Two more Bladen ladies were named Four County Conference Players of the Year, two more former stars had their numbers retired and a number of All-Conference selections highlight the final quarter of 2015 Bladen sports.
East Bladen’s Lacey Suggs was named the Four County Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Suggs hammered in 159 kills and 67 aces to lead the Lady Eagles to a third-place finish in the Four County Conference and a 12-9 overall mark.
East Bladen’s Miller Heustess and West Bladen’s Morgan Schumacher were the other All-Four County Volleyball selections from Bladen County. West Bladen finished 7-14 on the season.
West Bladen’s Alanna Ludlum was named the Four County Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year. Ludlum was undefeated in both Four County Conference singles and doubles play.
Ludlum and teammate Amber Long won the Four County Conference 2-A Doubles Tennis Championship.
Long and East Bladen’s Kathryn Cole and Justyna Gargala were also named to the All-Four County Conference Women’s Tennis Team.
East Bladen’s Chris Cromartie, Ethan White, Saquan Baldwin, Nikita Owens and Kyle Tatum were named to the All-Four County Conference Football Team. The Eagles posted a 10-3 record for the season and advanced to the second round of the Class 2A State Play-offs.
Cromartie and Tatum were also both named to the Wilmington Star-News All-Area Team. Teammate Ethan Hines who returned 4 kick-offs and one punt for touchdowns was selected to the Fayetteville Observer’s All-Region Team as a return specialist.
West Bladen’s Stefan McDonald, Malique McDowell, Da’quan Lennon and David Gittens were selected to the All-Four County Conference Football team. The Knights finished the season 5-7 and were eliminated in the first round of the Class 2A State Play-offs.
Named to the All-Four County Conference Men’s Soccer team were East Bladen goalie Spencer Scott and West Bladen forward Seth Britt.
West Bladen’s John Bowen drained the game-winning 3-point shot as the Knights won the championship of their own Woodmen Life Basketball Tournament in overtime over Hoke County. The Knights had earlier defeated Whiteville and Midway in the tournament.
Coach Travis Pait’s Knights won the championship of the East Columbus Christmas Tournament a week later with a 68-61 overtime victory over South Robeson.
East Bladen women’s basketball team finished the calendar year with a perfect 12-0 record. Coach Patty Evers’ Lady Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the Class 2A State rankings by NC Preps and owned victories over Class 4A opponents Jack Britt, Wilmington Ashley and Hoke County.
East Bladen retired the No. 20 basketball jersey worn by both sisters JaToya and Jazmine Kemp. JaToya led the Lady Eagles to four Eastern Regional appearances, two Eastern Regional Finals and one State Championship game.
In Jazmine Kemp’s career, the Lady Eagles made it to the Eastern Regional Finals all four years and won three Eastern Regional Championships. Both sisters played four years each at UNC-Pembroke and both scored over 1,000 points in their college careers.
Four long-time East Bladen High volunteers were honored by the East Bladen Booster Club at halftime of the Wallace-Rose Hill at East Bladen varsity football game.
— Lyn Shaw for 41 years of service on the Public Address system
— Jim McLaney for 48 years of service on the clock
— Chicky Robbins for 38 years of service on the clock
— Robert G. Hester for 50 years of radio broadcasting
“These four gentleman volunteered many years of service,” said Patty Evers, East Bladen Athletic Director. “Their loyal commitment played a tremendous role in the lives of our school and student athletes. With grateful appreciation, we honor the sharing of their time and talents with their families and community.”
East Bladen grad Farrell Murchison has been named the Offensive Player of the Year for the 2015 Louisburg football team.Murchison rushed for 691 yards and 7 touchdowns as the Hurricanes rolled to a 7-1 record.
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