By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A bright, sunny day greeted golfers from host Watauga and visiting South Caldwell high schools on April 16 at Boone Golf Club. Temperatures were still a bit brisk for a mid-Spring day but then, this is the High Country.

Random photos here, all thanks to Jared Everett shooting for High Country Sports, capturing a few moments.

By David Rogers. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Jumping out to an early, 8-run lead is a good start to winning a baseball game. That is exactly what the Watauga High School varsity team did on April 22, at The Ripken Experience baseball complex in Myrtle Beach, en route to tournament-opening 10-9 win over the Fort Mill (S.C.) Yellow Jackets.

The Pioneers’ Evan Burroughs almost single-handedly manufactured a run for Watauga in the first inning, drawing a leadoff walk, advancing to second base on an error by the Fort Mill pitcher, then stealing third base. He then capitalized on the opening alertness by racing home by the Yellow Jackets’ catcher. Cade Keller ripped a 2-out double later in the inning, but the Pioneers were unable to get him home.

Watauga’s starting pitcher, Everett Gryder, gave up a 2-out double in the bottom of the first inning but recovered to get the third out before Fort Mill could do anything more, offensively.

Watauga exploded for five runs in the top of the second inning, jumpstarted by Fort Mill junior righthander Caleb Stevens’ early control problems, walking JJ Everett to open the inning, then hitting Brett Vannoy with a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Walker Ransdell put both runners in scoring position and Burroughs responded by lacing a double to the right field fence shortly after JJ Everett scored on a passed ball.

Stevens’ control problems continued, walking Watauga shortstop Maddox Greene ahead of a run-scoring single by Pioneer centerfielder Jake Blanton. Keller rapped another single to score Greene, Blanton stopping at third base.

Fort Mill brought in another pitcher, sophomore righthander Sullivan Townley to get the final out, but the damage had been done with Watauga leading, 6-0.

Gryder again avoided trouble in the bottom of the second, only facing four batters and holding the Yellow Jackets scoreless. His adversary on the mound for Fort Mill, Townley, duplicated that effort in the top of the third inning, but while Gryder was shutting out the Yellow Jackets in the third and fourth innings, the Pioneers added two more runs in the top of the 4th to increase their advantage to 8-0.

Fort Mill finally chased Gryder in the bottom half of the fifth inning, scoring three runs, then added three more in the 6th inning off of Pioneer reliever, Burroughs. The High Country visitors added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh and that proved fortuitous because the Yellow Jackets scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning before Watauga’s second relief pitcher, Keller, closed out the game.

With the win, Watauga’s overall record improves to 11-11, 6-4 in Northwestern Conference play. They play again on April 23 against the Proctor Raiders of Utica, N.Y., at the Ripken complex.

KEY WATAUGA PERFORMERS

• WAT – Evan Burroughs: 1-3, 3 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2 walks, double, 2 stolen bases
• WAT – Maddox Greene: 1-4, 1 run scored, 2 RBIs, 1 walk, triple
• WAT – Jake Blanton: 3-5, 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2 doubles, stolen base
• WAT – Cade Keller: 2-4, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, double, hit by pitch, stolen base
• WAT – JT Cook: 1-3, 2 RBIs, sacrifice fly,
• WAT – JJ Everett: 0-2, 1 run scored, 2 walks
• WAT – Brett Vannoy: 1-2, 1 run scored, 1 RBI, 1 walk, hit by pitch

By David Rogers. BOSTON, Mass. — ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea described the 129th staging of the iconic Boston Marathon as the “deepest” field of top-flight marathon runners in the event’s history. Important for the High Country: two of his Blowing Rock-based athletes earned top 10 and top 20 finishing positions on April 21.

ZAP Endurance team members Ryan Ford and Tristin (Van Ord) Colley finished the 2025 course of 26.2 miles at No. 10 and No. 19, respectively, in the men’s and women’s divisions.

Coming into the race, Ford had the 29th fastest time among the more than 60 professional marathon athletes entered in the elite field running Boston this year. In only his second career marathon race (his debut was last November in the New York City Marathon, where he ran 2:11:08), Ford lowered the ZAP Endurance club record while also lowering his personal best to 2:08:00. He clipped more than three minutes off his New York time — and his No. 10 Boston finish also lowered the ZAP club record by almost three minutes. The previous club record of 2:10:54 was set in January’s Houston Marathon by teammate Josh Izewski.

When told of Ford’s accomplishment, Izewski told Rea by telephone, “Well, I’ll just have to run faster in Australia,” referring to the Gold Coast Marathon in which he is scheduled to compete on July 6.

Trivia tidbit: Rea reports that Ford’s performance is the 4th-fastest American to ever run the historic Boston race, with three of those four achieved in the 2025 running of the event. In 2011, Ryan Hall ran the fastest Boston Marathon by an American, finishing No. 4 in 2:04:58. Hall is now retired from running competitively. He is a native of Kirkland, Wash., and the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon to date.

A friendly, 3-way battle appears to be developing among the ZAP Endurance members for who holds the club record. Teammate Andrew Colley was a former club recordholder and will next try to outdo both Ford and Izewski when he competes in the Prague Marathon (The Czech Republic) on May 4.

The men’s division of the Boston Marathon was won by Kenya’s John Korir in a blistering 2:04:45, a 4:46 mile pace and the second fastest Boston Marathon in history. Ford was the third fastest American, behind Connor Mantz (No. 4, 2:05:06) and Clayton Young (No. 7, 2:07:04).

Korir is the second member of his family to win Boston. His older brother, Wesley, won in 2012 with a time of 2:12:40.

Tristin Colley, the former distance running star while attending App State as Tristin Van Ord and now married to ZAP teammate Andrew Colley, came into the deep Boston race with the 27th fastest qualifying time among the 64 elite female athletes vying for the prize money. Her 2:26:39 was just 43 seconds off her personal best of 2:25:58 (also the ZAP endurance women’s club record), established in Oct. 2023, in the Chicago Marathon. The Boston race was her fastest performance since the Chicago event.

The women’s division championship in Boston was claimed by Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, in a course record 2:17:22.  The first American woman to cross the finish line was Jess McClain, 33, at No. 7 (2:22:43). She is the 7-time NCAA All American who competed at middle distances for Stanford University.

Traditionally, the Boston Marathon is staged the third Monday of April. A recent exception was 2021, when the event was moved to Oct. 11 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. — App State Baseball’s late-inning rally came up short on April 19, as the team dropped the series finale to James Madison, 10-6, at Smith Stadium.

Down by six runs in the ninth inning, App State (21-18, 11-7) pushed across two runs on four hits in the final frame, but was unable to sustain the rally and overcome the deficit.

Juan Correa led the Mountaineers, going 3-5 with a pair of RBI singles, while Tyler Lichtenberger recorded his 22nd multi-hit effort of the season and Kameron Miller also tallied a pair of hits.

James Madison (13-27, 6-12) plated four runs in the third inning to take the lead and added critical insurance runs late, recording two in the seventh and two more in the ninth. Overall, the Dukes sprinkled in some power with five doubles and a home run among their 11 total hits on the day.

JMU overcomes shaky start

App State got the scoring started in the bottom half of the first inning. Braxton Church led off with a walk and, two batters later, Kameron Miller also walked to put two men aboard. After a flyout from Juan Correa advanced both runners into scoring position, a wild pitch allowed Church to come in to score from third.

The Mountaineers plated another run in the third inning on a Correa RBI single through the left side. He drove in Joseph Zamora, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the frame.

Trailing 8-2 in the seventh, Church belted his second home run of the season into the visitor’s bullpen in right field to lead off the inning. Later in the inning, Miller ripped a double to the wall in left-center field and Correa brought him home with an RBI single through the left side to make it 8-4.

App State conceded a pair of James Madison insurance runs in the top of the ninth but stormed back in the home half of the inning. Zamora doubled down the left field line to start the frame and came around to score on a two-out, RBI single from Lichtenberger to keep the game alive. Tyler Figueroa and Riley Luft followed with back-to-back singles to score a run, with the Mountaineers down to their final strike three times in the ballgame, before the Dukes tagged out Figueroa trying to reach third base on Luft’s rap to center, salvaging the finale.

KEY PERFORMERS

• JMU – Jack Anderson: 3-3, 1 run, 2 RBIs, double, walk, hit by pitch
• JMU – Coleman Calabrese: 2-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, HR
• JMU – Wyatt Peifer: 2-3, 4 runs, 1 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 walks
• JMU – Kyle Langley: 2-4, 1 RBI, double, sacrifice
• APP – Juan Correa: 3-5, 2 RBIs
• APP – Braxton Church: 1-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, HR, walk
• APP – Tyler Lichtenberger: 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, walk
• APP – Kameron Miller: 2-4, 1 run, double, walk

By Matt Present. HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Bounce-back perseverance from App State Baseball produced an extra-inning victory Sunday at Marshall and clinched another road series win for the weekend.

App State escaped a jam after Marshall had tied the series finale in the bottom of the ninth inning, then scored four times in the top of the 10th inning to regain the lead for good in an 8-5 victory.

The Mountaineers (19-16, 9-6) earned a Sun Belt Conference road series win for the second straight weekend, taking two of three games in Huntington after doing the same at ULM, and have won the series in four of their five Sun Belt weekends to date. App State currently sits fourth in the 14-team league, one game out of a second-place tie and two games behind first place.

After Marshall (18-18, 6-9) scored an unearned run to tie the game against Liam Best in the ninth, an intentional walk loaded the bases with one away. First baseman Juan Correa fielded a hard-hit grounder at the edge of the turf and threw home from one knee to erase the lead runner before Best forced extra innings on a swinging strikeout.

Singles from Tyler Lichtenberger and Tyler Figueroa leading off the 10th preceded an RBI double into the right-field corner by Jonathan Xuereb and a run-scoring bunt single by Charlie Evans. After an error on Xavier Lopez’s sac bunt loaded the bases with nobody out, Joseph Zamora and Kameron Miller had back-to-back sac flies.

A homer for Marshall leading off the bottom of the 10th cut the deficit to three, and two runners were aboard with one away when pitcher Conner Barozzino replaced Best. With the tying run at the plate, Barozzino forced a flyout to left and ended the game on a swinging strikeout.

App State trailed 3-1 before tying the game on Zamaro’s two-run sac fly to deep right-center in the seventh — the speedy Evans scored all the way from second to follow Figueroa home. The Mountaineers then claimed a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth as Xuereb scored on Miller’s two-out, pop-up infield single that was lost in the sun near second base.

Zamora finished 1-for-2 with two walks and three RBIs, while Xuereb went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Figueroa scored three times during a 2-for-4 day.

App State starting pitcher Everette Harris allowed one run in 2.1 innings before giving way to Bradley Wilson, who pitched the next 5.2 innings and allowed just two runs (on a two-run homer in the fourth) on two hits to get the Mountaineers to the dramatic ninth.

A highlight-reel catch from Dillon Moquin in right began the bottom of the ninth, but a single was followed by a throwing error to second to put two on and an RBI single that included a throwing error to leave two runners in scoring position.

Marshall, which had followed a Friday loss with a Saturday victory, was in position to seize the series, but some late heroics from the Mountaineers kept their strong stretch of weekend play going.

The 2025 App State Baseball season is presented by Chick-fil-A. The Mountaineers are back in action Tuesday at Duke.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Reciprocity. That could well have been the key takeaway from “The Battle of the Rock” spring football game on April 12, pitting App State’s offense against the Mountaineers’ defense, with a sprinkling of special teams play along the way.

An estimated 15,000 fans from AppNation got a firsthand glimpse of new head coach Dowell Loggains’ gridiron product during the crisply-run drills and scrimmage. At the same time, the legion of new recruits — including a staff of assistant coaches loaded with NFL and major college pedigrees — received a taste of what playing in “The Rock” is like, the energized atmosphere in Kidd Brewer Stadium not quite up to gameday standards but certainly headed in that direction.

After some opening warmup drills, the teams got down to the main event, a live scrimmage pitting the offense against the defense — and whether you favor a dynamic defense or a thrill-a-minute offense, there were some nice moments for all.

New names surfaced on big plays, including interceptions by junior defensive back Cristian Conyer (a transfer who played at Coastal Carolina in 2024 and appeared in 10 games for Tennessee in 2023) and redshirt freshman Kaleb Neal (following a deflection from defensive back Tyshawn Sanders).

Redshirt senior Joseph Bakhoe, a Charlotte native (Myers Park HS) who initially played at Coffeyville Community College before one-year stints at Louisiana-Monroe (2023) and Chattanooga (2024), impressed coaches and fans with a forced fumble. There were also non-contact “sacks” by redshirt senior Thomas Davis, redshirt freshman DeNigel Cooper, and redshirt junior Josiah Wyatt, all returning defensive linemen.

Admittedly, though, much of the day’s curiosity centered on the revamped Mountaineer offense, given Loggains reputation as an innovator on that side of the ball and the big vacancy left with the graduation and transfer of quarterback Joey Aguilar to UCLA.

The quarterback room may be one of the most crowded as well as competitive of the skill positions. AJ Swann, a 6-2, 215 lb. redshirt junior with two seasons of eligibility remaining after playing for Vanderbilt in 2022-23 and serving as a backup QB for LSU in 2024, got the first look on offense and didn’t disappoint with three TD throws during his rotations, one each to redshirt freshman Jose Leon (Miami, Fla.), junior Jaden Barnes (a transfer from Austin Peay) and Michael Dipasquale, a returning redshirt sophomore running back from Wake Forest, N.C.

Freshman quarterback Noah Gillon (6-3, 180 lbs., Tupelo, Miss.) lit up the scoreboard to start the second half with a long pass to redshirt senior tight end David Larkins, a returning starter. The play covered more than 70 yards, prompting 6-5, 255 lb. Larkins to admit to reporters after the game that it was the furthest he had ever run on a scoring play. After slipping behind the defensive secondary to find himself wide open, Larkins gathered in Gillon’s perfectly thrown spiral and sprinted untouched to the end zone.

“My greatest fear in being that wide open,” said a smiling Larkins, “is not catching the ball in that situation. I would rather be more closely guarded.”

In his first taste of collegiate football, Gillon had several shorter completions, too.

Another transfer QB candidate lived up to his major college pedigree and 4-star rating as a high school prospect in JJ Kohl, a 6-7, 250 lb. redshirt sophomore signal caller with three years of eligibility remaining. Kohl spent his 2023 and 2024 seasons at Iowa State. In “The Battle at the Rock” on Saturday, the towering QB found William Fowles for a TD. The redshirt sophomore wide receiver from Hialeah, Fla. transferred to App State a year ago, from Louisville.

Another strong QB prospect, Matthew Wilson, tossed a TD pass to Larkins, too. Wilson is a redshirt freshman from Rock Hill, S.C., who was an early enrollee to App State a year ago after being named the Offensive MVP of the 2023 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and an all-state selection as a high school senior.

The quarterback room also includes redshirt senior Billy Wiles, who transferred from Southern Miss a year ago. He was a scholarship player at Clemson before transferring to Southern Miss. As a veteran college QB who led his high school to a Virginia state title his senior year, Wiles is also a strong contender for the App State starting job.

The sixth QB candidate, redshirt sophomore Cameron Estep, also has a strong high school pedigree after leading Charlotte Christian to two state titles and setting the school’s record for touchdown passes.

Of the quarterback room, Swann told reporters afterwards that he was part of “… a close-knit group. Everyone gets the same number of reps as evenly as possible and I really enjoy it… We have a close-knit locker room, everyone coming together as one and that is what Coach is preaching.”

Swann said he really likes the offensive system.

“It is really well-run. They ran this offense last year at South Carolina and were very successful, one of the most successful in the SEC,” said Swann.

Kohl said he loved the atmosphere at Kidd Brewer and the enthusiasm of the fans.

“The fact they could fill the stadium on a very cold, windy day is impressive.”

Like Swann, Kohl described the transition into the new offense has been pretty smooth.

For his part, head coach Loggains seemed pleased with what he saw.

“We’ve got a lot to clean up, and there was a lot of good, but there is still a lot of work ahead,” Loggains said. “We’re going to have a busy summer with these guys. The good thing for us is we have a whole training camp to clean that stuff up.”

The first test for the new-look Mountaineers will be Friday, Aug. 29, at Bank of America Stadium against Charlotte, which is also coming into the 2025 season with a new head coach, Tim Albin, a two-time Mid-American Conference “Coach of the Year” and head coach of the 2024 MAC champions, Ohio University.

By Layne McNary. BOONE, N.C. — The App State tennis team pushed its winning streak to eight with a 4-1 victory over Georgia Southern on Sunday. The win marks the Mountaineers’ sixth straight in conference play, their longest conference streak since joining the Sun Belt.

Prior to the match, Olwyn Ryan-Bovey was recognized on Senior Day as the program’s lone senior.

What Happened

The Mountaineers (15-5, 7-2 SBC) opened the match by clinching a tightly contested doubles point. Savannah Dada-Mascoll and Taya Powell set the tone with a commanding 6-0 win on court one over the Eagles (10-8, 2-5 SBC). Ruby Broadbent and Naledi Manyube followed with a 6-3 victory on court two to secure the point for App State.

In singles play, Powell kept the momentum going with a 6-2, 6-4 straight-set win on court three. After cruising through the first set, she held off a late push to take the second and extend the lead to two.

Dada-Mascoll notched the Mountaineers’ second singles point of the day, winning 6-3, 6-1 from the No.1 spot. After trailing 2-1 early, she dropped just three more games the rest of the way. The win marked her seventh straight singles victory, improving her season record to 15-2. In doubles, she now holds a 13-3 record and has won eight straight.

After a setback on court two, Ryan-Bovey delivered the clincher in storybook fashion, winning in straight sets to secure the team victory from the No. 4 position. The senior overcame a late push in the first set and pulled away in the second for a 6-4, 6-3 win—her seventh consecutive singles victory, improving her record to 9-5 on the year.

Matches on courts five and six featuring Alexi Cleveland and Ruby Broadbent were left unfinished after the match was decided.

Up Next

The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, hosting Georgia State at 10 a.m. at the App State Tennis Courts at the Appalachian 105 Complex.

App State 4, Georgia Southern 1

Results:
(Doubles)
Savannah Dada-Mascoll/Taya Powell (APP) def. Lisen Rinman/Mackenzie Leopold (GS) | 6-0
Ruby Broadbent/Naledi Manyube (APP) vs. Evelyn Warkentin/Nanaka Kijima (GS) | 6-3
Alexi Cleveland/Olwyn Ryan-Bovey (APP) def. Hannah Eifert/Franzi Heinemann (GS) | 4-4, unfinished

(Singles)
Savannah Dada-Mascoll (APP) def. Lisen Rinman (GS) 6-3, 6-1
Franzi Heinemann (GS) def. Naledi Manyube (APP) | 6-0, 7-6 (7-1)
Taya Powell (APP) def. Mackenzie Leopold (GS) | 6-2, 6-4
Olwyn Ryan-Bovey (APP) def. Nanaka Kijima (GS) | 6-4, 6-3
Alexi Cleveland (APP) vs. Amelie Rosadoro (GS) | 1-6, 5-5, unfinished
Ruby Broadbent (APP) vs. Hannah Eifert (GS) | 6-3, 3-3, unfinished

By Matt Present. MONROE, La. — Tyler Figueroa’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run third inning, helping App State take the series from ULM with a 17-5 win in seven innings in the rubber game on April 5 at Lou St. Amant Field.

After the Mountaineers saw a ferocious rally come up short in the resumption of Saturday’s suspended game, the bats stayed hot for the regularly scheduled contest, as App State (16-15, 7-5) used three big innings to pull away from the Warhawks (14-18, 3-9) in the series finale.

The Mountaineers conclude the weekend one game back of first place in the Sun Belt standings.

Game 1

After a nearly 24-hour rain delay, App State returned to the field Sunday trailing 13-6 in the seventh inning and wasted no time getting right back into the contest. The Mountaineers had already scored a pair of runs in the top of the frame prior to the delay and turned it into a big inning once play resumed. Braxton Church lined the first pitch of the resumed game down the right field line to score Joseph Zamora, and Juan Correa followed by lifting a sacrifice fly to center field to bring in Kameron Miller, making it a 13-8 ballgame.

Tyler Lichtenberger continued the rally with an RBI single to left-center. The freshman then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch and came into score on a Figueroa RBI single up the middle to make it 13-10. With two outs in the inning, Riley Luft, batting for the second time in the frame, smacked an opposite-field double to cut the deficit to just two and force ULM into its bullpen.

Freshman right-hander Luke Oblen struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning, but despite bringing the tying run to the plate in both the eighth and the ninth, the Mountaineers were unable to equalize.

ULM opened up an 8-1 advantage early on in the ballgame, scoring three runs in the first inning and five more in the second.

App State scored three runs in the sixth inning on a Correa RBI single, followed by a Lichtenberger two-run double, but the Warhawks countered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Carter Boyd tossed 0.2 scoreless innings before lightning halted play on Saturday afternoon. Jordan Fisher delivered a scoreless eighth inning, retiring the side in order.

Game 2

The App State offense erupted for seven runs in the third inning and never looked back on its way to a run-rule victory.

Trailing 1-0, Graham Smiley reached on a throwing error to begin the third inning and Riley Luft followed with a single to center field. Dillon Moquin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, setting up Joseph Zamora who blooped an RBI single into shallow right-center field to tie the score. Zamora finished with a career-high four hits in the contest.

After Kameron Miller singled through the right side to give the Mountaineers the lead, Tyler Lichtenberger worked a walk to force in a run and make it 3-1.

Tyler Figueroa then stepped to the plate and blasted a 1-0 pitch 360 feet over the left field fence for a grand slam to push the App State advantage to 7-1.

The App State offense kept the pressure on with base runners throughout the contest. While only three hits went for extra bases on the afternoon, App State recorded 13 singles, stringing together long rallies in multiple innings.

After an RBI single from Miller in the fourth, the Mountaineers put up a four-run fifth inning. With the bases loaded again, Luft plated a run with an RBI groundout before Moquin drove in two more with a triple to the gap in right-center. Zamora capped the inning with an RBI single to push the advantage to 12-3.

Leading by eight going to the seventh inning, the App State offense put the game away with another cooked number. The Mountaineers plated five runs on four hits in the inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Zamora and an RBI double from Lichtenberger. The Mountaineers’ shortstop recorded hits in all three games in the series to extend his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games and his on-base streak to all 30 games he has played this season.

Everette Harris made the start for the Mountaineers and worked 4.2 innings without allowing a walk. He scattered five runs on six hits but did not allow the Warhawks to put together a big inning.

Graduate student Bradley Wilson earned the win in relief, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings and retiring seven of the eight batters he faced. He too did not walk a batter, marking the second time in the last six contests that the Mountaineers’ pitching staff posted a walk-free effort.

The Mountaineers return home for a midweek contest on Tuesday against Western Carolina to round out the home-and-home series with the Catamounts. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE