Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 14, 2012, edition 1 / Page 16
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SportsWeek June 14, 2012 No summer rest for East's Harrison Hollis BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE As far as batting averages go, the recently-concluded baseball season was less than satisfactory for Harrison Hollis. The East Forsyth rightfielder hit around .290 during the early weeks of the season, but then he went through a month-long slump, from which he never fully recovered. He finished the year hit ting around .205. In spite of his woes at the plate, Hollis developed as a stellar defen sive presence. His speed allows him to cover a lot of ground in the out field, which prevented opponents from getting a fair share of extra base hits. Because of Hollis's strong arm, base runners were forced to exercise caution in attempting to take an extra base on any ball hit in his direction. "Harrison's value doesn't always show up in the box score," said / Coach Allen Plaster. "With him, it's more about the intangibles. He brings speed and a ton of energy to Submitted Photo Harrison Hollis will play summer ball at American Legion Post 236. our lineup. He had some bad days swinging the bat, but his problems at the plate never had a negative impact on how well he performed with his glove. Over the last two weeks of the season, he started to hit the ball a lot harder. But most of the time, he was n't able to hit the ball where there were gaps in the defense." With Hollis anchoring the out field, East Forsyth was able to make a strong push in the NCHSAA Class 4-A state playoffs. The Eagles won the Piedmont Triad 4-A Conference and went on a postseason roll before losing twice to Cornelius Hough in the state semifinals. "It really hurt that we came so close (in the playoffs) and weren't able to bring a championship ring back home," said Hollis, a rising sen ior who plays wide receiver in foot ball and competes in the 50-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle relay for the East swim team. "If I had it to do all over again, I'd treat every practice as if I was going to play for a championship the next day. You can never slack off in the play offs. You come to realize that with every game you play - if you don't win - it will be the last game you play for that season." Even though Hollis is a three sport athlete, he considers baseball to be his strong suit and he wants to play at the college level. For that to happen, he acknowledged that there's much for him to work on. Hollis will play American Legion baseball this summer (Kernersville Post 236) and he plans to focus most ly on finding his groove at the plate and improving his base-running skills. "I'll put in a lot of work to help me perfect my swing," he said. "And 1 need to get better at reading where balls are hit so I can make better decisions when I'm running the bases." East Forsyth's state-champi onship run has Hollis eagerly antici pating what the future holds next season. Whether or not the Eagles can advance to the state title round remains to be seen. Yet, the lessons learned from 2012, Hollis said, pro vide more than enough motivation for him to perform to his maximum capabilities. "One thing I learned from this past season is how important it is to stay confident even when you're down," he said. "You just keep on fighting. There were so many times this past season when we fell behind, but we still found ways to rally and win games. We want to continue to do that next year." WSSU Photo by Garrett Garms Clara Gaines, the widow of Coach Big House Gaines, speaks at the 2010 ceremony. Several to join WSSU Hall of Fame SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE The 2012 Winston-Salem State University C.E. "Big House" Gaines Hall of Fame will induct eight individuals and the 1999 and 2000 CIAA Championship-win ning Rams basketball teams during a ceremony on Friday, Aug. 31 at the Anderson Conference Center on the school's cam pus. The inductees will also be honored during halftime of the Winston-Salem Football Classic, featuring the Rams versus UNC Pembroke, on Saturday, Sept. 1. "To an athlete, being , enshrined into your universi ty's athletic Hall of Fame is reaching the mountaintop. There is no higher honor," Rick Duckett WSSU Director of Athletics William "Bill" Hayes said. "On behalf of the entire WSSU Department of Athletics, congratulations to all inductees for reaching this milestone." Football players Dr. Randy Bolton, Willie Crite Jr. and D wayne Finch, wrestler Bennie Carver, baseball player Paul Hayes Sr., golfer Alvin Queen Sr. and meritorious service hon orees Peyton Hairston Sr. and Dr. Clarence "Jeep" Jones will be inducted along with the basketball squads. The basketball teams were made up of Marcus Best, Keith Breland, Russell English, Kevin Henry, Chea Johnson, Jonathan Mclntyre, D'Angelo Mitchell, Kamal Oliver, Windell Owens, Larry Patterson, Tyrone Robeson, Vincent Sessoms, Bradley Taylor, Tyrone Thomas, Corey Thompson, Sherman Ward, Tony Williams and Toman Wynn. They were coached by Head Coach Rick Duckett and assistants Phillip Stitt, William McNeil and Floyd Butler. "We enshrine these indi viduals amongst the elite past and present Hall of Famers as we move to enhance the vision and growth of our future stu dent-athletes," said C.E. "Big House" Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame Chair Tim Grant. "Let this greatness not be forgotten by our Hall of Famers, faculty, staff, stu dents and friends of this great university. We must remember our financial commitment and physical support of the C.E. 'Big House' Gaines Athletic Hall of Fame." DSU bowler is MEAL s top woman MEAC Photo Jazmyne Hefflefinger SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Delaware State University's Jazmyne Hefflefinger has been named the 2012 Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman of the Year. Hefflefinger will be awarded the honor during the annual MEAC Football Press Luncheon on Friday, July 20 at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Va. The award, selected annually by the MEAC Senior Woman Administrators, cele brates the achievements of female senior stu dent-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Hefflefinger guided the DSU Lady Hornets to back-to-back MEAC bowling championship titles (2009, 2010) and a NCAA Bowling championship appearance in 2009. The Harrisburg, Pa. native served as anchor during her junior and senior seasons and averaged 187.5 pins during her senior campaign. She participated in 52 team games and 59 Baker games and recorded a season high 255 to earn all-tournament honors at the Bethune-Cookman Invitational in 2011. During her career at DSU, Heffleftnger earned All-Conference honors three times and was named to two MEAC All-Tournament teams (2009,2010). Off the lanes, Hefflefinger served as a member of the MEAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Her community servic es ventures included volunteering to build ramps for disabled persons, walking to raise awareness for the American Heart Association and AIDS research, and serving as a Tournament Official and Group Guide Facilitator for Special Olympics. Hefflefinger also donated her time to the DSU Community Park and Boys and Girls Club. Hefflefinger will represent the MEAC as its nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Savannah State University track and field student-athlete Amara Jones was the 2012 MEAC Woman of the Year runner-up. Cats to take on Heat in October SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE The Charlotte Bobcats announced last week that the team will face the Miami Heat in a preseason game at Raleigh's rNC Arena on luesday, Oct. 23. Tickets for the game, which is pre sented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, range from $7.50-$ 115 and went on sale last week. "The Triangle is known for its love of basketball and we are looking for ward to bringing the NBA game to our fans in that area," said Bobcats Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield. "Playing in Raleigh also continues our emphasis of making the Bobcats a team for all the Carol inas u.. Whitfield ?? uy jpl Cdlll llg, C V villa UllUUgllUUl 111C ICglUII. The game, which replaces last year's preseason contest that was postponed due to the NBA's work stoppage, will be the Bobcats' first in Raleigh. The team has previously played preseason games in Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, as well as Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina. The Bobcats' full preseason schedule will be announced at a later date. Submitted Photo Winston-Salem Mavericks 10V players with their coaches. Good showing by local team at state tourney SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Winston-Salem Mavericks 10U team played in the USSSA - United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) State finals recently. The team did well, beating Mid-State 37-15 in their first game and then Team Carolina in the second game, 54-41. In the third game, the Mavericks beat the Cleveland Pride 45-6. The squad held on a 34-22 to beat the Carolina All Stars in their fourth match-up. The team then advanced to the 10U D1 State Championship Game, where they came up short, losing to Team Phoenix 51-36. The team did qualify for the Nationals in Greensboro. The Winston-Salem Mavericks, a 501c(3), tax exempt organization, is owned by Mike Gonzalez and Willie "BB" Patrick Jr. ? a For donations and/or more information, contact Coach Patrick at 336-416-0907.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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June 14, 2012, edition 1
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