By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Jumping out to three early goals helped, but then Watauga women’s lacrosse team had to overcome a late first half lull that saw North Lincoln tighten the deficit. With a second half barrage of goals, the Pioneers raced to a convincing, 12-4 win on March 20 on the Leigh Cooper Wallace athletic field.
BONUS PHOTOS @ BOTTOM OF ARTICLE
Aidan Stroud (6) passes the ball to an attacking teammate from behind the net on March 20 vs. North Lincoln. Photographic image by David Rogers
Seven Pioneers found the scoring column against the Knights, led by Lilly Farley’s three goals and two each from Juliet Eagles, Juna Gersonde, and Katie Kriley. Other goals came on attacks by Aiden Stroud, Karla Ruiz Alegria, and Maddie Ellis.
Watauga head coach Julia Harrison seemed pleased by her team’s performance.
“We figured coming in that our teams would be evenly matched, so the 12-4 result is a pleasant surprise. The most impressive thing about this win was the improvements we have made on defense, as well as the movements of players when they don’t have the ball to create space and opportunities,” said Harrison.
BONUS PHOTOS (all photographic images by David Rogers)
That’s Watauga attacker Lilly Farley (head visible behind No. 15 Rachel Ingram) putting an early goal past the North Lincoln goalkeeper on March 20.Watauga’s Lilly Farley puts an evasive move on a North Lincoln defender and looks to attack the net on March 20.Macyn Farrington (8) is in counterattack mode on March 20 against North Lincoln at Leigh Cooper Wallace Field.Watauga’s Juna Gersonde brings the ball upfield aiming to score on March 20 against North Lincoln.With Maddie Ellis (7) moving off the ball in support to clear space, Juna Gersonde (9) sees an attack opportunity developing on March 20 vs. North Lincoln in Watauga’s 12-4 win.
By David Rogers. MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, Calif. — By sweeping the top two places in the Snowboard-Cross event, Lilly Kamp (No. 1) and Nicole Yoos (No. 2) propelled Lees-McRae College to first place in the Alpine Combined women’s team competition on March 9 at the 2023 U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboarding Championships hosted by Mammoth Mountain.
Of the 31 women qualified to compete in the Alpine Combined competition, Lees-McRae’s team championship bid was augmented by Lindsey Fletcher’s No. 14 finish.
Women’s Team Standings, Alpine Combined
Lees-McRae
University of Nevada-Reno
California State University=Long Beach
University of Virginia
University of California-Berkeley
James Madison University
The Claremont Colleges (Calif.)
San Diego State University
University of Southern California
Amherst College (Mass.)
Northern Arizona University
University of Minnesota-Duluth
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Boston University
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Bobcat Men Finish No. 2
On the men’s side, Lees-McRae junior Kenneth Stanford placed second among the 50 riders qualified to compete in the Boarder-Cross nationals event, helping Lees-McRae to a second place finish in the Boarder-cross National Championships.
Nineteen men’s teams from schools across the U.S. qualified to compete in the 2023 nationals in the Alpine snowboarding events. Although Nevada-Reno’s highest finisher was at No. 4, the competing team closest to Mammoth, geographically (287 miles), put five riders in the top 12 to capture first place in the team competition.
Lees-McRae’s team also exhibited some roster depth in claiming the No. 2 team placing, with Blake Broussard at No. 11, Chance Markland at No. 13, and Aiden Garner at No. 23, all placing in the top half of the 50-man field.
Men’s Team Standings, Alpine Combined
University of Nevada-Reno
Lees-McRae College (N.C.)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Springfield College (Mass.)
James Madison University (Va.)
University of Virginia
California State University-Sacramento
California State University-Long Beach
Westminster College (Utah)
Boston University
University of Minnesota-Duluth
University of Southern California
University of North Carolina-Charlotte
Amherst College
The Claremont Colleges
University of California-Davis
University of Maine-Farmington
Columbia University (N.Y.)
San Diego State University
In qualifying for Nationals, the Lees-McRae men’s and women’s teams both finished No. 1 in their respective divisions at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, a sub-organization event of the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association. The Lees-McRae head coach is Aaron Maas.
By Matt Present. CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a game that featured six lead changes, CJ Boyd’s bases clearing double in the seventh inning proved to be the decisive blow, as App State outlasted Marshall, 9-8, to claim the series win at GoMart Ballpark.
Boyd finished the ballgame going 4-for-4, with 5 RBIs, after returning to the lineup earlier this week, after missing several weeks due to injury.
Marshall threatened to draw even in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Mountaineers rose to the occasion. With runners at the corners and one out, and a run in, the Herd attempted a safety squeeze, but App State tagged out the tying run at the plate. Then with two on, and two out, and a 2-0 count, the Mountaineers turned to freshman Jackson Steensma, who got a groundout to end the inning.
Steensma (save, 2) went on to work 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out three, to earn the save. Not only did Steensma escape trouble in the seventh inning, he stranded a runner in scoring position in the eighth, and escaped a bases loaded jam in the ninth to seal the victory.
App State (10-7, 2-0) proved their resilience throughout the ballgame. After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, the Mountaineers drew even in the second on a Boyd solo home run.
After the Thundering Herd (8-8, 0-2) regained the lead in the third, Golston Gillespie delivered a two-run home run for the Mountaineers, to put them in front, 3-2. The home run was Gillespie’s fifth of the season, and his fourth in the last six games.
With the score tied 3-3 in the fifth inning, Austin St. Laurent led the inning off with a double to the wall in left field, and three batters later Boyd plated St. Laurent with a double of his own.
Marshall re-gained the advantage not long after with a three-run home run from Owen Ayers in the bottom of the fifth inning.
App State battled back with a run in the sixth on an Andrew Terrell RBI single to make it a 6-5 Marshall advantage. Then in the seventh, the Mountaineers loaded the bases on walks to St. Laurent and Hayden Cross, sandwiched around a Luke Drumheller single. That set up Boyd who ripped a double into the left field corner for his third extra-base hit of the game to put the Mountaineers up 8-6.
App State will go for the series sweep on Sunday, with first pitch in the finale set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Centerfielder Mary Pierce Barnes went 3-for-3 and App State teammates Taylor Thorp and Ambry Lucas clubbed a pair of doubles on March 18, but it wasn’t near enough firepower to overcome a late innings hitting barrage by Marshall at Sywassink/Lloyd Field. The Thundering Herd won the Sun Belt Conference season opener, 8-0.
When a team comes into a softball game with six of nine batters on the lineup card sporting .337 batting averages or better, including four over .400, you might expect a slugfest a-comin’. It took awhile, but Marshall didn’t disappoint in that regard.
Marshall catcher Autumn Owen is all smiles as she completes her home run journey in the top of the 6th inning at Appalachian State on March 18. Photographic image by David Rogers
The Mountaineers’ starting pitcher, Kaylie Northrop, held the visitors to just 2 runs through the first four innings, but a 4-run explosion by the Herd in the top of the 5th inning chased the junior transfer from UNLV and kept on pummeling the ball when reliever Delani Buckner took command of the circle.
Marshall catcher Autumn Owen, a junior from Mill Spring, N.C., capped a big day at the plate with a 2-RBI home run in the top of the 6th inning to all but put the game out of reach for the Mountaineers. Owen’s stat line for the day: 3-for-4, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs.
The Herd’s leadoff batter, sophomore rightfielder Alex Coleman, is also a North Carolina native (Asheboro). Coleman went 1-for-3 on the day, scoring a run and with two stolen bases.
Kaylie Northrop (24) started in the circle for the Mountaineers on March 18, limiting Marshall batters to just two runs in the first four innings before giving up 3 more in the top half of the 5th on March 18. Photographic image by David Rogers
Marshall’s redshirt senior starting pitcher Sydney Nester went the distance and earned the win, limiting the Mountaineers to no runs on six hits, walking five and striking out four. Of the 28 batters she faced, five App State batters flied out while eight grounded out. A native of Hillsville, Va., Nester graduated with a degree in sports management from NC State, in just three years, before starting work on a Master’s degree in communication studies at Marshall while using her final years of athletic eligibility.
Marshall starting pitcher Sydney Nester went the distance on March 18 in the Thundering Herd’s 8-0 shutout over App State. Photographic image by David Rogers
After the game, Mountaineer head coach Shelly Hoerner was disappointed in her team’s performance, especially in light of going 15-6 before the opening of Sun Belt play.
“Marshall came through in critical situations and, obviously, we didn’t,” said Hoerner, now in her sixth year at the helm of the Mountaineers’ program. “We had the bases loaded. We had runners in scoring position, but we didn’t do a very good job of situational hitting. It is a different game when you play clean in the field and I think a couple of errors cost us.
“I always say that to win a softball game, you need to win at least two of the three basic elements: pitching, hitting and defense,” she said. “We didn’t win any of the three. Marshall did a good job in situational hitting and we didn’t. Credit to them. They are a very good team. I thought Kaylie Northrop pitched well early on, but we need to back our pitchers up with hitting and defense, too.”
A Marshall baserunner just beats the throw into second base ahead of App State second baseman Sidney Martin’s (31 tag. Photographic image by David Rogers
If it was even possible, the Mountaineer bats were colder than the 37-degree weather braved by an estimated crowd approaching 300 softball fans, including a large contingent of Marshall supporters. Because of Friday evening’s drenching rain, the originally scheduled 2 p.m. first pitch for the opener of league play (that also served as Parents Day for the Mountaineers) was moved to 4 p.m., to allow the outfield more time to dry out and become playable. With the late afternoon start, the field conditions may have been drier but the temperatures dropped precipitously as the game wore on. As a result, the second half of what was scheduled as a doubleheader was cancelled.
The Mountaineers are hoping for warmer and drier conditions on Tuesday, March 21 and Wednesday, March 22, when they host North Carolina (6 p.m.) and North Carolina A&T (4 p.m.), respectively, for non-conference tilts.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Ongoing inclement weather adversely impacted local athletic competitions, but there is some news to report from outside the area.
COLLEGE
March 16-17 — App State Wrestling @ NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
None of the App State wrestlers made it out of the Championship bracket’s round 1, nor out of the Consolation bracket’s Round 1, but it hardly put a damper on the Mountaineers’ record-breaking season. Under head coach John Mark Bentley, the program continues to show growth while dominating Southern Conference competition. Noteworthy in Round 1 of the Championship bracket were the close, 3-2 losses by Caleb Smith (125 lb. weight class) and Tommy Askey (157) to wrestlers from bigger NCAA Division I schools (West Virginia and Michigan, respectively).
125 lb. – Caleb Smith (26-7)
Championship Rd. 1 – lost to Killian Cardinale (West Virginia), by Decision 3-2
Consolation Rd. 1 – lost to Michael DeAugstino (Northwestern), by Decision 7-2
133 lb. – Ethan Oakiey (21-13)
Preliminary Rd. – defeated McGwire Midkiff (North Dakota State), by Decision 5-3
Championship Rd. 1 – lost to Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), by Major Decision 12-3
Consolation Rd. 1 – lost to Joe Heilmann (Rutgers) by Decision 8-4
157 lb. – Tommy Askey (29-13)
Championship Rd. 1 – lost to Will Lewan (Michigan), Decision 3-2
Consolation Rd. 1 – lost to Jason Kraisser (Iowa State), by Decision 7-2
165 lb. – Will Formato (28-10)
 Championship Rd. 1 – lost to Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), by Decision 7-2
Consolation Rd. 1 – lost to Tanner Cook (South Dakota State), by Fall 1:11
174 lb. – Will Miller (24-12)
Preliminary Rd. – lost to John Worthing (Clarion), by Decision 8-4
Preliminary Rd. – lost to Jackson Turley (Rutgers), by Decision 12-6
App State Baseball
March 17 – Defeated Marshall in Charleston, W.Va., 12-4, in the Mountaineers’ Sun Belt Conference season opener. App State scored their 12 runs on 15 hits, led by a home run (Golston Gillespie) and four doubles by Xavier Moronta, Hunter Wilder, and Andrew Terrell (2). The Mountaineers took advantage of an ample amount of “small ball,” including stolen bases by Grey LaSpaluto, Luke Drumheller, Hayden Cross, Wilder, and Terrell (2). Pitcher Xander Hamilton picked up the win in six strong innings as the starter. Although App State picked up single runs in innings 1,5,6,7, and 8, the Mountaineers put the game on ice with a 7-run 9th inning.
PROFESSIONAL
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers have been busy in the free agent market, according to sources ranging from ESPN to NFL.com. Among the signings are some significant names:
Strengthened the QB position by signing Andy Dalton (formerly New Orleans) to a 2-year, $11 million deal that includes $8 million guaranteed.
Strengthened the RB position by signing Miles Sanders (formerly Philadelphia) to a reportedly 4-year, $25.4 million deal that includes $13 million guaranteed.
Addressed TE position by signing Hayden Hurst (formerly Cincinnati) to a 3-year, $21.75 million deal, including $13 million guaranteed.
Other signings include OL Justin McCray (Houston), Center Bradley Bozeman (Carolina), DL Shy Tuttle (New Orleans), DL DeShawn Williams (Denver), and Safety Vonn Bell (Cincinnati)
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If your head is spinning from all of the cancellations and postponements in the High Country sports world because of inclement weather, join the club! Here are summary results from recent competitions.
RECENT SCORES AND RESULTS
App State Wrestling @ NCAA Division I Championships in Tulsa on March 16
Round 1, 125 lbs. – No. 5 Caleb Smith (APP) lost to No. 28 Killian Cardinale (W. Virginia), by Decision, 3-2
Round 1, 133 lbs. – No. 33 Ethan Oakley (APP) lost to No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), by Major Decision, 12-3
Round 1, 157 lbs. – No. 24 Tommy Askey (App) lost to No. 9 Will Lewan (Michigan), by Decision, 3-2
Round 1, 165 lbs. – No. 27 Will Formato (APP) lost to No. 6 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa), by Decision, 7-2
ZAP Endurance
March 11 — Tyler Pennel finished No. 1 in the Oskar Blues 4-Mile, setting a new course record of 18:43, and almost five minutes ahead of the second place finisher. He ran a 4:41 mile pace for the four miles in Brevard, N.C.
App State Baseball
March 14 — lost to West Virginia, 18-1
March 15 — lost to West Virginia, 18-5
Watauga Baseball
March 15 — lost to Weddington, 5-2. The Pioneers scored first, but could not overcome six errors in the field.
App State Men’s Golf
March 14 — Finished No. 3 in the Bash at the Beach tournament in North Myrtle Beach (Surf Golf & Beach Club), in an 18-team tournament. Oral Roberts was No. 1, University of Connecticut was No. 2, then App State at No. 3 and Long Island Univ. at No. 4. In order of finish, other schools competing were Delaware, Utah Valley, Queens, Dayton, Rhode Island, Rider, Presbyterian, Navy, Bucknell, Holy Cross, App State B, North Carolina A & T, North Carolina Central, and Maryland-Eastern shore.
App State Softball @ Middle Tennessee Univ. tournament
By Bobby Neal for App State Sports. MURFREESBORO, TN – App State softball finished 4-1 at the MTSU Invitational after a pair of March 12 wins against Green Bay, 11-6, and Western Illinois, 3-0.
The Mountaineers have earned a run in the first inning in nine of their last 14 contests, going 9-0 this season when they score in the opening frame. The squad achieved this in both of its victories on Sunday.
Game 1 Recap (App State 11, Green Bay 6)
All nine starters posted a hit in the Mountaineers’ first win of the day, totaling 12 in the team’s second straight double-digit game in the runs column.
App State scored a combined 21 runs in its two games against Green Bay, marking the most over a two-game stretch since April 12, 2022, when the squad overtook N.C. Central in both games of a doubleheader.
The Mountaineers started the contest by going up 5-0 in the first two innings. Taylor Thorp started the powerful offensive output by bringing in Kayt Houston with an RBI single for the second consecutive game as the team’s first run.
Houston singled to bring in Abby Cunningham and Ambry Lucas to open the top of the second, and ran home herself moments later along with Mary Pierce Barnes, thanks to a sac fly from Sidney Martin.
The Phoenix made a statement in the bottom of the fourth when Samantha Saloun hit a grand slam to cut the lead to one.
At the top of the fifth, McKenzie McCullen inched her team ahead with an RBI single that brought in Thorp, who had just doubled. App State led, 6-4, at the end of the fifth.
In the sixth inning, the Mountaineers struck gold at the plate, bringing in five runs to stamp the lead at seven. Barnes doubled down the left-field line after a single by Cunningham to get things started. Moments later, Martin punched a two-run double, and was brought in herself by way of a Thorp single on the next at-bat. LaRousa finished the strong inning with an RBI single as Thorp ran home.
Green Bay picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough as App State improved its record to 3-1 for the weekend.
Sejal Neas earned her fifth win of the year after relieving Delani Buckner in the fourth inning. Neas saw 18 batters and allowed only one earned run.
Game 2 Recap (App State 3, Western Illinois 0)
LaRousa batted in all three runs as the Mountaineers picked up their fifth shutout of the season. Kaylie Northrop pitched all seven and struck out six batters.
App State did not allow a hit by the Leathernecks in the last five innings to hold its three-run lead that was gained in the top of the third.
LaRousa singled to the left side to bring in Thorp and Martin in the top of the first. She followed that with a double to right-field in the third to bring in McCullen in what would be the only runs scored by either team.
Northrop pitched her second shutout of the season as her team won its third straight game.
Up Next
App State will host six consecutive home games, starting with a ranked matchup against No. 11 Virginia Tech on March 15 at 5 p.m.
By Matt Present for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – Golston Gillespie blasted a three-run home run to give the Mountaineers the lead in the first inning, but 24th ranked Campbell was able to pull away in the middle innings and take the series with a 12-6 win on March 11 at Smith Stadium. The series finale on Sunday has been canceled due to inclement weather.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning, Hayden Cross began a two-out rally with a walk. Austin St. Laurent then reached on an error, setting the stage for Gillespie, who belted his second long ball of the series to put App State (8-5) ahead, 3-2.
Hayden Cross avoids getting hit by a pitch on March 11 — just before getting on base. He scored on Golston Gillespie’s 3-run HR two batters later. Photographic image by David Rogers
Campbell (12-2) responded with three runs in the second inning, and pulled away with a grand slam in the fifth. The Camels also three more runs in the seventh.
The Mountaineers finished the ballgame strong, with impressive bullpen work from Skylar Brooks and Jackson Steensma. Brooks fired two scoreless innings, retiring all five batters he faced. Steensma followed with a scoreless ninth, picking up a strikeout. He has not allowed a run through six outings this season.
Redshirt junior righthander Chance Daquila gave up 4 runs on 3 hits in 6.1 innings pitching for the Campbell Fighting Camels on March 11 at Appalachian State. Photographic image by David Rogers
After adding a run in the seventh on a sac fly from pinch hitter Braxton Church, App State plated two more runs in the ninth inning. Vasili Kaloudis led off with a pinch-hit double into the right field corner and he scored two batters later on an RBI groundout from Andrew Terrell. Later in the inning, Xavier Moronta singled to right and Luke Drumheller walked, leading to an RBI double from Cross.
Moronta led the Mountaineers with three hits on the afternoon, raising his average to .370 on the season.
With the contest on Sunday canceled, the Mountaineers will return to action next week, when they take on West Virginia in a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday.
By Bobby Neal. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — App State softball improved its MTSU Invitational record to 2-1 on March 11 with a 10-0 performance against Green Bay.
The Mountaineers brought home 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning, their most in a frame since April 16, 2015, in a 20-3 victory over Radford. Those 10 runs against the Phoenix would be the only scores put up by either team throughout the game.
The last time App State scored 10 runs in a game was on April 12, 2022 in a win over N.C. Central.
Sejal Neas improved her record to 4-1 as her team earned its fourth shutout of the season. Neas struck out four batters and allowed only two hits as Kylie LaRousa held things down from the catcher slot.
After the Mountaineers forced a three-up, three-down top of the first, the squad came to the plate with aggression, tallying seven hits in the bottom of the inning. Kayt Houston was walked to start the inning, and Taylor Thorp singled to right-center to bring in Houston for the first of 10 runs. Thorp has batted in 11 runs this season, the second-most on the team.
Moments later, Addie Wray punched a two-run single, followed by a ground-rule double from LaRousa as McKenzie McCullen, Thorp and Kaley Coltrain reached home to make the score 5-0.
After an RBI from Barnes, the Black and Gold returned to the top of its lineup, leading to RBI singles by Houston, Sidney Martin, McCullen and Wray. The Mountaineers posted 15 at-bats in the first inning. Wray batted in three total runs through her two at-bats to lead the team.
The score differential allowed several non-starters to earn reps on both sides of the ball, as 17 Mountaineers saw the field.
Up Next
App State’s game against Western Illinois has been moved to Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. That will be the team’s fifth and final game of the MTSU Invitational, following a rematch with Green Bay at 11 a.m. ET.
By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With strong individual performances led by hurdler Davis Hunt and Josiah Railey in the men’s division and field events specialist Olivia Burroughs in the women’s division, Watauga’s track and field team showed well on March 11 in the Track Out — Meet Under the Lights 2023 event at Corvian Community School. Results provided by MilesplitNC.
Hunt won both hurdles events on the men’s side and Railey picked up firsts in both the long jump and triple jump, as well a 5th place in the high jump. Burroughs placed first in both the women’s discus and shot put, while picking up team points with a 7th place finish in the women’s long jump.
