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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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 24 UCW SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2019 HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS EARL VAUGHAN JR., Sports Editor. COMMENTS? EarlUCWSports@gmail. com. 910-364-6638. The second annual Trojan Challenge to raise money for college scholarships on behalf of the Gary Weller Foundation is scheduled for Oct. 12 at the Sturtz Family Farm in Linden. Last year's event was successful enough to allow the foundation to award two $1,500 schol- arships to students from Pine Forest High School. The scholarships go to Pine Forest students who have overcome some kind of challenge in their lives and have gone on to excel not only in their chosen sport but in the community at large. Nominations are made by coaches at Pine Forest High School and a special committee picks the winners. Cumberland County Commissioner Jimmy Keefe, a Pine Forest alumnus, said the challenge draws its inspiration from former Pine Forest football coach Gary Weller, whom the foundation is named for. Weller was the victim of a horrific accident years ago, when the driver of a stolen vehicle ran him over multiple times while Weller was out running. Weller battled back through numerous surgeries and remains active both in local busi- ness and athletic circles. Keefe said the challenge is a tribute to Weller's resilience. "When Gary had his incident, he had to overcome a lot of obstacles,'' he said. "We want to challenge others to overcome obstacles that they may have and be successful.'' Keefe said this year's challenge will feature a tier- one obstacle course with 20 to 22 different obstacles. There will also be a Trojan in Training chal- lenge, a scaled-down course for younger partici- pants and older ones who don't feel up to the full- scale obstacle course. The event will begin at 9 a.m. and will end around noon. Keefe said the field would be limited to 200 partici- pants. The cost to compete in the Trojan Challenge is $65 per entrant. The fee for the Trojan in Training course is $40. General admission to watch the event is $5. The deadline for entries will be a week before the event is held. Children are welcome to take in the challenge, but those age six or younger need to be accompa- nied by an adult supervisor. In addition to the obstacle course, the event will feature food, drinks and music with the assistance of the Pine Forest High School Booster Club. For further information on the challenge or to sign up for this year's event, visit www.trojanchallenge.org. Second Trojan Challenge scheduled in October by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Academy to add Bishop, Schaefer to Hall of Fame by EARL VAUGHAN JR. A pair of familiar faces to the Fayetteville Academy fam- ily will become the two new- est members of the school's athletic hall of fame. Athletic director and coach Chip Bishop and longtime booster club president Emily Schaefer will be honored at an induction ceremony the night of the school's annual J.L. Dawkins Alumni basketball games Tuesday, Nov. 26. Bishop and Schaefer were selected for induction by a special committee that includes representa- tives of the school from various areas. Head of school Ray Quesnel said as the Academy celebrates its 50th year, the school couldn't have two better honorees joining the hall of fame. Bishop had been nominated some years ago but declined to be considered for induction until this year. "With him, it was obviously not a question of if but when,'' Quesnel said. "He's been at the Academy for over 30 years.'' During that time the Eagles have won numerous state and con- ference titles in a variety of sports. Quesnel said Bishop is respected within the school as well as at the state and local levels. "He means so much to his former players who come back and see him all the time,'' Quesnel said. In addi- tion to his work at Fayetteville Academy, Bishop has been a football official for the Southeastern Athletic Officials Association and NCAA Division III. For years, he volunteered at the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. While at the Academy, he won two North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association boys basketball championships. Bishop said he delayed being considered for induction because he wanted to make sure two architects of much of the school's success in soccer, Andrew McCarthy and Jimmy Maher, were named to the hall before him. "This is a special place as far as I'm concerned,'' Bishop said. "It's a great honor for me to go in. It's an honor to be associated with these types of people.'' Schaefer was chosen to the hall of fame in the recently-added category of booster. Quesnel said she has served as booster club president for seven of the last eight years. "She's the glue that holds it all together,'' Quesnel said. "She organizes all the chairs of the booster organization, makes schedules and leads people. "She does so much in a humble way and she doesn't do it for credit. She just does it because she knows it needs to be done.'' Schaefer called her induction an honor and said it was touching for people to realize all the things behind the scenes that she took care of. She called the hall of fame an elite group she felt honored to be part of. Chip Bishop Emily Schaefer The 2019 Trojan Challenge medal