By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There is strength in numbers when it comes to competitive team swimming and Watauga demonstrated just that on Jan. 14 against University Christian and Ashe County at the Watauga County Parks and Recreation Center.
A good example: the Pioneers swept the first ten places in the Women’s 50 Free and the first six spots in the Men’s 50 Free. The women were led by No. 1 Athena Elliott (senior, 26.01), No. 2 Merritt Powell (freshman, 26.90) and No. 3 Chessy Martin (sophomore, 27.32).
Jan. 14 was Senior Night for the Watauga Pioneers swim team. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
In the Men’s 50 Free, the Pioneers were championed by No. 1 Lanson Gilbert (sophomore, 22.55), No. 2 Silas Powell (senior, 23.57) and No. 3 Aiden Culpepper (freshman, 26.35).
While Watauga celebrated Senior Night with 18 graduating seniors, including six on the men’s side led by consistently strong performers Silas Powell and Michael Makdad, one of the up and comers for the Pioneers is Culpepper, the freshman, who added an individual No. 1 finish in the Men’s 200 Free with a 31 second gap to the No. 2 finisher, as well as competed in two No. 1 relays. He led off the Men’s 200 Freestyle Relay that also included Powell, Makdad and Gilbert, then led off the last race of the night, the Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay, passing the baton to Stacy Eggers, Powell, and Gilbert to finish a full 15 seconds ahead of No. 2 University Christian.
Some of the races between Watauga and University Christian were extremely competitive. In the Women’s 200 IM, Watauga’s Ayla Crawley led for most of the race until University Christian’s Lucy Kelty edged her out at the finish. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The strength in numbers theme played itself out in other events, too. For example, Watauga captured six of the top seven places in the Women’s 100 Breaststroke, led by No. 1 Addie Wilson (junior, 1:16.49) and No. 2 Zoe Critcher (junior, 1:25.04).
Late in the evening (Event 17), Watauga again sported strong numbers by capturing the top five spots in the Women’s 200 Freestyle Relay, an event that featured 10 relay teams, eight of which were representing the Pioneers — or 24 swimmers in all competing in just that one event.
Watauga head coach David Gragg seemed happy with the performance in spite of the team challenges.
“Overall, we had a pretty good night. The team has been battling illness and studying for exams, so it has been a tough week,” said Gragg. “Add in a quick turnaround from the meet on Saturday (Jan. 10), and I thought we had some good swims tonight.
“I split up several of the relays just to see what we could do if we needed to make changes during the next few weeks,” Gragg shared.” Some went over well, others not as much. Heading into the conference meet, I feel the women have a strong chance to defend their title. We have a lot of depth other teams are not as fortunate to have.
“The men will have a tougher challenge since our numbers are somewhat limited,” the longtime Pioneer head coach added. “We are fortunate that several of our athletes are on the local club team and their Senior level coach, Ashley Turak, was an All-American swimmer at Indiana. She has picked up their training and worked them hard the past few months. If the team can get — or stay — healthy, that will benefit us a lot as we head into the next competitions.”
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — With a healthy bank balance and little or no non-budgeted obligations, The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock is in a strong financial position club members learned on Jan. 12 — and is cementing plans for the future with a new slate of officers receiving their unanimous blessing. The club assembly doubled as the club’s required annual meeting, held at its regular meeting place, The Meadowbrook Inn.
Retired banking professional and small business advocate Frank Irizarry will serve as the club president in 2026-27, the club’s fiscal year beginning July 1. He succeeds current president, Charles Hardin, the former Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce CEO.
An important agenda item for the club meeting was Hardin’s presentation about Blowing Rock Rotary’s involvement with Winterfest, Blowing Rock’s annual festival running from Jan. 22-25 this year. The Rotary club is hosting the “Chilly Chili Challenge” as well as jointly hosting “Wine & Dine For The Mind” (Jan. 24, 5 pm to 7 pm) with the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum. The “Wine & Dine” event is billed as “one part charity auction, one part dinner party.”
Irizarry introduced his slate of candidates for the various 2026-27 club officers, all receiving the blessing of the club members’ votes. The full 2026-27 leadership roster includes:
President: Frank Irizarry
President Elect: Curt Salthouse
Treasurer: Curt Salthouse
Membership Director: Paul Horton
Executive Secretary: Allison Jennings
Secretary: David Sweet
Sergeant At Arms: Ben Powell
Public Image: Jocelyn Lacey
Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust: GK Naquin
Youth Services/Rotoract: Kris Testori
Foundation Chair: Wayne Holliday
Hardin continues to serve as club president until June 30 and reviewed several goals he established for the club during his year of leadership. Now only halfway through the club year, Hardin reported that all or almost all goals had already been been met, including his goal of growing the club. He shared his goal of 32 club members by year’s end, an increase of 10 over the 2024-25 fiscal year, was just three shy of the mark, at 27, with several new prospective members currently under consideration.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock was one of the larger and most active clubs in Rotary International District 7670 for a small town, the membership rolls swelling to more than 50 and 60 members. As with a lot of service organizations, including Rotary clubs worldwide, membership fell dramatically.
A report in The Rotarian Minute, published by Rotary International, offered this assessment:
Rotary has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Club meetings transitioned to virtual formats using platforms like Zoom, and many in-person events were canceled or transformed into online events.
Humanitarian projects needed to be modified to accommodate new health limitations.
New projects were implemented to specifically respond to the pandemic, such as distributing medical supplies, raising awareness about preventive measures, and providing economic support to affected communities.
The pandemic had an impact on fundraising efforts, leading to decreased participation in traditional events.
Maintaining member engagement was a challenge, particularly for those who are not comfortable with digital technologies.
Rotary strengthened its communication efforts, utilizing social media, electronic newsletters, and other digital methods to stay in touch with members and the public.
Rotary quickly adjusted to the new realities caused by the pandemic, while also opening up new opportunities for innovation and engagement.
COVID-19 was best described as fundamentally “scary” for many people about in-person engagement and the move to virtual meetings required a certain amount of technological sophistication with which a high percentage of older club members were not comfortable. So while forcing Rotary International — with more than 1.2 million members in over 35,000 local clubs (in more than 200 countries) — to embrace new technologies, there was a “double whammy” negative impact on individual clubs’ respective membership.
Thanks to a dedicated group of long-term members of the Blowing Rock club, the Blowing Rock club not only survived the pandemic but is now growing again.
“I sincerely believe that we will achieve this goal of adding 10 new members before July 1,” Hardin told the current club members. “That is almost a 50 percent increase over last year, but thanks to your hard work and participation, we are nearing that goal, if not exceeding it.”
Rotary International is a global service organization headquartered in Evanston, Illinois. The first Rotary Club was formed in 1905, in Chicago, when attorney Paul Harris called together a meeting with three business acquaintances in downtown Chicago. From its beginning, the declared mission of Rotary has been to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through [the] fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.”
The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self.” Eradicating polio worldwide continues to be a major initiative of Rotary International. It is a non-political and non-religious organization. Combined with its youth derivations, Interact (high schools) and Rotoract (colleges), Rotary is reportedly the largest service club in the world with almost 2 million volunteers.
The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock was founded in 1946. In addition to helping raise money to combat polio, the Blowing Rock club focuses its volunteer fundraising efforts on Alzheimer’s Research, as well as for college scholarships and providing grants to local non-profit agencies. In December, the Blowing Rock club distributed approximately $16,000, combined, to 12 local non-profit initiatives, including OASIS, Blowing Rock CARES, Hospitality House, FARM Cafe, WAMY, Western Youth Network, Back to School, Hunger and Health Coalition, Casting Bread, Quiet Givers, Habitat for Humanity and Mountain Alliance.
Blowing Rock Rotary’s website is www.blowingrockrotary.org and Rotary International’s website is www.myrotary.org.
The club holds weekly meetings every Monday, 11:45 a.m., at The Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — A report from the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce and commissioner appointments to external boards and committees proved to be the only business of note for the January 13 meeting of the Blowing Rock Board of Commissioners and Town Council.
Mayor Pro-Tem and Commissioner David Harwood was appointed to the Rural Transportation Advisory Committee for the High Country Council of Governments.
Commissioner Doug Matheson was appointed by his fellow commissioners to serve as the town council’s representative on the Blowing Rock Tourism Development Authority board.
A certain amount of consternation arose in the appointment of a Blowing Rock representative to the Watauga County Economic Development Commission when it was brought up that the Blowing Rock representative does not have to be a sitting member of the Blowing Rock town council.
Former Commissioner Pete Gherini has been serving as the Chairman of the Watauga County Economic Development Commission and, according to Mayor Charlie Sellers, has expressed an interest and willingness to continue serving on the EDC board.
Mayor Sellers may have prematurely called for a vote on the reappointment of Gherini to the EDC without an opportunity for discussion after the motion received a second, a point of order brought to light when Commissioner Melissa Tausche wondered that if the appointment didn’t have to be a sitting member of Blowing Rock’s town council, should the they not open the opportunity up for others in the community who might be interested.
Since four “aye” votes on the motion had already been cast, the commissioners elected to overlook the procedural misstep and re-appoint Gherini to the EDC, but will consider the alternative possibility of opening up the opportunity for other applicants in the future.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Police Chief Nathan Kirk presented a special award to Sergeant Daniel Harris who has accumulated over 1,166 hours of training.
Sergeant Daniel Harris, right, being recognized by Blowing Rock Police Chief Nathan Kirk at town council meeting on Jan. 13, 2026. Screen capture from the Town of Blowing Rock channel on YouTube.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UPDATE
Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce CEO Robin Miller gave an update on the Chamber, reviewing 2025 and looking ahead at 2026. Highlights of her comments:
The Chamber of Commerce is event-driven, the major source of revenue coming from special events.
In 2025, we offered a Welcome Center seven days a week through “the season.” In the shoulder season and slower times, the Chamber staffs the Welcome Center on Saturday and Sunday, and on holidays when visitor traffic to town is heavier.
Financially, the Chamber is solvent and “in the black”, which she attributes to cost-cutting measures and revenue initiatives.
She emphasized the Chamber’s partnerships with the Tourism Development Authority as well as Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute, as well as the Town. “We have a very strong partnership with CCC&TI’s Small Business Development Center. “Greg comes into our office every other week on Tuesday morning to meet with current businesses, businesses that are struggling, businesses that might want to sell and also with people with business ideas.”
Miller reported that the Chamber is overhauling its customer relationship management technology (CRM), advising Chamber members that there may be some “hiccups” along the way as the new systems are implemented. “We are a small but might team, doing our best while simultaneously launching a 4-day event (Winterfest).”
Miller added a request for any business owners or member watching the town council meeting to make sure their business data is updated and accurate.
New members are walking in the door.
The Partnership program has been slightly revamped.
The Sponsorship packages are also being redesigned.
Economic impact “… is our main goal.”
“You cannot talk about something in the town without talking about parking.” Miller said she is talking with people about several ideas, “… but one of the things we can’t forget about parking enforcement from the private lot is the employees.”
Miller emphasized that the Chamber is continuing to listen regarding how things in town can be better for residents and businesses.
In addition to the Chamber’s primary events (Winterfest, Art in the Park, Symphony, Home Show and Leadership Challenge, Miller said they are considering additional opportunities, with special mention of a potential “Taste of Blowing Rock” a hospitality training programs.
OFFICIAL REPORTS & COMMENTS
Mayor Charlie Sellers reminded all that the town council’s winter retreat will take place on Jan. 26-27 at the Blowing Rock Conference Center.
Commissioner David Harwood thanked Interim Town Manager Lane Bailey for “stepping up,” especially for taking on the Winter Retreat after such a short time on the job.
Commissioner Wayne Miller seconded Harwood’s comments, saying of Bailey, “It has been a pleasure to work with you.”
Commissioner Doug Matheson pointed out that the North Carolina House of Representative committee on property taxes will be meeting on Jan. 14, 10 a.m. “One of the things I am hearing is they are looking at reductions for seniors and people with disabilities… They are still trying to take over property taxes.”
Melissa Tausche thanked Mr. Bailey for putting together “… a wonderful orientation for Wayne (Miller) and I (as newly elected commissioners).” She also reported that she had sent out a survey question to 500 residents asking what each one felt were the major concerns in Blowing Rock. She received responses from 17 percent of voters, so is extending it to more, if not all voters and will share the information at a later date.
Interim Town Manager Lane Bailey:
The Winter Retreat is Jan. 26-27.
“I have seen more snow since I have been here (roughly two months) than I have in the last four years, so I am loving that — with apologies to those looking for an early spring!”
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m., after just 30 minutes.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Down by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, Watauga rallied behind suddenly hot shooting by guards Cade Keller and Jackson Love to narrow the deficit to just a single point — but couldn’t quite complete the comeback in losing to South Caldwell, 70-63, on Jan. 13 in Lentz Eggers Gym.
Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Turnovers plagued the Pioneers throughout the contest but especially in the first three quarters, including missed layups as well as 3-point attempts gone awry and ball-handling miscues.
Meanwhile, visiting South Caldwell was getting good production from a quartet of Spartans. Gavin Frasure and Colby Greene led a second quarter SC surge that put the visitors ahead, 38-32, by intermission. They finished the game with 20 and 26 points, respectively, while Carter Anderson (9 points) and Sam Keaton (10) had critical contributions.
Cade Keller leans in to score on Jan. 13 vs. South Caldwell. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Keller scored 16 of his team-high 22 points and Love added 9 of his 13 total points in the fourth quarter to fuel the Pioneer rally.
Watauga (8-5 overall, 0-2 in Northwestern Conference play) will try to return to its winning ways on Friday, Jan. 16, at Alexander Central, in Taylorsville. The Cougars sport a 10-5 overall record, 2-0 in NWC play, after road wins at St. Stephens (73-54) and McDowell (72-69).
South Caldwell is now 11-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Spartans return home to host Freedom on Jan. 16.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — For the second Northwestern Conference game in a row, Watauga women’s basketball rolled decisive over an opponent, this time with a resounding, 58-33 domination of longtime rival, South Caldwell.
The Pioneers used a pesky, pressing defense to create Spartan turnovers, then capitalized on the offensive end.
Charlie Mattox (23) came off the bench with key playmaking contributions on Jan. 13 vs. South Caldwell. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
On this night, it was Izzy Torgerson’s turn to lead the way in scoring for Watauga, finishing the night with 15 points, leading a trio of Pioneers in double figures with Izzy Mohr (13 points) and Josey Mayo (12) not far behind. Mia Mitchell came off the bench to add seven points to the Pioneer onslaught.
Watauga jumped out in front, 17-10, by the end of the first quarter and kept piling it on by outscoring South Caldwell, 20-5, in the second period to lead 42-15 going into intermission.
Izzy Mohr (24) maneuvers toward the basket on Jan. 13 vs. South Caldwell, finishing with 13 points on the night. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Watauga (8-7 overall, 2-0 in Northwestern Conference play) next travels to Taylorsville to face Alexander Central (13-2, 1-1) on Friday, Jan. 16. The Cougars defeated St. Stephens (61-29) on Jan. 9 before falling to the Northwestern Conference’s lone 7A entry, McDowell, 54-41, on Jan. 13.
By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — With five Pioneer players at or near double figures in scoring, Watauga overcame a sluggish first quarter to win going away against host Freedom on Jan. 9, 61-39.
With plenty of fans in attendance supporting both schools for the season opening conference game of 2025-26, it was a high energy, even raucous atmosphere.
Watauga head coach Bill Torgerson talks to his players about adjustments on Jan. 9, at Freedom. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Pioneers jumped ahead 5-0 to start the game but Freedom came roaring back to lead 15-11 at the end of the first quarter. With a Presli Wood layup midway through the second quarter, Watauga recaptured the lead at 27-26, then went on a 6-2 run to close out the first half with a 33-28 lead.
Although the Pioneers’ freshman playmaker Josie Mayo was relatively quiet to start the game and off the mark, she quietly rallied to score a game-high 16 points. The Pioneers’ Charlie Mattox came off the bench to add 12 points while Izzy Mohr and Shelby Thompson were close to double figures, each contributing nine points.
Whatever adjustments head coach Bill Torgerson made for the Pioneers at intermission, the Patriots had no answers. Watauga went on a 14-0 run to start the second half and never looked back.
Now 7-7 on the season, overall, and 1-0 in Northwestern Conference play, the Watauga women’s basketball team will next host South Caldwell on Jan. 13.
SELECTED WATAUGA SCORING
Josie Mayo, 16 points
Charlie Mattox, 12
Izzy Mohr, 9
Shelby Thompson, 9
Mia Mitchell, 8
Presli Wood, 4
Ellie Hege, 4
BONUS PHOTOS (Click any image for larger version and Slide Show Mode)
By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — A bizarre post-game incident involving fans that drew an estimated two dozen Burke County sheriff’s deputies and Morganton police officers to Freedom High School’s gymnasium and campus grounds overshadowed a dramatic basketball finish and a heartbreak loss (67-65) for Watauga High School’s varsity men’s team on Jan. 9.
BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of story.
Watauga held a 10-point lead early in the third quarter but the host Patriots rallied with pesky defense and sure-handed shooting to gain control and earn a 6-point advantage late in the final period. It was a phase of the game also marked by the Pioneers’ shooting suddenly grown cold, often rushing shots, with frequent turnovers.
Watauga’s Cade Keller goes up for a fall-away jumper at Freedom on Jan. 9. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
At the end, with under two seconds remaining, Watauga senior Jackson Love had what seemed to be a clean look for a layup from the right side that would tie the game and send it into overtime — but a brilliant play to block by Freedom junior Jaden Watkins, an athletic 6-3 forward, instead sent the ball sailing out of bounds with 0.8 seconds remaining on the game clock and the Pioneers still facing the 2-point deficit. Throwing in from the baseline with Freedom’s towering, 6-7 forward Nate Surrat defending the inbounded pass, the Watauga throw-in was forced long and time expired before a shot could be taken.
“Freedom’s basketball team was very well coached and everything that happened on the court during the game was clean and competitive,” said Watauga head coach Bryson Payne by email in response to High Country Sports’ questions. “I thought our guys played well for the most part except for that 4-5 minute segment in the 3rd quarter. During that run, we beat ourselves by turning the ball over and taking a few quick shots. That allowed Freedom to get back in the game and take the lead through points in transition off our mistakes. But I am still proud of the way we battled. We were basically 1-2 shots away from winning or going into overtime against one of our toughest conference opponents. And that was on the road. I thought we did a lot of things well, but we still have a lot to improve on to reach our full potential as a team.”
For the Jan. 9 road game at Freedom (Morganton), the Patriots’ gym was packed with Pioneer fans, including the cheerleaders. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
In spite of the loss, Payne had high praise for a trio of Pioneers.
“As for individual performances, I thought Brady Lindenmuth did a great job hustling and leaving his all on the floor. He did a good job staying out of foul trouble, but the biggest highlight he had to me was the effort he gave when he put his body on the line, diving out of bounds to save a loose ball. Extremely proud of his effort. Another performance was Evan Burroughs. I thought he hit some huge shots for us. Also, Bryce Scheffler gave us big minutes and took a very important charge for us.”
Notes on the Aftermath
It was a heartbreaking loss for Watauga and a thrilling victory for Freedom in the teams’ first Northwestern Conference game of the 2025-26 season, but all emotions stemming from the game were cast aside in the aftermath.
Several students from the Watauga fan section were streaming towards an alternative exit near the locker rooms when a woman from the nearby Freedom grandstands struck one of the Watauga students on his back and head with a chair, reportedly unprovoked, just outside the gym. No injuries were immediately reported, but reports surfaced that “… a gun was pulled…” by a Freedom bystander during the melee. Apparently, those unconfirmed reports were enough to call in a brigade of sheriff’s deputies and police officers. Neither head coaches nor any players were available for post-game comments as they were confined to the teams’ respective locker rooms awaiting police escorts to their departing vehicles or team buses.
Additional Notes: We have intentionally not identified any students by name to protect their privacy as minors. This story has been corrected to reflect that the incident happened just outside the gym, not inside the gym, and the students had reportedly received instructions to use an alternative exit, not the main entrance. In addition, another Watauga student was allegedly assaulted and choked by another bystander, who reportedly thought the student was filming the incident and/or the woman’s subsequent apprehension. There has been no confirmation that a gun was involved, but the unconfirmed reports or suspicions of one remain the most likely explanation for the call for so many additional law enforcement personnel, as well as the initiatives taken promptly by school administrators in coordination with law enforcement to protect the respective teams by delaying their exits from the locker rooms, awaiting police escorts. Casting doubt on a gun being present is that all fans are screened for weapons of any kind before entering the gym.
Again, we are awaiting an official statement from the Burke County Sheriff for any further clarifications of the incident.
The Burke County Sheriff’s Department lieutenant in charge of the scene declined to provide an official statement of what transpired, saying simply, “The Sheriff won’t allow me to.”
The unidentified woman was observed, restrained with her hands cuffed behind her back, speaking with a deputy before being transferred from one patrol car to another, presumably for transport to the Sheriff’s station. After reviewing the Burke County Sheriff’s Office website of people currently in jail, there is no mention of anyone matching the woman’s description in custody. There was also no one listed as in jail on a gun charge.
High Country Sports will update the information about this incident after attempting to speak with Burke County Sheriff Robert “Banks” Hinceman, as identified on the department website, on Monday.
Getting back to basketball, Watauga will try and put the gut-wrenching loss behind them as well as the brouhaha when they face Northern Guilford on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 5:30 p.m. in another non-conference matchup.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A double-overtime thriller didn’t go Watauga’s way on Jan. 7, losing to A.C. Reynolds, 94-91, in Lentz Eggers Gym.
Plagued by fouls in the overtime periods that resulted in the exits of key veteran starters Bowen Mayo, Jackson Love and Evan Burroughs, the loss overshadows clutch 3-pointers made by Cole Lewis and a 27-point night by Cade Keller.
With the Pioneers trailing as the clock ticked down to the end of regulation play, Lewis nailed a three-pointer to knot the score at 71-71 just before the buzzer. In overtime, he dropped in two more at critical junctures to keep the Pioneers close and force the second overtime period.
Watauga opened the contest seeming to have the upper hand, going into intermission with a 31-27 lead. The Rockets made some halftime adjustments that led to a 23-13 performance in the third quarter to go into the final stanza with a 50-44 advantage. Including a big 3-pointer by Cole Lewis to beat the buzzer in regulation, the Pioneers battled back to tie it at 71-71, a deadlock the two Western North Carolina rivals carried to an 84-84 knot to prompt a second overtime. Unfortunately for Watauga, losing three players to fouling out in overtime was a dealbreaker.
Now the Pioneers start the “real” season with a first Northwestern Conference game on the road at Freedom, in Morganton, on Jan. 9. Sporting an 8-2 record for a challenging non-conference schedule in which several players were unavailable due to Watauga’s state championship run in football, the Pioneers will face one of their fiercest conference rivals in the Patriots, who recorded a 9-3 record in non-conference play. A C Reynolds and West Caldwell were the only common opponents. Freedom defeated both, surviving a 69-65 nailbiter vs. A C Reynolds and post a 72-60 win over the Warriors of West Caldwell.
Tipoff for the Pioneers @ Patriots tilt will be approximately 8 p.m., following the women’s varsity game.
SELECTED WATAUGA INDIVIDUAL STATS VS. A.C. REYNOLDS
Bowen Mayo: 5 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Kyle Williams: 6 points, 2 steals
Cole Lewis: 9 points, 2 rebounds
Jackson Love: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — There weren’t too many bright spots in Watauga’s first conference wrestling dual vs. St. Stephens on Jan. 6, the veteran Indians team leaving Lentz Eggers Gym with a decisive, 66-9 team win.
Arguably the brightest match of the evening for the Pioneers was Mikey Portante’s pin of Saint Stephens’ Davis Kerns at the 4:53 mark. Portante seemed in control for the better part of the match, punctuated by a resounding upending of Kerns in the late going of the 190 lb. weight class.
Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The only other points earned by the Pioneers was at 144 lbs., with Beattie Hendley pulling off a 9-6 decision over the Indians’ Benry Odom.
FULL RESULTS
106: Tommy Kishpaugh (SSHS) win by forfeit
113: Henry Franklin (SSHS) p. Canaan Woodring 1:17
120: Zane Taylor (SSHS) win by forfeit
126: Malachai Esclamado (SSHS) p. Justice Hendley 2:39
132: Koen Killian (SSHS) p. Thaddeus Martin 0:53
138: Alexander Stewart (SSHS) p. Bennett Ward 2:45
144: Beattie Hendley (WHS) SV D. Carson Powell 9-6
150: Atticus Lail (SSHS) p. Benry Odom (WHS) 0:36
157: Jacob Morgan (SSHS) d. Cole Kleman 6-4
165: Jake Hoke (SSHS) d. Michael Morgan 20-13
175: Nathan Moretz (SSHS) forfeit
190: Mikey Portante (WHS) p. Davis Kerns 4:53
215: Avery Rhymer (SSHS) forfeit
285: Davante Johnson (SSHS) p. Cayman Hayes 1:04
Portante leads a Pioneer roster that is reportedly up to 35 athletes competing for spots in the various weight classes. Nonetheless, on this night Watauga was unable to field grapplers in four weight classes, including 106 lbs., 120 lbs., 175 lbs, and 215 lbs.
After the match, Pioneer head coach Terreyl Williams was proud of the effort put in by all of his wrestlers, acknowledged that he is still missing some athletes at certain weights, and said the team is still building its identity.
When asked by High Country Sports about the fast-growing Watauga middle school program, which earlier in the evening defeated Avery County, 52-33, Williams broke into a big grin, noting that middle school head coach Zack Strickland was previously the Watauga High School team’s head coach.
“To have him back (coaching) down there (at the middle school level) is pretty awesome,” said Williams. “He’s got about 45 kids already, so he is really growing that program. He is doing a phenomenal job and that is going to do nothing but help us (at the high school level) in the future.”
Watauga’s wrestlers will next host Freedom in another Northwestern Conference tilt on Friday, Jan. 9, in Lentz Eggers Gym.
BONUS PHOTOS (Click any image for larger view and Slide Show Mode)
All photographic images by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Photographic image by david Rogers for High Country Sports
Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — As inspirational messages go, it doesn’t get much better than Alice Salthouse’s remarks on Jan. 5, for the first meeting of the new year for The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock at The Meadowbrook Inn.
During the business part of Blowing Rock Rotary’s Jan. 5 meeting at Meadowbrook Inn, Charles Hardin pointed out the article about Blowing Rock and Winterfest in Rotary International’s magazine. Photographic image by David Rogers for Blowing Rock News
Salthouse, the founder and CEO of High Country Community Health, describes herself as a bit of an adventurer. Since she goes on at least one mission trip every year, sometimes more, that could be an understatement.
You have to arrive by boat, canoe or airplane. The village was so remote we flew 13 different aircraft to get there and back.
For the Rotary meeting, Salthouse shared her experiences “… about three journeys I took in 2001 and how I am still so grateful for them – even though none of them were easy.”
Alice Salthouse speaks to Blowing Rock Rotary on Jan. 5, 2026. Photographic image by David Rogers for Blowing Rock News
Her first 2001 adventure was to Ahaus, Honduras.
“When I say remote, I am dead serious,” Salthouse recalled. “It is one of those places where you CANNOT get there via a road. You have to arrive by boat, canoe or airplane. It was so remote that we flew 13 different aircraft (seven going and six coming back). In this village, there was no running water and electricity was available only a few hours of the day.”
Salthouse’s team of six people consisted of four adults and two teenagers. The adults included a physician, a Presbyterian minister, and education specialist and her, a healthcare administrator (Salthouse). The two teenagers included her 13-yearold son, Jake.
“We went into this remote village on a 10-day journey that would affect each of us in a powerful way,” Salthouse said.
Children in this village die from malnutrition.
She said they had made this journey to deliver medical supplies to the clinic there and to help build a house for a man who was a paraplegic.
“Each of us may have had different motives for going,” said Salthouse, “but we were all driven by a desire to help the people of the village. I also had a secret purpose. I wanted my teenage son to see and experience how life was like for people living in third world countries, to see how blessed we are to live in America – and to experience what it was like to be in a place where we were the minority.
“What I had not expected was the effect it would have on me to experience these things. We had beans and rice at almost every meal and were very limited on the amount of water we could use. I have never been so thirsty in all my life. Children in this village die from malnutrition,” she added.
Expecting people of extreme need to be sad and downcast, Salthouse found the opposite to be true.
“These were the most generous and happy people,” noted Salthouse. “Each time we sat down to eat, they made sure we were fed before they ate. I gained a whole new understanding of how good it is to live in the United States. Since 2001, I have been out of the country on a mission trip at least once every year.”
At what she described as “… the tender age of 45,” Salthouse’s second adventure of 2001 occurred in early September. She said she took up road cycling, not riding around the block but riding 30, 50, even 100 miles a day.
As we flew over downtown Manhattan, my friend pointed out the twin towers of the World Trade Center and told of her son working downtown. She sent a mother’s love down there and wished him a good day. Ten minutes later the first plane flew into the first tower. When we arrived in Atlanta, we learned how the world had changed.
“My friend, Judith Teele talked me into training for a bike ride from Montreal, Canada, to Portland, Maine. It was a total of 435 miles in five days. We formed a team of seven people from Western North Carolina and together we managed to raise more than $40,000 toward research for a vaccine for AIDS. We called ourselves ‘Team Hope.’ We joined with 2,000 other people and altogether we raised $4.1 million for AIDS vaccine research,” she said.
Salthouse also listed six “life lessons” from this trip.
If you are sleeping in a tent city with 2,000 other very tired people, don’t forget the sleeping pills and ear plugs!
Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night. I learned this from a friend’s experience!
Being the recipient of random acts of kindness is really nice.
It is amazing what physical limitations people can overcome when they are determined not to give up.
Together, we can do things that would be totally impossible to do alone.
Never, never, never buy a new bicycle seat before a 435-mile, 5-day bike ride!
For a few minutes after Salthouse playfully listed those life lessons for the attentive Rotarians, all humor evaporated from the room as Salthouse remembered their return flight from Portland, Maine, to Charlotte.
Alice Salthouse speaks to The Rotary Club of Blowing Rock on Jan. 5, 2026. Photographic image by David Rogers for Blowing Rock News
“We boarded the plane in Portland on Tuesday morning, September 11. As we flew over New York City, we pointed out the Hudson River, the Statue of Liberty, and my friend pointed out the twin towers of the World Trade Center and how her son had a job in downtown Manhattan. As we flew over, she sent down a mother’s love and wished him a good day. Ten minutes later, the first plane flew into the first tower. When we landed in Atlanta, we learned that the world had changed and that some of the terrorists had been in the Portland airport at the same time as us,” Salthouse recalled.
For my final and most difficult journey of 2001, I didn’t get on a plane. In fact, I didn’t even leave Morganton.
For her third adventure of 2001, Salthouse described it as by far the most difficult, more so than building a house in a tropical climate and harder than riding 435 miles on a bicycle.
“For this journey, I didn’t get on a plane. In fact, I didn’t even leave Morganton. You see, shortly after we returned from the bike ride, my youngest brother, Dean, was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of lung cancer and lived only until Dec. 26 of 2001. Walking with him through those final days was a painful process. As I look back, though, I understand that I learned some life changing lessons on that journey, too,” Salthouse said.
She recalled conversations with her brother, talking about life and what was really important.
“It is remarkable how a terminal illness can cause you to think that way,” said Salthouse. “On one particular day after Dean had been delirious the night before, he woke up and whispered to me, asking, ‘What day is it?’ I told him it was Monday morning. Then he said, ‘You know, being sick like this has helped me understand how many blessings I have had in my life that I might not have known at the time. Just like today, I would give everything I own to get up from here, put on my clothes and shoes and go to work. I think of all the days I did that not realizing what a gift it was. Sometimes, I even grumbled about having to go to work,’ he said.
“So here are the important lessons I learned on my 2001 adventures,” Salthouse concluded:
Pay attention to what is really important in life and notice the blessings that may seem little at the time but are really huge as you receive them along the way. The first thing you know, you have reached life’s end and you wonder where did all the time go?
Find people you love and who love you – and enjoy your time together.
Have a life in which you are generous. The only things in life you get to keep, permanently, are the things you give away.
Through these journeys, I have learned to look at the good in this world and seek to give some back – and be grateful for all that I have received.
