Carlee (Carpenter) Belk (left), pictured holding her son Brooks and with her husband Drew Belk (holding daughter Addy Kate), will return to Bandys High in August to teach physical education and be head coach of the Trojans’ volleyball team. She is a former three-sports star for the Trojans who went on to star in college softball at Lenoir-Rhyne University./BANDYS HIGH PHOTO
Ex-LRU softball star Carlee (Carpenter) Belk
will teach, coach at her prep alma mater
CARLEE IN COLLEGE
A look at highlights of the college career of new Bandys High volleyball head coach Carlee (Carpenter) Belk, who starred in softball at Lenoir-Rhyne University:
— Led the Bears in hits in 2011 with 66.
— Her 23 doubles in 2011 is still tied for most in a season for LRU.
— Hit 13 home runs in 2010, eighth-best on the single-season list at LRU.
— Had 18 sacrifices in 2012, second-best for a year for the Bears.
Notes: She is still second in career sacrifices (55), third in career doubles (57), sixth in at-bats (676) and tied for eighth in career hits with 238… The Bears were 184-45 in her career — 38-13 her freshman year, 53-9 her sophomore year, 45-10 her junior year and 48-13 her senior year… LRU won league titles her last three seasons.
SOURCE: LRU Record Book and HobbsDailyReport.com research and files.
HobbsDailyReport.com
CATAWBA – Bandys High has hired a new volleyball head coach, bringing aboard a former three-sport star from its athletic program.
On Tuesday, the school’s athletic department announced Carlee (Carpenter) Belk will teach physical education and coach volleyball at her alma mater.
Belk played four seasons of varsity basketball, volleyball and softball at Bandys, graduating in 2008, and played college softball at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
She was selected in her junior year of college as The Observer News Enterprise’s Female Athlete of the Decade in high school sports in Catawba County.
Belk graduated from LRU in 2012 and has previously worked and coached at Statesville Christian, North Lincoln Middle School and North Lincoln High.
Belk is leaving North Lincoln Middle after six years to coach at Bandys, where her father, Mike, was once the head softball coach.
“It’s awesome to have her back home at Bandys where she belongs,” Bandys Athletic Director Brandon Harbinson said in announcing the hiring of Belk, whose teaching contract was approved Monday night by the Catawba County Board of Education.
The board approves teaching contracts and coaches are assigned by principals at each school.
Belk replaces Erin Dutka, who coached the Trojans for four seasons as a non-faculty head coach.
Bandys went 10-13 last season — finishing 8-6 in the South Fork 2A to tie Lake Norman Charter for fourth — and was eliminated by Forbush in the first round of the state 2A playoffs.
The Trojans were 38-53 under Dutka and made three trips to the state 2A playoffs in her four seasons (1-3 in the postseason).
Belk’s coaching experience includes head junior varsity and assistant varsity coach in volleyball at Statesville Christian.
She began teaching at North Lincoln Middle in 2013 and spent two seasons guiding the softball team and four seasons as head volleyball coach.
Belk was varsity softball head coach in 2014 and 2015 at North Lincoln High (33-15 record, two state 3A playoff appearances). Her 2014 team lost in the fourth round to Sun Valley and her 2015 team lost in the first round to Freedom.
She taught at North Lincoln Middle in 2017 and 2018 but did not coach after the births of her two children.
As a college softball player at LRU, Belk was twice a first-team All-South Atlantic Conference (SAC) selection. She played four seasons on teams that went 184-45 with three league titles and she is still ranked in the all-time top 10 in three categories for the Bears (see graphic).
