Category: College

By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. FOLEY, Ala. — The App State men’s cross country team finished second overall with 46 points at the Sun Belt Championships in Foley, Ala. on Oct. 28. The women’s squad placed fifth overall with 117 points. Six Mountaineers collected All-SBC accolades for their performances on the course.

Setting pace for the Mountaineers in the men’s 8K race was junior Oliver Wilson-Cook, who placed fifth overall with a time of 24:28.2 to earn first-team All-SBC accolades. Graduate student Ryan Brown was next across the line, clocking a time of 24:40.9. Brown was followed by sophomores Garrett Bivens (24:44.9, 9th place), and Chase Burrell (24:45.2, 10th place). Brown, Bivens, and Burrell garnered second-team all-conference accolades. Junior Ryan Teuscher, who placed 14th with a time of 25:07.8, earned a third-team all-conference nod.

South Alabama Kirami Yego took the individual crown in the men’s 8K with a time of 22:55.9 and Arkansas State nabbed the team title with 32 points.

Setting pace for the Mountaineers in the women’s 5K was sophomore Linnea Maynard, who posted personal best with a time of 17:43.5, placing 15th overall. Maynard finished the race with third-team all-conference honors. Fellow sophomore Karsyn Kane took 19th with a personal best time of 18:06.7. Senior Madison Christy and junior Annie Amundsen also clocked PRs with times of 18:74.6 and 18:23.3 to place 24th and 26th, respectively.

New SBC member Southern Miss took the team title in the women’s race with a score of 44 points and Coastal Carolina’s Molly Jones took the individual crown with a meet record of 16:29.5.

Up Next: The NCAA Southeast Regional is set for Nov. 11 at Louisville, Ky.

Men’s 8K Championship | Team Standings

1. Arkansas State – 32 points
2. App State – 46 points
3. South Alabama – 58 points
4. Marshall – 97 points
5. Louisiana – 139 points
6. ULM – 190 points
7. Coastal Carolina – 210 points
8. Troy – 217 points
9. Texas State – 229 points

Women’s 5K Championship | Team Standings

1. Southern Miss – 44 points
2. Arkansas State – 71 points
3. James Madison – 83 points
4. Marshall – 104 points
5. App State – 117 points
6. Coastal Carolina – 155 points
7. South Alabama – 203 points
8. ULM – 210 points
9. Louisiana – 220 points
10. Troy – 288 points
11. Texas State – 295 points
12. Georgia Southern – 343 points
13. Georgia State – 349 points

2022 Sun Belt Men’s Runner of the Year: Kirami Yego, South Alabama

2022 Sun Belt Women’s Runner of the Year: Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina

2022 Men’s First-Team All-Conference

Kirami Yego, South Alabama
Teagan Flanagan, South Alabama
Grayson Young, Arkansas State
Dawson Mayberry, Arkansas State
Oliver Wilson-Cook, App State

2022 Men’s Second-Team All-Conference

Jacob Pyeatt, Arkansas State
Nati Enright, Arkansas State
Ryan Brown, App State
Garrett Bivens, App State
Chase Burrell, App State

2022 Men’s Third-Team All-Conference

Evan White, Marshall
Rylan Brown, Arkansas State
Nathan Herbst, Arkansas State
Ryan Teuscher, App State
Ethan Mychajlonka, Arkansas State

2022 Women’s First-Team All-Conference

Molly Jones, Coastal Carolina
Sophie Daigle, Louisiana
Oliwia Wawrzyniak, Southern Miss
Abby Herring, Marshall
Isabela Ross, Southern Miss

2022 Women’s Second-Team All-Conference

Miranda Stanhope, James Madison
Jaybe Shufelberger, Arkansas State
Sophie Leathers, Arkansas State
Erin Phelps, Southern Miss
Adele Magaud, South Alabama

2022 Women’s Third-Team All-Conference

Smilla Kolbe, Southern Miss
Kylee Mastin, Marshall
Gabriella Garcia, James Madison
Sofia Terenziani, James Madison
Linnea Maynard, App State

By Matt Present. SAN MARCOS, Texas — In a physical defensive battle in the season finale, Texas State scored in the 77th minute to edge App State, 1-0.

The Mountaineers will be the No. 7 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and face Marshall, the No. 10 seed, at 5 p.m. ET in Foley, Ala., on Oct. 31.

Neither team produced many offensive chances in the opening half of play but both ratcheted up the intensity in the second stanza. Breckyn Monteith recorded the best opportunity for the Mountaineers (6-8-4 overall, 5-5-0 Sun Belt Conference) on the night, when early in the second half she rifled a shot that deflected off the hands of the Bobcats (12-4-2, 5-3-1) goaltender and out for a corner kick. Shannon Studer and Emma McGibany also tallied shots on goal for the Mountaineers.

Texas State produced a flurry of second half opportunities with less than 20 minutes to play, and ultimately came away with the lone goal of the contest on a Kiara Gonzales header and 14 minutes remaining. The Bobcats recorded 13 of their 17 shots in the second half.

Kerry Eagleston recorded three saves on the night for the Mountaineers, including smothering a ball on the goal line midway through the second half.

Studer, Monteith, Katilyn Little, and Skyler Walk each played all 90 minutes for the Mountaineers, while Carly Lantz earned her first start of the season along the back line.

The No. 7-seeded Mountaineers and No. 10-seeded Thundering Herd will battle for the right to face No. 2 Arkansas State, Nov. 2, at 2:30 p.m. All Sun Belt Tournament matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON SUN BELT CONFERENCE STANDINGS

East Division

1. Georgia Southern (7-1-2 SBC, 8-3-5 overall)
2. James Madison (6-1-3, 10-3-5)
3. Old Dominion (5-4-1, 7-8-2)
4. App State (5-5, 6-8-4)
5. Georgia State (3-5-2, 7-6-5)
6. Marshall (2-5-3, 3-9-5)
7. Coastal Carolina (2-6-2, 3-10-4)

West Division

1. Arkansas State (7-2-1, 9-5-3)
2. South Alabama (6-1-3, 10-2-6)
3. Texas State (6-3-1, 12-4-2)
4. Southern Miss (2-5-3, 2-9-4)
5. TIE – Louisiana (2-6-2, 2-9-5)
6. TIE – ULM (2-6-2, 10-6-3)
7. Troy (1-6-3, 3-9-4)

TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS

1. Georgia Southern
2. South Alabama
3. Arkansas State
4. James Madison
5. Texas State
6. Old Dominion
7. App State
8. Georgia State
9. Southern Miss
10. Marshall

PAST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

• 2000 – FIU def. North Texas
• 2001 – Denver def. North Texas
• 2002 – Denver def. North Texas
• 2003 – Denver def. North Texas
• 2004 – North Texas def. FIU
• 2005 – North Texas def. South Alabama
• 2006 – Denver def. North Texas
• 2007 – Denver def. North Texas
• 2008 – Denver def. Western Kentucky
• 2009 – Denver def. Little Rock
• 2010 – Middle Tennessee def. Denver
• 2011 – FIU def. Western Kentucky
• 2012 – North Texas def. FIU
• 2013 – South Alabama def. Western Kentucky
• 2014 – South Alabama def. Troy
• 2015 – South Alabama def. Georgia State
• 2016 – South Alabama def. Coastal Carolina
• 2017 – South Alabama def. Coastal Carolina
• 2018 – Little Rock def. Texas State
• 2019 – South Alabama def. Arkansas State
• 2020 – South Alabama def. Arkansas State
• 2021 – South Alabama def. Georgia Southern

 

By Joey Jones. GREENSBORO, N.C. – App State opened the fall tennis season at the UNC Greensboro Invitational with an impressive showing in both singles and doubles over the three-day event.

Competing against teams from UNCG, Campbell, Davidson, East Carolina, Elon and Gardner-Webb, App State’s Helena Jansen and Maggie Pate tied for first in the top flight of singles competition, while the Mountaineers’ duo of Olwyn Ryan-Bovey and Riley Collins finished best in the top flight of doubles.

“I’m very pleased with the way we competed this weekend,” said third-year head coach Ashleigh Antal. “We had a great showing across the board, and we have a solid foundation to build from. I want to specifically highlight our new additions to the roster – Maggie Pate, Riley Collins and Savannah Dada-Mascoll. They all had a fantastic impact this weekend. Overall, I’m really happy with where we are this early in the year. I’m looking forward to the progress we’ll make over the rest of the fall season.”

Jansen and Pate tied for the best showing among the top flight of singles competition with 15 points apiece.

Jansen opened Friday’s competition with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Elon’s Julie Ball, then followed that with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Davidson’s Franny Shea on Saturday and a 6-2, 6-4 win over UNCG’s Arina Babkova on Sunday.

Pate opened Friday’s competition with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Elon’s Lizette Reding, followed by a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Davidson’s Kavya Patel and a 6-0, 6-3 win over UNCG’s Olivia Gallagher.

Dada-Mascoll, Ellie Murphy, Ryan-Bovey and Collins also secured singles victories over the course of the weekend, including a clean sweep in six singles matches against UNCG on Sunday.

Doubles competition was just as successful for the Mountaineers, with Ryan-Bovey and Collins winning all three of their matches (Friday against UNCG, Saturday against Davidson and Sunday against UNCG.

The other two tandems of Jansen/Murphy and Dada-Mascoll/Pate also secured multiple doubles victories on the weekend.

App State will be back in action Oct. 8-10 at the Coastal Carolina Invitational in Conway, S.C.

By Katherine Jamtgaard. NEW ORLEANS, La. — Junior Annie Amundsen and senior Caleb Kirchhoff were named the Sun Belt Cross Country Women’s and Men’s Runners of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.

Amundsen set pace for the Mountaineers in the women’s 5K at the Wildcat Invite, hosted by Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, N.C. on Oct. 21. The Naperville, Ill. native clocked a time of 18:48.7, placing second overall. Amundsen’s time helped the women’s squad to a first-place team finish with 24 points.

Kirchhoff led the Mountaineer men to a first-place team finish with 31 points in the men’s 8K at the Wildcat Invite. The Indian Trail, N.C. native stopped the clock at 25:36.6 to finish sixth individually.

The Mountaineers are set for the Sun Belt Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29, in Foley, Ala. The women’s 5K is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) and the men’s 8K will follow at 11 a.m. CT (12 p.m. ET). The meet will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and live results will be available.

By Bobby Neal. BOONE, N.C. — App State field hockey fired away 24 shots on Senior Day and defeated Queens 10-1.

This was the seventh straight win for the Mountaineers (11-5, 4-2 MAC), which ties the second-longest winning streak in program history, set during the team’s second season (1969). The longest streak was set the year before when App State rattled off 11 straight wins during its first season (1968).

App State’s 10 goals were also the second-most in program history. The Mountaineers scored 13 in a shutout win over Clemson in 1977.

Six different Mountaineers got on the board, including Sarah Farrell, Pauline Mangold and Bridget Donovan, who each had two goals.

Farrell set the tone for the afternoon in the 10th minute with a goal, the assist credited to Friederike Stegen. A graduate student midfielder from Germany, Stegen assisted four of App State’s 10 goals, a career high for a single game despite already owning the career-assist record at App State, now with 30.

The Royals (0-12) scored the game’s second goal two minutes later, but App State immediately responded with a goal from Mangold to close the first period. Mangold now has 20 points on the season, earned by six goals and eight assists.

App State owned the last three periods of the game. Rachel Fleig assisted Charlotte Bosma five minutes into the second to increase the lead to two before Anna Smarrelli scored on a corner play that was assisted by Mangold and Allison Corey.

Just before the half, Donovan notched her first goal of the game to make the score 5-1 at halftime.

Midway through the third, App State saw two back-to-back goals from Fleig and Lise Boekaar. The first goal was assisted by Stegen and the next was assisted by Donovan.
Farrell tallied her second goal at the end of the third period on a play that Corey and Carli Ciocco assisted. Ciocco now has 11 assists this season, trailing Bridgette Burkhardt by one for the all-time single-season assists record at App State. Burkhardt assisted 12 goals during the 2003 season.

In the fourth period, Grace Ball notched her first assist of the season to Mangold who scored the Mountaineers’ ninth goal. Donovan brought App State to double-digits in the final minutes by way of Boekaar’s assist.

This was the ninth game this season that Addie Clark and the defense allowed one goal or fewer. The senior goalkeeper played the entire fourth period alongside her sister, Ruby Clark, in the backfield, allowing no goals on one shot. Corey and Ball played the entire game on the defensive end, holding back the Royals.

Ines Yofre also had a significant contribution in the midfield, starting and playing 20 minutes for the Black & Gold.

App State will finish its regular season on the road next weekend as the final MAC Tournament standings will be determined. The Mountaineers will visit Ohio (8-8, 3-3 MAC) on Friday afternoon before traveling to Davidson (4-13, 0-6 A-10) on Sunday afternoon.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — In their most dominant offensive performance of the season, App State closed out the home season with a 3-1 victory over Louisiana, clinching a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Katie Fuller scored two first half goals for the App State (6-7-4, 5-4-0), and Izzi Wood put the game away with a second half tally, her sixth of the season.

Fuller’s first goal was scored in the 30th minute when she headed home a cross from Breckyn Monteith, who collected an assist for the second straight match. Then, less than a minute before halftime, Fuller connected on a second header, this time it came off a service from Stephanie Barbosa. The goals were Fuller’s second and third of the campaign.

Wood’s goal came on a thru ball from Emma McGibany, who picked up her first assist of the season.

Louisiana (3-8-5, 2-5-2) broke up the shutout in the 74th minute on a breakaway goal from Megan Bradley.

App State controlled the majority of the match, out-shooting the Ragin’ Cajuns 16-8. Wood led the way with seven shots, including four on target, on the way to their third straight win.

App State will travel to San Marcos, where they will face Texas State in their regular season finale, Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Sun Belt Tournament begins October 31 in Foley, Ala. If App State is able to secure a top-six finish in the conference, they will earn a first-round bye, and advance into the quarterfinals of the tournament.

 

By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. – The App State volleyball team capped the weekend with its second 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 25-20) sweep of Marshall on Oct. 22. The afternoon match marked the Mountaineers’ sixth consecutive win, now 13-8 (6-4 om SBC) on the season.

“We played really good volleyball this weekend and we played as a unit,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We were locked in and we get better every time we put the uniform on. I love coaching this team.”

Match Details

Sophomore Lulu Ambrose led the Mountaineers once again in kills, recording 12 on the afternoon and was followed by senior McCall Denny, who posted 10. Denny, junior Sophie Cain and freshman Alyssa McBean each served up two aces. McBean led the team in digs with 12, and senior Sam Bickley recorded 18 assists. In the blocks category, senior Sarah Missroon, junior Madison Baldridge, and freshman Maya Winterhoff totaled two blocks each.

App State outpaced Marshall in points (50-38), kills (38-30), aces (8-2), assists (34-28), and digs (38-31).

App State took an early 3-1 lead in the first set after back-to-back kills from Denny and a kill from Dombrowski. The Mountaineers went on a 4-0 scoring run, building off kills from Dombrowski and Missroon and two Marshall errors to lead 7-2. Another kill from Missroon, a kill from Ambrose and three errors from the Herd put App State up 12-5. The Mountaineers kept a steady lead through the remainder of the set, despite the Herd finding momentum. Late in the set, Marshall recorded a five-point run to cut App State’s lead to one (22-21). After two errors from Marshall, Ambrose took the set for App State, 25-21, with a kill.

App State jumped to an early 4-1 lead to start the second set before Marshall caught up to tie things up at 4-4. A kill from Denny broke the tie and was followed by a Marshall error and ace from Cain to push the score to 7-4, in favor of App State. The Mountaineers built off a 3-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Ambrose and an ace from McBean to lead 11-6. The Mountaineers found momentum with a 4-0 run that included kills from Winterhoff, junior Meghan Dombrowski, and Denny to put App State up 18-9. Marshall mustered one last kill before the Black and Gold capped the set with a 7-0 run, taking the second set 25-10.

In the third and final set, App State came back from a 2-0 deficit with a 4-0 run that included a kill and ace from Winterhoff and a kill from Denny. After going point-for-point, App State broke a 9-9 tie with a kill from Ambrose, which was promptly followed by a kill from Winterhoff, error from Marshall, and block from Dombrowski and Winterhoff to extend the home team’s lead to 13-9. The Mountaineers built off another 4-0 run to take an 18-11 lead. Kills from Ambrose and Dombrowski put App State up 23-18, and a kill from Winterhoff put the Mountaineers within reach of set and match point (24-19). App State took the third and final set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.

Up Next

The Mountaineers will set out on their final regular season road trip as they travel to Norfolk, Va. to take on Old Dominion on Oct. 28 and 29. Friday’s match is set for 6:30 p.m. and Saturday’s match will be at 1 p.m.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — At this point, it is anybody’s guess as to which teams will be vying for the Sun Belt Conference Championship in early December. Upsets in a couple of key matchups raised havoc among the early contenders.

Marshall (4-3 overall, 1-2 in Sun Belt) put more doubt in James Madison’s (5-2, 3-2) inaugural FBS season’s “Cinderella story” with a 26-12 win over the Dukes. The Thundering Herd was led by Khalan Laborn’s 151 yards rushing on 30 carries, with 2 TDs, while wide receiver Corey Gammage hauled in 5 passes for 107 yards and a TD.

Meanwhile, Georgia Southern (5-3, 2-2) breathed new life into its title hopes by upsetting Old Dominion (3-4, 2-1), 28-23. The Eagles’ Jalen White ran for 138 yards and a TD in carrying the ball 30 times, while Gerald Green added 91 yards rushing on 12 carries. Georgia Southern won in spite of Old Dominion’s Hayden Wolff completing 23 of 40 passes for 328 yards and a TD.

While Coastal Carolina has the weekend off before its Oct. 29 trip to West Virginia to play Marshall, then host Appalachian State on Nov. 3 in another nationally televised game on ESPN, the Chanticleers currently sit nervously atop the Sun Belt East Division standings with a 3-1 SBC record. Close behind is Old Dominion (2-1) and James Madison (3-2), but Georgia Southern (2-2) and Appalachian State (2-2) may still have something to say about who becomes the East Division representative if they can win out, depending on the leaders’ mix of wins and losses for the rest of the 2022 campaign.

In the Sun Belt West Division, Troy (4-1) is the decisive leader to date, but Southern Miss and South Alabama also only have one conference loss, both with 2-1 conference records. At 2-2, Louisiana may still be in the hunt, but needs to win out and get some help in handing losses to the leaders.

To date, only Coastal Carolina and Troy have the required six wins to become bowl eligible, although Georgia Southern and James Madison in the East and South Alabama in the West are just one win away.

Upcoming Matchups

• • Oct. 27 – Louisiana @ Southern Miss
  • Oct. 29 – Old Dominion @ Georgia State
  • Oct. 29 – Robert Morris @ Appalachian State
  • Oct. 29 – South Alabama @ Arkansas State
  • Oct. 29 – Coastal Carolina @ Marshall
  • Nov. 3 – Appalachian State @ Coastal Carolina
  • Nov. 5 – James Madison @ Louisville
  • Nov. 5 – Marshall @ Old Dominion
  • Nov. 5 – Georgia State @ Southern Miss
  • Nov. 5 – Troy @ Louisiana
  • Nov. 5 – Texas State @ ULM
  • Nov. 5 – South Alabama @ Georgia Southern

Regular season ends on Nov. 26.

Special Report from App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — The App State volleyball team swept Marshall, 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-11) on Friday, marking its fifth consecutive win and fourth sweep on the season. The Mountaineers are now 12-8 (5-4 SBC) this fall.

“I’m super proud of how focused we were tonight,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We were really efficient and our serve was great. We handled our side of the net at a really high level. I love this team and how hard they fight.”

The Mountaineers return to the court at 1 p.m. on Saturday for their Pink Match against Marshall. The Pink Match will benefit the High Country Breast Cancer Foundation. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.

MATCH DETAILS

Sophomore Lulu Ambrose led the Mountaineers in kills, slamming down 11, while senior McCall Denny led the team in aces with three. Fellow senior Sarah Missroon totaled a team-high three blocks. Leading the Black and Gold in the assists category was junior Sophie Cain, who recorded 19, and freshman Alyssa McBean posted a team-high of 12 digs.

The Mountaineers outpaced Marshall in points (52-31), kills (40-19), aces (9-5), assists (37-18), and digs (32-26).

Down 2-1 in the first set, App State went on a 4-0 scoring run to lead 4-2. A kill from Denny started the Mountaineers on a 3-0 run to bump the score to 9-6. Shortly after, kills from Missroon, Ambrose, and an ace from McBean pushed App State’s lead to 12-7. Another 4-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Ambrose as well as junior Meghan Dombrowski put Appalachian up 16-10. Two consecutive kills from Denny followed by an ace from Cain, pushed the score to 22-14. The Mountaineers took the first set 25-17, after back-to-back kills from Ambrose and freshman Maya Winterhoff.

App State found momentum in set two, breaking a 3-3 tie with a kill from Missroon and going on a five-point run that included an ace from Denny, another kill from Missroon, and a kill from Ambrose to take a 7-3 lead. The Mountaineers built off their success with a pair of 5-0 scoring runs to create a 22-8 deficit for the Herd. Ambrose landed a kill to take the second set, 25-10, for the Mountaineers.

In the third set, Marshall jumped to a 4-1 lead early, but Appalachian steadily chipped away, tying the score at 6-6 with a kill from Cain, which was promptly followed by a pair of kills from Winterhoff and one from Ambrose to push the Mountaineers ahead, 9-6. The Black and Gold built off a trio of 3-0 runs to extend the lead from 14-8, to 17-9, and then to 20-10. Marshall managed to record a block before App State scored five in a row, which included a kill from junior Madison Baldridge, two kills from Ambrose, and a block from Missroon and Baldridge to take the set, 25-11, and the match, 3-0.

Special Report from App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – App State field hockey earned its sixth straight win on Friday night, defeating Ball State 1-0 in double-overtime. The Mountaineers most recently had six consecutive wins in 2019, making the current streak the second of its kind since 1985, when the Mountaineers closed the season with six victories.

Anna Smarrelli scored a diving goal for the win in the 77th minute of play off of Friederike Stegen’s assist after five scoreless periods.

While the Mountaineers (10-5, 4-2 MAC) out-shot the Cardinals. 20-4, Ball State (7-8, 4-2 MAC) held its own on the defensive end, saving seven shots throughout the game.

“I am really proud of our team for fighting through the scrappy ups and downs of the game,” head coach Meghan Dawson said. “Ball State was a really good defensive team that forced us to get creative around the goal.”

After consistently shooting between two and four shots during each regulation period, the Mountaineers came out swinging when the game went into overtime, tallying eight shots between the two overtime periods while allowing just one.

Smarrelli led Appalachian in shots with six, four of which were on goal. Sarah Farrell put up five attempts and Stegen tallied three shots.

Stegen’s assist bumped her up to the No. 1 spot in the MAC in points with 26.

This was the fifth shutout of the season for Addie Clark and the App State defense, the most in the conference. Clark, Grace Ball and Allison Corey played all 76 minutes on the defensive end, and Fien Zwaan plagued all 60 minutes of regulation. Pauline Mangold also poured in 74 minutes in the midfield.

“We’ve got a lot of ways to keep growing, and that’s the really exciting thing about this team,” Dawson said. “Every girl out there is invested in getting better every day and fighting through the thick and thin as a team.”

App State now sits at the No. 3 spot in the Mid-American Conference standings with one conference game left against Ohio, who holds the No. 5 spot. The top four teams in the standings will compete in the MAC tournament on Nov. 4-5 in Oxford, Ohio.

The Mountaineers will host their final home game against Queens this Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day before going on the road next week.