KING — Trent Lowman and the West Stokes Football program hosted their annual offensive and defensive lineman challenge on the Wildcats’ practice field. Seventy-three athletes from West Stokes, West Wilkes, North Surry, Starmount and South Stokes participated in the two-hour event on Monday, July 22.
“I think today went smoothly even though it was hot and humid, and it looked like everyone enjoyed themselves,” noted Lowman. “You have several 7-on-7 competitions through the summer, but they are all for quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs. Today was just for the lineman. Football is won up front with them, so to have a day that is about the lineman is a really neat thing that Coach (Jimmy) Upchurch started a long time ago.”
This year Lowman changed the name of the event to recognize the Wildcats’ long-time football coach Jimmy Upchurch.
“Jimmy started it and we wanted to honor him with changing the name to the Jimmy Upchurch Lineman Challenge,” Lowman added. “Before coming here, I brought my teams over here to compete and I thought it was a really neat thing for the lineman to have their day and their event. Jimmy started it, he ran it, and he deserves to have his name attached to it.”
The athletes were spilt into their classes and competed in the farmers carry, an obstacle course, the tire flip, and the tire tug. At the end of the challenge, the school’s competed in a team tug-a-war competition.
The Wildcats’ Kyle Sellers finished first in the seniors’ farmers carry and obstacle course with times of 8.60 and 23.38. He finished second in the tire flip with 17 and helped West finish second in the tug-a-war event behind North Surry’s A Team.
North Surry’s Anthony Williams was first in the tire flip with 18 and second in the farmers carry and obstacle course with times of 8.63 and 24.60. The Greyhounds’ Uriah Kearse won the tire tug tournament.
In the junior class race, North Surry’s Jaxton Turney was first in the farmers carry, Starmount’s Sam Shore won gold in the obstacle course, and the Wildcats’ Jackson Sammons was first in the tire flip with 19 and first in the tire tug competition.
Sophomores’ Eli Bolejack (West Stokes) and AJ Childress (West Wilkes) was first in the farmers carry with a time of 9.03. North Surry’s Wyatt Hooker won gold in the obstacle course with a time of 25.30, and the Wildcats’ Omari Graham won the tire flip with 18, and Hector Alfaro won five one-on-one matches in route to the tire tug tournament championship.
In the freshman competition, Rylan White and Jackson Taylor was first in the farmers carrier with a time of 10.56, Mason Cornett won the obstacle course with a time of 26.62, Cornett, Camden Jackson, and Logan Freeman tied with 14 tire flips, and White won the tire tug tournament.
Eleven five-men teams between the five schools participated in the team tug-of-war event. West Stokes, North Surry and West Wilkes fielded three teams each with Starmount and South Stokes having one.
The Wildcats and North Surry’s A teams easily advanced to the finals with the Greyhounds winning the tug-a-war event for a third consecutive time.
Football practice will officially start on Wednesday, Aug. 1 for all teams throughout the state of North Carolina.
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