Draughn High School 2023 graduate Luke Rector, who’s now a rising junior at the University of Toledo, recently was named to the 2026 Mid-American Conference preseason all-conference football team.
Rector
Rector was a preseason first-team All-MAC selection from Lindy’s Sports entering his first season with the Rockets after having started his collegiate career at Gardner-Webb University.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman has three years of eligibility remaining as he makes the jump from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) with the Runnin’ Bulldogs to become the first former Wildcats player ever to play on scholarship at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level.
Rector last fall was named an All-Big South/Ohio Valley Conference selection after allowing a quarterback pressure rate of just 1% in his 865 snaps, helping GWU to a 7-5 overall record behind one of the league’s top offenses.
At Draughn, Rector was a four-year All-Burke County player who as a senior was named conference lineman of the year and was an all-state selection as he manned both sides of the line of scrimmage for a Wildcats squad that finished 13-2 and reached the NCHSAA 1A West Regional final.
Toledo finished 8-5 (6-2 MAC) in 2025, winning eight games or more for a fourth consecutive season.
McElyea
McElyea to transfer to D-II Young Harris
Blake McElyea, a 2024 Draughn graduate, recently announced on social media that he is transferring to NCAA Division II program Young Harris College for the 2027 season.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander spent the 2026 season at James Madison University, recording just one out over two mound appearances as he yielded two hits, two walks, and three earned runs. McElyea originally committed to D-I Longwood University in November 2023 before re-opening his recruitment and signing with D-I Queens University of Charlotte in June 2024, though he never pitched for either program.
He was a two-time all-state pitcher with the Wildcats who was Burke County pitcher of the year as a senior. Last summer, McElyea pitched for the Caldwell County Post 29 American Legion team.
The move to Young Harris reunites him with former DHS teammate Griffin Stephens, a rising sophomore. Both pitchers have three years of college eligibility left.
Young Harris finished 41-18 overall this spring, winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament and reaching the NCAA D-II Southeast Regional title game, two wins from a World Series appearance.
Five Burke soccer players named all-region
The North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association recently announced its 2026 high school girls all-region teams, and five Burke County student-athletes were among those selected.
Patton sophomores Becca Velasquez, Jaxyn Nolen, and Brenda Lopez-Ortiz were named to the 23-member 1A/2A/3A All-Midwest Region team, while NCSSM-Morganton senior Hannah Xu and junior Elyse Rea were selected to the 30-member 1A/2A/3A All-Charlotte Area Region team.
Each of those five players was previously announced as all-conference honorees this spring, and Velasquez is the only local repeat all-region selection.
Velasquez scored 18 goals in just 13 matches before missing the last nine matches with an injury. She already has 47 goals for her PHS career and is on pace to break the program goals record after already breaking the single-season record (29) as a freshman.
Nolen supplied a county-best 24 goals this spring, while Lopez-Ortiz added eight goals and a team-high eight assists as the Lady Panthers recorded their most overall wins (17) since 2019 and reached the third round of the NCHSAA state playoffs in successive seasons for the first time ever.
Xu, the Catawba River 1A/2A/3A Conference player of the year, led the Lady Dragons with 20 goals and 10 assists, while Rea added four goals and six assists. NCSSM-M both won a playoff contest and finished third place or better in its league for a third time in as many seasons.
Also of note locally, Hickory junior Piper Jillings was named to the 4A/5A/6A All-Foothills Region team, and her father, Brian Jillings, was named region coach of the year after the duo recently helped lead the Red Tornadoes to their first state championship in the sport. Both are current Valdese residents, and Brian Jillings is also a former East Burke head coach in the sport.
Also recently, the CRC released its all-conference boys tennis team, and NCSSM-M’s Andy Quach, Nick Levine, and Nash Taylor were selected. Quach and Levine reached the 1A West individual regional final in doubles, and the Dragons made their second trip to the 1A West Regional final in dual-team action in three seasons, also claiming their third straight league regular-season title.
Freedom, Draughn announce cheer camps
Both Freedom and Draughn high schools recently announced details for their youth cheerleading camps this summer.
The Freedom Patriot Cheer Youth Camp for children age 4 through rising eighth graders will be held Aug. 10-12 from 9-11:30 a.m., followed immediately by a showcase on the final day of camp. Registration cost is $45, and instruction will include cheers, dances, and jumps. Email FHS coach Cindi Bradshaw at cbradshaw@burke.k12.nc.us to sign up or for more information, and follow @freedomcheer_official on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest FHS cheer news.
The Future Wildcats Cheer Clinic for rising Pre-K students through eighth graders will be held Aug. 3-5 from 9 a.m. to noon at the DHS main gym. Registration cost is $40 (available now online at shorturl.at/sF3mX) and those who register by July 31 are guaranteed a camp T-shirt. For more information, contact coaches Haley Proffitt or Heather Bost at hproffitt@burke.k12.nc.us or heatherbost@burke.k12.nc.us.
Two locals win to open Hickory track series
Rising high school juniors Frank Harrelson from Freedom and Juleighanah Parker from East Burke started this year’s Hickory Summer Track Series with victories at the opening meet, which was held June 4 at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
Harrelson claimed the men’s 1-mile run (5:02.83), while Parker finished first among women’s runners in both the 100 meters (13.68) and 200 meters (27.79).
Also locally, Morganton natives Amy Brooks won the women’s 2-mile run (17:04.81), and Robert McGimpsey placed fourth in the men’s shot put (25’9”).
