SportsTalk: Former KVA Baseball Standout R.J. Johnson Returns To NC

Rutgers University in New Jersey may seem like a long ways away from North Carolina but former Kerr Vance Academy and current Rutgers standout baseball player R. J. Johnson gets back to the area more than one might think.  “We are here almost every weekend,” Johnson said on SportsTalk.  Johnson and Rutgers were in the state this week as the school took on UNC.  The school plays a lot of teams in the south due to weather conditions during the early spring.

Johnson, an outfielder, is having a great season as a leadoff batter with a .300 batting average helping Rutgers to a 10-5 record so far this season.  Johnson, a Franklin County native and 2021 graduate of KVA, is looking forward to the rest of the season.  “We are in a rough patch right now but the future is bright,” Johnson said.

His advice for younger players?  “Always work hard and have fun everyday,” he says.  His former coach at KVA, Mike Rigsbee, had this to say about his former player: “He’s a great player and a great student.”

CLICK PLAY! 

SportsTalk: KVA Baseball Finally Gets On The Field

Like so many other schools in the area, Kerr Vance Academy has had trouble getting in games due to the recent wet weather.  “Our first five games were rained out,” head coach Mike Rigsbee said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  The school has only just this week gotten on the field.  They lost their opener 3-0 against Lawrence Academy while beating Faith Academy 5-4 in nine innings in their second game.

Rigsbee is optimistic about his team.  “We’ve got potential,” he says. “We are young.  One senior, three juniors, four sophomores, one freshman and an eighth grader,” he added.

The team is travelling this week to see UNC play.  “It’s a bonding experience,” Rigsbee says.  Next week, weather permitting, KVA will have three games on Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

 

SportsTalk: Hammett Rebuilds JF Webb Softball

It was only a couple of years ago that JF Webb had no softball team.  Covid and a lack players meant the program had become dormant.  That has all changed with Corey Hammett.  Last year she brought the program back and took the Warriors into the state playoffs.  Hammett sees more success this year for JF Webb.  “We should be a top three team in the conference,” she said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  There are still challenges for Hammett.  “Our biggest challenges are getting girls interested and teaching the fundamentals,” Hammett explained.

She also had to overcome field problems since it had not been used in some time.  This year, the field is once again an issue.  Not because of non-use but rain.  The team has had several games rained out the wet field has meant they have only been able to get in two games, both losses, to Oxford Prep.  Hammett said she hopes to get the Warriors back on the field on the road against Riverside Monday night.

 

SportsTalk: Rain And Umpire Shortage Are Obstacles For KVA

“Rain rain go away, come again some other day” might be what’s on the mind of Kerr Vance Academy Athletic Director Mike Joyner.  “We’ve had no baseball, no soccer and only one golf match,” Joyner said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.  Rain has caused seven baseball games to be cancelled this year.  “We have nowhere for the water to drain,” Joyner added.

In addition to the rain, rescheduling has been difficult due to ongoing umpire shortages. “We need better recruiting,” Joyner said of the shortage.  Joyner also said disrespect from fans and low wages has made it difficult to recruit umpires. Additionally, Joyner said that not enough young people are going into the ranks as umpires to replace those who are aging out.

There is a bright side to the cancellations.  “We had a couple of player with nagging injuries and these cancelled games have allowed them time to heal,” Joyner stated.  With better weather forecast next week, KVA hopes to get all of their spring sports back out playing.

CLICK PLAY!

 

Goalkeeper Peralta Among 2024 WFU Sports Hall Of Fame Inductees

 

Back in the mid 1970’s, when José Peralta was in middle school at what was then Vance Academy, soccer hadn’t yet gotten a toehold in the area. But by the time Peralta and some of his Spartan teammates made their mark on the soccer field as Vance Senior High School Vikings, all that was changing.

It was early days for soccer when Peralta was in high school, but he told WIZS co-hosts Bill Harris and George Hoyle Thursday that the team began to make a name for itself. “We beat one of the Raleigh teams – Sanderson,” he recalled, a soccer powerhouse at the time.

And that’s when the letters starting hitting his family’s Ruin Creek Road mailbox, he said. College coaches, asking him to consider playing goalkeeper for them.

But Peralta’s focus was on academics, and ultimately he chose Wake Forest University. Earlier this month, his alma mater chose Peralta to join the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.

You see, it’s Peralta who still holds the NCAA Division I record for career saves at a whopping 620 – that’s 342 more saves than anyone else in program history.

Peralta is one of only two goalkeepers in NCAA Division I history who can claim more than 600 saves.

As a freshman, he had 164 saves – the most by any freshman in program history.

He holds the four highest single-season number of saves in program history: 218 in 1983; 164 in 1980; 126 in 1982; and 112 in 1981.

Peralta’s statistics at WFU have stood the test of time – he was a member of the very first men’s soccer team at the school.

“Wake Forest didn’t even have a soccer team when I went there,” he said. What’s more, he didn’t know the school was thinking about forming one.

But, he said, God has a plan.

He remembers back to 1979, sitting in the quad with his parents – both beloved Spanish teachers in Vance County Schools – “all of a sudden I see these guys,” he said, who said soccer tryouts were going to start in 30 minutes, if he wanted to check it out.

Peralta said he kissed his parents goodbye and headed off to try out for the team.

They played as a club team that first year, with Peralta in the goal. He was the only walk-on to make the team.

Coach George Kennedy’s brother did goalkeeper camps and Peralta credits him with teaching him the goalkeep position from not only a physical standpoint but a mental one as well.

Reflecting on his time in the goal as a Demon Deacon, Peralta said he and his teammates helped to lay a good foundation for the program, now more than 40 years later.

His children, one of the grandchildren, a dozen or more teammates from the old days and a bunch of fraternity brothers all attended the induction ceremony, held Feb. 9 in Winston-Salem.

“The ceremony was awesome,” Peralta said. And at the Wake-N.C. State basketball game held later afternoon, Peralta was called to midcourt at halftime to receive a plaque and be recognized for his achievements.

One of those accolades is that Peralta was an All-ACC academic every year he was at Wake.

“I dedicated myself to soccer, but the classroom was extremely important,” he said.

 

WIZS SPORTSTALK

WIZS Radio, Your Community Voice!!

100.1 FM / 1450 AM

Listen Live online at — https://player.listenlive.co/53101

 

Oxford Prep School

SportsTalk: Oxford Prep Softball Looking For Back To Back Championships

It’s never easy to repeat as a champion, but Oxford Prep Softball Coach Tommy Anstead feels as though his team has a pretty good chance to win a conference championship in 2024.  “We have 12 or 13 girls returning including all of our starters except one,” Anstead said on Thursday’s SportsTalk.

The team is counting on another strong performance from pitcher Addison Faucette.  Last season, as a freshman, Faucette was 16-3 on the year with an earned run average of 1.79.   Oxford Prep can hit the ball too.  “We had seven players with a batting average of over .300 and of the seven, four were over .400,” Anstead said.

Anstead expects tough competition this season citing Roxboro and Vance Charter as teams that could cause problems for Oxford Prep this season. Anstead also says the team has a tougher schedule this season.  Oxford Prep opens the season on March 1st against county rival J.F. Webb.

CLICK PLAY!

 

SportsTalk: UNC Baseball Starts Friday

Former Kerr-Vance Academy standout and Granville County native Daniel Wilkerson is excited about Friday!  Wilkerson, assistant to the head coach for UNC Baseball, is ready to get the 15th-ranked Tar Heels on the field for the first game of the season Friday.  “I can’t sleep the night before.  It’s like Christmas morning,” Wilkerson said.

The Tar Heels open the season with a three-game series against Wagner.  The first game is Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.  The Tar Heels are just one of six ACC teams ranked in the top 15 nationally including No. 1 ranked Wake Forest.  “We didn’t play them last year and I can’t wait to go to Winston-Salem this year,” Wilkerson said.  “The rankings are meaningless.  I ignore the rankings.  We still have to go win baseball games,” Wilkerson added.

Wilkerson is also excited about his team’s prospects.  “We’ve got young arms and a good pitching staff.  We are deep in the bull pen,” said Wilkerson.

Daniel Wilkerson joined the UNC baseball program as Assistant to the head Coach and Clubhouse/Equipment manager during the 2022 fall semester.

 

Crossroads Christian School

SportsTalk: Crossroads Gets Ready For Tournament

Scottie Richardson has reason to be happy, back-to-back regular season championships for the Crossroads Christian boys basketball team.  Richardson, the school’s athletic director, was a guest on Wednesday’s Sportstalk, and he said, “The boys will get a bye in the first round and we will play at home at 2 p.m. Saturday.”  The opponent will be the winner of the New Garden/Halifax matchup.

Richardson is very proud of the accomplishments of his team.  “This is the third year in a row the boys team has been a top 4 seed.  “We’ve played New Garden three times this year and I think we will play them a fourth time Saturday,” Richardson added.

His girls team is also in the state tournament and plays at 6 p.m. Friday against Albemarle.  “If they win, they will play again Saturday against Ridgecroft,” Richardson said.

CLICK PLAY!