The Banner News / banner-news.com
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Page 15
East Gaston baseball makes late season push By John Wilson john.bannernews@gmail.com
Right now the East Gaston Warriors are playing some good baseball. Bit by bit the Warriors are improving their record. East Gaston is 6-10-1. They have a 5-7 record in Big South 2A/3A Conference play. EG has won two of their last three games. Last week was a busy week for the Warriors. EG played Burns, Ashbrook and North Gaston. They ended up beating Burns and Ashbrook. They lost a tough one against North Gaston. First up was the Burns game. The Warriors had been scheduled to play the Bulldogs the week before, but that game was postponed due to weather. It took 10 innings but the Warriors were able to get past the Bulldogs and squeeze out a 4-3 win. Noah Breakfield spent almost nine innings on the mound before being relieved by Dosi Jones. Logan Russell was East Gaston’s top bat. The junior was two for four. After besting the Bulldogs, East Gaston went to Gastonia to take on Ashbrook. The
Warriors gave up 10 hits, but they kept Ashbrook in check pulling off a tight 8-7 win. In that game Josh Benfield went to the mound. Benfield proved he could not only pitch, but he could bat as well. Benfield was credited with the win. He also went three for folur with a pair of doubles. Caleb Hager went two for four as well. Last Thursday the Warriors hosted the North Gaston Wildcats in a game that sadly resulted in a loss. The Warriors gave the Wildcats a run for their money. EG was down 7-2 in the 6th inning when the Warriors mounted a 3 run rally to put the score at 7-5. At that point North Gaston shut the door and the Warriors couldn’t get any closer. East Gaston’s top batters were Noah Rimmer and Caleb Hager. Rimmer was three for four with a run and an RBI. Hager went two for four. He also had a run and a RBI. It’s a little to early to know if the late season push will be enough to get the Warriors into the playoffs. It is fair to say that if East Gaston continues to win the likelihood is good that the Warriors will get a shot at the post season.
A group of seventh grade students from Belmont Middle School recently traveled to Washington, D.C. One of the sites they visited was the National Air and Space Museum. Gaston Schools photo
Bumgardner establishes Chemistry Scholarship Dr. Carl L. Bumgardner of Raleigh, a native of Belmont and professor emeritus of chemistry at NC State University, recently established a scholarship endowment to benefit students in the NC State Department of Chemistry. The Ann Bumgardner and Myrtle Bumgardner Scholarship will support juniors or seniors pursuing a chemistry degree, with first preference given to students from Gaston County. Recipients will be promising students who show a genuine interest in the chemistry
discipline through participation in activities such as research, creative problem solving, tutoring and overcoming academic challenges. The scholarship honors Bumgardner’s wife of 58 years, Ann, and her legacy of five sons, seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. It also honors his sister, Myrtle, who raised him from a young age and instilled in him an appreciation of education and a thirst for learning.
Gaston Schools Points of Pride
This group of students from Mrs. Davenport’s class at North Belmont got lessons in watercolor and print making from artist Cathy Baker-Thuot (pictured) last Thursday. The kids enjoyed letting their creative side show. Photo by Alan Hodge
Local residents inducted into Honor Society
BRITTANY POSTELL #7 Senior Forward/Striker
Soccer
Carothers Funeral Home at Gaston Memorial Park Gastonia NC • 704.867.6337 Stanley NC • 704.263.2631 Dallas NC • 704.922.3191
The following local residents recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Margaret Nolan of Belmont was initiated at College of Charleston; Megan Purdee of Gastonia was initiated at East Carolina University; Jasmine Scheitler of Belmont was initiated at North Carolina State University. These residents are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership.
The “Do the Right Thing” award winners for March were Mia Atkins, W.A. Bess Elementary; Payton Jacobs, Cramerton Middle; and Bobby Lang, Webb Street School. A group of middle and high school students earned multiple honors in the MidCarolina Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program. Students from Ashbrook, Cramerton, Stuart W. Cramer, East Gaston, and Forestview won 34 awards including 12 Gold Key, 11 Silver Key, and 11 honorable mentions. Shane Hawkins, the automotive teacher at East Gaston High School, was honored by Fox 46 Charlotte as part of the television station’s “Teachers Getting Results” program. Mount Holly Middle School conducted a read-athon and raised $3,400 to purchase new books for the library. Stuart W. Cramer High School teacher Nicholas Patterson and his Welding III students built Pinewood Derby trophies for members of the Cub Scout Pack #56 at First United Methodist Church in Belmont. Abigail Lefler, an eighth grade student at Belmont Middle School, qualified to compete in the 2017 National Geographic State Bee. Josh Hipps and Brandon Roche of Cramerton Middle and Sadie Absher of Belmont Central Elementary are members of the local Charlotte team that participated in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s regional competition and earned first place. The team will travel to Louisville, Kentucky to compete against 15 other teams for the national champion-
ship. Students in Kiser Elementary’s anti-bullying club presented a skit that highlighted the theme “Not in Our School.” The message focused on kindness, helpfulness, compassion, and treating each other with respect. School counselor and club adviser Jenna Brown coordinated the program. Gaston County Schools had several students to earn N.C. Student Academy of Sciences and N.C. Science and Engineering Fair awards for their outstanding projects in biology, chemistry, environmental science, and engineering. The student winners were Jordan Abernathy from Belmont Middle School and Nikki Hendrix, Alexandra Thomas, Grace LaBue, Julia Short, Andrea Esparza, Alex Klasing, Emily Mobley and Rebecca Nixon from Stuart W. Cramer High School. For the third consecutive year, the Belmont Middle School Battle of the Books team won the county and regional championships and will compete for the state title in May. Team members are Catherine Armstrong, Riley Bradley, Simran Chahil, Lydia Crawford, Matthew Dalton, Will Durham, Meghan Kimbirl, Abigail Miss, Grace Nehring, Asher Neumann, Joseph Norris and Emily Rollins. The coaches are Linda Cathcart and Angie Alexander. The five finalists for Gaston County Schools Assistant Principal of the Year are Mitch Allen, South Point High; Todd Goff, Belmont Central Elementary; Donna Kelly, Rankin Elementary; Allison Rhyne, Costner Elementary; and Matt Rikard, Brookside Elementary.
The five finalists for Gaston County Schools Central Office Administrator of the Year are Scott Cassell, Accountability; Bessie Harvey, Facilities/Maintenance; Patricia Pruitt, Technology; Celeste Sadler, Academics; and Valerie Yatko, Business and Community Partnerships. Yeva Hall-Williamson of East Gaston High School was named the Gaston County School Counselor of the Year, and Laura Long of Highland School of Technology was named the Gaston County School Library Media Coordinator of the Year. The following schools earned top honors in the Battle of the Books competition. The East Division winners were W.A. Bess Elementary, first place; Pinewood Elementary, second place; Belmont Central Elementary, third place; and Kiser Elementary, fourth place. The West Division winners were North Belmont Elementary, first place; W.B. Beam Intermediate, second place; McAdenville Elementary, third place; and Brookside Elementary, fourth place. The following schools earned top honors in the Math Masters competition. The East Division winners were Belmont Central Elementary, first place; Costner Elementary, second place; Hawks Nest STEAM Academy, third place; and New Hope Elementary, fourth place. The West Division winners were Woodhill Elementary, first place; H.H. Beam Elementary, second place; Brookside Elementary, third place; and Lingerfeldt Elementary, fourth place. See POINTS page 16