By David Rogers. CANTON, Ohio (remote) — Maybe Amanda Vestri was proving the old adage, No. 2 tries harder.
Amanda Vestri (center) enjoys a podium moment with Annie Frisbie and Fiona O’Keefe. Photo by Michael Scott, courtesy of ZAP Endurance
After finishing as the runner-up in the 2024 USATF Women’s 6Km Championship, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance’s Vestri, sponsored by Brooks athletic apparel, returned to Canton, Ohio a year later to finish No. 1 in the 2025 version of the event, crossing the finish line almost seven seconds ahead of the new No. 2, Annie Frisbie (Minnesota Distance Elite, Puma), 18:28.57 vs. 18:35.26.
Two other Puma-sponsored runners, Fiona O’Keefe (No. 3, 18:37.18) and Molly Born (No. 4, 18:40.01) were the only other professional runners to cross the line in under 19 minutes.
A year ago, Vestri completed the 6Km (3.728 miles) in 18:16. Weather might have played a part in the marginally slower time. When the gun went off to start the race at 8 am, the temperature was already approaching 90 degrees, with wind gusts exceeding 11 mph and 80 percent humidity.
The USATF-sanctioned national championships was run in conjunction with the Women’s 6K Festival. Vestri led from the start to the finish, running the first two miles at a 4:53 pace for each one and opening a three second lead over a group of four, including Frisbie, O’Keefe, Born and Edna Kurgat.
For the closing distance, Vestri used her High Country training to great effect, as described by the USATF account.
“Then, Vestri powered up the course’s largest hill to make the gap insurmountable. She led by seven seconds 5K and that was the margin of victory when she broke the tape at Centennial Plaza,” said the USATF account.
“I just kind of wanted to take it from the gun,” said Vestri, who moves into second place in the USATF Running Circuit point standings, according to the USATF account. “In these shorter races, I’m not really keen to just sit and run 5:15, 5:20. So, I just wanted to take it out. That’s the best way I run.”
While picking up a $6,000 check as the winner, Vestri moves on from road racing to the the track where she will compete in the USATF Outdoor National Championships in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, in Eugene, Ore., July 31 to Aug. 3.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — A high school visual arts teacher in Onslow County (Jacksonville, Camp Lejeune, Topsail Beach, Emerald Isle), Bernie Rosage, Jr., currently lives at the coast for nine months out of the year and three months in Blowing Rock.
“As soon as I retire, that is going to flip-flop. I will be in Blowing Rock for nine months and Jacksonville for three months,” he said. “My favorite way to paint is plein air, rather than in a studio, and the High Country is a target rich environment.”
Rosage is one of the featured artists at Edgewood Cottage the week of July 7-13, for the Blowing Rock Historical Society’s “Artists in Residence” series.
“I love to paint on location, although I do a little bit of studio work. Primarily, I am a landscapes artist. At times I have used photographs for reference, but my style is probably more accurately described as ‘impressionistic realism.’
Bass Lake is my Walden Pond.
The native of Onslow County whose father was in the Marines and married a local girl, said he has been interested in art all his life.
“My mom will tell you I started when I was two years old, coloring on the walls of our house with crayons! But in high school in the 70s, I won some awards for my artwork,” he recalled. “I’ve always had an interest and a talent in it.”
There have been few distractions.
“As a young adult, I got into photography because I wanted to create art fast,” he said. “But then there was an untimely death in our family and I wanted to slow down, so I got into painting, around 1998. I didn’t take it really seriously until 2007 when I went to visit the Monet and Manet exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art. That hooked me. It took me from being a hobby artist to someone who was serious about painting.”
Waxing philosophical, Rosage has a purpose.
“What I love to do when it comes to art is to take the chaos that is all around us and somehow assemble some peace and serenity. My tagline, I guess you would say, is ‘Painter of serenity from the mountains to the coast.’ And I am lucky because I have a place here in Blowing Rock as well as a place on the coast. And, even luckier, I have grandkids here and grandkids on the coast! Nothing in-between… I am looking to get from one to the other the fastest!”
Rosage, who studied art education at East Carolina University, describes himself as a self-taught artist.
“I am a motivated, self-taught artist because I have worked hard at the craft. Studying, researching. Like anything, to do it well you you have to put in the hours. Art is my passion. Some people might say art is a God-given talent but I say God gave me a passion for art. I have worked hard at this, but it doesn’t seem like work when it is a passion.”
For the Edgewood Cottage exhibition, Rosage said he initially brought just over a hundred pieces, of different sizes.
“I’ve done pretty well in selling them this week,” he said. “I have had to bring some more from the house so we wouldn’t have empty walls!”
Like a lot of landscape painters, Rosage is fascinated with how light hits things.
“If I had to say a favorite place to paint around here, it would be Bass Lake. That place is my Walden Pond! When I tell my wife I am going to the office, she knows it is code that I am going to Bass Lake to paint!”
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — If you go for a walk around Bass Lake, be sure to bring your wallet. Local artist Earl Davis is likely to be there, capturing a serene moment on canvas — and with a masterpiece for sale.
Davis is one of the featured artists for the week of July 7-13 for the Blowing Rock Historical Society’s “Artists in Residence” series at Edgewood Cottage. Retired as a full-time church pastor but still serving in an interim capacity at various churches in and around the High Country from time to time, what was once an avocation, painting, is now pretty much a full-time profession. His productivity reflects not just his skill but also how much time he has on his hands.
“I have warned them all not to whisper to our guests — but they do it anyway!”
Laughing, Davis the entrepreneur looked around at all the landscapes hanging on the Edgewood Cottage walls and said, “I told my wife that I was thinking about having a ‘Summer Clearance Sale.’ She replied, ‘Well, you can call it whatever you want but you are going to get rid of some of these paintings!'”
It turns out, Davis is a natural born salesman. He brought 80 of his pieces to the exhibit and, as the week was winding down, reported that he had sold a little more than 30.
And that is on top of what he sells “on the fly” while painting at Bass Lake.
“One day I went out to paint at Bass Lake and took a painting I had worked on because I wanted to compare what I had achieved with a similar time of day at the lake. I set it on the ground against my easel. A short while later, some folks out walking around the lake stopped and started talking to me. And they asked if they could buy the painting! What I discovered is… first, people love local art and, second, they appreciate the opportunity to have a memento of their walk around the lake,” Davis said. “So I started to bring a painting out every time I paint at Bass Lake. I think I have sold about 36 this way!”
Numerous paintings by Earl Davis adorned the walls of Edgeood Cottage, July 7-13, for the Artists in Residence series, hosted by the Blowing Rock Historical Society. Photographic image by David Rogers for Blowing Rock News
Davis said he got serious about painting about 15 years ago and has sold over 600 since taking it up, seriously.
All of his work is in oils and he has a passion for landscapes. Naturally, a lot of his focus has been on the readily available vistas and more tranquil settings in the High Country. A few years ago, he did a series of paintings capturing scenes along the Blue Ridge Parkway, from its overlooks. He has also visited a number of national parks around the country, listing Yellowstone, for example, as one of his favorites.
More recently, Davis’ creative attention has turned to running water, whether creeks and rivers, or waterfalls.
“You know, in art we can’t actually paint light, but we can paint the effects of light hitting on things, like rushing water in a stream,” said Davis. “It is really fascinating.’
Ever the salesman, Davis called to a young couple across the room in Edgewood Cottage. They kept being drawn back to one particular painting.
“Is that painting speaking to you?,” asked Davis. “I’ve warned them all to not whisper to our guests, but they do it anyway!”
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Unanimous approval for putting out to bid a $2.25 million installment loan — funding for the completion of the Memorial Park upgrades, the purchase of two real estate parcels, and needed improvements for Fire Station No. 1 — was the centerpiece of actions taken by the Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners on July 8 in the regular meeting of town council, but other issues might still have carried more intrigue.
(For the full video recording of the July 8, 2025 meeting of Blowing Rock’s Town Council, CLICK HERE.)
The $2.25 million loan is to have principal repayment in $225,000 annual installments over a period of 10 years.
Wrapping up the only public hearing (installment financing) on the evening’s agenda was relatively swift with little discussion among the commissioners and no one addressing the board from the audience. In other items:
A 55-minute presentation by representatives of the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office, a program under the auspices of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources based in Raleigh. The virtual presentation (via Zoom) explained the distinction of three different levels of historic preservation efforts, from National to Local. The presentation was for informational purposes only, with no action taken by the commissioners. CLICK HERE to view the presentation.
Included in the Consent Agenda:
Annual tax report and order of collection
Approval of fireworks permit for the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce event, Symphony by the Lake
Approval for staging parts of the Blue Ridge Relay (Sept. 4) through Blowing Rock, including an exchange station in the swimming pool parking lot
A resolution supporting NCDOT improvements to U.S. 321 (Valley Boulevard) near its intersection with Possum Hollow Road and the entrance to Shoppes on the Parkway. According to the resolution, there have been 25 motor vehicle accidents and one fatality within the last six years. Commissioners Doug Matheson and Pete Gherini have taken the lead in asking the NCDOT to implement safety improvements, resulting in the adoption of this resolution to consider extending the median northward on U.S. 321 (to prevent cars and trucks from stopping in the left lane to turn into the Speedway parking lot or turning left [north]) out of the parking lot). Separately, Gherini and Matheson also sought NCDOT assistance in improving public safety at the U.S. 321 intersection with Aho Road, which is outside of the Blowing Rock town limits.
Eric Brinker was the only public speaker to address the Town Council, seeking the town’s reconsideration for allowing food trucks, especially during the late spring, summer and early autumn months. He explained that his family’s restaurant, The Speckled Trout, was closed on Tuesdays and they would like to invite a rotation of different food trucks to use their parking lot to help feed the many visitors to town.
The Commissioners unanimously passed a motion to assign (truck) loading zones to help improve public safety and alleviate traffic interruptions. After the Town Council’s discussion at the summer retreat, town staff proposed two loading zone sites, one on Main Street in front of the 1888 Museum and the other on Sunset Drive, near the intersection with Maple Street and adjacent to Blowing Rock School. There was minor discussion about how the new ordinance would be implemented and enforced, and questions about penalties for violations.
The Commissioners unanimously passed a new Code of Conduct applicable to all of the Town’s elected and appointed officials. The new Code includes a review of Ethics, outlines Conduct with one another, town staff, the public, other public agencies, appointed boards and commissions, and the media. The final sections included sanctions and implementation.
Under the various staff and council member reports, Mayor Charlie Sellers and Town Manager Shane Fox expressly thanked everyone involved in staging the annual 4th of July Parade (July 5). Reported Fox, “The weather was perfect and we had at least as many if not more people attending than ever before.”
Commissioner Pete Gherini mentioned that with the new paving of Main Street from Valley Boulevard and in front of Chetola and beyond, he has gotten several calls about people speeding on the new road and asked for the Town to take steps to slow drivers down. Fox explained that because it is an NCDOT road, the options are limited but that he would suggest putting radar signs along the road.
Fox also explained that the NCDOT paving of Main Street’s main section was occurring as the meeting was taking place and should be completed that night, with the southern section of Main Street to be completed the following night. He reported that there were some delays in the contractor’s ability to get asphalt, otherwise it would already have been completed and any problems now had been resolved.
The Town Council members, including the commissioners, mayor and relevant town staff members, went into closed session. No action was anticipated when they came out of closed session.
By David Rogers. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA (remote) — Crossing the finish line ahead of some 15,000 runners to finish No. 7 and only three and a half minutes behind a sextet of marathon athletes from Japan, Blowing Rock’s Josh Izewski was the first American to finish the 26.2 miles of the legendary Gold Coast Marathon in Queensland on July 6.
Photo courtesy of ZAP Endurance
On a course staged alongside some of Australia’s most famous surfing beaches, the Gold Coast is billed as Australia’s “flattest, fastest and most scenic” marathon course.
Izewski, 33, used a strong final 10K to finish at the top American in the field, moving up from No. 14 in the final six miles, to capture the No. 7 spot at the finish line. His time of 2:11:00 was just six seconds off his personal best for the distance, 2:10:54, established earlier this year in the Houston Marathon. It was Izewski’s second time competing in the Gold Coast event. In the second go around, he bettered his No. 5 mark in 2023 by 26 seconds (2:11:26).
Yuki Takei of Japan completed the course in 2:07:33 to capture the No. 1 title and collect not only the $20,000 first place prize money, but also picked up an additional $5,000 bonus for breaking the previous course record (2:07:40).
Takei was the first of six Japanese runners to sweep the first six spots, with Izewski crossing at No. 7 ahead of an international mix in the “top 25” that included 12 athletes from Japan, three from Kenya, two from Indonesia, two from New Zealand, two from Australia, and one each from the USA (Izewski), Canada, Great Britain and Mongolia.
Izewski’s No. 7 finish was a mere nine seconds behind Japan’s Yuto Imae.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Back in 1976, I was finishing up an undergraduate degree and some graduate studies at California State University, Bakersfield. One day, at lunch in the student union, I inserted myself into a conversation between two professors and asked a few relevant questions. And, just that quickly, I was hired as the replacement business manager of the school’s fledgling student newspaper. They promptly fired the guy they had, even after I said I would only take the job if I could do it my way.
It was one of those “What have you gotten yourself into?” moments. The Runner was a 4-page tabloid, being published once a month — and losing $750 every issue.
A rampant imagination filled my head with ideas on how to help the game gain popularity in the U.S.
All of the content was created free by the journalism students. All of the stories were converted to phototypesetting strips of text created by the Chancellor’s office, as a freebie for the journalism department. And the paper was laid out by unpaid students on pasteboards (Pre-printing processes were all manual. Desktop publishing was still future-think).
It didn’t take me long to figure out the losses stemmed from having a few thousand copies of The Runner printed by an outside company.
Well, within three months we were publishing a 24-32 page newspaper, twice a month, and earning a $3,000 profit for the school each edition… but that might be fodder for a different story.
A Private Office and Other Ambitions
This story is about leveraging resources. As the business manager of the student newspaper, I was given an office in the faculty towers, a desk, a file cabinet and, most importantly, a WATS telephone line.
Cellular phones were still in some inventor’s imagination. The world was tied together by land lines. A WATS line (Wide Area Telephone Service) was offered by AT&T to U.S. businesses, including universities, allowing them to make large volumes of long-distance calls at a flat monthly rate. So in my case, the college was picking up the tab.
For a wide-eyed, 24-year-old nobody from Bakersfield, it was all pretty surreal.
Sure, I used the WATS line to sell a bunch of advertising for the newspaper, but I also had a passion for what in those days was the emerging, but still under-the-radar sport of rugby football. Now with resources, a rampant imagination filled my head with ideas on how to help the game gain popularity in the U.S.
One of my early phone calls was to Roone Arledge, Jr., the President of ABC Sports from 1968 to 1986. He was a critical player in ABC’s rise as a competitor in network television. Think “Wide World of Sports,” and “the agony and the ecstasy” of athletic competition.
Arledge was in a meeting when I called, but he returned it the next day and courteously listened to my pitch. Not interested. Not a big enough audience, he said, discounting the fact that it was the second or third most popular sport, globally, behind another just-emerging sport in the U.S., soccer, and the U.S.-born basketball.
Undeterred, in late February 1976, I called NBC’s The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, in Burbank, Calif. I was put through to talent coordinator Howard Papush. After a brief introduction, Papush said he was intrigued and asked me come to the studio the next day.
So, I did. It was a commute of about two and a half hours, each way, from Bakersfield to Burbank back then, so not a casual undertaking. I arrived to the NBC studios only to find that Papush had called in sick that day. Disappointed, I turned around and spent another tankful of gas going back to Bakersfield, empty-handed.
Giving It A Second Chance
But Papush called me the next day, profusely apologizing. He asked me to come back the following day. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive, but I said, “OK.”
After several cups of coffee on the early morning’s long drive down to Burbank, I arrived at his office for the 9 am meeting. Papush greeted me with, “Nice to meet you. I have 15 minutes.”
After driving seven and a half hours, counting the first trip down and back, and paying for a few tanks of gas on a starving college student’s budget, you can imagine my dismay at the “15 minutes” constraint — and the clock was ticking.
But I rallied to become my most engaging self, I guess, because an hour and a half later, Howard punched a button on his telephone intercom and told his secretary to cancel all the rest of his calls and meetings for the day. He took me on a tour of the studio, bought lunch, introduced me to some studio executives, as well as a few behind-the-scenes folks.
Come mid-afternoon, he explained that he had to get ready for that night’s taping of The Tonight Show, asking if I would like to stay and see the show. At first, I said no, because I had a paper to complete back at school. But I changed my mind when he said, “Johnny is coming out tonight, riding a donkey and singing ‘The Rhinestone Cowboy.’ And the featured guests are Don Rickles, Bob Hope, Robert Blake and Desi Arnez.”
It was an irresistible lineup, to be sure. So, a mere 20 minutes before showtime, Howard gave me instructions on how to go out the back of the studio, get around to the front of the building and to the ticket booth — and to ignore the crowds waiting in line.
I weaved my way through the bowels of the studio. I met Johnny Carson as he was finding his way in the opposite direction, just arriving. We briefly introduced ourselves and shook hands. When I got to the front entrance of the studio theatre, the crowd was immense. The line seemed to be wrapped around the city of Los Angeles but, per my instructions, I nervously went to the front of the line (ignoring the many frothy glares) and gave them my name.
I was face to face with human mortality, really, for the first time.
“Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, we have been expecting you,” said the smiling young woman in the box office as she waved to a nearby usher.
“Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way,” said the usher, who turned out to be the first of several who would greet me between the box office and my seat.
After the fourth, “Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way,” I was taken down the stairs of the still empty studio and directed to my seat. There, on the backrest was a printed sign with, “Reserved for Mr. David Rogers.” The seat was about five rows up, right in the center, with a perfect view of the monitors just above eye level and a firsthand look at what was happening onstage. I had been given arguably the best seat in the house, personalized, all accomplished within about 15 minutes of my saying I would stay for the show.
For a wide-eyed, 24-year-old nobody from Bakersfield, it was all very surreal.
Of course, I enjoyed it. Johnny Carson riding a donkey and singing “The Rhinestone Cowboy” with some cross-eyed buffoonery was a once in a lifetime experience and I was seeing it in person.
Meeting Mortality
We never got rugby on The Tonight Show but I called my new friend, Howard Papush, a few months later with another idea. Another friend, Natalie Dunn, had just become the first American to win the World Ladies Figure Skating Championships in roller skating, in Rome. An accomplished athlete and beautiful young woman, I looked at Natalie as a potential star.
Intrigued, Howard said to bring her down. We arrived and he was again very generous with his time. More for Natalie’s benefit, we toured the studio, on the way meeting a talented but very troubled rising star, Freddie Prinze. Best known for his leading role in the popular series, “Chico and the Man,” on this day Prinze was very drunk and extremely rude to the point that Howard kept apologizing for his behavior.
Natalie Dunn. Photo courtesy of the Bob Elias Hall of Fame.
This story has a doubly disappointing ending. My friend, the talent coordinator, decided the roller skating idea was a bit too clunky for a relatively small studio stage — and the talented but troubled Freddy Prinze took his own life the next day.
Other than losing my grandparents a decade earlier as a young teenager, Prinze was my first, face-to-face encounter with human mortality.
For me, aging has exposed an allergy to chocolate. Coffee is now a sedative and growing older has reaffirmed my distaste for lima beans, eggplant, cantaloupe and Brussels sprouts.
Needless to say, I am more in touch with the reality of human mortality than ever before, embracing the thoughts: “Don’t put things off. Enjoy today. Rediscover some of that youthful brashness leading to ‘Oh yes, Mr. Rogers, step right this way.’”
By David Rogers. ATLANTA, Ga. (remote) — Having a husband and wife tandem both finish in the top 62 runners out of more than 43,000 race participants is pretty heady stuff. Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance claimed that accomplishment on July 4 in the 2025 edition of the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race, with team members Andrew Colley and Tristin Colley completing the 6.2-mile course in the No. 7 and No. 62 overall positions, respectively, according to the published race results.
Andrew Colley finished the race in 28 minutes, 9 seconds (28:09), running the first mile in 4:30 and keeping the pace steady (each mile under 5 minutes) throughout the ups and downs of the course through Atlanta. He picked up the pace in Mile 2 (4:28) and Mile 3 (4:18, his fastest), slowed a bit in Mile 4 (4:42) and Mile 5 (4:51), which were largely uphill, then kicked into the finish with a 4:28 final mile.
“Andrew was the first American to finish,” noted ZAP Endurance head coach, Pete Rea. “A 28:09 on that course, in the heat, is a really solid run. And it was only four seconds slower than his best 10,000 meters on a regular track. Given the elevation changes in this course, that’s pretty impressive.”
One of ZAP Endurance’s distance running veterans, the 34-yearold Andrew didn’t have to wait long for his 30-yearold bride, Tristin, to finish in 33:34. She ran the first mile in 5:12, sped up in Mile 2 (5:08) and Mile 3 (5:09), slowed in Mile 5 (5:48), and reaccelerated into the finish with a 5:22 last mile.
“Tristin struggled a bit the last two, mostly uphill miles,” said Rea, “but overall it was a solid day for her. She is getting fitter by the week.”
It was the 56th running of the AJC Peachtree 20K Road Race event, organized and staged by the Atlanta Track Club. Race temperatures were hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with 40 percent humidity.
By David Rogers. ORLANDO, Fla. — Summer is the season for “travel ball” for the athletically gifted and serious young men and women throughout the nation. That includes volleyball — and Watauga County student Ember Honeycutt joined with other 15-and-under female athletes from Western North Carolina to bring home a national championship runner-up trophy for their club, the Hickory-based Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black (CSVC 15U Black).
CSVC 15U Black libero Ember Honeycutt is all smiles after her team finished runner-up out of 158 teams in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt
Competing in the Gold bracket of the National 15U Club Division, Honeycutt and her teammates finished the 4-day tournament at the Orlando Convention Center with a 13-1 record, the only loss coming in the championship game where they lost to the Midwest Elite 15-1, 18-25, 25-21, 15-6.
“After winning the first set, our girls just ran out of steam in losing the No. 2 and No. 3 sets,” Ember’s father, Josh Honeycutt said. “But finishing No. 2 out of 158 teams from all across the country is a pretty big accomplishment.
The CSVC 15U Black team went 13-1 over the 4-day AAU Nationals tournament in Orlando, Fla. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt
Over the course of the four-day tournament, CSVC 15U Black played 14 matches, losing only the championship game to finish 13-1. In the best two-out-of-three sets format, the CSVC 15U Black team won 11 of the matches in straight sets, often by lopsided scores.
Several of the girls competing on the CSVC 15U Black squad compete for other high schools in the NCHSAA’s Northwestern Conference, including South Caldwell and Alexander Central, as well as schools in other regional schools in different conferences under the NCHSAA realignment that goes into effect for the 2026-26 academic year. Those schools include Patton (Morganton), Ashe County, Maiden and Hickory Christian Academy.
The Midwest Elite 15-1 club is organized by MVP Volleyball (www.mvpvolley.org), based in western Iowa.
The Carolina Select Volleyball Club is based in Hickory, N.C., offering programs for a variety of ages, including boys and girls teams.
Parents Josh and Angela Honeycutt flank their trophy-winning daughter, Ember Honeycutt, after her Carolina Select Volleyball Club 15U Black team finished No. 2 out of 158 teams competing in the AAU Nationals. Photo courtesy of Josh Honeycutt.
By David Rogers. THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Trey Sanders pitched five shutout innings and leadoff batter Tyler Martin displayed both power and speed on June 27, leading the Boone Bigfoots to a 4-2 road win over the High Point-Thomasville HiToms at Finch Field. The victory extended the Bigfoots’ win streak to five games, preserved their Coastal Plains League West Division tie with Martinsville for No. 4 in the standings, and pulled them within just three games of the league-leading Forest City Owls.
Credited as the winning pitcher, Sanders allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out seven HiToms batters in five innings of work on the mound and was efficient in facing just 21 batters. Of his 83 pitches, 48 were strikes. He worked 3-up, 3-down frames in the first and third innings, and worked out of jam in the fifth inning with runners at 2nd and 3rd by striking out the No. 3 hitter in the HPT batting order to quell the threat.
Leadoff hitters are most apt to get on base and led the power hitters in the heart of the batting order drive them home. Martin pooh-poohed that notion by crushing a home run as the first batter in the bottom of the 5th inning — and the first batter faced by HPT’s reliever Kobie Cushing, who ignored the rude greeting and got through the rest of the inning without additional damage.
Martin’s speed on the basepaths was also critical to the Bigfoots’ scoring to open the game. After being issued a walk to leadoff the first inning, Martin stole second to put himself in scoring position, enabling Boone to capitalize when BBF third baseman Payton Basler smacked a double to the fence.
Boone added more single-run frames in the 4th (Brady Sullivan scored on consecutive wild pitches), 5th (Martin HR), and 8th (2-out RBI single by Samuel Weinstein) innings.
By Jacob Plecker. BROOKLYN, N.Y. — App State men’s basketball forward CJ Huntley signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns following the conclusion of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Over his five-year career with App State, Huntley was a part of three postseason appearances, which included a berth in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. App State’s 96 wins during Huntley’s career makes him the second-most winningest player in program history, trailing only Donovan Gregory, who tallied 97 wins from 2019-24.
A second-team All-Sun Belt selection in 2024-25, Huntley posted a career year in his fifth season at App State, scoring a career-best 15.7 points-per-game and grabbing a career-best eight rebounds-per-game. Huntley shot 50 percent from the field in his final season and a career-best 36 percent from behind the 3-point line.
CJ Huntley (15) puts down a resounding dunk to beat the buzzer at the Holmes Convocation Center to defeat Southern Miss on Feb. 5, 2025, 60-58. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Huntersville, N.C., native also became the 37th member of App State’s 1,000-point club on Dec. 20, 2024, against North Texas. He finished his five-year career with 1,324 points, which is the 22nd-most all-time at App State. Additionally, he played in 153 games in the Black and Gold, tying him with Justin Forrest for the most all-time.
Twice named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Team, Huntley tallied a team-best 11 double-doubles in 2024-25, making him one of four Sun Belt players with at least 10 double-doubles. He also became the first Mountaineer since Marshall Phillips in 1998 to record a 20-point, 15-rebound game, doing so against Coastal Carolina on Jan. 8. He recorded four games with at least 25 points in his final season and finished seventh in the Sun Belt in scoring and sixth in rebounding.
He averaged 8.7 points and five rebounds-per-game in his Mountaineer tenure, while shooting 49 percent from the floor and 34 percent from three.
