Watauga’s boys’ tennis team clinched the Northwestern 4-A Conference championship Wednesday night with a 9-0 victory over A.C. Reynolds.

The Pioneers (16-2, 10-0 NWC) did not lose a set the entire match. No. 3 seeded Kevin Ashline and No. 6 seeded Chris Ludwig both won their matches 6-0, 6-0, while No. 1 singles player Steve Lake beat Kyle Anderson 6-1, 6-0. Michael Smith beat Keith Blate 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

Brian Geldmeier and Ryan Schweitzer had a little harder time winning their matches, but still prevailed in straight sets. Geldmeier, playing No. 4 singles, beat Matt Freer 6-3, 7-6, while Ryan Schweitzer, playing No. 5 singles, beat Thang Chu 6-1, 7-6.

Watauga rolled through doubles in similar fashion. Lake teamed with Smith at No. 1 to blank Anderson and Blate 8-0. Ashline and Geldmeier beat Jared Stegall and Freer 8-3 at No. 2. At No. 3 doubles, Sam Littlejohn teamed with Aaron Evans to beat Chu and Dave Hwang 8-4.

Watauga 9, A.C. Reynolds 0
Singles
Steve Lake (W) d. Kyle Anderson 6-1 6-0
Michael Smith (W) d. Keith Blate 6-0 6-1
Kevin Ashline (W) d. Jared Stegall 6-0 6-0
Brian Geldmeier (W) d. Matt Freer 6-3 7-6
Ryan Schweitzer (W) d. Thang Chu 6-1 7-6
Chris Ludwig (W) d. Dave Hwang 6-0 6-0
Doubles
Lake/Smith (W) d. Anderson/Blate 8-0
Ashline/Geldmeier (W) d. Stegall/Freer 8-3
Sam Littlejohn/Aaron Evans (W) d. Chu/Hwang 8-4

Boys’ golf
TAYLORSVILLE — Watauga finished third in its weekly Northwestern 4-A Conference golf match held Monday at Buncombe County Municipal Golf Course.

The Pioneers finished with an overall score of 334, which pit them in a tie with East Burke. Alexander Central won the team event with a score of 309. A.C. Reynolds was second with a 325.

Watauga got an 80 from Brandon Reynolds. Ben Beason was second with an 83, followed by an 84 from Trey McNeil and an 87 by Dylan Cook. Zach Burkett of Alexander Central was the medalist with a 72.

Watauga coach Mike Northern was happy with the results his players turned in despite the wind that was blowing at the golf course.

“I was very pleased with our effort today,” Northern said. “The conditions at the course were tough with high winds and cooler temperatures. I believe the conditions played into our favor as we routinely practice in low temperatures and high winds.”

Watauga hosts the next tournament at Boone Golf Club on Monday.

Softball
Watauga scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and took a 6-1 victory over McDowell at the Carroll Complex Wednesday.

Watauga got two-run doubles from Kayla Kincaid and Chandler Butler to spark the rally. Kincaid, who scored two runs, and Butler, who scored one, each went 1-for-2 from the plate .

Hannah Yates also had two RBIs, while Jennifer Ballew, Breanna Steinke and Kristin Wells each had a hit and scored a run. Defensively, Tori Wright tossed a complete game, scattering five hits and striking out three.

“We finally put all the phases of the game together,” Watauga coach Brian Vannoy said. “We played solid defense behind good pitching, we hit, executed our bunts and ran the bases. We finally showed what we could do when we play all phases of the game. Hopefully this will get us going to a strong finish on the season.”

Watauga plays Friday at East Burke at 6 p.m. following the jayvee game, which begins at 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday’s game
ASHEVILLE — A.C. Reynolds beat Watauga 3-0 in softball Tuesday.
Kincaid went 1-for-3 with a triple, while Butler went 1-for-3 and Evalyn Pierce went 1-for-2 from the plate. Tori Wright pitched six innings, giving up three hits and striking out two.

Track and field
SAWMILLS — Watauga finished second to South Caldwell in boys and girls track and field in a meet held Tuesday.

In the boys’ meet, South Caldwell won with 128 points, 17 more than Watauga’s 111 points. McDowell was third with 87 and Freedom fourth with 35. Watauga got a first-place performance from Reid Harris in the pole vault and the 100-meter dash, while Jordan Pineda won the discus and the shot put. Gabby Romano was second in the discus, and Watauga’s 400-meter relay team finished first.

Ethan Poulos finished second in the 1,600-meter run, while Jamison Slate was second in the 3,200-meter run. Derek Calhoun was second and Darrow Goff was third in the high jump, and Hayden Brown was third in the 3,200-meter run.

South Caldwell won the girls’ meet with 124 points, while Watauga was second with 111. Freedom was a distant third with 32 points followed by McDowell with 23.

Kristina Tracy won the long jump and triple jump and Tara Trivette won the high jump. Kenyon Hall captured the 100-meter hurdles and Laura Gulliver won the 300-meter hurdles. Gulliver was also second in the 100 hurdles and in the triple jump and third in the high jump. Hall was second in the 300 hurdles.

Ryann Jones added a victory in the 200-meter dash and was second in the 100-meter dash. Katheryn Smith won the discus.

Kasey Jones was third in the 100 and 200, while Morgan Gibbard was third in the shot put. Ingrid Forsyth was third in the 400-meter dash for the Pioneers.