Mike London

The local sports roundup previews Livingstone's and Catawba's college football openers, reports jayvee football, girls volleyball and boys soccer results, and highlights area golf events. Uly Grisette repeated as senior club golf champion, while San Francisco Giants pitcher Carson Whisenhunt was placed on the 60-day injured list with a torn left-elbow ulnar collateral ligament. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers lost in the minor leagues, and Owen White is 6–8 with a 3.31 ERA for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO.

Carson’s volleyball team is 9-3 and 2-0 in the South Piedmont Conference after sweeping East Rowan, and coach Kelan Rogers believes the young squad can match the 2025 team’s success. Carson went 29-4 last season, won the conference and finished second in the 5A MaxPreps rankings despite losing star outside hitter Reese Joyner. Senior setter Rylee Hedrick has returned after ankle surgery, while Piper Thonen, Tasean Perkins and several younger players are expected to provide leadership, scoring, defense and depth. Carson faces Northwest Cabarrus and Robinson next, followed by important matches against South Rowan and West Rowan.

Janiya Downs, a former South Rowan and Catawba basketball standout, has accepted her first varsity coaching job with Faith Academy Charter School. Downs set South Rowan's career scoring record with 2,371 points, enjoyed a successful five-year Catawba career that included a regional championship and Final Four appearance, and earned an MBA alongside her biology degree. She has begun open gyms and workouts at Faith, which is building its program while facing an ambitious schedule, and aims to help the players develop collectively.

Megan Honeycutt, a 2000 North Rowan graduate, excelled in basketball, soccer and volleyball, scoring 1,555 points and helping transform North Rowan’s basketball program during her high school career. After a challenging transition from post player to wing at UNC Greensboro, she moved into coaching with help from Cristy Earnhardt McKinney, earning a master’s degree at Clemson. Honeycutt later became a high school coach in South Carolina and led Spring Valley’s Lady Vikings to a 27-2 record and the 2018 5A state championship. She is expected to appear on the Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2027.