Top sports moments of 2016, part 1

Dec. 29--WEST JEFFERSON -- Another year is in the books in Ashe County, and once again, there was a lot to talk about in the world of sports. The Jefferson Post is taking a look back at its top sports stories of 2016 in the first of two parts. The second part will be printed on Jan. 3, 2017.

February

Three ACMS wrestlers place first

WILKESBORO -- A trio of Ashe County Middle School wrestlers took home the conference championship in their respective weight classes at Central Wilkes Middle School.

Torin Potter claimed the title at 106 pounds, Drake Elliott earned the championship at 113 pounds and heavyweight Jaron Greer mowed through the field pinning each of his opponents in the first period to win the title.

The Bulldogs also had a pair of runner-up finishes at 85 pounds with Trent Baker and at 182 pounds with Isaac Miller.

Preston Mash (152 pounds) and Kenan Witherspoon (138 pounds) won the consolation rounds for a third place finish while Silas Powers (120 pounds), Blake Hurley (132 pounds) and Luke Osborne (92 pounds) all ended up with fourth place finishes.

Overall, the Bulldogs finished fourth out of nine teams and just 13 points out of first place.

"The team did great this season, I have no complaints," said head coach Alex Wray. "We were so close to winning it all this year. We're winning it next year."

The improvement of the wrestling program at Ashe County Middle School has been nothing short of outstanding over the past three years. After the team finished with a 1-9 record three years ago and a 4-6 mark last year, the Bulldogs finished at 7-3 this year with three conference championships and the whole team will be going to the middle school and junior high state championship this weekend in Winston-Salem.

"We're getting better every year. We're getting ready for the state tournament this weekend," said Coach Wray. "We're not done yet."

Richardson signs with UNC-Pembroke

WEST JEFFERSON -- Ashe County senior defensive end Alex Richardson signed his National Letter of Intent to play college football at UNC-Pembroke.

The 6-2, 215-pounder joined 24 other high school standouts that signed to play next season with the up-and-coming Braves football program. The Braves' signing class featured eight offensive linemen, six defensive backs, five linebackers, three defensive linemen, two quarterbacks and one tight end.

Richardson was a Mountain Valley All-Conference performer and was one of the top defensive players for the Huskies all season long. He led the Huskies in sacks with 9.5 to go along with seven passes knocked down, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

During the annual Fall Sports Awards ceremony, Richardson was honored as the team's top defensive lineman.

Mat Monsters shine at state tournament

WINSTON-SALEM -- A total of 11 Ashe County Mat Monster grapplers placed in the top four during the N.C. USA Wrestling Championships.

The Mat Monsters were well-represented at every age level, kindergarten through sixth grade.

Sam Smith took first place in the 50-pound class in the Kindergarten/Pre-K division. Kaleb Williams and Gabe Smith each finished in third place in the first/second grade 45-pound division and 50-pound division respectively.

In the third and fourth grade group, the Mat Monsters had four athletes place in the top four. Luke Osborne took third and Aaron Peterson finished fourth in the 60-pound class. Logan Brown finished first place, beating teammate Luke Peterson to sweep the top two spots in the 90-pound class.

Montana Jaramillo finished third in the fifth/sixth grade 60-65-pound class. Matthew Peterson was third in the 95-pound class in the same age group and Jacob Pennington won the 170-pound class in the fifth/sixth grade division.

Overall, the Mat Monsters pinned more opponents than any team in the tournament.

"I want to win a state tournament. We are getting close, we are knocking at the front door," said head coach Alex Wray. "We are one of the best teams in the state. When the Mat Monsters walk into a gym, people know we are in the house. We are a powerhouse program."

According to Coach Wray, the team will be heading to two more state tournaments, including the North Carolina AAU Tournament coming up soon.

The Mat Monster program has steadily grown over the last few years, bringing in lots of volunteers and parents to help out putting events together and working with the youngsters on the mats as well.

"We have been blessed with great coaches who have always stressed that the abilities that these kids have come from God and constantly remind them to be thankful," said club director Chad Phipps. "I would personally like to thank our fearless leader Coach Wray for all his time and effort. It takes a special person to give back to the kids as much as he has especially considering the fact that he doesn't have any kids in the program. All the other coaches that have helped over the years are greatly appreciated as well such as Allan Osborne, Larry Bare, Jeremy Williams, and too many others to name."

As they always say, you have to start them off young. The Mat Monster wrestling program gets youth wrestlers started as young as five years old and work with them all the way to the middle school where Coach Wray is currently the head coach and gets to work with them for another two years. The talent level coming through the program continues to grow, and the results are showing.

"I have been involved with the Ashe County youth wrestling program for about five years now. It has just been getting better and better. I'm happy that we are able to go down off the mountain and compete with all the elite programs in the state," said Phipps. "We have been gradually working our way up in the rankings the past few years, but this is the first year that we have placed in the top three. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it as far as these kids have made it and I'm as proud as I can be of them."

Parents with children that think they would like to learn the sport of wrestling and become involved with the Mat Monsters are encouraged to learn more about the team by checking them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ashewrestling. While the High Country Youth League Wrestling events usually take place in the fall, there is usually something going on year-round with the club.

"It's a great sport to start the little ones in because once you have wrestled, everything else is easy," said Phipps. "It's not just a sport that we are teaching these kids but it's character, work ethic and a way of life that will continue to help them throughout their lives in everything that they wish to accomplish."

March

Cheerleaders win big at Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Ashe County's competitive cheerleading squad earned a huge victory in the Legends Competition at Myrtle Beach.

With a team score of 97.2, Ashe County had the highest score of any team at the competition. Teams traveled from all parts of the United States to take part in the competition.

The team received $15,000 in prizes and awards, making the victory even sweeter.

"Each team member was sized for a championship ring and the program receives brand new custom uniforms for the entire team," said coach Stephanie Nichols. "They will be featured in a future magazine article in Cheer Magazine as well as they will be the face of future ads for the Legends Competition."

Team members on this year's competitive cheer team are Summer Young, Shantell Murray, Korranda Treadway, Chloe Parker, Aubrey Day, Jada Nichols, Madison Lewis, Jessi Eastridge, Kiersten Sharpe, Emmi Cheek, Rachel Ellison, Mackenzie Day, Christina Forsyth, Haleigh Graybeal, Katlyn French, Mallorie McClure, Brooklyn Greene, Laken Ellis, Caitlyn Howell, Meghan Miller, Briana Davis, Abigale Hopkins, Natalie Whitley, Samantha Johnson, Taylor Hinrichs and Journey Ward.

April

Lowder tosses no-hitter against Elkin

ELKIN-- Senior ace Joseph Lowder silenced the Bucking Elks' bats for seven innings, tossing a complete game, no-hitter at Elkin to earn a 4-0 victory.

Lowder struck out 16 batters while giving up just four base runners, three on walks and one hit batter.

"Since I've been here at Ashe, I feel like that start was his best game that I've seen him throw. And I know he can throw better than that too," said Ashe County head coach Mike Windish. "His velocity was up maybe two to three miles-per-hour than what it has been the past few games. The other team's bats just couldn't catch up with him."

The Huskies did all of its offensive damage in the first two innings. Turtle Windish and Kendall Richardson scored in the first inning to give Ashe a 2-0 lead.

In the second, the frame started off with a hit from Tate Hudler. Garrett Miller bunted Hudler to second, then Hudler went to third on a ground out from Lowder. With two outs, Bradley Richie came through with an RBI single that scored Hudler. Next up, Windish blasted an RBI triple to score the final run of the night.

Four runs were more than enough for Lowder to sail through the remaining five innings for the win.

"Joseph is going to continue to work this season and I think we will see even better games from him later in the season," said Windish.

Overall, the Huskies are 7-6 and have finished the first half of the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference season with a 4-3 record. Ashe has won four of its last five conference games.

"I think our players are playing with a little more confidence right now. In our minds, I think we might have been playing not to lose instead of playing to win earlier in the season," said Windish.

The team has been working on more defensive fundamentals in practice and spending more time hitting off of live pitching in practice.

"We're spending a little extra time fine-tuning what we got away from during those stretches of playing three games a week," said Windish. "We just had a lack of time on the practice field."

The Huskies have two home games coming up next week as the team breaks into the second half of MVAC games. Ashe will host Wilkes Central on Tuesday and East Wilkes on Friday.

"Our pitching has been outstanding all year. I think now that our bats are starting to square the ball up and our defense is playing freely, we're starting to support our pitching," said Windish. "That's going to be a huge part of the second half of conference play."

Colvard named men's basketball head coach

WEST JEFFERSON -- Ashe County native Nathan Colvard was officially named head coach of the men's varsity basketball team at Ashe County High School. ACHS Athletic Director Marc Payne announced the decision.

"I'm excited. We're going to try to have a program that does things the right way and makes the community proud," said Colvard.

Colvard was named the interim head coach on Dec. 18, 2015 following the resignation of former head coach Scott Grubb.

The Huskies finished the season with a 13-15 overall record and a 9-5 record in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference. Colvard helped lead the Huskies to the MVAC Tournament championship game before falling short to Starmount in the finals.

After being named interim coach, the Huskies finished 11-10 under Colvard in the remaining 21 games of the season, including a pair of wins in the MVAC Tournament. Ashe's season came to an end in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A state playoffs at Monroe.

Lowder named USA Baseball Pitcher of the Week

WEST JEFFERSON -- Senior pitcher Joseph Lowder was recently named regional player of the week by USA Baseball and MaxPreps.

Lowder was one of eight regional pitchers across the country honored by MaxPreps and USA Baseball for the week of April 4-10.

Lowder tossed a no-hitter and struck out 16 batters that week on the road at Elkin.

On the season, Lowder is 5-2 with a 1.65 earned run average and has struck out 82 hitters in 42 and a third innings on the mound. The senior has given up only two extra base hits on the season (one double and one triple).

Lowder and Hunter Stewart from Blue Ridge High School in Cashiers, North Carolina were chosen from the Mid-Atlantic region for their stellar play. Stewart scored six runs, knocked in seven more and walked six times to go with five hits.

During that week, Lowder was in some elite company for being honored with the award. Standout pitcher Jason Groome from Barnagat High School struck out 19 batters and threw a no-hitter in New Jersey. Groome is widely considered the top prospect for the 2016 MLB Draft coming up in June and could be selected number one overall by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tedder signs with UNC-Pembroke

WEST JEFFERSON -- Ashe County High School senior Andrew Tedder has signed his National Letter of Intent to run track at UNC-Pembroke.

Tedder has had an outstanding career for the Huskies, both in cross country and track and field. Tedder already holds the school record for the 1600-meter and will have a shot before the year ends at conquering the 800-meter school record and the 3200-meter school record.

"The thing that sets Andrew apart from former athletes is the absolute physical metamorphosis he went through when he came to us a freshman," said Ashe County track and field head coach Alex Rollins. "He's really matured into an athlete, he's grown into his body and he has developed leg speed in his last year. He's a very very savvy runner. To have one distance kid roll up three team school records is really going to be quite a feat if he accomplishes it."

For Tedder, the reasoning behind his choice to head to UNC-Pembroke was pretty simple: It was just where he wanted to be.

"I visited the campus there and I really liked it, and they have a really strong running program," said Tedder.

Tedder said that he plans on majoring in physical education.

As for the Huskies' long distance running program, Tedder brought a lot to the team each of his four years in competition.

"He (Andrew) along with his compatriot Gareth Berry, they have been the distance backbone for four years now. Tedder as of late has begun to isolate himself as the top runner this year," said Coach Rollins. "Tedder has become the guy where he gets his own separate training log and his own separate plan because he's running at a high level."

Rollins said that he felt Tedder's transition to the college level may be higher mileage runs, but it won't be that much of a transition for him.

"In college, they're going to put him on some weights and they're going to really work on his pace so he's going to have a good career, I have no doubt," said Rollins.

Emory & Henry honors former MLB pitcher

EMORY, Va. -- Ashe County native and former Major League Baseball pitcher Montie Weaver's outstanding career was celebrated at Emory & Henry College earlier this month.

Weaver, who was born in Helton in 1906, had numerous surviving family members there in attendance, including grandson Richard Weaver and great grandson, Samuel, who got to throw out the first pitch.

"We can't thank Emory & Henry enough for honoring my grandfather's legacy," said Richard. "It was simply wonderful that they invited my three-year-old son, Samuel, to throw out the first pitch and I'm going to frame a photo of it with one of his great-grandfather pitching."

Weaver turned in some of the greatest baseball seasons ever seen at Emory & Henry, in fact he still holds five school records that were set in the mid-1920s. Weaver holds the record for most strikeouts in one game (21), best single-season earned run average (0.43), career ERA (1.09), career complete games (24) and career opponent batting average (.178).

During his time at Emory & Henry, Weaver also played basketball, ran track and was a member of the Calliopean Literary Society.

Following his graduation, Weaver went on to attend the University of Virginia where he obtained his master's degree.

After that, it was time to showcase his talent in the majors.

Weaver's career began at the age of 25 with the Washington Senators. He made his professional debut on Sept. 30, 1931 when he pitched a complete game and picked up the win against the Chicago White Sox.

During 1932, Weaver's first full season with the Senators, he won 22 games and even received votes for the league's Most Valuable Player awards.

As Weaver's game continued to improve, so did the Washington Senators. The team won 99 games in 1933 and won the American League Championship after beating one of those legendary New York Yankee squads that featured Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, among others. Gehrig drove in 140 runs that season and Babe Ruth slammed 34 homers.

None of that mattered to Weaver and the Senators. After having already clinched the AL title, Weaver picked up his 10th win of the 1933 season, giving up just three hits and not a single run through six innings in a 7-2 victory over the Yankees.

In the 1933 World Series, the Senators came up short against the New York Giants, losing the best-of-seven series, 4-1. Weaver pitched 10 innings in Game 4 of the series, but still came away with a 2-1 defeat, losing a tremendous pitcher's duel to Carl Hubbell.

Weaver continued his career with the Senators until 1938 when he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He pitched one more season before retiring in 1939.

During his career, Weaver finished with a record of 71-50 with 297 career strikeouts and a .587 winning percentage. Weaver also struck out Babe Ruth eight times during matchups between the two.

Following his baseball career, Weaver served during World War II, and after returning home, began working in the insurance business in Washington D.C. Weaver eventually ended up in Florida and made a steady career out of operating a family-owned orange grove business.

Weaver passed away on June 14, 1994, one day shy of his 88th birthday.

May

Lady Huskies clinch third straight MVAC Championship

WILKESBORO -- Not even the pouring rain could dampen the spirits of the varsity soccer team. Ashe made the trip to Wilkes Central and knocked off the Eagles by a 3-1 score to clinch the 2016 Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Championship and the team's third MVAC title in a row.

The win was even sweeter for head coach Wes Rousseau who was celebrating his birthday as well.

"It was the best birthday present I could ask for. These girls have had an exceptional year," said Coach Rousseau. "To sustain the amount of success that these ladies have for the past three years in our conference is incredible. I can't say enough about our senior class."

Ashe jumped out to a quick lead on the Eagles with a goal from freshman Sam Woods in the fifth minute.

The Huskies had a corner kick chance in the ninth minute and had a chance to make it 2-0 early, however the Eagle defense cleared the ball out of danger.

In the 24th minute, Alyssa Peterson got in on a breakaway and made a great pass to Melissa Ramos in front of the net for a goal and a 2-0 lead.

Ashe held the lead through the halftime break and up until the 51st minute when Sierra Massucco fired a shot from about 20 yards out that ended up bouncing over the head of Ashe County goalkeeper Izzy Alvarez.

Wilkes Central started to build up a little momentum, but the Lady Huskies were not the least bit flustered. Ashe got another goal from Ramos in the 64th minute to push the lead back to two goals at 3-1.

Wilkes Central had a corner kick chance in the 69th and 70th minutes, but the Ashe defense stood tall and cleared the ball out of the scoring box each time.

"Tonight was one of the most meaningful wins of my career because it came against a very good Wilkes Central team, and it's just a manifestation of all the hard work that these ladies have put in and their dedication to the program for the past four years," said Rousseau. "They deserve all the recognition in the world for what they've accomplished. I consider myself very lucky to have had the opportunity to coach such a fine group."

Ashe couple plays in Vegas pool tourney

LAS VEGAS -- Lansing's very own Shelby Dowell and David Miller got the chance of a lifetime to play against some of the top amateur pool players in the country at the 2016 APA Poolplayer Championships in Las Vegas, April 26 through May 1.

Dowell and Miller competed in 9-ball Doubles and finished 33rd out of 256 teams that entered.

The story of how the two got to Las Vegas began with league play in Independence, Virginia and then a qualifying tournament in Johnson City, Tennessee.

"I've been playing for about four years. We go over to Independence and play on teams in a 9-ball tournament each week," said Dowell.

Being a member of the American Poolplayers Association (APA) gives people a chance to compete in leagues and tournaments just like the one that Dowell and Miller entered in Johnson City.

"It was a last-minute thing. We took off on Sunday morning, drove over and entered the tournament and just happened to come in first place," said Dowell.

For the first time in their lives, Dowell and Miller got on an airplane and headed west.

Once they got to Vegas, Dowell and Miller were busy playing pool and enjoying the competition.

"There were players from all around the United States, Japan and Canada," Miller said.

The tournament had a winner's bracket and a loser's bracket and was a double-elimination format. Unfortunately for the Ashe County couple, they lost their first match, but battled back to get back into the winner's bracket before suffering their second loss.

"Once it got started, it was wide open. I've never seen so many pool players in my life," said Miller.

According to Dowell there were 320 pool tables in the building with eight ball, nine ball, singles and doubles going on all at once.

Dowell opened Shelby's Billiards and Games Club in Lansing, but with a tough economy and rising rent prices, she had to close down at the end of 2015. The hope is that she will be able to reopen a similar establishment somewhere in the county that will offer APA league play and also be a place for people to have fun and enjoy the game.

"We play with people from all different skill levels. It's fun to play, we just love the game," said Dowell. "The league operator keeps asking me if we've found a spot because he wants it back over here, it did so well."

Players that were familiar with playing in APA league play in Lansing now have to go to Independence or Mountain City to play.

But in the end, it's all about the fun of the sport and seeing people enjoy playing pool and meeting people.

"The joy of watching people laugh and smile has always been in my head, it was like a dream come true, but then it all came crashing down," said Dowell. "I tell myself that this spot wasn't meant to be but that we will find another one."

The couple will continue looking around for a place in the county to reopen the game room and bring some fun pool play for all ages and experience levels back to the county.

Mahala Land named MVAC Player of the Year

WEST JEFFERSON -- Ashe County senior sweeper Mahala Land took home the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Player of the Year award.

"It was a very deserved award. Mahala is one of the smartest and coolest players under pressure that I've ever had the opportunity to coach," said Ashe County head coach Wes Rousseau. "She never gets rattled on the back line and always seems to be in the right position to make a play. She anchored one of the best defenses that I've ever coached and I'm glad that we finally had a player recognized for conference player of the year."

Land was also one of five Ashe players to be named to the MVAC All-Conference team, joining fellow seniors Valerie Keys, Bekah Bowers and Alyssa Peterson as well as junior Melissa Ramos.

Seniors Natalie Harless and Bennett Watson, two other key players for the Ashe County defensive unit, were named honorable mention players.

"It's hard to pick one player out of our defense, given that with four seniors on the back line, defense was never really an aspect of the game that concerned us too much. We knew we would always be steady on the back line," said Rousseau.

Rousseau was also tabbed as MVAC Coach of the Year for leading the Lady Huskies to a third straight MVAC Championship.

June

Ashe native to coach USA junior weightlifters

CLEMMONS -- Ashe County's very own Travis Mash will be the head coach of the United States Junior Weightlifting team in the upcoming International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Junior World Championships to held in the country of Georgia.

The championships will take place from June 25 through July 2.

Mash is the owner of Mash Elite Performance just outside of Winston-Salem, an athletic performance center that works with some top athletes in their respective sports to improve their strength and conditioning.

"I've been working with athletes full time since about 2005," said Mash. "I've worked with the starting fullback for the New York Jets, Tommy Bohanon, linebacker Jared Barber at West Virginia who is with the Carolina Panthers and Cade Carney a freshman at Wake Forest."

Mash said that his camp also houses some of the best Olympic weightlifters in the country, including a pair of Olympic hopefuls for the upcoming Rio Olympics later this summer. On the USA Junior team Mash is coaching this summer will be three familiar faces from his gym in Clemmons.

Mash certainly has a spot in his heart for his hometown as his mother, Kathy Eller, is still in the county and is the owner of Hometown Furniture in West Jefferson. He also helps out with some weight training activities for the football team at Ashe County High School.

"Normally when I'm up there, I usually have about 10 or 20 players come out every time," said Mash.

Mash has also worked with some local weightlifters, including Zack Vogler, who has competed in numerous competitions.

"Travis invited me down to his gym and completely changed how I did my bench press and he has given me little tips along the way," said Vogler. "I am doing his powerlifting training program now and I am getting stronger than ever. The one thing about Travis is that he is always wanting you to be better and he encourages me to chase my goals and to never be satisfied."

Vogler has been helping out with the Husky football program as well and has noticed a lot of improvement from the kids that have taken the time to come out and put in the work to get stronger.

"We had pretty much all the freshman come after school and they got very strong. one kid could only squat 180 (pounds) his first day and our max day last week he got 315. All the kids have went up tremendous," said Vogler. "We made shirts and on the back we pus Travis's saying 'Never Be Satisfied.' When he (Travis) comes up to see the kids, he brings such a high energy and the kids love him."

Reaching out to youngsters has become a big focus for Mash and his gym. According to Mash, they have put together a non-profit program that is being used to reach out to "at-risk" youth all across the United States.

For more information on Mash Elite Performance and the services they offer, visit their website at www.mashelite.com, find them on Facebook by searching "Mash Elite Performance" or check them out on Instagram and YouTube. Mash also offers a weekly Podcast with great information.

Nathan Ham can be reached at 336-489-3062.

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