The 2009-10 school year was a remarkable one for athletics in To select only ten games or performances from the 2009-10 sports calendar was a difficult task. There were quite a few noteworthy efforts that deserved mentioning, such as three high school state track qualifiers in Caroline Crenshaw, Mary Chesnut Smith, and Alex Villanueva or the regional wrestling championship won by Avery wrestler Brock Yackey. The Avery Lady Vikings volleyball squad earned another state playoff berth, while the Lady Viking JV basketball squad claimed yet another conference championship. Avery’s Morgan Stout and Lauren Avery qualified for regional tennis competition, while senior teammate Anna Melton advanced to the state singles tennis tournament. C.J. Vance joined Yackey as state wrestling tournament qualifiers.
From the inaugural season of the Avery women’s golf program and the regional qualifying efforts of golfers Catalina Lehmann and Arden Stanley to middle school girls tournament championships by the Avery Lady Panthers in basketball and volleyball, it was a banner year for sports.
With the dawn of the 2010-11 sports seasons approaching, the AJ-T sports department wanted to look back at ten memorable contests that shaped the year in sports. Last week we highlighted five of the games that were chosen as tops for the school year. This week concludes the list with the final five…er, six games that shaped the year in prep sports.
Cardiac Vikes Strike Again: Avery Rallies for Win in
Second half comebacks became the hallmark for the Avery varsity boys basketball team in ’09-’10. No game better showcased the theme than a 67-63 win in February over Owen.
Dustin Clarke scored 23 of Avery’s first 24 points as the Warhorses led 24-14 after one quarter and held a 39-30 halftime lead.
The Viking defense came out strong to start the second half and gained its first lead at 45-44 midway through the third quarter. An Owen run built its lead to 55-45 in the first minute of the fourth quarter all but buried the Avery squad’s hopes for victory.
Avery rose off the deck to score a dozen straight points to retake the lead by two late in the game. A pair of key free throws in the closing minute from Kody Hughes helped the Big Red take the win.
Clarke scored a whopping 36 points, along with 12 rebounds, 8 steals, and 5 assists to cement his place among the best players in the Western Highlands Conference.
Back-To-Back Playoff Thrillers: Lauren Avery Jumper Eliminates
After a sterling regular season that included a top-ten ranking in 1A polls, the Avery Lady Viking varsity girls basketball team played the two most thrilling game of the 2009-10 school year, winning a 60-58 nail-biter at Hiwassee Dam, then two days later scored at the buzzer in overtime to earn a 68-67 win at Robbinsville and advance to the school’s second regional appearance in three seasons.
Avery led by as many as 16 points in the second half of its game with the Lady Eagles of Hiwassee Dam, only to see the Lady Eagles rally to lead by a pair with just over two minutes to play.
With possession and planning to take the last shot, Hiwassee Dam tried to inbound the basketball, but senior guard Lauren Avery leaped to tip the inbound pass in the air, grabbed the loose basketball with 4.8 seconds left, dribbled the length of the court and swished a pull-up jump shot from the left elbow as time expired to give Avery the win.
The basket capped an impressive overall evening as Lauren scored 22 points to go with 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 steals.
As if the
The Lady Vikings rallied from an early 7-0 deficit to tie the game after a period, but trailed by a pair at 34-32 at intermission.
Despite a difficult night at the free throw line, Avery rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 61 and send the game to overtime.
With its season on the brink and Avery down a point, the Lady Vikings rose to the occasion for the second time in as many games when Sara Wiseman rebounded a Lauren Avery jump shot in the closing seconds and made a game-winning layup with 0.4 seconds left to play to pull out the victory and sectional championship.
Feels like the First Time: Lady Vikings Kicks
A mid-March home match between Avery and
Hendersonville
For Avery it was the first win against
Extra Inning Drama: Vance Joins Home Run
Late in the 2010 season, the Avery baseball team seemed to bring everything together, riding a streak of hot hitting and strong defense and pitching into the 1A state playoffs. Avery opened the postseason with a home win over
Avery used the long ball to take an early advantage. Steven Daniels belted a three-run home run to put Avery on the board, followed by a Joe Buchanan grand slam to lead 7-0 after the top of the first inning. Hiwassee Dam answered with two runs on a home run to cut the lead to 7-2 after one inning.
In the second, Avery had a two-out, three-run home run by Jared Clark, as well as a three-run home run to dead center field from Luke Pittman. The Big Red tallied a single run to build its largest lead of the game at 14-2.
Hiwassee Dam refused to die in its home park and was determined to go down swinging. From the third inning on, the Eagles scored 12 unanswered runs, eventually tying the contest at 14-14 on an infield hit in the bottom of the seventh frame.
Avery senior relief pitcher Steven Daniels worked out of trouble to record a strikeout and leave
In the top of the eighth, senior Jared Clark worked a walk, which was followed by a towering home run to right field, his first home run of the year that proved to be the game-winning hit.
The victory proved to be the final win of the 2010 campaign for the Vikings and also the final win as Avery skipper for Benny Wellborn, who resigned as head coach at the end of the school year for family reasons. Championship
Kickin’ it in
An odyssey of a soccer season brought smiles to the faces of countless Lady Vikings fans as the Avery girls team made a magical run all the way to the 1A girls state soccer championship contest against
The soccer match pitted the top two ranked squads in the state, and the game lived to its billing through the first half as the teams played to a scoreless tie through scorching temperatures at Dail Soccer Stadium on the campus of
Southwest Onslow
Despite a thin bench and injuries both prior to and during the match itself, the Lady Vikings battled with pride and determination throughout the 80 minutes of action.
The 2010 Lady Vikings set school records with its 20 wins during the season, 96 goals scored, and 10 goals scored against.
Avery head coach Tom Evaul was named 1A State Coach of the Year, while seven players were placed on the All-Western Highlands Conference team, junior Mercedes Bentley was named Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, and junior Mary Chesnut Smith earned Conference Player of the Year honors.
Best of luck to Avery’s student-athletes for even greater achievements in the 2010-11 sports seasons!
