By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a closer game than the final score indicated but Watauga’s men’s basketball team was nonetheless convincingly outdone by A C Reynolds in Lentz Eggers Gym on Dec. 6, 79-58.
ACR’s Declan Brown followed up 11 points in the first half with 16 in the second half to lead the Rockets. His game-high 27 points was bolstered by 18 and 13 from DaShawn Stone and Chase Evans, respectively, to account for most of A C Reynolds’ scoring. The trio hit on nine 3-pointers as the Rockets began to pull away late in the second quarter and built on that lead through the second half with Watauga turnovers and missed shots.
Jackson Pryor (20) goes up for two, trying to keep the game within reach on Dec. 6 at Lentz Eggers Gym against visiting A C Reynolds. Photographic image by David Rogers
Pioneer guards Maddox Greene and Josiah Railey scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, to lead the Pioneers. Jackson Pryor contributed nine; Wyatt Keller, six; and Wyatt Kohout, five.
Watauga will try to get back to its winning ways on Dec. 9, when the Pioneers host Mountain Heritage (Burnsville, N.C.)
By Bret Strelow for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling’s Jon Jon Millner has been named the SoCon Wrestler of the Month for November, when he posted a 10-0 record and climbed to No. 2 in the national rankings at 149 pounds.
Millner opened the season with a 6-0 shutout of NC State’s Jackson Arrington, who has moved into the top 20 of their weight class, before making unbeaten runs to titles at the Mountaineer Invitational and Keystone Classic. Three of those nine tournament wins were against wrestlers with top-25 rankings, and he posted four pins in November.
After opening December with four wins at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Millner is 14-2 this season and 106-23 in his career. He has the sixth-most career victories in the history of App State’s program.
The 2022-23 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station.
Season tickets for the 11 regular-season competitions (with two doubleheaders) on App State Wrestling’s home schedule remain available for $55 (adults) and $25 (youth) by clicking HERE for an online purchase, contacting the ticket office at 828-262-7733 or going to the App State Athletics ticket office located at the Holmes Center. The season ticket price for faculty/staff is $50.
By Joey Jones for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – Meghan Dawson has resigned as App State’s head field hockey coach to spend time with her family, Director of Athletics Doug Gillin announced Tuesday.
“I want to thank Meg for her hard work with our field hockey program over the last eight years,” Gillin said. “When she arrived, we were without a conference, and she has helped us raise our program to a level of national prominence and compete for a conference championship. We wish Meg and her family all the best moving forward.”
This fall, Dawson led the Mountaineers to a school record-tying 14 wins to earn Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors. App State advanced to the MAC tournament championship game for the first time after achieving a 14-6 overall record and 5-2 league mark. The 14 wins matched the program’s previous high-water mark from 1978. The squad won 10 straight contests leading into the MAC final, and they came within one goal of defeating No. 16 Duke and No. 15 Wake Forest on the road.
“I am so thankful for my time here at Appalachian State University and especially with our field hockey program,” Dawson said. “I have had the most amazing experience with incredible student-athletes coming through our program that have turned into alumni. The alumni base has been very supportive of our field hockey program. I cannot thank Doug Gillin enough for giving me this opportunity eight seasons ago. And thank you, App State Family.”
Dawson compiled a 59-85 record over her eight seasons, improving the program to a 39-32 mark over the second half of her tenure.
Over the course of her tenure, App State players earned 16 All-MAC honors. A Mountaineer was named MAC Offensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons – Meghan Smart in 2021 and Friederike Stegen in 2022.
In 2021, Dawson led App State to its first ranked win in program history with a shutout victory against No. 24 James Madison.
After back-to-back trips to the MAC Tournament semifinals in 2017 and 2018, Dawson led the Mountaineers to the program’s first winning season since 2003 with an 11-9 record in 2019.
Assistant head coach Emily Dinsmore will serve as the Mountaineers’ interim head coach.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A final night of regular season basketball games among Watauga County’s middle schools did nothing to change the standings at the top of the Girls Division and left a three-way tie for first place in the Boys Division.
The undefeated Parkway girls managed to get past Mabel, 15-14, to remain in full control of the regular season championship. With the loss, Mabel settled into fourth place second place Bethel and third place Blowing Rock.
While Blowing Rock faced only a small challenge in defeating Valle Crucis, 24-10, Bethel jumped past Green Valley, 21-7 and Cove Creek edged Hardin Park, 19-15.
In the Boys Division, Hardin Park, Parkway and Blowing Rock all won and remained tied atop the standings at 6-1, all with 1-1 records in head-to-head play. Blowing Rock defeated Valle Crucis decisively, 42-23, while Hardin Park was able to prevail over Cove Creek, 35-17, and Parkway swamped Mabel, 46-10. In the remaining middle school boys game, Green Valley doubled up on Bethel, 47-20.
Watauga Middle School commissioner Andy Eggers explained how the ties in the standings were settled as the teams start the post-season tournament’s first round play on Wednesday (Girls Division) and Thursday (Boys Division).
“In the girls standings, we had two ties,” said Eggers. “Green Valley and Cove Creek tied for 5th place. Green Valley won the tie breaker as they won the head to head match up with Cove Creek. Valle Crucis and Hardin Park also tied, for 7th place. Valle Crucis won the tie breaker as they won the head to head match up.
In the boy’s standings, Hardin Park, Parkway and Blowing Rock all tied for first place,” Eggers added. “Each team finished with a 1-1 record against the teams they tied with. None of the teams lost another game. So the final tiebreaker under the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) model is a draw from the hat. The draw was held tonight. Hardin Park drew the No. 1 seed, Blowing Rock the No. 2 seed and Parkway the No. 3 seed.”
FINAL REGULAR SEASON GIRLS DIVISION STANDINGS
1. Parkway (7-0)
2. Bethel (6-1)
3. Blowing Rock (5-2)
4. Mabel (4-3)
T5. Green Valley (2-5) (One of Green Valley’s wins was against Cove Creek, so awarded tiebreaker)
T5. Cove Creek (2-5)
T7. Valle Crucis (1-6) (Valle Crucis win was against Hardin Park, so awarded tiebreaker)
T7. Hardin Park (1-6)
FINAL REGULAR SEASON BOYS DIVISION STANDINGS
T1. Hardin Park (6-1, lost to Parkway, defeated Blowing Rock. Gets No. 1 seed by draw from a hat)
T1. Blowing Rock (6-1, lost to Hardin Park, defeated Parkway. Gets No. 2 seed by draw from a hat)
T1. Parkway (6-1, lost to Blowing Rock, defeated Hardin Park. Gets No. 3 seed by draw from a hat)
4. Cove Creek (4-3)
5. Green Valley (3-4)
6. Bethel (2-5)
7. Valle Crucis (1-6)
8. Mabel (0-7)
GIRLS DIVISION FIRST ROUND GAMES (Wednesday, Dec. 7, 4 p.m.)
No. 8 Hardin Park @ No. 1 Parkway
No. 5 Green Valley @ No. 4 Mabel
No. 6 Cove Creek @ No. 3 Blowing Rock
No. 7 Valle Crucis @ No. 2 Bethel
BOYS DIVISION FIRST ROUND GAMES (Thursday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m.)
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. CINCINNATI, Ohio — Reports out of Ohio this morning are that former Appalachian State head coach and alum Scott Satterfield, most recently head coach at Louisville University, is on the move — and just 100 miles up the Ohio River, to become the head coach at University of Cincinnati and shepherd its transition to the Big 12 Conference, another one of the so-called Power 5 leagues in NCAA football.
Satterfield, who oversaw App State’s successful transition from FCS to FBS from 2014 to 2918, replaces Luke Fickell, who took the Bearcats to the College Football Playoffs in 2021. In November, Fickell accepted the head coaching position at the University of Wisconsin.
The Big 12 was a focal point of the reshuffling of FBS conferences earlier this year when the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma announced they were moving to the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Along with Cincinnati, the Big 12 announced the addition of Brigham Young, Central Florida, and Houston. They join current members Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Christian (TCU, which is in the College Football Playoffs this year), Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
A press conference to introduce Satterfield is scheduled for 1 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5.
As head coach of Appalachian State, Satterfield compiled a record of 51-24 in his five years at the helm, including three Sun Belt championships and four straight bowl appearances from the time the school became bowl-eligible in 2015 after its transition year in 2014. At Louisville, Satterfield guided the program to a 25-24 overall record and bowl eligible in three of the four years he was there.
Satterfield played for App State in the mid-90s, including as starting quarterback in 27 games from 1992-1995. After starting his coaching career as an assistant under the Mountaineers former head coach, Jerry Moore, Satterfield was also quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo and served Florida International for two years as offensive coordinator before rejoining App State in 2012.
Louisville athletic director Josh Heird issued the following statement on the news of Satterfield’s leaving to accept the job at Cincinnati:
“We’re grateful to Scott for his dedication to our program and wish him well. We are always prepared to conduct head coaching searches, and we will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach. We will be looking for a tremendous leader who recognizes both the history and potential of Louisville Football and is committed longterm to helping the program reach new heights.”
There is a certain irony in the timing of the announcement: Louisville and Cincinnati are scheduled to play each other in the Fenway Bowl on Dec. 17.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — I can’t think of a better way to get into the Christmas spirit than taking in “A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas” at The Appalachian Theatre, Dec. 3-4. It was a combination of grace, artistic flair and undeniable athleticism.
More photographic images at bottom of this article.
The Snowbelles are about more than precision dancing as an art form. It is the end result of the work by The Project Dance Foundation, the non-profit organization that got its start in New York City in 2002, with a mission of providing training, networking, education, and performing opportunities for dancers worldwide. While the New York City mission is in its 16th year, founder Cheryl Cutlip is now a resident of Blowing Rock and formed a chapter in the High Country, in 2915.
A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas. Photographic image by David Rogers
“A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas” attracted a packed house for its opening night at The Appalachian Theatre in Boone, which proved a perfect venue for the show. From the costuming to the choreography and to the talented troupe of dancers, the performances were at once beautiful and inspirational. Mixed in with the reverence of the Christmas moment featuring selections from The Nutcracker Suite and “O Holy Night,” there was plenty of laughter and fun, including dancing penquins and jazz. A special addition to the High Country show were performances by the Turning Pointe dance company from Wilmington, N.C., a part of the Wilmington Conservatory of Fine Arts.
Because of Cutlip’s background of performing with Radio City Music Hall’s The Rockettes for some 15 years in New York, there is a quintessential “Rockettes” style of precision to the dance routines.
A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas. Photographic image by David Rogers
With the Snowbelles, arm movements are often as critical to the performance as the movement of feet and legs and that was readily apparent in “Merry and Bright,” which Cutlip described as an inaugural piece that has been danced by every Carolina Snowbelles troupe since 2015. “It continues to be an audience favorite,” said Cutlip.
Festive white costumes with matching caps dip and swirl with the dance movements, including the Snowbelles’ Rockette-like, chorus line high kicks in unison that brought enthusiastic audience applause — and even a few raucous yelps.
A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas. Photographic image by David Rogers
In “An Arctic Adventure,” Cutlip said she imagined “… a scene where audience members could, for a moment, escape the reality of life and venture into a land where penguins tap dance on ice cubes, glide on glaciers and groove to the beat.”
Watching among the youngest of the dancers mimic “teacher” Cutlip in how to move like a penguin was loads of fun, obvious for dancers and audience alike.
A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas. Photographic image by David Rogers
A piece late in the show was called “Like This,” which Cutlip explained, “… exemplifies the strength of the young women in our company by combining their individual uniqueness within the unit of precision jazz. The energy and excitement are fast-moving and fun.”
The shimmering gold costumes for “Like This” harkened back to the 1920s, or perhaps reminiscent of the 1960s’ go-go dancers on Rowan and Martin’s TV show, “Laugh-In,” the show that catapulted the careers of Goldie Hawn, Henry Gibson, Ruth Buzzi, Lily Tomlin and Arte Johnson, among others.
By the time this article is posted, A Carolina Snowbelles Christmas for 2022 will have seen its last of three performances, opening night on Saturday, Dec. 3, and two performances on Sunday, Dec. 4, matinee and evening performances. If you missed it, be sure to put it in your calendar for next year. It is sure to get you thinking about all aspects of Christmas: the meaning, the excitement and the fun.
Members of The Carolina Snowbelles troupe include Claire Anderson, Genevieve Goff, Journey Lockhart, Skylar Moss, Luci Pedroni, Anasofia Salinas, Autumn Walker, Rachel Witmer, Brooke Church Handy, Mallory Habich, Ann Mellon, Cameron Parker, Emma Pinnix, Maggie Schlake, and Carly Watson.
The Snow Flurries group includes Vera Kwong, Everlie Powell, and Avery Willingham.
Directed by Cory Smith, The Turning Pointe dance company of Wilmington, N.C. includes members Cate Boggio, Ava Clymer, Bailey Fleming, Molly Hamilton, Maria Holden, Brinkley Mitchell, Lacey Pence, Sydney Perkins, Lyra Pridgen, Carrington Smith, Domenik Suchecki, and Sarah Yngve.
By Bret Strelow for App State Sports. FAIRFAX, Va. — App State freshman Carson Floyd captured his second individual title in the opening month of the season as the Mountaineers had six wrestlers place at the Patriot Open hosted by George Mason.
Floyd, who won the Mountaineer Invitational last month in his second collegiate event, went 4-0 in the 197-pound bracket Sunday to improve to 12-3 this seasom. He began the tournament with a fall in 36 seconds, followed that with a 6-0 decision in the quarterfinals and reached the final with a pin in 2:30 against Davidson’s Gavin Henry, who has finished as high as third at the SoCon Championships during his career.
In the final, Floyd held a 2-0 lead thanks to an early takedown before an injury to George Mason’s Jonathan List ended the match with one period completed.
Floyd, Luke Uliano (184 pounds) and Jacob Sartorio (heavyweight) were all finalists, as Uliano won his first four matches and Sartorio claimed his first three before they suffered finals losses.
Ethan Oakley had a 3-1 record en route to a third-place finish at 133 pounds, and Triston Norris went 2-1 to place third in the heavyweight bracket. OJ Bost also placed by finishing sixth at 165 pounds.
By Bret Strelow for App State Sports. LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Jon Jon Millner’s fourth-place finish at 149 pounds led App State Wrestling at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Taking a 13-0 season record into Saturday’s semifinal round, Millner lost a 4-1 decision against fourth-ranked Kyle Parco (Arizona State) in the semifinal round before winning a 4-0 decision No. 24 Alec Hagan of Ohio. He lost a 2-1 decision against seventh-ranked Yahya Thomas of Northwestern in the third-place match.
All seven App State Wrestling entries had a hand raised Friday, and three Mountaineers advanced to the final day of competition at the high-profile tournament.
Joining Millner in advancing to Day 2 thanks to 3-1 showings Friday, Will Formato finished seventh at 165 pounds, and Tommy Askey placed eighth at 157 pounds.
Parco used an early takedown to lead 2-0 in the 149 semifinal, and Millner trailed 2-1 late in the first period when he executed a potential takedown near the edge of the mat. After a lengthy review, no takedown was awarded, and Parco took control by riding out the second period. Millner then recorded a first-period takedown in his shutout of Hagan.
Formato lost 12-3 to 16th-ranked Matthew Olguin from Oregon State in a consolation semifinal to drop into the seventh-place match against sixth-ranked Carson Kharchla from Ohio State, who didn’t compete due to a medical forfeit.
Askey lost 9-2 to 24th-ranked Trevor Chumbley from Northwestern in a consolation semifinal before Columbia’s Cesar Alvan won the seventh-place match by fall.
Millner’s unbeaten Friday included a 7-1 decision against Nebraska’s Dayne Morton, a 10-3 decision against Columbia’s Danny Fongaro and a 6-0 shutout of NC State’s Jackson Arrington, who has climbed to No. 18 in the national rankings since losing to Millner by the same score in his dual debut for the Wolfpack on Nov. 4.
In their rematch a month later, Millner needed only two seconds to get in on a shot that turned into a quick takedown. By the end of the first period, he had a 2-0 lead and 2:38 in riding time.
Askey earned a quarterfinal berth with a pair of close victories, as he won a 3-2 decision against Long Island’s Rhise Royster and quickly secured an overtime takedown of Cal Poly’s Luka Wick to secure a 3-1 (SV1) decision. After hanging tough in an 8-2 loss to second-ranked Will Lewan from Michigan, Askey won 3-1 against 19th-ranked Derek Holschlag, a returning NCAA qualifier from Northern Iowa, with help from a takedown in the final seconds of the second period.
Formato opened the tournament with convincing wins against Edinboro’s Alex Garee (6-0) and 29th-ranked Legend Lamer from Cal Poly (6-1) before dropping a 6-2 decision to 10th-ranked Julian Ramirez of Cornell. One sequence in the final minute of the second period turned a scoreless matchup into a six-point lead for Ramirez, but Formato bounced back by claiming a 5-2 win against NC State’s Donald Cates.
Formato, who edged Cates in overtime during the Nov. 4 dual, gained separation Friday on a takedown with 24 seconds left. He rode out the second period and finished with 2:19 in riding time.
Caleb Smith (125) joined Millner, Askey and Formato as a quarterfinalist before finishing 2-2, and Sean Carter (133) posted a 3-2 record in Las Vegas with a pair of one-point losses to top-25 opponents.
Mason Fiscella went 2-2 with losses to two top-10 opponents in the heavyweight division, and Will Miller (174) earned a 10-5 victory against Cal Poly’s Jarad Priest following an opening-round loss in which he delivered an early takedown against third-ranked Mikey Labriola from Nebraska.
Fiscella advanced to the Round of 16 thanks to an overtime takedown in a 3-1 (SV1) win against Max Millin of Edinboro. Fiscella also won 5-3 against Utah Valley’s Chase Trussell between losses to No. 6 ¬Lucas Davison from Northwestern and No. 7 Tate Orndorff from Ohio State (7-1 decision).
Smith followed a 7-4 win to open the event with a 12-2 major decision against 27th-ranked Liam Cronin from Nebraska, but he suffered an 8-6 (SV1) loss to South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan in the quarterfinal round. Facing a 5-2 deficit in the final 20 seconds of the third period, Smith executed a reversal with 17 seconds left and then got a takedown of Jordan after cutting him loose to force overtime at 6-all, but Jordan prevailed in the first OT period. Smith then dropped a 14-9 decision to 10th-ranked Malik Heinselman from Ohio State.
Carter won 10-4 against Purdue’s Dustin Morris before dropping a 3-2 (TBA) decision to 18th-ranked Cody Phippen from Air Force. Each wrestler got an escape in the 30-second Tiebreaker 1 periods, but Phippen came up with his quickly enough to maintain an all-important riding time advantage that serves as a tiebreaker, and he received a point on a stalling penalty against Carter.
Carter then won 7-3 against Ohio State’s Dylan Koontz and 3-2 against Cal Baptist’s Hunter Leake, but a 3-2 loss to 23rd-ranked Chance Rich from Cal State Bakersfield wrapped up his tournament.
By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. – The App State women’s track and field team opened the 2022-23 indoor season on Friday and Saturday by hosting the John Weaver Invitational. Graduate student Hunter Robinson, seniors Jada Branch and Taylor Smith, sophomore Graysen Arnold, freshmen Ava Studney and Addison Ollendick-Smith posted first-place finishes as the Mountaineers placed first in the team standings with 145 points.
Smith clinched a pair of first-place finishes and personal bests in the women’s 55 meters and women’s long jump. Smith clocked a time of 6.99 in the 55-meters preliminary before shaving off .09 in the final for a time of 6.90. She currently stands fourth in the App State all-time list for the event. Also in the 55-meter final, sophomore Mariah McCord placed second (7.11, PR) and Robinson took third (7.13). In the long jump, Smith landed first with a leap of 6.15m (20′ 2.25″).
Branch clinched first in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 12.52m (41′ 1″) and took fourth in the women’s long jump (5.58m (18′ 3.75″)). Studney led the Mountaineers in the women’s pole vault, landing first with a personal best clearance of 3.57m (11′ 8.5″).
In the women’s weight throw, Arnold garnered gold with a personal best toss of 17.00m (55’9″) while sophomore Daiyanna Cooper placed third with her own personal best of 16.61m (54′ 6″). Cooper also recorded a third-place finish in the women’s shot put with a personal best mark of 13.27m (43′ 6.5″).
On the track, Ollendick-Smith and senior Elizabeth Fuller took first (2:17.60, PR) and second (2:20.27), respectively, in the women’s 800 meters. Robinson, senior Mariah Atwater, and graduate student Jelonnie Smith went 1-2-3 in the women’s 300 meters, clocking times of 39.20 (PR), 39.43 (PR), and 40.19, respectively.
Up Next
The Mountaineers return to the track on Jan. 14 for the Mondo College Invite in Winston-Salem, N.C.
