By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a small field of only a dozen young boys competing in the Middle School 3,200 meter cross country race on Oct. 5, held in conjunction with the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference “Pre Conference” event at Watauga High School.
A pair of Tailwinds Track Club athletes took top honors, led by sixth grader Sean Rea, who finished a full minute in front of 7th grade teammate Samuel Twigg and another half minute ahead of a trio of Watauga Middle School district team harriers, all recording the same time in Andres Roman, Kent Windmueller, and Brian Newmark.
Young Rea may have some distance running in his DNA, as father Pete Rea was a standout distance runner in high school as well as in college at the University of Connecticut. Rea’s mother, Zika, was an elite marathon runner in her prime running years.
According to Pete Rea, his son ran his first competitive race only a couple of weeks ago against older competition in the High Country Classic on Sept. 25, run on much the same course.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After already clinching the Northwestern Conference regular season team title, Watauga women’s tennis head coach Jennifer Pillow put the “Senior Night” fate of the team in the hands of… the seniors, who came through to lead the Pioneers to a 7-2 win over Ashe County.
Senior Madison Ogden moved up to play No. 1 singles against Ashe County senior Claira Corley. After a tug of war in the first set in which Ogden eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-2) that saw the lead change hands at almost every crossover, the Pioneer who has more often played No. 2 singles this year was more convincing in the second set, winning 6-3.
Pioneer sophomore Sienna Davidson, who stepped down to No. 2 singles for Senior Night from her usual No. 1 singles position, had less trouble from Ashe County freshman Addison Dollar, 6-0, 6-1.
Madison Ogden returns a volley during the first set of her Oct. 5 match vs. Ashe County’s Claira Corley. Photo by David Rogers
At No. 3 singles, senior Amira Younce sailed past Huskies junior Julia Herman, 6-2, 6-1, and at No. 4 singles, senior Alaina Muse got by Ashe County freshman Malea Lambert in a tussle, 7-5, 6-2.
Pioneer senior Laurel West stepped up to defeat Husky junior Olivia Glover, 6-4, 6-1, in the No. 5 singles match, before junior Ali Eller got Ashe County it’s first team point with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-1 win over Watauga senior Madeline Hays.
Pillow rostered an all-senior doubles lineup, with Ogden-Younce defeating Herman-Corley, 8-2, in No. 1 doubles before Ashe County got its final team point with Dollar teaming with Maleah Lovell to prevail over the Pioneer duo of Hays and Serena Jewell-Miller at No. 2 doubles, 8-0.
In the final matchup of the afternoon, Watauga seniors Macayla Kanoy and Katie Harrison dispatched the Husky tandem of Eller and Bailey Richardson, 8-3.
Next for Watauga will be the Oct. 21-22 NCHSAA West Regionals, to be hosted by Hough High School in Cornelius, according to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association website.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A pair of “unattached” fifth graders finished 1-2 on Oct. 5 in the Middle School girls cross country race staged in conjunction with the high school ‘Pre Conference’ event at Watauga High School. Of the 34 competitors, three were unattached 5th graders and three were members of the Tailwinds Track Club. The rest were representing the Watauga Middle School district XC team.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Not only did a trio of Watauga seniors finish 1-2-3 in the ‘Pre Conference’ cross country meet on Oct. 5, but the Pioneers captured seven of the top 10 spots and ten of the top 15 finishing positions.
Pioneer head XC coach Randy MacDonough explained during the afternoon races that while some schools were actually racing, others like Watauga were using the event as a “training run.” Then there were schools like Freedom, that had raced just the day before so were basically jogging the course while familiarizing themselves with the course.
MacDonough said that the real purpose of the event was to allow the non-Watauga teams to familiarize themselves with the course, the same one that will be host to the 2022 Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships on Oct. 18.
In the women’s 5,000 meter race, Watauga seniors Gwedolyn Anderson, Brianna Anderson, and Savannah Duvall finished 1-2-3, with times of 20:55, 21:26, and 21:38, respectively. Ashe County senior Sherry Billings finished in the No. 4 position (21:42), followed by Andriana Rink at No. 5 (21:56), Virginia St. Clair at No. 6 (21:57) and Rachel Cathey at No. 7 (22:10).
Abilene Dollar of Ashe County was at No. 8, followed by the Pioneers’ Janie Beach-Verhay at No. 9, then Freedom’s Katie Deacon to round out the Top 10.
A total of 56 athletes from six Northwestern Conference schools took part in the Pre Conference event. Other Pioneers in the Top 20 included No.12 Sullivan McAulay, No. 14 Maddie Bollman, No. 15 Kara Schneider, No. 16 Mia Llibre, No. 17 Ellary Smith, No. 18 Sydney Cate Townsend, and No. 19 Anna Norris.
TEAM SCORES
Watauga 17
Ashe County 47
Alexander Central 77
Hibriten 116
South Caldwell 120
Freedom only had four athletes running, short of the required five for team scoring.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Led by Watauga’s Will Bradbury, five different schools were represented in the top five finishing positions on Oct. 5 in the running of the 2022 Northwestern Conference Pre-Conference Cross Country event.
Bradbury finished the 5,000-meter course in 17:16, 36 seconds ahead of Hibriten’s Rylan Sedlacek (17:52.00). Noah Farmer (18:05) came in at No. 3, followed by Parker Bowman (18:26) of South Caldwell and Thomas Campbell (18.39) of Alexander Central in the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, respectively.
Hibriten senior Rylan Sedlacek finished second in the Men’s 5,000 cross country ‘Pre-Conference’ event at Watauga High School on Oct. 5. Photo by David Rogers
The Pioneers had eight runners finish in the top 15 and 12 of the top 20. In addition to Bradbury, they were Collin Anderson (No. 6), Jonah Norris (No. 8), Roman Sibaja (No. 9), Sam Nixon (No. 10), Elliott Taft (No. 11), Calvin Zwetsloot (No. 13), and Maxwell DePriest (No. 14).
Watauga junior Sam Nixon and freshman Elliott Taft had a photo finish for 10th and 11th places on Oct. 5 for the Northwestern Conference ‘Pre Conference’ cross country event at Watauga. They were both awarded the same finishing time of 19:25. Photo by David Rogers
Rounding out the Pioneers finishing in the top 20 were Sam Rex (No. 16), Wesley Coatney (No. 18), Davis Crymes (No. 19), and Silas Powell (No. 20).
Six Northwestern Conference schools were represented by 75 athletes in the Men’s Varsity division of the event.
“This event was more about familiarizing all of the schools and their athletes with the course,” explained Watauga head coach Randy MacDonough, “because the conference meet will be run on the same course in roughly two weeks. Some of the guys were racing for finishing positions and times, but a lot were just checking out the course. You had schools like Freedom, who had a competition meet just yesterday, so they were basically jogging. Our guys were using it as a training run.”
The Northwestern Conference Cross Country Championships event is scheduled for Oct. 18, at Watauga High School, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
By David Rogers. VALLE CRUCIS, N.C. — While Hardin Park volleyball was doing what was needed for the Eagles to remain undefeated for the regular season, Parkway secured its No. 2 position in the standings — having lost only to HP, twice — by dispatching host Valle Crucis and Blowing Rock in a tri-match.
Daphne Stadnquist of Valle Crucis bumps up a set during the host school’s Oct. 4 match vs. Blowing Rock. Photo by David Rogers
Except for the Bethel vs. Green Valley tilt at Bethel, a closely contested match that ended 2-1 in Bethel’s favor (25-22, 24-26, 15-13) it was a night of sweeps all across the county.
Hardin Park had little trouble in defeating Green Valley, 2-0 (25-9, 25-9), then jumping past host Bethel, 2-0 (25-7, 25-20).
Eloise Cascio goes for a dig during Blowing Rock’s Oct. 4 match vs. Parkway, at Valle Crucis. Photo by David Rogers
At Valle Crucis, Blowing Rock rallied from a 6-point deficit in the second set to complete a 2-0 sweep of the host school (25-19, 25-16). In turn, Parkway ousted the Rockets with a 2-0 sweep (25-8, 25-20) before doing the same to Valle Crucis (25-13, 25-20).
The only dual match of the night was Cove Creek at Mabel, where the visiting Raiders swept Mabel, 2-0 (25-14, 25-13).
Dads and Granddads watch intently as they follow the action during the middle school tri-matches involving Blowing Rock and Parkway at Valle Crucis. Photo by David Rogers
The final regular season standings:
Hardin Park (14-0)
Parkway (12-2)
Cove Creek (9-5)
Blowing Rock (7-7)
Mabel (5-9)
Bethel (4-10)
Valle Crucis (3-11)
Green Valley (2-12)
The Watauga Middle Schools post-season volleyball tournament begins on Thursday, Oct. 6, with all matches to be played at Watauga High School’s Lentz Eggers Gym.
UPPER BRACKET
4:00 p.m. — No. 1 Hardin Park vs. No. 8 Green Valley
7:00 p.m. — No. 4 Blowing Rock vs. No. 5 Mabel
LOWER BRACKET
5:00 p.m. — No. 2 Parkway vs. No. 7 Valle Crucis
By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — Continuing its tennis domination so far in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga High School’s women’s tennis team had another dominating performance on Oct. 3, 9-0, against Freedom High School, on the Patriots’ home court.
In one of the closest matches, Watauga’s No. 1 singles player, sophomore Sienna Davidson closed out Freedom’s Ellie Deacon, 6-1, 6-3.
At No. 2 singles, WHS senior Madison Ogden defeated Patriot sophomore Emily Kania, 6-2, 6-2.
Pioneer senior Amira Younce dispatched Freedom senior Sara Byrd Succop at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1.
No. 4 singles saw Watauga sophomore Larisa Muse get by Freedom sophomore Leah Kirksey, 6-1, 6-0.
Alaina Muse, a Pioneer senior, played at No. 5 singles and had little trouble with Freedom freshman Zofia Losada, 6-0, 6-0.
Pioneer freshman Fiona Russell won the No. 6 singles match, 6-0, 6-0.
For the No. 1 doubles match, Watauga’s Ogen and Younce teamed up to defeat Deacon-Succop, 8-2. The Pioneers’ freshmen tandem of Kennedy Moore and Larson Berry defeated Kania-Kirksey, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles, while the Watauga team of Abbi Shuman and Elsie Davis defeated Freedom’s Delaney Dellinger and Siashi Xiong, 8-3.
Now 12-1 overall and an undefeated 9-0 in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga closes out regular season play at home on Oct. 5, vs. Ashe County.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a chilly, early autumn night at Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 3, but the action was fast and furious as the Watauga men’s soccer team scored late in the first half against visiting Hibriten, then held on for a 1-0 Northwestern Conference win over the Panthers.
Emmitt Coffey was credited with the first half goal, with an assist from Curtis Sevensky.
Watauga midfielder Michah Duvall (7) keeps the ball inbounds on a counterattack vs. Hibriten on Oct. 3. Photo by David Rogers
It was a match marred by confusing referee calls by both sides. During the match there were vocal protests from both sidelines as well as from the grandstands. Thankfully, both teams maintained their composure without mishap as the referee changed calls, sometimes without letting the teams reset when he re-awarded a free kick, the teams having to scramble back into defensive positions.
As frustrating as the officiating might have been, it did not take away from an entertaining, hard-fought match. Hibriten came into the tilt 2-0 after dominating, Northwestern Conference wins over Freedom (Sept. 26, 7-0) and Ashe County (Sept. 28, 5-1) while Watauga was bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Alexander Central on Sept. 28, after prevailing over South Caldwell, 1-0, on Sept. 26.
Watauga midfielder Nathan Bishop punches the ball ahead on attack vs. Hibriten on Oct. 3 at Jack Groce Stadium in the Pioneers’ 1-0 victory. Photo by David Rogers
“The conversation I had with the Hibriten coach after the game focused primarily on the horrific officiating, which seems to be the only consistency that we can find this year. Unfortunately, that is not a good consistency to have,” said Watauga head coach Josh Honeycutt after the match. “That said, credit to Hibriten because they are a great side representing an excellent program. They do a lot of really good things on the soccer field.
“We were able to find our consistency tonight, along with our passion and intensity and outwork them,” Honeycutt added. “That is really what it was tonight. We outworked them.”
Honeycutt conceded that Hibriten did a commendable job of taking his Pioneers off their normal one-touch and two-touch passing game.
Curtis Sevensky’s contested shot on goal in the second half was saved by the Hibriten goalkeeper, Kenyan Ferguson. Photo by David Rogers.
“The first half was a little better, maybe, but in the second half we seemed to be happy just getting the ball out. When you have a lead, that is easy to do, but I want us to stay consistent with our connectivity, finding feet and connect those one-two passes and get the ball in and out. To Hibriten’s credit, they are a scrappy group that pressures really well. That makes it more difficult to make quick decisions and to maintain quick play with accurate passes, when they are pressing so much.” said the veteran Pioneer coach.
“I knew it was going to be a battle,” said Honeycutt. “They are sitting among the conference leaders for a reason. It was going to be a tough, scrappy, physical battle. But I also knew that we could play with them. That is what I told the boys leading into tonight’s game, that just because Hibriten has 10 wins and one loss doesn’t mean that we are not as good as they are. We proved that tonight and if we bring tonight’s passion and intensity to every game, we are not going to lose to Alexander Central, 3-0. But we have to find that consistency.”
Watauga goalkeeper Kyle Painter makes a save from a Hibriten header following a corner kick in the second half on Oct. 3. Photo by David Rogers
Overall records, including non-conference results can be pretty deceiving. Watauga came into the match vs. Hibriten with a 3-8-1 overall record, but played some of the state’s toughest opponents in the non-conference portion of the Pioneers’ regular season schedule.
“That is why we do it,” said Honeycutt, “to prepare us for the conference schedule and, hopefully, the state playoffs. If we are 10-1 coming into conference play and we haven’t played any good competition, then what good has that done us? We intentionally scheduled one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the state and I think it is beneficial, looking beyond the records. We are battle-tested, having played with the best of the best. As a result, we are finally able to execute the way we should with some consistency. And we are finding wins.”
The Pioneers return to the friendly confines of Jack Groce Stadium on Oct. 5 against Freedom High School (Morganton), then travel to Ashe County on Oct. 10, as they reach the halfway point in the regular season schedule.
After the win, Watauga shares the No. 1 spot in the NWC standings with Hibriten and South Caldwell, all 2-1 in conference play. Alexander Central (1-1-1) is close behind, with Ashe County (0-1-2) and Freedom (0-2-1) rounding out the conference.
Senior defender Noah Jamison starts a Watauga counterattack in the second half of the Pioneers’ Oct. 3, 1-0 win over Hibriten at Jack Groce Stadium. Photo by David Rogers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga senior outside hitter Caroline Farthing reached the 1,000 career kills milestone and then some on Oct. 3, pummeling South Caldwell with 22 kills at Lentz Eggers Gym as the Pioneers bested the Spartans, 3-0 (25-7. 25-5, 25-9).
Farthing now has 1,004 career kills. After the match, she first noted to High Country Sports that there have been a number of Pioneer teammates along the way helping her toward that milestone. “You don’t do it alone,” said Farthing. “You must have good setters putting the ball into good positions for you to make those shots.”
Teammates helped Watauga senior Rebekah Farthing celebrate her 1,000th career kill on Oct. 3, vs. South Caldwell, at Lentz Eggers Gym. Photo by David Rogers
Farthing said that being a teammate first is the more important accolade a player could receive.
“Personal milestones show how hard you have worked. I came in as a freshman and played with my sister (Rebekah Farthing), who already established as the outside hitter. I played right side and I had never played right side before,” said Farthing. “So having a slow freshman year going into a pretty big sophomore year because a lot of our players had graduated, that allowed me to show how much I had grown as a player, how hard I had worked. I think I am pretty versatile and can be put in any position. I will work hard, no matter what.”
Pioneer senior Brooke Scheffler (20) has eyes only for the next kill shot on Oct. 3 against South Caldwell. Photo by David Rogers
In a dominating team performance against South Caldwell on the Pioneers’ home court, several Watauga players stood out, but particularly strong service efforts by Camryn Norris and Kenzie Baldwin, each of whom reeled off strings of points, including aces, in the decisive second and third sets. Norris recorded 18 assists to go with 3 service aces and a pair of digs, while Baldwin added 11 digs, 3 assists and a service ace to her stat totals.
Furman University-bound Brooke Scheffler had another effective performance as both a setter and hitter, with 15 assists, 5 digs, and 8 kills to further demonstrate her versatility around the court.
Kate McCullough spikes a kill shot past South Caldwell defenders on Oct. 3. Photo by David Rogers
Junior outside hitter Brooklyn Stanbery (4 kills, 1 stuff block) and senior Faith Watson (3 kills, 2 stuff blocks) and junior middle blocker/hitter Kate McCullough rounded out the Pioneers’ top offensive performances.
“(Lopsided) games like this have a really low energy, so it is hard to stay up and engaged at times,” said Farthing, “to stay excited when the match is super flat like that. Last match (in Hudson), South Caldwell came into it with more energy, so they definitely can be better when they want to. But tonight they came in with low energy, for some reason.”
Although the result was one-sided, Watauga head coach Kim Pryor described it as still fun.
Faith Watson (5) goes up for a block alongside Watauga teammate Kate McCullough (11) on Oct. 3 vs. South Caldwell. Photo by David Rogers
“We were able to get into a groove with our offense,” Pryor said, “so it was a lot of fun on our side. Our mindset is always to play our game. South Caldwell really played well against us when we were at their place earlier in September. In fact, we started out 0-6. Tonight, our focus was playing our style and we came out clicking from the very beginning. We had a few missed serves that we fixed as the game went on, but I liked how we were clicking as a team, from both the defensive side as well as the offensive side.
“When you look at a match that you dominate,” added Pryor, “you always want to look at HOW you dominate. Was it because of what we did or because of the opponent’s play? I want our domination to always reflect what we did, attacking at all times. Tonight, we did. We mixed it up really well in running great plays. It was fun to watch.”
Watauga freshman Kora Knight (6) has blocking on her mind alongside Brooke Scheffler (20) during the second set of the Pioneers’ 3-0 sweep of South Caldwell on Oct. 3. Photo by David Rogers
Now 15-1 overall, 6-0 in Northwestern Conference play, Watauga next plays Alexander Central at Lentz Eggers Gym on Oct. 5 before hosting two strong non-conference opponents on Oct. 8 in Fred T. Foard (Newton, N.C.) and T.C. Roberson (Asheville). The Pioneers close out regular season and conference play with two road contests, Hibriten (Lenoir, Oct. 10) and Freedom (Morganton, Oct. 12) before returning home to face Ashe County (Oct. 17) in preparation for the state tournament.
By David Rogers. MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn. — Running a single mile in four and a half minutes is something a lot of people wish they could do, but relative few ever achieve it. Running a 4:40 mile pace over 10 consecutive miles puts you in elite company. And that is exactly where ZAP Endurance team member Andrew Colley is after placing 7th in the U.S. 10-Mile Championships, finishing the course in a blistering 46:47.
Colley lowered the long-standing ZAP club record for the 10-mile distance by a second, one of four ZAP Endurance athletes competing in the U.S. 10-Mile Championships.
ZAP teammate and former Appalachian State star harrier Tristan Van Ord lowered the club record on the women’s side by an astonishing 45 seconds, finishing what ZAP head coach Pete Rea described as a “hilly” course between the Twin Cities in 9th place among the 36 elite runners qualified to run in the women’s championship division. Her time of 53:13 was just a minute and a half behind Concord, Mass.-based winner, Fiona O’Keeffe’s 51:42.
ZAP Endurance had yet another Top 10 finisher in the men’s race. Josh Izewski ran the course in 47:06, exactly on one minute after Colorado Springs resident Hillary Bor (46:06) and only 19 seconds behind Colley’s ZAP club record pace.
Coming back from injury, one of ZAP’s top men’s team members, Tyler Pennel, showed steady progress in getting back to elite form by finishing 30th among the 48 elite athletes competing, in 48:38.
The U.S. 10-Mile Championships were run concurrently with the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile open race, in which 8,469 road racers competed, 3,042 men and 5,401 women.
Colley runs with the leaders from the start
After watching the race first hand in the Twin Cities on Sunday, ZAP head coach Pete Rea said, “With this performance, Andrew Colley made an emphatic return to road racing in his first competitive run since April. He ran upfront in a very strong men’s field from the gun, passing the halfway point (5 miles) marker in a swift 23:17. By then, the lead pack was down to just 8 men, including Andrew.
“Between Mile 4 and Mile 7,” Rea added, “the course between Minneapolis and St. Paul is a grinding, long steady climb and that is where the lead pack began to splinter apart. Andrew found himself battling, really, between a string of runners over the final miles and into the sharp downhill finish.”
Van Ord runs within herself, avoids early burnout pace
On the women’s side, Rea said Van Ord took a slightly different approach compared to Colley’s race strategy.
“Tristin laid off an incredibly aggressive early pace in the women’s race,” Rea recalled for High Country Sports. “She clipped off nearly identical of 26:38 and 26:35, not cracking the top 10 until passing some of the early, exhausted leaders until she reached the crest of the climb at around the 7-mile mark. This is her second consecutive Top 10 finish at a U.S. Championship since joining the ZAP team.
Van Ord placed 8th on Sept. 5 at the U.S. 20k Championships hosted in New Haven, Conn. Since joining the ZAP roster of elite runners after graduating from App State in 2017, she has steadily lowered her personal bests, including four of her five primary distances in 2022 alone: 5,000m (15:45), 10 Miles (53:13), Half Marathon (1:12.31) and Marathon (2:29.32).
Izewski also takes measured approach with slightly slower pace in the last 5 miles
“For Sunday’s race in the Twin Cities, Josh followed Tristin’s more measured approach,” said Rea. “He passed the 5-mile marker in 23:29, then moved into the Top 10 by calling on his reserves to finish strong over the final mile of the race. His finishing time of 47:06 improved his personal best for the distance by nearly 20 seconds.”
