Category: High School

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — For the record, the Watauga women’s basketball team lost to Hibriten, 64-50, on Feb. 3, completing the regular season sweep for the host Panthers.

It was an athletic, highly physical and impassioned Hibriten quintet of seniors that took the floor at the start of the game on “Senior Night” for the Panthers. They set the tone early and imposed their close quarters contact style of play to great effect. Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Watauga did not match the Panthers’ physicality and fell behind early.

The Pioneers played in “perfect storm” conditions. Not only did they seem unprepared for how physical the game evolved but they were playing with at least one leg in a bucket of cement, figuratively speaking. To say that Pioneer guards Kate Sears and Charlotte Torgerson were playing “under the weather” would be an understatement.

Sears was visibly in discomfort as she made a valiant attempt to fight through her illness and pull her teammates with her, but she nonetheless spent frequent, long stretches of time on the bench. To say she had an off night is hardly an exaggeration. It is rare that she is held scoreless in any period of a game, but that is what occurred in the first quarter. She eventually found the basket, mostly inside because her shots from long distance weren’t falling.

Said one teammate after the game of Sears, “I am surprised Kate didn’t vomit on the floor. Then there was this mucus… it was gross. Kate played bravely. She didn’t want to let the team down.”

Sears finished with 14 points. She was 0-for-3 from the foul line, a stat that says two things: (1) Sears was having an off night shooting because she is usually closer to perfect from the free throw line and (2) the officials were calling fewer fouls (given her drive-to-the-basket style, it is unusual for Sears to be awarded only three free throws).

Not quite as sick, apparently, Torgerson recorded a team-high 20 points, including three 3-pointers and 9-of-9 shooting from the foul line.

For Hibriten, senior guard Katie Story tallied a game-high 23 points, including a trio of 3-pointers and was successful on 6-of-7 free throws. Junior Emma Poarch wasn’t far behind with 18 points, also with three 3-pointers. Another senior, guard Zoey Walker added a couple more big shots from behind the arc, totaling 12 points on the night.

The ebb and flow of the contest mostly favored Hibriten throughout. Building on a 12-6 lead after the physical first quarter, the Panthers took a 24-18 lead into halftime. Coming out of intermission, Watauga briefly closed the gap in the third quarter — but it ended with the Pioneers still five points behind, 39-34.

Early in the final period, there was hope among the Pioneer faithful that the ship might be righted and Watauga could forge ahead. Three pointers by Torgerson and Julie Matheson helped close a 10-point deficit and pulled the Pioneers to within a single bucket, 44-42, but a subsequent 9-0 run by the Panthers all but squashed those hopes.

With time quickly evaporating, Watauga was forced to foul and hope that the Hibriten players would miss at the charity stripe in giving the ball back. The Pioneers sent the Panthers to the foul line for 11 foul shots in the fourth quarter, where they made eight of them.

Now 16-6 overall and 6-2 in Northwestern Conference play (both conference losses to Hibriten), Watauga will close out its season next week at Freedom on Feb. 7, then at home against Ashe County on Feb. 10.

Although both Hibriten and Watauga have identical 6-2 records in conference play, if both teams win out then the Panthers will own the tiebreaker in determining conference tournament seeding since both of the Pioneers’ losses were to their rivals from Lenoir.

By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — It is pure speculation — and maybe even folly — to suggest that a different trio of game officials would have resulted in a different outcome than Hibriten’s 62-49 men’s basketball win over visiting Watauga on Feb. 3.

And yet, when 56 fouls are called, producing 71 free throws, a total of five players fouling out, and a head coach awarded a technical for protesting a questionable call perhaps a bit too cynically, the scorekeepers are excused for having to unpack their slide rules and an abacus, to tally things up after the game.

The irony, of course, is that it was the NCHSAA’s “Appreciation Night” for game officials. Without question, arguably underpaid game officials need to be respected for their service and willingness to endure the sometimes over-the-top criticism. The games could not be played without them. In this case, players, coaches and fans from both sides might well have appreciated a do-over.

The best officiating is when the referees have control of the game but you hardly realize they are there. They won’t be remembered for affecting the outcome.

By calling nit-picking violations away from the ball and letting the big stuff go, like flying elbows cracking into ribs and skulls under the basket or offensive players lowering their shoulders in making contact as they drive into an opposing defender, the Feb. 3 game officials were on the verge of losing control by early in the second quarter. Then, perhaps sensing that they were losing control, they started calling everything big and little, real or imagined (those they suspected had occurred, whether they had or not).

Admittedly, the game officials might well have been intimidated by a vocally abusive, even at times openly hostile home crowd in Panthers Gymnasium, although to be fair there were points where the bewildering calls raised the ire and consternation among the usually reserved and (mostly) polite Watauga supporters, too.

“It was frustrating,” Watauga head coach Bryson Payne said as the gym was emptying afterwards. “I just didn’t feel like we were allowed to play basketball.”

That said, Watauga’s players were missing shots while Hibriten’s took advantage of their opportunities. For the Panthers, Kalen Bowers was good on a pair of 3-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points. Teammate Jay Maxwell was close behind with 16 points, including the only other successful shot from behind the arc.

For Watauga, seven players got in the scorebook for points but only Wyatt Kohout managed double figures, with 14 points. Junior forward Jackson Pryor did yeoman’s work inside, collecting 9 points on the night.

With the loss, Watauga’s season record evens out to 11-11 overall and 4-4 in Northwestern Conference play. With the regular season winding down to a close (only two more games remain to determine the seeding for the conference tournament), the outcome of every game becomes critical.

On Feb. 7, the Pioneers travel to Morganton to play Freedom before returning home to close out the league schedule vs. Ashe County on Feb. 10. Conference tournament play begins on Feb. 14.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After battling back to tie or go ahead of Alexander Central’s men’s basketball team on Jan. 31, at the end there was nothing more Watauga could do.

With time ticking away in regulation and the score tied 37-37, the Cougars’ Chad Lasher took pass from the perimeter and laid the ball up and in, beating the buzzer by 0.1 seconds to secure Alexander Central’s win over the Pioneers, 39-37, in front of a packed crowd filling Lentz Eggers Gym.

The drama was setup just moments before when Watauga’s Maddox Greene tied the game at 37 with a 3-pointer on the other end of the floor, with roughly 40 seconds remaining. The Cougars calmly brought the ball up court, the clock tick-tick-ticking away and the game seemingly headed to overtime before Lasher found the ball in his hands and he instinctively went to the rim with hit as time was expiring.

Each team had only one player in double figures scoring, offensively. Cougars guard Avery Cook had a team-high 13 points while Greene recorded a game-high 14 points for Pioneers.

“Coming in we knew we would be facing a good team and that it would be a battle,” said Watauga head coach Bryson Payne afterwards. “They like to keep it low scoring and they kept it low scoring. It just came down to the last possession. We told our guys that we are proud of the way they played tonight and I am proud of the way they played. We played hard and lost on one shot. We lost just one shot away from the game going into overtime, where anything can happen. It is never fun to lose on a buzzer beater, but (Alexander Central) ran a good set, got a good look and they hit it. That is basketball.”

As the Pioneers head to a Feb. 3 rematch at Hibriten, Payne noted, “We have a lot of work left to do. Every conference game is extremely important. We have to not dwell on this one and get to work for the next one.”

• WAT Maddox Greene: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
• WAT Grant Morrison: 9 points, 1 steal
• WAT Wyatt Kohout: 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• WAT Jackson Pryor: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 1 steal
• WAT Wyatt Keller: 6 points, 1 steal, 2 rebounds
• ALX Avery Cook: 13 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds
• ALX Chad Lasher: 12 rebounds, 4 points, 4 assists
• ALX Carter Fortner: 8 points, 5 rebounds
• ALX Luke Hammer: 2 steals, 3 points, 3 rebounds
• ALX Grayson Presnell: 6 assists, 5 points

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Early in the second quarter on Jan. 31 at Lentz Eggers Gym, Watauga’s junior varsity men trailed Alexander Central, 17-7. In the blink of an eye the Pioneers went on an 11-0 run, erased the deficit and took an 18-17 lead into halftime.

Behind 18 points by point guard Cade Keller, including a perfect 11-for-11 from the foul line, the Pioneers’ JVs went outscored the Cougars’ JVs 29-17 after halftime to record a convincing, 47-34 win.

With the victory, the Pioneers are 13-6 overall for the 2022-23 season, including 4-2 against Northwestern Conference opponents.

When asked about the second quarter rally and what led to it, Pioneer JV head coach Andrew Wilson said, “Ball movement and defensive intensity. That, and I asked the guys to have fun. We got better movement in finding the open man later in the second quarter and our stepped up defensive pressure disrupted their possessions or made for more challenging shots.”

SCORING SUMMARY

• WAT Cade Keller (18)
• ALX Jay’lon Connor (16)
• WAT Landon Smith (9)
• ALX Garison Millsaps (8)
• WAT Eli Bishop (7)
• ALX Jaheim Redmond (5)
• ALX Lukson Green (5)
• WAT Jackson Love (4)
• WAT Brady Lindenmuth (4)
• WAT Matthew Habich (2)
• WAT Paul Taylor (2)
• WAT Noah Dishman (1)

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Although Alexander Central has one of the best women’s basketball teams in the Northwestern Conference and challenged Watauga on Jan. 10 in a low-scoring defensive battle before losing, 38-25, in Taylorsville, they couldn’t keep up in the Jan. 31 rematch at Lentz Eggers Gym. The Pioneers ran away with this one, 52-39, before a full house of fans on both sides of the gym floor.

Pioneer point guard Kate Sears poured in a game-high 21 points while tying senior teammate Brooke Scheffler for game-high honors with 7 rebounds each. Pioneer senior Caroline Farthing wasn’t far behind in clearing the boards, with 6 rebounds.

Watauga never trailed, jumping out to a commanding, 16-7 lead after one quarter of play, with Scheffler and Sears taking charge. And then they kept piling on. At halftime, the Pioneers led by double-digits, 30-18, with Sears and Charlotte Torgerson adding 6 points each in the second period.

Much of Watauga’s success should be credited to a the team’s strong defensive effort. Head coach Laura Barry told High Country Sports after the game that they were particularly concerned about containing what they considered to be the Cougars’ three main scoring threats, Meredith Wike, Sydney Hayes, and Kirstyn Herman. While Hayes (13 points) and Harman (12) reached double figures, the Pioneers limited Wike to just two points on the night.

Watauga senior guard Laurel Kiker explained afterward that the Pioneer defensive pressure was very intentional, acknowledging that it helped lead to off balanced shots by the Cougars.

“They weren’t shooting very well,” said Kiker, “and our transition play was pretty good. They had a hard time keeping up with us.”

Next up for the Pioneer women is another, second half of the season rematch they have had circled on the calendar: at Hibriten. The Panthers are responsible for Watauga’s only Northwestern Conference loss of the season, an edgy, 48-45 defeat on a cold-shooting night by the Pioneers after a fire in the school disrupted the flow of the evening’s events.

Watauga will go into the game with sole possession of first place in the NWC standings, with a 6-1 league record. Since upsetting the Pioneers on Jan. 12, Hibriten lost to Alexander Central on  Jan. 17, 51-45, and to Freedom on Jan. 27, 46-41.

SELECTED KEY PERFORMERS

• WAT Kate Sears: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
• WAT Charlotte Torgerson: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
• WAT Brooke Scheffler: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
• WAT Caroline Farthing: 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 points
• WAT Laurel Kiker: 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
• ALX Sydney Hayes: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 2 assists
• ALX Kirstyn Herman: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

 

 

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — From start to finish, it was a balanced scoring night for the Watauga men’s basketball team in a resounding, 65-45 win over South Caldwell at Lentz Eggers Gym on Jan. 27.

Pioneer point guard Maddox Greene poured in a game-high 17 points, including 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line, and forward Grant Morrison added 14 to lead Watauga.

In front of packed grandstands, the Pioneers had a 27-24 edge over the Spartans at halftime, but Wyatt Keller’s three, 3-pointers in the third quarter helped Watauga jump out to a 21-11 run as Watauga clamped down on South Caldwell, defensively, after intermission. A 17-10 fourth quarter was icing on the proverbial cake.

“It was a hard fought win,” said Pioneer head coach Bryson Payne afterwards. “Both teams played hard and the officials let us play, so it was a physical game. Ultimately, I was proud of the way our guys played and held their composure. We were able to finish in the second half by moving the ball in transition and pushing the tempo.”

That the team’s scoring was spread around the roster was not lost on Payne.

“We want to be unselfish. We talk about it a lot. In fact, the stats we care the most about are assists and even pass to assist,” said Payne. “We have a lot of guys who can score the basketball. On any given night, we want to get as many guys as possible into double digits. It makes us hard to play against when so many can score on any given night.”

While Greene was the team leader in points scored, he also recorded a team-high nine assists. Keller and point guard coming off the bench, Cole Horine, led the team with three steals each.

Critical to the Pioneers’ ability to get second chance points were the 13 offensive rebounds, nine by junior forward Jackson Pryor and four pulled down by Wyatt Kohout.

On the other end of the court, Keller cleared the glass for seven defensive rebounds, while Greene hauled in five defensive boards and Pryor four defensive rebounds.

On Jan. 31, the Watauga men will host Alexander Central, looking to reverse their fortune after a 66-47 loss to the Cougars in Taylorsville on Jan. 10.  Then the Pioneers will travel to Lenoir on Feb. 3, to face Hibriten. Watauga has won three of four games since taking down the Panthers, 70-63, on Jan. 12.

SCORING SUMMARY

• WAT Maddox Greene (17)
• SC Connor Setzer (16)
• WAT Grant Morrison (14)
• SC Tyler Eggers (10)
• WAT Wyatt Keller (9)
• WAT Wyatt Kohout (8)
• WAT Jackson Pryor (6)
• SC Carter Anderson (6)
• SC Tyler Cline (5)
• SC Riley Heubaum (5)
• WAT Cole Horine (4)
• WAT Josiah Railey (3)
• SC Dawson Carr (3)
• WAT Davis Hunt (2)
• WAT Cade Keller (2)

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a game within a game, of sorts. Kate Sears’ 16 points in just the third quarter would have tied for game-high scoring honors, but Watauga’s sophomore point guard had even more to say about the outcome of the Pioneers’ rematch with South Caldwell on Jan. 27.

When the dust had settled on this Northwestern Conference 4A duel, Sears had poured in 38 points across the full four quarters of play while she and her teammates ratcheted down defensively on the Spartans, en route to a dominating, 73-30 win.

According to MaxPreps.com, South Caldwell’s Lillie Bumgarner averages 16.4 points per game. Her 16 points scored against the Pioneers matched that season average but that was just about all the offense the Spartans could put together. South Caldwell guards Addison Edwards (7 points) and Kaylee Anderson (5 points) each had a 3-pointer on the night, both in the third quarter, but the lasses from Hudson could not keep up with the Sears-driven Pioneers.

Watauga simply shot the proverbial lights out at Lentz Eggers Gym in front of a packed house on both sides of the gym floor, including a whopping 14 made shots from behind the 3-point arc, six by Sears and four by another Pioneer sharpshooter, Charlotte Torgerson (12 points on the night). Meanwhile, senior forwards Caroline Farthing (9 points) and Brooke Scheffler (7) added three and one shots, respectively, from long distance.

“It was great to watch our kids shoot like that,” said Pioneer head coach Laura Barry after the game. Our defense was staunch, which is what we have been working on and it was great to see. And when you are hitting three-pointers like that, it is hard to beat.”

Barry and the Pioneers knew that their biggest threat from the Spartans was in Bumgarner.

“She had a big third quarter and we made some adjustments,” said Barry. “Overall, our ball movement was really good. Our play in transition was really good. There are games when we are not shooting as well that we don’t look very good. In the first quarter tonight, we scored 14, which is OK, but as a team we had much better second and fourth quarters and Kate (Sears), of course, had that really big third quarter. Sixteen points is a good complete game for any player.”

What was most remarkable about the Pioneers’ performance on the night, other than their shooting, was the defensive effort. Sears and Julie Matheson each had blocked shots against Bumgarner, while Scheffler, Farthing and Laurel Kiker, along with Sears, were consistently effective in disrupting Spartan possessions.

Late in the game with the commanding lead, the only starter on the court was Sears, the rest Pioneer players coming off the bench.

“It is important for us to get our bench players in,” Barry said, “but we wanted to leave one point guard on the court. That was either going to be Sears or Torgerson and we just decided to leave Kate in there. It could have been either one of them and I think they all played well.”

Now 15-5 overall and 5-1 in Northwestern Conference play, next up for the Watauga women’s team is a home date vs. Alexander Central on Jan. 31 and then a rematch with Hibriten on Feb. 3.

“We beat Alexander Central (Jan. 10, 38-25) down in Taylorsville. It was a close, defensive game without a lot of scoring. Then we suffered our only conference loss here in Boone to Hibriten (Jan. 12, 48-45). I think we will do a lot better. That was the night of the fire here at the school. We didn’t shoot well. There was a lot going on.”

SCORING SUMMARY

• WAT Kate Sears (38)
• SC Lillie Bumgarner (16)
• WAT Charlotte Torgerson (12)
• WAT Caroline Farthing (9)
• WAT Brooke Scheffler (7)
• SC Addison Edwards (7)
• SC Kaylee Anderson (5)
• WAT Kaitlyn Darner (4)
• WAT Julie Matheson (3)
• SC Chloe Phillips (2)

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Record-breaking performances highlighted the 2023 3A/4A Northwestern Conference Swimming Championships on Jan. 25, hosted by the Watauga Community Recreation Center, even if league records are somewhat of a moving target given periodic conference realignment.

Under the new conference alignment that now includes Watauga, South Caldwell, Ashe County, Freedom, Hibriten and Alexander Central, the Pioneers own 15 records among the 24 men’s and women’s events. Eight of those were either established or lowered in the 2023 conference meet.

Watauga junior Lauren Patterson is part of six of those record-setting performances after lowering her own record in the Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly and the Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke in Wednesday’s competition. Looking at the Northwestern Conference historical performances and not adjusting for realignment, Patterson still owns four individual NWC records and is part of two record-setting relay performances, both set at the 2022 Northwestern Conference meet.

Other noteworthy performances that set records under the new conference alignment were Virginia St. Clair (WATAUGA, Women’s 200 Freestyle, Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay), Maggie Cheves (WATAUGA, Women’s 200 IM, Women’s 500 Freestyle, Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay), Ryan Wood (WATAUGA, Men’s 200 IM), and Avery Annas (S. CALDWELL, Men’s 100 Breaststroke).

WOMEN’S TEAM SCORES

1. 1. Watauga (386)
   2. Hibriten (236)
   3. South Caldwell (214)
   4. Freedom (139)
   5. Alexander Central (126)
   6. Ashe County (23)

MEN’S TEAM RESULTS

1. 1. Watauga (351)
   2. South Caldwell (235)
   3. Freedom (193)
   4. Hibriten (117)
   5. Alexander Central (68)
   6. Ashe County (28)

RESULTS FROM THE 2023 NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS (top 3 places)

Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay (7 entries)

1. 1. Watauga A (1:57.02), team comprised of Maggie Cheves, Lauren Patterson, Elise Rasco, Athena Elliott
   2. South Caldwell A (2:17.04), team comprised of Chloe Bolick, Zoe Annas, Jade Moyer, Kaylee Moore
   3. Hibriten A (2:19.48), team comprised of Laci McPeak, Anslie Norris, Addison Brookeshire, Scout Spencer

Men’s 200 Yard Medley Relay (5 entries)

1. 1. Watauga A (1:50.74), team comprised of Anson Ross, Ryan Wood, Michael Madkad, Vaughn Ladd
   2. South Caldwell A (1:52.41), team comprised of Sawyer Thompson, Skyler Shew, Avery Annas, Owen Griffith
   3. Hibriten A (2:24.36), team comprised of Richard Hedrick, Patrick Anders, Aedon Stevens, Nathan Mull

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle (18 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Virginia St. Clair (2:03.63)
   2. HIBRITEN – Elettra Dalcerri (2:05.69)
   3. FREEDOM – Maria Perez-Rodriguez (2:27.49)

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle (16 entries)

1. 1. S. CALDWELL – Avery Annas (1:54.66)
   2. FREEDOM – Emerson Miller (2:00.11)
   3. WATAUGA – Michael Makdad (2:07.27)

Women’s 200 Yard Individual Medley (12 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Maggie Cheves (1:18.91)
   2. WATAUGA – Elise Rasco (2:33.62)
   3. WATAUGA – Annabelle Stewart (2:46.73)

Men’s 200 Yard Individual Medley (5 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Ryan Wood (2:17.19)
   2. WATAUGA – Wesley Coatney (2:28.63)
   3. ALEXANDER CENTRAL – George Bynon ( 2:41.34)

Women’s 50 Yard Freestyle (27 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Athena Elliott (26.33)
   2. S. CALDWELL – Chloe Bolick (28.59)
   3. WATAUGA – Macie Kent (28.78)

Men’s 50 Yard Freestyle (34 entries)

1. 1. S. CALDWELL – Owen Griffith (24.50)
   2. WATAUGA – Vaughn Ladd (24.55)
   3. FREEDOM – Nate Carswell (25.38)

Women’s 100 Yard Butterfly (11 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Lauren Patterson ((57.15)
   2. HIBRITEN – Elettra Dalcerri (1:02.99)
   3. WATAUGA – Athena Elliott (1:06.59)

Men’s 100 Yard Butterfly (6 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Anson Ross (102.30)
   2. WATAUGA – Vaughn Ladd (1:02.71)
   3. FREEDOM – Caelan Houpe (1:14.42)

Women’s 100 Yard Freestyle (22 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Virginia St. Clair (56.01)
   2. WATAUGA – Lola Herring (1:00.08)
   3. S.CALDWELL – Chloe Bolick (1:05.07)

Men’s 100 Yard Freestyle (24 entries)

1. 1. FREEDOM – Emerson Miller (51.97)
   2. WATAUGA – Ryan Wood (51.98)
   3. S. CALDWELL – Owen Griffith (56.08)

Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle (16 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Maggie Cheves (5:43.92)
   2. WATAUGA – Annabelle Stewart (6:28.91)
   3. FREEDOM – Maria Perez-Rodriguez (6:51.13)

Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle (11 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Wesley Coatney (6:12.31)
   2. HIBRITEN – Garrett Goudas (6:17.86)
   3. FREEDOM – Trey Truitt (6:43.89)

Women’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (6 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA A (1:45.49), team comprised of Lauren Patterson, Lola Herring, Athena Elliott, Virginia St. Clair
   2. HIBRITEN A (1:57.66), team comprised of Acacia Felmlee, Anslie Norris, Darby Keen, Elettra Dalcerri
   3. ALEXANDER CENTRAL A (2:00.62), team comprised of Grace Bass, Mariana Pastor, Monabella Rex, Isabella Sturgill

Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay (6 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA A (1:41.56), team comprised of Paul Gamiel, Wesley Coatney, Anson Ross, Vaughn Ladd
   2. FREEDOM A (1:42.77), team comprised of Caelan Houpe, Asher Ellis, Trey Truitt, Emerson Miller
   3. HIBRITEN A (1:54.42), team comprised of Richard Hedrick, Matt Land, Jesse Tester, Nathan Mull

Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke (17 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Lauren Patterson (58.10)
   2. WATAUGA – Lola Herring (1:06.76)
   3. WATAUGA – Macie Kent (1:17.09)

Men’s 100 Yard Backstroke (13 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – Michael Makdad (1:04.07)
   2. WATAUGA – Anson Ross (1:04.34)
   3. FREEDOM – Nate Carswell (1:05.46)

Women’s 100 Yard Breaststroke (13 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA – MK Riddle (1:22.20)
   2. HIBRITEN – Anslie Norris (1:27.69)
   3. S. CALDWELL – Taylor Guzman (1:29.47)

Men’s 100 Yard Breaststroke (13 entries)

1. 1. S. CALDWELL – Avery Annas (1:05.04)
   2. WATAUGA – Paul Gamiel (1:14.56)
   3. FREEDOM – Caelan Houpe (1:18.60)

Women’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (5 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA A (4:01.31), team comprised of Elise Rasco, Lola Herring, Maggie Cheves, Virginia St. Clair
   2. HIBRITEN A (4:29.47), team comprised of Darby Keen, Acacia Felmlee, Laci McPeak, Elettra Dalcerri
   3. S. CALDWELL A (4:37.93), team comprised of Makayla Felts, Jade Moyer, Kaylee Moore, Chloe Bolick

Men’s 400 Yard Freestyle Relay (5 entries)

1. 1. WATAUGA A (3:47.83), team comprised of Ben Parker, Wesley Coatney, Michael Makdad, Ryan Wood
   2. S. CALDWELL A (3:51.75), team comprised of Owen Griffith, Sawyer Thompson, Skyler Shew, Avery Annas
   3. FREEDOM A (3:51.97), team comprised of Trey Truitt, Asher Ellis, Nate Carswell, Emerson Miller

By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Alabama-Auburn. Michigan vs. Ohio State. UCLA at Southern Cal. Chargers and Raiders. Broncos and Chiefs. Eagles-Giants. Dallas vs. anybody. App State, Georgia Southern. And, of course, Watauga and Ashe County. At every level of team sports, there are rivalries.

And when those teams play each other… well, you can just throw out all the analytics, the trends and the standings. They don’t matter. There is a (mostly) respectful hatred shared by the two adversaries and their fans. A season is made or lost by the outcome of THAT game. Good coaches are even fired because a passionate, well-funded group of alumni can’t tolerate losing to THAT team.

Bonus photos at the bottom of article.

The Jan. 21 meeting of Watauga at Ashe County was one of those classic rivalry games. Before the meeting in the Huskies gym, an Ashe County supporter looked up from her grandstand seat and said, “I don’t want to watch the guys’ game. It is going to be ugly. We are so going to lose, big time.”

Well, girl, there is no need to apply for a job as an oddsmaker in Las Vegas when you graduate. It was a close game, with a lot of back and forth. There were some questionable officiating calls, depending on what side of the arena you were sitting when the whistle blew. And Ashe County emerged from the fray with an invigorating (for the home side), 70-59 win.

Especially in high school and college games, the environment means something. And in Ashe County, their David beating Watauga’s Goliath was the most important thing in the world at that moment.

What a passion-filled environment the Huskies gym was on this night, too. At least 70 percent of the fans were Ashe supporters and with every Husky bucket, whether a high arching 3-pointer, a gimme layup, or something from the foul line, the roof was raised off its support beams an inch or two with the thunderous clamor. Call the county inspector and make sure the building will survive the next California earthquake.

At the beginning, it looked like those expecting a blowout win by Watauga would be right. Led by eight inside points in the first period by junior forward Jackson Pryor and another five from guard Cole Horine coming off the bench, the Pioneers led, 22-15 at the quarter break. The Huskies were only that close because of nine close-in points by senior Jake Grubb. Among the Huskies’ crowd, there was a palpable dread in the air that this might be a runaway win by the visitors from Boone.

But something happened on the way to the concession stand. Hank the Husky must surely have cast a boogeyman spell over the Pioneers because in the second quarter, successful Pioneer shots were a rarity. Meanwhile, Grubb & Co. were pouring in baskets and the ovations were building, every Huskey point magnified in its importance with the roar of the crowd.

Ashe County clamped down on Watauga in the second quarter, outscoring the Pioneers, 17-4, and took a 32-26 lead into intermission. The buzz among the Ashe County faithful: “We can do this.”

Forget that Watauga had just dispatched Hibriten and Freedom and were on a roll. Forget that, coming into the game, Ashe County was only 6-11 overall and a winless 0-4 in Northwestern Conference play. “We are leading by a half dozen points at halftime and could actually win this game!” an Ashe County student announced, prophetically, while buying a “Hot Dog Combo” during the halftime break.

The Pioneers, however, did not fold up their tents at the half and slip quietly into the night. By the end of the third quarter, Watauga had closed the gap, trailing 48-47, thanks to a couple of 3-pointers by Wyatt Kellar, another trey from behind the arc by Wyatt Kohout, and yet another six points contributed inside from Grant Morrison.

Goliath was reborn and when the game was tied at 56-56 with 4:19 remaining, it appeared that Watauga would shrug off the hostile environment and ultimately prevail.

But it was not to be. Missed Pioneer shots at every turn, muffed passes — turnovers — and successful offensive opportunities converted by the Huskies at the other end put Watauga in desperation mode in the waning minutes, forced to foul in hopes of Husky misses and getting the ball back. It is an age-old basketball story, repeated daily at every level of play.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers were forced to foul Grubb, who didn’t dare miss, not on this night and not with the Husky faithful lifting him up.

For the game, Grubb shot a game-high 33 points, including 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Two other Huskies were in double figures, senior Austin Grogan (14) and junior Harrison Langdon (11). For the Pioneers, Wyatt Keller and Jackson Pryor shared team-high honors with 12 points each.

Now 9-9 overall and 3-2 in conference, Watauga will look to rebound on Jan. 27, at home against South Caldwell. But you can bet the last regular season game of the 2022-23 season will be circled on every Pioneer’s calendar, on Feb. 10, because that is when Ashe County comes to Lentz Eggers Gym for the regular season rematch. The Watauga County  inspectors might suggest shoring up the building from foundation to rooftop because it is sure to be rockin’ on that night.

SCORING SUMMARY

• ASH Jake Grubb (33)
• ASH Austin Grogan (14)
• WAT Wyatt Keller (12)
• WAT Jackson Pryor (12)
• ASH Harrison Langdon (11)
• WAT Grant Morrison (8)
• WAT Wyatt Kohout (8)
• WAT Josiah Railey (7)
• WAT Maddox Greene (7)
• WAT Cole Horine (5)
• ASH Eli Lemley (5)
• ASH Bryce Peters (4)
• ASH Tanner Poe (3)

BONUS PHOTOS