MURPHY
Pullium named top athlete across WNC
Murphy alumna Sarah Pullium was named All-WNC Athlete of the Year by the Asheville Citizen-Times on Friday.
During her senior season, Pullium won her third straight N.C. High School Athletic Association class 1A state title in the discus with a throw of 131 feet, 10 inches – nearly 30 feet better than second place. That throw would have placed second across all four NCHSAA classifications, and also would have placed second in the 1A boys discus throw.
Pullium also won both the Smoky Mountain Conference and 1A West Regional titles in the event, and her throw of 140 feet at the conference meet set a new record. She won the shot put at both the conference and regional meets as well as placed second in the event at the state championship.
Pullium is a freshman at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where she is a member of the women’s track and field team.
MURPHY
Strong meet for swimmers
Tri-County Early College swimmers had a strong meet on Jan. 15 at Franklin, with the Lady Jaguars finishing in second place and the Jaguars finishing in fourth place as a team. The meet also included swimmers from Hayesville, Highlands and Smoky Mountain.
On the girls side, Ariana Rivas placed first in the 200-yard freestyle with an automatic qualifying time for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A/2A Western Regional championship in her first time swimming the event this year. Rivas also placed second in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Tina Trigueros added a top-three finish in the 50-yard freestyle and also placed fourth in the 100-yard freestyle. Iris Diaz-Menchu placed sixth in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle.
On the boys side, Nathan Abejam placed fifth in the 100-yard backstroke and seventh in the 50-yard freestyle, William Boyd placed sixth in the 100-yard freestyle and ninth in the 50-yard freestyle.
BLAIRSVILLE, Ga.
Pickleball founder gets special status
Nolan Lang, an original member of the Blairsville Pickleball Club and its second president, has been awarded “president emeritus” states for his years of service and dedication to the club.
The club was founded in 2015. Lang has been instrumental in organizing the club, holding tournaments that brought in money for youth sports programs sponsored by the recreation department and raising funds for community charities.
In the seven years since the club was founded, it has has 300 members and enjoys playing on outdoor courts. Members also have access to the “rubber gym” owned by the Union County Board of Education.
From staff reports.