Rings And Ovation

The second annual sports banquet for all athletes at Rocky Mount High School was held in the gym Thursday night with about 450 people partaking of a meal an another 100 or so there to watch family members receive awards.

The high lite of the evening was the the basketball members receiving their rings for winning the state championship in 3-A basketball. Coach Mike Gainey called all the members of the team to the front of the crowd and while the team came to the front they received an standing ovation from those in attendance.

Each coach presented their teams awards and varsity letters, all conference awards to those that had won them.

The program ended with the highest awards given to any Rocky Mount High athlete.

Triple Crown Award: Presented by Dr Greg Nelson and Coach Mike Gainey- won by Addie Keeter, Cristy Barnes and Ross Bradley.

Juan Chesson Award: Presented by Martha Proctor -Won by Carter Varnell

Scholar Athletes of the Year: Presented by Principal Leon Farrow- won by Boys- Andrew Bowers and the girls by Addie Keeter

The Male and Female Athlete of the year : Presented by the coaching staff- won by Marquavis Alston for the boys and the girls winner was Danita Whitaker.

When I picked Morgan up from school today she told me that in the hallway in front of the gym that they had hung a team picture of the 2008 state champions baseball team and the 2010 state champion basketball team. I got a look at the pictures tonight and they are really great.

Baseball is over but the Big East is still alive and will have a team in the fourth round. This will make four years in a row that the NEW-6 and now the Big East will have a team in at least the fourth round. The previous three years we are 3-0 in the fourth round with Northern Nash Making the Eastern Finals in 07 and 09 and the Gryphons in 08.

We know the Big East will make it to the fourth round because both Fike and Hunt won their second round games and square off against each other Friday night at Hunt.

The final week of ACC baseball is underway with State and Carolina winning tonight and Boston College losing. BC and State are tied at 13-15 and Carolina is 12-16. Depending on what happens the last two games all three still have a chance to make the ACC tournament.

State seems to be in the drivers seat if they win they last two games they are in. Carolina wins their last two Boston college must lose both. If State loses both and Carolina wins both they are in. If all three tie a State and BC get in the ACC tournament.

Life Goes On

The Rocky Mount High school sports banquet is tonight in the gym. If they do it they way they did it last year you will enter and be directed toward the cafeteria and then bring your dinner back to the gym. Feed time is 5.00pm and all of the annual awards will be given out shortly there after.

The Rocky Mount Telegram is reporting this morning that Gryphon Basketball player Tashawm Mabry has signed a D-1 scholarship to play basketball at University of Rhode Island of the Atlantic Ten

We are all disappointed that baseball ended so abruptly. Any time you are in a playoff format it doesn’t take much to send you home just ask the San Diego Chargers or Cleveland Cavaliers.

Luck plays its part in any playoff and look no further than basketball to see that instead of a second round road game to West Brunswick, West Craven upset WB and had to come to us instead. Our girl’s basketball team did go to WB and the season ended there. Home field means a lot in any sport.

Football was 7-5, basketball 23-3 and baseball 22-3. That is a combined 52-11 in the so called major sports at Rocky Mount High Not bad at all for the so called big three at any school. Once those taking part in this weeks state championship in track, sports will be over for the 2009-2010 school year.

Now it is time to turn our attention to Legion ball. Tryouts are Saturday at 3.00pm at NCWC’s Bauer Field. I know the players from Rocky Mount were hoping not to have to go because they were still in the playoffs.

Life moves on.

My family's life over the last seven years has been wrapped around the Tar River Children's Chorus. Patsy Gilliland as director has taken the Chorus every other year on a so called big trip.

Our first year the kids sang in her hometown of Winston Salem in a music festival. The next year was a trip to Philadelphia. The following year to Bruton's Parrish in Williamsburg. Just two years ago they sang at Riverside church in New York City. This year we were schedule to take part in a festival at Disney World in Orlando. Just before Christmas we found out that festival had been cancelled.

It has been a scramble to get another event lined up. Memorial Day weekend we are heading to Charleston SC to take part in three week event called the Piccolo Spoleto. Charleston has music galore for three weekends. The second Presbyterian Church in down town Charleston is hosting a youth festival all day on Saturday of Memorial day weekend where you just walk in and listen. it goes on from like nine in the morning until 8.00pm that night. TRCC will be singing at 4.30 until 5.15 that afternoon. That Sunday we are singing as part of church service in another church in Mount Pleasant.

Every school in our area is represented on the chorus. All the faults Rocky Mount has, you can't show me another town that has an organization like the Tar River Orchestral Society that funds the TRCC. Rocky Mount is small population wise but large in the arts in music.