N. Buncombe – It’s not easy to excel at one sport, much less two, but how about three and have grades good enough to get into college. Well, that is another story, and this is that other story.
BlackHawk Senior Peyton Whitson is a three-sport athlete who just signed with Cleveland County Community College to play two of the three sports she has been playing at North Buncombe High School. She will be playing volleyball and softball for the Cleveland Yetis.
“I always wanted to play, but it was kind of hard when I was younger,” said Whitson about playing volleyball. “We don’t have a youth league.” So, Whitson didn’t get started in volleyball until middle school. “Instantly in middle school, I fell in love with it [volleyball], and I’ve been playing ever since.”
While she has an older brother (Class of 2012) and an older sister (Class of 2021), with whom she has played softball her entire life, she’s the only one of the siblings to play volleyball.
Whitson, who plays first base and outfielder on the softball field, told the Tribune when asked about going to play college ball, “It’s very exciting, and I’m glad I get the opportunity most people don’t. It takes hard work and expectations to get there, and I feel I have exceeded those expectations to get there.”
“She’s going to be great at the next level! For me, I hate to see her go,” said BlackHawk Coach David Griffin, “She’s been an energetic player for all four years. This started four years ago, playing great first base. She hits the ball well, and she’s a team leader. I hate to see Payton leave this team, but I also know she’s going to do great things .”
“I’m very excited and very proud to see what she does in the future,” said Jill Whitson, Payton’s mom. When asked when she knew she was going to be good at her sport of softball, Jill explains, “It was very early. She is a lefty, so she’s a little different.”
Dad, Eric, said he was also excited about his daughter going off to play college sports; Eric played baseball for North Buncombe and went on to play at Western Carolina University and spent time in the minor leagues. Asked about his daughter going to play ball for Cleveland, David said, “Oh, I love it. We always want the best things for them [our kids]. The bigger schools or whatever, this is the perfect fit for her closest to home. We can see her work hard for a couple of years and then move on up.”
Cleveland County Community College is a junior college in Shelby, NC, which started in 1965. And the Cleveland Yeti Volleyball Team’s current record is 8-3 in conference and 21-12. overall, while the softball team is 14-10 overall.