Best of 2012

Sandy. Jerry Sandusky. Newtown. Aurora. The Mayans.

LeBron James. Tim Tebow. Michael Phelps. Gabby Douglas. Miguel Cabrera.

The Giants. The Heat. Kentucky.

Each one made its own national headlines, some good, some bad. Year MMXII will go down as one of the most rollercoaster years for news. There were the feel-good (and beat-to-death) stories of Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow. The U.S. shined in London at the Olympics, and both the football and baseball Giants made improbable runs to titles.

Then there were stories we’d all love to forget but for whatever reason they’re forever embedded into our brains. There were stories of sexual abuse in sports, mass shootings for no reason whatsoever and a late-season hurricane that ravaged most of the East Coast.

Luckily, we have a safe haven from the bombardment of the 24-hour national news cycle. When the world around us seems too big, we have our quaint lives in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties to come back to.

Not much goes on around here — at least from a national perspective — but when it does, more often than not, it gets remembered for the right reasons instead of the wrong ones, especially in sports.

So while you’re trying to forget about all the negativity that 2012 brought, here are the area’s top 10 sports stories from the year as voted on by The Free Press sports staff that will help you escape, even for a little while.

—Ryan Herman, sports editor

10. No. 350

He never saw it coming, but it came. Longtime North Lenoir baseball coach Jim Montague collected career victory No. 350 with an 11-1 win in six innings over visiting Kinston on April 27. The victory gave the coach, who will begin his 23rd season with the Hawks in a couple months, a career record of 350-181 after the game. “A win’s a win … and that’s one that I’ll remember for a long time,” Montague said.

9. Enshrined

They were the best of the best. The Kinston/Lenoir County Sports Hall of Fame inducted 10 new members on Oct. 20 during a ceremony at the Woodmen Community Center — Tommy Cole, Fred Williams, Wayne Floyd, Carolyn Goodley Souther, Hugh Pollock, Doug Bruton, Otis Clark, Coley Little, Vincent Jones and the late Pat Crawford. It was the hall’s fourth induction since it’s first in 2004.

8. The Free Press Conference

The Free Press has always had a difficult time tracking down standings and overall records for its five public school conferences, but that all changed last May. When the NCHSAA approved the new conference realignment plan for the 2013-17 school years, six of the seven area teams were grouped into one conference — the Eastern Carolina 2A. The league, which will begin with next school year and run for four years, will be made up of Ayden-Grifton, Goldsboro, Greene Central, Kinston, North Lenoir and South Lenoir. The only area team that wasn’t put into the group was Jones Senior.

7. Vikings rewrite history

Prior to the 2011-12 girls basketball season Kinston had never played for a regional title, but that all changed in March. The Vikings, who finished 26-4, completed their best season in school history in girls hoops by advancing to the 2A Eastern Regional championship, where they fell to eventual state champion Siler City Jordan Matthews, 61-28. “These girls have nothing to be ashamed of,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said. “This was the most successful season in Kinston girls basketball history.”

6. Eason says farewell

After 346 victories and 28 total years at South Lenoir, longtime baseball coach Troy Eason decided it was time to do something else. In January, Eason retired from a 25-year tenure as the head baseball coach of the Blue Devils, during which he amassed 346 wins in 528 games, won nine league titles and was named the league coach of the year nine times. “It’s been an honor and I’ve been blessed to have been associated with South Lenoir,” Eason said during his retirement ceremony.

5. Patriots rule the spring

It’s been said that April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring spring sports greatness to Arendell Parrott Academy. The Patriots captured NCISAA state 2A titles in both softball and boys golf last May. The golf title was the fifth for the school in the last 10 years while the softball championship was the school’s second overall and second in consecutive years. Parrott’s golf team shot a two-day 609 to win by nine strokes. Its softball team played its way through the loser’s bracket to defeat Fayetteville Christian twice in one day.

4. Kinston shines in MLB

Before Chris Hatcher reached the big leagues in 2010 there had only been three from Kinston to ever play at baseball’s highest level. On Aug. 3, Hatcher and Kinston’s newest major leaguer, Carter Capps, rewrote the history books by becoming the first duo from Kinston to pitch in the big leagues on the same day. Hatcher, a 2003 Kinston graduate, gave up a hit and walked two in two scoreless innings for the Miami Marlins. Later that night Capps, making his major league debut for the Seattle Mariners, allowed a hit, a walk and two runs to the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium. Both finished the 2012 season with their parent ballclubs and both are figured to be on their respective opening day rosters.

3. Gulledge steps down

It was perhaps the most surprising story of 2012 — after three state titles and a combined 16 conference titles and Eastern Regionals appearances, Kinston boys basketball coach Wells Gulledge decided to step down. The iconic Vikings coach and athletic director announced he was leaving coaching and teaching the day after Memorial Day to take a job in the private sector. Gulledge’s teams won the state 3A title in 2008 and 2A titles in 2010 and 2012. It also played for a title but lost in 2007, and reached the regional finals six straight years from 2007-12. The decision was made because Gulledge wanted more time with his wife and two children. “I think the dinner table is a special place when you’re raising a family,” he said.

2. Coples heads to Big Apple

A football journey that began at Kinston High, then left for Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy before arriving at North Carolina turned into the biggest trip of Quinton Coples’ young life as he was drafted by the New York Jets 16th overall in April’s NFL draft. Coples joined Kinston basketball star Jerry Stackhouse as the town’s two athletes to be drafted in the first round.

1. Vikings do it again

The front page of The Free Press on Sunday, March 11, simply read: “Dynasty.” That pretty much described Kinston’s boys basketball team as it captured its third NCHSAA state championship in five seasons with a 58-55 come-from-behind win over Waxhaw Cuthbertson at N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum. Angelo Keyes, nicknamed “Superman,” was the hero. He scored a team-best 19 points and hit 9 of 10 free throws, including a pair that saw the lead change hands for the last time, with 29 seconds to play. “This was my last game ever in high school,” Keyes said following the game. “I knew I had to step up if I wanted to go out a champion.”

Photos by Janet S. Carter, Zach Frailey, Casey Mozingo and the late Charles Buchanan. Capsules written by Ryan Herman.