Here is a daily list of the top performers in high school sports from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties from Sept. 2-6, 2025.
Our weekly top performers list and athlete of the week nominees are compiled courtesy of information provided to The Gaston Gazette and Shelby Star by coaches, athletic directors or team statisticians through emails, MaxPreps or mentioning @JoeLHughesII in game results and highlights posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
If a top performer’s name doesn’t appear on the list, encourage their coach to email submissions to [email protected] or [email protected].
Gastonia, Shelby high school athlete of the week nominees: Who's getting your vote?Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
Volleyball
Emily Allen, Cherryville: Had 17 assists, 16 digs, four blocks and three kills in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-22) loss to Burns. Camryn Shirley had 16 digs.
Peyton Hunsucker, Gaston Christian: Had 30 assists, while Piper Riley had 13 kills and 10 digs in a 3-2 (17-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-9) loss to Westminster Catawba Christian. Hayden Parsons also had 11 digs.
Kathryn Parker, Lincolnton: Had 12 digs and 19 assists in a 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19) loss to Stuart Cramer. Abigail Campbell and Karla Araya-Jiminez contributed 23 digs apiece.
Reagan Hare, North Lincoln: Led the Knights with 15 kills, 22 digs and eight assists in a (25-19, 27-25, 16-25, 29-31, 15-10) win over Alexander Central. Paige Stevens had 12 kills, Savannah Payne added 11 and McKenzie Swadley contributed 10. Gracie Bilmanis had 11 digs.
Faith Brown, Piedmont Community Charter: Had a team-high seven kills in a 3-0 (25-11, 25-11, 25-13) win over Sugar Creek Charter. Madelyn Wyatt had six kills and four aces; Emma Ackerman had six kills and a block, while Kiara Capistran had five aces and five digs.
Ava Cooper, South Point: Had a team-high 20 assists, while Olivia Easton had nine kills in a 3-0 (25-9, 25-6, 25-7) win over Hunter Huss.
Sara Pawlish, Stuart Cramer: Had 21 kills and 13 digs in a 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19) win over Lincolnton. Kyleigh Hawkins had 10 kills and 11 digs. Avery Willer had 39 assists and 14 digs. Mallory Hall had 17 digs.
Boys soccer
Geneus Evans, Bessemer City: Scored a goal, as did Yair Avila in a 4-2 loss to Highland Tech.
Yovanni Lopez, East Gaston: Netted two goals, with Chris Castejon and Luis Suarez scoring a goal apiece in a 4-0 win over Cherryville.
Ben Horgan, Gaston Day: Scored the game-winning goal and had an assist in 2-1 win over SouthLake Christian. Bennett Ackerman also had a goal and an assist.
Joel Chavez, Lincolnton: Had two goals, while Leineer Delgado-Nin?o (goal, assist) and Irving Hernandez (goal) contributed to a 4-1 win over Shelby.
Bryce Custer, North Lincoln: Had two goals and an assist, while Allan Medina and Harrison Pruett added a goal apiece in a 4-0 win over Hunter Huss. Cameron Kupsco had six saves.
Edwin Ramirez, West Lincoln: Scored two goals, with Alex Arredondo and Anthony Musto (two assists) netting a goal of their own in a 4-0 win over Stuart Cramer. Chase Driscoll had 23 saves in goal.
Girls tennis
Hannah Somers, East Gaston: Won 8-0 in No. 4 singles, helping the Warriors to a 9-0 sweep of Hunter Huss. Camila Rodriguez-Chaparro, Alexis Hunsucker, Harley Chastain and Eva Smith added singles wins. The teams of Brooklyn Rolland and Elizabeth Sanderson; Francesca Aicher and Ky Maudlin; as well as Emily Brooks and Aubrie Ballard won in doubles action.
Olivia Watters, East Lincoln: Won 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) in No. 6 singles, along with contributing to an 8-1 win in No. 3 doubles with Maddie Matz to help the Mustangs past Pine Lake Prep, 5-4. Sidney Dann and Gianna LaStella added singles victories, while Karsyn Sink and Dann won in No. 1 doubles.
Madison Darnell, Highland Tech: Won 6-0, 6-0 in No. 1 singles, in addition to an 8-0 win in No. 1 doubles with teammate Tristy Williams as part of a 9-0 win over North Gaston. Williams, Gabriela Gadani-Gutierrez, Jaelynn Nickson, Brooklyn Cheatham and Lilly Warren scored wins in singles competition. The teams of Gadani-Gutierrez/Nickson and Cheatham/Warren won in doubles play.
Emmy Johnson, Lincoln Charter: Won 6-0, 6-0 in No. 4 singles, in addition to an 8-0 victory in No. 3 doubles with teammate Martha Guinle in No. 3 doubles as part of a 9-0 win over Christ the King. Ava Cochran, Kate Lesniah, Rowan Milligan, Avery Spangler and Ema Sultanov earned singles wins. The doubles teams of Lesniak/Milligan, Cochran/Spangler and Mullen/Guinle added doubles victories.
Karolyn Barrick, Mountain Island Charter: The sophomore won 6-1, 6-1 in No. 6 singles, her team’s only win in an 8-1 setback to Thomas Jefferson.
Cross country
Boys
Antonio Worthy, Hunter Huss: Placed first at the Ashbrook cross country meet with a time of 18:06. David Johnson (Kings Mountain), Garrett Tower (Forestview), Luke Howell (Kings Mountain) and Damir Wiggins (Forestview) rounded out the top five.
Forestview earned the team victory with a score of 36. Along with Towery and Wiggins, the Jaguars’ top scorers were Ryan Price (seventh), Wyatt Stuart (eighth) and Brody Mcantess (13th).
Girls
Rowen Trexler, South Point: Placed second at the Ashbrook cross country meet with a time of 23:14. She was one of three local runners who finished in the top five, joined by Forestview’s Katalina Carter (fourth) and Sophia Townsend (fifth).
Forestview won as a team, their 37 points 14 better than second-place South Point. Along with Carter and Townsend, Faith Shoffner (eighth), Jelaya Russ (ninth) and Kalli Stuart (11th) finished among the Jaguars’ top scorers.