Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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28 UCW AUGUST 22-28, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS Cape Fear's Bristley serves on NCHSAA council by EARL VAUGHAN JR. When it comes to athletics at Cape Fear High School, senior Katelyn Bristley has had a pretty packed schedule over the last four years. She's played softball, basket- ball and tennis for the Colts, along with being a cheerleader and working as a student-athlet- ic trainer during football season. But she's also found time to represent Cape Fear, and high school athletes at large, on a statewide stage. This fall, Bristley is beginning her final year of ser- vice on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Student Athlete Advisory Council. It's composed of 16 ath- letes from across the state, two each from the eight regions of the NCHSAA. Bristley is a represen- tative from Region 4. Bristley and her fellow coun- cil members travel to Chapel Hill once every three months to meet and discuss issues of importance to all high school athletes at NCHSAA member schools. "We get to put our own stories that we experience into the program,'' Bristley said. "We get to have our own little part.'' One of the first things she did when she became a member of SAAC was attend a national conference at the Indianapolis headquarters of the National Federation of State High School Associations. "There are a lot more athletes out there and everyone has different experiences from it,'' she said. She enjoyed meeting people who had goals similar to hers who were just as moti- vated to be good in both athlet- ics and academics as she was. But SAAC isn't just about going to meetings and shar- ing personal experiences. The council is also designed to promote leadership and sportsmanlike conduct, along with promoting the mission of the NCHSAA and its Student Services division. For Bristley, that meant coming back to Cape Fear and organizing a project that would benefit others in the community. Her project has been something she calls Unify Night. During football season, she picks a junior var- sity game, usually during September, and gets members of the Cape Fear varsity football team to come out at halftime and help hold a scrimmage for special needs youngsters from the Cumberland County Parks and Recreation Department's Buddy Sports program. Bristley volunteers with the Buddy program her- self. She brings youngsters from the program to the game and also posts flyers in the Cape Fear com- munity to get those not involved with the Buddy program to come to the Unify Night. "I figured I'd bring it into our community and have our players experience that they are very lucky to play a sport they want to,'' she said. "Some kids really want to play but have to play a modified ver- sion or need assistance. You're there to help them learn how to play a sport, and it makes their day a whole lot better.'' In this, her final year in SAAC, Bristley wants to find someone at Cape Fear who can help continue the tradition of Unify Night after she graduates, although she plans to come back from college and help out each year. She also hopes to attend some leadership confer- ences in different parts of the state this year with her fellow SAAC members. "I definitely want to get involved and meet differ- ent people,'' she said. "Just sharing your experiences is a big deal.'' Two veteran high school football officials, Arnold Pope and Tony Haire, were recently honored by the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association at their annual preseason meeting of football officials. Pope retired after some 60 years of work as both an on-field official and a supervisor who grades and counsels other officials. He is a Methodist minister and formerly served as dean of students at then-Methodist College. He was a charter selection to the North Carolina Weightlifting Hall of Fame, winning 27 state and six Southern titles in the Open Divions. He was the 1988 world champion in the masters division, winning 11 consecutive national titles and earning induction into the National Masters Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 1988. He was inducted into the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame in 2013. He also competed in the Scottish Games for 20 years and was North American caber toss cham- pion in 1976. That same year he was the first American to win a caber-tossing title in Scotland. Haire received the Dick Knox Distinguished Service Award from Mark Dreibelbis, supervisor of officials for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Haire has been with the SAOA since 1997, offi- ciating softball, football, basketball and baseball. He has officiated three Eastern Regionals in bas- ketball and one state final, that occurring in 2003. He has called the state football finals twice, in 2005 and 2017. He is currently the sports chairman for football for the SAOA. This involves training officials and assisting Neil Buie, the regional supervisor of foot- ball officials for the SAOA. SAOA honors Pope, Haire for service as officials by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Katelyn Bristley Left photo: Arnold Pope (L) and Neil Buie (R). Right photo: Tony Haire (L) with Mark Dreibelbis, supervisor of officials for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (R). EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? EarlUCWSports@ gmail.com. 910-364-6638.