CHAPEL HILL— Janiya Downs from South Rowan High School and Jordy Lopez from Bunn High School have been named recipients of the NCHSAA Performance of the Week awards. Each week two athletes in North Carolina High School Athletic Association competition are selected for this award from nominations received from media and school administrators.
Downs, a senior from the South Rowan women’s basketball team, scored her 2,000thcareer point on Monday, January 21 in a 51-32 win against Oak Grove. She scored 27 points while adding 14 rebounds in the game. Later that week in a 76-72 win over North Davidson, she set the Rowan County single-game record with 52 points. She also added 17 rebounds and 10 steals in the game to complete a triple-double. Downs is the leading scorer in school history and third all-time in Rowan County.
Lopez, a senior on the Bunn wrestling team, is the senior leader and captain of the team who led the squad to their first conference championship in school history. Lopez trailed 9-6 late in his match against Roanoke Rapids and managed to win by pin to open the dual match with some momentum for the Wildcats. Then on Saturday, he dominated the conference individual tournament, pinning both of his opponents to win his first-ever first place finish in an individual tournament. His record on the season so far is 25-7.
Weekly recipients will be recognized on the NCHSAA Website and social media pages. They will also be honored at a banquet for all recipients from this year in April. The deadline for nominations is each Monday at 5 p.m through the online form that can be found here.
