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DeGraffenreid, Cleaveland bring excitement to area
One of the most exciting stories in Jackson County sports history is entering its final chapter as Cetera DeGraffenreid prepares for her senior basketball season at Smoky Mountain High School.
Already the all-time leading scorer for the Lady Mustangs, DeGraffenreid is closing in on becoming Western North Carolina’s career scoring leader. She has an outside chance to set the state scoring record as well.
If you’ve never seen DeGraffenreid play, you owe it to yourself to get out to the Smoky Mountain gym and watch this unbelievable athlete perform. She’s almost guaranteed to do something spectacular every game.
See for yourself why she has earned All-American honors and had the opportunity to play for virtually any college in the country.
If you have already witnessed DeGraffenreid’s amazing play, we have no doubt you will want to do so again before she departs for her collegiate career at the University of North Carolina.
Cheering for DeGraffenreid is easy because she’s not just an outstanding player – she’s also an outstanding representative of her school and community.
After the Lady Mustangs play, stick around to watch the Mustang men in action. That program has struggled for more than a decade, but excitement and optimism are running high because of Jimmy Cleaveland, the team’s new coach.
A 1985 graduate of Sylva-Webster High, Cleaveland guided Pisgah to the state 2-A championship in 2005. Considered by many to be one of the best high school basketball coaches in the state, he’s returned to his Jackson County roots to try to make the Mustangs winners again. We have no doubt he will succeed.
With the talent currently in the program and poised to enter high school over the next couple of years, visits to the SM gym could become just as painful for opposing men’s teams as they have been for women’s teams during the past few years.
DeGraffenreid and Cleaveland are the two biggest high school basketball stories in Western North Carolina this year. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of history – this season promises to be an exciting winter that will long be remembered.
Don’t forget, go early to get a good seat. The gym is small, but the extra time will be well worth it. The first home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Best of luck to both the Mustangs and Lady Mustangs.
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