South Fork Athletic 2A Conference:
Lake Norman Charter: 3
Bandys: 1

Maiden: 3
Newton-Conover: 0

Non-conference:
Alexander Central: 3
Draughn: 2

Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
Watauga: 3
Alexander Central: 0

St. Stephens: 3
McDowell: 0

Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
Fred T. Foard: 3
East Burke: 1

West Iredell: 3
Hibriten: 0

Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
Hickory: 4
Freedom: 0

St. Stephens: 8
McDowell: 0

Watauga: 3
Alexander Central: 1

Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
Fred T. Foard: 5
East Burke: 2

Hibriten: 3 (4)
West Iredell: 3 (3)

Patton: 2
Bunker Hill: 1

West Caldwell: 10
Draughn: 0

South Fork Athletic 2A Conference:
Newton-Conover: 7
Bandys: 0

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Soccer Team remained unbeaten as they beat Mars Hill on Wednesday evening 1-0. It was the South Atlantic Conference opener for each team and the result is the 12th straight win for LR over Mars Hill.

Aqsa Mushtaq scored the lone goal of the match in the 53rd minute off an assist from Christina Shimshock.

LR outshot Mars Hill 28-4 including a 13-0 advantage in shots on goal. This is the fourth game this season that LR has attempted at least 24 shots. In addition LR led Mars Hill in corner kicks 9-0.

Mars Hill's goalkeeper Victoria Forren made 12 saves for the visitors in a losing effort.

Neve Duston finished with eight shots on the afternoon and Hannah Van Eerden attempted six. Each player attempted more shots than the Mars Hill team.

Lenoir-Rhyne's Women's Soccer starts the season 5-0 for the first time since 2008. L-R has never started 6-0 in program history and will look to change that against Tusculum on Saturday, Sep. 21 at 1:00 p.m. at Moretz Sports Complex.

A day after the Lenoir-Rhyne men's soccer team entered the Southeast Region Poll as the #10 team in the region, they found themselves into an early hole against Mars Hill Wednesday night. Less than 2 minutes in the game, the Lions had a breakaway and Walker Henderson capitalized for an early goal. The Lions lead 1-0 until the second half, when Javier Madrono found the back of the net 5 minutes into the second half. The game remained tied until Victor Cascon took advantage of an mental error by the Lions's goalkeeper and pass it to Eric Miller for the game-winning goal. Cascon then added an insurance goal one minute later to extend the lead to 3-1.

Entering Wednesday's game, Mars Hill averaged 18.67 shots per game, which is good for 9th in Division II. However the Bears defense held the Lions to 5 shots.

Eric Miller's second goal was another game winning goal. It marks back-to-back games with game winning goals for him.

Javier Madrono, Eric Miller and Victor Cascon all scored their second goal of the season in the contest and they are all tied for the team lead.

Mars Hill's Adnan Saltagic red card in the 66th minute forced the Lions to play a man down for the final 23 plus minutes.

Entering Wednesday night's contest, Bears goalkeeper Alexander Langer is 16th in the Nation in goalie's minutes played.

The Bears are 14th in the nation in corner kicks per game at 7.75.

With the win, the Bears even the all-time series with the Lions at 18-18-3. L-R has now won four out of the last five with the Lions only win coming last year in a 2-1 contest.

The Bears are 3-2 overall, 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference play. The Bears will look to move to 2-0 in conference play with a Saturday afternoon clash vs Tusculum at 3:30.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association awarded St. Stephens wrestling coach Billy Baker the Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award on Wednesday at the Region 7 meeting.

The Charlie Adams Distinguished Service Award is named in honor of the long-time NCHSAA executive director who retired from that post in January of 2010. One award is given per region and goes to a person with at least 10 years experience in education and athletics who is still active in the field and has regularly gone "above and beyond" the call of duty at both the local and the state level. A special committee makes the selections and each award is given at the respective meeting in the person's region.

Outside of a one year absence in 2004-2005, Baker has been with the Indians wrestling program since the 1999-2000 school year. In that time, he has had six individuals win state championships and last year's team was the 3A state dual team champs with a perfect 43-0 record. The Indians had been state runner ups three times in Baker's tenure.

In advance of fall baseball workouts, Appalachian State is replacing the playing surface in Smith Stadium with a new AstroTurf field.

After completion of a weeks-long project that began Monday, a strong group of returners will take the field with a deep, talented set of 11 newcomers who are part of the 2019-20 roster.

App State's third recruiting class since the arrival of head coach Kermit Smith includes seven recent high school graduates from the state of North Carolina and four junior college products who played last season in Florida or Georgia.

Smith is entering his fourth year with recruiting coordinator Britt Johnson, pitching coach Justin Aspegren and hitting coach Erik Lunde together as part of the staff.

"We are very excited about this class," Smith said. "Britt, Justin and Erik did a great job identifying guys that fit our mold. This class is made up of guys that come from great programs and great families."

The group has four players who will be available to pitch, three players with catching backgrounds and six players who could occupy a spot as an infielder, including one utility player. The Mountaineers have brought in a deep, talented class even though, for the second straight year, one of their signees turned pro after being picked in the top 20 rounds of the MLB draft.

Of the 11 newcomers for the 2020 season, roughly half of them were able to enroll early in summer school at App State and begin to adjust academically, physically and socially to being in a Division I setting. The Mountaineers' upcoming schedule includes a Scout Day on Oct. 18, a home fall game against Wofford on Oct. 26 and a visit to East Tennessee State on Nov. 2.

"With our freshmen, we always try to be really good about recruiting the state of North Carolina," Johnson said. "We're scouring the state from Manteo to Murphy and want to make sure we find the right guys that fit our program and our culture.

"For position players, we wanted to increase the number of left-handed hitters and help even that out. We're excited about the potential of the freshman pitchers we brought in, and we have a lot of infielders who were shortstops before they arrived here. We think we've also helped our defense by adding three players who have experience behind the plate."

"On the junior college side, we wanted to bring in some pitchers that have experience and power arms, and the two position players are talented guys who come from a program that's had a lot of success."

CLASS OF 2019 APPALACHIAN STATE BASEBALL NEWCOMERS
Luke Bumgarner (C, Lowell, N.C./North Gaston)
Andrew Greckel (UTIL, Acworth, Ga./Chattahoochee Valley Community College)
Noah Hall (RHP/INF, Charlotte, N.C./Providence)
Peyton Idol (INF, Advance, N.C./West Forsyth)
Jack Lipson (C, Macon, Ga./Chattahoochee Valley Community College)
Vasilios Kaloudis (INF, Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell)
Quinton Martinez (LHP, Orlando, Fla./St. Petersburg College)
Shane Roberts (RHP, Jupiter, Fla./Palm Beach State College)
Cy Smith (RHP, Lenoir, N.C./West Caldwell)
Patrick Trease (INF, Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs)
JD Yakubinis (C/INF, Charlotte, N.C./Providence)

Luke Bumgarner (C, Lowell, N.C./North Gaston)
Batted .413 with five home runs and 46 RBIs as a senior while helping lead North Gaston High School to the 3-A state quarterfinals … First-team all-area selection by the Gaston Gazette … Wildcats finished 2019 with a 22-6 record, giving the senior class 63 wins over its last three seasons … Also started on a 22-5 team as a junior … Had nine RBIs, four hits and one grand slam in a 20-4 win against Cherryville as a senior … Caught a no-hitter from North Gaston pitcher Zack Summerville in an 11-0 win against Forestview while also going 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs … Member of the 5 Star travel team and played for the Gaston Braves American Legion team.

Andrew Greckel (UTIL, Acworth, Ga./Chattahoochee Valley Community College)
Reached base at a .409 clip while batting .278 during the 2019 season for Chattahoochee Valley … Tallied 24 RBIs, 38 runs, 12 doubles, two home runs, a triple and nine stolen bases in 48 games … Started the 2019 season strong with a .438 batting average and four doubles during 11 games in February … Batted .389 with five RBIs and 16 runs scored in 24 contests in 2018 … Committed no errors in conference competition in 2018 … Helped lead Chattahoochee Valley to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division I World Series … Played under head coaches Adam Thomas in 2018 and Hunter Vick in 2019 … Played high school baseball at North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga., where he was honorable mention all-state as a senior infielder.

Noah Hall (RHP/INF, Charlotte, N.C./Providence)
Second-team All-American on the 2019 Collegiate Baseball High School All-American teams … Honorable mention for the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American team for the Atlantic Region as a senior as well as the Preseason Underclassmen All-American team earlier in his prep career … Helped lead Providence High School to a 25-4 record as a senior … SoMeck7 Conference Player of the Year was 9-1 on the mound with 103 strikeouts and a 1.66 ERA as a senior … Pitched one-hit ball through six innings and had a three-run home run in a 7-3 victory over Lake Norman in the 2019 playoffs … Batted .350 with 22 stolen bases as a junior in high school competition … High school teammate of fellow App State signee JD Yakubinis … Played travel baseball for the CBC Baseball Club … Made the all-tournament team at the 2017 WWBA 16U National Championship.

Peyton Idol (INF, Advance, N.C./West Forsyth)
Ranked as a top-35 player in North Carolina for the 2019 class, according to MaxPreps … Helped lead West Forsyth to an 18-9 record and the Central Piedmont 4-A tournament title as a senior … Played travel baseball for Dirtbags Baseball … Named as a high honorable mention choice to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American team … Also named as a high honorable mention pick to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason Underclassman All-American team in 2018 … Made the All-Tournament team with the Dirtbags at the 2017 WWBA 16U National Championship … Member of the Dirtbags team that won the 2018 WWBA 18U Memorial Day at Lakepoint tournament in May 2018 … Once won a mutton busting title at a rodeo in King, N.C.

Jack Lipson (C, Macon, Ga./Chattahoochee Valley Community College)
Batted .287 with 41 hits, seven doubles, two homers, 26 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 53 games at Chattahoochee Valley Community College in 2019 … Threw out 15 steal attempts in 2019 and 10 of 20 attempts in 2018 … Batted .348 with 25 RBIs, nine doubles, a triple, a home run and seven stolen bases in 51 games as a freshman at Chattahoochee Valley … Helped lead Chattahoochee Valley to back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Division I World Series … Sported a .438 average with four doubles in just 10 games in May of 2019 … Played for head coach Adam Thomas … Played high school baseball at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, Ga.

Vasilios Kaloudis (INF, Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell)
As a senior, batted .329 with a .507 on-base percentage for Ardrey Kell High School … Finished his senior season with 16 RBIs, 22 runs scored and 16 stolen bases … Helped lead Ardrey Kell High School to the 4-A state championship series as a junior … Played for coach Hal Bagwell at Ardrey Kell … Named to the All-Tournament team at the 2016 WWBA 15U National Championship … Earned a spot on the All-Tournament team at the 14U BCS Finals.

Quinton Martinez (LHP, Orlando, Fla./St. Petersburg College)
The 6-foot-4 lefty made 18 appearances with four starts as a sophomore at St. Petersburg College, registering a 3-1 record with a 4.20 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched … Exceled against conference opponents with two wins, 18 strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA in 21.0 innings pitched … Made the All-Star Game for the Florida Collegiate Summer League in 2019 thanks to a 2.90 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 31 innings … Participated in the Sophomore All-Star Game and Showcase for the Suncoast Conference … Played for head coach Ryan Beckman at St. Petersburg College … Helped lead Bishop Moore Catholic High School to the state semifinals and state championship game in 2016 and 2017, respectively … Played travel baseball with the Orlando Scorpions 2017 Black for head coach Tony Mehlich.

Shane Roberts (RHP, Jupiter, Fla./Palm Beach State College)
Started in all 12 of his 2019 appearances at Palm Beach State College, striking out 40 batters in 59.1 innings pitched … Allowed two earned runs or less in seven appearances, helping him finish the year with a 4.40 ERA … Held a 2.02 ERA and a 1.50 ERA in the months of February and March, respectively … Delivered five scoreless innings while allowing just three hits in a no-decision against Hillsborough Community College in February … Began his college career at the University of South Carolina … Earned 2017-18 First-Year SEC Honor Roll honors … Selected by the New York Yankees in the 28th round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft … Named Rawlings-Perfect Game honorable mention All-American and Florida All-Region second team at Dwyer High School … As a senior at Dwyer, went 9-1 with a 0.84 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 55.1 innings pitched.

Cy Smith (RHP, Lenoir, N.C./West Caldwell)
Delivered a 1.46 ERA on the mound as a senior with 41 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched … Batted .344 with five home runs, three doubles and 12 RBIs for West Caldwell as a junior … Registered a 1.31 ERA and struck out 42 batters in 26.2 innings during his junior season … Played high school baseball for head coach Jason Bumgarner … Named to the all-tournament team at five prestigious baseball tournaments: the 2018 WWBA 16U National Championship, the 2018 WWBA 17U National Championship, the 2017 WWBA 16U National Championship, the 2017 WWBA 17U National Championship and the 2015 13U Perfect Game World Series … Tabbed as high honorable mention to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American team in 2019 … Noted as high honorable mention to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason Underclassman All-American team in 2018 … Played travel baseball for the Carolina Rockies.

Patrick Trease (INF, Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs)
Batted .354 with four doubles, a triple, 19 RBIs and 10 stolen bases for Holly Springs High School as a senior, helping lead his team to a 21-7 record … Held a 4-2 record on the mound as senior with a 1.96 ERA and two saves … Hit .310 and held a 4-0 pitching record with a 2.30 ERA as a junior … Played high school baseball for head coach Rod Whitesell … Tabbed as high honorable mention to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American team in 2019 … Named as high honorable mention to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason Underclassman All-American team in 2018 … Played travel baseball for Rawlings Prospects 2017 under head coach Bill Manning … Trease's uncle, Scott, played college baseball at Iona.

JD Yakubinis (C/INF, Charlotte, N.C./Providence)
Played alongside fellow 2019 signee Noah Hall at Providence High School for head coach Danny Hignight … Helped lead Providence High School to a 25-4 overall record and 12-0 mark in conference action as a senior … Member of the Carolina Bulldogs' travel team that won the 2018 PGBA 17U WWBA Qualifier … Named to the All-Tournament team at the 2017 WWBA 16U National Championship … Noted as an honorable mention to the Rawlings-Perfect Game Preseason All-American team for the Atlantic Region as a senior.

Sarah Holder has been promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Business at Appalachian State University.

Holder, who has served as the athletics business manager since 2017, now has primary oversight of the athletics business office.

“Sarah does an excellent job overseeing our departmental purchasing, accounting and budget management,” said executive associate AD Jonathan Reeder. “She is a key part of the success of App State Athletics.”

Before transitioning to athletics, Holder spent a year-and-a-half in the Controller's Office at Appalachian State University. For almost eight years prior to that, she worked as an accountant at Bryce Holder, CPA in Boone.

A 2006 graduate of Appalachian State, Sarah and her husband, Brad, have two children, Carmen and Maggie.

“I am very thankful to Appalachian State Athletics, Doug Gillin and Jonathan Reeder for this honor,” Holder said. “I look forward to continuing to be part of such a dedicated and amazing program.”

The Appalachian State men's soccer team took a 1-0 loss to Elon Tuesday night, its first loss since the season opener against St. John's. The Mountaineers fall to 4-2-0.

Elon held the advantage in the first half, maintaining a majority of the possession and outshooting the Mountaineers nine to three. The Phoenix broke through App State's defense in the 18th minute after Tuki Tayali finished the rebound off his missed penalty kick. Jacob Madden made a great save on the penalty taken by Tayali, but was unable to stop the follow up shot.

App State could not break through Elon's defense, ending the match with only nine shots, two of which were on goal. The Phoenix were able to take 13 shots, with seven on frame. The Apps pressed the Phoenix in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to find the net.

Madden had another solid performance in goal, making three saves in the first half followed by three in the final 45 minutes. He ended the match with a career-high six saves.

The Mountaineers played a man down the majority of the second half after Aldo Tarantini received a red card in the 48th minute, but did not concede a goal with only 10 men on the field.

The Mountaineers return to the pitch Saturday, making the trip to UNC Greensboro to take on the Spartans. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Golf team began their 2019 fall season competing in the State Farm Intercollegiate SAC Preview.

Playing in a field that consisted of seven South Atlantic Conference programs, Lenoir-Rhyne finished tied with Wingate for first place with a team score of 585 and were 21 shots ahead of the third-place Carson-Newman Eagles.

Ainee O'Connor led the Bears finishing tied for 2nd place while shooting 145 for the tournament. O'Connor shot one over to finish out the tournament and she had two birdies in round two.

Megan Robb is right behind her finishing tied for 4th while shooting a 146. Robb finished two over with three birdies in round two.

Beatriz Espelosin and Katie Sibley both finished in the top 10 respectively. Espelosin finished tied for 4th and Sibley 8th.

This is the first tournament for LR since its second-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in the spring. This also marks LR's first tournament victory since winning the Sunoco Campbell Oil Classic on March 27, 2018.

The Bears next tournament is the UNCP Battle at Old South on Sept. 21st.

LR Top 5
Ainee O'Connor- 71-74--145 (+1) T-2nd place
Megan Robb- 75-71--146 (+2) T-4th place
Beatriz Espelosin- 74-71--146 (+2) T-4th place
Katie Sibley- 72-76--148 (+4) 8th place
Jordan Young- 83-80--163 (+19) T-29th place

In their opening tournament of the 2019-20 season, the Lenoir-Rhyne men's golf team finished 14th at the Kiawah Island Invitational on Tuesday. The Bears finished with a team score of 595 through 36 holes.

Lander University landed first place leading the 18 team tournament with a score of 557.

Georg Hartmann lead the Bears finishing tied for 15th shooting a 142 (73-Rd 1 & 69-Rd 2). Liam Waldron and Tyler Hashmi round out the top three for LR placing tied for 41st and 56th respectively.

LR returns to action Sunday Sept. 29 for the UNG Fall Invitational tournament.

LR Top 5
Georg Hartmann- 73-69--142 (-2) T-15th place
Liam Waldron- 72-76--148 (+4) T-41st place
Tyler Hashmi- 73-77--150 (+1) T-56th place
Cole Sutherland- 75-82--157 (+3) T-79th place
Matthew Kowalski- 80-80--160 (+8) T-85th place

App State women's soccer freshman Hayley Boyles (Wake Forest, N.C./Heritage) was named the Sun Belt's Offensive Athlete of the Week award, the league announced on Tuesday.

Boyles is the first freshman in the league to garner the weekly award and the first Mountaineer to be recognized by the conference.

"Offensive player of the week is a tremendous compliment," head coach Sarah Strickland said. "This is a reflection of not only Hayley, but the entire program and their perseverance. I believe
there are more exciting days to come and look forward to opening conference play at home this weekend.

The Wake Forest, N.C. native had her best performance in a Black and Gold uniform in the 2-1 win over FIU on Friday. Boyles assisted on the match-tying goal in the second half to Hulda Agustsdottir (Husavik, Iceland/Völsungur) and later tallied her first game-winning goal in the 80th minute that gave App the lead, helping the Apps stay undefeated at home with a 2-0-1 mark.

Through seven matches, Boyles is second on the team with a pair of goals and five points. She'll look to help App keep the momentum going with back-to-back home matches this weekend. App State faces Troy to open Sun Belt play on Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting Wofford on Sunday at 1 p.m.

After posting her fourth and fifth shutouts of the season this past weekend, the Mid-American Conference named Appalachian State field hockey goalkeeper Rachel Gaines its Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the MAC on Tuesday afternoon.
 
The senior becomes the first App State player to win two MAC Field Hockey Player of the Week awards in the same season, earning the first honor after notching two shutouts to begin the season. Gaines' eight saves between two shutout victories this past weekend boosted her save percentage to .926, which ranks No. 1 in the nation. The Kettering, Ohio native also tops Division I ranks in shutouts per game (0.83) and goals against average (0.32).
 
Along with App State's stellar play in the backfield, Gaines' performance boosted the Mountaineers to their first six-game winning streak since 1985. App State also secured its first wins over Saint Francis and Lock Haven in program history this past weekend.
 
"I'm proud of Rachel and all the strides she's made this season," head coach Meghan Dawson said. "She's working extremely well with our defenders to keep the ball out of the cage."
 
Gaines denied two shots in Friday's 1-0 win at Saint Francis. The goalkeeper then made six saves in Sunday's shootout victory at Lock Haven. Gaines played all 80 minutes, stopping all five Lock Haven penalty stroke attempts to clinch the win.
 
The Kettering, Ohio native's five shutouts this season raises her career total to 11 clean sheets. With 25 saves this season, Gaines sits just two stops behind Chelsea Dailey for the seventh-most saves in program history.

The Mountaineers have had three student-athletes earn MAC Field Hockey Player of the Week awards in 2019, including Gaines, junior Annette Jarosz and junior Meghan Smart. Jarosz and Smart became the first App State duo to sweep both Player of the Week honors this past week.

App State opens its longest home stand of the season with matchups against Ohio (3-1) on Friday and No. 1 North Carolina (5-0) on Sunday. Friday's Mid-American Conference opener is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
St. Stephens: 3
Freedom: 0

Watauga: 3
South Caldwell: 0

Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
East Burke: 3
Hibriten: 0

Fred T. Foard: 3
Draughn: 0

West Iredell: 3
Bunker Hill: 0

Northwestern 3A/4A Conference:
Watauga: 3
South Caldwell: 1

Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference:
Fred T. Foard: 9
Draughn: 0

Hibriten: 4
East Burke: 0

South Fork Athletic 2A Conference:
Newton-Conover: 2
Lincolnton: 1

Non-conference:
Alexander Central: 3
Statesville: 1

Non-conference:
Ashe County: 46
West Caldwell: 0

Hibriten: 35
South Caldwell: 8

Freedom: 48
Patton: 12

For the third time in her career, Appalachian State outside hitter Emma Longley has been named Sun Belt Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week.

Longley previously won the award twice during her freshman season in 2016.

In four matches last week, Longley totaled 78 kills and averaged 5.20 kills per set, while hitting .270. She also tallied 26 digs (1.73 d/s) and 10 total blocks.

On Tuesday at Clemson, she finished with a match-high 18 kills on a .280 hitting percentage, to along with five digs and three total blocks. The 18 kills is tied for the most kills in a three-set match in the Sun Belt this season.

During the Mountaineers first match at the Appalachian Invitational on Thursday against Western Carolina, she recorded a season-high 23 kills, hitting a season-high .351, six digs and three blocks.

She followed that up with a 15-kill effort against Iowa State on Saturday. In addition, she also posted the 1,000th kill of her Mountaineer career in the contest.

Longley concluded the Appalachian Invitational with her team-high fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 22 kills and 10 digs versus N.C. State. For her efforts at the tournament, she was named to the All-Tournament Team.

On the season, Longley leads the Sun Belt in total kills (149) and ranks third in the conference in kills per set, averaging 3.92.

App State will play three matches this weekend to close out non-conference play. On Friday, the Black and Gold take on Furman at noon and Winthrop at 6 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C., followed by a 6 p.m. contest with Maryland on Saturday in Columbia, S.C.

The 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series regular season came to a thrilling conclusion Saturday night with NAPA Championship Night at the Races presented by Pull-A-Part.

Starting out the night’s action would be the Renegades for their 20 lap feature. Danny Crump Jr in the #97 would take the top spot in qualifying with Spencer Dickinson in the #6 to his outside. The green flag would see Crump win the early battle for the lead with Dickinson facing pressure from Kyle DiVanna in the #71 for second. Crump would drift high coming off of turn two allowing Dickinson to get to his inside. Contact between the two would send Dickinson to the pits for the remainder of the event, but Crump would be able to continue. Lap 7 would see Justin Austin in the #1 move around Crump for the top spot. The field would continue until lap 16 when Crump’s car would spin and bring out the first caution of the event. Austin and DiVanna would make up the front row for the restart. Austin would nose ahead for the lead when The #71 of Don Machutta would spin after contact with Crump bringing out the caution on lap 17. Machutta’s car would have to be cradled off the track by two wreckers while Crump and his team would be done for the night. The restart would once again see Austin and DiVanna making up the front row. After a hard fought battle over the final three laps Austin would take the win. DiVanna would finish 2nd with Brian Larkin in the #7 pulling up to his bumper in 3rd. Rodney Elkins in the #95 would finish 4th while Zachary Mullins in the #72 would finish 5th. Robbie Hollifield in the #51 would mix it up early in the top three, but drop back after contact late in the race, however he would finish well enough to win the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway Renegade Track Championship.

The Hickory Vintage Racers would be up next as they would hit the track for their 25 lap battle. Bill Webb in the #16 would set fast time in qualifying with Bill Powell in the #71 to his outside. Bill Webb and Powell would duel for the top spot in the early laps. Webb would pull ahead for the lead with Powell giving chase. Webb would drive on to the win with Powell finishing 2nd. Robert Webb in the #6 would finish 3rd and Mackie Webb in the #16W would finish 4th. Bill Webb would also secure the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Vintage Racing Series Track Championship.

Next up would see a 35 lap slugfest for the Carolina Custom Golf Cart Super Trucks. Charlie Watson in the #6 would top the charts in qualifying and start from the point with Travis Baity in the #70 to his outside. Allen Huffman in the #51 and Joey Shuryan in the #30 would make up row two for the start. Watson and Baity would battle for several laps until Watson would finally nose ahead for the top spot. Shuryan and Huffman would battle for third over a span of about twenty laps until Huffman would make the pass for position. Watson would prove too strong on the day and drive on to the win. Baity would finish 2nd with Huffman finishing 3rd. Shuryan would finish 4th and Cody DeMarmels in the #97, relief driving for Zach Hale who was working hard at NC State University, would finish 5th. Huffman would take the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway Carolina Custom Golf Cart Super Trucks Track Championship, his second in a row. 

The Street Stocks would be next for their 30 lap feature. Drew Cox in the #21 would start from the pole position with Jesse Clark in the #5 to his outside. Derek Fowler in the #31 and Kevin Eby in the #03 would start from row two. The start would see Cox and Clark battle hard for several laps before Cox would finally nose ahead. Fowler would spin on the backstretch of the second lap, but continue on not bringing out a caution flag. Cox would set a blistering pace as Clark would be hot on his heels trying to break into victory lane. The halfway point would see Fowler come down pit road, apparently something was amiss in the powertrain and he would park for the remainder of the event. Cox would drive on to the win, his ninth on the season. Clark would finish 2nd with Eby finishing 3rd. Ethan Johnson would finish 4th and Mark Whitten in the #77 would finish 5th. Cox would cap off a dominant season with the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway Street Stock Track Championship.

Round 10 of the Paramount Kia ‘Big 10’ Chase for the Championship for the Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models would be next in store with 50 laps of door to door action. Josh Kossek in the #44 would start from the top spot with Cody DeMarmels in the #18 to his outside. Mason Ludwig in the #12 and Mitch Walker in the #43 would make up row two. As the green flag would fly Kossek and DeMarmels would battle hard for the top spot with DeMarmels pulling ahead after several laps. Walker would pressure Kossek repeatedly for the second spot. Lap 11 would see Walker take the spot as Ludwig would follow clearing Kossek for third a few laps later. Ludwig would give chase to Walker and move around him for second on lap 20. Lap 27 would see the caution fly as the race leader and points leader DeMarmels would come to a stop on the backstretch. The restart would see Ludwig and Walker side by side for several laps until they would make contact in turns one and two sending Walker spinning and collecting the #33 of a Kosma Guznyakov. Ludwig and the #0 of Kyle Barnes would go door to door on the start and stay that way for more than ten laps until Ludwig would finally nose ahead. Ludwig would drive on to the win. Barnes would finish 2nd and Mark Johnson in the #13 would finish 3rd. Kossek would finish 4th and Walker would bounce back from the spin to finish 5th. DeMarmels would win the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Model Track Championship as well as the 2019 Paramount Kia ‘Big 10’ Challenge.

The 4 Cylinders would hit the track next for 25 laps. Curtis Pardue in the #25 would take the top spot in qualifying with Brian Mundy in the #6 to his outside. Cody Combs in the #9 and Robert Trivette in the #11 would make up row two. The green flag would see Pardue move to the lead with Mundy close behind. Combs and Robert Trivette would do battle for third with Robert Trivette taking the spot on lap 8. Pardue would drive on to the win with Mundy finishing 2nd. Robert Trivette would finish 3rd, Combs would finish 4th, and Ashton Trivette in the #21 would finish 5th. Mundy would capture the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway 4-Cylinders Track Championship, his second in a row.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models would close out the night’s action and hit the track next for their 80 lap regular season finale. Evan Swilling in the #18 would start from the point with Charlie Watson in the #9 to his outside. Justin Carroll in the #57 and Pat Rachel’s in the #34 would make up row two for the start. Swilling would take the early lead as Carroll would pressure Watson for second. Lap 10 would see Swilling leading, Watson second, Carroll third, Rachels fourth, and Mitch Walker doing double duty in the #15 fifth. Toni Breidinger in the #21 would spin on the backstretch off of turn two. Swilling would go low to avoid Breidinger’s car, but Watson would be unable to avoid the #21, doing significant damage to and sidelining both cars. The restart would see Swilling and Carroll making up the front row for the restart on lap 11. Swilling and Carroll would go head to head for several laps until Swilling would nose ahead for the lead. Chris Hudspeth in the #28 would move his way up to fourth on lap 18 and begin to pressure Rachels for third. Lap 24 would see Hudspeth complete the pass and give chase to the lead duo of Swilling and Carroll. Lap 30 would see Swilling, Carroll, Hudspeth, Rachel’s, and Connor Mosack in the #18 make up the top five. Carroll would pressure Swilling for the top spot with the duo going door to door for the next twenty five thrilling laps. Hudspeth would look high and low to get by the two wide battle, but he was bottle necked to challenge for the lead. With twenty laps to go Swilling would nose back into the lead. After fending off fierce challenges for the majority of the race Swilling would drive on to the win. Carroll would finish 2nd with Hudspeth finishing 3rd. Rachels would finish 4th and Mosack would finish 5th. Thomas Beane in the #31 would capture the 2019 Hickory Motor Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Track Championship.

October 5th will see the Tour of Destruction and their motorized mayhem invade the famed 3/8 mile oval for a night of extreme action.
The Southern Modifieds will return to action at Hickory Motor Speedway on October 12th.
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model racing action returns to action on October 19th for the Fall Brawl with 200 laps of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model action, 100 Laps for the Paramount Auto Group Limited late Models and the Carolina Custom Golf Cart Trucks and Street Stocks.

Hickory Motor Speedway Results 9/14/19 (Unofficial)
Late Model Race
1 #18S Evan Swilling
2 #57 Justin Carroll
3 #28H Chris Hudspeth
4 #34 Pat Rachels ( r )
5 #18 Connor Mosack ( r )
6 #15 Mitch Walker
7 #22 Brandon Lemke
8 #66 Zack Wells
9 #9 Charlie Watson
10 #21 Toni Breidinger

Limited Late Model
1 #12 Mason Ludwig
2 #0 Kyle Barnes
3 #13 Mark Johnson
4 #44K Josh Kossek
5 #43 Mitch Walker
6 #32 Josh Stark ( r )
7 #18D Cody DeMarmels
8 #91 Stevie Johns Jr.
9 #19 Benji Woodward
10 #42 Ricky Bruce
11 #47 Chase Janes
12 #33G Kosma Guznyakov ( r )

Street Stocks
1 #21C Drew Cox
2 #5 Jesse Clark ( r )
3 #03 Kevin Eby
4 #2 Ethan Johnson
5 #77 Mark Whitten
6 #64 Marshall Sutton
7 #69 Trey Buff
8 #31 Derek Fowler ( r )

4 Cylinders
1 #25 Curtis Pardue
2 #6 Brian Mundy
3 #11 Robert Trivette
4 #9 Cody Combs
5 #21 Ashton Trivette ( r )
6 #98 Robbie Lewis
7 #29 Allison Houston
8 #09 Randy Canipe

Super Trucks
1 #6 Charlie Watson
2 #70B Travis Baity
3 #51 Allen Huffman
4 #30 Joey Shuryan
5 #97 Cody DeMarmels
6 #45 Tanner Long
7 #28T Dennis Trivette ( r )
8 #86 Joe Simpson

Renegades
1 #1 Justin Austin
2 #71K Kyle DiVanna
3 #7 Brian Larkin
4 #95 Rodney Elkins ( r )
5 #72 Zachary Mullins ( r )
6 #51 Robbie Hollifield
7 #69 Megan Campbell ( r )
8 #81 Matthew Chambers
9 #71 Don Machutta
10 #97 Danny Crump Jr.
11 #6 Spencer Dickinson ( r )

Hickory Vintage Racing Series
1 #16 Bill Webb
2 #71P Bill Powell
3 #6 Robert Webb
4 #16W Mackie Webb

The South Atlantic Conference announced its AstroTurf Volleyball Players of the Week for matches played during the second week of the 2019 season and Taylor Prall brought home her second consecutive weekly honor.

Prall, a junior outside hitter, tied and then broke her career-high for kills over the weekend. Prall recorded 22 kills against Catawba to match her career mark and then bested it with 23 against Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. Prall recorded three straight double-doubles with a season-high of 17 digs against the Railsplitters. Prall has accumulated 109 kills on the year, so far, putting her 44 kills ahead of the next closest competitor. She averages 4.36 kills/set, 0.60 higher than other players in the league.

Prall and the Bears return to action on Friday night when they travel to UVA Wise for a 7 p.m. contest.

The South Atlantic Conference announced its AstroTurf Football Players of the Week for games played during week two of the 2019 season and DB Landon Scott has won Defensive Player of the Week honors. 
 
Scott, a senior from Moultrie, Ga., led the No. 8 Bears to a 28-11 win over Virginia Union. He hauled in two interceptions, returning them for a total of 22 yards, while breaking up a pass and making four solo tackles. The game marked the second time Scott had two interceptions in a game during his career. Scott's second INT came in the Virginia Union end zone with the Panthers driving in the fourth quarter which sealed the game for the Bears.

Scott and the Bears return to action on Saturday as they host Newberry at 6 p.m.