STANLY COUNTY — With the 2020-21 school year wrapped up, here is a look at SCJ’s top student-athletes of the year from each of the five area high schools.
Jordan Hatch, softball
West Stanly Colts
Rocky River Conference 2A
Jordan Hatch certainly left a mark during her Colts career with a pitching stat line that is nothing short of amazing: a 51-2 record, 1.02 ERA, 554 strikeouts and .140 opponent batting average. In the senior left-handed pitcher’s final season with West Stanly, she led the Colts to a 20-0 record along with state and conference titles.
Her performance from the mound in the Colts’ recent state championship series victory over South Granville saw her named the NCHSAA 2021 2A Softball State Championship Most Valuable Player. The RRC Pitcher of the Year has committed to East Carolina and will begin her collegiate softball career this fall.
Dyson Bell, boys’ basketball
North Stanly Comets
Yadkin Valley Conference 1A
One key factor in North Stanly’s conference championship this past season was the play of junior Dyson Bell. The 6-foot-6 forward and YVC Player of the Year winner was a consistent force in the paint for the Comets, who cruised to an 11-3 overall record (8-0 in conference play) and a playoff appearance.
In 14 games this year, Bell averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game and was named All-Conference for the second straight season. He will return for his senior season as the Comets look to repeat as YVC champions under second-year coach George Walker.
Sadie Lee, softball
South Stanly Rebel Bulls
Yadkin Valley Conference 1A
Over the spring, senior Sadie Lee continued her dominance as a true dual threat from the mound and at the plate. Aside from her role as South Stanly’s primary pitcher, Lee also led the Bulls in hits, RBIs and home runs as her YVC championship-winning team posted a 16-4 overall record and was the 1A state playoff runner-up.
Lee, a Belmont Abbey signee, was named the YVC Player of the Year for the softball season. Through her three seasons with the Bulls, she recorded a 43-10 pitching record and a 1.61 ERA to go along with a .365 batting average and 73 hits.
Marc Raye Jr., boys’ basketball
Albemarle Bulldogs
Yadkin Valley Conference 1A
It’s been more than a year since Marc Raye Jr. made Stanly County high school sports history by becoming the first sophomore to hit the 1,000-point threshold, and the Albemarle point guard followed that up with a strong junior season in which the points continued to come in droves.
Although his team fell to the middle of the YVC pack with a 6-6 record, Raye Jr. again made his case as one of the county’s most consistent shooters. In one game against Covenant Classic on Jan. 7, he scored 40 of the Bulldogs’ 78 points, shooting 14 of 22 from the field.
Emma Grace Bost, girls’ tennis
Gray Stone Knights
Yadkin Valley Conference 1A
The Knights girls’ tennis team dominated the YVC this year with a spotless conference record and 8-0 overall record as it won 71 out of 72 individual matches. A big part of Gray Stone’s success was its No. 1 singles player, Emma Grace Bost. Throughout the entire season, the senior didn’t lose a single set against her opponents.
Earlier this month, Bost claimed second place in the 1A West Regionals. She is now set to represent the Knights in the upcoming 1A Women’s Tennis Individual State Championship in Cary as she squares off in a singles draw against Rosewood’s Riley Maldonado.