Draughn High School senior Katie Hamm on Thursday finalized her recruiting process as she signed with Lees-McRae College to play softball starting in the spring of 2025. Hamm, a right-handed pitcher …

Avery Fraley didn’t start participating in track and field until a few years ago, but his decision to join East Burke’s team as a sophomore has paid off in a major way. On Wednesday, the senior …

Additional sports programs are coming to the R.O. Huffman Center in Drexel, which is once again operating as a full-time recreation center. Center director Lisa Butler recently became a full-time …

The fifth-grade Jammers included (from left to right) Ellie Hollifield, Aubrey Compton, Ivy Robinson, Bergyn Thorne, Ellie Bean, Serena Dellinger, Addison Lowman, and Madeline Bowman, and the team …

Both the East Burke High School football team as well as the boys and girls cross country teams recently received NCHSAA scholar-athlete team awards for their work in the classroom in the fall 2023 …

Registration for the annual men’s and women’s basketball Crossover League at New Day Christian Church will get underway soon. Fee is $25 per player, and those interested can sign up starting …

The four Burke County high school football teams each recently announced their 2024 regular-season schedules, and they all mirror last season’s versions with the sites switched. The five total …

SATURDAY, April 20 HIGH SCHOOLS TRACK AND FIELD Draughn, East Burke at Craig Styron Foothills Classic (9:30 a.m., in Lenoir) BURKE CO. REC DEPT Youth indoor soccer league games (9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. …

Patton High School principal Dillon Sain on Wednesday announced via a press release that Billy Whisenant has been named the school’s ninth all-time head football coach. Whisenant, 50, is a …

The NCSSM-Morganton boys tennis team got on the courts once in an otherwise dreary weather week, topping host Draughn by a 9-0 margin on Monday in Western Highlands 1A/2A Conference play. The win …

Seventy years ago this week, a man from Morganton set the golfing world on fire as he nearly won the prestigious Masters golf tournament. That man was Billy Joe Patton. Patton, who was then a …

Alek Thomas, the Arizona Diamondbacks centerfielder with Morganton ties, was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 1. Thomas injured his hamstring the day before running the first-base line in …

Piper Jillings continues to make waves on the pitch. The Hickory High School freshman, who lives in Valdese, joined 15 other standout soccer players for a trip to Costa Rica over spring break. The …

Persistent rain throughout most of the week forced numerous schedule changes to Foothills Athletic Conference sporting events, but a few middle school baseball and softball games were played on …

SATURDAY, April 13 HIGH SCHOOLS TRACK AND FIELD East Burke, Patton at Odell Williams Invitational (10 a.m., at East Burke) NCSSM-Morganton at Hornet Invitational (time TBA, at NCSSM-Durham) BURKE CO. …

This past fall, it was announced that Hickory would be getting a semi-professional men’s soccer team called Hickory FC. Next month, the team will take the field for the first time when it begins …

Jace Duckworth, Patton baseball Grade: 12th Position: Outfield How long have you played this sport? Since I was about 5 years old. Why should others try this sport? Your teammates are like a family …

Registration opens online on Monday (April 15) for UNC Health Blue Ridge’s “Cleared to Compete” initiative, in which the local hospital system offers free physicals to Burke County’s high …

The Paper recently reached out to two of Billy Joe Patton’s three children, Chuck Patton and Betts Patton Drennen, who shared with us some first-hand accounts as well as stories passed down to them …

The East Burke Middle School archery team swept this year’s National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state championships, as after winning the state bullseye title in Winston Salem in …

The East Burke High School softball team won the third annual Burke Bash county championship tournament on April 5 at Freedom Park, going 2-1 at the event to tie the host Lady Patriots for top record among the county's four programs but winning the run differential tiebreaker.

The sixth annual Tony Causby Classic concluded on Wednesday at Patton High School, with three of Burke County’s high school baseball teams suffering double-digit losses on the final day of the …

Elizabeth Lohbauer improved on her top-10 finish from 2023, winning medalist honors and leading her Western Carolina University women’s golf team to a second consecutive title at the annual Mimosa …