After signing his letter of intent on Monday to run cross country at Catawba College in Salisbury, Patton senior Gabe Wykle may feel a sense of déjà vu next fall.
In addition to receiving the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level, Wykle is also expected to once again be a freshman teammate of 2022 PHS graduate Madison Clay, who recently completed her junior season of cross country with the Indians and has now turned her attention to track and field. As a matter of fact, it is Clay who originally gave Wykle the idea that he could possibly join the Catawba program after high school.
“Ever since my sophomore year she put it in my mind that Catawba would be a pretty cool place to run at,” said Wykle. “And we went for a run not too long ago during the summer and she was talking about how good the team was, how great of an environment it was, and that sounded great to me.
“I emailed the coach on NCSA (Next College Student Athlete) and he reached out to me immediately and had me come down for a visit to hang out with some of the guys. After that visit, I knew it was right for me.”
Wykle plans to major in exercise science and minor in business, and he has been competing in cross country since third grade. His family previously lived in Chattanooga, Tenn., but relocated to Burke County after he finished middle school.
“We had a big running community in Chattanooga, it was really good,” said Wykle. “I had great coaches all the way up through high school that have been supporting me the whole time, and it transferred over well from Chattanooga to Morganton.”
According to Wykle, coming to Morganton just before high school was a “great time to move” as well as a “big step forward.” And he has certainly enjoyed plenty of individual and team success as a Panther.
Also, a member of Patton’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams, Wykle has qualified for North Carolina High School Athletic Association state meets on several occasions, including three times in cross country. After finishing 64th as a sophomore, he came in 51st as a junior and 27th as a senior.
Wykle was the Panthers’ only athlete to qualify for state in cross country in 2022 and the only Patton male to do so in 2024, but his favorite memory in the sport as a high schooler came a year ago, when the Panthers’ boys squad qualified as a team for the first time in program history.
“That was a big team goal for us and something that we hadn’t done yet,” said Wykle. “And then another great memory was watching our 4x800 team (in both indoor and outdoor track) win state my freshman year. That was really cool to watch, really good to be a part of. I didn’t get to run, but it was a great experience for me watching them succeed like that.”
Wykle thanked his parents, Chad and Rebecca, for their guidance and support. He also mentioned that fellow Patton 12th grader Charlotte Rigsbee has “been a big part of my running career ever since she started running in junior year,” while all of the runners who were seniors when he was a freshman have been major influences over the past few years as well.
“Gabe is a relentless competitor,” Patton boys cross country coach Clay Nelson said. “Even when he’s successful, it doesn’t seem good enough yet, so he’s always trying to notch a win and reach another goal, trying to get lower times. He’s also just a really great person to have on the team, a great leader. His character is very strong, he’s just a really good kid.”
The Indians are one of 13 members of the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference, which also includes Lenoir-Rhyne, Anderson (S.C.), Carson-Newman, Coker, Emory & Henry, Limestone, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill, Newberry, Tusculum, Virginia-Wise, and Wingate. Jason Bryan has served as Catawba’s head cross country coach for the past 11 seasons, and he also coaches track and field.
“It’s gonna be a huge learning curve, but I think he’s ready for it,” said Nelson. “His character is primed for it and his work ethic is really primed for that next step of competing in collegiate sports.”
