The Sporting Times
Watauga's Kendall Conner, right, battles with St. Stephens' Hannah Goodson for possession during the Pioneers' 3-0 loss to the Indians on Tuesday in Hickory.
Watauga High
School
The Watauga boys' lacrosse team captured its first two varsity wins in
program history this past week, downing Freedom 8-5 on Friday in Morganton, before crushing Patton
11-3 on Monday in Boone. Greg Hardy paced the first Pioneer (2-3) win, scoring three goals against
the Patriots, while Will Bridges scored four goals in Watauga's thumping of Patton.
The
girls' lacrosse team fell to Hopewell 19-6 on Tuesday night. Emily Bushman scored three goals to
lead the Pioneers' effort, while Sarah Duke tallied two goals and Darrow Cameron added
one.
The Watauga baseball team suffered a 6-5 loss to St. Stephens on Tuesday in Hickory, the
victim of another late-inning comeback. The Pioneers held a 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom
of the sixth inning, but a bases-loaded walk and a two-run single from Parker Kersey denied a
Watauga win. The Pioneers also took a loss on Saturday, falling to Ardrey Kell 5-3 in
Charlotte.
The Pioneer softball squad captured an impressive victory on Tuesday in Hickory,
blasting St. Stephens 8-3. Watauga (3-6, 1-4) scored seven runs in the fifth inning to down
the Indians (7-3). Kayla Kincaid supplied a big hit in the offensive outburst, knocking in two
with a triple.
The Watauga girls' track and field team won the Viking Invitational on
Saturday at North Stokes, tallying 168 points to easily best Mount Tabor, who finished second with
96 points. Hannah Barbour claimed first place in the 1,600-meter, while teammate Kayla Schneider
finished second.
Darby Middlebrook captured first in the 3,200-meter run, while Molly Ruble
took the third spot. In addition, Tara Trivette captured first place in the high jump, while Laura
Gulliver claimed first in the pole vault.
The Pioneer boys brought home a second-place
finish at the same meet, finishing one spot behind Mount Tabor. Daniel Osborne won the 1,600-meter
run, while Mo Gore captured first place in the 200-meter dash. Gab Romano won the discus with a
toss of 153-9.
Appalachian State
University
The Appalachian State women's basketball team captured hardware this
past week, downing Memphis 79-71 to win the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational championship
on Sunday at the Holmes Center. Ashlen Dewart, who led the Mountaineers with a team-high 21 points,
was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Chakeitha Weldon also played a huge
role in the win, scoring 15 points in the title game. ASU ended the year with an overall record of
23-12, the most wins for the program since 1995-1996.
The Mountaineer men saw their season
come to an end this past Thursday, losing to Pacific 64-56 at the Holmes Center in the semifinals
of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Junior guard Donald Sims paced the ASU effort, scoring a
team-high 22 points in the defeat. Appalachian State finished the year with an overall record of
24-13.
The ASU baseball team got back on the winning track, belting East Tennessee State 14-4
on Tuesday at Smith Stadium to improve to 15-6-1 on the year. Jeremy Dowdy paced the Mountaineers'
offense, knocking in a career-high four RBI on a pair of hits.
ASU suffered a 6-3 loss to
The Citadel on Sunday in Charleston, S.C., ending a disappointing three-game sweep at the hands of
the Bulldogs. Appalachian State outhit the Bulldogs 9-8, but stranded 11 runners in the
loss.
For more in-depth coverage of area sports, pick up a
copy of The Watauga Democrat today.
