by Cliff Mehrtens

Hopewell’s Early shines in all-star hoops game

Hannah Early, a recent Hopewell High graduate, scored 14 points and had a team-high nine rebounds in the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star basketball game in Greensboro on July 18.

Early, a 6-foot-1 forward who signed with Davidson, was on the West team, which lost 66-58 in the game featuring the state’s top players who were seniors during the most recent school year.

SwimMAC taps Happ

SwimMAC Carolina has hired Kevin Happ as the auxiliary coordinator for the North Division and Masters program assistant.

Happ holds an undergraduate degree from Indiana University in recreation and sports management and recently completed his work for a master’s degree in kinesiology from the school.

During his years with the Hoosiers, he was a four-year member of the swim team and continued with the team as a team manager following graduation in 2010.

Pam Swander, SwimMAC’s North Region director, said Happ was a good fit with the program because of his work ethic and dedication to the team process.

Copperheads dominating summer league

The Lake Norman Copperheads are poised to defend their title in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League.

Headed into a July 20 doubleheader at Fort Mill, S.C., the Copperheads had a 23-12 record and held a 5½-game lead in the East Division with six games remaining in the regular season. Lake Norman has won nine of its past 10 games. It leads the SCBL in batting average (.289) and runs (196), and has the lowest team ERA (3.13).

Lake Norman’s Nick Gaige is the league’s leading hitter (.424), and teammate David Lee is batting .333. Lee (24 RBIs), Gaige (23) and teammate Brett Armour (20) are first, second and third, respectively, in the league in RBIs.

The pitching is deep and balanced, led by closer Ryan Mas (five saves, 0.56 ERA), Liam O’Sullivan (3-0, 0.68 ERA), Aaron Spano (3-0, 1.71) and Zach Fleshman (3-0, 2.13).

Lake Norman will conclude the regular season with a home doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday, July 22, at Hopewell High School, and a road doubleheader Saturday in Asheville.





Y Angels compete in national event

Eight members of the Lake Norman YMCA gymnastics team competed in the AAU National Gymnastics Championships July 1-3 at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The competition included more than 1,200 athletes in levels 2 through 8.

For Lake Norman, Rene Zuraf (level 3) was second in the beam event; Julia Krueger (level 4) was fourth in the beam; Brooke Watson (level 4) was first all-around and in beam, and second in vault and bars; Mariah Hill (level 4) was first in the vault; Nadia Zuraf (level 4) was sixth in floor exercise; Cassidy Taylor (level 5) was second in the vault, third in floor and beam, and fourth all-around; and Kelly Morris (level 5) was first in all-around, vault, bars, and floor.

“The best part of the whole event was that many of the athletes had personal bests, met new friends, and they all had lots of fun,” Y Angels coach Michelle Ingham said.

The Lake Norman YMCA branch (21300 Davidson St., Cornelius) offers recreational and competitive gymnastics for boys and girls.

Softball camp for girls

The Carolina Comets will host their annual softball clinic at Lake Norman High School Aug. 8-12. It was rescheduled from the previous week because the Carolina Comets Teal team won the ASA state tournament and will be playing in the ASA national tournament the week of Aug. 1.

The camp will be from 8 a.m. to noon daily for rising first- through fifth-graders, and 1 to 5 p.m. daily for rising sixth- through 10th-graders. Rising 11th and 12th-graders also may participate.

The camp costs $90, and each camper will receive a T-shirt. Registration is at the Mooresville Recreation offices, 418 Carpenter Ave. For more information, contact

Roger McGuffey at 704-236-7428, or rdmcguffey@yahoo.com

Popular Criterium set for July 30

The eighth-annual Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium takes place Saturday, July 30, on Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte.

About 200 professional cyclists are expected to compete on the 1.2-mile closed course. The women will compete in a 25-mile event starting at 6:30 p.m., while the men will battle in a 50-mile race at 8 p.m. There also will be a “Pro” Kids Race, which takes place at 7:30 p.m.

USACycling ranks the event, which raises money and awareness for the Brain Tumor Fund of the Carolinas, as the number one criterium in the country for both men and women. One hundred-seventy five women riders from six countries will participate for a $25,000 purse, while 125 men from 16 countries will be on the course battling for a $50,000 purse.

Fall league for senior softballers

The Ralph Lambert Senior Softball League of Lake Norman, a fall league for players ages 50 and older, is registering players through July 29. The league, a joint effort by the Huntersville and Cornelius Parks and Recreation Departments, will have games on Wednesday nights.

The registration fee is $30 for residents and $45 for non-residents. A “skills day” will be Saturday, July 30, at 9 a.m. at North Mecklenburg Park in Huntersville, and a players’ meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, at Town Center, room 209.

Softball tryouts for Carolina Comets

The Carolina Comets softball organization will hold tryouts for players ages 8 to18 on Saturday, July 30, at Lake Norman High School. Tryouts for 8-under and 10-and-under will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m. For more information, contact Chris Warren at 704-881-2198 or ecpirate.95@gmail.com
Tryouts for players 12-and-under will be from 10:15 a.m. to noon. Contact Craig Brawley at 704-507-0789 or craigc@windstream.net, or Misty Frye at 704-252-4081 or mnkfrye@windstream.net

Tryouts for 14U will be from 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. Contact John Sherrill at 704-437-0791 or johnsherrill@live.com

Tryouts for 16U and 18U will be from 2:45 to 5 p.m. Contact Kevin Allran at 704-201-2232 or Kevin.allran@ucps.k12.nc.us, or Tom Scozzari at 704-641-4697 or tjsascozzari@yahoo.com.

For Comets information, contact Roger McGuffey at 704-236-7428 or rdmcguffey@yahoo.com

NFL Youth Flag Football signups

Registration for Cornelius and Huntersville’s NFL Youth Flag Football will begin Aug. 1. The nationally affiliated program is a non-contact league for boys and girls ages 4-14.

Online registration is available at www.corneliuspr.org.  Registration forms will be accepted at the Cornelius Town Hall or the Huntersville Parks & Recreation office.

The cost for residents is $35 for the 4-5-year-old instructional division, and $55 for other divisions, which are ages 6 to 8, 9 to 11 and 12 to 14.  There is an additional $10 fee for non-residents.  Financial assistance for residents is available on a limited basis.

Practices and games will begin in September, with practices on weeknights and games on Saturdays. All participants will receive a reversible NFL replica jersey and a trophy at the end of the season.

For information, contact the Cornelius PARC Department at 704-892-6031, ext. 160, or the Huntersville Parks and Recreation Department at 704-766-2220.