Wilson duo selected for USA Softball All-America…

A pair of 13-year-old softball players from Wilson County are heading to Oklahoma for a chance to play among the nation’s best in their age group.

Carson Price, a rising eighth grader at Springfield Middle, and Elle Mariani, who will be in eighth grade at Elm City Middle, were among the 15 players from North Carolina and South Carolina chosen to play for the 12-Under Region 3 Stripes team at the USA Softball All-American Games. Because they were under 12 when they tried out for the team, Carson and Elle are eligible for the event, which runs from Aug. 7-12, will be held at Devon Park, formerly the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, in Oklahoma City, the site of the NCAA’s annual Women’s College World Series.

There are 10 regions and 24 teams total with two from each region and four wild-card teams in the field, so just 360 12U players nationally are chosen for this honor.

“I’m very blessed to be a part of the AAG Region 3 team and can’t wait to live this experience,” Carson said in her bio on the USA Softball site. “I’m very excited to meet new players and build lasting friendships.”

The Region 3 Stripes team is coached by Mike Van Horn of Laurinburg and includes players from King, Mebane, Charlotte, Stokesdale, Kannapolis and Oakboro, but only Wilson and Fuquay-Varina have two players on the roster.

Each team is guaranteed four games in the tournament, which begins Thursday, Aug. 7, with a skills competition and a chance to meet former All-America Games participants, now playing for NCAA Division I teams. Each girl will receive a pair of USA Softball jerseys to wear and keep as well as other mementos for being selected to a USA Softball All-America team.

Carson, the daughter of Courney and Ryan Price of Wilson County, lists University of Tennessee star pitcher Karlyn Pickens as her favorite player. She also plays volleyball at Springfield and is active in her church youth group.

Carson formerly played for the Carolina Flames Brickel travel team.

Elle, the daughter of Katie and Landon Mariani of Wilson, is a multi-sport athlete, too, with volleyball and basketball on her list. She is a member of the Nationals Cummings travel team.

Elle said in her USA Softball bio that her favorite thing about sports is “building friendships with my teammates and being competitive.”

BIG SUMMER WIN FOR DURHAM

Fike High rising junior Payton Durham picked up a significant victory for her summer golf competitions by winning the Girls Ages 16-18 division of the Tarheel Youth Golf Association’s SAS Junior Championship in Cary on July 28.

She avoided bad holes by making 11 pars and seven bogeys for a 7-over-par 77 on the 5,009-yard layout to win by four strokes over Olivia Heggie of Raleigh.

Durham helped Fike win back-to-back conference titles as well as consecutive trips to the NCHSAA championship.

CREECH EARNS KARATE SILVER

Ellie Creech brought home a silver medal from the AAU Karate National Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in early July. The daughter of Kimberly and Matt Creech of Lucama, placed second in the Female Ages 13-14 Beginner division in kata. More than 1,400 competitors were in the event.

WILSON TEAMS AT BASSMASTER JR.

A pair of two-angler teams from Wilson recently competed in the B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Junior National Championship on Clarks Hill Lake on the Georgia/South Carolina border, with decidedly less luck than the tournaments that got them there.

Cody Aliff and Jon Parker Pope, who won a qualifying tournament on Lake Gaston in May, placed 71st out of 120 duos in the two-day tournament. Aliff-Pope, representing Triangle Bass Club, brought in at total weight of 7 pounds, 6 ounces.

The Wilson Christian Academy twosome of Avery Watkins and Bentley McHenry came in 48th after weighing 10 pounds of bass.

The winning team from Tennessee, Parker Smith and Carson Randan, took home the cash prize of $452 after posting a total weight of 20-7.