Two Rivers 3A Winter All-Conference honors announced

The winter season for high school sports in the Two Rivers 3A Conference was one marked by excellence that was wide-reaching both in terms of contributions from freshmen to seniors as well as impressive performances beyond the conference in the state championships.

Corinth Holders’ Connor Blandford repeated his 2015 200-yard individual medley state championship in 2016 and did one better in adding another state title in the 100 breaststroke. Blandford, who was named most outstanding boys swimmer at the 3A championships and will continue to swim at the University of Kentucky, set the state record in the 200 IM.

Blandford, along with teammate Ryan Partrick, were named Co-swimmers of the Year in the Two Rivers on the boys side as the Pirates again swept every conference meet including the Two Rivers championships.

Partrick won the 200-yard freestyle and 500 free at the conference championships and was part of the winning 400 free relay team there as well.

Corinth Holders freshmen Callie Blandford and Peyton Whitaker, along with teammate Stephanie Grandin, were honored as Co-swimmers of the Year from a Pirates girls team that dominated in conference but also finished fourth place in the state 3A championships.

The trio was part of the 400-medley relay team that finished in fourth place in the state.

At the Two Rivers championships, Blandford won the 100-yard butterfly and 500 free title (5:47.58). Whitaker won the 50 and 200 free while Grandin also came out victorious in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.03) and 200 individual medley (2:15.63).

Smithfield-Selma coach Cynthia Hutchings was named the Coach of the Year as the Spartans boys swimmers finished in fourth place in the Two Rivers championships and the girls placed third with 188 points.

In girls indoor track, Cleveland’s Cassidy McNierney was named Player of the Year. McNierney was part of the 800-meter relay team that repeated as state champions for the Rams, a first in Johnston County.

McNierney also finished third in the high jump and triple jump.

Cleveland coach Joe Capps was named Coach of the Year as the girls team posted an eighth place finish in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A indoor track championships in Winston-Salem on February 12th.

In boys winter track, Triton’s Malcolm Smith and Josh Canterbury were named Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively.

The Hawks took home the conference title on the strength of a deep squad that totaled 107 points.

In wrestling, Western Harnett was at the head of the class this year going undefeated in conference dual meets and cruising to the tournament title behind nine different wrestlers securing individual championships in their weight classes.

Mason Morris, one of those nine champions, was named Player of the Year as he dominated in the 132-pount division ending the season ranked seventh in the state having qualified for the NCHSAA individual 3A championships.

Morris’ coach, Casey Gashaw, was named Coach of the Year. Gashaw’s squad finished with a 17-7 dual record advancing to the second round of the state dual 3A state playoffs.

In girls basketball, Cleveland’s Chris Danehower was named Coach of the Year for leading the Rams to a conference championship and setting a school record for wins (25). Cleveland went undefeated in conference play in the regular season, won the conference tournament and defeated every Johnston County opponent on their schedule.

Anna Webster, South’s Johnston’s sharp-shooting guard, was honored as Player of the Year.

Webster, who averaged 23.8 points a game and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Trojans in her senior season, will play her college ball at the University of Charleston Southern

The 5-foot-9 Webster finished her high school career with 1,512 points, 600 rebounds, 203 assists and 104 steals in 97 varsity games.

In boys basketball, Smithfield-Selma’s Raequan Smith was named Player of the Year.

Smith averaged 18.5 points per game in his senior season and led the Spartans to another postseason playoff berth which ended in an overtime loss in the second round of the state 3A playoffs.

Smith, the ultimate leader on and off the court, led Smithfield-Selma to a share of the regular season conference title and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career.

Smithfield-Selma coach Matt Cuddington was named Coach of the Year in the conference, leading his team to 17 wins in his first full year at the helm.

Cuddington took the role of interim head coach in the middle of the previous season before being named the permanent head coach.

The Spartans’ Chris Washington was named Cheerleader of the Year while Corinth Holders coach Brittany Weaver was named Coach of the Year.

Boys Basketball

Regular-Season Conference Champions: Corinth Holders, Smithfield-Selma, Triton

Conference Tournament Champion: Corinth Holders

Player of the Year: Raequan Smith, Smithfield-Selma

Coach of the Year: Matt Cuddington, Smithfield-Selma

Team Sportsmanship Award: Western Harnett

All-Conference Team: Trey Adams (Corinth Holders), Isaiah Bryant (Triton),

Bryan Frazier (Corinth Holders), Malik Frazier (Smithfield-Selma), Daun Hamm (Western Harnett), Jaquan Harris (Triton), Chrishaun Henry (Triton), Landry Moore (Cleveland), Jordan Neal (Corinth Holders), Josh Raiford (Smithfield-Selma), Javonte Smith (South Johnston), Kavon Ward (Smithfield-Selma).

Girls Basketball

Regular-Season and Tournament Conference Champion: Cleveland

Player of the Year: Anna Webster, South Johnston

Coach of the Year: Chris Danehower, Cleveland

Team Sportsmanship Award: South Johnston

All-Conference Team: Emma Blackman (South Johnston), Jenae Harvey (Triton), Miranda Hinton (Cleveland), McKinley Johnson (South Johnston), Logan Lee (Smithfield-Selma), Lindaria Mitchell (Western Harnett), Amber Scott (Cleveland), Shaniya Taylor (Corinth Holders), Myranna Watkins (Cleveland), Tarica Worney (Triton)

Wrestling

Regular-Season and Tournament Conference Champion: Western Harnett

Wrestler of the Year: Mason Morris, Western Harnett

Coach of the Year: Casey Gashaw, Western Harnett

Team Sportsmanship Award: South Johnston

All-Conference Team: Richard Alvarado (Cleveland), Trey Black (Corinth Holders), Trevor Bryant (Cleveland), James Clark (Western Harnett), Jakob Cox (Cleveland), Jacob Dawson (Western Harnett), Donavan Guignard (South Johnston), Jordan Guimont (Western Harnett), Khamani Holmes (Western Harnett), Hunter Johnson (Triton), Aidan Keenan-Gray (Western Harnett), Christopher McIver (Cleveland), Charles McPeak (Triton), Frankie Miller (Corinth Holders), Mason Morris (Western Harnett), Quinton Ross (Cleveland), Carl Smith (Western Harnett), Alex Staples (Corinth Holders), Michael Starks (Western Harnett), Anthony Thompson (Western Harnett), Noah Vasquez (Corinth Holders), Trevor Wicker (Western Harnett), Larry Williams (Corinth Holders), Noah Youngs (Cleveland)

Boys Swimming

Conference Champion: Corinth Holders

Swimmer of the Year: Connor Blandford, Corinth Holders

All-Conference Team: Connor Blandford (Corinth Holders), Zachary Bridges (South Johnston), Chris Carter (Corinth Holders), Dalton Langston (Cleveland), Mitchell Langston (Cleveland), Christian Lower (Corinth Holders), Zach Mefford (Cleveland), Ryan Patrick (Corinth Holders), Jeff Salhoff (Cleveland), Bryce Sherrill (Corinth Holders), Eric Svadeba (Corinth Holders)

Girls Swimming

Conference Champion: Corinth Holders

Swimmers of the Year: Callie Blandford, Coritnh Holders; Stephanie Grandin, Corinth Holders; Peyton Whitaker, Corinth Holders

All-Conference Team: Paige Bauer (Corinth Holders), Callie Blandford (Corinth Holders), Stephanie Grandin (Corinth Holders), Janelle Neal (Corinth Holders), Kennedy Rex (Corinth Holders), Rachel Strickland (Corinth Holders), Peyton Whitaker (Corinth Holders)

Boys Winter Track and Field

Conference Champion: Triton

Athlete of the Year: Malcolm Smith, Triton

Coach of the Year: Josh Canterbury, Triton

Team Sportsmanship Award: South Johnston

All-Conference Team: Wayna Alford (Cleveland), Andrew Bugge (Corinth Holders), Gable Dersham (Cleveland), Kysheem Elliott (Triton), Joshua Faison (Smithfield-Selma), Jacob Gonzalez (South Johnston), Brandon Graham (Triton), Fabian McDonald (South Johnston), Noah Pipes (Cleveland), Caleb Silver (Smithfield-Selma), South Johnston 3,200 relay team, Triton 800 relay team, Cleveland 1,600 relay team

Girls Winter Track and Field

Conference Champion: Cleveland

Athlete of the Year: Cassidy McNierney, Cleveland

Coach of the Year: Joe Capps, Cleveland

Team Sportsmanship Award: South Johnston

All-Conference Team: Emma Blackman (South Johnston), Jasmine Cullins (Cleveland), Jessica Cullins (Cleveland), Sydni Fields (Cleveland), Samara Gibson (Corinth Holders), Cassidy McNierney (Cleveland), Cameron Rutherford (Corinth Holders), Cleveland 800 relay team, Cleveland 1,600 relay team, Cleveland 3,200 relay team

Cheerleading

Conference Champion: Corinth Holders

Cheerleader of the Year: Chris Washington, Smithfield-Selma

Coach of the Year: Brittany Weaver, Corinth Holders

Team Sportsmanship Award: Corinth Holders

All-Conference Team: Sarah Beyer (Corinth Holders), Dorothy Colon (Smithfield-Selma), Katelyn Futrell (South Johnston), Eryn Godwin (South Johnston), Karli Komar (Corinth Holders), Zakoria Ray (Triton), Jasmine Stancil (Cleveland), Lindsey Stogner (Cleveland), Kaylan Turner (Corinth Holders), Katie Zahn (Western Harnett)

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Two Rivers 3A Winter All-Conference honors announced."