2017 Hall of Fame Class

Northwood High School will induct 10 members into its new Athletics Hall of Fame Dec. 12, 2017. The induction will take place during halftime of the boys’ basketball game against Cedar Ridge. Those inducted into the inaugural class include: Anthony Craven, Latanya Clemons Davis, Ronald Horton, Fay Loflin, Charlene Denise Page, Johnny F. Richardson, Wanda Alston Roberson, J. Wayne Strowd, Sr., Preston A. Thomas, and Sidney Morrison Watson.

Anthony Craven was a three-sport athlete who graduated in 1984. In his senior year, Craven was named all-conference for football, basketball, and baseball and was named Northwood’s Athlete of the Year. As a baseball player, Craven was all-conference and all-county all four years he played, and was the conference’s player of the year in both his sophomore and senior seasons. His career 27 wins as a pitcher was a Northwood record, as were his 310 career strikeouts. At the plate, he batted .314 for his career and hit 14 homeruns, which was tied for second on the Northwood all-time list.

Latanya Clemons Davis was an all-conference basketball and softball player who graduated in 1985. She was the team MVP of the first Northwood softball team to play in the state playoffs. In basketball, she was all-county and all-conference all four years she played. Upon graduating, she held county records with 1,414 career points and 1,378 career rebounds.

Davis went on to play basketball at Peace College, where she averaged 16.5 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. After living away from North Carolina for 15 years, Davis moved back and started a career in real estate. She is now the owner of TD Realty in Chapel Hill.

“Northwood athletics was an intricate part of shaping who I am today. Being able to participate in sports at Northwood paved the road I traveled that last 30 years of my life,” Davis said. “My journey all began with a coach who believed in me more than I believed in myself. A coach who pushed me to my highest potential. Coach [Jimmy] Tilley was the best coach…. I believe the foundation of who I am today and the roads I have travelled were greatly influenced by the people and athletics at Northwood High School.”

Ronald Horton coached at Northwood for 40 years before retiring in 2011. During that time, he coached baseball, cross country, basketball, indoor track, and served as athletic director. Horton coached baseball for 33 seasons and had the baseball field named for him in 2006. Over his career, his teams won four conference championships, three tournament championships, and featured eight conference players of the year. Horton was a four-time conference coach of the year and is a member of the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.

As the boys’ and girls’ cross country coach, he won coach of the year honors 12 times. His teams won 10 conference championships, seven regional championships, and in 2004, his boys’ team finished second in the state.

“Northwood was home for 40 years and family,” Horton said. “The students and the large number of athletes I had the opportunity to work with over the years made me look forward to going to work every day.”

Fay Loflin taught health and physical education for 30 years and coached softball for 27 years. During her time at Northwood, she served as athletic director and also coached basketball, volleyball, and tennis. Loflin was named the Teacher of the Year for the 1984-85 and 1996-97 school years. Her softball teams won five conference championships and made the playoffs seven times. She was named conference coach of the year four times and won three tournament championships.

“I was fortunate to coach a lot of fine young ladies who were outstanding athletes and they made me look good,” Loflin said. “My ball players (especially softball) were my family away from home. I still keep up with many of them and I’m proud of their many accomplishments.”

Charlene Denise Page was a basketball and softball player who graduated in 1985. When she graduated, she was Chatham County’s all-time girls’ basketball leading scorer, scoring 1,478 career points. She was named the Central Tar Heel conference player of the year her sophomore and junior seasons and was the first-ever three-time Chatham News and Chatham Record Female Athlete of the Year.

Page went on to play three seasons for UNC-Wilmington and is on the top-20 all-time Seahawks leaderboard for career points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, defensive rebounds and steals. She chose not to play her senior season to focus on her studies and became a middle school math teacher after graduating. Page died in 1992.

“She warmed the hearts of so many during her time at Northwood and she was able to be a wonderful role model while she attended UNC-W,” Page’s daughter Olivia Page Bailey said. “She made her community and her family extremely proud with her academic and athletic success.”

Johnny F. Richardson was a three-sport athlete who graduated in 1972. As a football player, he was a two-time all-conference quarterback, leading the Chargers to the Central Tar Heel conference title his senior year.

“The closeness of the members of the football team and the bonds that they formed provided the community with a sense of unity during the integration of Horton High School and Pittsboro High School,” Richardson said.

Richardson went on to play football at N.C. State, making the ACC Honor Roll in 1975 and 1976. While at N.C. State, his team won the 1973 ACC Championship and participated in a bowl game each of his four years.

Wanda Alston Roberson was an all-conference basketball and softball player who graduated in 1979. As a basketball player, Alston won all-conference honors for three straight years, was team MVP her junior and senior years, and was the leading scorer in girls’ basketball history when she graduated. She went on to play for North Carolina A&T and later played in the United States Marine Corp. On the softball field, Alston batted over .400 in each of her four seasons, culminating in her senior season in which she batted .476 and had six home runs and 33 RBI on the way to winning the conference player of the year award. Her teams won two conference tournaments and one regular season crown.

“Northwood Athletics meant the world to me,” Roberson said. “It helped me build my self-esteem. It helped me be the person that I am today, a good leader, respectful, and it helped me to love everybody.”

J. Wayne Strowd, Sr., has worked as a member of the football team’s chain crew for 46 consecutive seasons, never missing a season since Northwood opened its doors in 1970. Strowd was born and raised on his family farm in Chatham County and has watched two sons and four grandchildren attend Northwood. Strowd has worked on his farm for 65 years and is a member of the North Carolina Livestock Hall of Fame. A charter member of the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department, he served the ranks of Fire Chief and Assistant Chief and is currently on the Board of Directors.

Preston A. Thomas was a state champion runner and three-sport athlete who graduated in 1992. In 1991 and 1992, Thomas won back-to-back state championships in the 400 meters. He was all-conference and all-region in track in 1990, 1991, and 1992, and he graduated with school records in the 400- and 800-meters. In football, his junior year was the first football team to reach the playoffs in over 20 years, and he led the team in tackles his senior season. Thomas has served 25 years in the U.S. Army and graduated from Columbia Southern University in 2016.

“What Northwood athletics did for me was build teamwork and trust,” Thomas said. “Being involved in sports kept me out of trouble and kept me focused on my main goal of graduating on time…. The teamwork that was instilled in me at an early age enabled me to transfer those skills to the military.”

Sidney Morrison Watson was a three-sport athlete who graduated in 1975. As a football, basketball, and baseball player, he was the school’s only three-sport athlete and was named Northwood’s first Athlete of the Year in 1974. Watson was a repeat winner of the Athlete of the year in 1975. In his senior year he was the MVP of both the football and baseball team. In baseball he was named the Central Tar Heel Conference Player of the Year.

“Everything my coaches taught me, I taught it to other children in sports. I coached football, basketball, softball, and soccer,” Watson said. “The leadership, the responsibility they taught me in sports works in life. I thank every coach at Northwood who had a chance to coach me. Much love and respect to them all.”