The following are highlights from teams across Watauga County for the week of Sept. 13 to Sept 19.
• HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Opening its fall schedule this week, App State Men’s Golf was dominant at the start and resilient at the finish in winning the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational. The Mountaineers completed the 15-team, 54-hole event with a 7-under team score of 845, giving them four shots of separation from second-place Marshall.
On Monday, in the first round under the direction of first-year head coach Alan Cress, App State set a program record for lowest team round by totaling a 14-under 270, highlighted by a 6-under 65 by true freshman Herman Huus in his first collegiate round.
The Mountaineers took a 13-stroke lead into the final round and endured some struggles that dropped them several spots out of the lead before they recovered in time to regain control.
Huus tied for third place overall with a 4-under total of 209 (65-73-71), and Beam tied for seventh at 3 under (68-71-71—210). Haraldsson (70-69-74—213 for an even-par total) tied for 13th, and Jönsson tied for 25th with a 216 total. Browning opened the tournament with a 69, and App State had two young players compete as individuals.
Redshirt freshman Josh Buxbaum shot a 1-under 70 in his first official collegiate round, and true freshman Aidan Browning shot a 72 with four birdies in Round 2 before closing with a 71.
Huus’ opening-round 65, which left him tied for the lead through 18 holes, included seven birdies and one bogey. That’s tied for the second-lowest tournament round in program history, behind just the 63 that Haraldsson carded during the Bash at the Beach event in the 2022 spring.
Jönsson’s first-round 68 included an eagle, Beam had a bogey-free 68, Browning carded his 69 and Haraldsson also broke par with a 70.
• BLACKSBURG, Va. — The App State volleyball team fell short in a five-set thriller to Western Carolina in the afternoon matinee at the Virginia Tech Classic on Thursday.
“I’m proud of how we executed our game plan and how efficiently we played. We just came up short,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “Western Carolina is a great team with some great wins on the year already and we were toe-to-toe with them and competed at a high level. We’ll be ready to get back at it tomorrow.”
Senior Sarah Missroon had herself a match, leading the team in both kills (14) and total blocks (10). The Mt. Pleasant, S.C. native was one of three Mountaineers who posted double-doubles during Thursday’s battle. Fellow senior McCall Denny posted 13 kills and 14 digs and junior Sophie Cain tallied 25 assists and 15 digs. Junior Cierra Huntley and freshman Kenady Roper matched Cain’s 15 digs, with 15 of their own, and freshman Maya Winterhoff match’s Denny’s 13 kills. Huntley led the team in aces, notching three.
App State led Western Carolina in blocks (17-6) and matched the Catamounts in digs with 74 each.
• BOONE — Junior forward Izzi Wood scored twice in the opening half for the Mountaineers, but Radford responded with a pair of goals in the second half, and App State was forced to settle for a 2-2 draw, Thursday, at The Valley.
Wood’s first goal came from nearly 30-yards out off a free kick that she curled over the Radford goalkeeper and tucked inside the far post to give App State (1-3-4) a 1-0 advantage less than eight minutes into play.
Less than four minutes later, Gabby Tremonti took a free kick from close to mid-field. She served a ball into the box which pin balled around, ending up on Wood’s left foot, as she quickly turned and fired it into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the year.
Radford (4-1-3) trimmed the lead in half in the 53rd minute when the Highlanders drew a penalty kick, and Alexeis Kirnos was able to convert on the shot to make it 2-1.
Kirnos finished with a three-point night, adding an assist on Lilly Short’s game-tying goal in the 63rd minute. Short headed home a cross to knot the score at 2-2.
App State finished with 15 shots including six on net, with Wood accounting for six shots and three on goal. Breckyn Monteith, Shannon Studer, and Emma McGibany each finished with a shot on net, and Kerry Eagleston finished her night in goal with eight saves.
• BLACKSBURG, Va. — The App State volleyball team wrapped competition at the Virginia Tech Classic on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of Norfolk State. Senior Sarah Missroon also landed on the All-Tournament Team for her efforts on the court this week.
“I’m really proud of the way we responded today,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We worked really hard and were locked in. We had a great pre-conference segment of play and I can’t wait to get started in league play.”
Senior McCall Denny posted her second double-double of the tournament, leading the team in kills (14) and notching 10 digs. Fellow senior Sam Bickley also recorded a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs. Freshman Maya Winterhoff led the team in aces and blocks, totaling four each. Freshman Kenady Roper led the team in digs with 13.
App State outpaced Norfolk State in points (50-34), kills (39-26), aces (6-3), assists (37-24), and digs (54-40). The Mountaineers matched the Spartans in blocks with five apiece.
• BOONE — Freshman Ethan Lipham clinched first in the men’s 8K and led the App State men’s cross country team to a first place finish with 20 points at the Firetower Project Run on Friday. Five Mountaineer men landed in the top-10. The women’s squad secured second in the team standings with a score of 71 and four runners finished in the top-20.
Garnering gold in the men’s race, Lipham clocked a personal-best 8K time of 25:19.13. Following close behind was junior Oliver Wilson-Cook, who secured silver with a time of 25:24.45. Junior Dwayne Lillie took fourth (25:37.51), and sophomores Calbert Guest and Chase Burrell placed sixth (25:46.47) and seventh (25:47.14), respectively.
In the women’s race, sophomore Linnea Maynard was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line, clocking a personal best 5K time of 17:58.58 to place eighth. Fellow sophomore Karsyn Kane was next across the line, stopping the clock at 18:18.45 to place 13th. Senior Lila Peters followed close behind, placing 14th with a time of 18:19.72. Sophomore Annie Amundsen rounded out the top-20 for the Mountaineers, placing 17th overall (18:28.47, PR).
• KENT, OHIO — Friederike Stegen scored her fifth goal of the season to cut the lead in half with three minutes left in regulation, but the App State field hockey team (3-3, 0-1 MAC) fell 2-1 to Kent State (3-4, 1-0 MAC) on Sunday.
Stegen is now tied for the most goals (5) in the Mid-American Conference as well as the most points (10).
With two of the top goalkeepers in the MAC facing off in their conference opener, both teams were expecting to see a low score. The first three quarters saw zero goals by either team.
After two goals from the Golden Flashes in the fourth quarter, Carli Ciocco stole the ball on Kent State’s side and passed it to Stegen who worked it inside and decreased the deficit to one.
App State goalkeeper Addie Clark had five saves on the day. Clark and the App State defense have now had 20 total quarters this season where they did not allow a goal.
The Mountaineers will return home after four straight road games this Friday as they host CMU at 5 p.m. On Sunday, they will host Wake Forest at noon.
• BOONE — Despite playing with 10 players for the final 41 minutes of regulation, the Mountaineers were able to strike for the only goal of the match, and defeated ULM, 1-0, to open Sun Belt play.
Freshman defender Shannon Studer scored that decisive goal for the Mountaineers, with a right-footed strike in the 64th minute, curling the ball from the far side of the 18-yard box into the top of the near corner of the net. Izzy Lusardi picked up her first assist on the play.
App State (2-3-4, 1-0-0) was able to overcome playing down a player, as midfielder Katie Fuller was whistled for two yellow cards in the match, with the second coming just over three minutes into the second half.
Goalkeeper Kerry Eagleston recorded her 16th career shutout and fourth of the season. She also registered her 300th career save in the opening half to become just the fourth player in program history to reach that milestone. Eagleston finished the match with nine saves, highlighted by a diving effort with 12 minutes to play to maintain App State’s one-goal lead.
Offensively, the Mountaineers finished with a season-high 19 shots and a season-best 13 shots on goal, led by Stephanie Barbosa who fired all three of her shots on target. Studer, Breckyn Monteith, and Izzi Wood added three shots on goal apiece.
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