James Nix - Sports Beat

It took seven rounds of the National Football League's (NFL) 2001 draft before Appalachian State University safety Corey Hall was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.

Hall, the 215th pick overall and the 16th safety drafted, is the first Mountaineer to be drafted since Dexter Coakley was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round in 1997.

Coakley is still currently on the Cowboys' lineup.

Hall's junior season with the ASU football program, in which he played safety, is considered to be his best. After a less-than-stellar senior season as a cornerback, however, Hall's chances of a third round or higher draft slipped away.

Hall remains optimistic, however.

"I know I'll play in the NFL," said Hall. "Me coming from a small school and everything probably didn't help any.

"I guess I was overlooked or something, but that's okay."

However, Hall does have reason to believe he will play professional football considering his low draft. Two App State alumni currently play in the NFL despite the fact they were never drafted.

Mark Royals, a punter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Frank Leatherwood, a fullback for the Miami Dolphins, were never drafted.

The other two NFL players from ASU, Coakley and Matt Stevens (defensive back for the New England Patriots, selected by the Buffalo Bills in 1996), were both drafted in the third round.

Hall also feels that his diversity as a player will give him the edge he needs to pursue his football career.

"I'm a quality player," said Hall. "I think I can contribute a lot to the (Falcons). I play almost any position, so they've got a very versatile guy."

Hall, a native of Athens, Ga., has played a total of 50 games for Appalachian State in his four-year run, which started in 1997, which is the most in ASU history.

Named All-Southern Conference and All-American in 1999 and 2000, Hall has a career total of 310 tackles, ranking him 11th in ASU history, and 13 career interceptions, currently ranking him fifth.

"I'm just glad to have the chance and the opportunity to play in the NFL," said Hall. "It's just a blessing."

Although Hall was the only Mountaineer drafted this year, four of his teammates signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams.

Wide receiver Troy Albea signed with the Indianapolis Colts, defensive lineman Jamie Lovern signed with the Carolina Panthers, tight end Daniel Wilcox signed with the New York Jets, and offensive lineman Billy Young signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Albea's senior season as a receiver was one of the best in ASU history, with 65 caught passes including 10 touchdown passes, for a total of 931 yards.

He was named All-Southern Conference in 2000 after only two seasons with Appalachian.

Lovern's senior season was cut short after he went down with a knee injury during the East Tennessee State University game.

Named All-Southern Conference in 1998 and 1999, Lovern finished his ASU career with 153 tackles and 10 sacks.

Wilcox was named All-Southern Conference and All-American after his senior season, which resulted in 46 catches for 740 yards and seven touchdowns.

Young was also named All-Southern Conference and All-American after a senior season with 1017 offensive line plays and a career total of 2210, sixth best in ASU history.

Chris Boyce -Sports Beat

Andy Morris -Sports Beat

The Appalachian State University men's outdoor track team enjoyed an unprecedented weekend two Saturdays ago, defeating Virginia Military Institute (VMI) at home for the Southern Conference Outdoor Track Championship.

The victory marked VMI's first home loss in school history. The Keydets finished third with 155 points, one point short of second-place Western Carolina University Catamounts who scored 156.

"It was a pretty good performance," said John Weaver, director of track and cross country at Appalachian. "We knew we had a chance coming into it; we just had to make sure of it and not give up anything."

The Mountaineers finished 65 points better with 221, putting a respectable end to a successful season and the successful conference careers of distance runner Ben Bissette and discus thrower Larry Brock.

Weaver attributed the Mountaineer's large margin of victory to the team's depth.

"There are more scoring spots in the outdoor competition than in the indoor," he said. "We have people at those spots that can earn the team points in those added events."

All five individual titles for the men came from seniors.

"The senior leadership we have is one of the strengths of our team," said Weaver. "They kept the team together and focused."

Bissette, in his last Southern Conference track event, won the 10,000-meter on Thursday night with a time of 31 minutes, 18.45 seconds and the 5,000-meter with a time of 14:53.22, a personal best. The victories marked Bissette's fourth conference crown of his career.

"He's always come through and run big races throughout his career," said Weaver about Bissette. "When it counts, he's in there competing."

Brock scored a team-high 27 points for the Mountaineers, finishing first in the discus, second in the javelin and third in the shot put. Most important was Brock's victory in the discus, earning him 10 points, which was a critical win in the Mountaineer's bid for the title.

Other peak performers for Appalachian State were Omari Francis who won the 110-meter hurdles and Damion McLean who placed first in the long jump.

Weaver expects big things from both Francis and McLean, perhaps at the NCAA's later this year.

Said Weaver, "Both Francis and McLean are very qualified to make the national championships. We could have as many as four or five qualifiers between both the women's and men's teams."

McLean took the long jump title Friday night, leaping to 23 feet, 10 inches. On Saturday, McLean came back to finish second in the triple jump with a jump of 48 feet, 9 inches.

The victory comes as the men's first Southern Conference outdoor track and field championship since 1996.

The team's large margin of victory came as a surprise to Weaver.

"That was a big surprise," said Weaver. "I knew if we did the things we were capable of, we'd be in good shape, but I thought it would've been a lot closer.

"I think it shows just how hard we ran for it."

The ASU women's team finished second, earning 170 points. The Western Carolina Catamounts notched first place with 230.5 points. UT-Chattanooga finished third behind the Mountaineers with 144 points.

The women's team did not carry the depth of the men and lost points because of it.

"We have a quality team but not a lot of depth in the extra scoring places," said Weaver. "Western Carolina has a lot more people that they can get in scoring position, but we pushed pretty hard and made it as close as possible."

As usual, Mary Jayne Harrelson had a dominating performance, winning the 3,000-meter Friday night with a meet record of 9:35.92. Harrelson also won the 800-meter with a time of 2:10.24 and the 1,500-meter with a time of 4:33.58. Harrelson finished the event with a team-high 30 points total.

"She's far above the class of the conference in the distance events," said Weaver. "She didn't have to run that hard in the championships because she's that good."

Senior Shonte Pinkston ended her Southern Conference career in style, winning the 100-meter sprint with a 11.83 second performance and the 200-meter sprint with a time of 24.27 seconds. Pinkston's victories added 20 points for the Mountaineers.

Kirsten Bowden placed first in the triple jump with a 42-foot 6.75-inch leap. The measure earns Bowden a NCAA provisional qualifier and her mark stands impressively at 11th in the nation.

Bowden also finished first in the Indoor SoCon championships earlier this year.

In addition to Bowden, Harrelson will also probably make a run at the NCAAs. Harrelson will focus on the 800 meters and the 1,500 meters and will qualify in one of the next three meets, according to Weaver.

The Mountaineers have proven themselves as a premier program in the Southern Conference. Of the six championships in the track program (men's and women's cross country, indoor track and outdoor track), Appalachian has won three and finished in second place in the other three.