KMHS relay team qualifies for state

Last Thursday night the Kings Mountain High indoor track and field teams participated in the Titan II indoor track meet in Winston Salem. This is a true indoor facility and the location of the 3A state championship on Febru- ary 10.

The men’s 4x800m relay finished second and qualified for the state meet by running a new school record of 8:43. The team consisted of Max Thompson, Marty Lovingood, Isaiah Watts, and Hunter

Cruise. Also qualifying in the pole vault was Nicolas Horne with a vault of 10’0”. Andre Willis added two second place finishes in the 55m high hurdles and the 55m dash. He had already qualified in the 55m hurdles earlier this season.

The highest-finishing Lady Mountaineer was Divinity Ervin finishing second in the 1600m run with a 6:01. She also was in the fourth place 4x800m women’s relay with teammates Brooke Waseman, Sarah Eagle, and Sindy Ulloa.

Qua Ingram scored six points during the run and Coryon Gaines’ deep three from the left wing gave the Patriots a 39-6 lead at halftime.

KM came out strong to start the second half and the lead increased to over 40 points. Christian Hill scored four of his game-high 11 points and Xavier Hutchens pitched in with five. Yates Toney and Malachi Powell added four points as the lead increased to 54-11 going into the fourth quarter.

Camren Houser and Joe See PATRIOTS Page 5B that.’”

Bumgardner quit playing travel ball in 2015. He said his life was “built around softball but my body was telling me I’d had enough. My kids had started playing ball and I wanted to watch them. I don’t miss softball at all.

“Plus, the game had started changing,” he said. “There was a lot of drama in the game. The best time of my career was in the ‘90s and early 2000s when softball was still softball. We were always battling to be number one. That was a goal for the team. The home runs weren’t the main thing. Yes, I could hit them but I wanted the team to win championships.

“Yes, I led the team in home runs, batting average and being named Player of the Year many times. But it’s not a one man deal. I was always about the team, not myself.

“I’m glad I went in the Hall of Fame with the people I did. They were three of the best of all time – Steve (Pup) Shortland, Brett Helmer and Christian Dowling. Christian Dowling passed away about a year ago. She was the one that pretty much changed women’s softball.”

(Boys)

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