By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — Win the early rounds of the NCHSAA 6A West state playoffs and No. 10 seeded — and improving — Watauga could possibly face No. 2 seed Alexander Central in the third rounds, per the brackets released on Feb. 22.

As the No. 10 seed, Watauga will host No. 23 Mount Tabor in Round 1. The winner advances to face No. 7 Ragsdale, which was awarded a first round bye.

Other Northwestern Conference contenders are also in the 6A state playoffs mix. No. 19 Freedom travels to face No. 14 Central Cabarrus in Round 1. No. 17 South Caldwell is on the road against No. 16 Statesville in the first round.

Round 1 games are scheduled for Feb. 24, Round 2 for Feb. 26. In the early rounds, the higher seeds are the home team.

6A West PAIRINGS for state playoffs

In Round 2…

• No. 1 Northern Guilford will play the Round 1 winner between No. 14 Central Cabarrus and No. 17 South Caldwell
• No. 8 Southeast Guilford will play the Round 1 winner between No. 9 Glenn and No. 24 Phillip O. Berry Academy
• No. 5 North Iredell will play the Round 1 winner between No. 12 T.C. Roberson and No. 21 Asheville
• No. 4 Eastern Guilford will play the Round 1 winner between No. 13 Ben L. Smith and No. 20 Kings Mountain
• No. 3 A.C. Reynolds will play the Round 1 winner between No. 14 Central Cabarrus and No. 19 Freedom
• No. 6 Dudley will play the Round 1 winner between No. 11 Charlotte Catholic and No. 22 Ashbrook
• No. 7 Ragsdale will play the Round 1 winner between No. 10 Watauga and No. 23 Mount Tabor
• No. 2 Alexander Central will play the Round 1 winner between No. 15 Asheboro and No. 18 Piedmont

By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — Eight 6A West men’s basketball teams received for the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs that begin on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Sixteen teams will compete in the first round hoping to advance to the second round.

Among the eight awarded byes in Round 1, were No. 1 seed Ben L. Smith (Greensboro), No. 2 Charlotte Catholic, No. 3 Mount Tabor, No. 4 T C Roberson, No. 5 Freedom, No. 6 Watauga, No. 7 South Caldwell and No. 8 Northern Guilford.

Determining the composition and order of the top eight was surely challenging for those charged with constructing the 6A bracket, given the late season scramble of a logjam at the top of the Northwestern Conference. For much of the season, Freedom looked to be a good bet for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the West until a convincing loss to Watauga, 75-59, on Feb. 11. The Patriots showed even more vulnerability in losing the Northwestern Conference’s fourth ranked team, South Caldwell, in the NWC tournament semifinals on Feb. 18, 62-55.

As if that couldn’t provide enough consternation, Watauga soundly defeated South Caldwell on the Spartans home court, Feb. 7 (72-59), but then South Caldwell turned the tables on the Pioneers in the NWC tournament championship game, defeating Watauga in Boone, 74-65.

When it all got sorted out by the computers, four of the top seven teams in North Carolina’s 6A classification were from the West, including No. 1 Ben L. Smith, No. 2 Charlotte Catholic, No. 5 Mount Tabor and No. 7 T C Roberson.

Freedom came in as the No. 9 team in the state 6A statistical rankings, Watauga is at No. 14 and South Caldwell at No. 20.

The other two teams from the Northwestern Conference, Alexander Central and St. Stephens, also made it into the 6A state playoffs, but they will be challenged with Round 1 play-in games.

Alexander Central joins Watauga and South Caldwell in the lower half of the 6A West bracket, as the No. 11 seed. In the statistical rankings, ACHS was ranked No. 24. The Cougars face No. 22 seed Central Cabarrus in Round 1, with the winner advancing to play Watauga in Boone for Round 2.

St. Stephens’ finished the regular season at No. 43 in the state 6A rankings and has the No. 21 seed in the 6A West bracket, traveling to play No. 12 seed Kings Mountain in Round 1. The winner will face No. 5 Freedom in Round 2.

The lone 7A member of the Northwestern Conference, McDowell, is seeded No. 20 in the 7A West classification, and will travel to Pfafftown, facing No. 13 Reagan in Round 1. The winner will play No. 4 Hickory Ridge in Round 2.

As the last month of the regular season and the Northwestern Conference tournament demonstrated, come time for the playoffs, the seedings are just a number. Anybody is capable of beating anybody.

Round 2 is scheduled for Feb. 26. The higher seeds are the host schools vs. their Round 1 opponents.

6A West PAIRINGS for State Playoffs

In Round 2…

• No. 1 Ben L. Smith will play the Round 1 winner between No. 16 Piedmont and No. 17 Phillip O. Berry Academy
• No. 8 Northern Guilford will play the Round 1 winner between No. 9 Western Guilford and No. 24 Statesville
• No. 5 Freedom will play the Round 1 winner between No. 12 Kings Mountain and No. 21 St. Stephens
• No. 4 T. C. Roberson will play the Round 1 winner between No. 13 Asheboro and No. 20 Sun Valley
• No. 3 Mount Tabor will play the Round 1 winner between No. 14 Ashbrook and No. 19 Olympic
• No. 6 Watauga will play the Round 1 winner between No. 11 Alexander Central and No. 22 Central Cabarrus
• No. 7 South Caldwell will play the Round 1 winner between No. 10 Dudley and No. 23 Ragsdale
• No. 2 Charlotte Catholic will the Round 1 winner between No. 15 Harding University and No. 18, A.C. Reynolds

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Basketball can be a fickle master. A team once hot on the heels of history suddenly turns cold. Or a player once considered an afterthought in a team’s performance just as suddenly turns into the brightest of stars.

That fickleness at least partially explains the Watauga varsity men’s basketball team’s loss to longtime league rival South Caldwell on Feb. 20, 74-65, in the Northwestern Conference Championship Tournament final hosted by the Pioneers in Lentz Eggers Gym. Sometimes you have a bad night. After the Spartans defeated the Pioneers on Jan. 13 in Boone, 70-63, Watauga returned the favor on Feb. 7, in near dominating fashion, 72-59, in Hudson. It was the first victory in the Pioneers’ six-game winning streak over the following two weeks. Then South Caldwell returned the favor.

After running roughshod over every Northwestern Conference opponent during that win streak, including vs. No. 1 seeded Freedom on Feb. 11 and the earlier, convincing win over the Spartans, most High Country Sports fans figured the conference tournament championship would be all but handed to the Pioneers — that is until South Caldwell similarly manhandled Freedom in the tournament semifinals to reach the final. Then all bets were off.

After Watauga’s semifinal demolition of St. Stephens on Feb. 19 (79-43), the Pioneers’ head coach, Bryson Payne, was asked what he expected from South Caldwell in the final.

“They are well coached, they play hard and they have some shooters,” said Payne who, in retrospect, might have been proven to be a master of understatement.

Under more normal game conditions and the score closer, it is unlikely that Watauga’s core varsity players would have left the court against South Caldwell on Feb. 20, unless they absolutely had to. But these were not normal times.

Almost from the get-go, the Pioneer sharpshooters were not hitting their mark, shot attempts clanging off the rim and mostly bouncing into the waiting arms of South Caldwell’s Gavin Frasure (11 rebounds on the night), Sam Keaton (10), Colby Greene (5), Gantt Prince (7) and Carter Anderson (7).

Inside the paint, it was arguably more embarrassing for Watauga. Keaton was credited with five blocked shots but it seemed like more. And those blocked shots hardly explained the Pioneer layup opportunities, the ball rising to strike the backboard then flying over the rim, missing the intended basket.

Meanwhile, the Spartans seemed unable to miss. In the first half alone, the visitors from Hudson shot a whopping 75 percent from beyond the arc, making good on 9-of-12 attempts. Overall in the opening half, they shot 50 percent from the field, hitting on 13-of-26 shot attempts. Watauga had as many looks, but were only successful on 26.9 percent of field goal attempts in the first half (7-of-26) and 23.5 percent from long range (4-of-17) before the break.

After intermission, it didn’t get any better for Watauga in defending the 6-game winning streak that catapulted the Pioneers into the No. 2 tournament seed and, a night earlier against St. Stephens, into the championship finale.

So midway through the third quarter, his Pioneers down by 18 points in the hands of the first string, Watauga’s Payne benched his starters and inserted the first tier of reserves for almost all of the final four minutes of the third quarter. Other than Cole Lewis’ invigorating 3-pointer right after the change and a pair of free throws by the 5-10, 160 lb. junior guard, the reserves didn’t score much but they also didn’t give up much. By the start of the final period, Watauga was looking at a 50-30 deficit as those aforementioned starters were forced to watch.

Chomping at the bit might have been an understatement for those first string stars as they hoped for another chance to redeem themselves. And, reinserted into the lineup on the court at the final quarter’s start, they did just that.

Down by 20, the Pioneers opened the fourth quarter on a 17-3 run that had a jampacked Watauga grandstands humming with hope for a completed comeback. They pulled to within respectability, 53-47, after their shots started hitting and the disruptive defense that characterized the most recent six games returned.

But with the game clock ticking down, needing to get the ball back after each South Caldwell possession — but the Spartans smartly slowing things down, eating up the clock — the Pioneers were forced to foul. Unfortunately for Watauga, the South Caldwell players rarely missed those opportunities at the charity stripe. A deficit turned to hopeless desperation and the tournament championship that could have been for the Pioneers slipped away into the stillness of the night after the off-the-mountain crowd’s much deserved celebration.

While much of this game was won by the Spartans with their shooting prowess from the perimeter, we also have to give credit to South Caldwell’s rebounding on the defensive end in denying Watauga with second chance opportunities. Overall, SC outrebounded Watauga 46-34, but the real story came in looking more closely. Thirty-seven (37) of those rebounds came on the defensive end, meaning after a Pioneer miss.

With the Northwestern Conference tournament now behind them, all of the teams are likely to be invited to the state playoffs. McDowell will be regarded as the top 7A team in the conference, while South Caldwell, Freedom and maybe Watauga will be in the mix for the best 6A teams from the Northwestern Conference. Alexander Central and St. Stephens are almost sure to make the field, too.

KEY PERFORMERS

• SC – Gavin Frasure: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
• SC – Sam Keaton: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocked shots, 1 steal
• SC – Gantt Prince: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
• SC – Carter Anderson: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
• SC – Colby Greene: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
• WAT – Cade Keller: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
• WAT – Evan Burroughs: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
• WAT – Jackson Love: 14 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist
• WAT – Bowen Mayo: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If nothing else, Watauga got to show off the men’s team roster depth on Feb. 19, playing St. Stephens for the third time since Jan. 22, a 54-43 loss, before going on a tear through the second half of the NWC regular season schedule, including a hard-fought 71-63 win on Feb. 13. With a league tournament blowout on Feb. 19, 74-43, to advance to the tournament final on Feb. 20, against South Caldwell, the Pioneers have completed a six-game winning streak.

“We want to be playing our best basketball in February,” said Pioneer head coach Bryson Payne after the tournament semifinal romp past the Indians. “I can’t say enough about the defensive efforts tonight by senior guard Bowen Mayo and senior forward Brady Lindenmuth. Defense may not always been evident in the stat lines, but they took on some tough challenges tonight.”

With 9 rebounds and 8 points, Lindenmuth was eyeing a double-double, while Mayo had a complete stat line of 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Altogether, the Pioneers’ starters and normal rotational players blew the game open by the end of the third quarter (59-34), allowing the rest of the roster to get valuable court time as Watauga heads into the Feb. 20 Northwestern Conference tournament final and beyond, into the state 6A playoffs.

Senior starting guard Evan Burroughs poured in a game-high 19 points, while freshman forward Jaden McInnis came off the bench to add 11 points, including a thunderous dunk in the final stanza after senior teammate Jackson Love had put on a slamma jamma show a few moments earlier.

Love and senior guard Cade Keller stepped back from the spotlight in this game, often among any particular game’s offensive stars. Love was credited with 4 assists to go with 6 points and 3 rebounds. Keller’s 7 points were accentuated by 5 assists and a pair of steals.

Along with McInnis, Watauga may have gotten a glimpse of the team’s future with freshman guard Cole Lewis coming off the bench in the final stanza to score 7 points in five minutes. Lewis has a playing style similar to senior Cade Keller: dangerously accurate from 3-point land but unafraid to cut through the lane for a driving layup over and around larger opponents.

“It is fun playing with all these guys,” said a modest Burroughs after his game-high 19 points scored.

With the win, Watauga will now play South Caldwell in the tournament finale on Feb. 20, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m.  The tournament’s No.-2 seeded Watauga will face a No. 4 seed in South Caldwell after the Spartans upset No. 1 seeded Freedom on Feb. 18 in the other men’s semifinal, 62-55.

Hosted by Watauga, the tournament finals on Feb. 20 will include the following slate of championship games:

• 4 p.m. – Women’s JV Championship: No. 1 McDowell vs. No. 2 Alexander Central
• 5:15 p.m. – Men’s JV Championship: No. 1 Watauga vs. No. 2 Freedom
• 6:30 p.m. – Women’s Varsity Championship: No. 1 McDowell vs. No. 2 Alexander Central
• 8 p.m. – Men’s Varsity Championship: No. 2 Watauga vs. No. 4 South Caldwell

KEY PERFORMERS, WATAUGA VS. ST. STEPHENS

• WAT – Evan Burroughs: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
• WAT – Jaden McInnis: 11 points, 1 rebound
• WAT – Brady Lindenmuth: 8 points, 9 rebounds
• WAT – Bowen Mayo: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals
• WAT – Jackson Love: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
• WAT – Cade Keller: 7 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals
• WAT – Cole Lewis: 7 points
• WAT – Eli Bishop: 4 points, 4 rebounds,
• WAT – Wit Williamson: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
• STST – Chatham Donley: 10 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound
• STST – Isaac Long: 9 points
• STST – JaChavis Sherrill: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
• STST – Alan Wilson: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
• STST – Maddox Zabian: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — If there was a telltale tribute to the performance of the Watauga High School women’s basketball team on Feb. 19, in the semifinal game of the 6A/7A Northwestern Conference Championship Tournament against Alexander Central, it was the unanimous array of “W” signs held up by the Pioneer men’s varsity team with their hands and fingers near the end of the 63-61, double overtime loss.

Having arrived courtside midway through the fourth quarter of the women’s varsity semifinal, expecting to take the court and prepare for their own semifinal against St. Stephens, the young men morphed into a cheering section for their Pioneer “sisters.” Down by as many as 10 points early in fourth quarter, the Watauga women battled back to tie the game, 47-47, at the end of regulation, then 55-55 after the first overtime session. It was tied, 61-61, with under five seconds remaining in the second OT, and Alexander Central had possession.

A desperation shot went awry, but the Cougars rebounded and shot again. Another miss — and then another rebound. Finally, on the fourth attempt, the Cougars’ senior guard Malayah Adams had the ball and rose above the crowd for a one-handed short jumper. Wagging heads will forever debate whether she got the ball off in time, before the buzzer indicated time had expired, but the officials ruled it good. Alexander Central had won the night.

The Pioneer loss takes nothing away from the courageous effort of the Watauga Pioneers women. Falling behind, they kept coming back — and coming and coming and coming. Plus, they have gotten better and more competitive with their Alexander Central rivals as the season progressed.

On Jan. 16, they were thumped and dumped by the Cougars in Taylorsville, 91-64. Fast forward to not even a month later, on Feb. 9, and the Pioneers lost a more competitive matchup in Lentz Eggers Gym, 59-48. And now, just over a week had gone by and Watauga took ACHS to double overtime — a near miss in advancing to the Northwestern Conference tourney final on Feb. 20.

Coming off the bench as the sixth player to take the court for Watauga, freshman forward Mia Mitchell tied the Cougars’ Adams for game-high scoring honors, each with 23 points. She shared with reporters after the game that the game plan was to not let ACHS’s top scorer, Meredith Wike, be the reason for a Pioneer loss.

That thought was reinforced by fellow freshman Josie Mayo, who recorded an impressive Pioneer stat line of the evening in scoring 17 points, tied with Alexander Central’s Wike for game-high honors in rebounds, grabbing 9, while adding an assist and a steal.

While Watauga’s freshman duo of Mayo and Mitchell were dynamic and captured a lot of Pioneer fans’ attention with their scoring, the semifinal’s team performance saw some impressive work more behind the scenes, too: Izzy forward Izzy Mohr collecting 7 rebounds, scoring 7 points and distributing 7 assists to go with a blocked shot and a steal; Izzy Torgerson connecting on clutch free throws in the second half, en route to a 5-point, 4 rebound, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot and 1 steal performance; and whatever their stat lines, all seven players in the rotation playing punishing defense. Overall, if there was a flaw in the team’s output it was in hitting free throws at the charity stripe, where they were good on just 9-of-17 attempts (47.1 percent).

Lest we forget, though, Alexander Central carried the night with three players in double figures, scoring: Adams (23), senior guard Addie Jack (11) and junior forward Faith Burch (11).

As a team, the Cougars forced a whopping 26 Pioneer turnovers, a number that includes ACHS poaching 20 steals. In addition to the Pioneers’ aforementioned lackluster performance at the free throw line, credit the Cougars’ own pesky defense and Watauga’s consequential ball-handling woes for helping explain the outcome.

Alexander Central (22-2 overall, 9-1 in conference) now advances to the NWC tournament championship game on Friday, Feb. 20, vs. the league’s lone 7A contender, McDowell (20-5, 10-1). And, you guessed it, the teams split in the home-and-home series during the regular season. McDowell earned a 54-41 win on Jan. 13, but lost to the Cougars, 60-53, on Feb. 7.

With the loss, Watauga will lick its wounds knowing they are improving, week by week, now sporting 13-12 overall record and 7-4 in conference play. All three teams will be interesting threats in the state playoffs, due to start next week.

KEY PERFORMERS

• ACHS – Malayah Adams: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
• ACHS – Addie Jack: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals
• ACHS – Meredith Wike: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals
• ACHS – Ava Head: 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, 5 steals
• WAT – Mia Mitchell: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal
• WAT – Josie Mayo: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
• WAT – Izzy Mohr: 7 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
• WAT – Izzy Torgerson: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocked shot, 1 steal
• WAT – Shelby Thompson: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
• WAT – Presli Wood: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — In front of a throng of family members, teammates, faculty and friends, four Watauga High School baseball team members signed commitment letters to colleges or universities on Feb. 13. The quartet of Pioneers included:

• Evan Burroughs, Duke University (Durham, N.C.)
• Luke Rothrock, Bob Jones University (Greenville, S.C.)
• Jake Blanton, King University (Bristol, Tenn.)
• Brett Vannoy, New River CC (Dublin, Va.)

By David Rogers. CARY, N.C. — Several “top 10” individual finishes and strong performances in the relays allowed Watauga’s men’s swimming team to come home with a No. 7 team finish at the NCHSAA 6A State Swimming & Diving Championships on Feb. 13.

A notable Pioneer performance was the No. 7 finish by Lanson Gilbert in a highly competitive 50 Free event, a mere second behind Northwestern Conference rival Logan Kelly (Saint Stephens), the ultimate winner. Among the 31-swimmer field, eight competitors, including Gilbert, went under 22 seconds for the sprint distance and within 1.18 seconds of the No. 1 spot on the podium.

The Saint Stephens athlete, Kelly, was a double winner. He also captured the 100 Free title in 45.71.

Watauga picked up valuable team points by finishing No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in the 200 Freestyle Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. The 200 Free team from Watauga was comprised of Aidan Culpepper, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell and Lanson Gilbert. The 400 Free Relay team included Stacy Eggers, Makdad, Powell and Gilbert.

With almost 60 member schools in the NCHSAA 6A classification and 26 teams scoring points in the state championship meet, Watauga’s No. 7 team result is something special and testimony to the program’s depth.

SUMMARY OF WATAUGA MEN’S PERFORMANCES AT 6A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• 200-Yard Medley Relay (Winning time: 1:33.14, East Chapel Hill)
  • TIE-No. 20, 2:01.96, Andrew Larson, Aiden Culpepper, Stacy Eggers, Seoc Fredenburg
• 200-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 1:40.70, Max Halpern, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 19, Stacy Eggers, 2:02.09
  • No. 26, Aiden Culpepper, 2:12.02
• 200-Yard Individual Medley (Winning time: 1:50.04, Colton Chaires, East Chapel Hill)
  • No Watauga qualifiers
• 50-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 20.72, Logan Kelly, Saint Stephens)
  • No. 7, Lanson Gilbert, 21.78
  • No. 15, Silas Powell, 23.68
• 100-Yard Butterfly (Winning time: 49.50, Alex Nelson, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 8, Lanson Gilbert, 52.95
  • No. 10, Michael Makdad, 53.63
• 100-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 45.71, Logan Kelly, Saint Stephens)
  • No. 11, Silas Powell, 51.46
• 500-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 4:26.33, Colton Chaires, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 12, Stacy Eggers, 5:23.87
• 200-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 1:24.15, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 3, 1:31.83, Aidan Culpepper, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell, Lanson Gilbert
• 100-Yard Backstroke (Winning time: 49.79, Chuanqi John Zhang, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 29, Aidan Culpepper, 1:06.30
• 100-Yard Breaststroke (Winning time: 56.94, Oliver Marrujo, Felton Grove)
  • No. 11, Michael Makdad, 1:04.70
• 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 3:07.25, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 5, 3:27.10, Stacy Eggers, Michael Makdad, Silas Powell, Lanson Gilbert

By David Rogers. CARY, N.C. — Almost 60 schools are in the NCHSAA 6A classification for sports. Twenty-five (25) of them earned team points in the 6A State Swimming & Diving Championships Feb. 12-13 hosted by the Triangle Aquatic Center. Thanks to Wataug

a High School’s depth in several individual races, including a No. 2 finish by senior Athena Elliott, and top five finishes in the relays (No. 2, 200-Yard Medley Relay; No. 3, 200-Yard Freestyle Relay; No. 7, 400-Yard Freestyle Relay), the Watauga women’s team turned in a No. 5 team performance behind only highly regarded Charlotte Catholic, East Chapel Hill, Mount Tabor and J H Rose high schools.

SUMMARY OF WATAUGA WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES (in event order)

• 200-Yard Medley Relay (Winning time, 150.12, J H Rose)
  • TIE-No. 2, 1:50.66, Addison Wilson, Tessa Buchanan, Ayla Crawley, Athena Elliott
• 200-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 1:48.00, Isabel Wolk, East Chapel Hill) 
  • No. 10, Chessy Martin, 2:01.40
  • No. 21, Elizabeth Staehli, 2:12.25
  • No. 26, Viviane Vannoy, 2:20.84
  • No. 30, Caitlin Dong, 2:26.88
• 200-Yard Individual Medley (Winning time, 2:03.75, Peyton James, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 13, Ireland Laxton, 2:29.03
• 50-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 23.57, Kathryn Kern, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 2, Athena Elliott, 24.79
  • No. 6, Merritt Powell, 25.47
  • No. 11, Tessa Buchanan, 25.79
  • No. 19, Macie Kent, 26.86
• 100-Yard Butterfly (Winning time, 55.30, Madi Hertzig, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 10, Athena Elliott, 1:00.32
  • No. 13, Ayla Crawley, 1:01.88
  • No. 23, Vivian Vallecillo, 1:09.06
• 100-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 51.66, CJ Bernardo, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 13, Merritt Powell, 57.82
  • No. 27, Amelia Bennett, 1:01.76
• 500-Yard Freestyle (Winning time: 4:54.58, Isabel Wolk, East Chapel Hill)
  • No. 11, Addison Wilson, 5:27.57
  • No. 12, Chessy Martin, 5:28.80
  • No. 22, Elizabeth Staeheli, 6:09.14
• 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 1:37.64, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 3, 1:40.21, Tessa Buchanan, Merritt Powell, Addison Wilson, Athena Elliott
• 100-Yard Backstroke (Winning time: 56.53, Delaney Schwab, Asheville)
  • No. 8, Addison Wilson, 1:00.58
  • No. 11, Ayla Crawley, 1:02.02
  • No. 20, Macie Kent, 1:09.15
• 100-Yard Breaststroke (Winning time: 1:01.35, Hadleigh Kulas, J H Rose)
  • No. 15, Tessa Buchanan, 1:14.42
• 400-Yard Freestyle Relay (Winning time: 3:31.46, Charlotte Catholic)
  • No. 7, 3:54.65, Ireland Laxton, Macie Kent, Chessy Martin, Ayla Crawley

By David Rogers. BOONE,N.C. — It was “bling night” in Lentz Eggers Gym as the gathered basketball crowd not only celebrated Watauga High School’s Senior Night, but also the school’s NCHSAA 6A Women’s Cross Country State Championship team. The glittering ceremony, though, complete with rings for the individual harriers, was just the undercard of the evening.

The main event saw the Pioneer men’s varsity extend its winning streak to five games with a convincing, 71-63 victory over St. Stephens in the final regular season tilt of 2026 — and completing what on Jan. 22 was considered an unlikely comeback to stake claim to the likely No. 2 seed in next week’s Northwestern Conference tournament.

A sluggish start by Watauga and a determined effort by the visiting Indians resulted in a 12-12 tie at the end of the first quarter and a narrow, 31-28 lead by the Pioneers at intermission. In the second half, Watauga had runs where it looked to be pulling away, much like they did against the team’s previous four Northwestern Conference opponents. But a dogged St. Stephens five kept battling back, narrowing the gap or at least keeping their deficit at 6-8 points.

Celebrating Watauga’s 6A State Cross Country Champs

Don’t tell the men’s basketball Pioneers about any of those bad luck myths about Friday the 13th. They’re not true. A whopping five Watauga players — all seniors — finished in double figures, scoring. Senior forward Brady Lindenmuth was one of them and finished just two rebounds shy of a double-double after scoring 11 points, 8 rebounds, and swatting away 2 blocked shots.

Point guard Cade Keller tied with St. Stephens’ Chatham Donley for game-high scoring honors (20 points), and was joined in double figures by Jackson Love (14), Kyle Williams (11) and Bowen Mayo (10), as well as Lindenmuth.

With a late basket, St. Stephens tied the Pioneers at 12-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Watauga did just enough to take the lead and add to it ever so slightly in each ensuing period. At halftime, the Pioneers held a tenuous, 31-28 advantage, then expanded it to 50-44 by the start of the final period.

St. Stephens finished the regular season 1-9 in conference play, with their only league win coming against Watauga on Jan. 22. Since the Pioneers rematch wins against the other conference opponents have been by more convincing margins, head coach Byron Payne was asked whether there was anything special in the St. Stephens matchup that proved more challenging for his Pioneers.

“It was a battle tonight. I am proud of the way our guys competed, having had to play five games in seven days (because of the weather-induced rescheduling). They stayed n the battle and were able to pull away in the end. St. Stephens plays hard. They are well-coached. They are patient on offense and they work us really hard on defense,” said Payne.

“I am super proud of our seniors and what they have meant for our program,” Payne added. “The time they have spent… they are helping to build the legacy of this program.”

With the win, Watauga is tied with Alexander Central at 6-4 in conference play but, according to MaxPreps, is listed as owning the No. 2 at the end of the regular season and 15-7 overall. Watauga will get a first round bye into the semifinals of the Northwestern Conference tournament and play the first round winner of No. 3 Alexander Central and No. 6 St. Stephens on Thursday, Feb. 19, with an 8 p.m. scheduled tipoff.

As the No. 1 seed, Freedom receives the other first round bye and will play the winner of No. 4 South Caldwell vs. No. 5 McDowell on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m., in the first seminfal.

The semifinal and final games are all hosted by Watauga High School this year.