Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, NC · Education
The Gaston Gazette
Ashbrook football scores dominant NCHSAA 6A Round 1 win. Here's how.
Home losses for Ashbrook football’s 2027 class have been an extreme rarity the past three seasons. With its Friday, Nov. 6 matchup against Central Cabarrus potentially the senior class’ last game in front of home fans, the Green Wave made sure not to disappoint. Ashbrook is on the Round 2 for a third year in a row, the No. 12 Green Wave advancing in the NCHSAA 6A West playoffs with a 47-21 win over 21-seed Central Cabarrus. Ashbrook will next travel to Winston-Salem for a Friday, Nov. 13 matchup against fifth-ranked Mount Tabor. FIRST ROUND FINALS: NC high school football first round scoreboard for Gastonia, Shelby CAN GASTON TEAMS RAISE THE BAR?: Can Gaston County high school football make waves in NCHSAA playoffs? “I feel like this whole season we haven’t really been playing to our standard,” said Ashbrook senior quarterback A.J. McClain. “This week, I told myself and I told my team: ‘We’re going to have to turn it up a notch to get to where we want to go.” Ashbrook scored touchdowns on each of its five possessions in the first half, including four TD passes by McClain. It only took two plays for Ashbrook to draw first
Neuse News
Ashe Post & Times
$35 million App State GEAR UP grant advances college, career readiness for Western NC students
BOONE — Appalachian State University’s Office of Rural Promise (ORP) is the awardee of a seven-year, $35 million GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The award marks the second consecutive $35 million federal grant App State has received in support of its GEAR UP program, allowing the university to serve more students and families across the western portion of the state. GEAR UP is a federally funded college access program designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education immediately after high school. Through a wide range of research-based services to students, families and teachers, App State’s GEAR UP NC Appalachian Partnership aims to improve college-going mindsets, high school graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment rates. Results from App State’s previous GEAR UP grants demonstrate the program’s effectiveness in improving educational outcomes. Among participating schools, 97% of students were on track to graduate by the end of ninth grade, and 98% graduated from high school on time, significantly exceeding the statewide average of 88%, according to 2024–25 data, the latest available. “By helping prepare thousands of regional middle and high school students
thecharlottepost.com
WFAE
wcti12.com
WBTV
Union County high school students start nonprofit to empower girls to become future leaders
WAXHAW, N.C. (WBTV) - Two Union County high school seniors who created a nonprofit to help young girls build leadership and entrepreneurship skills are now expanding the organization worldwide. Starting Girls With Power. Ria Vaishnav and Eleri Pratiknjo co-founded Girls With Power in May 2025, when they were sophomores at...
ncfootballnews.com
hoodline.com
App State’s New GEAR UP Grant Targets 14,000 Students; Program Counts Vary by Cycle
Appalachian State University says its new seven-year, $35 million federal GEAR UP award will support college and career preparation for about 14,000 middle- and high-school students and their families in Western North Carolina. The program, GEAR UP APEX Northwest, began Oct. 1 and is the second consecutive $35 million GEAR UP grant awarded to the university, according to Appalachian Today.