This year didn’t start the way that Alek Thomas would have liked, as the 26-year-old center fielder who was born in Morganton was designated for assignment (DFA’ed) by Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks on May 8 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 12.
Thomas
Although Thomas hasn’t played in a major league game in nearly three months after batting just .181 with 17 hits including two home runs and nine doubles in 28 games for the D-backs — he also had 10 RBIs, scored 12 runs, and stole four bases before being DFA’ed — he entered Tuesday having appeared in 35 games for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Comets. Prior to that, Thomas had one hit and scored two runs across three games for Los Angeles’ Arizona Complex League team.
During his time with the Comets, Thomas has posted a batting average of .263 with 36 hits including five homers and eight doubles. He also has 21 RBIs and has scored 18 runs to go with a stolen base.
The Comets were 53-47 overall and 12-14 during the second half of the Pacific Coast League season through Monday. Oklahoma City is currently in the midst of a six-game home series against the Las Vegas Aviators — who won the PCL’s first-half title — that wraps up on Sunday (Aug. 2).
Huffman takes third in ARCA race at Chicagoland Speedway
Huffman
Connelly Springs native Landon S. Huffman recently competed in a zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 17, finishing 15th in a 100-lap feature that included a total field of 33 drivers.
For his efforts, Huffman earned the FloRacing Field Master Award, which is presented after each CARS Tour race to the driver that passes the most cars. The 2025 East Burke High School graduate passed 30 cars at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Huffman also previously participated in a pair of Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Menards Series races, coming in 14th in the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet during the Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy on June 27 at Minnesota’s Elko Speedway before finishing third in the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevy during the Ashley Furniture 150 on July 3 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill.
The next event for Huffman is expected to be a CARS Tour race at Hickory Motor Speedway on Aug. 8.
Bennick hoping for strong finish to pro motocross season
Bennick
Following a successful run in the Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross Championship’s 250SX series from Feb. 21 through May 9, which ended with a third-place finish in the East Region points standings, Morganton native Daxton Bennick came in 14th during the opening race of the 2026 AMA Motocross Championship 250 series season on May 30 at Fox Raceway in Pala, Calif.
The 20-year-old also finished 16th at the Hangtown Motocross Classic on June 6 in Rancho Cordova, Calif., before sitting out the next two races to heal up from nagging injuries. Bennick then returned to competition with an 11th-place finish on July 4 at RedBud MX in Buchanan, Mich.
After posting a 32nd-place finish on July 11 at The Wick 338 in Southwick, Mass., Bennick bounced back with a seventh-place finish on July 18 at Spring Creek Motocross Park in Millville, Minn. He also came in 11th on July 25 at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Wash.
With three races remaining on the AMA Motocross Championship schedule — Aug. 15 at Unadilla MX in New Berlin, N.Y.; Aug. 22 at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Md.; and Aug. 29 at Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Ind. — Bennick is currently 18th in the 250 series’ points standings.
Straka looking to improve FedEx Cup ranking
Bock
Golfer Sepp Straka, whose caddie is longtime Morganton resident Duane Bock, continues to try to reach the level that he was playing at during the early portion of the 2026 PGA Tour season.
After three top-10 finishes that were highlighted by a pair of top-fives — including a tie for fourth during the Cadillac Championship April 30 through May 3 at the Blue Monster Course in Doral, Fla. — Straka’s best finish in the time since was a tie for 40th (6-over-par) during the Memorial Tournament June 4-7 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Straka then missed the cut during the U.S. Open June 18-21 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., before recording a 72nd-place finish (10-over) during the Travelers Championship June 25-28 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. He missed the cut again during the Genesis Scottish Open July 9-12 at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, and in his most recent PGA Tour event, Straka finished in a tie for 67th (4-over) during the British Open July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.
Straka, who was not scheduled to play in this week’s Rocket Classic at Detroit Golf Club, is currently the 26th-ranked golfer in the world, and he has won over $4.2 million in 17 PGA Tour events this year. Notably, he also played in the DP World Tour’s Austrian Alpine Open May 28-31 in his home country of Austria, where he shot 12-under-par to tie for 12th.
The 33-year-old is also 37th in the PGA FedEx Cup standings and has some work to do before the Tour Championship rolls around Aug. 27-30 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, as only the top 30 players in the standings qualify to compete for that week’s $10 million top prize.
Hickory FC misses USL League Two playoffs
After a couple of successful seasons in the National Premier Soccer League, including a national championship victory in 2025, the third-year Hickory FC semi-professional men’s soccer team moved up in competition to USL (United Soccer League) League Two in 2026.
Although Hickory ultimately missed the playoffs after finishing fourth in the South Atlantic Division with a 9-4-1 record, the squad scored 28 goals on the season, the third-highest total in the 11-team division.
Tomas Pollacchi was Hickory’s leading scorer with six goals, while Ivan Morcillo scored five goals, Mario Albert and James Lane registered three goals apiece, and Martin Kozak and Jonah Straube each finished with two goals. Furthermore, Hickory received one goal apiece from Ronan O’Mahony, Robbie Deighan, Leo Souza, Javan Ochieng, Bautista Rossi Molinas, Alvaro Maneiro, and Alvaro Bonet.
Hickory totaled 17 assists as well, with O’Mahony supplying a team-high three of them to go with two apiece from Deighan, Albert, and Bautista Schmidt. Morcillo, Kozak, Souza, Ochieng, Maneiro, Luke Munson, Juan Correa, and Amare Lucas each added one assist.
Hickory allowed more than two goals just once, shutting out four opponents and surrendering a single goal on six occasions. In addition, Hickory played its home matches at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Moretz Stadium for the third straight season and 2025 Patton High School graduate Isai Jimenez, a goalkeeper, was on the team’s roster for the second consecutive year.
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