A lifelong educator, Crystal Handchen retired from teaching but her love for cheerleading transcended her move from Brick, New Jersey, to Pinehurst in 2017.
As head coach of the Pinecrest Cheerleading team for the past four years, she was a familiar face on the sidelines. Petite and perpetually energetic, Handchen, 63, died Tuesday after suffering a stroke.
âShe was a super great lady, just like the Vince Lombardi of cheerleading,â said Pinecrest football coach, Chris Metzger. âItâs a reason for our guys to honor those who love us like Coach Handchen. We do that by playing our best.â
On Friday night, Pinecrest is headed into the second round of the 4AA N.C. High School Athletic Association football playoffs. The Patriots will be playing with heavy hearts, Metzger said. According to the schoolâs social media pages, fans can wear white, as the team will do also in their white road uniforms, to honor Handchen.
Legislative Update April 2021 | Nexsen Pruet, PLLC jdsupra.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jdsupra.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pinecrest gets road win at Apex Friendship in first round Updated: 2021-04-17 00:35:52
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By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor
Apex, N.C. Pinecrest is on to the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4AA state playoffs after a 24-17 win over Apex Friendship on Friday night.
The Patriots struck first. After holding Apex Friendship to three and out on its first possession, Pinecrest used a double pass to get in scoring position. Jacob Prevatt completed a pass to Hunter Neifert, which setup a six-yard touchdown run by Georgio Najm two plays later.
Apex Friendship answered the touchdown with a 24-yard field goal by Alan Josephson, but Pinecrest led 7-3 after one quarter.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has no written contract or agreement with the State of North Carolina or the Department of Public Instruction to oversee the management of high school sports in North Carolina and has the largest cash reserves of any such organization in America.
These are just two of the issues legislators focused on during a more than two-hour investigative hearing into the non-profit governing body that oversees the state’s high school sports programs.
On Thursday, NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker spent two hours being grilled by state lawmakers on the Subcommittee on Interscholastic Athletics, formed to probe the finances, oversight, accountability, and structure of the NCHSAA.
Bill that would change realignment plan scheduled for committee vote Tuesday highschoolot.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from highschoolot.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.