A.L. Brown 9, Northwest Cabarrus 2
Highland Tech 3, Bradford Prep 2
Gaston Christian 2, Hickory Christian 1: Austin Sams scored the game-winning goal, off an assist by Pearce McBee. Ethan Chiners scored the Eagles’ opening goal.
Greater Cabarrus Stallions 3, Lake Pointe Academy 0: Jackson Wilson, Ian Rau and Ian Adams scored for the Stallions.
Salisbury 11, Mount Pleasant 2
Union Academy 4, Monroe 3: Omil Delgado scored twice for Monroe.
West Cabarrus 7, Central Academy 1
Volleyball
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Arborbrook Christian def. United Faith Christian 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-18)
Community School of Davidson def. SouthLake Christian 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-19)
Hickory Grove Christian def. Gaston Day 3-2 (15-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-12)
Lake Norman Charter def. Christ the King 3-0 (25-15, 27-25, 25-19)
North Mecklenburg def. Olympic 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 26-24)
Palisades def. East Mecklenburg 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-23)
AREA NONCONFERENCE
Cherryville def. West Lincoln 3-1 (25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 25-17): Emily Allen led the victors with 11 kills and four aces.
Covenant Classical def. Carolina International 3-2 (26-24, 21-25, 25-13, 20-25, 15-13)
Gaston Day def. The Burlington School 3-0 (25-7, 25-7, 25-6): Megan Brown had 13 kills, and Anne Bradley Bing totaled 19 assists, nine aces and three kills for the Spartans.
Highland Tech def. Pine Lake Prep 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-10, 25-7)
Lake Norman def. Maiden 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-18): Izzy Sandoval had 17 kills for Lake Norman.
Lincolnton def. Stuart Cramer 3-1
Porter Ridge def. Central Academy 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-11)
South Rowan def. West Cabarrus 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-14)
Statesville Christian def. Millers Creek Christian 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-16)
Girls’ tennis
Charlotte Country Day def. Marvin Ridge 7-2: Marvin Ridge’s Jeslyn Pranknjo scored a big victory in No. 1 singles for Buccaneer standout Anna Torstrick, who retired during her match. But the Bucs took the other five singles matches. Torstrick came back, teaming with Arden Anton to win No. 1 doubles.
Lake Norman Charter def. Pine Lake Prep 9-0: Luci Falls, Eleina Moon, Anslee Falls, Moriah Hartis, Aileen Huynh and Kate Champion all won their singles and doubles matches in straight sets.
South Iredell def. St. Stephens 9-0
South Mecklenburg def. Olympic 9-0: Kate Harman, Samantha Cooper, Ava McRae, Mary Blake Gillis and Emma Koppe each won in straight sets, as the Sabres scored a South Meck 4A victory.
Girls’ golf
Charlotte Catholic 133, Charlotte Country Day 164: Maya Claffey fired a 6-over-par 42, leading the Cougars in this match at Cedarwood Golf Club. Kam Kohutek added a 43 for the Cougars. Lexy Williams led Charlotte Country Day with a 53.
Field hockey
Asheville 1, Ardrey Kell 0 (OT)
Charlotte Country Day 8, Cuthbertson 0
Junior varsity football
A.L. Brown 28, West Rowan 0
Alexander Central 14, Statesville 6
Ardrey Kell 25, Providence 18
Concord 12, Piedmont 6
East Lincoln 40, Stuart Cramer 0
Hickory Ridge 41, Jay M. Robinson 2
Lake Norman 26, North Mecklenburg 0
Monroe 20, Central Davidson 8
Mooresville 41, Davie County 22
Pine Lake Prep 35, Christ the King 20
South Iredell 38, North Iredell 0
South Mecklenburg 20, Charlotte Catholic 19
West Cabarrus 13, Northwest Cabarrus 6
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
WEDNESDAY REWIND: Carmel Christian soccer stops Charlotte Latin
A meeting of two Charlotte private school soccer powers was decided by penalty kicks Wednesday.
Charlotte Latin and host Carmel Christian played to a 2-2 tie in regulation and a pair of overtime periods, but the host Cougars prevailed 5-4 on penalty kicks.
The victory evened Carmel Christian’s record at 1-1. The Cougars, who won the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A championship two years ago and finished second last fall, face a tough schedule this season that includes defending 4A champ Rabun Gap, along with title contender Charlotte Country Day and public school 4A championship favorite Weddington.
Edward Guggenheimer and Derin Lowe scored goals for Charlotte Latin.
Wednesday’s #BIG5 Performers
Mason Bock, Corvian Community soccer: two goals in a 4-1 win over Northwest Cabarrus.
Lexi McSwain, North Gaston volleyball: nine aces in a 3-1 win over Cherryville.
Sofia Petrucci, Lake Norman Charter volleyball: 23 digs in a 3-1 win over North Lincoln.
Alex Hesiquio-Vargass, AL Brown soccer: two goals in a 6-4 win over Glenn.
Aaron Zhu, Sam Howe, Independence soccer: both players scored three times and had assists in a 9-0 win over West Stanly.
Soccer
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Community School of Davidson 2, Jay M. Robinson 1
Corvian Community 4, Northwest Cabarrus 1: Mason Bock scored two goals in Corvian’s victory.
Garinger 1, Pine Lake Prep 0
Hickory Ridge 6, Charlotte Country Day 4
Independence 9, West Stanly 0: Seniors Aaron Zhu and Sam Howe each totaled three goals and an assist in the Patriots’ romp.
Marvin Ridge 1, Ardrey Kell 0
Providence 2, Forsyth Country Day 2: Eduardo Oliveira put Providence up 1-0 with a goal in the 32nd minute, and after the visiting Furies tied the match before the half, Tommy Purvis scored in the 58th minute, giving Providence a 2-1 lead. But Forsyth Country Day earned a tie with a goal in the final 10 minutes.
AREA NONCONFERENCE
A.L. Brown 6, Glenn 4: The Wonders won this shootout, as Alex Hesiquio-Vargass scored twice, and Cody Gomez got the game-winning tally in the 72nd minute.
Concord 1, Sun Valley 1: Zayne Martin scored for Concord.
East Gaston 3, Kings Mountain 3: Yahir Gonzalez scored two goals for East Gaston, and Joseph Florez notched the other goal.
Gaston Day 3, Cannon School 0: Bennett Ackerman scored on an assist from Ben Hertle, then made it 2-0 with a penalty kick. Ben Morgan scored the final Spartans’ goal. Xavier Porter got the shutout in goal.
Lake Norman 3, Reagan 1: Jacob Whittington had a goal and an assist, and Gareth Siemers and Zach Carr added goals for Lake Norman.
Langtree Charter 2, Parkwood 2
Montgomery Central 4, Forest Hills 2
Mountain Island Charter 2, East Lincoln 1: Tanner Baxter had six shots in this match, and two of them were good for Raptor goals.
North Davidson 2, North Iredell 1
North Gaston 4, Fred T. Foard 0: Jacob Mason scored twice, Sam Martin added a goal, and North Gaston also scored on a Foard own goal.
Piedmont Community Charter 4, Cherryville 1: The host Ironmen led 1-0 at the half, but the Patriots scored four times in the final 40 minutes.
Porter Ridge 4, Richmond Senior 0
St. Stephens 4, Lincolnton 3
Weddington 4, Cox Mill 0
West Cabarrus 4, Mount Tabor 2
West Forsyth 5, Mooresville 3
West Rowan 7, Mount Pleasant 2
Volleyball
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Butler def. Chambers 3-0
Charlotte Latin def. Christ the King 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-19)
Corvian Community def. Northwest Cabarrus 3-0
East Mecklenburg def. North Mecklenburg 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 26-24)
Hough def. T.C. Roberson 3-2
Lake Norman Charter def. North Lincoln 3-1 (25-18, 13-25, 25-17, 25-20): Sarah Turner had 12 kills, and Sofia Petrucci led the defense with 23 digs for the victorious Knights.
Sun Valley def. Mallard Creek 3-1 (25-23, 13-25, 27-25, 25-21)
AREA NONCONFERENCE
Cox Mill def. Weddington 3-1
East Gaston def. South Point 3-1
Gray Stone Day def. Langtree Charter 3-0 (25-6, 25-10, 25-10)
Lincolnton def. Thomas Jefferson Academy 3-0
North Gaston def. Cherryville 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-21): Cherryville was led by Lexi McSwain (nine service aces) and Carson Reed (seven kills).
South Rowan def. A.L. Brown 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-16)
Girls’ tennis
Corvian Community def. Mallard Creek 5-4: Corvian edged its neighboring school, winning two of the three doubles matches after the teams split the six singles contests.
Lake Norman Charter def. Jay M. Robinson 9-0: The Knights piled up a 72-0 record in the six singles matches in a dominating South Piedmont 3A victory.
Lincoln Charter def. Hickory 9-0: Natalie Barger got Lincoln Charter off to a big start in No. 1 singles, winning a tough 8-5 decision over Mebane Lohite.
Mount Pleasant def. Parkwood 7-2: Raegan Hylton (No. 1 singles) and Mia Ashbaugh (No. 2) got the Tigers started, and they teamed for a dominating doubles victory.
North Stanly def. Forest Hills 7-2: The Yellow Jackets won two of three doubles matches in this nonconference loss.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Wednesday Rewind: Torstrick, Country Day opens girls tennis with shutout win
Anna Torstrick and defending state champion Charlotte Country Day opened their girls’ tennis season Tuesday in a big way, blanking Gaston Day 8-0.
Torstrick, a junior who is ranked among the best players in the state, won her No. 1 singles match by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
She then teamed with Arden Anton for an 8-0 victory in No. 1 doubles.
Charlotte Country Day won the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A championship last fall with a 19-1 record. Torstrick went 16-4 as a sophomore playing No. 1 singles.
Gaston Day is coming off a 17-1 season with a second-place finish in 2A.
Tuesday’s #BIG5 Top Performers
Paul Abril, Hough soccer: three goals in a 5-0 win over South Iredell
Cam Lawrence, Community School of Davidson: three goals in a 7-1 win over Lake Norman Charter — all in the final 21 minutes.
Sanaa Mohammed, Charlotte Country Day volleyball: 14 kills, nine digs, two aces in a 3-0 win over Greensboro Day.
Grace Mountcastle, Charlotte Country Day field hockey: three goals in an 8-0 win over Weddington
Lela Wojtalewski, East Mecklenburg volleyball: 22 assists in a 3-0 win over Berry.
Tuesday’s Soccer Recaps
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Community School of Davidson 7, Lake Norman Charter 1: The Spartans exploded for five goals in the final 21 minutes to score a lopsided victory. Cam Lawrence had three of those goals in the final surge.
Hough 5, South Iredell 0: Paul Abril scored three times, and Jonah Kakitis and Piercon Selland each added a pair of assists in the Huskies’ victory. Goalkeeper Ray Velasquez got the shutout.
North Mecklenburg 6, Union Academy 1: Cristian Hernandez scored two goals and added an assist for the Vikings. Spencer Matando added a goal and an assist.
Olympic 5, Mallard Creek 1
AREA NONCONFERENCE
Alexander Central 3, North Lincoln 1
Bandys 6, Langtree Charter 0
Carolina Day 3, Arborbrook Christian 0
Gaston Christian 5, Lake Pointe Academy 3: Austin Sams scored two goals for the victors, and Pearce McBee added three assists.
Lincoln Charter 5, Gray Stone Day 2
Matthews Christian 13, Master’s Academy 8
Metrolina Christian 4, Hickory Christian 0: The visiting Warriors scored all their goals in the final 30 minutes.
Piedmont 3, Montgomery Central 1
West Iredell 0, Atkins 0
Tuesday’s Volleyball Recaps
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Ardrey Kell def. Cuthbertson 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-17)
Charlotte Catholic def. Carmel Christian 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-15, 25-16)
Charlotte Country Day def. Greensboro Day 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-6): Sanaa Mohammed led the Buccaneers with 14 kills, nine digs and two aces. Linda Balter added 17 aces, three kills and two digs.
East Mecklenburg def. Berry Academy 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23): The Eagles scored a hard-fought victory, as Allison Oberlin-Pope had 12 kills and four aces. Lela Wojtalewski totaled 22 assists.
Myers Park def. North Mecklenburg 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-14)
Olympic def. West Mecklenburg 3-2 (25-27, 25-17, 24-26, 25-15, 15-4)
South Charlotte Thunder def. United Faith Christian 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-11)
South Mecklenburg def. Independence 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 26-24)
AREA NONCONFERENCE
Central Cabarrus def. Central Academy 3-0
East Rutherford def. West Lincoln 3-0
First Presbyterian Shannon Forest (SC) def. Gaston Day 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16)
Gaston Christian def. Lake Pointe Academy (SC) 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-21)
Jackson Day def. Carolina International 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 26-24)
Kings Mountain def. East Lincoln 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20)
Marvin Ridge def. Hickory Ridge 3-0
Metrolina Christian def. Arborbrook Christian 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-6)
Pine Lake Prep def. Statesville Christian 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17)
Porter Ridge def. West Cabarrus 3-1
South Rowan def. Mount Pleasant 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 25-10, 25-16)
West Iredell def. East Burke 3-0 (25-23, 25-9, 25-22)
Tuesday’s Girls Tennis Recaps
Jay M. Robinson def. Mallard Creek 6-3
Jesse Carson def. Concord 6-3: Concord’s Ashley Tzunun won her No. 2 singles match and teamed with Autumn Williams to win in doubles.
Northwest Cabarrus def. South Rowan 6-3: Sisters Anika and Anjana Ramanujam led the Trojans by winning No. 1 and 2 singles.
West Stanly def. Mount Pleasant 9-0
Tuesday’s Field Hockey Recaps
Charlotte Country Day 8, Weddington 0: Grace Mountcastle scored three goals and Margaret Scheurer added a goal and three assists for the Buccaneers.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
Monday’s Rewind: Myers Park soccer gets big win at Catholic
Myers Park scored a big victory on the opening night of the 2023-24 high school sports season, beating host Charlotte Catholic 1-0 Monday in a meeting of boys’ soccer powers.
The Mustangs, who reached the fourth round of the state playoffs a year ago, got standout play from goalkeeper Logan Duley, who made eight saves.
After a scoreless first half, Myers Park broke the shutout when junior Gavin Trosch scored on an assist from sophomore Max Hirsch.
This was the first meeting in boys’ soccer between the two schools in nine years.
Big night for the champs
Two-time defending 1A state champion Christ the King lost several top players from last year’s team, but the Crusaders looked like a title contender in their opener.
They hammered host Queens Grant Charter 7-0, as Christian Defenbaugh scored two goals and added an assist.
Cristian Garcia, Griffin Milligan and Kevin Bonilla each added a goal and an assist for Christ the King, playing for the first time under new head coach Nick Cappadora.
Soccer
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Ardrey Kell 0, Watauga 0: The two traditional soccer powers played to a scoreless tie. Scoring opportunities were limited, with Ardrey Kell logging a 4-2 edge over the Pioneers in shots on goal. Knights’ goalkeeper Cole Freeman made the two saves for a clean sheet.
Central Academy 1, Lake Norman Charter 0
Corvian Community 1, Greater Cabarrus Stallions 1: Mason Bock scored for Corvian, while Jackson Wilson got the Stallions’ goal.
East Mecklenburg 8, Berry Academy 1
Hopewell 3, Garinger 1
Independence 4, Sun Valley 1: The Patriots had a big opening-night victory, behind senior Aaron Zhu’s hat trick. Sam Howe added a goal and an assist to Zhu’s three goals.
Matthews Christian 9, Southview Christian 2
R.J. Reynolds 5, Providence 0
South Mecklenburg 2, Marvin Ridge 1: Reece Woller and Patrick Burling each scored for the Sabres in their home victory.
AREA NONCONFERENCE
A.L. Brown 3, Mount Tabor 1: Erik Soto-Flores had a goal and an assist, and Alex Hesiquio Vargas added two assists for the Wonders.
Concord 5, North Iredell 3: Keegan Klauss scored three goals, and Zayne Martin totaled three assists for the Spiders as they won this wide-open match.
Cox Mill 2, Pine Lake Prep 0: Jack Caudill and Micah Chigavazira scored for Cox Mill.
Crest 4, Bessemer City 1
Hickory Ridge 3, Porter Ridge 2: The visiting Ragin’ Bulls got goals from Sami Elhani, Ty Fritts and George Berube.
Lake Norman 1, West Forsyth 1: Pate Robillard scored on a penalty kick for Lake Norman.
Lincoln Charter 7, Forest Hills 1
Lincolnton 5, North Gaston 1
Mountain Island Charter 3, Metrolina Christian 1: Blake Dearborn, Owen Bright and Jordan Gonzalez scored for the victorious Raptors.
Parkwood 5, Mount Pleasant 2: Andrew Smith and Leo Nascimento scored for Mount Pleasant.
West Cabarrus 6, Glenn 1: The Wolverines traveled to Kernersville and scored a lopsided victory, as Drew Waller and Jason Hernandez-Salinas each scored twice. Waller also had an assist.
West Rowan 7, Statesville 2
Volleyball
MECKLENBURG NONCONFERENCE
Lake Norman Charter def. Pine Lake Prep 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-15, 25-13)
Matthews Christian def. Southview Christian 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 23-25, 26-24, 15-7)
Piedmont Community Charter def. Corvian Community 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-14)
AREA NONCONFERENCE
East Gaston def. Stuart Cramer 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-12)
Gaston Day def. Sanford Grace Christian 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 28-26)
Gaston Day def. Fayetteville Village Christian 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-14)
Highland Tech def. Forestview 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16)
Lincolnton def. Cherryville 3-2 (19-25, 26-24, 28-26, 15-25, 15-6): Cherryville’s Emily Allen totaled eight kills.
Marvin Ridge def. Cox Mill 3-1
Montgomery Central def. Forest Hills 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18)
North Gaston def. Bessemer City 3-1
North Iredell def. Mountain Island Charter 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-18): The Raiders, who went unbeaten and won the 3A state title a year ago, lost their opening set of the 2023 season but rallied.
North Stanly def. Concord 3-0 (25-5, 25-1, 25-2)
Girls’ tennis
Hough def. SouthLake Christian 9-0: The Huskies got off to a big start, as sophomores Devin Gilroy (No. 1 singles) and Ava Lewis (No. 2) won their matches by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
Lake Norman Charter def. West Rowan 9-0: Junior Anslee Falls and freshmen Kate Champion and Avery Walls each won their first high school matches in leading the Knights. Luci Falls won at No. 1 singles.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
PHOTOS: Myers Park at Charlotte Catholic soccer
This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 7:43 AM.
