By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — For a No. 31 seed in the NCHSAA Women’s Soccer 4A West bracket of the state championship tournament, Southwest Guilford gave No. 2 seeded Watauga all they could handle before eventually falling, 2-0.
Bonus Photos at Bottom of Article
The Pioneers got first half goals from a pair of sophomores in Kate Sears and Morgan Flynt, then hung on through a scoreless second half to win the day. Sears may have surprised even herself when she lofted a quick attempt at goal from near the left sideline, just missing a block attempt by a SWG defender before the ball looped over the outstretched hands of the visitors’ goalkeeper and ducked under the crossbar in the left upper corner of the goal.
Kat Sears looped this shot past the SW Guilford defender and over the head of the goalkeeper, the ball just ducking underneath the crossbar for the May 15 game’s first goal. Photographic image by David Rogers
Sears was also credited with an assist when she kicked a crossing pass to the center where Flynt redirected the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net.
Afterwards, Flynt seemed almost apologetic.
“I feel lucky that I got my shin on it,” said Flynt.
Of her early goal, Sears said she usually doesn’t like to take longer shots, but teammate Katie Durham has been egging her on, to make those attempts from longer distances if she is feeling it in the moment.
To be sure, Southwest Guilford rarely threatened in this match, which was played mostly in the Pioneers’ attacking half of the field. Even so, Watauga head coach Chris Tarnowski was impressed by the physicality of the Cowgirls from High Point.
“Honestly, Southwest Guilford surprised us by how physical they came out at the beginning of the game,” said Tarnowski. “Our players are able to play against almost any style, so they adapted well, but the physical nature of their play was unexpected.”
Watauga freshman midfielder Savannah Rogers seeks to recover possession for the Pioneers in the first half of the May 15, Round 1 playoff game vs. Southwest Guilford. Watauga won 2-0. Photographic image by David Rogers
Tarnowski also noted that SWG made some halftime adjustments that impacted the game, too.
“In the first half, it became obvious that the best player on their team was the center fullback. For the second half, they moved her up to play center forward, or striker, which put more offensive pressure on our defenders,” said Tarnowski. “That also took away some of our chances to attack, too. Southwest Guilford is a good team and we are lucky to have gotten past them.”
Tarnowski had special commendations for Charlotte Cuthbert, a junior midfielder who drew the tough assignment of filling the role usually played by senior captain Maya Nelson, who was sidelined for this game by COVID-19.
“I just wanted to play hard and play well,” said Cuthbert, “and do everything I could to help win the game, all for Maya. She is so good and so talented, I just wanted her to be able to play in the playoffs her senior year, so we are hoping she is back for the Round 2 and beyond.”
Watauga’s Katie Durham had a penalty kick attempt after this contact from behind by the Southwest Guilford defender in Round 1 of the state playoffs on May 15 at Jack Groce Stadium. Photographic image by David Rogers
With the win, Watauga will now host No. 18 Cox Mill in Round 2 on Thursday, May 18, tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. at Jack Groce Stadium. Cox Mill survived a hard-fought, evenly matched Round 1 pairing with Reagan, to win 3-2. The Chargers are led on offense by midfielder/forward Courtney Chase, midfielder Ella Berry, and striker Skylar Noll. With the Cox Mill backline, goalkeeper Reese DeJong has recorded nine shutouts on the season.
At 12-6-3 overall, Cox Mill finished the regular season at No. 3 (7-3-2) in the Greater Metro 4A Conference behind No. 1 Lake Norman (10-2, 13-5-2) and No. 2 South Iredell (8-4, 9-8-1).
“It is deceptive, just looking at the bracket’s seedings,” said Tarnowski. “Some of the lower seeds are playing in really tough conferences, so their records don’t always reflect how good they are. I think Southwest Guilford would be right with us near the top of the Northwestern Conference if they were in our conference. So I feel good about our ability to win this one and advance.”
4A West Bracket Results
No. 1 Weddington 6, No. 32 Mt. Tabor 0
No. 16 Northern Guilford 5, No. 17 East Forsyth 0
No. 8 Lake Norman 3, No. 25 Mooresville 0
No. 9 Providence 7, No. 24 Sun Valley 3
No. 28 Porter Ridge 1, No. 5 Page 0
No. 12 Northwest Guilford 2, No. 21 Myers Park 1
No. 13 T.C. Roberson 1 (Win by PKs, 3-0), No. 20 Charlotte Catholic 1
No. 4 Asheville 7, No. 29 Mallard Creek 1
No. 3 West Forsyth 6, No. 30 Piedmont 1
No. 14 South Mecklenburg 2, No. 19 Hickory Ridge 0
No. 6 Ardrey Kell 9, No. 27 Independence 0
No. 11 Marvin Ridge 7, No. 22 South Iredell 0
No. 7 Hough 2, No. 26 Hopewell 0
No. 10 Cuthbertson 5, No. 23 A.C. Reynolds 0
No. 18 Cox Mill 3, No. 15 Reagan 3
No. 3 Watauga 2, No. 31 Southwest Guilford 0
Bonus Photos
Kate Sears (23) battles for possession vs. a SW Guilford defender. Photographic image by David Rogers
Kat Sears looped this shot past the SW Guilford defender and over the head of the goalkeeper, the ball just ducking underneath the crossbar for the May 15 game’s first goal. Photographic image by David Rogers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — App State third baseman Andrew Terrell will not soon forget his last at-bat in the last home baseball game of his college career in Smith Stadium: a walk-off, grand slam home run on Mother’s Day, with his mother and grandmother in the stands, powering the Mountaineers to a dominating, 16-4 win and weekend series sweep over the Red Wolves of Arkansas State.
The end-of-game drama all but overshadowed C.J. Boyd’s career day at the plate. The sophomore from Lewisville, N.C. (Reagan High School) got four hits in five at-bats, including two home runs, a double, four runs scored and four RBIs.
C J Boyd crosses the plate after hitting one of two home runs on May 14 in the Mountaineers’ 16-4, run-rule win over Arkansas State in Smith Stadium. Photographic image by David Rogers
Giving up consecutive home runs and a double in the first inning may not have been the Sunday start that Mountaineer starting pitcher Caleb Cross (5-3) preferred, but the junior righthander settled down and kept the Red Wolves at bay, giving up just those two, first inning runs and only three more hits across six innings’ on the mound.
Notably, led by Boyd’s hot bat, Cross got error-free defensive help and solid offensive production from his fellow Mountaineers. They took advantage of miscues by Arkansas State, whose pitchers had a hard time getting the ball across the 14 inches of hard rubber called, “home plate.” The Red Wolves pitchers issued 10 walks, hit two batters, and hurled three wild pitches in the seven inning, abbreviated affair that was stopped by run-rule.
In the bottom half of the first inning, down 2-0, Boyd got things started with a leadoff home run over the left field fence to cut the deficit in half. In the second inning, he knocked in another run with a 1-out double to the left centerfield fence, scoring Jonathan Xuereb and sending Terrell to third.
The Mountaineers were ‘running amok’ in their May 14 win over Arkansas State before Andrew Terrell’s walk-off home run in the 7th inning to ‘run rule’ the game. Photographic image by David Rogers
With runners on second and third, Xavier Moronta rapped a single to right, scoring Terrell, with Boyd stopping at third base. He scored the third run of the inning a few moments later on a wild pitch by Arkansas State starter, Tyler Jeans (2-5).
It wasn’t until the bottom of the 4th inning that the Mountaineers struck again, and it was Boyd again who got things started with a 2-run shot over the left field fence. Consecutive singles by Luke Drumheller and Alex Reed were followed by a full count walk to App State power hitter, Golston Gillespie, loading the bases.
The next batter, right fielder Dylan Rogers, didn’t waste any time by ripping a double to the gap in right center. The ball made it all the way to the fence before being retrieved by a Red Wolves outfielder. The hit tallied two more runs for the Mountaineers, with Reed and Drumheller crossing the plate easily.
Arkansas State replaced starting pitcher Jeans with Michael Finan, who stopped the bleeding and got the final two outs of the inning. The damage had been done, though, with the Mountaineers sporting a convincing, 8-2 lead.
Finan only gave up one hit and no runs in his 2.2 innings of work, but he showed signs of fatigue and control problems when he gave up a double down the right field line and hit another batter, Braxton Church, in the 6th inning. It was enough for A-State head coach Tommy Raffo to make pitching change heading into the decisive 7th.
Oops. That ball sailing down the right field line means trouble for the Arkansas State Red Wolves and scoring opportunity for the Mountaineers of Appalachian State on May 14. Photographic image by David Rogers
The Red Wolves used four pitchers in the seventh inning, none of whom seemed to have control of their pitches. Arkansas State reliever Bryson Schares started the inning and showed promise, getting the first two outs of the inning, but then the wheels started coming off for the Red Wolves. Boyd had singled through the left side earlier, between those first two outs, but when a pickoff attempt went flying down the right field line, the Mountaineer centerfielder advanced all the way to third base, then scored on another one of those wild pitches.
Alex Reed followed with a ground rule double to the gap between center and right, the ball bouncing over the fence and out of play.
Schares faced just five Mountaineer batters before being yanked in favor of Austin Brock. The senior lefty faced just two batters, allowing two runs on no hits (two walks) before Raffo went to his bullpen again, this time bringing on a towering (6-7) junior, James McCormick. The junior college transfer and former high school MVP of the Arkansas state tournament didn’t fare any better, facing just two Mountaineers. He faced only two batters, walking one and hitting another, forcing in two runs on no hits. It prompted Raffo to call on his fourth pitcher of the inning, Grayson Becker, who faced only one batter. He got his only pitch over the plate, but Terrell took advantage, smashing it over the left centerfield fence for the grand slam finale.
Making good contact is App State designated hitter Alex Reed on May 14 at Smith Stadium in the Mountaineers’ 16-4 win. Reed was 2-5 on the day, including a double, with 2 runs scored. Photographic image by David Rogers
Having fun with the moment, after the game Terrell told High Country Sports about the bases-loaded situation he found himself in, “I didn’t want to stay here any longer, so I was trying to walk it off, for sure. I had a date with my mother and had to treat her right.”
Terrell added, “This was just an awesome weekend, Senior Weekend. To have my final at-bat in this stadium, my first grand slam home run, it was pretty cool.”
Boyd was succinct in talking about his performance at the plate.
“Just keeping things slow, see the ball and hit it hard wherever you can,” said Boyd. “As a team, we are all about protecting the ‘middle 14’ (over home plate).
“Whenever we get down…We have so much trust in our pitching staff,” said Boyd, “and with our offense, you see what we can do. We put up double digits in almost every single game.”
Golston Gillespie (26) slides into second with a double on May 14. Photographic image by David Rogers
Mountaineer head coach Kermit Smith was complimentary of starting pitcher Caleb Cross, who gave up the early runs but then buckled down and shut out the Red Wolves for the next five innings.
“It speaks more to Caleb’s competitiveness and his character,” said Smith. “It says a lot about our team, too. C.J. (Boyd) comes out a gets a home run to settle things down and cut the deficit. The we took the lead in the next inning. You keep competing like that and it helped Caleb settle down, too.”
The Red Wolves scored a couple of runs in the top of the seventh inning, loaded the bases, and had the tying run on deck when redshirt sophomore Skylar Brooks (Wilkesboro/Wilkes Central HS) was brought to the mound as the stopper, striking out the final two Red Wolves’ batters.
“Skylar did a fantastic job coming in, in that situation,” said Smith. “It was his first outing since an earlier hamstring injury, so that brought a lot of energy, too. As we approach tournament time, it is all a good shot in the arm.
“For Andrew, that walk-off home run was pretty special. It was his last at-bat here in this stadium and he is always going to remember it as a grand slam home run. That is pretty dang special and a lot of people can’t say that,” said Smith.
With the weekend wins, App State (15-11 SBC, 26-21 overall) climbs into the No. 5 spot in the Sun Belt Conference standings, behind Southern Miss (on a 13-win streak) and Coastal Carolina sharing the No. 1 position, with Louisiana and Troy holding down the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively.
A final regular season road trip to Troy next week looms large for the Mountaineers. They take on the Trojans, May 18-19-20. At least two Mountaineer wins would push App State past Troy and into the No. 4 spot in the SBC standings, improving their seeding for the SBC conference tournament, May 23-28, in Montgomery, Ala.
OTHER SUN BELT GAMES ON MAY 14
Coastal Carolina 16, @South Alabama 10
Troy 4, @Marshall 2
Old Dominion 8, @James Madison 5
@Georgia State 16, Georgia Southern 5
@Louisiana 8, Texas State 3
Southern Miss 6, ULM 2
Sun Belt Conference Baseball Standings, as of May 14, 2023
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Out of 23 men’s track and field teams competing in the NCHSAA 4A West Regional Championship on May 13, Watauga finished ninth. Pioneer senior Davis Hunt was a double qualifier for the North Carolina state meet on May 20, finishing third in both the 110m Hurdles and the 300m Hurdles.
RANDOM CAPTURED MOMENTS AT BOTTOM OF STORY
Watauga put two student athletes into the state meet in the Pole Vault, where sophomore Clayo Kulcyk and freshman Luke Wilson cleared the top winning height of 12 feet, credited for first and third, respectively, based on fewer misses. Second place went to senior Jackson Carpenter of Ardrey Kell, who also cleared the 12 feet standard.
Mallard Creek, Ardrey Kell, Olympic, Myers Park and Charlotte Catholic had a stranglehold on the track events. Mallard Creek showed great roster depth in the sprints and sprint relays, while Charlotte Catholic was strong in the middle distance races.
The top four in each individual event get a ticket to the state meet as a qualifier.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Olivia Burroughs was the lone state qualifier for the Watauga women’s track and field team on May 13, with 10-06 vault that garnered first place honors for the Pioneer junior in the NCHSAA 4A West Regionals hosted at Jack Groce Stadium.
Random captured moments at the bottom of the article
Although none of the other Watauga women in the event qualified for the state meet on May 20, individual performances garnered valuable team points to elevate Watauga to a tie for No. 12 in the team standings out of the 24 schools competing.
Photographic image by David Rogers
TEAM SCORES
1 Olympic 104
2 Mallard Creek 89
3 Asheville 54
3 Myers Park 54
5 Ardrey Kell 49
6 South Mecklenburg 43
7 Palisades High School 31
8 North Mecklenburg 28
9 Charlotte Catholic 27
10 Independence 24
10 Butler 24
12 Berry 22 12 Watauga 22
13 Rocky River High School 22
15 A.C. Reynolds 21
16 Providence 19
17 Hopewell 18
18 Harding University 15
19 Garinger 11
19 Hough, William A 11
21 T.C. Roberson 8
22 Julius Chambers High School 4
23 Alexander Central 1
23 McDowell
Watauga Individual Performance
3200 METER RUN
12:42.99
Gwendolyn Anderson
6th
Finals H1
Complete
13:18.40
Janie Beach Verhey
10th
Finals H1
Complete
13:43.71
Ellary Smith
13th
Finals H1
Complete
100 METER HURDLES
16.94
Sadie Buchanan
14th
Prelims H1
Complete
17.60
Kara Schneider
15th
Prelims H2
Complete
300 METER HURDLES
48.40
Sadie Buchanan
8th
Finals H1
Complete
4X200 METER RELAY
1:49.06
SB
Relay Team
13th
Finals H1
Complete
4X800 METER RELAY
10:07.01
SB
Relay Team
6th
Finals H1
Complete
HIGH JUMP
4-8
Caroline Farthing
13th
Finals H1
Complete
4-8
Olivia Foskey
15th
Finals H1
Complete
4-6
Kayla Graham
16th
Finals H1
Complete
TRIPLE JUMP
34-7.5
Lily Stough
10th
Finals H1
Complete
34-7.5
Lily Stough
10th
Prelims H1
Complete
POLE VAULT
10-6
Olivia Burroughs
1st
Finals H1
Complete
8-6
Emma Martin
6th
Finals H1
Complete
DISCUS
92-8
Olivia Burroughs
9th
Finals H1
Complete
92-8
Olivia Burroughs
9th
Prelims H1
Complete
SHOT PUT
31-3.75
Olivia Burroughs
7th
Finals H1
Complete
29-8
Olivia Burroughs
7th
Prelims H1
Complete
TOP FINISHERS FOR EACH EVENT
(Place, Name, School Year, School, Result)
100 Meters
Kaylyn Brown 12 Mallard Creek 11.92
Maya Love 10 Independence 11.89
I’Ja Walter 11 Olympic 12.35
Sanai Forte 11 Harding University 12.64
200 Meters
Maya Love 10 Independence 24.69
I’Ja Walter 11 Olympic 25.10
Sydney Justice 12 South Mecklenburg 25.83
Sanai Forte 11 Harding University 26.03
400 Meters
T’Sheylah Moore 12 Olympic 57.00
Journee Gordon 11 Olympic 58.40
Molly Canon 11 Charlotte Catholic 58.60
Leah Butler 12 Hopewell 58.64
800 Meters
Molly Barber 9 Myers Park 2:17.48
Natalia Martin 12 Olympic 2:20.02
Charlotte Britt 11 Myers Park 2:20.97
Amelia KULPA 10 South Mecklenburg 2:21.32
1600 Meters
Anna Wells 12 Ardrey Kell 5:09.33
Hannah Caudill 12 Asheville 5:10.63
Natalia Martin 12 Olympic 5:13.26
Ella Kepple 12 A.C. Reynolds 5:15.46
3200 Meters
Mary Bonner Dalton 11 Myers Park 11:09.64
Hannah Caudill 12 Asheville 11:32.35
Keely Bradle 12 Providence 11:37.52
Sofi Alexander 9 Asheville 12″12.27
110m Hurdles
Makhyah Pittman 11 Palisades High School 14.41
Jayda Lewis 10 Mallard Creek 14.44
Carmen PenaSoto 11 Olympic 14.52
Amaya Hopkins 12 South Mecklenburg 14.93
300m Hurdles
Amaya Hopkins 12 South Mecklenburg 44.08
Carmen PenaSoto 11 Olympic 44.51
Nyree Andrews 11 Mallard Creek 44.65
Jasmine Stokes 12 Rocky River High School 45.23
4x100m Relay
Mallard Creek 48.24
Berry 48.60
Butler 48.66
Palisades High School 49.52
4x200m Relay
Mallard Creek 1:42.15
Olympic 1:42.80
Palisades High School 1:44.67
Berry 1:44.78
4x400m Relay
Olympic 3:57.79
South Mecklenburg 4:02.37
Myers Park 4:05.78
Hopewell 4:08.14
4x800m Relay
Myers Park 9:31.07
Olympic 9:35.94
Providence 9:41.36
Hough 9:51.13
High Jump
Asia Artis 9 Garinger 5-06.00
Kaitlyn Evans 12 Butler 5-04.00
Ashlynn Wimberly 10 Mallard Creek 5-04.00
Jenna Barnes 12 A.C. Reynolds 5-02.00
Long Jump
Lauren Grose 11 Charlotte Catholic 18-04.50
Sahlay Reid 10 North Mecklenburg 18-01.50
Sebla Miracle 9 Asheville 18-00.00
Sanai Forte 11 Harding University 18-00.00
Triple Jump
Lauren Grose 11 Charlotte Catholic 38-07.75
Sahlay Reid 10 North Mecklenburg37-07.00
Carmen PenaSoto 11 Olympic 37-03.00
Aniyah Wallace 11 Butler 37-00.00
Pole Vault
Olivia Burroughs 11 Watauga 10-06.00
Paiden Castelblanco 11 Asheville 10-06.00
Alexandra Ingoglia 9 Ardrey Kell 9-06.00
Annika WELKE 10 Myers Park 9-00.00
Discus
Tyler Glover 11 Ardrey Kell 135-00
Macy Dulaney 11 Mallard Creek 132-00
Alexandria Jefferson 10 Rocky River High School 128-03.00
Peyton Gardner 11 Ardrey Kell 117-04
Shot Put
Tyler Glover 11 Ardrey Kell 45-09.25
Macy Dulaney 11 Mallard Creek 41-01.25
Alexandria Jefferson 10 Rocky River High School 37-10.50
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – App State junior Calbert Guest’s first-place finish in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase highlighted the second day of action at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Friday. Through two days of competition, the Mountaineers have tallied six top-five finishes. With eight of 21 events scored, the men stand fourth in the team standings with 40 points and the women are tied for 11th.
In the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, Guest led the pack, stopping the clock at 8:54.06 for a new personal best and the SBC title. He remains fourth in the App State all-time list for the event and closes out the night ranked 35th in the NCAA East Prelim qualifying list. Senior Jonah Morris finished sixth (9:21.18) and graduate student Jonah Bird finished eighth (9:32.95). Senior Claire Mason rounded out the top-10 in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:39.71.
Junior Braden Underwood recorded a personal best clearance of 4.91m (16′ 1.25″) to place fourth in the men’s pole vault. Underwood’s clearance ties him with fellow junior Matthew Bigelow at eighth in the App State all-time list. Bigelow finished seventh overall with a clearance of 4.76m (15′ 7.25″).
In the men’s shot put, juniors Chris Wainscott and Nathan Karl placed fifth (17.48m (57′ 4.25″)) and seventh (17.01m (55′ 9.75″)), respectively. Junior Siby Yao and senior Taylor Smith finished seventh (5.77m (18′ 11.25″)) and ninth (5.73m (18′ 9.75″)), respectively, in the women’s long jump.
Senior Mariah Atwater advanced to Saturday’s women’s 400-meter final after finishing second in the prelim with a time of 55.15. Freshman Harrison Robinson advanced to the Saturday final of the men’s 110-meter hurdles after clocking a time of 14.45 to finish seventh in the prelim.
Day 1 Review
In the men’s 10,000 meters, senior Oliver Wilson-Cook and sophomore Chase Burrell finished fourth (30:33.92) and fifth (31:19.92), respectively. Wainscott registered a fifth-place finish in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 57.65m (189′ 1″).
Seven Mountaineers advanced to Saturday’s finals in the men’s and women’s 1,500 meters, men’s 400-meter hurdles, and women’s 200 meters. Junior Jasmine Donohue stopped the clock at 4:33.41 to finish third in the women’s 1,500-meter prelim, while Atwater and Smith took fifth (24.12, PR) and eighth (24.25, PR), respectively, in the women’s 200-meter prelims.
Freshman Christian Gore placed eighth in the men’s 400-meter hurdle prelim, stopping the clock at 53.65. Morris and juniors Rylan Haskett and Dwayne Lillie took eighth (4:01.12), ninth (4:01.22), and 11th (4:02.18), respectively, in the men’s 1,500-meter prelim.
Up Next
The Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships will wrap up on Saturday. The meet will resume at noon and the ESPN+ stream will start at 4 p.m.
BOONE, N.C. – App State overcame a big Arkansas State rally and an hour-and-a-half rain delay, plating the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to win the series opener 7-6 in a contest that stretched into the early hours of Saturday morning at Smith Stadium.
Five innings into the ballgame the Mountaineers (24-21, 13-11) were in the driver’s seat. App State led 4-0 behind a pair of solo home runs from CJ Boyd, and another dominant strikeout performance from Xander Hamilton, who allowed just five baserunners in his first five innings while striking out eight.
The two-homer game was the first of Boyd’s career, and tenth of the season, becoming the first Mountaineer since Wes Hobson in 2010 to record double-digit home runs and steals in the same season.
In a ballgame that saw the first pitch pushed back two hours due to weather, the rain in the High Country vacillated between a drizzle and a downpour, even after the ballgame got underway.
In the sixth inning, after Hamilton picked up his ninth strikeout of the ballgame, the rain intensified, as did the Red Wolves rally. Five consecutive batters reached against Hamilton, highlighted by a two-run double from Brayden Caskey, and with the bases loaded for Arkansas State, following a walk, the umpires waved the players off the field.
Just before 11:30 p.m. play resumed, with the Red Wolves carrying the momentum across the delay, as with two outs, Will French cleared the bases with a triple to deep left field to give the visitors their first lead of the ballgame at 5-4.
Arkansas State would increase that advantage to 6-4 an inning later on a misplayed ball in right field, but Collin Welch minimized the damage by retiring the next three hitters, including a pair of strikeouts.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Mountaineers punched back. Xavier Moronta reached on an infield single, and Luke Drumheller followed with an RBI double to left-center to make it 6-5. Moronta reached base four times in the ballgame and extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games.
With one out in the inning, the Mountaineers continued to chip away. Golston Gillespie walked to put runners at first and second and Dylan Rogers followed with a ground ball to the hole at shortstop that was thrown away at third base allowing Drumheller to score the tying run. One batter later, Alex Reed doubled to left to put App State back in front, 7-6.
Welch (win, 2-2) backed the offense up with a scoreless eighth inning, helped by a relay throw from Alex Aguila to cut down a run at the plate on a double to left-center.
Jackson Steensma (save, 6) worked around a leadoff double and a walk in the ninth inning, getting a double-play and a strikeout to seal the victory.
The middle game of the series is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, with Senior Day festivities beginning at 2:40 p.m.
By David Rogers. VALDESE, N.C. — Completing what was a memorable first season of men’s volleyball at Watauga High School, the Pioneers swept to a conference championship on May 12, first getting by host Draughn, 25-18, 25-19 in a best of three semifinals, then thumping top-seeded North Henderson, 25-17, 25-13, 25-11 in the best of five championship match.
BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF STORY
Against North Henderson in the final, junior outside hitter Jackson Pryor tallied a whopping 16 kills, three service aces, and two blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Trathan Gragg matched his five kills with five service aces. Senior Steele Nealy set them up with 22 assists and, along with junior Bennett Lappin, led the team with 15 digs.
Conference champions! Photographic image by David Rogers
In the semifinal vs. Draughn, Pryor spread eight kills across the two sets, adding 2 service aces and 6 digs to his stat line. Gragg led the team in digs, with 9, and added 3 kills along with a service ace and 6 service receptions. Nealy again led the team in assists, with 13, while also adding 3 service aces.
Men’s volleyball is not yet a sanctioned varsity sport in North Carolina. Although 36 states have organized men’s volleyball in their respective high schools, a few of those, including North Carolina, allow it as a club sport. With 42 high school clubs now competing in the Tar Heel State, momentum is growing for it to become official.
This was the Pioneer club’s first year and, early on, the lack of skill was obvious even if there was a high degree of athleticism among the team members. Thanks to the mentoring of head coach Kim Pryor (head coach of the highly successful women’s program) and assistants Casey Gragg, Brelyn Sturgill and Megan Patton, the Watauga men’s team has developed team and individual skills at breakneck speed, relatively speaking.
Photographic image by David Rogers
“The development of this group of athletes as volleyball players since the beginning of the season is stunning,” Coach Pryor told High Country Sports after the whoops, hollars and high fives had settled down. “You have to credit these guys for their hard work, discipline and openness to learning new things.”
Asked what prompted him to join the men’s volleyball club in his senior year when the season ran concurrently with the varsity men’s tennis season, Nealy said, “When I was a lot younger, I had an opportunity to play volleyball and remember really liking it. I have had a couple of opportunities to play casually, and really enjoyed it, so this is something I decided I really wanted to do.”
Pryor, who in the fall is a starting wide receiver in football for the Pioneers and a power forward for the men’s basketball team in the winter months, said that a lot of the non-skill aspects of the other sports participation contributed significantly to this group of guys developing so quickly.
Photographic image by David Rogers
“They are simple life things, like ‘team before me’, ‘give perfect effort’, and ‘work to win’,” said Pryor, adding that a newer football concept is to always be “green,” like the signal light. “Go, go, go.
“Having several guys running track or playing tennis,” added Pryor, “it was a challenge sometimes because you can’t practice team skills without everyone being there. And if the guys have a conflict because they are competing in the other sport on our game day, well that is problematic, too. But all of these guys adhere to those core team concepts and our coaches have been very patient with us and terrific in teaching us how to be more skillful, individually and as a team. This conference championship just underlines how much we have grown together.”
INDIVIDUAL STATS VS. NORTH HENDERSON
Jackson Pryor: 16 kills, 3 service aces, 9 serve receptions, 2 solo blocks, 4 digs
Photographic image by David RogersConference champions! Photographic image by David Rogers
Photographic image by David RogersJunior Jackson Pryor led the Watauga men’s volleyball offensive attack on May 12 in the conference championship and semifinal matches vs. North Henderson and Draughn, respectively. Photographic image by David Rogers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Credit COVID-19 for being the disrupter that led two men to find each other and give Sasquatch life — a life that Jason O’Keefe and Michael Hitchcock suggest has taken on a life of its own.
Enthusiastic community support and a passionate fan base that extends well beyond the natural borders of the High Country helped propel Appalachian FC on and off the field the past two startup seasons. With an NPSL division title in 2022, including “Coach of the Year” honors for head mentor Dale Parker, and a first round win this year in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, some might call it an improbable beginning.
In a classy display, the Appalachian FC team went to the stands after their 2-0 loss to Charlotte independence on April 5 in to thank the fans. Photographic image by David Rogers
It has resulted in a new reality: the Sasquatch-led crew has a target on their collective backs. Those opponents vanquished, perhaps even embarrassed previously by the upstart club of 2021 and 2022 are gunning for payback. For Appalachian FC, what is their encore performance in 2023 going to be?
Appalachian FC plays its first home game of the 2023 season on May 13, 7 p.m., at Ted Mackeroll Soccer Stadium on the western outskirts of Boone. In the May 6 season opener, Appalachian FC tied the Georgia Storm, 1-1, in a tight battle played on the campus of the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.).
With a core group of returning players, Appalachian FC management assembled a carefully constructed, 34-man roster for the 2023 season. The list is dominated by American-born athletes, but the international flavor is certainly there: England, Wales, Ireland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Scotland, France, South Africa and Barbados. A total of 15 players, almost half the roster, have international origins. They grew up with a ball at their feet and have the skill to prove it.
Appalachian FC goalkeeper Jake Agnew dives for penalty kick by Charlotte Independence’s Khori Bennett, just missing the save opportunity on April 5. Photographic image by David Rogers
Many of the players on the roster currently play for college teams or are recently graduated. There is a sprinkling of large school, NCAA Division I athletes, like from NC State, Old Dominion, Liberty, UNC-Greensboro, Memphis and Appalachian State, but there are a great many schools not known for their gridiron football exploits that have high level “futbol” reputations, including Lander, Mars Hill, Chowan, Lees-McRae, Shawnee, Harding, Oberlin, Emory & Henry, and Evansville.
Reinforcing the club’s ties to the local community, Appalachian FC’s roster also includes players who grew up in the High Country, played at Watauga High School, and went away to college but are returning this year to compete for the fans of Squatchy and Co. Others have strong local or regional ties, perhaps having relocated to the area. Tucker Chasteen, Matthew Taubman, Kevin Arguello, Kevin Rios, Thomas McComb, Jair Alvarez, and Jordan Kinder are among those.
What is unique about NPSL-level soccer: many, if not most of the athletes are rising stars competing with ambitions of playing at the next level. Some have already been to the highest professional levels and are looking to get back there by showing what they can do in NPSL. It all makes for fun, high quality soccer and delightful entertainment.
Photographic image by David Rogers
What is unique about Appalachian FC: a lot of those rising stars love what is happening in the High Country where the crowds of 1,000-plus are much more exciting to play for than the 100 or so in other locations. It is culture, community, and fun.
Appalachian FC was born in 2021, after the pandemic prompted Appalachian State’s athletics department to make severe cutbacks in its sports offerings given the uncertainty that dominated any ideas about the future of college sports at the time. A highly successful and popular men’s soccer program was one of the sports cut by the university.
Could something beautiful rise from the ashes?
“Appalachian FC was created out of a negative, really, for the community,” said Jason O’Keefe, former App State men’s soccer coach and now a consultant with Youth.College.Pro Management, based in Denver, North Carolina. “There were a lot of people affected adversely by the pandemic, but it came down to this area being left without an outlet for high level men’s soccer. I have known ‘Hitch’ (Michael Hitchcock, Playbook Management International) for quite awhile and when I first discussed our situation, he almost immediately asked what I thought about forming an NPSL (National Premier Soccer League) club.”
While O’Keefe had to do a lot of research before getting his arms around the idea of an NPSL team in Boone, things came together. O’Keefe warmed up to the idea and Hitchcock brought an extensive background and skillset in “right-size” soccer club development and administration. He has been a senior executive with Major League Soccer. He has built soccer stadium. He owns other soccer teams in the USA and elsewhere around the world.
The first season, 2021, Hitchcock and O’Keefe built the team around a core group of former App State men’s soccer players.
Photographic image by David Rogers
“COVID-19 forced everything to come to an end so suddenly,” O’Keefe recalled. “As players and coaches and even fans, we didn’t get to have a ‘last practice,’ a ‘last match’ or even a ‘last meal’ together. So there was a lot of pent-up interest among the men’s team for coming back and playing high level soccer in the High Country.”
In the second year, 2022, the roster was built not so much around the former App State players, but around a nucleus of players returning from the entire 2021 roster, and adding to that nucleus.
“For 2023, we have had to simultaneously build two rosters. One was special for the U.S. Open Cup tournament’s first round in March and the other was for this NPSL season,” explained O’Keefe. “There isn’t as much overlap between the two as you might hope.”
Scraping together high level players who are fit enough to compete against even lower level professional teams in the U.S. Open Cup is a challenge, to be sure. Appalachian FC did well enough in that task that they defeated a highly competitive North Carolina Fusion side in the first round. Two weeks later, they lost to Charlotte FC in Matthews, N.C., a professional team that is in the middle of its regular season and paying healthy salaries to its players for their fitness, skills, and athletic ability. This week, Charlotte advanced to the Round of 32 (fourth round) after a 1-0 victory over Orlando City Soccer Club, a Major League Soccer franchise.
Photographic image by David Rogers
In constructing the Appalachian FC roster for the 2023 regular season, management is careful to stay true to organization values. In a Zoom call with Michael Hitchcock from his headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Playbook Management International principal emphasized that at the NPSL level of soccer in the United States, there has to be a great emphasis on making it part of the community.
Appalachian FC has built its brand in the marketplace around the legendary “Bigfoot” character, AKA “Sasquatch.”
One of the very first steps in club development was getting local community partners involved, not just attracting sponsors but also leveraging what they knew to be a growing, passionate fanbase of soccer enthusiasts in the High Country.
“App State men’s soccer may have been the foundation,” said O’Keefe, “because we were getting over 1,000 people in the stands for some games before we were shut down.”
Hitchcock added, “And then you have the very successful High Country United programs for youth and adult soccer, as well as Watauga Parks and Recreation leagues. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and we can see evidence of that, at least in part, by how robust the community-based programs are here.”
Photographic image by David Rogers
Another important step in club development has been being very intentional about growing the club’s brand.
“We took Sasquatch and emblazoned his caricature in gold on baseball caps and other apparel and merchandise items,” said Hitchcock of his mythical character. “Of course, people in the local community are drawn to Sasquatch and so many, young and old, have become members of our SquatchGuard, the large group of fans that before our matches march from Booneshine, down through the woods to the road leading to the stadium, and on to the grandstands. They are chanting, drumming, making all kinds of noise and having fun. This is one of the most successful community development efforts around soccer of all the teams in the NPSL.”
But there is more to the brand than inciting local community passion.
“We may well be in a relatively small market with limitations on actual spectator development,” said Hitchcock, “but there are people now all over the world buying and wearing these caps and shirts bearing the Appalachian FC and Sasquatch logo. Merchandise sales are expanding our actual market well beyond the High Country. For instance, there were some 17,000 viewers streaming our recent game against the Carolina Fusion in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup.”
That market appeal is not lost on the players, either, nor on the team managers in their efforts aimed at roster development.
Head coach Dale Parker told High Country Sports in a March interview that guys want to come play here in the summer because of the relatively cool weather compared to other locations off the mountain. Hitchcock and O’Keefe added that they also want to come because of the community and fan support, which was clearly evident by the number of Appalachian FC fans that made the 2-hour trek to Mathews in early April, for the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. Appalachian FC had nearly as many supporters as the host, Charlotte FC.
Saturday night for the first home game of the 2023 season, against Apotheos FC, is sure to be special. Seven days later, May 20, Squatchy & Co. will welcome the Georgia Storm for a rematch. If you see smoke curling over the horizon and hear drums on those days, don’t think the local Native Americans are preparing to go on the warpath. More than likely it is just Squatchy getting his young men revved up to play.
By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Sixty-nine high school golfers were entered into the NCHSAA 4A West Men’s Golf Regional on May 8, at Brushy Mountain Golf Club. Only nine advanced to the May 15 state championship event at historic Pinehurst — and Watauga senior Colin Phelps is one of them after carding a 76, tying for fifth place on the day.
The nine qualifiers from the NCHSAA 4A West Regionals are:
T1 – (71) Colin Salema (Jr.), Providence HS (Charlotte)
3 – (75) Aidan Klause (Sr.), Charlotte Catholic HS (Charlotte)
4 – (75) Corey Thomas (Sr.), Hough HS (Cornelius)
T5 – (76) Colin Phelps (Sr.), Watauga HS (Boone)
T5 – (76) Henry Wilder (Jr.), T C Roberson HS (Arden)
T5 – (76) Jacob Koch (Sr.), Providence HS (Charlotte)
T8 – (77) Aidan Hollar (Jr.), Alexander Central HS (Taylorsville)
T8 – (77) Mac Helton (Sr.), South Caldwell HS (Granite Falls)
Colin Phelps is all smiles after carding a 76 to tie for 5th place at the 4A West Regionals on May 8 and qualifying for the NC4A State Championship on May 15. Photo courtesy of Watauga High School
Charlotte Catholic took top team honors, followed by Ardrey Kell and Myers Park.
According to the NCHSAA, 21 golfers advance to the state championship tournament from each regional. The top three teams automatically qualify with their best four scores. The next determining factor: the top nine players NOT in the top four of the top three teams. If a school does not finish in the top 3 teams but qualifies at least four individuals, that school will compete at the state championship as a team. A qualifying team could still qualify a fifth individual if that player finishes in the top nine, individually.
The North Carolina State Championship will be played on May 15, on the Pinehurst No. 8 course.
Phelps was the highest placing individual among competing golfers from the other two 4A schools in the Northwestern Conference, Alexander Central and South Caldwell.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — For the first 20 minutes of Watauga’s final, regular season women’s soccer match at Jack Groce Stadium, vs. Freedom, the teams were deadlocked in a 0-0 tie. After Pioneer junior Katie Durham punched in a goal with some 14 minutes remaining for the game’s first goal, the home team’s scoring became an avalanche. The match ended only a minute into the second half, the “mercy rule” having been triggered when Watauga reached 9-0.
BONUS PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF STORY
Photographic image by David Rogers
Had it not been for some acrobatic saves by the Patriots’ freshman goalkeeper, Gianny Regino, the “mercy rule” would have ended the game at halftime. As it was, the Pioneers scored seven more goals in the waning minutes of the first half after Durham’s first tally — including two MORE by Watauga’s most prolific attacker. The halftime score was 8-0, one short of the automatic trigger for the NCHSAA “mercy rule” when it comes to high school soccer.
No possession time records were kept, but less than three minutes are estimated to have been played in Watauga’s defensive end. In short, the Pioneers dominated once they got going.
Mattie Durham (14, dark jersey), far right, scores the final goal for Watauga in the Pioneers’ 9-0 win over Freedom on May 10. Photographic image by David Rogers
“We started a bit slow,” recalled Pioneer head coach Chris Tarnowski, “but these are a great bunch of players for fixing what might be wrong. I am very proud of this team and the big lead allowed us to get some valuable playing time for many of our non-starters.”
Tarnowski named senior midfielder Laurel Kiker as the “Player of the Game.” After Kiker entered the game in the final 15 minutes of the first half, she almost immediately found the back of the net for one of Watauga’s last goals of the session.
With the win, Watauga (9-0-1 in Northwestern Conference, 14-2-1 overall) put an exclamation mark on its being the sole conference champion for the 2023 regular season. The Pioneers now await word of who a first round opponent might be in the state playoffs, with a probable start to first round play on May 15.
Ever opportunistic, Durham has 27 goals on the season.
