Good morning, Hickory.

Hickory honored a local manufacturing company with the Business—Well Crafted—Legacy Award for its role in advancing job creation, workforce investment, and local partnerships—underscoring its contribution to economic growth.

The YMCA Bright Beginnings event helped 150 local students in Catawba, Burke, & Lincoln counties start school by pairing each child with a volunteer for a back-to-school shopping trip.

Yesterday, local high school boys soccer games offered intense conference and non-conference matchups, with Jackson Day winning 3 to 2 over North Carolina School of Science and Math while non-conference contests saw Ashe County win 7 to 0 and North Wilkes beat East Burke 4 to 2.

Wednesday, Aug. 26 saw three varsity matches in local high school girls volleyball.

In the notable game, Bandys defeated South Caldwell 3 to 2 while Alexander Central, Lake Norman, Freedom, and West Caldwell also posted their scores.

The Hickory Crawdads rallied from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Wilson Warbirds 8-3 at Wilson Ballpark on Aug.

26. Marco Argudin led the team with a home run and three RBIs as they improved to a 73-47 record and extended a five-game winning streak.

At Tuesday night’s conference opener on Aug.

25, local high school girls volleyball teams posted wins in the Catawba River, Western Piedmont and Western Foothills contests, highlighted by Hickory ending Maiden’s unbeaten run with a 3 to 0 win.

Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball was picked to finish fourth in the South Atlantic Conference, with Allen, Dale, and transfer Blankenship earning preseason honors & the team opens today against Texas Woman’s University in the Seawolf Invitational.