By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — As might be expected of the high school football team that went undefeated in conference play, Watauga dominated the Northwestern Conference “all conference” selections for 2022. Noteworthy among the selections voted on by the conference coaches were senior defensive end/tight end, Isaiah Shirley, who got the nod as “Player of the Year.” Watauga head coach Ryan Habich, who just completed his tenth season at the helm of the Pioneers, was named, “Coach of the Year.”
Head coach Ryan Habich talks to the Watauga players after their win over Ashe County on Oct. 28, about the playoffs. Photo by David Rogers
A complete listing of post-season NWC football honors:
Northwestern Conference Champion: Watauga Player of the Year: Isaiah Shirley – Watauga Offensive Player of the Year: Matthew Peterson – Ashe County Defensive Player of the Year: Dillan Earp – Hibriten Special Teams Player of the Year: Carson Dyson – Freedom Coach of the Year: Ryan Habich – Watauga
WATAUGA ALL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Will Curtis
Isaiah Shirley
Jackson Pryor
Cole Horine
Carlton Horine
Johnny Miller
Eli Greene
Trey Thompson
Maddox Greene
Jonathan Lutabingwa
Grant Kight
JT Cook
Jackson Lang
Honorable Mention: Morgan Henry, Brody Martin
HIBRITEN
Coby Wilson
Jake Absher
Dillan Earp
Gerard Felder
Jesse Taylor
Gavin Riley
Matt Warhurst
Markle Helton
Silas Patterson
Gabe Suddreth
Avian Williams
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).
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Football is often a game of inches and that proved the case on Nov. 12 when Northwest Guilford rallied from 15 points down in the second half to advance past Watauga in the state playoffs, 33-27, at Jack Groce Stadium.
Watauga led 21-6 at intermission but the Vikings scored on their first possession after halftime to shrink the deficit to a manageable, 21-12. On the ensuing kickoff, Northwest was able to down the ball at the Pioneers’ 2-yardline, giving Watauga a long field in which to answer.
No problem, said the Pioneers. Sophomore QB Maddox Greene ambled 94 yards on a keeper, pushed out of bounds at the Northwest 2-yardline following a footrace against the Vikings’ secondary. After running back Will Curtis ran up the middle, gaining one of the remaining yards to the goal line, Greene finished things with a keeper into the end zone, expanding the Pioneers’ lead to 15 points again, 27-12.
Watauga wide receiver Jackson Pryor (7) hauls in a Maddox Greene pass early in the 2nd quarter against Northwest Guilford to put the Pioneers ahead. Photo by David Rogers
But that was only the beginning of what would become the game’s reversal of fortune. A defensive stand by the Pioneers looked promising enough, the Vikings hurting themselves, too, with costly penalties. Forced to punt, NWG gave Watauga good field position, at their own 42.
Greene & Co. could do very little with the short field. After gaining one first down, Greene attempted to pass the ball to WR Jackson Pryor behind the line of scrimmage, but the exchange ended up as a fumble — recovered and returned for a TD by the Vikings’ Luke Rochon. And Northwest Guilford was soon rockin’ on, indeed, with the deficit down to just seven points, 27-20, following a successful 2-point conversion run by replacement QB, Bristol Carter.
The momentum in the game had clearly shifted. Watauga suffered a 3-and-out on their next possession, forced to punt as the third quarter ended.
The Watauga student section was at Jack Groce Stadium in good numbers despite the wintry conditions closing in for the Pioneers’ Round 2 of the state playoffs game vs. Northwest Guilford. Photo by David Rogers
Given the blustery conditions and their lack of success passing the ball earlier in the game, Northwest Guilford’s offense returned to its grinding ground game behind a large and powerful offensive line, with seniors Carter and running back Mike Godette carrying the ball. Taking almost five minutes off the clock with the drive, Godette finished off the last 13 yards and, suddenly, a game that had seemed out of the Vikings reach just moments earlier was tied at 27-27.
Did we mention that football is a game of inches? After picking up gridiron real estate in chunks on the next possession, Watauga looked to be heading for the end zone and the lead once again. They got the ball as far as the Viking 35, needing to get past the 34 on 4th down to extend the drive and potentially earn the win with a TD.
But, after the officials called time out for a measurement, Greene’s 4th down effort on a QB keeper was deemed just inches short of what was needed and the ball was turned over to Northwest Guilford. With 2:35 remaining on the game clock, overtime seemed a distinct possibility.
The Vikings’ Carter had other ideas. Although a holding penalty on the first play of the next NWG possession reset what they needed to do, Carter ripped off runs of 8, 4, and 7 yards, leaving the Vikings with their own 4th-and-1 situation, and only 45 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Carter got the one yard, and more, running through and beyond the Pioneer defense for 57 yards and a TD. The PAT kick was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 33-27. If only the Pioneers had a 36-seconds’ proverbial arrow in their offensive quiver they could win the game with a TD and PAT.
They almost found it, too. A Greene pass to Pryor gained 41 yards, getting the ball to the Northwest Guilford 31-yardline. But that was it. Two more incomplete passes and time had expired — and with the final buzzer, Watauga’s remarkable 2022 season also came to an end.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter – NW Guilford’s Ryan Debow scored a TD on a 1-yard run. 2-point conversion attempt failed. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 0
2nd Quarter – WAT’s Maddox Greene pass to Jackson Pryor for 33 yards and a TD. Grant Kight conversion kick good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 7
2nd Quarter – WAT’s Will Curtis, 5-yard run for TD. Kight PAT kick is good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 14
2nd Quarter – WAT’s Will Curtis, 4-yard run for TD. Kight PAT kick is good. SCORE: NWG 6, WAT 21
3rd Quarter – NWG’s Ryan Debow, 3-yard run for TD. 2-point conversion attempt fails. SCORE: NWG 12, WAT 21
3rd Quarter – WAT’s Maddox Greene, 1-yard run for TD. PAT kick is unsuccessful. SCORE: NWG 12, WAT 27
3rd Quarter – Fumble recovery and return by NWG’s Luke Rochon for TD, 2-point conversion run by Bristol Carter is good. SCORE: NWG 20, WAT 27
4th Quarter – NWG’s Mike Godette, 13 yard run for TD. PAT kick by Nate Wallace is good. SCORE: NWG 27, WAT 27
4th Quarter – NWG’s Bristol Carter, 57-yard run for TD. PAT kick is no good. SCORE: NWG 33, WAT 27
SELECTED TEAM STATS
Total Offense: NWG 354, WAT 421
Passing Yards: NWG 72, WAT 90
Rushing Yards: NWG 282, WAT 331
Penalties: NWG 9-78, WAT 2-16
Turnovers: NWG 2 INTs, WAT 1 fumble
Time of Possession – NWG 21:33, WAT 26:17
3rd Down Conversions: NWG 4/8 (50%), WAT 6/11 (54.5%)
4th Down Conversions: NWG 1/2 (50%), WAT 0-2 (0.0%)
By David Rogers. HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Much of what was seen in Appalachian State’s 28-21 loss to Sun Belt Conference rival Marshall on Nov. 12 was evenly matched. Perhaps telling are some of the defensive statistics.
Both teams had a fumble recovery and a pass interception, but that is where the defensive similarities end. Marshall held a 7-3 advantage in tackles for loss, 2-1 in QB sacks, 6-4 advantage in pass breakups, and 12-5 in quarterback hurries. In short, the Thundering Herd applied more pressure to the Mountaineer quarterback and made more key plays to disrupt App State’s offensive possessions.
App State’s Milan Tucker (0) had a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD in the second half of App State’s Sun Belt Conference loss to longtime rival, Marshall, in Huntington, W. Va. Photo by Jonathan Aguallo for App State Sports
Marshall took the opening kickoff and with it made a statement, driving 80 yards in 15 plays and keeping Appalachian State’s offense off the field for almost seven minutes. Oh, and they scored a touchdown to take the early lead, 7-0, when star running back Khalan Laborn got into the end zone from one yard out. It was perhaps fitting that Laborn get the scoring credit after playing a key role in almost half of the Herd’s 15 plays on the drive, including 6 rushes and a pass reception.
In response, the Mountaineers were able to get two first downs on their ensuing offensive possession, but were only able to gain 34 yards in 6 plays before having to punt.
The rest of the first quarter was a defensive slugfest, the two longtime adversaries exchanging three-and-outs.
After each team made defensive stands to open the second quarter, App State caught a break when Marshall’s special teams player, Jadarius Green-McKnight, was flagged for interfering with the Mountaineer punt returner’s called fair catch. It gave Appalachian a short field for the next offensive possession, starting at the 50-yardline. Unfortunately, they could only gain one first down while moving the ball just 22 yards in 6 plays before turning it over on downs at the Marshall 28. Rather than attempt a field goal on 4th-and-2, the Mountaineers elected to send running back Camerun Peoples on a mission to gain the necessary yardage, but a stalwart Herd defense was able to stop him short of the objective.
In a strange series of events, App State and Marshall exchanged pass interceptions, still early in the second quarter. First, App State seemed to get another opportunity when linebacker Logan Doublin intercepted a Marshall pass that was broken up initially by Jalen McCloud but, on the very next play, the Thundering Herd’s redshirt junior defensive back Micah Abraham picked off a Chase Brice pass in the end zone to return the favor.
Marshall took advantage, staging a 9-play, 80-yard drive to a TD and PAT that doubled the Herd’s first half advantage to 14-0.
Daetrich Harrington’s (4) catch and run made it all the way to the one-yard line against Marshall on Nov. 12. App State lost, 28-21. Photo by Jonathan Aguallo for App State Sports
App State was held to a 3-and-out, but the offensive effort was given another opportunity when punter Clayton Howell’s punt was fumbled by Marshall’s Caleb McMillan at the Thundering Herd 32-yardline. In spite of incurring three penalties on the extended offensive possession, App State took advantage with a 10 play, 32 yard drive featuring runs by Peoples and Daetrich Harrington. And it was Harrington who gathered in a short pass in the right flat and romped down to the one-yard line, then on the next play took the ball into the end zone. With the Michael Hughes PAT, the Mountaineers had closed the deficit to a single touchdown, at 14-7, which they carried into intermission.
App State’s hopes for a quick resurgence with receiving the second half kickoff faded when it was mishandled by redshirt freshman tight end David Larkins and recovered by Marshall’s Dainsus Miller at the Mountaineers’ 30. Appalachian’s defense turned back the Herd’s offense, with a 16-yard loss on a QB sack pushing Marshall out of field goal range and they punted down to the App State 7-yardline. The Mountaineer offense couldn’t move the ball either and the situation worsened when Clayton Howell’s punt was blocked by the Herd’s Shadeed Ahmed and recovered by Miller in the end zone, putting Marshall ahead, 21-7.
The Mountaineer fans scattered about Joan C. Edwards Stadium among the reported attendance of 24,312 didn’t have long to wait for renewed hope when redshirt sophomore Milan Tucker returned the Thundering Herd’s next kickoff 96 yards for a TD, again narrowing Marshall’s lead to just one touchdown at 21-14.
But in response, the Thundering Herd’s no-huddle offense produced yet another TD after an 8-play, 82-yard drive featuring the arms and legs of redshirt freshman quarterback Cam Fancher, including two long passes to redshirt junior wide receiver Corey Gammage. First. there was 32 yard pass play from Fancher to Gammage over the middle, then a 19-yard aerial from the QB to WR on the right side that found the end zone, expanding Marshall’s lead to 28-14, midway through the third quarter.
Cameron Peoples finds a gap in the line of scrimmage on Nov. 12 during App State’s 28-21 loss to Marshall. Photo by Andy McLean for App State Sports
Toward the end of the third quarter, Appalachian started a 9-play, 50-yard drive that featured Brice passes to receivers Kaedon Robinson and Dalton Stroman for sizable gains, but it was a Brice-to-tight end Henry Pearson that reached paydirt, a 14-yard aerial on the right side. With Michael Hughes’ successful PAT kick, the Mountaineers were again within a touchdown but now the game was early in the final quarter.
Neither team scored in the final 14 minutes of the game, although App State came close, manufacturing a 13-play, 50-yard drive that stalled on the Marshall 13-yardline. The ball was turned over on downs with just over five minutes remaining.
Appalachian’s defense allowed the Herd to only gain 21 yards in just over two minutes before getting the ball back into the Mountaineer offense’s hands, so the Boone boys had one more chance to tie the game or go ahead with a 2-point conversion. They were able to run 11 plays, but only got the ball to the Marshall 45 before turning the ball over on downs with only 36 seconds left on the clock. It only required a kneel down by Fancher to preserve the Thundering Herd’s sixth win of the season, their overall record improving to a bowl eligible 6-4 and 3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. Meanwhile, Appalachian fell deeper in the SBC East Division standings at 2-4 in conference play (tied for the East cellar with Georgia Southern and Old Dominion) and will have wait another week for a chance to get a sixth overall win and become bowl eligible. At 5-5 overall, they are not quite there.
“It was a gut-wrenching loss,” said App State head coach Shawn Clark after the game. “I told our team that I was proud of the way they fought, but we have to find a way to win the football game. We are all hurting, but we have to find a way to win. We can’t have turnovers. Marshall has a very solid defense. It is high risk, high reward and they just made more plays than we did today.”
Appalachian State now has two games remaining in the regular season to try and become bowl eligible. Both contests are against the teams with whom they are tied at the bottom of the Sun Belt’s East Division. First is a home game on Nov. 19 against Old Dominion on Senior Day, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Then they close the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 26, under the lights in Statesboro, Ga., at Georgia Southern. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Two down, another very important volleyball match against Louisiana to go.
Appalachian State completed a weekend sweep of the Ragin’ Cajuns at the Holmes Convocation Center on Nov. 12, 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20), but must now face Louisiana for a third consecutive time on Nov. 17, in the Sun Belt Conference tournament in Foley, Ala.
App State’s McCall Denny goes up high for a kill shot against Louisiana on Nov. 12, in the Holmes Convocation Center. Photo by David Rogers
Just like the Nov. 11 contest the night before, every set between the Mountaineers and Ragin’ Cajuns on Saturday was a hotly contested thriller, exchanging leads or tying. Through the four sets on Saturday, the two sides amassed 34 ties and 16 lead changes.
It was a fitting end to the regular season for the Mountaineers, who have now won 11 of their last 12 matches. That is the best stretch for App State since a program record-tying 16 straight wins during the 2015 seasons. The Louisiana sweep also added to the special, Senior Day ceremonies at the end of Saturday’s match, celebrating the volleyball life and times at App State of seniors Sam Bickley, Sarah Missroon, and Morgan Flores.
Noteworthy:
McCall Denny posted her 11th double-double of the season, with 15 kills and 12 digs.
Sam Bickley led the team in assists with 23, but also had the second-most digs, 8.
Freshman Maya Winterhoff was credited with a team-high 6 blocks.
Sarah Missroon recorded 3 blocks to go along with 8 kills.
App State led Louisiana in points (65-60), kills (48-47), service aces (8-5), and blocked shots (9-8).
That’s App State senior Sarah Missroon (7) and teammate Madison Baldridge (21) reaching for a block against Louisiana on Nov. 12 at the Holmes Center. Photo by David Rogers
Next action for the Mountaineers will be in Foley, Ala., 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, against Louisiana in the opening rounds of Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday, Nov. 17. App State is the No. 4 seed in the East Division, while Louisiana is the No. 5 seed in the West Division.
Earlier matches on Wednesday, Nov. 16 will see Arkansas State (No. 6 in the West) pitted against Georgia State (No. 7 East), and Marshall (No. 6 East) against Louisiana-Monroe (No. 7 West).
Other matches on Nov. 17 include Old Dominion (No. 3 East) vs. the winner of Arkansas State and Georgia State; Southern Miss (No. 4 West) vs. Georgia Southern (No. 5 East); and South Alabama (No. 3 West) vs. the winner of Marshall and ULM.
The tournament championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 20, 2 p.m. Eastern Time. All tournament matches are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+. The full Sun Belt Conference championship tournament schedule can be found by clicking HERE.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Within the space of just six days, Appalachian State volleyball will play Louisiana three times, including early in next week’s Sun Belt Conference Championships on Thursday, Nov. 17, High Country Sports learned through back channels (the seedings will not be made official until Sunday, after the conclusion of conference play). By “spreading the love” on Nov. 11, the Mountaineers got the first tilt against the Ragin’ Cajuns out of the way with a sweep, 3-0, in front of almost 400 fans at the Holmes Convocation Center.
All three of the sets were nail biting thrillers, especially the first and third. Set scores: 25-23, 25-20, 26-24. The action was fast paced with precise sets and thunderous kill shots on offense, as well as acrobatic digs on defense.
App State’s Sam Bickley (17) had a service ace to go along with 20 set assists on Nov. 11 against Louisiana at the Holmes Center, in front of nearly 400 spectators. Photo by David Rogers
“One of our objectives tonight was to feature a well-balance offensive attack,” Mountaineer head coach Sarah Rumely Noble explained to High Country Sports after the match. “That means we wanted to spread the love, get the ball to different playmakers and not be predictable.”
In a rotation that featured 10 Mountaineer players, all of them taking part in all three sets, five of them had six or more kills, led by Lulu Ambrose and McCall Denny with a dozen apiece, then Maya Winterhoff and Sarah Missroon with 7 each, plus Meghan Dombrowski with six. In Rumely Noble’s parlance, that is “spreading the love.”
The first set was a see-saw battle all the way to match point. It saw the score tied 10 times, with the lead changing hands three times. While App State had a 17-13 advantage in kill shots, the Ragin’ Cajuns stayed close with three service aces.
Sophie Cain (20) and Maya Winterhoff (2) were very much in synch on short set kill shots at the net on Nov. 11, in App State’s Veterans Day match against Louisiana at the Holmes Convocation Center. Photo by David Rogers
In the second set, the Mountaineers jumped out to a 12-4 lead before Louisiana went on a 6-2 run to shrink the home team’s advantage to 14-10. But App State got back in synch and held on to win the set, 25-20, with the final two kill shots by Winterhoff to put the set away.
The third set was another nip-and-tuck affair and not decided until overtime. The Ragin’ Cajuns led at 18-14 and seemed on the threshold of sending the match into a fourth set — until kills by Dombrowski, Missroon, Kara Barnes, and Denny propelled the Mountaineers into a tie at 21-21, then into the lead on a Sam Bickley service ace at 24-23. Another kill by Ambrose gave the Mountaineers match point at 25-24, before Dombrowski and Missroon combined to block the Ragin’ Cajuns final kill shot attempt.
This block by App State’s McCall Denny (5) and Sarah Missroon (7) came at a critical juncture in the second set of the Mountaineers’ 3-0 sweep of Louisiana on Nov. 11 at the Holmes Convocation Center. Photo by David Rogers
“We wanted to play super clean tonight,” said Denny in speaking with High Country Sports after the match. “That means not making high errors and not being high errors. That is something we did really well tonight. We may have swept them in the first game but I expect it will be harder in the next one (on Saturday, Nov. 12) and then in Round 1 of the tournament.
“We never expected to sweep,” Denny added, “but Coach Sarah always says, ‘Whatever it takes to win.’ We had some trouble earlier in the season to win the first and second sets and we were able to get those tonight. Being down in the third was actually good for us because it challenged us to work and come back… We are playing really well right now as a team, not as all individual parts.”
Winning 10 out of the last 11 matches is giving the Mountaineers a lot of confidence going into the tournament.
“When she became the new coach, she made some changes in our offensive and defensive schemes, including changing some of the players’ primary roles,” said Denny. “She told us at the beginning that we would be playing our best volleyball in November, and she was right.”
Madison Baldridge delivers s kill shot against Louisiana on Nov. 11 at the Holmes Convocation Center. App State won in straight sets, 25-23, 25-20, 26-24. Photo by David Rogers
Rumely Noble was similarly enthusiastic about the Mountaineers prospects going into the tournament.
“We were firing on all cylinders tonight and pretty well balanced. All of our attackers were able to put up some good numbers. It wasn’t just one star. When we are balanced, we become much harder to defend. Our opponent doesn’t know who we are going to set in any particular moment,” said Rumely Noble.
Being her first year at the helm of the Mountaineers, Rumely Noble inherited her roster, so getting the players to buy into what and how she wanted the team to play was job No. 1.
Appalachian State’s Lulu Ambrose digs out a Louisiana serve in the second set of the Mountaineers 3-set sweep on Nov. 11 at the Holmes Convocation Center. App State’s defensive abilities to keep the ball in play (and playable) was critical to the win over the Ragin’ Cajuns. Photo by David Rogers
“Our goal is to get better every day, to get better every time we put the jersey on. We wanted to be playing our best volleyball at the end of the season and we are doing that. Now I believe our brand of volleyball is good enough to compete with anybody,” said Rumely Noble. “The biggest thing for us was developing a strong offensive system and a strong defensive system, getting everyone on the same page of ‘This is how we are playing offense. This is how we are playing defense.’ We picked a couple of things to get really good at, at the beginning, as opposed to 20 things to get mediocre at. We are all serving the same way. We all look the same when we serve. And our service tonight was very good. That is something they can trust in.
“Any time you are changing systems, it just takes a lot of repetitions,” said Rumely Noble. “We inserted (the changes) last January when we got to practice, but it hasn’t all started to come together until the last month, really. We are a very different team, even though we have the same pieces than when we started the season in August.”
App State will take on the Ragin’ Cajuns again on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at the Holmes Convocation Center.
By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. RICHMOND, Ky. – Playing its second straight road game to open the 2022-23 women’s basketball season, App State fell, 95-63, to Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 11.
Redshirt senior Janay Sanders led the Mountaineers with 13 points and three assists, while graduate transfer Lauren Carter and sophomore Emily Carver added 10 points apiece.
App State forced EKU into 17 turnovers with the Mountaineers collecting seven steals, but it was the Colonels’ hot shooting that determined the outcome in this matchup. EKU shot 48.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the 3-point line, making 12 of 28 3-point attempts.
Danielle Rainey drained eight 3-pointers on her way to 30 points, while Antwainette Walker added 26 for the Colonels.
The Mountaineers fell into an early hole as the Colonels led 15-4 after the first five minutes.
App State used a Brooke Bigott 3-pointer and Sanders free throw to cut the lead to three at 21-18 in the second quarter, but that was as close as the visiting team would get the rest of the night.
EKU beat App State for the second straight year. The Colonels came away from Boone with an 89-84 double-overtime victory last season.
App State will host its home opener Monday against Lees-McRae (6:30 p.m., ESPN+).
By Katherine Jamtgaard for App State Sports. LOUISVILLE, Ky. – App State junior Oliver Wilson-Cook and sophomore Linnea Maynard led the charge for the Mountaineers in the men’s 10K and women’s 6K, respectively, at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville, Ky. on Friday.
Wilson-Cook placed 56th individually in the men’s race with a personal best 10K time of 31:01.1. Junior Ben Datte and sophomore Chase Burrell were next to cross the finish line, clocking personal bests of 31:40.4 and 31:40.6 to place 82nd and 83rd, respectively. Sophomore Dwayne Lillie clocked a 10K personal best of 32:02.3 to place 99th overall. The men’s squad placed 14th in the team standings with 418 points. The men’s team also placed 14th at last season’s regional meet.
In the women’s 6K, Maynard clocked a time of 22:33.3, finishing 114th overall. Next to cross the finish line was junior Annie Amundsen, who stopped the clock at 22:44.1 (PR) and sophomore Karsyn Kane, who clocked a time of 22:46.5 (PR). In the team standings, App State placed 26th with 695 points.
Charlotte’s Nickolas Scudder clinched first in the men’s race with a time of 29:42.8 to advance to the NCAA Championships. North Carolina and Virginia took first and second in the team standings, punching their tickets to Stillwater, OK. Joining Scudder as individual automatic qualifiers are Furman’s Dylan Schubert, Virginia Tech’s Antonio Lopez Segura, and NC State’s Ian Shanklin.
NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy took the women’s individual crown with a time of 19:49.1, leading NC State to a first-place team finish and automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. North Carolina placed second in the team standings to advance to the championships. Kentucky’s Tori Herman and Perri Bockrath, Furman’s Bethany Graham, and Duke’s Amina Maatoug punched their individual tickets to the championship race.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Nicole was just too generous, the hurricane bringing an expected 6 to 8 inches of rain to the High Country on Friday, which was just too much for high school football to be played. According to a communication from Watauga High School athletic director Dustin Kerley, the Round 2 matchup between Watauga and Northwest Guilford will be played on Saturday at Jack Groce Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
