(UPDATED: Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 2:30 p.m.) Ben Mast was a vital member of the East Burke High School football team during his time in Icard, including as a senior in 2022 when he started at both quarterback and defensive back.
Mast was named to the All-Catawba Valley 2A Conference and All-Burke County teams following his final prep season, during which he accounted for 472 total yards of offense (260 passing, 212 rushing) and nine touchdowns (six rushing, three passing). Defensively, he finished with 46 tackles (35 solo), three interceptions, and five passes defensed.
But Mast had never recorded a collegiate interception until the sophomore safety picked off a pass late in the first quarter of Averett's 28-21 home victory over Guilford College on Nov. 9, a win that snapped a six-game losing streak for the Cougars during which they were outscored 266-62. Mast also had a tackle against the Quakers, who later completed the season with a 35-6 loss at Ferrum on Nov. 16 to finish 3-7 overall and 1-6 in NCAA Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
Mast played in nine games this season. In addition to his interception, he also had 17 tackles (six solo), a tackle for loss, and a pass defensed on the year.
Abernathy at Guilford
John Robert Abernathy (Draughn 2023) was scheduled to face off against Mast on Nov. 9 for the first time since host East Burke topped his Wildcats by a 28-27 final in overtime during their senior seasons on the high school gridiron, but he ended up missing his first game of the year instead before also missing the Quakers’ 58-0 home loss to Bridgewater College on Nov. 16, Guilford’s seventh loss in a row to end the season.
Nonetheless, Abernathy served as the starting punter for Guilford (3-7, 0-7 NCAA D-III ODAC) as a sophomore. Through the Quakers’ first eight games, he punted 40 times for 1,415 yards (35.38 average) with a long of 73, three touchbacks, and five punts that forced opposing teams to begin drives inside their own 20-yard line.
VOLLEYBALL
Gragg at MIT
A standout season for the Engineers continued on Thursday when they hosted Maine Maritime Academy in the opening round of the NCAA D-III Tournament, with home matches also scheduled for late Friday and today (Saturday, Nov. 23) at 5 p.m. should they avoid elimination.
Despite suffering a five-set home loss (17-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 11-15) at the hands of Smith College in the finals of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 17, previously unbeaten MIT (31-1, 11-0 record in league play) hosted the aforementioned eight-team regional tournament to determine who will advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, which begin on Dec. 4 at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., followed by the semifinals on Dec. 5 and the title match on Dec. 7.
MIT was ranked fourth in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/Taraflex D-III poll, and one of its top players is 2021 Patton graduate and senior outside hitter Ella Gragg. Through the conference tournament, Gragg had totaled 240 kills (third on team) on the season to go with 208 digs (third), 56 aces (first), 37 blocks (fourth), and eight assists (seventh) in 89 sets across 28 matches (27 starts).
Gragg at UNC Greensboro
Izora Gragg (Patton 2023) is currently a sophomore setter for the Spartans (7-21, 2-14 NCAA D-I Southern Conference), who were scheduled to take on Western Carolina on Thursday in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., with the winner facing top-seeded Mercer in Friday’s quarterfinal round and the semifinals and finals scheduled for today and Sunday, respectively.
Gragg has appeared in every match (26 starts) and all 104 sets for UNC Greensboro. The team leader in assists with 963, she also ranks second in digs (221) and aces (22), is sixth in blocks (37), and is eighth in kills (25).
Roper at Appalachian State
After receiving a bye in the first round of the NCAA D-I Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Sun Belt East Division Champion Mountaineers (17-8, 11-3 Sun Belt) played their quarterfinal match on Friday (the semifinals and finals are scheduled for today and Sunday, respectively, at Foley Event Center in Foley, Ala.).
Junior defensive specialist/libero Kenady Roper (Patton 2022) is one of four players for App State to appear in every set and one of five players to play in all 25 contests. Entering Friday’s match, she ranked first on the team in digs (302), third in assists (79), and fourth in aces (20) while also tallying two kills.
SOCCER
Lowman at Lees-McRae
The Bobcats (10-2-4, 9-0-3 NCAA D-II Conference Carolinas) either won or played to a tie in each of their final 13 matches, allowing only two total goals in the process, but ultimately saw their season come to an end after losing 4-2 on penalty kicks to Belmont Abbey — the teams played to a scoreless tie through regulation and a pair of 10-minute overtime periods — in the semifinals of the conference tournament on Nov. 15 at Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park in Browns Summit.
Senior forward Haley Lowman (Draughn 2021) played in all 16 matches (15 starts) for Lees-McRae, which received a double bye in the conference tournament courtesy of being the top seed. For the season, Lowman had three goals (T-second on team), 21 shots (third), and nine shots on goal (T-fourth).
Ollis at Pfeiffer
The Falcons (3-12, 1-8 NCAA D-III USA South Athletic Conference) completed their season on Oct. 30, with 2022 Freedom graduate Kaylee Ollis serving as their primary goalkeeper during her junior campaign as she made 13 appearances (12 starts) between the pipes and played in 14 matches overall.
Ollis made 75 saves on the season and surrendered 35 goals (2.94 per match), finishing with a save percentage of 68.2%. She played more than 1,071 minutes in goal out of a possible 1,350 minutes and was credited with one solo shutout and one combined shutout.
Castrejon, Diaz at Sweet Briar
Although the Vixens (3-12, 0-10 NCAA D-III ODAC) lost their final 10 matches in a row, two of their top players were Yadira Castrejon (Draughn 2024) and Alexis Diaz (Draughn 2023), a freshman defender/midfielder and sophomore midfielder, respectively.
Castrejon started all 15 contests, tying Diaz for second on the team in goals with four. She did so despite taking just 10 shots, nine of which she put on goal.
As for Diaz, she also had one assist in 15 appearances (13 starts) to go with team highs in shots (50) and shots on goal (26).
Powell at Salem
Serenity Powell (East Burke 2022) was one of nine players to surpass 1,000 minutes played for the Spirits (4-11, 0-9 NCAA D-III USA South Athletic Conference), doing so in 14 appearances including 12 starts.
A junior defender, Powell helped Salem hold four opposing teams to a single goal while allowing two goals or fewer eight times.
CROSS COUNTRY
Clay at Catawba
With only the NCAA D-II national championship meet remaining on the schedule (today at 1 p.m. at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, Calif.), 2022 Patton graduate Madison Clay has posted top-five finishes in each of the first six meets of her junior season with the Indians, highlighted by a first-place finish during the South Atlantic Conference championships on Oct. 26 in Newberry, S.C.
Clay’s time of 21:26.23 helped her become the first runner — female or male — in SAC history to claim three consecutive individual titles at the conference championship meet. And she followed up that performance with a third-place time of 21:16.1 during the NCAA Southeast Regional meet on Nov. 9 in Spartanburg, S.C., where the Catawba women qualified for nationals for the third straight season.
BOWLING
Brown at McKendree
After previously representing the Bearcats during their first event of the season Oct. 11-13 at Youngstown State University in Struthers, Ohio, junior Cierra Brown (Draughn 2021) also saw action during the MOTIV Ladyjack Classic Nov. 8-10 in Kenosha, Wis., where McKendree finished 11th out of 17 teams. (NOTE: Full individual statistics were unavailable from the Bearcats’ previous two events, in which they finished second out of six teams at the Lions Classic in St. Charles, Mo., and ninth out of 18 teams at the Track Kat Klash in Houston, Texas.)
During the one game she bowled two weekends ago, Brown finished with a score of 159, and the next event for the Bearcats will be the McKendree Match Games today and Sunday at St. Clair Bowl in Fairview Heights, Ill. McKendree is then idle until January.
