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

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

Among the noteworthy performances by Watauga runners:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SELECTED STRONG PERFORMANCES (Not a complete listing)

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

Altogether, Watauga had more than 50 swimmers compete.

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

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

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

The motion passed unanimously, 19-0.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expansion of Classifications?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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