Category: Professional

By David Rogers. HOUSTON, Texas — Kenya, Ethiopia and Japan were well-represented at the top of the men’s and women’ leaderboards of the Houston Marathon, but few professional road racing teams matched Blowing Rock’s ZAP Endurance.

It was a warm, “muggy” day in south Texas’ major city, Houston, but that hardly mattered to Appalachian State alum and ZAP Endurance team member Tristin Van Ord, the top American finisher in 4th place of the Women’s Division of the Houston Marathon. Meanwhile, ZAP veteran marathoner Tyler Pennel finished the 26.2 mile course in 5th place among the men (and overall), just five seconds behind fourth place finisher Parker Stinson of Broomfield, Colo., and roughly a minute and a half behind race leader Dominic Ondoro of Kenya.

“It was a great day for our race team,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea after the race, “and both of these are feel good stories. Tristin completed the course in 2 hours, 27 minutes and seven seconds, which is almost two and half minutes faster than the previous best she set in Rotterdam last April.

“And Tyler,” Rea continued. “By running today’s course in 2:12:16, Tyler improved on his previous personal best set at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Atlanta, in 2020. That, and he was the third American finisher behind Teshome Mekonen of New York and Parker Stinson of Colorado.”

Van Ord’s fourth place was from among 2,176 female competitors in the marathon and while Pennel finished fifth overall, Van Ord finished 47th overall vs. the 6,088 men and women athletes entered.

Pennel ran the 26.2 miles at a 5:03 mile pace, while Van Ord’s pace was at 5:37. Both Pennel and Van Ord have met their respective qualifying standards in order to compete in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, aiming to make the U.S. Olympic Team competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Another ZAP team member in Houston was Whitney Macon, the newest member of the team getting her competitive feet wet in the Houston half marathon. Macon finished in a time of 1:14:19, a little more than two minutes over the U.S. Olympic Trials – Marathon qualifying standard of 1:12. At Houston, Macon finished 32nd among the 6,559 women competing in the half marathon.

Ryan Ford wins Virginia Tech Invitational

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Putting an exclamation point on ZAP Endurance’s day, middle- to longer-distance specialist Ryan Ford captured first place honors earlier during the weekend in the Men’s 3,000 meters event of the Virginia Tech Invitational.

Ford was among 21 athletes primarily from colleges and universities and finished the course in 8:05.09, more than six seconds ahead of second place Paul Specht, a freshman at Wake Forest (8:11.44). Third place was secured by Army West Point senior Garrett Gough (8:13.39).

Other athletes competing were from Virginia Tech, Liberty, Charlotte, and four unattached runners.

By David Rogers. NEW ORLEANS, La. — It was a nice homecoming for Louisiana native and LSU alum Terrance Marshall Jr., now a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers.

With Carolina and New Orleans tied 7-7 and just 19 seconds remaining in regulation of the teams’ Week 18 finale, on 2nd-and-10, Panther quarterback Sam Darnold hit Marshall for a 21-yard passing gain across the middle, setting up a succesful 42-yard yard field goal by Eddie Piniero for a 10-7 Carolina win.

In what morphed as a defensive battle, New Orleans outgained Carolina in total net yards, by a significant margin, 304-203, but turnovers at critical times proved a difference maker. Carolina had three fumbles, but recovered all of them. New Orleans was less error-prone, but lost their only fumble of the day.

Technically, turnovers include blocked field goals. What put the Panthers in position for the Darnold-to-Marshall pass and Piniero’s winning field goal: the Panthers’ C J Henderson blocked a 55-yard field goal attempt by the Saints’ Wil Lutz with just 1:24 left in the game. That gave the Carolina good field position just near midfield — and a short field to maneuver aimed at another touchdown or setup their own field goal try.

The going was tough. On the first play after the blocked kick, Darnold was sacked for a loss. On the second, he was forced out of the pocket by Saints pressure, but managed a 13-yard carry and a first down. A pass toward the left side on first down, targeting Shi Smith, fell incomplete.

Then, with just 19 seconds remaining, it was time for Marshall’s clutch catch and run.

While the Panthers did not exactly dominate the time of possession in this game, 30:55 vs. the 29:05 for the Saints, they did use an effective rushing attack to control the game’s tempo. The team’s net rushing total was 171 yards on 41 carries, most of it split evenly behind running backs Chuba Hubbard (21 carries, 69 yards) and D’Onta Foreman (12 carries, 68 yards).

Carolina’s passing game was virtually nonexistent until the end, Darnold completing just five of 15 pass attempts for 43 yards, his longest the 21-yard completion to Marshall that setup the winning field goal. He was intercepted twice by the Saints and suffered two QB sacks.

Defensively, Carolina only produced one sack of Saints QB Andy Dalton, but accounted for 3 quarterback hurries, 3 tackles for loss, and 3 passes deflected. Those accompanied a late second quarter forced fumble by Henderson, victimizing New Orleans rookie receiver Chris Olave and Xavier Woods was there to scoop it up for the Panthers.

One of the most bizarre plays of the day came at the end of an 82-yard Panthers drive midway through the third quarter. It was 3rd-and-3 from the Saints’ 3-yard line. On a designed QB keeper over left tackle, Darnold fumbled as he met Saints safety Tryrann Mathieu at the 1-yard line, the ball bounding forward into the end zone where Carolina offensive guard Michael Jordan recovered it for what would become the Panthers’ tying touchdown. According to one (unofficial) note on the Panthers’ website, it was the first fumble recovery TD scored by a Carolina offensive lineman in the history of the franchise.

And as if the scoring sequence wasn’t bizarre enough, about five minutes earlier the Saints’ defensive lineman Marcus Davenport and the Panthers’ Foreman got into some fisticuffs that sent both of them to their respective locker rooms, ejected for the day.

Carolina finishes the 2022-23 season with an overall record of 7-10, 6-6 under interim head coach Steve Wilks, who has made a strong case for having the “interim” label removed going into the 2023-24 campaign next fall. When you consider the adversity faced by the Panthers this season, including injuries, a quarterback carousel that included Baker Mayfield’s midseason release, the firing of former head coach Matt Rhule after just five games played in the season, the trading of star running back Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco, and the trade of wide receiver Robbie Anderson after an on-field blowup, what Wilks achieved in stabilizing the culture and getting the team refocused, and with an NFC South Division title within reach until the Week 17 loss was remarkable.

As much as the football world is looking forward to how the playoffs end up deciding a Super Bowl winner this year, the off-season maneuverings, including the NFL Draft, will have an abundance of storylines and the Panthers’ goings-on will be among them.

By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was a day for making history, and improbable at that.

Even on the coldest day (20 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff) for an NFL game in Bank of America Stadium history, the Carolina Panthers rolled up a team record 570 yards of total offense. After being limited to just 21 yards rushing by the Pittsburgh Steelers a week earlier, Carolina exploded for a franchise record 320 yards on the ground against Detroit while quarterback Sam Darnold completed 15 of 22 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown — and the former USC star also ran for a TD.

What made the Christmas Eve performance by the Panthers even more surprising is that the Detroit defense had allowed an average of just 84 yards rushing per game, previously.

Running back D’Onta Foreman rambled for 165 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries while backfield teammate Chuba Hubbard toted the pigskin 12 times for 125 yards. It is the first time that a tandem of NFL teammates have run for 100 yards or more EACH since the Jacksonville Jaguars duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew both ran for 100 yards in 2006.

Carolina’s 240 yards rushing in just the first half also set a franchise record and is the most by any NFL team this season and, according to Panthers’ statisticians, is the third most since at least 1992 behind 251 yards by the Jaguars in 2006 (Taylor, Jones-Drew) and the Buffalo Bills’ 254 yards rushing in 1992 (Thurman Thomas was primary RB).

Lions head coach Dan Campbell didn’t mince words after the game.

“Give credit to those guys over there. Coach Wilks had them ready to go and they came after us,” said Campbell. “They got after us pretty good and that’s a hard pill to swallow there. You say things but ultimately when you play that way, it falls on me. I didn’t have them ready to go. That wasn’t good enough. That was a hungry team we played and we didn’t look as hungry as they did. That’s the bottom line.”

One of the reasons the Panthers may have been “hungry” is because with the win they have an opportunity to shrug off a losing record and win the NFC South Division title, qualifying them for the NFL Playoffs beginning in January. The only requirement: win the next two games, both on the road. That includes on New Year’s Day at Tampa Bay and then Week 18 at New Orleans. Carolina defeated both teams at home in Charlotte, New Orleans in Week 3 (22-14) and Tampa Bay in Week 7 (21-3), so a two-week finishing run to claim the division title is not outside the realm of possibility.

Offense, defense, special teams… Panthers head coach Steve Wilks summed it up in answering a reporter’s question.

“It was a collective effort across the board,” said Wilks.

 

 

 

By David Rogers. KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — What started as a “hard training run” morphed into a High Country sweep of the Kiawah Island Half Marathon on Dec. 10. Tristin Van Ord and Tyler Pennel of the Blowing Rock-based On/ZAP Endurance elite distance running team captured first place finishes in the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively, while ZAP training partner and Boone-based Caleb Masland won the Master’s (over 40) division.

All three High Country runners finished in the Top 10 overall, Pennell at No. 1, Van Ord at No. 5 and Masland No. 7. Pennell and Van Ord set course records for each of their divisions, ZAP head coach Peter Rea reported to High Country Sports at race’s end.

For the 13.1 mile course, the 34-year-old Pennel finished in one hour, five minutes, and 2.63 seconds (1:05:02.63), a blistering 4:58 mile pace. Second place in the men’s division went to 29-year-old Preston Newsome of Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1:09:34.38. In third place among the men was another 29-year-old, Roland Hakes or Irmo, S.C. (1:10:22.87), with fourth place going to Allston, Mass. runner John Baker, 26 (1:12:07.97).

With almost 400 athletes running, the odds for former App State distance star and now Blowing Rock-based Van Ord not only winning first place honors among the women AND 5th place overall may not have been in her favor, but that is what she accomplished. A former all-conference performer for App State in the Sun Belt Conference and 28-year-old pro athlete completed the course in 1:12:52.92, a 5:34 mile pace.

The 41-year-old Masland was not far behind, finishing as the No. 7 overall in 1:14:03.84, a 5:39 mile pace and the last of the seven runners finishing the course in under one hour and 15 minutes.

In the women’s division, the first runner behind Van Ord was almost nine full minutes in her rear view mirror. They included Shelby Jaramillo (30, Greenville, S.C., 1:21:40.37), Nicole Quilliam (29, Atlanta, Ga., 1:22:13.58), Hannah Moldenhauer (25, Charleston, S.C., 1:22:38.59) and Rives O’Connell (32, Folly Beach, S.C., 1:23.47.22).

For Pennel and Van Ord the race served as a “hard training effort,” just five weeks in advance of the Houston Marathon in which they hope to post qualifying times for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the event, ZAP’s Rea said to High Country Sports.

Accompanying Van Ord and Pennel at the race was ZAP assistant coach Ryan Warrenburg, who explained what the duo had accomplished with the run.

“Tyler and Tristin both had excellent runs today,” said Warrenburg. “The intention for both was to start conservatively and close well over the final four miles — and both executed perfectly. After the opening nine miles in which she kept her mile pace between 5:33 and 5:40, Tristin closed the remaining four miles in the low to mid 5:20s.  Tyler was around 4:57 to the 10-mile mark, with 4:45-4:50s to finish. These performances are a real confidence boost for both as we approach the Houston event in mid-January.”

Rea said that ZAP team members Van Ord, Pennell, Josh Izewski, and Joanna Thompson are all slated to compete in Houston and all are looking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The Marathon races are scheduled for Feb. 3, 2024, in Orlando, Fla.

Pennel is a native of Colorado, competing in cross country and track for Golden High School and later for Western State College, where he won an individual national title in the Men’s 10,000 meters at the 2012 NCAA Division II national meet, a team national title, and was an 11-time, NCAA Division II All-American. In 2016, while training with and competing for the ZAP Endurance team, Pennel finished fifth in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Los Angeles after leading the race from Mile 13 to Mile 19. He had planned to compete in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter trials but a stress fracture in April of that year sidelined him until his first race back from injury, the 2016 New York City Marathon, in which he finished 8th, the third American to cross the finish line. His personal best in the mile is 3:58.99, 13:32.06 in the 5,000 meters, 28:22.90 in the 10,000 meters, 1:01:44 in the half-marathon, and 2:13:32 in the marathon, according to his profile maintained by World Athletics (originally the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), the world governing body for track and field athletics.

Van Ord graduated Summa Cum Laude from App State in 2017, with a degree in sustainable development, while also competing all four year on the Mountaineers’ cross country and track teams. While at App State, she won nine individual championship events in track, ranging from 3,000 meters to 10,000 meters and was part of two Sun Belt Conference championship teams, the cross country title in 2016 and indoor track and field in 2017.

After moving to Raleigh post-graduation where she co-founded the Raleigh Distance Project, she got a taste of elite distance running and moved back to the High Country to join ZAP Endurance in 2019. In 2021, Van Ord shaved more than seven minutes off her previous marathon best in the Grandma’s Marathon, in Duluth, Minn. In 2022, she lowered her best marathon time even further, to 2:29:32 at the NN Marathon Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in April.

Athletes may qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials race automatically by winning certain championship races or, according to USA Track & Field, meeting the qualifying standards in marathon or half marathon races leading up to the Trials. The standards include:

Men’s Marathon — 2:18

Men’s Half Marathon — 1:03

Women’s Marathon — 2:37

Women’s Half Marathon — 1:12

By David Rogers. SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It didn’t take long for New Hartford, Conn. native Annmarie Tuxbury to make her mark with the Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance elite running team. After joining the team in November, on Dec. 4 the Bryant University graduate finished in 12th place among the 3,421 women competing in the U.S. Marathon Championships, run in conjunction with the California International Marathon in Sacramento.

By race’s end, the elite field was headed by 26-yearold Paige Stoner of Charlottesville, Ariz., who covered the 26.2 mile course in 2:26:02. She was followed by Lauren Hurley of Boulder, Colo. (2:27:41), Elaina Tabb of Boston, Mass. (2:28:04) and Bria Wetsch of Centennial, Colo. (2:28:35). Stoner’s mile pace 5:34.

Just five minutes behind the first place finisher was the 28-yearold Tuxbury, who finished the course in 2:31::29, a 5:47 mile pace.

On/ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea told High Country Sports that Annmarie’s work ethic has been propelling her forward since college.

“Since graduating college, Annmarie has taken huge strides as she shifted her focus to longer distances on the roads,” said Rea. “In May of 2021 she finished 7th at the US 25k Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich. She followed that up in the fall of 2021 with another top 10 U.S. Championship finish, a 10th place showing at the 20k Championships, as well as a personal best of 1:12:09 for the half marathon.

“In 2022, Annmarie ran 2:38 at the Boston Marathon and turned around 6 weeks later to run 2:39 and take the win at the Vermont City Marathon,” Rea added. :Most recently, she won the Hartford Half Marathon, nearly running another personal best with her 1:12:40 finish. We are excited to have Annmarie on our team. Along with another set of eyes on her training from our coaches and the benefits of learning from other team members here at ZAP, we think Annmarie has a bright future ahead of her.”

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Boy, can he run — and RUN is in his last name. And, he has given us many a thrill on the gridiron these last five years.

All-Conference running back Camerun Peoples announced on Nov. 29 via Twitter that he is foregoing another year of collegiate eligibility and making himself available to the NFL Draft next spring.

Peoples’ short message on the Twitter post read, “Watch me Turn my Dreams to Reality. 6 out.” The No. 6, of course, referring to his jersey number.

Below the short message was a letter addressed to “AppNation.”

“What a journey it’s been. From the first day I stepped foot in this amazing town of Boone I knew this was the place I wanted to be! You took me in with open arms and treated me like family. You’ve cheered me on when I’ve been my best and supported me at my worst! To all the fans of App Nation, I am extremely grateful for all the love you’ve shown.

“Playing in that Black and Gold means the world! God blessed me with the opportunity and showed me that with hard work and patience, anything can be achieved! Thanks to all the coaches who gave me a chance! To my teammates, I will forever cherish all the moments we’ve shared, all of the victories, all of the laughs, even the moments where things didn’t go our way! I love every single one of y’all like a brother.

“Special thanks to Adam Turner, Reggie Hunt, Pastor Solomon, Dr. Coop, and Rob Carlisle guiding me both mentally and spiritually. I’ll forever be grateful for all the help.

“To my family, I love y’all forever! Thank you for all of the guidance, love and support that you’ve given me all of my life. All I’ve ever wanted to do is make y’all proud. Y’all would give y’all last just to make sure I’m okay. It’s time for me to return the favor!

With that being said, I’m excited to announce that I am declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft! Go App!”

And his signature is affixed to the bottom of the graphic.

Various career notes and statistics, courtesy of App State Sports:

Career entering 2022: Reese’s Senior Bowl selection in 2022 … In 36 career games (15 starts), totaled 2,830 rushing yards, 33 rushing TDs, nine 100-yard games and a school-record 6.22 yards-per-carry average (topping the previous record of 6.13 from Jalin Moore, with a minimum of 300 career attempts) … With 2,830 career rushing yards, finished 10th in program history (and fourth among App State players who competed in the FBS era) … Capped a 1,124-yard rushing season in 2020 with 317 yards and five touchdowns in the Myrtle Beach Bowl — a performance that set NCAA’s single-game bowl record for rushing yards, broke the school record for single-game rushing yards, tied the NCAA bowl record for rushing TDs and tied the school record for rushing touchdowns … Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award candidate in 2020 after scoring a 63-yard TD as a (redshirting) true freshman in 2018 bowl win but suffering a torn ACL in his right knee on a 17-yard run in the 2019 opener … Tied for seventh in school history (with Jalin Moore) with 33 career rushing TDs.

2022: Appeared in nine games and made six starts … Rushed for 593 yards on 101 attempts (5.9 average) and five TDs … Had three 100-yard games, with 168 yards (with two TDs on 23 rushes) against Georgia State, 112 yards (on 19 attempts) at Texas A&M and 102 yards (with a 73-yard TD) on four carries against The Citadel … Had a 48-yard run on the final drive to help clinch the win at No. 6 Texas A&M … Helped tie UNC game with 38-yard touchdown run … In the Georgia State win, after returning from a non-football injury that sidelined him against Texas State, scored on runs of 16 and 7 yards as App State rushed for 404 yards … Also scored a touchdown against JMU and topped 75 yards against Troy … Caught six passes for 43 yards … Preseason watch lists for the Doak Walker Award and East-West Shrine Bowl.

2021: All-Sun Belt second team from the league and first team from PFF College … Played in 12 of 14 games and made four starts (first four games) at running back … Finished season with 926 rushing yards (No. 3 in Sun Belt) and 14 rushing touchdowns (No. 1 in the Sun Belt) on 166 attempts … Ranked No. 3 in the Sun Belt at 77.2 rushing yards a game … Had 100-yard games against ECU (100), Arkansas State (116) and WKU (101) to go along with 75-plus yards against Miami (95), Elon (80), Marshall (78), ULM (82) and South Alabama (90) … Scored three first-half touchdowns in the win against Marshall and had two-TD games against ECU, Elon Coastal Carolina and ULM … After missing two straight games, returned to lineup against Coastal Carolina and scored twice, including on a 43-yard run that tied the game late in the third quarter of a 30-27 victory … Preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award.

2020: Rushed for 1,124 yards (No. 1 in Sun Belt, No. 10 nationally) and 12 touchdowns (T-No. 1 in Sun Belt) in 11 games (five starts), with an average of 6.7 yards per carry, by ending season with a school-record and NCAA bowl-record 317 rushing yards (on just 22 attempts) in the 56-28 win against North Texas in the Myrtle Beach Bowl … Five rushing touchdowns tied the all-time bowl record held by six other players, including Barry Sanders, and tied the school record also held by John Settle (vs. Davidson in 1986) … Beat records previously held by Armanti Edwards (313 yards set in the 2007 FCS semifinals vs. Richmond) and Georgia Tech’s P.J. Daniels (bowl-record 307 yards in the 2004 Humanitarian Bowl) … In this millennium, only FBS player to rush for more than 300 yards and score five rushing TDs on less than 25 carries … Tied Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson for the FBS lead in rushes of 50 or more yards (five) in 2020 and led the nation with four rushes of 60-plus yards … Second-team All-Sun Belt from the league and first team by Phil Steele … Led Sun Belt in rushing yards per game (102.2) and finished 237 yards ahead of the Sun Belt’s No. 2 rusher … Had three runs of at least 62 yards (non-scoring run of 76, plus TDs of 64 and 62) against North Texas … Made the first start of his career at Coastal Carolina in App State’s eighth game and started the final five games of the season after being the third back to get a carry in the 2020 opener … Totaled 758 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in five starts to end the season … Helped App State extend its streak to an FBS-best nine straight years with a 1,000-yard back even though he entered the bowl needing 193 yards to reach that milestone … Watch List for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award as he returned from an injury to open the 2019 season … In first career start at Coastal Carolina, had 27 rushes for 178 yards (170 by halftime) before having a 63-yard TD run on his second carry of a 10-rush, 95-yard game against Troy … Rushed for 99 yards with a TD against Louisiana in the home final and added 69 yards at Georgia Southern in the regular-season finale … Missed the Campbell game but saw an increased workload as the season progressed due to injuries involving senior Marcus Williams Jr. and junior Daetrich Harrington … Tied Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson for the FBS lead in rushes of 50 or more yards (five) in 2020 and led the nation with four rushes of 60-plus yards … In this millennium, only FBS player to rush for more than 300 yards and score five rushing TDs on less than 25 carries.

2019: Played in one game, rushing three times for 23 yards and suffering a season-ending knee injury at the end of a 17-yard run in the opener against ETSU … In the preseason, named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year by Lindy’s.

2018: Officially a redshirt season after appearing in three games as a true freshman running back … Totaled 17 carries for 164 yards (9.6 average) and two touchdowns in appearances against Gardner-Webb, Texas State and Middle Tennessee in the New Orleans Bowl … Scored on a 63-yard run in the New Orleans Bowl and posted his first career touchdown on a 9-yard run at Texas State … Finished with nine carries for 53 yards against Gardner-Webb, five carries for 42 yards against Texas State and three carries for 69 yards against Middle Tennessee … Had the third-longest run of the season by a Sun Belt true freshman.

High School: Rushed for 1,672 yards and 21 touchdowns on 230 carries as a senior. Also had one punt return for a touchdown, one kickoff return for a touchdown, three catches for 45 yards and 2,082 all-purpose yards … A three-year starter who played for coach Kris Herron … Rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns in a playoff win before Central closed an 8-4 season with a second-round loss the following weekend … Had a game with 326 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries as a senior … Rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports.

Personal: Born Sept. 14, 1999 … Son of Revish Bardwell Peoples and Lakenya Cosby.

By David Rogers. MANCHESTER, Conn. — In elite distance running’s lingo, the 2022 Manchester Road Race saw a “brawling” finish on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24. Only three seconds separated Provo, Utah’s Connor Mantz, who crossed the line first in 21:04 and Blowing Rock, N.C.’s Andrew Colley, fourth in 21:07 — all after running 4.748 miles with a few elevation changes between the start and finish.

In between Mantz and Colley were Morgan Beadlescomb of Boston, Mass. (No. 2, 21:05) and Wesley Kiptoo of Flagstaff, Ariz. (No. 3, 21:06). It was the 86th running of the Manchester Road Race, which was first held in 1927, when only 12 athletes competed.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, more than 10,000 entries ran or walked in support of muscular dystrophy research and various local charities. “Manchester,” as the race is commonly called and staged in a town of just over 35,000 in population, is believed to be the nation’s second-oldest competitive road racing event (after the Boston Marathon).

From the mass of humanity that started the race, the lead pack quickly narrowed down to approximately 50 runners before being narrowed down even more, to around 20 halfway through. By the last mile, that lead group was down to seven, including Colley, before Mantz took charge with his patented kick. The former Brigham Young University cross country star won back to back titles in the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Earlier this year, Mantz won the USATF 20k Championships in New Haven, Conn., and placed second in the USATF 8k Championships in Kingsport, Tenn. That is how formidable this field of athletes was.

This year’s Manchester race may have been described as “brawling,” but there were no fisticuffs at the end, only panting smiles, handshakes and a couple of hugs or leaning against one another for support. The top five finishers in the Men’s Division broke the course record of 21:16 set in 2018, by Edward Cheserek of Kenya.

Colley, who is a member of the Blowing Rock-based ON/ZAP Endurance elite running team, was joined on the day by teammates Ryan Ford (who finished No. 12, 21:38), Dan Schaffer (No. 14, 21:50) and Eric van der Els (No. 16, 21:56).

While Mantz was the overall winner and the top finisher in the Men’s 19-29 age category, Colley captured first place honors in the 30-39 age group, according to the race results website.

The top female finisher for the race also traveled to Connecticut from the High Country region. That was Weini Kelati of Johnson City, Tenn., in 23:39, slightly slower than her winning time a year earlier, in 22:55.

Joining the ZAP Endurance team just a few months ago seems to be working for van der Els, who ran the Manchester Road Race in 2021, 21 seconds slower than this year’s finishing time. Having competed collegiately for the University of Connecticut, he has ties to the area.

Schaffer is similarly familiar with the Northeast U.S., having competed at Binghamton University in New York, roughly 175 miles directly west of Manchester. Before joining ZAP, Ford competed for the University of Tennessee-Martin and Iowa State University. Colley was a 5-time All-American and 11-time All-ACC athlete while competing for North Carolina State University, from where he graduated in 2014 and joined the ZAP team the same year.

The top 25 finishers in each of Manchester’s Male and Female divisions won cash awards, including $7,000 for first place. Colley’s fourth place finish earned him $2,000, while Ford at No. 12 took home $300, Schaffer at No. 14, $200, and van der Els at No. 16, $150.

Ford, Schaffer and van der Els are all first year members of the ON/ZAP Endurance team and were running their second professional event after debuting in the USATF Men’s 5k Road Championship in New York City on Nov. 5.

“I am really proud of our guys’ performances and especially pleased for Andrew Colley and his progression since injuries plagued him in 2016-17,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea. “When you consider that more than 10,000 runners competed in this race and that included maybe two dozen world class runners and potential Olympians in the men’s division, for ZAP, Blowing Rock and the High Country to have four of the top 16 finishers in this historic race is pretty special. And that five of the runners finished ahead of the course record well, that is astonishing.”

By David Rogers. BALTIMORE, Md. — A defensive battle finally that was knotted at 3-3 after three quarters of play saw host Baltimore erupt for 10 points in the final period to defeat the Carolina Panthers at M & T Stadium, 13-3, in front of reported paid attendance of 70,667 predominantly Ravens fans.

After exchanging 32-yard field goals — Baltimore’s Justin Tucker in the second quarter and Carolina’s Eddie Piniero in the third — the Ravens added a 37-yard field goal by Tucker early in the final stanza. Following Baltimore’s kickoff, on Carolina’s first play from scrimmage a Baker Mayfield pass to Shi Smith along the right sideline was completed, but the ball was ripped away by Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters. The call on the field by the game officials was that Smith was down before the ball came out, but a video review (after Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh challenged) reversed the call and that the Ravens recovered what was ruled a fumble.

It took just two plays and 58 seconds for quarterback Lamar Jackson to get his offense across the short field, from the Carolina 31 yard line. On the first play, running back Kenyon Drake was pushed out of bounds after a 29-yard run around the left side. A defensive offsides penalty against the Panthers moved the ball half the distance to the goal line, to the one-yard line, and it was from there that Jackson punched it in on a keeper for the game’s final points.

Harbaugh’s assessment when talking with reports was candid.

“It was a workman like win, it was a team win. It wasn’t pretty, but our defense stepped up in a big way, controlling the run and getting the turnovers. (The} offense was able to maintain time of possession. We could have done better at the end in the fourth quarter to put (the game) away certainly, but I thought they got the key score in the fourth quarter that separated us,” said the veteran Baltimore coach.

In the other media room, Carolina head coach Steve Wilks said,  “All the credit to the Ravens. They made plays down the stretch, and we did not. I thought we played a great half of football. But just not enough. We have to learn how to finish, that’s the key thing with us. We have to protect the football down the stretch. (We had) too many turnovers in the fourth quarter.”

Carolina will try to get back on track Nov. 27 when the Denver Broncos visit Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, with a 1 p.m. kickoff.

SELECTED TEAM STATS

• Total Net Yards – CAR 205, BAL 308
• Net Yards Rushing – CAR 36, BAL 115
• Net Yards Passing – CAR 169, BAL 193
• Penalties – CAR 9/66, BAL 10/93
• Turnovers – CAR 3, BAL 1
• Time of Possession – CAR 26:46, BAL 33:14
• 3rd Down Conversions – CAR 3/12 (25%), BAL 6/15 (40%)
• 4th Down Conversions – CAR 0/1 (0%), BAL 0/0 (0%)

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• BAL Lamar Jackson 24-33, 209 yards, 3 sacks, 1 INT
• CAR Baker Mayfield 21-33, 196 yards, 4 sacks, 2 INTs

Rushing

• BAL Kenyon Drake 10 carries, 46 yards
• BAL Lamar Jackson 11 carries, 31 yards, 1 TD
• CAR D’Onta Foreman 11 carries, 24 yards

Receiving

• BAL Demarcus Robinson 9 catches 128 yards
• CAR Terence Marshall, Jr. 3 catches, 76 yards
• BAL Mark Andrews 6 catches, 63 yards

 

 

By David Rogers. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For the second time this season, a Denver Broncos rookie receiver has scored a touchdown on his first NFL catch. And on Nov. 13, it was a 66-yard catch and run by Appalachian State alum Jalen Virgil.

An undrafted free agent, Virgil had a strong preseason and was the only UDFA to make the Broncos’ final 53-man roster. He spent most of the fall on the inactive list come gameday, but was recently elevated because of injuries to other wide receivers higher on the depth chart.

Passing from his own 25-yardline, Broncos quarterback Russell

Wilson found Virgil open just past midfield, the former Mountaineer speedster gathering the ball in at the Titans’ 42-yardline, just inside the left sideline. From there it was simply a sprint to the end zone and with 10.29-second sprinter’s speed, few NFL players are fast enough to keep up, much less catch him.

Earlier in the season, Greg Dulcich, a rookie tight end selected by the Broncos out of UCLA had a similar experience with a touchdown on his first NFL catch. After starting the season on injured reserve, Dulcich was activated for Week 6 and made a 39-yard TD catch against the Los Angeles Chargers.

To see a video replay of Virgil’s catch and run for a TD, CLICK HERE, courtesy of ESPN and CBS.

By David Rogers. MONTEREY BAY, Calif. — Three North Carolina women were among the Top 10 finishers of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon in California on Nov. 13, including two athletes from Blowing Rock’s On/ZAP Endurance elite running team.

Tristin Van Ord was formerly a star long distance performer at Appalachian State University, now training and competing with ZAP Endurance. She finished fourth among the 4,709 athletes competing in the Women’s Division, with a time of 1:13.30, a sizzling 5:36 minutes per mile pace. Whitney Macon was just over two minutes behind her ZAP teammate, in seventh place, recording a time of 1:15.52 (5:47).

The other North Carolina woman competing in the revival of the Monterey Bay Half Marathon after a three-year COVID-19 induced hiatus was Sarah Naibei, of Chapel Hill, in sixth (1:14.37, 5:41 mile pace).

The top two finishers in the Women’s Division were athletes from Pacific Palisades, Calif., with the title and $4,000 in first place money going to Joyline Chemutai, in 1:10.58. Second place went to Caren Maiyo (1:12.33, 5:32). Diane Nukuri of Flagstaff, Ariz., also finished just ahead of Van Ord, in 1:13.08. Following Van Ord in fifth place was Maor Tiyouri, of Boulder, Colo.

According to ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea, Van Ord and Macon are just beginning preparations for the upcoming marathon season and Monterey Bay was their competitive “kickoff.”

“Tristin and Whitney will both run in the Houston (Texas) Marathon on Jan. 15, 2023,” said Rea. “Today’s Monterey Bay Half Marathon performances are an excellent start for them in their marathon prep.”

In the Men’s Division, 4,710 athletes completed the course in the reserved time of just over four hours (in both the men’s and women’s categories, hundreds more were entered, but either did not complete the course or did not complete it within the reserved time). The top male finisher was David Bett, also of Pacific Palisades (a northwest Los Angeles suburb), in 1:02.13 (4:44 minutes per mile).