By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Watauga men’s golfer Jake Warren fired a 71 to take top medalist honors on April 18 at Cedar Rock Country Club, helping the Pioneers to a third place team finish in the Northwestern Conference tournament.
Warren finished five strokes ahead of second place individual Aiden Hollar of Alexander Central and six strokes ahead of third place Will Reynolds of Hibriten.
Watauga’s five golfers combined for a 328 team score, nine strokes off the pace set by Alexander Central’s 319 but just two strokes behind second place team, Freedom (326).
For Watauga, individual scoring at Cedar Rock, in order of best score:
Jake Warren – 71
Colin Phelps – 84
Paul Taylor – 86
Elliott Holcomb – 86
Leo McEvoy – 87
Team Scores
Alexander Central – 319
Freedom – 326
Watauga – 328
Hibriten – 336
South Caldwell – 349
Ashe County – 377
Watauga head coach Klay Anderson said after the tournament, “Congratulations to Jake Warren. His 71 was impressive and he beat everyone. With this finish, as a team we maintain our third place position in the conference with two conference matches yet to play.”
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With goals by five different players on April 18, Watauga women’s soccer took full advantage of Alexander Central, defeating the Cougars, 5-0.
The Pioneers got goals from Georgia Parker, Kate Sears, Katie Durham, Savannah Duvall, and Maya Nelson, all with assists recorded by Nelson, Morgan Flynt, Charlotte Cuthbert, and Parker. For Duvall, it was a major milestone evening: her first career goal on the Pioneer varsity.
Samantha Bertrand (8) delivers a free kick in the first half against visiting Alexander Central on April 18. Photographic image by David Rogers
“We started the game slowly, maybe a little sluggish after the Spring Break,” said Watauga head coach Chris Tarnowski, “but we ended well and that’s really what matters. The last 20 minutes of the game really felt like we were getting back up to speed, connecting and communicating with one another, and that’s encouraging. Our players responded well and trusted one another on the field, which ultimately led to their success. We’re proud of them and proud of our leaders.”
At halftime, with the Pioneers leading, 2-0, Tarnowski told the players that they looked “a little rusty” after the time off for Spring Break. He encouraged them to trust one another and get back to the quick, one-touch short passing strategy that has made them so successful in the past, with less dribbling. He also instructed them to play more physical, knowing full well that Alexander Central would be trying to dribble up the outside, on the wings.
Now 7-2 overall, 3-0 in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga next faces Hibriten in Lenoir on April 21.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Although Watauga got the bases loaded with nobody out in the second inning on April 18, the Pioneers could only push across one run before Alexander Central’s starting pitcher, junior Maddox Jack, was able to wriggle out of the inning. Jack went on to pitch five strong innings for the Cougars, giving up one run on two hits and one error while walking four and striking out five.
Meanwhile, ACHS put together an offensive attack that took advantage of consecutive errors by the Pioneers and featured a steal of home by the Cougars’ Chapman Hayes in the top of the fourth inning. Mishaps kept coming for the home side in the top of the fifth inning. After smacking a double to the centerfield fence to open the frame and advancing to third base on a ground out, Jaret Hoppes was able to steal home on a wild pitch by Watauga starting pitcher, J.T. Cook. A walk and three consecutive singles followed and the Cougars closed out the top of the 5th inning sporting a 7-1 lead, then picked up two more runs in the top of the sixth.
Now the Alexander Central head coach but for several years’ the Watauga head mentor, Pete Hardee, far left, sent Jaret Hoppes home on a wild pitch shortly after this photo was taken. Photographic image by David Rogers
Jack was credited as the winning pitcher, Cook was marked down for the loss. Cougar senior Caleb Williams got the save.
With the win, Alexander Central took firm control of first place in the Northwestern Conference standings, remaining undefeated in league play at 7-0 (16-4 overall). Watauga (5-2, 13-5) is in second, ahead of third place South Caldwell (4-3, 12-7).
Watauga travels to Hibriten on April 21, while ACHS has two consecutive home games coming up, West Rowan on April 19 in non-conference action, then returning to league play in a home game vs. South Caldwell on April 21.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a big day for high school sports at Watauga High School on April 18 and one of the bright spots was men’s tennis, where the Pioneers ran away with a resounding 6-3 team win over Northwestern Conference rival, Freedom.
Pioneer senior Steele Nealy continued his run at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-1 win over the Patriots’ sophomore No. 1, Henry Beal. The Pioneers’ No. 2, Bryant Carroll, similarly dispatched his Freedom counterpart, Teague Ballew, 6-0, 6-1, before the Patriots’ No. 3, Chase Whitaker, battled past Watauga freshman Jaxson Marsh, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, in one of the two closest matches of the day.
The other tussle was also won by Freedom at No. 4 singles when Noah Hawkins got past Watauga Sullivan Trexler, 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (11-9), the two sophomores battling back and forth before Hawkins won the third set tiebreaker.
Watauga freshman Harrison Gantt was awarded “Player of the Match” honors for his tough, two-set sweep (6-4, 7-5) over Freedom sophomore Bryan Gonzalez. Watauga’s No. 6 singles player, freshman Oliver Powell, finished off the Pioneers’ singles dominance with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Patriots senior, Alex Walker.
At No. 1 Doubles, Watauga’s Carroll/Marsh defeated Ballew/Whitaker, 8-2, while the Pioneers also picked up a win at No. 2 Doubles when Trexler/Gantt got past Freedom’s Beal/Hawkins, 8-3. The No. 3 Doubles match went to the Patriots, with Gonzalez/Walker outscoring a pair of Watauga freshmen, Logan Bartok and Devon Benedetti, 8-5.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga junior Stryker Ward won the No. 6 singles match vs. Hibriten freshman Zach Wright, 6-3, 6-3, proving to be a decisive point in the Pioneers’ 5-4 conference win over the visiting Panthers.
Watauga junior Bryant Carroll shows off some power serving on April 17 against Hibriten’s Ben Waechter. Photographic image by David Rogers
No. 1 singles player, Steele Nealy, got by Hibriten’s Shane Stevens, 6-3,6-0, while the Pioneers’ No. 2 singles entry, Bryant Carroll bested Ben Waechter, 6-2, 6-1. Later, Watauga’s No. 1 and No. 2 combined to defeat Waechter and Logan Clark in the No. 1 doubles pairing, 8-5.
The tightest singles match saw Watauga freshman Harrison Gantt outlast the Panthers’ junior, Wade Van Horne, 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) in a third set tiebreaker.
No. 1 Doubles: WAT Nealy/Carroll def. HIB Waechter/Clark, 8-5
No. 2 Doubles: HIB Hedrick/Wright def. WAT Marsh/Trexler, 9-8 (7-3)
No. 3 Doubles: HIB Van Horne/Miles Dyer def. WAT Gantt/Oliver Powell, 8-5
Despite Hibriten’s 10-5 overall record, Watauga and South Caldwell are now tied atop the Northwestern Conference standings, both at 7-1, with Hibriten in third place (5-3). South Caldwell faces Ashe County (0-11, 0-7) on April 18, in Hudson, while Watauga hosts Freedom (4-6, 1-6).
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After a six-man “golf off” practice session on April 17 at Cedar Rock Country Club near Lenoir, men’s golf head coach Klay Anderson announced that Colin Phelps, Paul Taylor, Jake Warren, Elliott Holcomb, and Leo McEvoy are the five Pioneer student-athletes who will represent Watauga in the Northwestern Conference tournament on April 18, also at Cedar Rock Country Club.
“With spring break last week, I haven’t seen these guys for about 10 days,” said Anderson. “This practice session is just to see where we are at and help us identify the five guys who will compete for Watauga in the conference tourney.”
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In roughly a month, Colin Phelps will have completed his time as a Pioneer. In less than six months, he will become a Falcon.
There was undoubtedly a point in the Watauga High School senior’s young life that he dreamed of going to college on a baseball or football scholarship. A football injury sidelined those ambitions but it turns out that he is still going to be “playing at the next level” — as a college golfer. He signed a commitment letter to Pfeiffer University on April 6, in an after-school ceremony with friends, teammates, coaches and family members looking on.
Life takes many twists and turns — differently for different people. The injuries, plus the impact of COVID-19 and all served to help Phelps take golf seriously.
“I played golf off and on when I was younger, but not competitively,” Phelps told High Country Sports after his signing ceremony. “Competitively, just the last two and a half years.”
Serving as emcee of the signing ceremony, Watauga head coach Klay Anderson recalled Phelps’ journey to golf for the estimated 50 fellow students, teammates, coaches and family members in attendance.
Watauga head golf coach Klay Anderson served as emcee for Colin Phelps’ signing ceremony on April 6. Photographic image by David Rogers
“When I met Colin, he and his family (father Jason Phelps is on the Health and PE faculty at Watauga and he serves as an assistant football coach) had just moved back here. I think Colin was in the 7th grade when he came up to me and asked if they could go play golf at Boone Golf Club sometime. He rode around with Jason and me after a football practice (both men were assistant coaches), asking questions. He didn’t know what club to hit, which one to pull out of the bag. He was just learning the game and hit it around a little bit that day but here, four or five years later, he is going to college on a golf scholarship.”
Anderson affirmed Phelps’ style of play.
“If you have never seen Colin hit a golf ball, from where he came not knowing what club to hit, well now the old school ‘grip it and rip it’ mentality applies to him,” said Anderson. “It is his nature and I mean that in a very complimentary way.”
Talking more about Phelps’ golf journey, Anderson was quick to add, “Colin is an old school baseball guy and didn’t want to play golf until his sophomore year. Then COVID-19 hit and football got moved to the spring. Because football was going at the same time as golf, he got to play just in the very last golf match his sophomore year.
“Then, as many of us in this room know,” continued Anderson, “he dealt with some football injuries his junior year and those kept him out of the entire golf season last year. So he had to get recognition in golf by going out and playing on the junior circuit around North Carolina, last spring, summer and fall…”
For Anderson, Phelps’ burgeoning success in golf has some personal significance.
“This year, Colin played No. 1 for us and we hope his successful seasons continue… I am really proud of him. This is a big deal for me, too. I have been coaching here for a long time. When I was the women’s basketball coach, we had some athletes go on to play at some smaller level schools, but it wasn’t as big a deal as it is now. This is my first time getting to see one of my own players have this signing ceremony to celebrate their accomplishments and development. I look around at my golf team members here in the room and I hope this is the first of a string of these signings. I hope we have a number of golfers wanting to sign (in the years to come) and go on and play at the next level.”
Jason Phelps, Colin’s father, was very appreciative of everyone in the room who came out to support Colin in his signature event, as well as all of the teachers, coaches and friends who supported him and his family.
Jason Phelps, right, addresses crowd during son Colin’s signing ceremony on April 6 in the WHS Media Center. Photographic image by David Rogers
“I have been to a lot of these signings as a coach,” said Jason Phelps, who is also an assistant golf coach, “but I have never had MY son do this before. So this is different. It is special for me and our family. I am here today more as ‘Dad’ than I am as a coach. I am very proud of him. I love him and looking forward to his going to the next level and doing the best he can. I’ve told him that it doesn’t matter what you do, you need to enjoy it. It needs to be something you have a passion for. if you do that you will never work a day in your life.”
Phelps admits that a “grip it and rip it” mindset suits him, even while acknowledging the old line, “Drive for show and putt for dough.” His favorite club is his driver, which he says he hits about 350 yards, consistently pretty straight. His putting is an area that still needs a lot of work, he said.
In choosing to attend Pfeiffer, Phelps credits several friends who went there, including his former baseball coach, Ethan Greene.
“Coach Greene played baseball at Pfeiffer,” said Phelps about his introduction to the school. “I didn’t want to play for a big school because I want to have fun playing golf and I didn’t like the big school pressure. Pfeiffer is a great fit for me, especially for my education. I just love it. It is also close to Boone and my family.”
Among everything else, Phelps finds golf relaxing.
“I just enjoy it, being out in nature, walking in the green grass,” he said.
For Watauga’s golf program under Anderson, Phelps receiving a golf scholarship to attend college could light a few fires among his younger Pioneer teammates.
“We have a bunch of young guys on the team, so being that kind of foundation leader for them… I hope they see it and hope they can run with it,” Phelps said. “We have a lot of young talent. They want to get better. I don’t know how many are interested in playing at the next level but I hope this encourages them, that they can do anything they want and to never give up.”
Already in his young career, Phelps counts the historic Pinehurst courses as among his favorite.
“I have played two Pinehurst courses,” he said. “Man, I love it down there. I would love to play Augusta some day.”
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Phelps’ current favorite player on the professional circuit just happens to be one of the game’s hottest names, Scottie Scheffler, who is No. 2 currently in the FedEx Cup standings, behind Spain’s Jon Rahm. Rahm won the Masters over the weekend, while Scheffler, the defending champ of the event, finished in a tie for No. 10.
Although he is a bit too young to have personally witnessed Tiger Woods’ impact on the golf world, the significance of what Woods brought to the game in helping broaden the appeal — and attract even more dollars to the sport — is not lost on Phelps.
In describing Pfeiffer University, Phelps said, “It is not very big and pretty quiet. The people there are so cool. They are pretty laid back and the campus is about five minutes from one of my favorite places, Badin Lake. And the head golf coach, Chris Jones, is a really gool guy. He wants to build the program, but is all about the team. Playing football here at Watauga, Coach Habich developed a culture. We have brothers, not just teammates. I am really excited about being part of a program with similar values.”
Although Phelps has been the No. 1 player on Watauga’s team, he acknowledged that, as the NCAA marketing tagline suggests, most college student-athletes “go pro” in something other than sports. And yet, he is still uncertain where his career path will take him except, “it probably will have something to do with sports.”
Now with 20-plus student athletes participating on the golf team, Watauga’s high school program is enjoying a resurgence.
“Coach (Klay) Anderson is certainly a big part of it,” said Phelps. “He is a great coach. And the middle school golf program is helping, too. A lot of guys started looking at it and started playing. I think a lot of younger guys started playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of my friends came out this year and started playing just because we enjoyed being together.”
Phelps explained that 45 student-athletes came out for the golf team this year, competing for the 19 spots on the official team.
“We have one varsity team,” said Phelps, “but we have a practice team and a travel team. There are eight or nine guys on the travel team and the guys on the practice team have a chance to make it onto the travel team.”
With Boone Golf Club closed for the winter and early spring, most of Phelps’ and the Pioneer team’s time on a course right now is at Lenoir Golf Club, Cedar Rock Country Club (Lenoir), Oakwoods Country Club (Wilkesboro), Mountain Aire (Ashe County) and Brushy Mountain Golf Club (Taylorsville).
By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — With yet another multi-goal performance on the still young Northwestern Conference season, Watauga striker Katie Durham, a junior, led the Pioneers on a 9-0 march past host South Caldwell in women’s soccer on April 5.
Durham not only posted a hat trick of three goals scored but added a pair of assists to her day’s offensive production.
This game was abbreviated at the 60th minute (roughly a third of the way through the second half) per NCHSAA “mercy rule” requirements when one team leads another by as many as nine points.
In addition to Durham’s three goals, other tallies were recorded by junior Georgia Parker, sophomore Kate Sears, senior Maya Nelson, junior Charlotte Cuthbert, senior Holly Needham, and sophomore Morgan Flynt.
In addition to Durham’s two assists, others were contributed by Parker, Nelson, Sydnee Bryant, Savannah Duvall, and two by Lucy Walker.
The Pioneer backline and senior goalkeeper Laurel Kiker were effective in shutting out the Spartans.
The Pioneers will be off for Spring Break but be back in action on April 19, at home against Alexander Central, before travelling to Lenoir to take on Hibriten.
By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Four goals by Watauga center forward Katie Durham and three more by attacking senior Maya Nelson — and with Morgan Flynt scoring the first goal — sealed the deal for the Pioneers on April 4, in an 8-0 rout of the Ashe County Huskies.
It was a Northwestern Conference season opener for both teams and, from the get-go, it was going to be an interesting lesson about the importance — or non-importance — of early season, non-conference play.
Katie Durham (3) strikes the ball past the Ashe County goalkeeper and into the net for a goal on April 4. Photographic image by David Rogers
The resurgent Huskies were arguably one of the stronger programs at the NCHSAA’s 2A level through the 2020-2021 season. In the 1A/2A Mountain Valley Conference, the Huskies’ conference records were typically 11-3 and 10-4, even going 14-0 in the 2014-15 season. They lost to Franklin in the second round of the state playoffs that year.
Designated a 3A school with conference realignment because of Ashe County’s enrollment growth, the Huskies were reassigned to the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference in 2021-2022. On the surface, the program seemed to stumble in posting a 5-13-4 overall record in its first year under head coach Wayne Cable. In NWC league play a year ago, Ashe County was 0-10.
But looks can be deceiving. In 2022-23 non-conference play, the Huskies came into their April 4 encounter with the Pioneers sporting an undefeated, 8-0 record. At any level, that is impressive and reflects the team’s marked improvement in Cable’s second year at the helm.
Katie Durham (3) strikes again in the second half against Ashe County on April 4. Photographic image by David Rogers
Watauga, on the other hand, arrived in West Jefferson on April 4 with, on the surface, a run-of-the-mill 4-2 record. Respectable, but not 8-0.
Looking at who the opposing teams were for both sides in non-conference action is where this becomes interesting.
Ashe County dominated its slate of eight non-conference opponents, all 1A and 2A schools. Representative of the scores: 8-0 and 9-0. The closest contest was a 3-0 defeat of Surry Central on March 29. If nothing else, they were great confidence builders and opportunities to test key game strategies.
Watauga’s Georgia Parker (4) looks to beat Ashe County defender Josie Franca (2) to the ball on April 4. Photographic image by David Rogers
Who were Watauga’s non-conference opponents? To start, they split a pair of matches with emerging 3A power, St. Stephens (Hickory), beating the Indians in the first game and losng later in the schedule. Watauga edged a strong 4A program in East Forsyth (Kernersville) and soundly defeated a respected 3A level team in Ledford (Thomasville). Their other loss was to perennial state playoffs entry, Weddington, another 4A powerhouse program.
“Even in losing to those strong teams like St. Stephens and Weddington,” said Watauga head coach Chris Tarnowski before the Ashe County game, “we learned a lot about ourselves and what it is going to take to do well when we enter conference play. We intentionally wanted a tougher non-conference schedule, taking a lesson from Josh Honeycutt’s men’s team last season.”
Most of the men’s non-conference schedule was against strong programs. They went 2-7-1 in non-conference, but it better prepared them for the NWC schedule and they went 9-1 the rest of the way, going undefeated in conference and losing in the third round of the state tournament.
Watauga winger Kate Sears keeps the ball in play on April 4 against Ashe County. Photographic image by David Rogers
The April 4 showdown between Watauga and Ashe County was a lesson in possession and exploiting opportunities. Most of both halves were played in the Ashe County half of the field and the Pioneers used speed and ball-handling skill to exploit opportunities in space. Not to take anything away from the athletes who punched the ball into the back of the net for the eight goals, but only one of them was unassisted. Often it was the assist that created the opportunity.
The Watauga tally:
Goal scored by
Assist
Morgan Flynt
Katie Durham
Maya Nelson
unassisted
Katie Durham
Georgia Parker
Maya Nelson
Holly Needham
Katie Durham
Georgia Parker
Katie Durham
Lucy Willis
Maya Nelson
Charlotte Cuthbert
Katie Durham
Kate Sears
Next up for Watauga (5-2 overall, 1-0 in NWC) is an April 5 date vs. South Caldwell (5-5, 0-1). The Spartans lost to Hibriten, 7-0, in their league opener on April 4.
Ashe County (8-1, 0-1) has a home conference game against Alexander Central (9-1-1, 0-0-1). On April 4, the Cougars tied Freedom, 1-1.
By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Scoring four runs in the top half of the second inning was just a prelude for Watauga on April 4 at Ashe County. The Pioneers exploded for 12 runs in the third inning to race by the host Huskies with a “mercy rule” finish after five innings, 17-2.
The Pioneers’ offensive production came from up and down the lineup on a picture perfect afternoon for baseball. It included a home run by Cooper Riddle and a whopping seven doubles — two doubles by Jacob Dilley and one each from Cooper Critcher, Tristan Salinas, Maddox Greene, Johnny Ray, and J T Cook.
Watauga starting pitcher on April 4 was J T Cook, who pitched four strong innings against Ashe County and picked up the win. Photographic image by David Rogers
Cook was credited with the win, pitching four strong innings while limiting the Huskies to just one run on four hits, striking out two and walking two. He was backed by solid defense on this night, too, his fielders fashioning some sparkling plays.
Ashe County used four pitchers on the night, collectively giving up 17 runs on 14 hits and four errors.
KEY WATAUGA PERFORMANCES
Jacob Dilley: 3-4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs. 2B (2), stolen base
J T Cook: 3-3, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2B, and winning pitcher
