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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

A look back at Davie sports 30 years ago …

The scorching-hot Davie girls basketball team from 1993-94 secured its first regular-season championship in 10 years by blasting through South Rowan (62-46), South Stokes (60-46) and Reynolds (88-46).

Against South Rowan, the unstoppable 6-3 center, Maria Newsome, amassed 19 points and 14 rebounds. Andrea Gentry had eight points and six assists, while Elizabeth Greene had eight points.

In the 4-A Regional swim meet at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Club, the Davie boys qualified five for the state meet, including three individuals (Mark Beuter, Cam Kofke and Seth Newman). Those three and Bryan McNeil and Ryan Powell would perform in two relays in the state meet.

In the Central Piedmont Conference Tournament at Davie, the Lady War Eagles pounded North Davidson 66-50 in the semifinals and West Forsyth 58-45 in the final and achieved their second straight 20-win season. Newsome poured in 24 and 20 points in the two games as Davie avenged its only league loss when it toppled West. In the semifinals, Shannon Umberger had 10 points, Carrie Brown nine, Beth Wall eight and Tami Ramsey eight. In the final, Brown and Ramsey had 11 each, while Gentry had eight.

Less than 100 athletes across the country were invited to the National Scholastic Indoor Track and Field Championships at Syracuse University. Davie senior Hamilton Cuthrell was one of them. He had a career best of 10.4 seconds in the 100 meters, but he ran the 55 meters for the first time ever at Syracuse. Hamilton, brother Rufus Cuthrell and Davie coach Cary Powers made the 13-hour drive, and Hamilton did his county proud by finishing 17th at 6.55. “I thought it was fantastic,” Powers said. “Most of those guys had been running since November. Ham’s had three weeks of training.”

Eleven Davie wrestlers made all-conference after the War Eagles went 20-0 and took down Riverside in the state dual team final. The team’s biggest star was junior Scotty Spry, who went 36-0 and captured his second straight state title at 119. The others who made all-CPC: Adam Connor, Mark McKnight, Justin Jenne, Dan Callahan, Matt Sain, Justin Carter, Michael Hunter, Mark Mason, Neil Cornatzer and Kevin Caudle.

Four stalwarts from Davie girls basketball made all-conference, including CPC Player of the Year Newsome, who averaged 13.8 points and 12 rebounds as a junior. Gentry (8 points, 5 assists) made it for the third time. Ramsey, the team’s No. 2 scorer at 11.4, made it as a sophomore. The fourth was Brown, who finished her career with 900-plus points. The only one to make it from the Davie boys was 6-2 senior Jared Eure, who averaged 12 points a game.

Freshmen Sean Boyd and Chris Tomel shot 40s in a Davie golf meet. Senior Jason Tutterow carded 43, while freshman Will Hege and sophomore Joe Harpe had 46s. In the next meet, Davie’s top four players were Boyd (41), Tutterow (45), Jackson Hendricks (46) and Tomel (47).

Davie’s 1994 baseball team had two dominant forces on the mound in lefthanders Brock Keene and Brack Beal. Davie outlasted Starmount 4-3 in 10 innings in the season opener, thanks in part to Beal’s two-hit pitching over seven innings. In the 10th, Jack Fowler’s bunt scored Ron Armstrong to tie the game and Chevis Cuthrell’s double off the left-field wall plated pinch-runner Darrell Bryant with the game-winner.

Keene came out blazing, striking out 15 and throwing a four-hitter in a win over Statesville. Cuthrell had two of Davie’s five hits.

Davie lost 7-3 in 10 innings to South Stokes despite an incredible performance by Keene, who struck out 18, spun a four-hitter and left after nine innings. “It’s a shame you can’t get a win for a kid who threw that well,” coach David Hunt said. Jason Lanier and Bryant had two hits each.

Beal struck out 11 as Davie slipped past Kannapolis 7-6. The Wonders tied it at 6-6 in the top of the seventh, but Davie pulled out the win in the bottom half. Keene singled, and after an error, Armstrong knocked in the winning run.

Davie softball picked up a big 5-4 win at South Stokes. The War Eagles, who were 6-0 at this point, roared to a 5-0 lead thanks to Janis Barney’s three-run double.

Melissa Agrillo, Dawn Willard and Melanie Stephens scored goals as Davie soccer defeated North Davidson 3-1. In a 4-0 win over South Stokes, the goals came from Umberger, Agrillo, Melissa Wooldridge and Brown.

Keene did something awesome every game. In a 6-0 win at South Rowan, he threw a two-hitter with 14 Ks. Thad Cassidy laced four hits, knocked in three runs and raised his average to .349. Oh, and by the way, Keene banged out four hits and lifted his average to .475.

Scott Carter manned the rubber and Jonathan Creason and Zach Manning provided two hits apiece as South Davie baseball hammered North Davie 11-4. “This is one of the best crops I’ve had,” South coach Grimes Parker said. Mike Porter and Scott Cornatzer had three and two hits, respectively, in defeat.

Keene was so relentless he pitched five no-hit innings before settling for a two-hitter in Davie’s 6-0 home win over South Stokes. Fowler smacked a two-run double as Davie extended its winning streak to five.

Davie baseball swept a doubleheader from North Iredell. In the opener, a 10-0 wipeout, Beal (2-hitter, 11 Ks) was magnificent. On top of that, Beal stroked two hits. Keene remained crazy-hot in all facets as he produced three hits and three RBIs. In an 8-4 victory in game two, younger brother Jansen Keene pitched a five-hitter with seven strikeouts and Fowler hit a home run.

Agrillo scored two goals and Davie soccer closed in on a playoff berth with a 7-0 rout over South Rowan. Davie outshot South 48-2.

Boyd shot a 40 as Davie became the first CPC golf team to defeat Mt. Tabor. Hendricks followed with a 42 as Davie beat the Spartans by three strokes at Hickory Hill Country Club. Chris Bigenho and Tomel had 45s and Tutterow shot 46.

In a Davie track meet, Cuthrell captured the 400 meters (50.9), 100 meters (11.2) and 200 meters (22.7). James Clement won the long jump (20-8.5) and triple jump (41-7.5). Chad Alexander won the high jump (6-2), 110 hurdles (15.5) and 300 hurdles (40.6). Other winners were Ben Forrest (37-8.5 shot put) and Kofke (10-6 pole vault).