There have been several local athletes who have made positive headlines in the last several weeks.

Here’s a look back at those in case you missed them.

Two for Utah: Two Bertie High School graduates earned a trip to St. George, Utah to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.

Holly Cowand and Christie Brooks each played significant roles in Pitt Community College’s first-ever trip to the NJCAA title series. Both of these young ladies had excellent seasons.

I’m proud to say they came from this region and I wish them both success as they continue their playing careers.

Great shot: Our own Brian Pavlick had an once-in-a-lifetime experience Saturday when he joined some of our colleagues for a golf tournament in Suffolk, Virginia.

Brian aced the par-three number four at Sleepy Hole Golf Course. He has been a good sport about it, down-playing the significance, but he should be proud of the accomplishment. Lots of people play for years and never have such a good experience.

Multiple signings: Tuesday saw two Roanoke-Chowan athletes sign to play collegiately in their respective sports.

At Bertie, senior Jody Mizelle inked a pact with Lenoir-Rhyne University to play softball for the Bears. She is one of the best softball players I’ve ever had the opportunity to cover and I’m sure she will do well.

Over in Hertford County, Alvin Walston chose Livingstone College over a couple of other opportunities to play collegiate football. The senior offensive and defensive lineman had an excellent career at HCHS and will do well in college.

Gates success: Gates County’s Hunter Lowe pitched four scoreless innings for Lenoir Community College to secure a trip to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Baseball World Series.

His effort was one that should be commended and hopefully he will do well when he gets the opportunity to play for the World Series title.

New top Ram: George Privott, a graduate of Hertford County High School, was named Head Football Coach at Northampton-East last week.

The three-year assistant coach with the Rams was a great choice to lead the Northampton-East program. I have no doubt he will be successful in his first head coaching stint.

As a side note, the coaches at Bertie (Greg Watford), Hertford County (Scott Privott) and Northampton-East all graduated from HCHS or Ahoskie High School. The coach at Gates County (Matt Biggy) graduated from Chowan University, also located in the Hertford County borders. That means all four local public school coaches have ties to Hertford County. That has to be a first.

Golf at its best: Golf has been on the rise in interest in the Roanoke-Chowan region high schools. In the last several weeks, we’ve had a trio of successes in the sport.

Lawrence Academy won its second straight Tarheel Independent Conference championship while Virginia Lane of Ridgecroft School earned Medalist honors for the conference.

Trent Whitley of Northampton-East, a sophomore, also earned a trip to the state tournament this season.

Congratulations to all of these successful young men and women.

Thadd White is Sports Editor of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald and Gates County Index. He can be reached via email at thadd.white@r-cnews.com or by telephone at 332-7211.