Half-dozen Burke spring athletes named all-state

Burke County high school spring sports athletes picked up more 2026 postseason honors as last week started, with six total local athletes being selected to all-state teams spanning softball and track and field.

The N.C. Softball Coaches Association’s 3A all-state squad was highlighted locally by the selections of Draughn senior pitcher Avie Helton, senior outfielder Ava Aldridge, and junior catcher Lindsey Hensley, while Freedom senior catcher Rhiley Buchanan and senior outfielder Abigayle Gibson were also named to the 6A all-state team on Monday.

All three Lady Wildcat players were already well-decorated after leading the team to its first NCHSAA West Regional championship series.

Helton, a Catawba Valley Community College signee, was already named the 3A District 7 pitcher of the year and Burke County pitcher of the year, while Aldridge was Western Piedmont 3A/4A Conference player of the year and county slugger of the year, and Hensley was county co-player of the year.

Helton won a program-record 20 games this spring, striking out 112 batters in 144 2/3 innings with a 1.65 ERA. She added 28 hits (10 for extra bases) and 19 RBIs, hitting for a .341 average.

Aldridge had 34 hits including 20 extra-base hits to go with 34 RBIs and 28 runs scored, hitting .391, and Hensley scored 42 runs and stole 29 bases, hitting .403 with an on-base percentage of .531.

Aldridge has signed with Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, and Hensley has committed to the same Lady Cobras program in the next year’s class.

Meanwhile, Gibson and Buchanan were both all-county and All-Northwestern 6A/7A Conference selections as Freedom won its first state playoff game in 11 years.

Gibson batted .430 on 34 hits with 29 runs, and Buchanan, a Robeson Community College signee, hit for a .358 average with 15 RBIs and six doubles.

One day earlier, on Sunday, HighSchoolOT.com released its sixth annual outdoor track and field all-state teams, and Freedom senior 6A state champion KeAndre Davis was named a second-team selection (regardless of classification) in the boys long jump event.

He was one of three second-team selections in the event and nine total all-state long jump honorees statewide.

Davis’ gold-medal distance of 23 feet, 8 inches was fifth best in the state this season, and he went on to compete nationally in the event after the season, placing seventh at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals track and field championship meet in Philadelphia last month.

Harrelson qualifies for AAU Nationals

Matthew “Frank” Harrelson of Morganton finished third in the boys ages 15-16 3000 meters event with a time of 10:06.04 at the N.C. AAU Region 25 Qualifier track and field meet held at Monroe High School on June 26.

With the effort, Harrelson earned the right to represent North Carolina at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, at the AAU National Junior Olympics Championship meet on Aug. 8.

Harrelson is a rising Freedom High School junior who runs track and cross country with the Patriots in addition to his summer AAU series.

Also in local track recently, rising East Burke junior Juleighanah Parker won the girls 15-19 portion of the 800 meters event (1:04.95) at the fourth meet of the Hickory Summer Track Series at Lenoir-Rhyne University on June 25.

Jones takes over with Liberty football

Liberty Middle School on Monday via the LMS Football page on Facebook announced that Dustin Jones would take over as head football coach for the upcoming 2026 season.

The 45-year-old Jones is a Morganton native who attended Freedom High School.

The post reads, in part: “Fresh off the press from Principal (Heidi) Bristol. Calling all rising seventh and eighth graders. Join me in welcoming Coach Jones as our head football coach for the 2026-2027 school year. Optional summer football workouts will be announced soon. … We look forward to another great year of Knight Football.”

Jones replaces Jason Black, who coached Liberty to its second and third consecutive undefeated Foothills Athletic Conference championships in 2024 and 2025. Last fall, LMS outscored its opposition by a combined 232-6 margin.

“So happy for LMS football because they got a heck of a good man to run that program,” Black commented on the post.

Patton tennis camp held next week

Patton High School recently announced that it is holding a tennis camp for rising seventh through 12th graders next week, from July 13-16, on the courts on campus from 9-11 a.m. daily.

Cost is $40 per camper, and registration is available online now at l1nk.dev/nzziq5v. The camp is designed to help players of all skill levels grow their game.

For more information, contact Panthers tennis head coach Ryan Hyde at ryanhyde@burke.k12.nc.us.

Draughn season tickets on sale

Draughn High School recently announced pricing information and other details on 2026-27 season sports passes.

An athletic family pass for four runs $350, and an all-sports individual athletic pass is available for $125. A senior all-sports athletic pass for ages 50 and older, which is good at all four Burke County high schools, is available for $50. A DHS student athletic pass is $100 for the school year. Passes do not cover state playoffs, holiday tournaments, or preseason scrimmages.

Contact Draughn athletic director Brian Lowman at blowman@burke.k12.nc.us for more information.

BEVC Kryptonite volleyball tryouts

The Burke Elite Volleyball Club (BEVC) Kryptonite is holding 2026 tryouts on July 25-26, with makeup tryouts also scheduled for Aug. 1-2.

Sessions are scheduled the first weekend on day one from 9-10:30 a.m. for the 10-12U players and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 13-14U, then on day two from 1-3 p.m. for 15-16U and from 4-6 p.m. for 17-18U. Times for each age group are the same for the second weekend of tryouts.

Registration cost is $20 per athlete and must be completed prior to tryouts. Registration is available online now at burkeelite.com.