GOLF
Cats, Dogs play strong
The Andrews and Murphy boys golf teams continued playing well last week.
Andrews finished tied for first place on March 25. The Wildcats and Robbinsville shot a team score of 192 each. Wildcat Boone Parker shot a 46 to finish in solo second place. Logan Shuler and Tucker Stalcup both shot 48.
Murphy finished in second place with a team score of 205 at Mountain Harbour in Hayesville. Connor Golden finished solo first after shooting a 42. Bradey Golden came in third after shooting a 48.
Nantahala also competed at Mountain Harbour and shot a 238 team score led by Hunter Bryant, who shot a 58.
BASKETBALL
3 seniors All-Stars
Three Cherokee County senior basketball players headed to the western North Carolina All-Star game at Warren-Wilson College in Swannanoa on Saturday.
Olivia McNabb of Hiwassee Dam and Kylie Donaldson of Andrews played in the girls game. McNabb played on the red team, while Donaldson was on the blue team.
The blue team won 78-68. McNabb had 11 points and eight rebounds as a starter for the red team.
Braxton Rickett of Andrews played in the boys All-Star game.
SOCCER
Jaguars fall in 2 games
The Tri-County Early College girls soccer team lost two games last week.
On March 24, they lost 1-0 to Highlands. On Thursday, they lost 1-0 to Cherokee.
Tri-County will face Murphy in their next two games. At 6 p.m. Thursday, they will take on the Lady Dogs. After spring break, they will face the Lady Dogs again Wednesday, March 16.
Both games will be at Murphy High School.
WRESTLING
‘Chaos’ will ‘reign’ soon
The American Championship Wrestling Federation will return to the Peachtree Community Center, 125 Miracle Lane, for their next show Saturday.
“Chaos Reigns” is sure to live up to its name with many hard-hitting matches.
ACWF superstars the American Outlaws, Frodo, Mountain Man Jeremy Stiles, Stryker, Flex Ferguson, Kevin Seiber, The Freak, Billy Havoc, MD King, American Standard, Cousin Cletus, Vito, Billy the Kid, KZ Smith and Plowboy are set to be in action.
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for kids 6-12 and free for ages 5 and under.
OUTDOORS
U.S. kayaks come to NOC
U.S.A. Freestyle Kayaking announced that the 2025 U.S. Freestyle Kayak National Championship will be held at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Bryson City on Oct. 3-6.
The national championship is a prestigious event and is often a route to the U.S. Olympic team.
Ivy Leibfarth, Bryson City native, is a two-time Olympian who won bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in the C1 event. Before that, she was crowned U.S. National Champion for four straight years from 2016-2019 in both kayak and canoe events.
Leibfarth grew up on the Nantahala River and had her homecoming ceremony at the NOC last summer.
BASEBALL
N.C. has 2 in opener
Two baseball players who played high school ball in North Carolina got the nod for Major League Baseball’s opening day Friday.
New York Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodon played at Holly Springs High School, just southwest of Raleigh, then went to N.C. State before being drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2014.
Washington National pitcher MacKenzie Gore played at Whiteville High School, just west of Wilmington, before being drafted in 2017 by the San Diego Padres straight out of high school.
Rodon got the win for the Yankees and pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks. He struck out seven batters in New York’s 4-2 win over Milwaukee.
Gore pitched six complete innings and gave up only one hit. He struck out 13 batters, but their offense couldn’t back up his performance on the mound, and the Nats lost 7-3 to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Compiled by Sports Editor Cannon Crompton. Email items to sports@cherokeescout.com.