Sports In Brief: Nov. 30

• NEW ORLEANS — The Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference have introduced the MAC-SBC Challenge, a scheduling alliance in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, to take place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.

The 12 MAC men’s and women’s basketball teams will face off against 12 Sun Belt teams in a pair of contests each year, with each game being carried on an ESPN platform.

The first game will occur during the opening week of the 2023-24 regular-season from Wednesday, Nov. 8, to Saturday, Nov. 11, with the matchups being jointly determined based on projected NET rankings heading into the season. The second contest will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, with the matchups set based on real-time NET rankings and announced in January.

“The MAC-SBC Challenge is unique because it annually provides our men’s and women’s basketball teams with two quality games against peer institutions,” said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Keith Gill. “This new partnership will create so many interesting matchups and be exciting for our membership and our fans.”

“The MAC-SBC Challenge series will provide great opportunities to match-up with similar strength opponents and will allow us to gain home games,” said MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher. “This fits perfectly with our right-size scheduling philosophy. I am appreciative of the Sun Belt Conference and look forward to the competition on the court.”

Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge will be guaranteed one home and one away game each season.

Nov. 22

• BOONE — App State senior McCall Denny, juniors Madison Baldridge and Sophie Cain, and sophomore Lulu Ambrose were named to the 2022 Academic All-District Women’s Volleyball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, on Tuesday. The quartet competed in all 28 matches this season.

Denny, a six-rotation player, earned Second-Team All-Sun Belt honors after appearing in all 114 sets and starting every match this fall. The High Point, N.C. native slammed down a team-high 347 kills on the season as well as the second-most aces (34) and digs (259) for the Mountaineers. Over the course of the fall, Denny notched 12 double-doubles and recorded a single-match season high of 20 kills and 19 digs against Georgia Southern on Nov. 11. In non-conference action, Denny was named to the Charleston Southern and Mountaineer Classic All-Tournament teams. Denny is a nutrition dietetics major.

Appearing in 113 sets and starting 15 matches this fall, Baldridge went up for 60 blocks, recording the third-most on the team. The exercise science major also recorded 167 kills on the year and tallied 13 kills for single-match season-highs against Charleston Southern (Aug. 26) and USC Upstate (Sept. 2). She also posted a career-high seven blocks against Western Carolina on Sept. 15.

Cain, a molecular biology major, recorded the most assists on the team this year with 573. She also tied for third-most aces on the season, serving up 27. The Knoxville, Tenn. native started 11 of 28 matches she appeared in and marked 10 double-doubles during the 2022 campaign, including three in a row at the Wofford Tournament (Sept. 2 and 3). Cain had a single-match season high 43 assists against Charleston Southern on Aug. 26 and also recorded a career-high 19 digs at Georgia State on Oct. 7.

In her sophomore season, Ambrose tallied 285 kills, the second-most on the team after Denny’s 347. On Nov. 11, the Fort Mill, S.C. native slammed down a season-high 21 kills against Georgia Southern. During non-conference action, Ambrose was named to the Mountaineer Classic All-Tournament team. Ambrose is a general marketing major.

The Mountaineers went 18-10 (11-5 SBC) this fall under the direction of first year head coach Sarah Rumely Noble.

To be nominated for CSC Academic All-District, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least at 3.50 cumulative GPA at their current institution and have played in at least 50 percent of the team’s contests. Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First, Second, and Third Team All-America honorees will be announced in late December.

Nov. 23

• BOONE — Running his record to 10-0 this season and 102-21 for his career, App State’s Jon Jon Millner has been named the SoCon Wrestler of the Week following his 149-pound title at the Keystone Classic.

A consensus top-five wrestler in his weight class, with a ranking as high as No. 2, Millner went 5-0 in a bracket that included four top-15 wrestlers in Philadelphia. He used takedowns in the first and third periods to secure a 5-2 decision in the final against 15th-ranked Doug Zapf, a two-time NCAA qualifier from Penn.

Millner opened the event with two first-period pins and two major decisions by a combined score of 24-2, including a 9-1 major decision against 13th-ranked Quinn Kinner from Rider in the semifinal round.

Millner became the seventh App State wrestler to record 100-plus career wins and is now at No. 6 on the program’s career wins list. He is the second SoCon Wrestler of the Week from App State this season, joining Sean Carter, who was recognized following a season-opening dual win against NC State.

• JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – App State men’s basketball came out of the trenches with a win after a back-and-forth physical game at Freedom Hall, defeating ETSU 74-70 on Wednesday night.

This was the third time this season that the Mountaineers won after trailing at halftime, and the 21st time under head coach Dustin Kerns (2018-present). It was also App State’s first win on the road against the Buccaneers since Feb. 9, 2005, when the teams were SoCon foes.

The Mountaineers were up by one with 24 seconds left when Justin Abson grabbed a crucial offensive rebound, reset the play, and threw a bounce pass to Tyree Boykin who finished inside with a finger-roll that sealed the advantage for App State.

The Mountaineers secured 15 steals throughout the game, leading to 23 points off of 19 ETSU turnovers. App State also had 34 points in the paint compared to ETSU’s 22.

Nov. 25

• BOONE — App State linebacker Tyler Bird and receiver/punt returner Tyler Page have been named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Academic All-District honorees advance to the Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in late December.

To be eligible for Academic All-District selection, each nominee had to boast a cumulative undergraduate and graduate GPA of 3.5 or better and be a significant contributor to the team on the field.

Bird, who possesses a 3.67 GPA, graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently in the Master of Business Administration program. He has been a six-time Dean’s List selection.

On the field, Bird ranks fourth on the team with 43 tackles, including one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. He’s started in three of his 11 appearances and also forced two fumbles and intercepted one pass while increasing his career total to a team-high 64 game appearances.

Page, who has a 3.97 GPA, is a graduate transfer currently in the Master of Business Administration program. Since arriving from SMU, he’s been App State’s full-time punt returner and a consistent contributor as a receiver. He has 11 catches for 130 yards this season, including a 12-yard touchdown catch against Robert Morris and a 42-yard touchdown reception at Coastal Carolina.

Nov. 27

• BOONE — The App State women’s basketball team defeated Davidson, 84-82, in Sunday’s matinee game at the Holmes Convocation Center.

“It was a fun game. Generally, when we compete against Davidson it always is a high-paced, high-scoring game,” said head coach Angel Elderkin. “There’s similar styles in terms of how we like to play, however, they obviously have a dominant post and she had a heck of a game.”

“This week we were finally able to get back and practice with our team and we focused a lot on ball movement. The stat that really stands out to me is the 17 assists to our 30 field goals with only seven turnovers, so I feel like our team really made a huge step there with moving the ball.”

Redshirt senior Janay Sanders led the Mountaineers, netting 24 points, which was one point off from her career and season single-game high 25 points. Sanders shot 3-of-5 from the 3-point line and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. Sanders also tallied three steals and three rebounds on the day. Junior Faith Alston posted the second-most points against the Wildcats (18) for a new season single-game high. Alston also recorded the team-high six assists. Sophomore Emily Carver pulled down a team-high five rebounds.

The Mountaineers tallied 17 points off turnovers, 10 off the bench, and nine off fast breaks. The team totaled 24 rebounds and 17 assists, only turning over the ball seven times compared to Davidson’s 15 turnovers.

After trailing Davidson, 25-19, in the first quarter, the Mountaineers got hot as Carver and sophomore Mariah Frazier combined for eight points early in the second to push App State to a 27-25 lead. The Black and Gold continued to build off its slight edge with a Frazier 3-pointer and layup from redshirt-junior A’Lea Gilbert. The Mountaineers went on a 6-0 run to take a 41-31 lead as graduate student Brooke Bigott and Sanders drained a pair of treys.

Davidson steadily chipped away at the Mountaineers’ lead in the third quarter, coming within two late in the quarter at 66-64. A layup in the paint from Bigott distanced App State slightly, putting the Mountaineers ahead 68-64 to end the quarter.

The Wildcats cut the Black and Gold’s lead to one (82-81) late in the fourth, but a free throw from Sanders kept App State ahead. A free throw from Carver put App State up 84-81, and the Mountaineers were able to hold on for the 84-82 victory.

Nov. 28

• BOONE — App State head men’s and women’s track and field coach Damion McLean announced the 2022-23 schedule on Monday. The Mountaineers will host two indoor meets at the Holmes Convocation Center. App State will celebrate the opening of the new track and field facility at Appalachian 105 during outdoor competition in April.

App State will kick off the indoor season on Dec. 2-3 as it hosts the John Weaver Invitational. The Mountaineers will then travel to Winston-Salem, N.C. for the JDL Mondo College Invite on Jan. 14 before returning to Boone to host the App Split Open on Jan. 20. To close out the month of January, the Black and Gold will head to Lexington, Va. for VMI’s Winter Classic (Jan. 27-28).

On Feb. 3-4, the Mountaineers will split between the JDL Camel City Invite in Winston-Salem, N.C. and the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Meet in Blacksburg, Va. The women’s squad will then head to Huntington, W.Va. for the Marshall Invitational (Feb. 10-11) before competing in the Sun Belt Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala. on Feb. 20-21. The Mountaineers will also set their sights on the USATF Indoor Championships on Feb. 24-25 at Virginia Beach, Va. The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for Mar. 10-11 in Albuquerque, NM.

The men’s and women’s squads will open outdoor action on Mar. 24-25 as they split between the Adidas Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. and the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. The team will split again on March 29 — April 1 for the Texas Relays in Austin, Tex. and Bill Carson Invitational in Greenville, N.C. The Mountaineers will take a short trip to Durham, N.C. for the Duke Invitational (April 7-8), followed by a trip to Hickory, N.C. for the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational (April 14-15), before heading to Atlanta, Ga. for the Georgia Tech Invitational (April 21-22).

The Mountaineers’ outdoor slate will be highlighted by the ribbon cutting ceremony and first meet at the new track facility at Appalachian 105, as the Black and Gold hosts the App State Open on April 28-29.

On May 11-13, the Black and Gold will compete at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The NCAA East Regional will be held in Jacksonville, Fla. from May 24-27, and will be followed by the NCAA Championships on June 7-10 in Austin, Tex. The USATF Elite and U20 Championships are scheduled for June 22-25, with location to be announced.