Nash Central High School | Archive | January, 2016

Josh Mullins Garners NCHSAA Recognition

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Nash Central senior Josh Mullins, who is arguably the most talented player in the extremely competitive Big East conference, was recently honored with the NCHSSA Performance of Week award for the week of 1/18/16-1/24/16, which is sponsored by Timer Warner Cable Sports Channel with Jersey Mike’s Clubs.

Mullins is certainly well-deserving of this accolade as he was instrumental in Nash Central’s decisive 84-76 win over rival Northern Nash last week. The 6’1 senior guard, who was Co-MVP of the Nash County Holiday Tournament, scored almost half of Nash Central’s points with 39 points. Also, Mullins grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and recorded three assists.

Along with this achievement, Mullins has been first-rate from the start of the season. He has scored above 20 points in 10 games this season, including a 31-point performance against Southwest Edgecombe on January 6th and a 44-point showing against Smithfield-Selma on December 11th. Additionally, Mullins has been the driving force behind Nash Cental’s 3-2 start in Big East play this season.

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Meet A Bulldog: Rebecca Speight

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Over the past several years, Rebecca Speight, who has been a full-time varsity player for Nash Central since her sophomore year, has been integral to the success of the Lady Bulldogs basketball program, who have a current record of 14-3 this season with a 3-1 mark in the Big East conference. To add on to this, Nash Central has won 61% of its games during the span of Speight’s varsity career.

With this being said, Speight has been able to achieve much team and individual success as well, and when she was asked to share what she would consider her greatest athletic accomplishment to be, she illustrated just how successful her career has been, saying, “I would say my greatest athletic achievement would be either winning the Cleveland Christmas tournament last year or having a double-double against Hunt last year.”

Also, while Speight is an extremely adept basketball player, it is the hard work and effort that she has exerted for the sport of basketball that has made all the difference throughout her career. Additionally, Speight is especially driven and motivated to succeed, and she certainly had the right team-oriented ideals in mind as she says, “The thing that drives me to succeed athletically right now is probably the thought that if we all do what we’re supposed to do, we could be a really good team.  I want people to remember this team and to remember me as a part of it.”

Furthermore, besides her great skill and work ethic, the role models that Speight has looked up to during the course of her athletic career have significantly influenced her quality of play, and, although, Speight is an adroit basketball talent, her love for the sport of hockey was evinced as she said, in regards to her athletic role models, “My role model in terms of athletics is either Ron Francis or Rod Brind’amour.  They were both great hockey players and always did whatever it took to win and to be the best that they could be. With that mentality, you can get really far in life and they both led teams to be Stanley Cup Champions.”

Ron Francis and Rod Brind’amour were both illustrious winners during their hockey careers, and Speight viewing them as her role models manifests her will and desire to win, and she clearly exemplified her winning mentality through this quote.

Moreover, with the end of her celebrated high school career near, Speight definitely has the opportunity to play at the collegiate level. However, Speight, who plans to attend Liberty Univerisity this upcoming fall, says “I do not plan to play basketball in college right now, but things could change.  I don’t see anyone offering me a spot at the school I plan to attend, Liberty University, but if it were to happen I would consider playing.” Also, at Liberty Univeristy, which is located in Lynchburg, VA, Speight plans on majoring in athletic training as she aspires to pursue a career in physical therapy.

Essentially, Rebecca Speight has played a key role for the Nash Central Lady Bulldogs basketball program for the past few seasons, and, when it is all said and done, Speight will certainly be able to look back at what she has been able to accomplish and rejoice in her success.

 

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Meet A Bulldog: Josh Mullins

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Nash Central senior Josh Mullins dons the #1 jersey for the Bulldogs boys basketball team, and his status as #1 is clearly exemplified through his style of play.

Mullins, who is a 6’1 guard, has been off to an exceptional start this season, and he can certainly be considered Nash Central’s top shooter while also being one of the better players in the Big East conference as a whole.

Through 15 games this season, Mullins is leading the Bulldogs in scoring as he is currently averaging 23.5 points per game. Additionally, Mullins is certainly Nash Central’s most potent threat since he is averaging 10 more points per game than Nash Central’s second-leading scorer, Elijah Cole.

Particularly, Mullins’ most prolific scoring performance this season was his 44-point game against Smithfield-Selma High School on Friday, December 11th, and Mullins recorded an 82% free throw en route to this season-high scoring performance.

Recently, Mullins has also enjoyed considerable success as he scored 31 points in a 66-55 win over Southwest Edgecombe on Wednesday, January 6th.

Mullins has been able to reach these levels of attainment due to highly efficient shooting percentage. In addition, Mullins has great vision in distributing the ball, and he has great skill in reading opposing defenses. On top of this, Mullins has a high basketball IQ, and being a smart basketball player has allowed him to achieve much throughout his career.

Furthermore, Mullins is exceedingly deserving of all that he has been able to achieve as he is a tireless worker. Mullins has made great positive strides over the course of his career at Nash Central, and this can be represented by his year-to-year scoring improvement. Mullins has gone from averaging 10.5 points per game during his sophomore year to 14.6 points per game during his junior year to his current average of 23.1 points per game. This continuous improvement definitely illustrates that Mullins has worked extremely hard in the off-season to improve his game, and this has certainly been a major key for the success of the Nash Central Bulldogs.

Simply, it is exceptionally clear that Mullins has proved himself as a collegiate basketball prospect over the course of his Nash Central career, and he has unquestionably shown that he is capable of playing at the collegiate level. With this being said, Mullins hopes to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte next fall, and he will just have to wait and see if he will be blessed to have the opportunity to join the 49ers basketball program.

All in all, Josh Mullins has enjoyed a tremendous career at Nash Central, and he will look forward to closing out his senior year with considerable success before moving on to the next level of play.

 

 

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Romance In The Pool

Nash Central

At this time of the year, the typical dilemma for the average high school student is to find a date for prom, so when Nash Central junior Jacob Richardson needed help figuring out what he should do for his promposal, he was undoubtedly exceedingly fortunate to have the support of his entire swim team.

Richardson presented his predicament to his teammates after a swim meet last week, and, when he did so, he was definitely privy to be given top-notch advice. Particularly, senior swimming captain Cal Lewis was exceptionally instrumental in this drawing board process as he suggested the idea of writing “Prom?” on a piece of paper, laminating it and then holding it under water while his prospective date swims the 500 at the next swim meet.

Despite this, there was one key factor that would hinder this from happening, which would, of course, be the NCHSAA guidelines. In light of this, Richardson was determined and he certainly wouldn’t let an NCHSAA rule prevent him from carrying out his promposal, and with the encouragement of Nash Central head coach Kyle Bain, Richardson was able to follow through with his original plan.

Being the team-oriented coach he genuinely is, Bain was in full support of Richardson’s idea, and he had the perfect plan on how to properly execute it. During practice, Bain had his team compete in a very convincing mock 500, and while sophomore swimmer Sarah Lamm most probably thought this would be a daunting task at first, by the end of the mock race, she was undeniably all smiles.

Thankfully, Richardson was able to successfully fulfill what he set out to accomplish; however, it clearly wouldn’t have been possible without the encouragement of his teammates, and, most notably, his coach, and this surely exemplifies how close-knit and united Nash Central’s swimming team truly is.

In respect to this storybook ending, Cal Lewis, who as previously mentioned played an integral role in the brainstorming process of this plan, says, “I call it romance in the pool”. Besides this particular romantic gesture, head coach Kyle Bain has been known to have a particular soft spot in his heart for romance in the past as Lewis says, ” It was no surprise that Bain was on board since he was so excited when I asked fellow swimmer Linzi Long last year.” On the other hand, Richardson also expressed his satisfaction after his triumphant maneuver as he says, “My coach and my captain are both experts at swimming and romance.” Richardson also evinced his adulation for his coach, saying “Coach Bain gets my vote for Coach of the Year after today.”

When it’s all said and done, Nash Central swimmer Jacob Richardson was unquestionably blessed to have had the opportunity to carry out his remarkably unique promposal as it reflects the family-like bond that the Nash Central swimmers hold and he is now unequivocally looking forward to taking his fellow swimmer, Sarah Lamm, to prom this spring.

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Nash Central To Join New Conference

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After the 2016-2017 athletic season is concluded, the Nash Central Bulldogs will be departing from the Big East conference to join a new conference in the 2A classification for the 2017-2018 athletic season. The name of the new conference has not yet been decided and will be unveiled at a later date.

While the Bulldogs will no longer be a member of the Big East conference, Nash Central will still keep a formidable relationship with the current Big East member schools. This will be possible since the Bulldogs are hoping to schedule non-conference games with the current  Big East schools, which are Northern Nash High School, Rocky Mount High School, Southern Nash High School, Hunt High School, and Fike High School. Over the years, the Bulldogs have developed a deep-rooted bond with these schools, and, despite the new alignment, this link will surely stay intact for the years to come.

As for Nash Central, the Bulldogs will be competing in a newly-formed 2A conference, which will consist of other schools in Eastern North Carolina. Schools such as Beddingfield High School (Wilson, NC), Bunn High School (Louisburg, NC), North Johnston (Kenly, NC), North Pitt (Bethel, NC), and Southwest Edgecombe (Pinetops, NC) will be joining the new conference with Nash Central.

Nash Central has already developed ties with a majority of these prospective schools, and the Bulldogs have competed against Southwest Edgecombe, Beddingfield, and Bunn on a regular basis during non-conference play. In addition, Nash Central’s football program faced all of the prospective schools with the exception of North Pitt during non-conference play in the 2015 season.

All in all, while Nash Central won’t be a Big East member school after the 2016-2017 athletic season, the association it shares with the rest of Big East will definitely not fade, and the Bulldogs should look forward to a new beginning next fall as they will be given a fresh start.

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Nash Central Wrestling Competes

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On Saturday, January 9th, the Nash Central Bulldogs traveled to Louisburg High School to compete in the Louisburg duels competition.

The Bulldogs went 3-2 in the competition and finished in a decisive 4th place. Nash Central will next compete on the road against Eastern Wayne High School on Saturday, January 21st.

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Nash Central Sweeps Big East Opener

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On Friday, January 8th, the Nash Central Bulldogs competed against the Rocky Mount Gryphons to kick off Big East play for the 2015-2016 season.

In the highly-anticipated rivalry game against Rocky Mount, Nash Central’s boys varsity team came out on top in a landslide 81-47 victory over the Gryphons. Despite the big win, the game was closer than the scoreboard illustrated. Rocky Mount gave Nash Central all it  could handle in the first half, and the Bulldogs held just a single-digit lead at half-time. However, in the second half, the Bulldogs kicked it to high gear, and then everything fell into place. The Bulldogs went on a big run early in the 3rd quarter, and this all but sealed the victory for the Bulldogs.

In this victory, Elijah Cole led the Bulldogs with a game-high 26 points while Keshun Peoples scored 18 points. In addition, junior guard Montre’ Cash scored 13 points while adding 6 steals to his contribution while senior forward Sha’Hem Hall recorded 8 points and led the Bulldogs in rebounds with 13. Conversely, it was an off-night for  Josh Mullins, who is widely considered the best shooter  in the Big East conference, as the senior guard scored just 5 points.

Due to the win, the Nash Central Bulldogs now hold a 7-7 record this season. The Bulldogs have definitely improved throughout the season, and it clearly seems as if Nash Central head coach Renny Taylor has been able to help the Bulldogs turn the page after a slow start to begin the season.

On top of the success achieved by Nash Central’s boys varsity team on Friday night, the Lady Bulldogs also impressed. Just a few weeks ago, Rocky Mount gave Nash Central its first loss of the season in the Nash County Christmas Tournament Championship, and this just added to the significance of the already highly-anticipated matchup. Friday’s showdown was a polar opposite of the previous matchup, and with revenge on their minds, the Lady Bulldogs held nothing back as Nash Central was in control from the opening tip. The Lady Bulldogs held a double-digit lead at halftime, but a late spark by the Lady Gryphon made matters very interesting.  Despite the late comeback from Rocky Mount, Nash Central head coach Terri Coach was able to keep the Lady Bulldogs poised, and Nash Central was able to outlast the resurgence, going on to win 43-38.

In this victory, the Lady Bulldogs, who are now 10-2 this season, were led by Myia Spivey, who led the Lady Bulldogs with 20 points, and Robbi Allen, who scored 13 points, and Nash Central can now certainly be considered the top team in the Big East.

Essentially, Nash Central’s boys and girls varsity teams both excelled on Friday night, and this success will hopefully set the tone for Big East play for Nash Central.

 

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