Golfers Ahn, Dearinger make all-state

Two players from the town of Chapel Hill have been named to the 2008 N.C. All-State Golf Teams by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association, honoring them for their performances over the past 12 months.

Michelle Ahn, the Central Carolina player of the year and a top-15 finisher three straight years at the NCHSAA 4-A championship tournament, was named to the girls' all-stars. Zak Dearinger, who was North Carolina's 2008 private schools champion for Ravenscroft, made the 30-member boys' unit. Both earned spots on the second teams based solely upon their finishes in TYGA events. Casey Ward of White Cross earned honorable mention on the girls' team.

The first team include girls' 2008 N.C. Junior Player of the Year Courtney Gunter of Matthews and Meghan Moore of Bahama, who competes with the male varsity at Northern Durham and who was runner-up in the Rex Hospital Pro-Junior.

The boy's first team is headed by 2008 N.C. Junior Player of the Year Michael McGowan of Southern Pines, a high school senior who had 11 top-10 finishes and two wins in 16 junior tournaments. He is also the grandson of the legendary women's golf pioneer Peggy Kirk Bell of Southern Pines.

Both Gunter and MacGowan are signed to play golf next year at the University of North Carolina.

High school Heismans

Carrboro High School is extending special congratulations to all-state runner Kristina Witcher and all-state swimmer Ken Ryan who were named school winners of the prestigious Wendy's High School Heisman Award. Ryan also advanced to the state finalist level. To be eligible, students must display academic aptitude, athletic talent and community leadership.

"Kristina and Ken are very dedicated, talented athletes as well as outstanding students. They embody the true meaning of the Wendy's High School Heisman award" said April Ross, athletics director at Carrboro High. "This award is the perfect way to celebrate their achievements and showcase the outstanding talent at Carrboro High School."

Coaching vacancies

Smith Middle School has vacancies for volleyball and lacrosse coaches for the spring season. Interested applicants should have playing and coaching experience, as well as be certified in CP, AED and first aid. If interested, contact Smith Athletic Director Don Minnick at dminnick@chccs.k12.nc.us or 918-2145 x21710 and complete an application at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools administrative office, located at Lincoln Center, 750 Merritt Mill Road, 27516.

Streak broken

The nation's longest high school football win streak is over after South Panola in Batesville, Miss., fell to Meridian 26-20 in overtime of the Mississippi Class 5-A championship game on Friday. The Tigers had won 89 straight games, the nation's third longest streak in history, and five straight state titles.

That meant Maryville, Tenn., held the nation's longest win streak at 74 games as it went against Hillsboro in Tennessee's Class 4-A title game on Saturday.

Only Concord (Calif.) De La Salle (151 games) and North Carolina's Charlotte Independence (109) have won more consecutive games than South Panola, located about an hour south of Memphis, Tenn.

DISC GOLF

Near the cup

Fundraising for the Anderson Park Disc Golf Course is nearing completion but organizers are still looking for $2000 to get the total for installation of an 18-hole course in Carrboro. To help with this final push, the Carrboro Parks Project has a special fundraising challenge for December: the largest single donor will receive a brand new Innova DISC-catcher Traveler portable basket with carrying case.

The minimum donation to qualify for this challenge is $50 and must be made online at www.carrboroparks.org by Dec. 31, and the winner will be notified via email by Jan. 15. Only individual donations will be considered and multiple donations by the same party will not be added together. In the event of a tie, a drawing will be held to determine the winner.

The basket can be viewed at http://www.innovadiscs.com/discatcher/traveler.html. Questions about the challenge can be sent to Katie Allman at katie@carrboroparks.org and more information about the park is at www.carrboroparks.org.

LOCAL

Shula's a winner

NFL legend Don Shula was in town last week to mark the official opening of Shula's 347 Grill at the Sheraton on Europa Drive. The restaurant, named for Shula's record of 347 wins, (still the most ever in National Football League,) is his 29th nationwide since opening his first 1989. His son, Dave Shula, actually presides over the family's corporation, but Don and wife Marie still enjoy touring the holdings and making public appearances.

"When I went into coaching, I wanted to be the best. I'm proud getting the most wins, proud of the perfect (17-0) season and back-to-back Super Bowls," he said. "The restaurant business is totally different, but we still want to be the best. We want to serve the best meal in the world and the most satisfied customers."

Shula's place atop the coaching pyramid was enough to draw a sizeable number of sporting types to the opening -- from UNC coach Butch Davis and his wife Tammy to football alums Ken Huff and Ted Elkins to Lynda Baddour (flying solo for UNC Athletics, since her husband Dick Baddour was with the UNC basketball team at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge).

Shula's relationship with Davis goes back to Butch's time with the Miami Hurricanes. Shula drew applause when lauding Davis, as did master of ceremonies Ron Stutts. "From 4-8 to 8-4 in one year ... that's pretty good," Shula noted.

There were plenty of reps from the local entertainment and tourism industries among the more than , including Top of the Hill founder Scott Maitland; the Sheraton's Wes Collins (Director of Sales) and Nitin Khana (General Manager); Anthony Carey, General Manager of the Siena; marketing guru Dave Gephart; and Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Chapel Hill-Orange County Visitors Bureau. Other notables included own Council members Bill Strom and Jim Ward, and Chapel Hill Magazine's convivial owner, Dan Shannon.

COLLEGES

At press time ...

Carolina's men's team was hosting Northwestern in the NCAA quarterfinals at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels were playing for their third trip to the College Cup and first since winning the national title in 2001. See www.newsobserver.com or today's edition of the News & Observer for results of Saturday's match.

Piccolo for Quinn

North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn is the recipient of the ACC's 2008 Brian Piccolo Award, given annually since 1972 in memory of the late Brian Piccolo to the "most courageous" football player in the ACC. Piccolo was the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1965 and played for the Chicago Bears before his career was cut short when he was stricken with cancer. His courageous fight against that disease was an inspiration to the Bears and the entire football community.

Quinn, in his senior year in high school in South Carolina, was diagnosed with a brain tumor after collapsing in his family bathroom. A CT scan revealed a tumor that was blocking his spinal cavity. Fortunately, the tumor was determined to be benign. Quinn then underwent a five-hour emergency surgery that included having a shunt placed in his brain to relieve fluid buildup.

He entered UNC this fall as a true freshman and finished third in ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year voting after starting 11 of 12 games at defensive end. He has made 32 tackles, including 20 primary hits, 6.5 tackles for losses, two quarterback sacks and three hurries. He has forced two fumbles and has one pass breakup.

"The courage and determination he has shown to battle back and play at the level he is playing as a true freshman is a testament to the type of person and player he is" said North Carolina head coach Butch Davis.

Quinn becomes the fourth North Carolina student-athlete to be honored with the Piccolo Award but the first since 1985, joining Paul Miller (1970), Jim Webster (1971) and Danny Burmeister (1985) as former North Carolina student-athletes who have received the Piccolo Award.

Be patient

Tickets for North Carolina's bowl game will go on sale on TarHeelBlue.com once an official destination is determined. That announcement is expected to come today. Soon after the announcement is made, tickets will go on sale to the general public. Ticket availability and seating priority will be given to Rams Club members and 2008 season ticket holders. Check TarHeelBlue.com for further information.

Four on list

UNC baseball has placed four players -- first baseman/outfielder Dustin Ackley, infielder Kyle Seager and right-handers Alex White and Matt Harvey -- on the preseason 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List, which was announced Thursday by the College Baseball Foundation. The Wallace Award is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The 2009 award banquet will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 2, in the United Spirit Arena on the campus of Texas Tech University.

The Wallace Award is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980 who led the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Southwest Conference Tournament in 1980. He died of cancer in 1985 at age 27.

Tuttle takes title

Carrboro's Johanne Tuttle was one of the Brevard College Cycling Team recently returned from Lees-McRae, where she finished first overall in the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships and helped the Brevard team to a strong finish. In an event that draws the best riders in the country out to contest the national title, Tuttle dominated the field in both dual slalom and downhill, and had top-10 finishes in both the short track and grueling cross-country events.

The daughter of Dana and Mark Tuttle of Carrboro, she is a 20-year-old junior this semester at Brevard.

Weather played a huge factor over the weekend as teams battled the cold, mud and rain. However, the Tornados were able to battle through the conditions as a team to take 4th place overall finish, highest in program history. Brevard's Tornados wrapped up their fall season with a total to 10 top five podium finishes and four national champions.