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Football dominates, but new opportunities adding to high school sports participation rates

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Football dominates, but new opportunities adding to high school sports participation rates

By David Rogers. RALEIGH, N.C. — Not surprising given the number of athletes on a team and the popularity of the sport, Football headed the list of high school sports for the number of participants in North Carolina’s 2023-24 academic year, according to data obtained from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

The NCHSAA reported that 29,075 student athletes competed in football during the most recently completed academic year, up from 27,809 in 2022-23, an 0.26% increase. The participants were spread among 383 high schools in 2023-24, one more than in the previous year.

Men’s Track (15,932 participants/409 schools), Men’s Soccer (12,916/407), Men’s Basketball (11,409/434) and Women’s Track (11,409/409) rounded out the top five high school sports in North Carolina with the highest participation.

Data courtesy of NCHSAA; Graphic presentation by High Country Sports. Click on chart to enlarge to full view on laptop or PC.

New to the lineup of athletic opportunities in North Carolina high schools in 2023-24 was Women’s Wrestling, offered in its first year by 248 schools with 1,432 participants.

The highest rate of growth for the number of students participating in a sport was in the Spirit squads, cheerleaders and dance teams, which saw a 20.15 percent increase as the number of schools offering the opportunities increased from 354 to 414.

Women’s Indoor Track (5,912/306) realized a 16.47 percent increase, followed by Men’s Indoor Track (7,331/304) with a 12.82 percent increase, Women’s Golf (1,573/282) at 12.04 percent growth, Men’s Cross Country (5,821/395) with 9.60 percent growth, and Men’s Soccer (12,916/407) at 9.31 percent.

Of the 26 athletic endeavors offered by North Carolina high schools, only Baseball saw a decline in participants, -1.43 percent, while Men’s Track and Women’s Lacrosse were almost flat for the year.

In addition to general population growth as well as social and cultural trends promoting physical fitness, the participation numbers are largely influenced by the number of schools offering a particular sport.

The largest number of schools offering an individual sport was in Men’s Basketball, offered by 434 North Carolina high schools, closely followed by (Women’s) Volleyball (432). Rounding out the top five in terms of the number of schools offering a sport were Women’s Basketball (429), Spirit squads (414) and Baseball (414).

In total, North Carolina high schools saw 208,722 students participating in NCHSAA sanctioned athletics during the 2023-24 academic year, a 5.40 percent increase over the prior academic year. Winter sports experienced the highest growth rate, at 9.30 percent.

 

Where’s the beef?

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Where’s the beef?

By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Whether Blowing Rock’s Board of Commissioners did enough to placate those objecting to the proposed 20-foot increase in the height of a communications utility pole on town-owned Green Hill Circle property remains to be seen, but the commissioners voted unanimously to table any decision until some kind of study is done.

That was the vote at the conclusion of an almost two-hour special public hearing on July 23. Exactly what kind of study or how comprehensive it should be remained unclear.

At its July 11 meeting, the Blowing Rock Planning Board voted 5-3 recommending approval of the 80-foot utility pole’s installation, replacing the current 57-foot pole, but added that a study should be done. While the Planning Board did not stipulate that a study be done before any installation of the proposed 80-foot utility pole, that is essentially what the Town Council decided to do — perhaps to avoid the veiled threats of one or more lawsuits posed by attorney Nathan Miller in representing a group of Green Hill residents belonging to a Protect Blowing Rock Neighborhoods LLC. When asked by Commissioner Pete Gherini, Miller was unable to provide a number for how many members are part of the LLC.

Editor’s Note: The North Carolina Secretary of State website lists Protect Blowing Rock Neighborhoods LLC’s Registered Agent as Thomas L. Ross III of Blowing Rock and the Organizer as Raymond L. Lancaster of Charlotte, as of the Aug. 8, 2023, filing of its Articles of Organization. It also states that a current annual report has not yet been filed and due.

What became clear during the testimonies of Town Manager Shane Fox, Police Chief Nathan Kirk and the several residents speaking during the public hearing portion of the meeting, including Miller and the commissioners, is that everyone values good communications among law enforcement, firefighting, and public works personnel.

The sticking points, of course, are how to best achieve that objective and at what cost.

In answer to a question from Commissioner David Harwood, Fox estimated that replacing the current 57-foot pole with an 80-foot utility pole would cost the Town of Blowing Rock between $10,000 and $13,000. That solution extends the functionality of the current VHF (very high frequency) communications technology employed by police, fire, and public works personnel since the mid-1970s.

Fox added that moving to a more modern, digital communications network would cost approximately $18,000 per employee radio, of which the town currently owns 75 of them, so replacing the radios alone would cost at least $500,000, assuming that not all 75 would be replaced (75 times $18,000 = $1,350,000). Replacing the entire network, he said, “… would be double or triple the cost of the radios, or between $1 million and $2 million.”

As with the Town’s gravity-fed water system, Fox stated that the Green Hill Circle location is the optimum site for the communications pole because it is the highest elevation in town at 3,925 feet and VHF radio transmissions require line of sight. Unfortunately, the current 57-foot pole’s utility is being degraded and diminished by the tree canopy that has grown up around it. Fox stated that police, fire, and public works employees had all noticed improved service in the winter when there are little or no leaves. Similarly, they have noticed poorer communications in recent years as the trees have grown.

What should be the mission?

What seemed to be missing by the Town Council’s decision is clarity of purpose. Okay, a study, but what kind? How much are we willing to allocate from the budget? What do we want the study to tell us?

One of the citizens speaking, urging the commissioners to upgrade the Town’s communications network and employ more modern technology than VHF, referred to raising the height of the utility pole as a “stop gap” measure.

To anyone listening to the evidence and logic, that is exactly what a taller utility pole is, a “stop gap” measure. It buys another 15-25 years of good VHF radio communications at a relatively low cost — until the trees around it are found to have grown again, interfering with the VHF signals.

Perhaps the decision that should have been made by the Town Council: to acknowledge the taller pole as a low-cost, “stop gap” solution for the VHF-based network, pass the Town staff’s proposal as a stop-gap measure and then, in the same breath, commission a comprehensive study by (presumably) a telecommunications consultant to recommend best practices for moving forward with modern, digital technology. The same study — or a partner analysis — should also recommend how to obtain funding for a multi-million dollar initiative: grant, debt and, in all probability an increase in property taxes and their staging. Don’t do a half-ass study. Go the full monty.

Finding a solution to this dilemma is not rocket science, but ultimately any solution must be paid for.

In the short run, in addition to the Town’s manageable, $13,000 monetary cost for installation of the 80-foot utility pole, payment might also have to come from a group of Green Hill residents seeing a small antenna and possibly a utility poking above the tree canopy.

Long term, maybe the utility pole can be taken down to the relief of Green Hill residents and any tourists on the Blue Ridge Parkway bothered by seeing it, but everyone in Town, including those on Green Hill Circle, should expect to pay a higher property tax rate in implementing a more modern solution for Blowing Rock’s internal communications.

Like just about every decision, there are tradeoffs. There’s also the possibility, of course, that a telecommunications consultant’s study concludes that the best, modern day solution requires a taller, more obtrusive “tower” rather than a utility pole — on Green Hill Circle, since it is already town property and the highest elevation for such a thing.

 

 

 

Aguilar tabbed as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, App State picked by coaches as East favorite

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Aguilar tabbed as Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, App State picked by coaches as East favorite

By Bret Strelow and Joey Jones. NEW ORLEANS, La. — With App State Football being voted the preseason favorite in the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division and quarterback Joey Aguilar being named the league’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, the Mountaineers had nine players selected for the preseason All-Sun Belt teams announced Monday.

App State led East Division teams with 96 voting points and 12 first-place votes from the league’s 14 coaches, followed by James Madison with 79 voting points and two first-place votes. Texas State paced West Division teams with 92 voting points and nine first-place votes, with Troy receiving four first-place votes and Louisiana picking up one.

Wide receiver Kaedin Robinson and tight end Eli Wilson joined Aguilar as first-team selections from the offensive side, while App State defensive players on the first team were defensive lineman Santana Hopper, outside linebacker Nate Johnson, safety Jordan Favors and cornerback Ethan Johnson.

App State’s second-team selections were kicker Michael Hughes and running back Kanye Roberts.

App State, Arkansas State and Georgia Southern tied for the most selections across the two preseason teams, and the Mountaineers led the way with seven first-team selections.

Aguilar’s 33 touchdown passes during the 2023 regular season allowed him to rank fifth nationally for the entire season, which he finished with additional school records of 3,757 passing yards and 4,002 yards of total offense. Robinson tied for the Sun Belt lead with 10 touchdown catches during a season in which he compiled 905 receiving yards, the highest total in App State’s FBS era, and Wilson ranked in the top three among Sun Belt tight ends in catches (34), yards (350) and touchdown catches (five).

Hopper and Johnson both received Freshman All-America recognition, as Hopper made a late-season surge while contributing 3.5 sacks among his 7.5 tackles for loss and Nate Johnson tied for first nationally among true freshmen with 7.5 sacks. Favors tied for the Sun Belt lead with four interceptions, and Ethan Johnson had 11 pass breakups to go with 56 tackles.

The College Football Network named Hughes a second-team All-American following a season in which he made 19 of 22 field goals, including a game-winning kick from 54 yards, and Roberts was App State’s top rusher five times in the last nine games of a 696-yard season that included seven rushing touchdowns.

Sun Belt Media Days begin Tuesday in New Orleans, with the App State contingent of head coach Shawn Clark, Aguilar and Robinson appearing on the main stage at noon ET (11 a.m. CT). Those interviews will be available live on ESPN+. The Sun Belt will also host studio shows each day, and those will also be available via ESPN+.

2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

East Division

1. App State – 96 Points (12)
2. James Madison – 79 Points (2)
3. Coastal Carolina – 67 Points
4. Georgia Southern – 50 Points
5. Marshall – 49 Points
6. Old Dominion – 32 Points
7. Georgia State – 19 Points

West Division

1. Texas State – 92 Points (9)
2. Troy – 68 Points (4)
3. Louisiana – 66 Points (1)
4. Arkansas State – 65 Points
5. South Alabama – 54 Points
6. Southern Miss – 31 Points
7. ULM – 16 Points

2024 SUN BELT CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PRESEASON AWARDS

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Joey Aguilar, App State (Sr., QB – Antioch, Calif.)

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Sr., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Offense^

QB – Joey Aguilar, App State (Sr., QB – Antioch, Calif.)
QB – Jordan McCloud, Texas State (RS Sr., QB – Tampa, Fla.)
RB – Jalen White, Georgia Southern (5th Yr., RB – Daleville, Ala.)
RB – Ismail Mahdi, Texas State (Jr., RB – Murphy, Texas)
OL – Jacob Bayer, Arkansas State (Sr., OL – Grandview, Texas)
OL – Makilan Thomas, Arkansas State (RS Jr., OL – Little Rock, Ark.)
OL – Cole Potts, James Madison (Sr., OL – Johnstown, Ohio)
OL – AJ Gillie, Louisiana (RS Sr., OL – Natchitoches, La.)
OL – Daniel King, Troy (Sr., OL – Cairo, Ga.)
TE – Eli Wilson, App State (Sr., TE – Piedmont, S.C.)
WR – Kaedin Robinson, App State (RS Sr., WR – Asheville, N.C.)
WR – Derwin Burgess Jr., Georgia Southern (Sr., WR – Riverdale, Ga.)
WR – Joey Hobert, Texas State (Sr., WR – San Clemente, Calif.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Defense

DL – Santana Hopper, App State (RS So., DL – Shelby, N.C.)
DL – Nate Martey, Arkansas State (Sr., DL – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)
DL – Justin Rhodes, Georgia Southern (5th Yr., DL – Durham, N.C.)
DL – Isaac Walker, Georgia Southern (RS Jr., DL – Greensboro, N.C.)
LB – Nate Johnson, App State (So., LB – Gaffney, S.C.)
LB – Marques Watson-Trent, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., LB – Pittsburgh, Pa.)
LB – Jason Henderson, Old Dominion (Sr., LB – Dingmans Ferry, Pa.)
LB – Ben Bell, Texas State (Sr., LB – Cedar Park, Texas)
DB – Jordan Favors, App State (RS Jr., DB – Griffin, Ga.)
DB – Ethan Johnson, App State (Jr., DB – Huntersville, N.C.)
DB – Gavin Pringle, Georgia State (RS Sr., DB – Baltimore, Md.)
DB – Jaden Voisin, South Alabama (RS Sr., DB – Crestview, Fla.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team Special Teams

K – Mason Shipley, Texas State (RS Jr., K – Liberty Hill, Texas)
P – Ryan Hanson, James Madison (RS Sr., P – Elgin, Texas)
RS – Zylan Perry, Louisiana (RS So., RS – Franklin, La.)
AP – Ismail Mahdi, Texas State (Jr., AP – Murphy, Texas)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Offense^

QB – Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State (So., QB – Kernersville, N.C.)
RB – Kanye Roberts, App State (RS So., RB – Wallace, N.C.)
RB – Ja’Quez Cross, Arkansas State (RS Jr., RB – Hampton, Ark.)
OL – Chandler Strong, Georgia Southern (RS So., OL – Warner Robins, Ga.)
OL – Pichon Wimbley, Georgia Southern (Jr., OL – Newnan, Ga.)
OL – Tyshawn Wyatt, James Madison (Sr., OL – Richmond, Va.)
OL – Logan Osburn, Marshall (RS Sr., OL – Ona, W.Va.)
OL – Eli Russ, Troy (Jr., OL – Ardmore, Okla.)
TE – Kendall Karr, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., TE – Belmont, N.C.)
WR – Courtney Jackson, Arkansas State (RS Sr., WR – Monroeville, Pa.)
WR – Corey Rucker, Arkansas State (RS Jr., WR – Bentonia, Miss.)
WR – Jamaal Pritchett, South Alabama (Sr., WR – Jackson, Ala.)
WR – Kole Wilson, Texas State (Jr., WR – Katy, Texas)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Defense

DL – Will Whitson, Coastal Carolina (Gr., DL – Cincinnati, Ohio)
DL – Eric O’Neill, James Madison (RS Jr., DL – Staten Island, N.Y.)
DL – Jordan Lawson, Louisiana (RS Jr., DL – Brandon, Miss.)
DL – Denzel Lowry, Old Dominion (RS Jr., DL – Virginia Beach, Va.)
DL – Wy’Kevious Thomas, South Alabama (RS Sr., DL – Riverdale, Ga.)
LB – Charles Willekes, Arkansas State (RS Sr., LB – Rockford, Mich.)
LB – Kevin Swint, Georgia State (Sr., LB – Carrollton, Ga.)
LB – KC Ossai, Louisiana (Sr., LB – Conroe, Texas)
DB – TJ Smith, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., DB – Atlanta, Ga.)
DB – Chauncey Logan, James Madison (Jr., DB – Salem, Va.)
DB – Tyrone Lewis Jr., Louisiana (RS Sr., DB – Hammond, La.)
DB – Kaleb Culp, Texas State (Sr., DB – Dallas, Texas)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team Special Teams

K – Michael Hughes, App State (Sr., K – Charleston, W.Va.)
P – Robert Cole, Troy (Sr., P – Coral Springs, Fla.)
RS – DeAndre Buchannon, Georgia Southern (So., RS – Atlanta, Ga.)
AP – Ja’Quez Cross, Arkansas State (RS Jr., AP – Hampton, Ark.)

^ Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team & Second Team Offense Expanded Due to Ties in Voting

Five Mountaineers gain ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition

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Five Mountaineers gain ITA Scholar-Athlete recognition

By Jacob Plecker. BOONE, N.C. – For the third time in the last four years, App State tennis earned All-Academic Team honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) while five student-athletes were named ITA Scholar-Athletes. App State’s five honorees are the most since the 2021 season.

Brooke Gruber, Brooke Demerath, Olwyn Ryan-Bovey, Taya Powell and Maggie Pate were the five Mountaineers named ITA Scholar-Athletes. For Gruber, it’s the second time she has earned the award, while the other four are first-time honorees.

App State has had 24 consecutive semesters of at least a 3.0 GPA for all athletes.

As a team, the Mountaineers earned a 3.49 semester GPA and a 3.44 cumulative GPA, helping continue App State’s streak of 24 consecutive semesters with at least a 3.0 GPA for all athletes.

Academic recognition is nothing new for head coach Hannah Fetters and the Mountaineers as six student-athletes were named to the Spring 2024 Chancellor’s and Dean’s List this past semester. In her first year at App State, she has seen 90 percent of her student-athletes receive either Dean’s List or Chancellor’s List distinction.

A total of 1,573 Division I women’s student-athletes were named an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2024, while 255 programs earned All-Academic Team distinction.

To be named an ITA All-Academic Team, programs must have a grade-point average of 3.2 or above (on a 4.00 scale).

For student-athletes to be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, they must be a varsity letter winner and have a grade-point average above 3.5 (on a 4.00 scale).

Thousands enjoy Blowing Rock’s more genteel version of Woodstock, rain and all

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Thousands enjoy Blowing Rock’s more genteel version of Woodstock, rain and all

By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Major rock stars did not turn down an invitation to play and Ravi Shankar did not perform through a rainstorm.

And yet, many of the baby boomers in the crowd estimated at nearly 4,000 might well have been revisiting Woodstock in their minds on July 19, as rain pummeled the revelers on the grassy slope leading from the Manor House down to Chetola Lake — while the Symphony of the Mountains, under the direction of Cornelia Laemmli Orth, performed for the 36th edition of Blowing Rock’s pinnacle event of the summer season: Symphony by the Lake.

Photographic image by David Rogers

We didn’t see anyone sliding through mud puddles or skinny-dipping in the lake, but that doesn’t mean people weren’t having a grand time listening (and in many cases, movin’ and groovin’) to a variety of tunes from different musical genres, from an operatic aria in O Sole Mio, to Kevin Robinson’s Fantasia on Appalachian Folk Music, to Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA, and so much more.

The curtain raiser performance for this year’s Symphony by the Lake was by East Tennessee’s The Fred Goodwin Band, who offered a number of of old favorites, many with an R&B flavor.

Some graceful ballroom dancing was in order during the early performance, admired by all. Photographic image by David Rogers

Blowing Rock got to meet new Chetola Mountain Resort owner Warren Cathcart, who not only welcomed the event’s guests, but offered extensive notes of appreciation for the work of the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce and the several major sponsors, including Hendrick Automotive. As he has done in the past, Hendrick’s Bobby Rice, who is a seasonal resident of Blowing Rock, offered his own welcoming remarks. He was followed by Mayor Charlie Seller before Orth’s entrance, baton in hand, to lead everyone in the playing and singing of The Star Spangled Banner.

The theme for this year’s Symphony was Live from Vienna and there was plenty of Austrian and other classical composers’ work sprinkled throughout the program, along with other familiar fare:

  • John Stafford Smith (orch. by Leopold Stowkowski: The Star Spangled Banner
  • Franz von Suppé: Vienna Jubilation Overture
  • G. Capurro/E. Di Capua (orch. by Giancarlo Chiaramello): O Sole Mio
  • Anthony Hopkins (arr. by Steve Sensenig: And the Waltz Goes On
  • Franz Lehár: Das Land des Lachelns No. 11 – Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
  • Johann Strauss II: Tritsch – Tratsch – Polka
  • Johann Strauss I: Radetzky March
  • Guest Conductor, Augustin Lara: Granada
  • John Williams: Born on the Fourth of July
  • Arnold Schönberg (arr. by Bob Lowden): Les Miserables Medley
  • Schonberg/Alain Boublil (arr. by Bob Krongstad(: Bring Him Home from Les Miserables
  • Camp Kirkland: Patriotic Overture
  • Armed Forces Salute (arr. by Bob Lowden)
  • Tony Arata (arr. by Benjamin Dawson): The Dance
  • Danoff/Nivert/Denver (arr. by Benjamin Dawson): Take Me Home, Country Roads

The John Williams piece, Born on the Fourth of July, from the soundtrack of the 1989 movie of the same name (starring Tom Cruise) that helped define the conflict of Americans vs. Americans during the Vietnam War, alternated between haunting, dramatic and celebratory. For many in the crowd who lived through the Vietnam conflict era and recalled the movie’s characterizations, the song had special meaning as they relived their own experiences — and conflicts — of the time.

Warren Cathcart and wife Bethany were on hand to offer the official welcome to the Chetola venue. Photographic image by David Rogers

Intermittent rain caused a number of prepared audience members to pop open their umbrellas. The less prepared either embraced the downpour or scurried to the nearest patron tent they could squeeze into. One was heard to capture the sentiment of many mountain folks: “Oh, it’s just a little water.”

In spite of the rain and the overcast, the traditional fireworks display offered another climactic moment for the event — as Blowing Rock’s more genteel version of Woodstock came to an grand end.

 

 

Split Decision: West women’s all-stars win, 1-0, while East men’s all-stars prevail, 3-2

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Split Decision: West women’s all-stars win, 1-0, while East men’s all-stars prevail, 3-2

By David Rogers. GREENSBORO, N.C. — Watauga High School alum Kyle Painter recorded six saves as goalkeeper for the West in the North Carolina Coaches Association (NCAA) East-West All-Star Soccer Game, but it was not quite enough to overcome a barrage of close-range shots by the East, who prevailed with a 3-2 win on July 16.

Kyle Painter, a Watauga HS alum, was kept busy July 16 in the East West All Star Game by a potent offensive attack displayed by the East. Photo by David Rogers

Meanwhile, another Watauga alum, Katie Durham, helped lead the West All-Stars to a 1-0 victory over the East in the curtain-raiser, with both matches hosted by the NCCA at Grimsley High School.

With temperatures nearing 90 degrees and a thunderstorm brewing on the western horizon, the women’s game looked to be electrifying when the West’s Kylee Thompson (Hough HS) drove down the left wing, deftly turned the ball inward, then skipped it past a lunging East goalkeeper, Lauren Hollis ((Millbrook HS), for what turned out to be the game’s only score just two minutes after the opening whistle to start play.

Katie Durham (4) on attack in the NC East West All Star Game on July 16. Photo by David Rogers

For much of the match, the East seemed to dominate possession in their offensive half of the field, but each time the West defenders successfully turned their adversaries away. The starting West goalkeeper Rees DeJong (Cox Mill HS) made one save in the first half, then when the East turned up their offensive attack a notch or two in the second half, the West’s second goalkeeper, Elizabeth Navola (Christ the King HS), helped salvage the shutout with four more saves.

The East goalkeeper Lauren Hollis (Millbrook HS) dives to make a save on a shot attempt by the West’s Trinity Robinson (Wheatmore HS). Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Although she did not score from her attacking midfield position, Durham played a critical role in most of the West’s other offensive assaults. In what she described as her favorite near-goal of the night, the former Pioneer now committed to play for Wingate University received a long pass over the top from a fellow midfielder, then pushed the ball ahead in the left-center part of the field and sprinted in pursuit, racing past two defenders. Only a brilliant play by Hollis (the East goalkeeper) and a third East defender prevented Watauga’s 2024 MVP from scoring on this particular play.

Two other notable runs by Durham, one down the right wing and another down the right-center of the field also threatened, making for some exciting, highlight reel type action.

Thompson was named the game’s MVP.

NC Men’s All-Stars: East 3, West 2

Where the women’s game featured strong defensive efforts, the men’s all-stars traded offensive punches and counterattacks aplenty.

The West’s Aaron Zhu knocked the ball from 14 yards out just 4:07 into the match, a low shot around the East goalkeeper who had stopped the first touch.

Watauga alum Kyle Painter gathers in a shot by the East for a ‘save’ during the first half of the 2024 East West All Star Game on July 16, hosted by the North Carolina Coaches Association at Grimsley High School. Photo by David Rogers

From the 25-minute mark until just about the last 10 minutes, the East dominated the scoring, starting with Irvin Guiterrez’s (Lee County HS) unassisted blast from 24 yards out on the left side to clean up a loose ball. At the 43:30 mark, the East’s Adam Trusky (Chapel Hill HS) scored from close range thanks to a deft thru ball from Patrick Dion (Apex Friendship) for the assist. The East finished off their scoring barrage for the night at the 45:04 mark when Finn Peters (Junius H. Rose HS) and Trusky found a 2-on-1 opportunity that allowed Peters to finish it off, Trusky being credited for the all-important assist.

The East and West are converging onto the ball on July 16 in the North Carolina Coaches Association East West Men’s All Star Game featuring newly minted high school graduates. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

After a long scoring drought in the second half, the West’s Zhu brought the deficit to just a single goal with a successful penalty kick after teammate Justin Ortiz (Hickory HS) was fouled inside the penalty box at the 71:13 mark.

But that is as close as the West could get in front of the almost 700 patrons who attended, even with rain and lightning threatening. The East’s Trusky was named MVP of the men’s all-star match.

Watauga eliminated from Tar Heel League 15U tourney by Wilkes County, 14-5.

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Watauga eliminated from Tar Heel League 15U tourney by Wilkes County, 14-5.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Wilkes County had a 2-out rally get runners in scoring position in the bottom of the second inning on July 15, but couldn’t get them across. They made up for that failure and then some just an inning later, manufacturing eight runs on six walks, six passed balls, three stolen bases and just two singles in the third frame, en route to a convincing, 14-5 win over Watauga. For the Boone boys, it was the final elimination game this year in the Tar Heel League 15U double elimination tournament, played at Watauga High School.

The 8-run scoring outburst in the third inning followed a single run in the first, then Wilkes added one more run in the fifth inning before completing their scoresheet with four additional tallies in the sixth. The game was stopped after the sixth inning due to the 2-hour time limit imposed by the THL rules.

Watauga 15U shortstop Isaiah Shreve fields a ground ball cleanly in the second inning on July 15 vs. Wilkes County, then comes up to throw the runner out at first base. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

All but one of the Wilkes County rostered players crossed the plate for at least one run, led by leadoff batter Layden Dyer’s three runs scored, going 1-1, but getting on base with two walks and an error through the course of the six inning affair. He took advantage of his on-base opportunities with two stolen bases while also advancing on four passed balls and a wild pitch.

Maverick Griffith’s hitting line noteworthy, going 1-2, but also drawing a pair of walks and adding a stolen base in scoring two runs on the day.

Quinn Cashwell (23) gets a big jump while attempting to steal second against Wilkes County on July 15. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Victor Olvern also took advantage of Watauga miscues, credited with an 0-2 day at the plate, but was issued a walk and reached first on an error before stealing a base and leveraging three passed balls to score two runs.

A notable performance at the plate and on the basepaths for Watauga were by second baseman Jonathan Bouboulis, going 2-2, including a double while scoring two runs. He alertly advanced on two Wilkes County errors.

Hustling to first base on a ground ball error by the Wilkes County first baseman, Watauga’s Jaxtin Norris beats the diving tag attempt on July 15 in a Tar Heel League 15U game. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Watauga third baseman Joseph Hemrick also smacked a double during the game, going 1-3 and advancing on an error by the Wilkes County rightfielder on his way to scoring a run. Other runs scored were by Caden Morsette and Quinn Cashwell.

With the win, Wilkes County advances to a second game on July 13, another elimination game, this time vs. Hickory, which lost earlier to Alexander County.

BONUS PHOTOS (for best viewing on PC or laptop, click on any image for Slide Show mode)

All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Scout Hamby was the starting pitcher for Wilkes County on July 15, going well into the final, 6th inning before giving way to Layden Dyer, who earned the save. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

 

Have to Share: App State Football’s SAVVY award-winning video

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Have to Share: App State Football’s SAVVY award-winning video

SPECIAL REPORT. — Gotta watch this as the 2024 college football season approaches. Inspiring video featuring former App State Mountaineers and now NFL players, Jalen Virgil and Darrynton Evans as narrators.

 

Planning Board recommends curious approval for Green Hill utility pole replacement with 5-3 vote

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Planning Board recommends curious approval for Green Hill utility pole replacement with 5-3 vote

By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — It was not unanimous and there is still plenty to talk about. At their meeting on July 11, the Blowing Rock Planning Board members voted, 5-3, to recommend approval of the Town’s conditional zoning permit aimed at raising the height of the current communications utility pole (near the middle of Green Hill Circle) from its current 57 feet in height, to 80 feet — but further advised that the Town should have a study done to explore alternative technologies.

Since the Planning Board is simply an advisory committee comprised of citizen volunteers, collectively reporting its recommendations to the Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners about various development issues that come before it, the July 11 meeting was not a public hearing. Following a presentation about the conditional zoning request by Town Manager Shane Fox and additional thoughts from Planning Director Kevin Rothrock, others attending the meeting could also voice their opinions, including the viewpoints and questions expressed by members of the Planning Board.

Nathan Miller, a Boone attorney representing what he represented as an LLC focused on protecting the Green Hill neighborhood, spoke on behalf of the organization, as did other audience members present, including George Wilcox, the organizing principal of the LLC.

Wilcox, a Green Hill Circle resident, has long objected to any kind of communications “tower” be erected on the Town-owned property near the town’s 3-million gallon water storage tank, which supplies all of Blowing Rock’s water to its residents and businesses. It is a gravity-fed system that has been centered on Green Hill Circle for more than half a century because it is the highest point in town.

Similarly, in or around 1975, the town erected a utility pole near the water tank to facilitate VHF-based, 2-way radio communications between Fire, Police and Public Works employees.  It is a low tech, low cost solution made most viable also because the Green Hill Circle location, as the highest point in town, allows for line of sight transmissions to almost everywhere in town.

The problem, according to Fox, is that as development expanded on Green Hill Circle, including many expensive houses treasuring the views, the Town elected to plant trees around the water storage tank to help shield it from the views of the newly arrived homeowners. Over the years, though, the trees have grown to a point where they are interfering with, degrading, or completely diminishing the 2-way radio communications of the town.

The Town’s proposal is the most cost effective, but…

While perhaps the least expensive solution would be to cut down the trees, that would leave the gray mass of water tank bared to its neighbors’ views, including from the front yards of those living on the outer side of the street.

So the next most cost efficient solution, according to Fox, is to replace the current utility pole with a 20-foot taller pole to elevate the necessary antenna above the tree canopy and restore line of sight.

Fox maintained that replacing the utility pole would buy the town another 15-20 years of service, changing nothing that they have been doing for the last 50 years, until the trees grow more when, in all likelihood, the same issue would need to be revisited.

But Wilcox, Miller and at least board members Greg Bergstrom and Tom Barrett were having none of it.

While everyone agreed that the Town needs good communications between employees in the Fire, Police and Public Works department, they disagreed on the ways to achieve it.

Wilcox, Miller and Barrett, in particular, thought that a study should be done first, to see if there aren’t alternative solutions or alternative sites for the utility pole.

Wilcox expressed his doubts that the communications pole, which he insisted on calling a tower, would not be used for collocating commercial cell phone equipment or state VIPER technology.

Bergstrom also wanted a study, but at one point raised the temperature in the room by attacking Fox and staff’s decision to pursue a conditional zoning permit instead of a special use permit, saying that the Town effectively becomes the judge, jury and executioner in any decision.

What Bergstrom seemed to ignore, however, is that the final decision is not Fox’s or the Town staff’s but the sole responsibility of a panel of his peers, duly elected by the Town’s voters: the Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners or Town Council.

Fox and Rothrock explained that a conditional zoning request invites broader public participation and input, not just the narrower number allowed by the special use permit public hearing, a quasi-judicial proceeding that limits who can speak to the issue.

Bergstrom moved to effectively table the issue until a study of alternatives could be performed, including exploration of satellite technology. The motion was seconded, but failed to get a sufficient number of votes, failing 3-5.

What eventually passed, however, was for the outsider somewhat confusing. Normally, if a legislative body wants to have a study done before a project is implemented, it will reject the proposal, recommending a study first. Once the study is completed, a petitioner would bring back the same or revised proposal with the study used as supporting documentation or evidence.

In this case, the Planning Board voted to recommend approval of the conditional zoning request — but that a study should be done, which constitutes a conflicting message.

WHAT THIS BOILS DOWN TO

We applaud the Town staff for wanting to implement the most cost effective way of restoring or improving the Fire, Police and Public Works communications by simply raising the utility pole and relevant antenna back above the tree canopy. It allows them to continue doing what they have been doing for the last 50+ years and doing so effectively. The taller pole would be supplied and installed by Blue Ridge Energy and could even be painted to help camouflage it, if necessary.

There are merits, however, to some of the thoughts expressed by opponents of the proposal, particularly those wondering if a higher tech communications solution might be better for the long term.

What it boils down to, of course, is cost. How much would it cost, for example, to purchase all of the satellite technology for each of the Fire, Police, and Public Works employees, as well as assorted other town staff members? Is there less expensive solutions, even if they would undoubtedly be more expensive than replacing a single utility pole?

The current VHF technology is working and the various departments are getting their jobs done effectively and efficiently, by all reports. Raising the pole height can be done within the existing budget.

Paying first for a study (tens of thousands of dollars, probably) and then potentially buying upgraded, higher technology equipment could eventually run into a town investment of millions of dollars. Undoubtedly, that would require increases in property taxes, either to pay for the expenses outright or by issuing debt (bonds), or delaying or eliminating other town infrastructure or maintenance needs.

Then of course, all of this could be avoided by cutting down the tree canopy and keeping the utility pole height as it is.

The full, roughly 90-minute Planning Board meeting of July 11 can be viewed with this YouTube video, embedded for reader convenience:

Catching My Eye at Art in the Park: Appalachian Mapping Company

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Catching My Eye at Art in the Park: Appalachian Mapping Company

By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — One of the most popular special events in Blowing Rock every year is actually a series of monthly events, Art in the Park. I try to visit the artists and artisans every month and, for the most part have been successful in that endeavor.

As I have journeyed through the exhibits since the May event a couple of months ago, it occurs to me that on every trip around the venue there is SOMETHING that really catches my eye, for one reason or another. The artist may not have won the day’s juried awards as “Best of Show,” etc., but for me stirred a particular interest.

Art in the Park on July 13 in Blowing Rock. Photo by David Rogers

So with the July 13 show, I have decided to showcase what “caught my eye” — and this month it was the Appalachian Mapping Company’s exhibit, owned by cartographer Katie Blair of Elizabethton, Tenn.

Ever since I can remember I have been enamored with maps. Well before my pre-teen years, I would hog the road atlas, keeping it from my three siblings as we drove from California to Oklahoma and Texas to see Dad’s parents and siblings in “The OK State” and Mom’s cousins in “The Longhorn State.” It fascinates me to pour over a map, looking at all the places I might like to go and experience, or just wonder what they might be like.

To this day, my fascination with maps continues. As I was driving cross-country in 2019, from Blowing Rock to Bakersfield, Calif., for my 50-year high school reunion, I remember stopping at Four Corners, New Mexico and pouring over some maps they had in the curio shop.

Map of Watauga Lake, by The Appalachian Mapping Company. Photo by David Rogers

What really caught my eye on July 13 was Blair’s hand-drawn map of the Appalachian Trail as it winds its way through the mountains, hills and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains. Other maps included several different looks at Watauga Lake.

On the company’s Facebook page, Ben Durrance, a customer who represents himself as a manufacturing planner with Blue Origin, a U.S. aerospace company, had high praise for Appalachian Mapping:

“If you’re looking for high-quality maps of the Appalachian region, look no further than Appalachian Mapping Co. Their maps are a stunning combination of accuracy, detail, and beauty. I recently purchased one of their maps for a hiking trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it was an absolute pleasure to use. The map was incredibly clear and easy to read, with all the information I needed to navigate the trails with confidence.

“But it’s not just the quality of the maps that sets Appalachian Mapping Co. apart.” Dorrance adds. “It’s also their commitment to customer service and environmental sustainability. They use high-quality, eco-friendly materials in their production process, and they are always available to answer questions or provide guidance on which map is best for your needs.

“In short, I cannot recommend Appalachian Mapping Co. highly enough,” he concludes. “Their maps are top-notch, their customer service is exceptional, and their commitment to sustainability is inspiring. Whether you’re an avid hiker or just someone who loves beautiful, informative maps, Appalachian Mapping Co. is the company to trust.”

LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGE:

https://www.facebook.com/appalachianmapping/about

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