Archive for the Homegrown CategoryCheck out Wakefield’s Varsity Girls Basketball team, making it into the Girls’ Super 25 this week in USA Today!
The Lady Wolverines won the GlaxoSmithKlein Holiday Invitational in December led by their strong defensive that continues to intimidate their opponents and bring them a win. For other stories on the team and their schedule and results check out MaxPreps.
James Mays’ Dad, Hardrick Mays, is a homegrown athlete as well. He played basketball at Shaw University in the 1970’s and is currently coaching the women’s basketball team at Garner High School. Carr from the N&O covered Mays this weekend prior to the game: Mays savors final year at Clemson
Rachel Dawson is originally from Berlin, NJ but she is a UNC-grown athlete. Dawson was just chosen by the NCAA schools to be the Nation’s top female Field Hockey athlete. She is a senior midfielder/back and is hoping to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team next year. I put the press release below because it included all of her accomplishments and awards, some of which I didn’t even know about… RACHEL DAWSON OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA VOTED HONDA AWARD WINNER AS TOP FEMALE ATHLETE IN FIELD HOCKEY December 7, 2007 — Rachel Dawson, a University of North Carolina senior and member of the U.S. women’s national field hockey team, has been chosen as the nation’s top collegiate female field hockey athlete. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 32nd year.
Dawson, who says she’s hoping to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team next year, noted: “It’s a great honor to receive this award. For me, it’s really thanks to the support of so many people in my life, including my coaches, my teammates and my family. In particular, my coach Karen Shelton, who won the award three times herself, has been a great inspiration for me, not just in terms of hockey, but in terms of leadership and as a role model. She knows what it takes for a woman to be successful in both sports and life.” Commenting on the award, Coach Shelton, who herself was a three time Honda Sports Award winner in field hockey (1977, ’78 and ’79): “I’m happy and proud that Rachel has been recognized as the nation’s top player. She had a huge impact on every facet of our team and provided great leadership on the field and off. From the start of the pre-season to the championship game, her competitive intensity set her apart and helped others reach new heights. She was not only the best player on our team this year, but is the most valuable ever to wear a Tar Heel field hockey uniform.” A native of Berlin, New Jersey, Dawson is a senior back/midfielder and is in her second year as a member of the U.S. national team. She led the Tar Heels in goals this year with 19, captaining her team to the NCAA title and a 24-0 season with 16 shutouts. Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, the two-time All-American was also named ACC Tournament MVP and National Player of the Year. She is seventh on her school’s all-time career list for goals and scoring. Dawson is a business major and a Dean’s List student, with a 3.6 GPA. She has been named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll and the NFHCA National Academic Squad. The first Honda Sports Award recipient for this year, Texas Tech’s Sally Kipyego, was named earlier this week for cross-country. Honda Sports Award winners in basketball, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field will be announced in the coming months. The Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year will be determined by separate balloting involving all NCAA-member institutions and the winner will receive the Honda-Broderick Cup at a ceremony in New York in late June 2008. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. sponsors the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. # # # Awards Contact: University of North Carolina Contact: For a Q&A with Rachel, check out Getting to Know North Carolina’s Rachel Dawson from The ACC’s website.
Cotchery was drafted in the 4th round in 2004 by the Jets, and in his four years with the Jets he has played in 53 games and has 1954 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns.
Cotchery and his wife, Mercedes (who he met at NC State) adopted their first child this fall. He continues to make his Wolfpack proud.
Little was one of the college freshman on the second season of ESPNU’s reality show, “Summer House.” The college freshman stayed at the same house in New Jersey for eight days. Chris Spielman, All-Pro Linebacker and ESPN analyst served as a mentor for the guys and had a lesson for them every day. The other college freshman on the show included Richetti Jones (Oklahoma State), Danny Collins (Towson University), Brian Maddox (University of South Carolina), and Taylor Skaufel (Stanford). It sounded like a cool show but I didn’t get to watch it because I don’t get ESPNU. Many Durham natives are familiar with Little as a quarterback, wide receiver, running back, linebacker, safety AND corner-back. He led Hillside with 55 catches for 969 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver, 800 yards on 140 carries and 14 touchdowns as a running back and four interceptions on defense. SuperPrep ranked him as #2 in the North Carolina and #6 in the country last year. He was recruited as a wide receiver anda running back by UNC, Notre Dame, and Ohio State to name a few. So far he has one touchdown this year, but he will be a great asset to UNC considering his knowledge of the game and how versatile he is. Here’s a look at Greg from Durham Hillside last year:
I love to hear about local athletes who have moved on and are showcasing their talent in other schools or places. They are a great example of how much potential we have in our local communities. Josh Adams is an example of this. The Cary native got offers from schools including Clemson, NC State, and Maryland before choosing to attend Wake Forest University. Before moving to Winston Salem, he had a successful career at Cary High. He was rated by Rivals.com as the 10th best running back in the nation for the class of 2006. Adams had 2,884 rushing yards as a senior and college scouts took notice. He was red shirted last year, but in the three games he has played in this season as a Demon Deacon he leads the team in rushing, with a total of 186 yards this season. He has scored two touchdowns, and continues to improve each game. Some of the players in our backyards right now will be in the same place one day. The video below, from rivals.com, has a few clips of Adams from his senior year at Cary High in Fall of 2005. What other local athletes did you know from your community that have gone on and made you proud? |
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So, Jericho Cotchery (WR for the NY Jets) is originally from Birmingham Alabama, where he played basketball and football at Phillips High and even competed in high school basketball against future teammate Phillip Rivers. BUT, he grew as a football player here in Raleigh at NC State, where he majored in Sports Management. At State Cotchery broke a few records held by Torry Holt, including having 200 career receptions and 15 games of 100 yard receiving. 
