BOONE — Watauga wrestler Ben Oakes made his win over St. Stephens’ 220-pounder Robert Valencia worth remembering.
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BLOWING ROCK — The Blowing Rock boys’ basketball team, the top seed of the Watauga County Middle School Boys’ Basketball Tournament, got a chance to play all of its players in a 35-20 win over visiting Mabel on Jan. 23 at Blowing Rock School.
BLOWING ROCK — The Blowing Rock girls’ basketball team, seeded second in the Watauga County Middle School Girls’ Basketball Tournament, broke open a close game with a solid defensive performance to claim a 42-11 victory over seventh-seeded Bethel at Blowing Rock’s gym on Jan. 23.
BOONE — Once the Watauga girls’ basketball team hit its stride against visiting East Surry, there was little stopping the Pioneers.
BOONE — It seemed unlikely that the Watauga boys’ basketball team would be anywhere close to gaining a win over visiting East Surry at Lentz-Eggers Gym.
ASPEN, Colo. — A month after turning 19, Blowing Rock’s Luke Winkelmann seeks to further increase his stock in the snowboarding world as he takes part in the Winter X Games Jan. 23-26 in Aspen, Colo.
BOONE — The Blowing Rock School basketball teams piled up plenty of wins over the course of the 2019-20 season.
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox traded for former Appalachian State pitcher Jeffery Springs from the Texas Rangers for first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis on Jan. 15.
BOONE — With 2:47 left in the game on Friday, Jan. 17, and up 65-59, Watauga boys’ basketball could almost taste a major Northwest Conference victory over the visiting Freedom Patriots.
BOONE — With just over two minutes left in the fourth, Watauga girls basketball was only down four points, 53-49, to 15-0 Freedom, who was ranked No. 1 in the state’s 3A classification going into the game.
HICKORY — Winning ways continued for the Watauga High girls’ basketball team as the Pioneers took a closely contested 45-41 win over Hickory on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
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BOONE — The Blowing Rock School basketball teams piled up plenty of wins over the course of the 2019-20 season.
BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox traded for former Appalachian State pitcher Jeffery Springs from the Texas Rangers for first baseman/outfielder Sam Travis on Jan. 15.
BOONE — With 2:47 left in the game on Friday, Jan. 17, and up 65-59, Watauga boys’ basketball could almost taste a major Northwest Conference victory over the visiting Freedom Patriots.
BOONE — With just over two minutes left in the fourth, Watauga girls basketball was only down four points, 53-49, to 15-0 Freedom, who was ranked No. 1 in the state’s 3A classification going into the game.
HICKORY — Winning ways continued for the Watauga High girls’ basketball team as the Pioneers took a closely contested 45-41 win over Hickory on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
BLOWING ROCK – Playing a fast tempo on offense, the Blowing Rock boys’ basketball team used a strong second quarter to pull away from visiting Green Valley, doubling up the visitors for a 60-30 victory on Jan. 13.
BOONE — The Watauga freshman boys’ basketball team got 21 points from Nate Tillery and beat visiting Johnson County (Tenn.) 64-46 on Jan. 11 at Lentz-Eggers Gym.
BOONE — After holding a modest lead, the Watauga boys’ basketball team found itself looking at the possibility of losing to a St. Stephens team that rallied to take a fourth-quarter lead.
BOONE — The Watauga girls’ basketball team pulled away from visiting St. Stephens to take a 45-33 win over the Indians at Lentz-Eggers Gym on Jan. 10.
LENOIR — The Watauga High School swim team took on three teams in a meet held at the Lenoir Aquatic Center on Jan. 8.
The Blowing Rock School girls’ basketball team beat Cove Creek 34-20 Jan. 9.
BOONE — Watauga needed until the second quarter to find its rhythm offensively against visiting McDowell at Lentz-Eggers Gym on Jan.15.
BOONE — The Watauga girls’ basketball team shook off a Northwestern Conference loss earlier in the week to beat visiting McDowell 61-52 at Lentz-Eggers Gym on Jan. 8.
TAYLORSVILLE — The Alexander Central boys’ basketball team struggled to stop Watauga’s Anderson Castle in the first half of the two teams’ game on Jan. 3.
TAYLORSVILLE — Both the Watauga girls’ basketball team and Alexander Central had a player who scored 16 points to lead their teams offensively against each other in their game on Jan. 3.
BAKERSVILLE — There is always a risk that if basketball teams play during the holidays, some players may not be around.
BAKERSVILLE — Watauga guard Anderson Castle had a productive debut with the Pioneers’ boys’ basketball team.
BOONE — Watauga’s basketball programs returned to the court Dec. 31 at Mitchell and play Jan. 3 at Alexander Central.
Athletics in the Watauga area included plenty of championships in 2019.
BOONE — Watauga quarterback Anderson Castle has just finished a 13-2 season with the Pioneers’ football team.
Anderson Castle took plenty of snaps while playing quarterback for Watauga.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — Seldom is a team with four returning starters considered young, but the East Surry girls’ basketball team is the rare exception.
PILOT MOUNTAIN — It may have taken them a quarter to get used to playing on hardwood instead of a grass football field, but East Surry’s basketball team put it together to open the season with a win.
BOONE — Watauga forward Jackson Earnhardt needed a first half to warmup, which was just enough to find his shot.
BOONE — The Watauga girls’ basketball team took a big lead in the first quarter and never looked back in its 61-42 victory over visiting South Caldwell in the Northwestern Conference opener for both teams on Dec. 19.
BOONE — The Cove Creek girls’ basketball team has rolled through its middle school schedule unbeaten. Hardin Park seemed ready to put an end to Cove Creek’s hopes of an undefeated season.
BOONE — The Hardin Park boys’ basketball team outscored visiting Cove Creek by 15 points in the third quarter and rolled to a 57-27 victory at Hardin Park’s gym Dec. 19.
VALDESE — The Watauga girls’ swim team took home two victories, one each against Maiden and another against Freedom on Dec. 12.
BOONE — Watauga distance runner Avery Cannon proved at McAlpine Park in Charlotte on Nov. 30 he is one of the top cross-country runners in the South when he finished ninth in the South Regional of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.
BOONE — Maybe it’s because Boone is not located in a major urban center. Maybe it’s because Watauga’s football team does not play in a conference that is a factory for major college prospects.
WEST JEFFERSON — For the first time since Nov. 21, 2016, the Watauga Pioneers girls’ basketball team (4-2) lost to the Ashe County Huskies (6-0) in a 59-53 battle Friday, Dec. 13 in West Jefferson.
WEST JEFFERSON — The Watauga boys’ basketball team beat Ashe County for the eighth straight time in a 63-45 game that was never close.
WEST JEFFERSON — The Ashe County girls' basketball team knocked off visiting Watauga 59-53 on Dec. 13. It was the first time Ashe beat Watauga since 2016.
BOONE — Watauga used the long ball and big second and fourth quarters to beat Mitchell 79-47 at Lentz-Eggers Gym Dec. 12.
BOONE — The Watauga girls’ basketball team won its fourth straight game by beating visiting Mitchell 47-45 at Lentz-Eggers Gym on Dec. 12.
DEEP GAP — Cove Creek got 19 points from Laney Shook and beat Parkway 43-19 in middle school girls’ basketball Dec. 12 at Parkway’s gym.
DEEP GAP — Parkway had two players score in double figures in its 49-38 victory over visiting Cove Creek at Parkway’s gym on Dec. 12.
Laura Barry’s debut as the head coach of the Watauga boys’ basketball program did not go completely as planned, at least on the scoreboard.
HICKORY — Anderson Castle, Jaiden Bond and Ryan Habich received three of the top postseason honors in the Northwestern 4-A Conference Dec. 7.
MATTHEWS — The Weddington football team had two offsides penalties in the first two plays of its 3-AA state semifinals game against visiting Watauga.
NEWLAND — Once the Watauga boys’ basketball team took a lead over Avery on Dec. 5, the visiting Pioneers were not going to give it back.
VILAS — The Cove Creek girls’ basketball team stayed unbeaten with a 49-8 home victory over visiting Green Valley.
NEWLAND — The Avery girls’ basketball team scored the first two points of its home game against visiting Watauga on Dec. 5.
BOONE — The Watauga boys’ basketball team looked to be equal to the task of keeping up with visiting Gastonia Ashbrook in the first half.
BOONE — The Watauga girls’ basketball team broke into the win column with a 58-57 home win over visiting Gastonia Ashbrook at Lentz-Eggers Gym on Dec. 2.
BOONE — Five players reached double figures as App State men’s basketball defeated St. Andrews 90-58 on Dec. 3.
BOONE — The Watauga football team returns to the western regional finals for the first time since 2007, when the Pioneers were in the 4-A classification.
BOONE — Watauga cross-country runner Avery Cannon finished ninth in the South Region of the Footlocker Championships and will compete in the national championships in San Diego on Dec. 14.
BOONE — The Watauga football team went into its state 3-AA playoff game with visiting Mount Tabor averaging 51 points per game, but facing a Spartans team that has one of the top defenses in the 3-AA playoffs.
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