By Katherine Jamtgaard. BOONE, N.C. — The App State men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to open the 2024 season on Friday with the Covered Bridge Open at the Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm. Competition will start at 10 a.m. with the women’s 5K. The men’s 6K will follow at 10:40 a.m.
Joining the Mountaineers in the field of competition will be High Point, Mercer, Montreat, South Carolina, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate and Western Carolina.
Last Season
The App State men’s squad clinched its first Sun Belt title since 2019 last fall, totaling 28 points and recording four of the top six finishes, outpacing Arkansas State by 19 points. In his first season as the men’s distance coach, Brad Herbster was voted SBC Coach of the Year by his peers. On the women’s side, the Mountaineers finished fifth in the team standings with 125 points.
At the NCAA Southeast Regional, the men’s team recorded its best team finish since 2014, rounding out the top-10 with 332 points. The women’s squad was represented by Jasmine Donohue, who finished 92nd out of 243 runners.
Roster Review
Nine Mountaineers return on the men’s squad, including redshirt seniors Calbert Guest and Dwayne Lillie, who garnered First-Team All-SBC honors last fall. Joining Guest and Lillie for his senior season is Second-Team All-SBC selection Garrett Bivens. Ten newcomers will join the Mountaineers on the men’s side.
Twelve Mountaineers return on the women’s squad, including Donohue, who returns for her senior season after earning Second-Team All-SBC honors last year. Joining Donohue will be senior Karsyn Kane and sophomore Rhys Ammon, who finished among the top-25 at the conference meet. Eight newcomers join the women’s ranks this fall.
2024 Preseason Polls
In this season’s Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll, the men’s team was favored to defend its 2023 title with 80 points and eight first-place votes. The women’s team rose to fourth in the conference preseason poll with 127 points. In the USTFCCCA Preseason Rankings, the men’s squad was ranked 12th in the NCAA Southeast Region.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will host their second of three home meets, the Firetower Project Run, on Sept. 13 at the Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm in Boone. The men’s 8K is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the women’s 6K to follow at 6:40 p.m.
Now No. 1, here are Anderson Castle photos wearing No. 7 and No. 44:
Watauga High School alum Anderson Castle has his number ‘7’ back. On March 25, he looked good slicing through the defensive line in scrimmages for big gains in traffic. Photographic image by David RogersWatauga High School alum Anderson Castle (44) fends off a would-be tackler during a 19-yard TD run in the second half, Oct. 29, 2022, for App State vs. Robert Morris University in Kidd Brewer Stadium. Photo by Gregg Forwerck, courtesy of App State Sports
By David Rogers. CONNELLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Growling Wolverines owned the day on Aug. 28, when the visiting Watauga District Middle School football team defeated East Burke, 24-6. There was good play in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.
PHOTOS: Click on any image for Slide Show mode.
All photographic images by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Hardin Park 8th grader Gaines Hunt pick em up and lays em down vs. East Burke on Aug. 28, in the Watauga Wolverines 24-6 win. Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
BOONE, N.C. – App State director of track & field/cross country Damion McLean has been chosen as the Sun Belt Conference Representative for the USTFCCCA Coaches Committee and will serve through December 2025.
McLean is entering his seventh season at the helm of the program and earned a contract extension that will run through the 2027-28 season. McLean oversaw the hiring of men’s distance coach Brad Herbster and women’s distance coach Annie Richards last fall. Herbster later guided the men’s team to its first Sun Belt title since 2019 and was named 2023 Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
Over the cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track season, the Mountaineers broke eight program records, collected 24 All-SBC honors, and four Mountaineers totaled eight SBC Athlete of the Week accolades, including two three-time selections. McLean also coached the 2024 Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Newcomer of the Year, Ashlee Osaji. App State sent seven Mountaineers to the NCAA East Preliminary Round, which is the most individual qualifiers the program has sent to the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships in program history.
The Mountaineers will open the 2024 cross country season on Friday with the Covered Bridge Open at the Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm. The Women’s 5K is slated for a 10 a.m. start with the men’s 6K to follow at 10:40 a.m.
By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — App State Soccer extended its home unbeaten streak to 12 consecutive games, and remains unbeaten on the season following a 1-1 draw against Charlotte, Sunday evening at The Valley.
The Mountaineers (1-0-2) opened the scoring in the 33rd minute. Ellie Garrison played the ball out wide to the right wing, and after one dribble, Stephanie Barbosa fired a pass to the center of the box, where Shannon Studer was waiting, and put it away with a right-footed finish. Studer has now scored in back-to-back games, also scoring the first App State goal in a 5-0 win over Wofford on Thursday.
Charlotte (0-3-1) evened the score in the 57th minute. Payton Patrick drilled a shot on goal that was saved by Sarah Wommack but the rebound bounced right to Macey Bader who was there for the finish. Wommack finished with a career-high six saves in the contest.
It was a high-tempo game from start-to-finish and even more so in the second half. Both teams finished with double-digit shots and combined to place 11 shots on target in a game that featured just two goals. The teams also combined for 18 fouls and four yellow cards.
Studer, Mumu Guisasola and Skyler Walk played all 90 minutes, while freshman Lauren Smith made her Mountaineer debut.
Prior to the match the Mountaineers hosted a Senior Day ceremony, where the team honored fourth year players Barbosa, Gracie Giacoletto, Walk and Sarah Widderich, as well as fifth-year players Guisasola and Izzi Wood.
App State will be back in action on Thursday when the team welcomes Longwood to Boone for a 6 p.m. matchup. The Lancers are 0-2-1, following a 2-2 draw with Western Carolina on Aug. 25. It will mark the first meeting between App State and Longwood since 2012. The match slated to be broadcast on ESPN+.
By David Rogers. BUFFALO, N.C. — Touchdown passes to three different receivers helped visiting Carolina roll up 414 yards of total offense on Aug. 24, propelling the Panthers to a 31-26 win over the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 season’s third and final preseason game.
In his first game action of the preseason, second year quarterback Bryce Young directed a 12 play, 85-yard TD-scoring drive that took almost seven minutes off the game clock in the opening drive of the contest. Carolina’s first team starters didn’t play much in this game but made the best of it. Young completed 6 of 8 passes for 70 yards and was sacked once in what turned out to be the Panthers’ only offensive possession of the first quarter. Young hit Jordan Matthews for an 8-yard scoring pass open the game, before backup QB Jack Plummer took over for the rest of the way. Plummer completed 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards and two TDs. He was sacked once for an 8-yard loss.
Jalen Coker hauls in a 36-yard TD pass from Jack Plummer on Aug. 24, for the Carolina Panthers final preseason game vs. the Buffalo Bills. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
Being on the receiving end of a 36-yard TD pass from Plummer in the fourth quarter allowed Jalen Coker to finish among the pass reception leaders among the 16 Panthers receivers catching at least one pass. Wide receiver Terrace Marshall, Jr. caught a 15 yard TD pass from Plummer midway through the third quarter, finishing with 3 catches for 39 yards. Tight end Jesper Horstad was the big play workhorse on this day, hauling in a pair of passes for a game-high 63 yards.
In evaluating Young after the game, Panthers head coach Dave Canales was understandably excited about what he saw.
“It was great, right?,” The Panthers’ first year head coach asked, rhetorically. “Couldn’t have dreamt it better. A nice long drive, 12 plays to get the guys some good work, get them tired in the drive. A fourth down conversion in there, but saw [Bryce Young] extend plays with his legs, keeping his eyes down the field, finding guys. You can see the carry-over from practice to the game of people creating space, the play after the play. Those are the things that are so critical for us. He handled the run game with great expertise and got us to the right runs in those situations. So, I felt great about it.”
Jack Plummer looked sharp in completing 21 of 29 passes for 278 yards against Buffalo in the Panthers’ final preseason game, Aug. 24. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
The decision to play Plummer the rest of the way after Young’s opening series also meant that the primary reserve, veteran Andy Dalton, also had to sit.
“He (Dalton) felt ready. It was really me. I just saw putting Andy [Dalton] in a competitive situation after we’ve gotten him completely healthy (as counterproductive). He had a great week of practice, and I thought, ‘If I put him in a competitive situation, he’s going to go win.’ He’s going to take off. I just really thought this is a great opportunity to give Jack Plummer another chance to be evaluated. He took full advantage of that, which was awesome,” said Canales.
Of local interest, former Appalachian State star running back Darrynton Evans recorded the Bills’ first TD of the day, coming out of the backfield to catch a pass QB Ben DiNucci on the left side, near the line of scrimmage. He shook off a would-be tackler along the sidelines, then sprinted into the end zone to complete the 18 yard TD-scoring play. Evans is competing with several other running backs to potentially make the 53-man active roster. All 32 NFL teams will be active during the next three days to make the necessary cuts, to get their respective rosters down to 53 by 4 p.m, Eastern time, on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
The Panthers open the regular season on Sept. 8 in New Orleans (1 p.m. kickoff), then face the Los Angeles Chargers in Bank of America Stadium for the Week 2 matchup on Sept. 15 (also 1 p.m. kickoff).
One of the Carolina Panthers’ prized draft picks, tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders makes contact after a catch and run against Buffalo in the final preseason game, Aug. 24. Photo courtesy of the Carolina Panthers
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. and ASHEBORO, N.C. — A young Watauga volleyball team that started out losing 3 of its first four non-conference matches in the 2024 season evened their season record at 3-3 with consecutive wins against tough opponents.
vs. St. Stephens
The Pioneers have long had a challenging, friendly rivalry relationship with St. Stephens through the years, dating back to when both teams competed in the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference.
An undefeated, 3-0 Indians team came into Lentz Eggers Gym to face a 1-3 Pioneer team on Aug. 21, but a solid offensive performance combined with gutsy defense allowed Watauga to sweep the Indians, 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-21).
Key Players
WAT – Grace Tillery: 17 kills, 5 total blocks, 4 digs
WAT – Kora Knight: 12 kills, 8 total blocks
WAT – Ashlyn Smith: 8 kills, 7 serve receives
WAT – Carolina Childers: 18 digs, 3 assists, 24 serve receives, 2 service aces
WAT – Lainey Gragg: 26 assists, 6 digs
WAT – Quinn Haines: 17 assists, 7 digs, 1 service ace
SST – Ady Mchenry: 32 serve receives, 1 service ace
SST – Delayna Spencer: 15 digs
vs. Southwestern Randolph
A year ago, Southwestern Randolph finished the season as the No. 3 ranked 2A team in the state, with an overall record of 25-5 and 12-0 in the 1A/2A Piedmont Athletic Conference, but lost five seniors to graduation coming into the current campaign. Under head coach Darby Kennedy, though, the SW Randolph program has thrived and become one of the 2A levels most dominant programs since she took the helm in 2013, without a losing record either in conference play or overall for any season.
In hosting Watauga on Aug. 22, it was two young teams going against each other, both wanting to prove something. And the scores reflected the combativeness, with Watauga surviving as a tenacious, five-set winner, 3-2 (25-16, 14-25, 25-20, 17-25, 15-11).
Although SW Randolph had a size advantage with two players over six feet in height (junior middle blockers Bailey Blackmon, 6-0, and Kinlin Hulin, 6-2), and others approaching that height in sophomore outside hitter Carolina Cagle (5-10) and senior middle blocker Jade Matias (5-10), Watauga’s overall athleticism, quickness and skill won the day in the back-and-forth, 5-set thriller.
Key Players
WAT – Grace Tillery: 14 kills, 8 service aces, 2 total blocks
WAT – Ashlyn Smith: 10 kills, 11 digs, 23 serve receives, 1 service ace
WAT – Gracyn Phelps: 8 kills,3 service aces, 2 total blocks
WAT – Kora Knight: 6 kills, 4 total blocks
WAT – Quinn Haines: 15 assists, 2 service aces
WAT – Caroline Childers: 25 serve receives, 18 digs, 1 service ace
WAT – Hadleigh Windish: 4 total blocks, 2 kills
WAT – Lainey Gragg: 20 assists, 14 digs
WAT – Kaitlyn Darner: 14 digs, 8 serve receives
WAT – Katie Matheson: 12 digs, 12 serve receives, 1 service ace
By David Rogers. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Two Watauga touchdowns and successful PATs in the first half accounted for all of the scoring on Aug. 23 in TCR-Ensley Stadium as the Pioneers defeated T C Roberson, 14-0, in a gritty season opener for both teams.
It may well have been a non-conference game but with picture perfect, early fall weather framing the contest and thousands of football-hungry fans in attendance, there was an electric atmosphere on the field for the longtime friendly rivalry game, the grandstands nearly filled on both sides of the field.
Evan Burroughs (12) looks for space on Aug. 23, at T C Roberson for the 2024 season opener. Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
For offensive minded spectators, the night was a disappointment, especially among the Rams’ faithful in seeing their favorite sons shutout. After some mid-game and halftime defensive adjustments, Roberson held the Pioneers’ grinding, ball control-oriented option offense mostly in check — just as Watauga’s defense did throughout the game.
To learn that Watauga was limited to 223 yards of total offense, those not in attendance might have reckoned a Pioneer loss. Look deeper into the team statistics, though, and you learn that the High Country visitors limited their hosts to just 117 yards of total offense while forcing four turnovers, two fumbles and two pass interceptions.
As he has done for the previous three seasons, Watauga quarterback Maddox Greene rolled up a game-high 126 yards rushing on 20 carries, his longest a 44-yard scamper through the Ram defense, that one play accounting for slightly more than a third of the senior’s rushing total.
Watauga captains Patrick Mellon (63), Trathan Gragg (6), J T Cook (58) and Maddox Greene (4) prepare to go out for the coin flip on Aug. 23 at T C Roberson. Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
The game was not without offensive highlights, such as running back Matthew Leon’s 24-yard TD sprint to open the game’s scoring in the first quarter. Head coach Ryan Habich explained later that the play’s success in getting the speedy Leon into space hinged on quarterback Maddox Greene’s “read” of the defensive movements and adjusting accordingly. Also a sprinter in track, Leon was able to capitalize in attacking space.
“Matthew Leon and Everett Gryder share that running back position,” said head coach Ryan Habich after the game. “Both also play defense. We’ll rotate that running back position and as the year goes on they are both options to play running back and they are both good players. There will be games where we will go with the hot hand, say if one of them is hitting the holes really good…
“… On that particular play, it was a read (by QB Maddox Greene). Our quarterback reads (the defensive coverage) 90 percent of the time,” said Habich. “It was a shotgun play where we were pulling people and Maddox was reading (the defender) and he came up the field. So Maddox made a nice read with good blocking in to the weak side of that play. It was a big play for us… It was a unique play that we showed them. They hadn’t seen it. We ran it from a ‘trips’ (formation). We did a good job of popping it through. We tried it again in the second half but they did a very good job of defending it.”
Watauga QB Maddox Greene (4) escapes the clutches of a T C Roberson defender on Aug. 23, in the Pioneers season-opening, 14-0 win. Photographic image by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Habich was candid in talking with reporters after the game about his team’s performance.
“Even where we win sloppy, we will take the win,” he said. “I told our guys before the game that we have an opportunity to play a very good football team. (TC Roberson) returns everyone except two starting players on defense, so that was a big win. Offensively, we didn’t play (well). Defensively, I thought we played really good. We played assignment football.
“That’s the big thing about our program. We want to play complimentary football,” Habich added. “We controlled the field position and did a good job with punts, our quick kicks. Maddox Greene did a good job of pinning them back. It is harder for a team to call offensive plays when you pin them back (against their own goal line). I don’t (normally) like to punt the ball, but we (punted well). We made a lot of mistakes and there are a lot of things we have to change if we want to be a top tier team. We have high expectations here at Watauga High School. The last decade has shown that… We have great kids. They are close but now we have to figure out how to be great teammates.”
Watauga travels to Newland, N.C. next Friday for a High Country rivalry game against Avery County. The Vikings fell to Cherryville in its hard fought season opener, 20-18. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
T C Roberson is also on the road Aug. 30, with a tilt hosted by East Rutherford in another non-conference matchup.
By Zach Smith. ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Gritty, hard-working and “blue collar” have been terms used in the past to describe the mentality of Watauga High School football by head coach Ryan Habich. Those traits were on display Aug. 23, when the Pioneers defeated TC Roberson in a tough, low-scoring contest, 14-0.
Junior Matthew Leon scored the 2024 edition of Watauga football’s first points late in the first quarter. With the ball on the Rams’ 24-yard line, Leon broke through the offensive line with explosive speed, crossing the goal line without a defender in sight.
With offensive lineman Carson Gunnell-Beck (57) paving the way, Watauga QB Maddox Greene attacks space at TC Roberson on Aug. 23. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country SportsPhotographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Late in the half, another Habich mantra — “win the middle eight [minutes]” (last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half) — was reinforced. Senior Landon Smith pounced on a fumble coughed up by TC Roberson quarterback Laron Mills, providing the Pioneers a golden opportunity to extend their lead with a short field. Five plays later, senior Maddox Greene powered his way to a four-yard score with less than 15 seconds on the clock.
While the Watauga offense was largely stifled, the Pioneer defense was stellar against an athletic Rams team. The Pioneers forced four fumbles, two of which resulted in turnovers, while intercepting two passes to create four Roberson turnovers.
Ryan Habich praised his defense for their performance post-game.
“Defensively, I thought we played really good,” Habich said. “We played assignment football, and that’s a big thing about our program. We want to play complimentary football. I thought we did that.”
On a keeper, Watauga QB Maddox Greene reaches for the goal line at T C Roberson, Aug. 23. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Watauga’s offense was never able to find a groove in their win over TC Roberson. The longest run that didn’t result in a touchdown for the Pioneers was 13 yards, which is uncharacteristic for a Habich-led team. He spoke on the team’s struggles in the run game.
“We didn’t block very well,” Habich said. “When that happens, it’s not a good situation for us. We’re trying to find different ways that we can pop running backs through [the offensive line], and we’re not blocking.”
Habich compared his team’s performance to the Pioneers’ previous bout with the Rams in 2023, an even closer game in which Watauga emerged winners of a one-point contest, 13-12. He pointed out that his squad improved drastically in the following weeks.
“It’s that first game,” Habich said. “It’s like the same thing that happened last year when we played TC Roberson, and we got better. I told the guys at the game, ‘continuous improvement.’”
Watauga opens the season 1-0 with their victory over TC Roberson. The Pioneers return to action Aug. 30, traveling to Avery County for a High Country rivalry game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30p.m.
By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — BOONE, N.C. – As the sound of vuvuzelas rang out through the High Country, the App State Soccer team fed off the energy and delivered a 5-0 victory over Wofford in its home opener at The Valley.
Dynamic duo gets things started
The Mountaineers (1-0-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 15 minutes of play, with the duo of Shannon Studer and Kaytan Kroboth working in tandem for a pair of tallies.
Midfielder Olivia Simon notches App State’s third of five goals against visiting Wofford on Aug. 22, the final goal in the first half. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
First it was Studer, who received the feed from Kroboth, used the outside of her right foot to slide the ball into space, before slotting it inside the near post in the ninth minute of play. Less than four minutes later, Studer repaid her helper – slicing through the defense before laying the ball off to Kroboth, who delivered a left-footed strike into the top left corner of the cage.
The goal was the first of Kroboth’s career, two games into her sophomore campaign. “It was great,” Kroboth said. “I’ve really been wanting one and really been waiting for it, I’ve been practicing it and I’m so glad I got to do it tonight at home with these girls.”
The Mountaineers kept the pressure on. In the 28th minute, sophomore Olivia Simon jumped a passing lane deep in the Terriers’ (1-2-0) end, and in one fell swoop booted a shot into the side netting to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 edge going into halftime.
App State kept the Wofford goalkeeper Rylee Godbold (1) busy throughout the Aug. 22 match in The Valley. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
More of the same in second half
App State forced another miscue less than eight minutes into the second half. Freshman Ellie Garrison fed a cross through the middle of the box, and while her pass was a stride behind Izzi Wood, a backtracking Wofford defender deflected it into the net for an own goal and a 4-0 lead.
Wood would find the net anyway, just 90 seconds later in heading home a Kyli Switalsi corner kick for her first tally of the season. The goal also marked the 16th of Wood’s career, moving her into sole possession of ninth place on the Mountaineers’ career scoring list.
Anybody for ‘the bump’? Olivia Simon (18) looks to put the ball in play, defended by Wofford’s Caileen Almeida (30). Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The game was called with just under three minutes to play in regulation due to a severe head injury when two Wofford players collided.
Another clean sheet for Wommack
Goalkeeper Sarah Wommack posted four saves and a shutout for the second consecutive match. App State has now recorded 17 clean sheets in head coach Aimee Haywood’s tenure. The victory also extended the Mountaineers’ home unbeaten streak to 11 consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 14, 2022. The five goals were the most scored by the Mountaineers in a shutout since defeating UNC Asheville 6-0 Sept. 1, 2019.
The Mountaineers will celebrate senior day at home on Sunday as they play host to Charlotte. The senior day ceremony will begin at 4:15 p.m., ahead of a 5 p.m. tilt with the 49ers. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
