Category: High School

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If the Watauga men’s basketball team does this again, it will have become habit-forming: falling behind by double digits in the first half, only to stage a comeback rally and win.

The Pioneers trailed regional rival Avery County on Dec. 2 by 11 points midway through the second quarter before closing the deficit to 34-30 at intermission. A scoring outburst in the second half combined with shutting down the Vikings, defensively, allowed Watauga to come away with a decisive, 76-62 victory and improve the team’s early season record to 2-0. They followed a similar script a week earlier in letting Shelby get ahead in the first half by 21, then rallying to defeat the Golden Lions, 67-59.

Avery County’s Mason Bailey scored 10 points in the first quarter, almost half of the Vikings’ offensive output (22) in the period, while Landon Ingham added six more. Watauga was whistled four times in the quarter for fouls, sending Bailey and Ingham to the charity stripe where they made a combined six of 10 free throw attempts in the game’s opening stanza. Avery stunned Watauga in the game’s first quarter, outpointing the Pioneers, 22-14.

The atmosphere was electric in Lentz Eggers Gym for Watauga’s first home game of the 2022-23 season. Nearly full grandstands on both sides of the court were accentuated by enthusiastic, even “dueling” student sections. Avery’s student contingent got more animated and louder with each first quarter bucket by their side, while Watauga’s costume theme for the evening was some combination of “Christmas sweater” and “Santa’s elves.” If the student sections weren’t applauding a good play or a score, they were trading insults — all in good-natured fun.

Pioneer forward Grant Morrison arched in a couple of 3-pointers along with another bucket from short range in the second quarter, leading Watauga to close what was an 11-point gap and narrow it to just four by halftime, 34-30.

It was the third quarter that proved a key turning point in this game, following adjustments made by the Pioneers at halftime. Watauga outpointed Avery County, 19-10 in the third frame and kept up the scoring pace in the final quarter, 24-18.

“We had to do a better job of boxing out and keep them from dominating the boards, rebounding,” explained Watauga forward Wyatt Keller to High Country Sports after the game about the adjustments at halftime. “We had to limit their second and third opportunities. Offensively, we started pushing the ball up the floor and passing the ball around quick definitely helped. It can leave a man open for a shot. That really helped us most. I was fortunate enough a few of those times to be that man open and take advantage.”

Indeed. Keller was successful on six, 3-point attempts on the night, four of them in the second half.

In spite of his six 3-pointers, Keller’s 20 points was not the game-high points leader for the night. That honor belonged to Morrison, who accounted for 21 points, including four shots from beyond the 3-point arc and a number of free throws as he was fouled in the fourth quarter by the Vikings. Maddox Greene and Wyatt Kohout were also in double figures, scoring 13 and 10, respectively.

Although forward Jackson Pryor had some key buckets in the second half, he got into early foul trouble and had to sit a large portion of the first two periods. Greene got into foul trouble, too, replaced at the point by Cole Horine.

In talking with High Country Sports after the game, head coach Bryson Payne acknowledged that Pryor’s and Greene’s minutes were limited and praised the guys who stepped up, proving the team’s roster depth.

“Being our first home game and it was a pretty big crowd… You know, we don’t have a ton of experience at the varsity level on our team,” said Payne. “Coming out, I wouldn’t say we were nervous, but so amped up. We were almost over-pressuring at times which was giving up some easy baskets. Then we had that run and in the second half we just buckled down and played defense and worked for some easy shots and they went in. Both of these first two games we started slow and had to be a second half team.

“Jackson Pryor got into foul trouble and had to sit, but Morgan Henry came in and played great, stepping up and battling in the post for us. Then Maddox got in some foul trouble and we had some guys step up and lead that comeback,” Payne added. “In the second half, we executed better and rebound, too. Credit Avery because they crash the boards really hard. They were doing a really good job of getting offensive rebounds. One of the things we talked about at halftime was limiting their offensive boards (by boxing out), as well as make them take tougher shots.”

Watauga will go on the road Dec. 5 to play at West Wilkes, then return to Lentz Eggers Gym on Dec. 6 to face A C Reynolds, both non-conference games. On Dec. 9 and Dec. 13, the Pioneers will see a home and away exchange with Burnsville-based Mountain Heritage, then travel to Lake Norman on Dec. 16. They have two additional games before Christmas, at home against Davie (Mocksville, N.C.) on Dec. 17 and away at T C Roberson on Dec. 21, in Asheville.

SCORING

• WAT Grant Morrison (21)
• WAT Wyatt Keller (20)
• AVY Landon Ingham (19)
• AVY Mason Bailey (16)
• WAT Maddox Greene (13)
• WAT Wyatt Kohout (10)
• AVY Jack Crenshaw (8)
• AVY Landon Hughes (7)
• WAT Jackson Pryor (6)
• WAT Cole Horine (4)
• AVY Elijah Holtsclaw (3)
• AVY Brooks Berry (3)
• AVY Preston Coffey (3)
• WAT Morgan Henry (2)
• AVY Bray Guest (2)
• AVY Cole Singleton (1)

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Having four players in double figures scoring is a good way to win basketball games, especially when it is combined with good defense and exceptional rebounding on both ends of the floor. Watauga’s women’s basketball team found that to be a winning formula on Dec. 2, running by regional rival Avery County, 78-46.

Point guard Kate Sears and shooting guard Charlotte Torgerson tallied 11 points each in the opening quarter, individually scoring more than the Vikings entire team (10) during the period. For the entire contest, Sears finished with a game-high 25 points while Torgerson’s 21 points wasn’t far behind.

They approached getting the ball into the basket differently on this night. While Sears did have two buckets from long distance in the second quarter, most of her points came from inside the paint, either driving the lane or from along the baseline. Torgerson hit three from beyond the arc and added a fourth in the final quarter. From “downtown,” Torgerson was good on 4-of-5 three-point attempts.

Watauga’s Brooke Scheffler and Caroline Farthing joined Sears and Torgerson in double figures, each accounting for 11 points. Most of the work by these two forwards was done inside, a lot of the work cleaning up under the basket, rebounding.

The Vikings were led in the scoring column by Maddy Barrett (9), Zoie McClarrin, Cora Hollifield (8) and Khloe Burleson (7).

“I asked the team for energy coming into the game, before it started,” said Watauga head coach Laura Barry afterwards. “I thought we had that. I liked the pressure and we forced the pace, which is what we wanted to do. We gave up some rebounds and some open threes, but overall our offensive pace dictated the game. Everything is better when you hit shots, but we worked for open shots and took good ones. We really set the tone early.”

Next action for the Pioneers will be at home on Dec. 6 vs. A.C. Reynolds. The non-conference encounter is scheduled to tipoff at 6:30 p.m. There is a home-and-away series schedule for Dec. 9 (home) and Dec. 13 (away) with Mountain Heritage (Burnsville, N.C.), then a pre-Christmas tournament in Cherokee, N.C., Dec. 20-22, before returning home to host R J Reynolds in the first round of the High Country Holiday Classic on Dec. 28.

The Vikings have five home games before Christmas, including St. Stephens (Dec. 6), Ashe County (Dec. 9), Rosman (conference game, Dec. 12), Draughn (conference game, Dec. 16), and McDowell (non-conference, Dec. 20). They have one additional game before Christmas, on Dec. 22, at Rosman (conference game).

SCORING

• WAT Kate Sears (25)
• WAT Charlotte Torgerson (21)
• WAT Brooke Scheffler (11)
• WAT Caroline Farthing (11)
• AVY Maddy Barratt (9)
• AVY Zoie McClarrin (9)
• AVY Cora Hollifield (8)
• AVY Khloe Burleson (7)
• WAT Julie Matheson (6)
• AVY Hannah Mace (5)
• AVY Emree Hoilman (4)
• WAT Diane McGlamery (2)
• WAT Gracie Lawrence (1)
• WAT Kaitlin Darner (1)
• AVY Cassidy Lee (1)
• AVY Hope Howell (1)

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — While Watauga High School’s Nate Gutschall poured in a game-high 16 points, 12 of the 13 players on the Pioneers’ junior varsity men’s team got in the scorebook in manhandling Avery County’ junior varsity, 63-32.

The JV Pioneers outscored the Vikings, 21-11 in the second period to lead at intermission, 33-17. A pair of three-pointers by Avery’s Jaxton Boone helped keep the game interesting, but a strong second half by Gutschall, Jackson Love, Landon Smith, and Brodie Sukow didn’t allow the Vikings to close the gap.

More photos at bottom of article. All photos by David Rogers.

SCORING

• WAT Nate Gutschall (16)
• AVY Landon Harmon (11)
• WAT Eli Bishop (8)
• WAT Noah Dishman (7)
• WAT Jackson Love (6)
• WAT Orin Ellis (6)
• AVY Jaxton Boone (6)
• WAT Landon Smith (4)
• WAT Brodie Sukow (4)
• AVY Brynnox Maya (4)
• AVY Silas Garceau (4)
• AVY Dak Markland (4)
• WAT Brady Lindenmuth (3)
• WAT Paul Taylor (3)
• WAT Matthew Habich (2)
• WAT Kyle Williams (2)
• WAT Seth Greene (2)
• AVY Wyatt Brown (2)

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There will again be plenty of hoops action locally between Christmas Day and New Year’s. Eight high school men’s teams and four women’s teams will come to the High Country Dec. 28-30 for the 2nd Annual High Country Holiday Classic basketball tournament.

In the inaugural, 2021 event, Watauga defeated Providence Academy (Johnson City, Tenn.) to capture the men’s division title, 71-65, and Watauga outlasted Ashe County, 63-58, to win the women’s division trophy.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, Dec. 28th

• Game 1 12pm MEN – Apex Friendship vs Central Davidson
• Game 2 1:30pm WOMEN – Ashe vs Central Davidson
• Game 3 3pm MEN – Ashe vs Johnson County
• Game 4  4:30pm MEN – Hickory Christian vs Pine Lake Prep
• Game 5 6pm WOMEN – Watauga vs RJ Reynolds
• Game 6  7:30pm MEN – Watauga vs Forbush

 

Thursday, Dec 29th

• Game 1 12pm MEN – Round two, consolation 1
• Game 2 1:30pm MEN – Round two, consolation 2
• Game 3 3pm WOMEN – 3rd Place game 
• Game 4  4:30pm WOMEN – Championship game
• Game 5 6pm BOYS – Round two, Semi-final 1
• Game 6  7:30pm BOYS – Round two, Semi-final 2

Friday, Dec 30th

• Game 1 2:30pm BOYS – Round three, consolation
• Game 2 4:00pm BOYS – Round three, consolation
• Game 3 5:30pm BOYS – 3rd Place game
• Game 4  7:00pm BOYS – Championship game

All games will be played in Watauga High School’s Lentz Eggers Gym (main gym). Spectator admission is $10, $5 for students. A 3-day Tournament Pass is available for $25.

By David Rogers. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Watauga women’s indoor track team did not win any events at the Titan Clash I meet on Dec. 1, but solid performances, roster depth, and broad participation all contributed to a second place finish among the nine teams competing in the distaff division.

Team scores: Olympic (123), Watauga (93.5), Reagan (91.5). West Forsyth (59), Mount Tabor (53), North Surry (43), R J Reynolds (33), Forbush (32), and Alexander Central (4).

Noteworthy performances by Watauga athletes:

• 55m Hurdles (19 runners) – Sadie Buchanan, 6th
• 300m (30 runners) – Lilly Stough, 14th
• 500m (21 runners) – Ava Doty, 8th
• 1000m (12 runners) – Brianna Anderson, 2nd; Andriana Rink, 4th; Rachel Cathey, 5th
• 1600m (14 runners) – Brianna Anderson, 2nd; Ellary Smith, 6th
• 3200m (9 runners) – Rachel Cathey, 3rd; Sadie Buchanan, 4th; Ellary Smith, 5th
• High Jump (11 entries) – Emmerson Martin, Tied for 3rd
• Long Jump (17 entries) – Lilly Stough, 9th; Olivia Burroughs, 10th
• Pole Vault (5 entries) – Olivia Burroughs, 4th; Emmerson Martin, 5th
• Shot Put (20 entries) – Olivia Burroughs, 4th; Sara Smith, 11th

 

By David Rogers. WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — While Reagan (Winston-Salem) and Olympic (Charlotte) high schools were dividing up the spoils in the shorter distances, the Watauga men dominated the longer events on Dec. 1, in the Titan Clash I at JDL Fast Track. Pioneer sophomore Will Bradbury led the way with two first place finishes in the 1600m and 3200m events and leading off a strong, first place performance by Watauga’s 4x800m relay team.

Ten schools competed in the Titan Clash I meet. Team scores: Watauga (105), Reagan (101), Olympic (84), Mount Tabor (72), North Surry (61), West Forsyth (43), Alexander Central (29), R J Reynolds (13), and Forbush (4).

Among the noteworthy performances by Watauga runners:

• 55m (40 runners) – Tristan Salinas, 7th; Lade Oguntoyinbo, 10th
• 55m hurdles (18 runners) – Maxwell DePriest,7th
• 300m (40 runners) – Jakob Crosswell, 8th; Evan Burroughs, 9th
• 500m (27 runners) – Josh Hamilton, 2nd; Alex Gremmell, 8th; Nyle Peays, 9th
• 1000m (20 runners) – Kade Maiden, 7th; Collin Anderson, 8th
• 1600m (17 runners) – Will Bradbury, 1st; Calvin Zwetsloot, 2nd; Davis Crymes, 6th
• 3200m (10 runners) – Will Bradbury, 1st; Collin Anderson, 3rd; Calvin Zwetsloot, 5th, Davis Crymes, 6th
• 4×200 Relay (9 teams) – Watauga, 6th (Lade Oguntoyinbo, Nyles Peays, Mason Harris, Tristan Salinas)
• 4×800 Relay (3 teams) – Watauga, 1st (Will Bradbury, Kade Maiden, Nathaniel Cox, Cameron Nance)
• 4×400 Relay (5 teams) – Watauga 4th (Alex Gremmell, Jakob Crosswell, Mason Harris, Joshua Hamilton)
• Shot Put (22 entries) – Carson Gunnell-Beck, 5th
• Pole Vault (4 entries) – Clayo Kulczyk, 2nd
• High Jump (8 entries) – Evan Burroughs, 4th
• Triple Jump (8 entries) – Evan Burroughs, 5th

New personal records (PRs) were achieved by Tristan Salinas (55m), Lade Oguntoyinbo (55m), Max DePriest (55m, Triple Jump), Jacob Crosswell (300m), Josh Hamilton (500m), Alex Gremmell (500m), Evan Burroughs (Long Jump), Will Bradbury (1600m, 3200m), Kade Maiden (1000m), Davis Crymes (3200m), Carson Gunnel-Beck (Shot Put).

“What is exciting about this team,” said coach Scott Townsend, “is that they are hungry and a lot of them are posting new personal records in their events each week. It is a young team, with a lot of freshmen and sophomores, so we should see some good progression through the indoor season, carrying into the spring outdoor season. This is just week 4 of 14, so to have come out on top of this 10 team field is pretty special and it speaks to our roster depth.”

 

By David Rogers. WILKESBORO, N.C. — Capturing first place honors in 20 of 24 high school swimming events is a good start toward winning both ends of Watauga’s tri-meet vs. South Caldwell and Alexander Central on Dec. 1, at the Wilkesboro YMCA, but it was the roster depth exhibited by the Pioneers that really stands out.

A good example: Watauga had 17 swimmers in the top 20 of the Women’s 50 Free, headlined by a 1-4 sweep by Maggie Cheves, Athena Elliott, Lola Herring, and Macie Kent.

The Watauga women defeated South Caldwell, 70-21, and cruised by Alexander Central, 66-23.

The Pioneer men recorded an identical score against South Caldwell, 70-21, while having little difficulty in besting Alexander Central, 74-14.

“Coming off Thanksgiving break, I thought the team swam really well,” said Watauga head coach David Gragg. “This meet was a chance for us to allow newer faces a chance to swim on relays while some of our more experienced swimmers focused on individual events. South Caldwell was not at full strength, so when we swim against them again it will be a tougher meet. Alexander Central has some good swimmers and they will push us down the road.”

SELECTED STRONG PERFORMANCES (Not a complete listing)

• Ryan Wood – 1st, Men’s 200 Medley Relay; 1st Men’s 200 IM; 1st Men’s 200 Backstroke
• Lauren Patterson – 1st, Women’s 200 Medley Relay; 1st, Women’s 100 Free; 1st, Women’s 100 Backstroke; 3rd, Women’s 400 Free Relay (B team)
• Virginia St. Clair – 1st, Women’s 200 Free; 2nd, Women’s 100 Free
• Michael Makdad – 1st, Men’s 200 Free; 1st, Men’s 100 Free; 1st, Men’s 400 Free Relay
• Wesley Coatney – 1st, Men’s 200 Medley Relay; 2nd, Men’s 200 IM; 2nd, Men’s 100 Free
• Maggie Cheves – 1st, Women’s 200 Medley Relay; 1st, Women’s 50 Free; 1st, Women’s 100 Butterfly
• Athena Elliott – 1st, Women’s 200 Medley Relay; 2nd, Women’s 200 IM; 2nd, Women’s 50 Free
• Elise Rasco – 1st, Women’s 200 IM; 6th, Women’s 50 Free
• Annabelle Stewart – 2nd, Women’s 200 Free; 9th Women’s 50 Free; 1st, Women’s 400 Free Relay (A team)
• Lola Herring – 1st, Women’s 200 Medley Relay; 3rd, Women’s 50 Free; 2nd, Women’s 100 Backstroke
• Paul Gamiel – 1st, Men’s 100 Breaststroke; 1st, Men’s 200 Medley Relay; 1st, Men’s 500 Free
• Vaughn Ladd – 1st, Men’s 50 Free; 1st, Men’s 200 Free Relay; 1st, Men’s 400 Free Relay
• Anson Ross – 1st, Men’s 200 Medley Relay; 1st, Men’s 100 Butterfly; 2nd, Men’s 100 Backstroke
• Mary-Kathryn Riddle – 1st, Women’s 100 Breaststroke

Altogether, Watauga had more than 50 swimmers compete.

By David Rogers, CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Hoping to avoid a strike by basketball officials on Jan. 1, at its winter meetings on Dec. 1, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association board of directors voted to increase pay for officials in all sports by 10 percent (rounded up to the nearest dollar), effective Jan. 1.

In addition, the board also eliminated the so-called “doubleheader” structure where officials doing more than one game received a discounted fee for working a second game (on the same night).

In a third related action regarding compensation, the board voted to eliminate the current provision for a five percent increase every four years and instead replaces it with a biannual review of officiating fees across all sports.

The motion passed unanimously, 19-0.

The current schedule of fees is rather complex, with different levels of compensation for different sports, as well as different amounts for varsity vs. junior varsity competitions.

The relevant section of the by-laws detailing current fees can be found HERE.

Whether the steps taken by the NCHSAA board of directors will be sufficient to avoid the rumored strike by a reported 800 basketball officials in January is yet to be seen. While the percentage increase was not as much as the reported 12+ percent increase desired by the officials, the elimination of the doubleheader discount goes may sway the current officials’ opinions and keep them on the court.

The board actions did not seem to address concern realized by the ad hoc officiating committee’s survey of officials that the vast majority would like to see increased representation of the officials in the conduct of NCHSAA business. The third primary concern was about the level of sportsmanship at games and spectator abuse suffered by officials. There was a statement that the current steps being taken are working and that they would continue those.

The Officiating Committee also advanced a proposal that in junior varsity baseball games, no new innings would be started after two hours of elapsed time from the beginning of play. The objective was to shorten the games which typically precede varsity contests. The motion passed, 10-8.

There is a strong conviction among the board members that a priority is creating a safe environment for students and staff in education-based athletics. Toward that end, the board passed a regulation requiring members of the media to have passed a background check either by the employing outlet or, if an independent such as High Country Sports, submit to and pay for an NCHSAA initiated background check, before being granted NCHSAA credentials.

Other selected issues discussed and decisions made (not a complete list):

• The board is preparing to forward a proposal to member schools’ principals that would expand the number of classifications (1A, 2A, 3A and 4A, currently) from four to seven, in hopes of eliminating some of the disparities in ADM (a school’s average daily members, or enrollment).
• They passed a resolution to expand the dual team tennis playoffs.
• There was some clarifying language added to the volleyball handbook.
• New golf regulations to speed up play and improve time constraints by imposing a maximum score of triple bogey on any individual hole.
• Set an $8 ticket price for women’s wrestling regional tournaments.
• Passed a proposal to form a separate foundation for managing the NCHSAA’s endowment fund.
• Rejected a proposal to institute a 35-second shot clock in basketball.

The above is not a complete list of board actions, but a sampling to provide an idea of the work vy the board of directors over three days of meetings.

 

By David Rogers. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A busy couple of days for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association board of directors will come to a head on Thursday, Dec. 1, on the third day of deliberations.

Several major issues have been or are being discussed during the winter meetings. Among the most pressing is how the NCHSAA will address the recruitment and retention of game officials, for which there is a shortage. Watauga men’s soccer, for instance, was affected directly during its fall season when matches had to be cancelled or rescheduled because referees and sideline officials were unavailable. In some instances, matches with a high impact on conference standings were played with only two officials, the referee and one side judge. Presumably, the referee also had responsibility for calling “offsides” for one end of the field, which often took him out of position to call the game from the middle of the field and his primary responsibilities.

At the board meeting on Nov. 30, the trustees heard a special presentation from Steve Schwartz about the growing crisis in officiating, including a rumored threat by some 800 basketball officials to go on strike beginning Jan. 1 if there is no increase for their pay.

Representing the North Carolina officials and having chaired a board appointed subcommittee to study the officiating issue, Schwartz laid out three primary concerns that a survey of the more than 7,400 officials in North Carolina want addressed. He stated that the survey had a 42% response rate. He reported that the population of officials is aging out and not being replaced. He said that 77 percent of officials are over the age of 45 and 51 percent are over the age of 55. He added another alarming statistic from the survey: 53 percent of current officials are thinking about or have thought about leaving.

“More than 4,000 of North Carolina officials are thinking about quitting…What is your vibrant plan for replacing them,” he asked, rhetorically.

First among the concerns is pay. The second is some form of representation in the organization they serve (NCHSAA). And the third is what to do about sportsmanship, not just among players and coaches, but also addressing spectator abuse which has reached critical levels in many areas.

He offered a comparison with other states and North Carolina’s $105 compensation for state championship football games is far below neighboring states: Tennessee pays $130; Georgia and South Carolina, $138; Virginia and Maryland, $150; Florida is $170; and Alabama is $175, he said.

To get a local perspective, High Country Sports contacted Watauga County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Scott Elliott.

“This is an issue that has needed attention for quite some time. There is no doubt we have a shortage of officials and more needs to be done to recruit and support existing officials,” said Elliott. “It is not only pay but it is also a matter of respect and sportsmanship. I cannot tell you the number of times that I have had to step between a parent or spectator and an official in order to prevent a conflict. We all need to do more to improve the game environment for both our athletes and for the officials, so perhaps this (threat of a strike) is the start of an important conversation and some much-needed changes.”

Schwartz also intimated that the game officials, collectively, would like to become more equal partners in working with the NCHSAA and the individual schools, suggesting that because they are closer to the issues and concerns they might have some good ideas on how to address them.

Expansion of Classifications?

Also on the board’s agenda is a proposal apparently authored jointly by basketball and football coaches but endorsed by the requisite seven school principals to qualify for board consideration. If adopted, the proposal would expand the number of classifications from four (1A, 2A, 3A and 4A) to seven, with each classification having no more than 64 member schools. There are 432 member schools in the NCHSAA, and dividing that number by seven is just short of 62. Each classification would be divided into East and West divisions.

During the conversation on Nov. 30, various board members postulated that while such a plan would likely eliminate much of the current disparity among individual conference members in terms of enrollment size (what they refer to as ADM, average daily members), there is a strong possibility that travel requirements (and costs) will also increase. A suggestion was also made that the east-west division line might be different for each classification.

The board members seemed to agree that acting quickly on such a decision, if it is to become implemented, is important in order to give NCHSAA staff sufficient time to research and offer suggestions for the board to fine tune and adopt.

The next step is to get the proposal in written form and sent to each of the school principals of the member schools for a vote. A change to the by-laws requires a two-thirds majority, it was pointed out in the Nov. 30 discussion. To change the by-laws, the board cannot make such a decision on their own.

Another proposal that apparently did not make it out of committee was for the NCHSAA to adopt a 35-second shot clock for basketball.

The board will conclude its winter meetings on Dec. 1, with potential votes on issues coming out of the various committees.

High Country Sports will have another report on any actions taken by the board on Dec. 1, and prospectively any follow-on interviews with NCHSAA officials.

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Resilience is a common characteristic of winning sports teams, whether after a game or during a competition. Watauga women’s basketball team exhibited both on Nov. 26, coming from behind to defeat Charlotte area power Myers Park, 53-41, in the Charlotte Hoops Challenge at the Eric T. Ward Athletic Center on the campus of Harding University High School.

After losing a close, pre-Thanksgiving contest on Nov. 23 at Shelby High School, 39-36, there were questions about what Watauga’s performance against Myers Park would look like against the highly ranked Charlotte area team. So when the first quarter ended 17-7 in favor of the Mustangs, some of the Pioneer fans suspected that Myers Park’s 80-17 domination of Richmond earlier in the week was hardly a fluke.

Watauga head coach Laura Barry said that her Pioneers started the game a little “shell-shocked.” Myers Park often uses a ferocious, pressing defense and just as the Mustangs intended, it bothered the Watauga players in the first quarter. It’s not as if there weren’t opportunities, but errant passes led to several early turnovers and most shots at the basket felt rushed — so of course clanged off the rim and backboard without going through the net. Missed shots, especially when they are rebounded by an opponent, are turnovers of another form, even if not identified by the scorekeeper as such.

Fast forward to the end of the first half and Watauga had shaken off early jitters, rallied and took a 28-25 lead into intermission. In short, they turned the tables on Myers Park and the closest the Mustangs ever got from the start of the second half to the end of the game was a 2-point deficit. The Pioneers outscored Myers Park 21-9 in the second quarter and matched that output in the third quarter, to take a 49-35 lead into the final stanza and boasted a 16-point advantage with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

Led by Kate Sears and Laurel Kiker getting into double figures, scoring with 25 and 10 points, respectively, Watauga augmented its strong offensive output with disruptive defense. The Pioneers poached eight steals on the afternoon, two each by Sears, Kiker and Kaitlyn Darner, while power forward Brooke Scheffler added two blocked shots, defensively.

Both teams were strong on the boards, and the numbers reflect it with each pulling down 23 rebounds. Sears (6), Caroline Farthing (5), Kiker (3) and Scheffler (3) were the Pioneers’ top performers in clearing the boards. Watauga overcame the challenge of Myers Park’s height advantage, with an 18-10 advantage in points inside the paint and poured in 21 points from 3-point range.

Myers Park was led in scoring by Raven LeXander (12) and Reese Wilson (12), but it was Jerin Truesdale coming off the bench who recorded a game-high seven rebounds.

“We started the game a little shellshocked and challenged on their toughness,” said Barry. “We were rebounding the ball and then getting it ripped away from us and making bad passes. All this pressure is coming and we are just throwing the ball in the air. I think we settled down quickly and had some big plays in big minutes in the first half, Laurel Kiker, Julie Matheson, notably. We got into a methodical style of attack, which is how we want to play. And that was for the rest of the game. We pressured well. We attacked in the half court for made shots. And we did our jobs tremendously on defense. That is a good Myers Park team and Laurel and Caroline did great on the point of our zone. It was fun to watch today and we learned a lot on the floor today.”

There is a sense in watching Sears that she makes everyone else on the team better.

“Yes, you saw that last year as a freshman. She elevated everyone with her addition to the team,” said Barry. “This team does not revolve around Kate, though. We aim to be a very good team with a fabulous player on it. And with this afternoon’s performance, I think this team is realizing that they can be that. Today, you saw us realize who we want to be.”

Now in its 13th year, the Charlotte Hoops Challenge has become a special high school basketball event. High Country Sports sat down with organizers Jermaine Walker and Cristie Mitchell to learn more about it.

Mitchell typically organizes the women’s side of the event and Walker the men’s side. From the sounds of it, there is a well-researched effort to match some of the best teams of both genders.

“I look at the rosters of some of the previous year’s best performing teams and try to determine who and how many (of the players) are coming back. I want to get the top teams in the area,” said Mitchell. “That is why Watauga was invited and they just had a big win against Myers Park. We also try to match public and private schools because they frequently don’t get to play each other during any given season. Often we match a 2A state champ against a 3A state champ or a 3A champ vs. a 4A champ. The goal is to create high levels of competition and great basketball games. And you just saw a very entertaining women’s game between Myers Park and Watauga.”

Mitchell reported that this is Watauga’s first year in the Charlotte Hoops Challenge and, she said, the Pioneers came from the furthest away this year.

Mitchell said that while they have never had a title sponsor, the event costs roughly $22,000 each year to put it on. Any proceeds go in the bank to help defray the next year’s costs.

“We would love to have a banner sponsor, a major sponsor to come in and help us run it,” said Mitchell, “but we have been able to run it successfully for 13 years without one.”

Walker noted that in the men’s division there is an actual tournament within the larger event, involving four teams this year.

“The goal is to make that more of a national tournament. The winner gets a big trophy,” said Walker. “We would love to have one of these tournaments on the women’s side, but right now it is just the guys.”

Mitchell added that the entire event involves 36 teams this year.

“So, technically, we are the largest Thanksgiving weekend event on the East Coast and one of the largest in the country for high school sports,” said Mitchell.

While Watauga came from the furthest away this year, other teams have come from even farther away in previous years, including Canada. And the basketball talent playing in their event is undeniable.

“To date, in those previous 12 years, at last count we have had 14 or 15 players who later competed in the NBA,” said Mitchell.

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• Points Scored – WAT 53, MP 41
• Rebounds – WAT 23, MP 23
• 3-Point Shots – WAT 7/16 (43.8%), MP 4/16 (25%)
• Free Throws – WAT 10/15 (66.7%), MP 13/16 (81.3%)
• Points in the Paint – WAT 18, MP 10
• Bench Points – WAT 8, MP 10
• Turnovers – WAT 15, MP 14

Scoring Leaders

• WAT Kate Sears (25)
• MP Raven LeXander (12)
• MP Reese Wilson (12)
• WAT Laurel Kiker (10)
• MP Kamora Cannie (7)
• WAT Julie Matheson (6)
• WAT Caroline Farthing (5)

Rebounding Leaders

• MP Jerin Truesdale (7)
• WAT Kate Sears (6)
• WAT Caroline Farthing (5)
• MP Raven LeXander (4)