After a highly-competitive fall season, winter sports have taken over in Chatham County, featuring basketball, wrestling, indoor track and swimming/diving until the arrival of springtime.
The next few months will have a lot to do to match the excitement of the fall season, when athletes from both Chatham Central (Olivia Brooks and Ellie Phillips) and Seaforth (Jack Anstrom) won state championships in their respective sports
Ahead of the start of winter sports, we’re highlighting three athletes who might be considered “under-the radar” when compared to some of their counterparts. While they might not have received much spotlight until now, each of these athletes could be household names around Chatham County by this time next year.
Chatham Charter boys basketball
When you bring up current Chatham County boys basketball players, most people think of Northwood junior Drake Powell or Seaforth junior Jarin Stevenson — both top-50 recruits nationally in the Class of 2024. But the best player from Chatham County’s best team last winter was Chatham Charter’s Adam Harvey.
Now a senior, Harvey averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game for the Knights in 2021-22. The 6-foot-2 guard’s play propelled Chatham Charter all the way to a 33-2 record and a trip to the 1A state finals, where the Knights ultimately fell to Hayesville in overtime.
Harvey shot 55% from the field and 41% from 3-point range as a junior last winter, and he scored 20 or more points in 10 games, including a 28-point performance against Northwest Halifax in the second round of the state playoffs.
I think a lot of the things (Adam) does, they don’t necessarily show up on the box score,” said Chatham Charter head coach Jason Messier. “He’s always a factor because he’s always a threat in many facets of the game. His hands are phenomenal. He rebounds well and goes and gets the ball over bigger players. He’s a good ball-handler. He can shoot the three. He has all facets of the game, and all those facets have continued to expand.”
Chatham Charter has made it to the final four of the 1A tournament twice in the past three seasons. If they want to get back to that stage — and this time finish the job — they’ll have to lean on Harvey to lead the way.
Northwood girls swimming
Northwood’s 2021-22 swimming and diving team was a talented group led by several seniors who have gone on to join collegiate programs, but the Chargers’ best swimmer last winter might have been a freshman — Abby Emrich.
Emrich, who returns as a sophomore in 2022, finished third in the 200-yard individual medley and fifth in the 100-yard butterfly at last year’s 3A state championships. She also was part of the Northwood team that won the 200-yard freestyle relay. Emrich was a big reason why the Northwood girls finished third overall as a team at the state meet.
This season Emrich will take on even more responsibility as a leader along with her older sister, senior Lauren Emrich. The duo will try to mitigate the losses of several top swimmers from a year ago, including Mia Corrado, Julia Earnshaw and Gwen Hoeg.
Northwood is in the process of turning around its program in its second year under head coach Rebecca Reed, who took over two weeks before the 2021-22 season. Expect the Chargers to lean on Abby Emrich as one of their top swimmers again this winter.
Seaforth wrestling
Being the child of a head coach can bring immense pressure, but Seaforth’s Layne Armstrong didn’t have an issue dealing with the added expectations as a freshman last season.
Competing at the 2A state championships in Greensboro last season, Armstrong was the only Seaforth wrestler to earn a win, defeating West Davidson’s Abraham Taha by decision in the 113-pound weight class. The match featured some high drama: the freshman came back from a 7-0 deficit to eventually win the match, 15-14.
Armstrong finished the year with a 25-3 record in individual bouts, and he’s expected to be one of the Hawks’ top options in 2022-23. If he can build on his performance from last year, there’s no reason to see why Seaforth can’t possibly qualify for the 2A dual team state championship in only their second season as a varsity program.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.