The 2023 Sugar Mountain Adult Racing League’s 17th season completed its fifth week of the 2023 season on Monday, February 6.
Each team competes with six to eight racers and the times of the top four finishers on each team count towards the team score for that night.
Races began with the January 9th runs with the final runs being held on Monday, February 13th.
See the chart below for stats from each team as well as the leaderboard after week fifth:
By David Rogers. WAXHAW, N.C. — Charlotte area high school Marvin Ridge, Providence Senior, Ardrey Kell, and Myers Park may have dominated the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A Western Swimming Regionals at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center on Feb. 4, but swimmers from the Northwestern Conference, including Watauga and South Caldwell, achieved season and personal bests during the competition.
“We had a great Regional meet,” said Watauga head coach David Gragg. “We are just in a difficult region in a tough (4A) classification. I doubt many places in the country have the talent found in the 4A classification throughout North Carolina. For this event, we modified some of our men’s relays to cover some defections after the conference meet. All of our athletes worked really hard to get to this point (among the top 20-30 swimmers in each event from all of Western North Carolina). I am really proud of their accomplishments.”
For Watauga swimmers, there were several season and/or personal best times recorded by the Pioneer natators.
High School Personal Best times by:
Season Best Times by:
Here are the top three finishers in each event, noting the schools they represent and their performance times, as well as any Northwestern Conference competitor’s placing, time, and whether or not it was a season or personal best.
Women’s 200 Medley Relay
12. Watauga (1:56.17), team comprised of Lola Herring, Lauren Patterson, Athena Elliott, Virginia St. Clair
Men’s 200 Medley Relay
22. South Caldwell (1:55.12), team comprised of Sawyer Thompson, Skylar Shew, Owen Griffith, Nathan Hall
23. Watauga (1:55.81), team comprised of Ryan Wood, Trathan Gragg, Michael Makdad, Levi Temple
Women’s 200 Freestyle
Men’s 200 Freestyle
Women’s 200 Individual Medley
21. Maggie Cheves, Watauga (2:16.56) – PERSONAL BEST
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
Women’s 50 Freestyle
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Women’s 1M Diving
Men’s 1M Diving
Women’s 100 Butterfly
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Women’s 100 Freestyle
12. Virginia St. Clair, Watauga (55.36) – PERSONAL BEST
Men’s 100 Freestyle
Women’s 500 Freestyle
Men’s 500 Freestyle
Women’s 200 Free Relay
13. Watauga (1:43.58), team comprised of Lauren Patterson, Athena Elliott, Maggie Cheves, Virginia St. Clair
Men’s 200 Free Relay
20. South Caldwell (1:39.14), team comprised of Owen Griffith, Skylar Shew, Nathan Hall, Avery Annas
22. Watauga (1:40.48), team comprised of Michael Makdad, Levi Temple, Paul Gamiel, Ryan Wood
Women’s 100 BackstrokeÂ
8. Lauren Patterson, Watauga (57.08) – SEASON BEST
22. Maggie Cheves, Watauga (1:00.76)
Men’s 100 Backstroke
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
21. Avery Annas, South Caldwell (1:05.91)
Women’s 400 Free Relay
14. Watauga (3:54.46), team comprised of Maggie Cheves, Lola Herring, Athena Elliott, Virginia St. Clair
Men’s 400 Free Relay
20. South Caldwell (3:47.02), team comprised of Owen Griffith, Skyler Shew, Sawyer Thompson, Avery Annas
23. Watauga (3:49.84), team comprised of Ryan Wood, Trathan Gragg, Paul Gamiel, Michael Makdad
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In the Feb. 4 home-and-home rematch at the Holmes Convocation Center, in front of the season’s largest crowd (3,870), James Madison returned a “favor” in defeating Appalachian State, 63-57.
A first meeting on Jan. 7 saw the Mountaineers surprise the then nation’s No. 1-ranked scoring offense, limiting the Dukes to just 62 points while going on a tear, offensively, to win 71-62. With just over eight minutes to go in that Harrisonburg, Va. tilt, App State led by as many as 20 points before James Madison was able to close the gap, but the Dukes still fell way short of their season-long scoring average closer to 85 points per game, according to NCAA statistics.
But in the rematch, 36 percent free throw shooting by App State was unlikely to get the job done. The Mountaineers made only five of 14 shots from the charity stripe, nine points missed that would have made all the difference in the world.
But there were other shortcomings, too, to have made a difference. The Mountaineers’ three players coming off the bench in the on-court rotation are collectively credited with playing 40 minutes. Points scored by the trio? Zero. Christopher Mantis, Tamell Pearson and Dibaji Walker did take seven shots between them, but none fell through the hoop and kissed the net.
The Mountaineers’ bench performance is surprising when you consider App State’s different combinations of bench players came into the came ranked at No. 53 out of 352 NCAA D1 programs. Those “reserves” (all have also started games) rotating in have been averaging more than 24 points per game, according to stats maintained, regularly updated and published by the NCAA.
Nonetheless, there were thrills for the partisan home crowd, on a night when former head coach Bobby Cremins was among the spectators. Cremins was at the helm when App State made the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tournament in 1979, as a member of the Southern Conference. It was the first time App State had qualified for “The Big Dance,” otherwise known as “March Madness.” They have made it only two other times, in 2000 (head coach, Buzz Peterson) and 2021 (current head coach, Dustin Kerns).
Cremins and all the rest of the Holmes Center fans saw the Mountaineers dig a hole for themselves, going down by 14 points with 42 seconds left in the first half. App State guard Terence Harcum then offered a foreshadowing of what was to come after intermission when he drained a 3-pointer just three seconds before the halftime buzzer, narrowing the deficit to 11 points at the break.
Harcum hit another 3-pointer just 15 seconds into the second half to pick up where he left off. Another basket inside by freshman Justin Abson followed and suddenly the Mountaineers had closed the deficit to a manageable 6 points, 30-24.
JMU guard Takal Molson countered with a couple of made free throws, a layup and a 3-pointer to stretch the Dukes’ lead back out to 11 points, but App State’s C J Huntley and Donovan Gregory intermixed some baskets of their own to keep the Mountaineers in the hunt, at 37-30.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Harcum brought the Mountaineers to within one point, at 37-36, which also brought hope to the App State faithful raising the roof off the arena walls a smidgen in appreciation.
But the trail to another Sun Belt Conference win ran cold at that point. Good offensive production from the Dukes’ Molson, Tyree Ihenacho, Terrence Edwards, and Julian Wooden, along with disruptive defense vs. Mountaineer possessions down the stretch kept App State at bay.
With the loss, the Mountaineers’ season record fell to 13-12 overall and 6-6 in Sun Belt Conference play. They’ll look to improve on that Feb. 9 when they travel to Monroe, La., to face ULM (11-14 overall, 7-5 SBC). They stay on the road for a Feb. 11 tilt at South Alabama, in Mobile.
NOTEWORTHY
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — For the record, the Watauga women’s basketball team lost to Hibriten, 64-50, on Feb. 3, completing the regular season sweep for the host Panthers.
It was an athletic, highly physical and impassioned Hibriten quintet of seniors that took the floor at the start of the game on “Senior Night” for the Panthers. They set the tone early and imposed their close quarters contact style of play to great effect. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Watauga did not match the Panthers’ physicality and fell behind early.
The Pioneers played in “perfect storm” conditions. Not only did they seem unprepared for how physical the game evolved but they were playing with at least one leg in a bucket of cement, figuratively speaking. To say that Pioneer guards Kate Sears and Charlotte Torgerson were playing “under the weather” would be an understatement.
Sears was visibly in discomfort as she made a valiant attempt to fight through her illness and pull her teammates with her, but she nonetheless spent frequent, long stretches of time on the bench. To say she had an off night is hardly an exaggeration. It is rare that she is held scoreless in any period of a game, but that is what occurred in the first quarter. She eventually found the basket, mostly inside because her shots from long distance weren’t falling.
Said one teammate after the game of Sears, “I am surprised Kate didn’t vomit on the floor. Then there was this mucus… it was gross. Kate played bravely. She didn’t want to let the team down.”
Sears finished with 14 points. She was 0-for-3 from the foul line, a stat that says two things: (1) Sears was having an off night shooting because she is usually closer to perfect from the free throw line and (2) the officials were calling fewer fouls (given her drive-to-the-basket style, it is unusual for Sears to be awarded only three free throws).
Not quite as sick, apparently, Torgerson recorded a team-high 20 points, including three 3-pointers and 9-of-9 shooting from the foul line.
For Hibriten, senior guard Katie Story tallied a game-high 23 points, including a trio of 3-pointers and was successful on 6-of-7 free throws. Junior Emma Poarch wasn’t far behind with 18 points, also with three 3-pointers. Another senior, guard Zoey Walker added a couple more big shots from behind the arc, totaling 12 points on the night.
The ebb and flow of the contest mostly favored Hibriten throughout. Building on a 12-6 lead after the physical first quarter, the Panthers took a 24-18 lead into halftime. Coming out of intermission, Watauga briefly closed the gap in the third quarter — but it ended with the Pioneers still five points behind, 39-34.
Early in the final period, there was hope among the Pioneer faithful that the ship might be righted and Watauga could forge ahead. Three pointers by Torgerson and Julie Matheson helped close a 10-point deficit and pulled the Pioneers to within a single bucket, 44-42, but a subsequent 9-0 run by the Panthers all but squashed those hopes.
With time quickly evaporating, Watauga was forced to foul and hope that the Hibriten players would miss at the charity stripe in giving the ball back. The Pioneers sent the Panthers to the foul line for 11 foul shots in the fourth quarter, where they made eight of them.
Now 16-6 overall and 6-2 in Northwestern Conference play (both conference losses to Hibriten), Watauga will close out its season next week at Freedom on Feb. 7, then at home against Ashe County on Feb. 10.
Although both Hibriten and Watauga have identical 6-2 records in conference play, if both teams win out then the Panthers will own the tiebreaker in determining conference tournament seeding since both of the Pioneers’ losses were to their rivals from Lenoir.
By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — It is pure speculation — and maybe even folly — to suggest that a different trio of game officials would have resulted in a different outcome than Hibriten’s 62-49 men’s basketball win over visiting Watauga on Feb. 3.
And yet, when 56 fouls are called, producing 71 free throws, a total of five players fouling out, and a head coach awarded a technical for protesting a questionable call perhaps a bit too cynically, the scorekeepers are excused for having to unpack their slide rules and an abacus, to tally things up after the game.
The irony, of course, is that it was the NCHSAA’s “Appreciation Night” for game officials. Without question, arguably underpaid game officials need to be respected for their service and willingness to endure the sometimes over-the-top criticism. The games could not be played without them. In this case, players, coaches and fans from both sides might well have appreciated a do-over.
The best officiating is when the referees have control of the game but you hardly realize they are there. They won’t be remembered for affecting the outcome.
By calling nit-picking violations away from the ball and letting the big stuff go, like flying elbows cracking into ribs and skulls under the basket or offensive players lowering their shoulders in making contact as they drive into an opposing defender, the Feb. 3 game officials were on the verge of losing control by early in the second quarter. Then, perhaps sensing that they were losing control, they started calling everything big and little, real or imagined (those they suspected had occurred, whether they had or not).
Admittedly, the game officials might well have been intimidated by a vocally abusive, even at times openly hostile home crowd in Panthers Gymnasium, although to be fair there were points where the bewildering calls raised the ire and consternation among the usually reserved and (mostly) polite Watauga supporters, too.
“It was frustrating,” Watauga head coach Bryson Payne said as the gym was emptying afterwards. “I just didn’t feel like we were allowed to play basketball.”
That said, Watauga’s players were missing shots while Hibriten’s took advantage of their opportunities. For the Panthers, Kalen Bowers was good on a pair of 3-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points. Teammate Jay Maxwell was close behind with 16 points, including the only other successful shot from behind the arc.
For Watauga, seven players got in the scorebook for points but only Wyatt Kohout managed double figures, with 14 points. Junior forward Jackson Pryor did yeoman’s work inside, collecting 9 points on the night.
With the loss, Watauga’s season record evens out to 11-11 overall and 4-4 in Northwestern Conference play. With the regular season winding down to a close (only two more games remain to determine the seeding for the conference tournament), the outcome of every game becomes critical.
On Feb. 7, the Pioneers travel to Morganton to play Freedom before returning home to close out the league schedule vs. Ashe County on Feb. 10. Conference tournament play begins on Feb. 14.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Turnovers and points allowed off turnovers proved to be Appalachian State’s Achilles heel on Feb. 2, losing to Marshall, 66-58, in the Holmes Convocation Center in front of 2,685 midweek basketball fans.
The Thundering Herd came into the game averaging 81.7 points in offense across all Sun Belt opponents, so the Mountaineers achieved a measure of success in limiting Marshall to 15 fewer than their average in offensive production. App State head coach Dustin Kerns explained after the game that the defensive game plan was to focus on one of Marshall’s three big scorers, Taevion Kinsey, Andrew Taylor, and Kamdyn Curfman.
“Kinsey and Taylor are the leading scoring combo in the country,” Kerns pointed out. “So our game plan wasn’t necessarily against them, it was more about Curfman, Micah Handlogten and Obinna Anochili-Killen. Kinsey and Taylor have gotten their points against every team this season, non-conference or conference, they are going to get their shots and their points. We really felt like Curfman would be the X factor. And I thought we did a good job on him. The two 3-points that he made were in transition and if we look back, maybe off of our turnovers. And I thought we made Kinsey and Taylor earn their stuff.”
Much of the Marshall team’s difference in average points scored coming into the game and what they scored against App State is probably explained by the Mountaineer defensive scheme vs. Curfman. He came into the game average 13.3 points per Sun Belt game and only managed 8 points against the Mountaineers in this one.
“We guarded some guys differently and we guarded some of their actions differently,” Kerns said. “In the first game at Marshall we did a lot of switching. Tonight we did not. I thought our zone (defense) was effective, at least for awhile.”
At times, it may have seemed that the App State offense lacked a sense of urgency, running down the shot clock to near zero before making a move to the basket or lofting a shot from long range. It turns out, as Kerns explained, that the offensive pace was intentional.
“We were wanting to control the tempo and we wanted them to have to guard,” said Kerns. “I think Marshall is ranked 300 and something in Division I in how much time they play defense. They are try to speed you up and get you to take a quick shot so they can go down and play offense again.
“We (controlled) the tempo,” added Kerns. “We did some really good things, but we just turned the ball over too much… We picked a bad night to have a bad night, especially on the offensive end, not like we have doing (in recent games). I feel like 66 points, defensively, should be enough to beat those guys but, like I said, 13 turnovers and 19 points off of them, that is easy offense for them.”
A common thread between the 79-53 loss to Marshall in Huntington, W.V. on Dec. 29 and the narrower defeat on Thursday night was the Thundering Herd’s performance in offensive rebounding. They pulled down 14 on the offensive end in the late December contest and 13 just over a month later. So in addition to the quick scoring opportunities provided by the Mountaineer turnovers, Marshall’s propensity to clear offensive rebounds led to 15 second chance points.
Next up for App State is a rematch with James Madison, on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Holmes Center, with a scheduled 4 p.m. tipoff.
“I told our guys we needed to just move on from tonight’s loss and get ready for the next game. I imagine James Madison will be seeing red when they come in here on Saturday since we beat them up there on Jan. 7,” said Kerns.
The Dukes come to Boone with a 16-8 overall record, 7-4 in Sun Belt Conference play. With the loss, App State falls to 13-11 overall, 6-5 vs. Sun Belt opponents.
SELECTED KEY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
SELECTED TEAM STATS
By David Rogers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While the sentimental favorite as the next Carolina Panthers head coach might well have been Steve Wilks (after leading the team to a near-berth in the NFL playoffs upon taking the reins during a chaotic mid-season), the Frank Reich hire makes a lot of sense — and on a couple of different levels.
First, Reich is an offensive minded head coach who knows the team needs stability at the quarterback position. He said as much during the Jan. 31 press conference introducing him to Charlotte and the Carolinas. He promised a strong partnership with general manager Scott Fitterer and owner David Tepper in “creating a blueprint and a plan, then executing it” as they look toward the long-term needs at the QB and other positions.
Second, Reich brings a connection with Carolina’s franchise past. In 1995, Reich was introduced as Carolina’s first quarterback, after some 10 years with the Buffalo Bills. He threw the franchise’s first touchdown pass, to tight end Pete Metzelaars, who also had joined the new franchise after playing in Buffalo. In 2023, Reich was introduced as the franchise’s sixth head coach.
Underlining the significance of Reich’s signing as the new Panthers mentor, Metzelaars was on hand at the introductory press conference, sitting in the front row alongside other players from the 1995 team. Several current team members were also on hand and Reich said he looked forward to meeting with each member of the current roster, one on one.
“For us as a family,” Reich told the large crowd gathered for the occasion in the Bank of America “Red Zone” lounge area, “this place has always been special. To think that we are here now and having the opportunity to be the head coach of the Panthers, it is a tremendous privilege, honor, responsibility… I am just excited to get to work.”
Reich brought chuckles to the crowd when asked to recall that first year with the franchise in 1995, telling about the camaraderie developed among the guys — without sharing details — when they had to take bus trips from Charlotte to where they played home games at Clemson University because the construction of Bank of America Stadium had not yet been completed.
In five seasons as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Reich compiled a 40-33-1 record.
“Relationships have to be right and (owner) Mr. Tepper has a commitment to excellence,” said Reich, in speaking with the media.
Reich grew up in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, playing football (QB), baseball and basketball. He was accepted at the University of Maryland on a football scholarship. As a quarterback, he always seemed to find a role as a backup, first to Boomer Esiason for three years at Maryland, then to Stan Gelbaugh after Reich suffered a shoulder separation the fourth week of the 1984 season, against Wake Forest. But against Miami that year, Reich came off the bench to lead the Terrapins to a thrilling, 42-40 win after the Bernie Kosar-led Hurricanes took a 31-0 lead into halftime.
Selected by the Buffalo Bills in the third round of the 1985 NFL Draft, Reich quickly found himself in another backup role, this time behind future Hall of Fame quarterback, Jim Kelly. Reich nonetheless had several key performances when Kelly was out with an injury, perhaps none more thrilling than the 1993 “wild card” playoff game when the Bills faced the then Houston Oilers. He helped rally the Bills from a 32-point deficit en route to a 41-38 overtime win.
After beginning the Panthers’ inaugural 1995 season as the starting QB, Reich ceded the job to the QB the Panthers had drafted as their expected franchise quarterback, Kerry Collins, who the team had selected fifth overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. After being relegated once again to a backup role, Reich moved on to the New York Jets in 1996, then to the Detroit Lions in 1997. He retired after the 1998 season.
In an NFL Network piece in 2014, “Caught in the Draft: 1985,” Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian described Reich as “… the greatest backup quarterback in NFL history.”
History has documented that the best coaches are not always a game’s once star players, but more often its backups, who try harder and learn more about the intricacies of competition in the process. The Carolina Panthers and owner David Tepper may just have found their guy in Frank Reich.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After battling back to tie or go ahead of Alexander Central’s men’s basketball team on Jan. 31, at the end there was nothing more Watauga could do.
With time ticking away in regulation and the score tied 37-37, the Cougars’ Chad Lasher took pass from the perimeter and laid the ball up and in, beating the buzzer by 0.1 seconds to secure Alexander Central’s win over the Pioneers, 39-37, in front of a packed crowd filling Lentz Eggers Gym.
The drama was setup just moments before when Watauga’s Maddox Greene tied the game at 37 with a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor, with roughly 40 seconds remaining. The Cougars calmly brought the ball up court, the clock tick-tick-ticking away and the game seemingly headed to overtime before Lasher found the ball in his hands and he instinctively went to the rim with hit as time was expiring.
Each team had only one player in double figures scoring, offensively. Cougars guard Avery Cook had a team-high 13 points while Greene recorded a game-high 14 points for Pioneers.
“Coming in we knew we would be facing a good team and that it would be a battle,” said Watauga head coach Bryson Payne afterwards. “They like to keep it low scoring and they kept it low scoring. It just came down to the last possession. We told our guys that we are proud of the way they played tonight and I am proud of the way they played. We played hard and lost on one shot. We lost just one shot away from the game going into overtime, where anything can happen. It is never fun to lose on a buzzer beater, but (Alexander Central) ran a good set, got a good look and they hit it. That is basketball.”
As the Pioneers head to a Feb. 3 rematch at Hibriten, Payne noted, “We have a lot of work left to do. Every conference game is extremely important. We have to not dwell on this one and get to work for the next one.”
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Early in the second quarter on Jan. 31 at Lentz Eggers Gym, Watauga’s junior varsity men trailed Alexander Central, 17-7. In the blink of an eye the Pioneers went on an 11-0 run, erased the deficit and took an 18-17 lead into halftime.
Behind 18 points by point guard Cade Keller, including a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line, the Pioneers’ JVs went outscored the Cougars’ JVs 29-17 after halftime to record a convincing, 47-34 win.
With the victory, the Pioneers are 13-6 overall for the 2022-23 season, including 4-2 against Northwestern Conference opponents.
When asked about the second quarter rally and what led to it, Pioneer JV head coach Andrew Wilson said, “Ball movement and defensive intensity. That, and I asked the guys to have fun. We got better movement in finding the open man later in the second quarter and our stepped up defensive pressure disrupted their possessions or made for more challenging shots.”
SCORING SUMMARY
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Although Alexander Central has one of the best women’s basketball teams in the Northwestern Conference and challenged Watauga on Jan. 10 in a low-scoring defensive battle before losing, 38-25, in Taylorsville, they couldn’t keep up in the Jan. 31 rematch at Lentz Eggers Gym. The Pioneers ran away with this one, 52-39, before a full house of fans on both sides of the gym floor.
Pioneer point guard Kate Sears poured in a game-high 21 points while tying senior teammate Brooke Scheffler for game-high honors with 7 rebounds each. Pioneer senior Caroline Farthing wasn’t far behind in clearing the boards, with 6 rebounds.
Watauga never trailed, jumping out to a commanding, 16-7 lead after one quarter of play, with Scheffler and Sears taking charge. And then they kept piling on. At halftime, the Pioneers led by double-digits, 30-18, with Sears and Charlotte Torgerson adding 6 points each in the second period.
Much of Watauga’s success should be credited to a the team’s strong defensive effort. Head coach Laura Barry told High Country Sports after the game that they were particularly concerned about containing what they considered to be the Cougars’ three main scoring threats, Meredith Wike, Sydney Hayes, and Kirstyn Herman. While Hayes (13 points) and Harman (12) reached double figures, the Pioneers limited Wike to just two points on the night.
Watauga senior guard Laurel Kiker explained afterward that the Pioneer defensive pressure was very intentional, acknowledging that it helped lead to off balanced shots by the Cougars.
“They weren’t shooting very well,” said Kiker, “and our transition play was pretty good. They had a hard time keeping up with us.”
Next up for the Pioneer women is another, second half of the season rematch they have had circled on the calendar: at Hibriten. The Panthers are responsible for Watauga’s only Northwestern Conference loss of the season, an edgy, 48-45 defeat on a cold-shooting night by the Pioneers after a fire in the school disrupted the flow of the evening’s events.
Watauga will go into the game with sole possession of first place in the NWC standings, with a 6-1 league record. Since upsetting the Pioneers on Jan. 12, Hibriten lost to Alexander Central on Jan. 17, 51-45, and to Freedom on Jan. 27, 46-41.
SELECTED KEY PERFORMERS
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