Mountaineer wrap up McCravy Invitational

asutrackandfield.com

Appalachian State Men’s Indoor Track and Field wrapped up the Rod McCravy Invitational last weekend at the University of Kentucky with several exceptional performances.

Mountaineer sprinters showed their depth in the 200-meter dash as they racked up four SoCon top 10 rated performances.

Led by SoCon leader Jason Green, the Mountaineers now boast six of the conference’s 10 best times in the event this season.

Green earned his conference-leading mark over the weekend with a second place finish in 21.85 seconds. Freshman Reggie Williams and junior Kevin McLoed finished up even, both running 22.29 seconds over the distance to earn the third-best times in the conference.

In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Lance Parker finished in 8:39.26 to earn a personal best and the SoCon’s third-best performance.

Running close behind was senior Shawn Evans at 8:44.90, the leagues sixth-best performance.

Freshman Marcus Littlejohn raced to a third-ranked conference performance of 49.92 seconds in the 400-meter event.

Earning the leagues fourth best performance in the mile was sophomore Mike Read who raced to a season best of 4:18.52.

Hurdling to a third place finish was SoCon 60 meter hurdle leader Ryan Linebarger with a 8.25 second performance.

Aaron Pedrick improved four inches to move into the SoCon’s third ranking in the pole vault this season with his clearance of 15 feet, six inches.

Sophomore Bob Smith also saw an improvement this time in the shot put as he putted 53 feet, 8.5 inches, a league-leading mark.

Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Sophomore Aisha Bryant takes a shot in Appalachian's game against ETSU last Monday. Bryant scored 33 points Monday and 30 points against Furman in last Saturday’s game.

Sophomore guard emerges as Mountaineers’ new court leader

James Nix - Sports Beat

A leader has emerged from the bench of the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team.

She has averaged 10.4 points a game this season.

She was named “Freshman of the Year” last season by the Southern Conference Media Association.

She refuses to start, claiming to feel more comfortable coming off the bench.

She is the SoCon Player of the Week for this week.

She is also the first member of the team to score 30 points in two consecutive games.

She is sophomore guard Aisha Bryant and has led the Mountaineers to two consecutive victories after a seven game losing streak crippled Appalachian’s SoCon standing.

Bryant’s 30- and 34-point contributions to the Appalachian victories over Furman University and East Tennessee State University (ETSU) establish her as the clutch player the Mountaineers are in need of as the SoCon Tournament draws near.

“That’s a responsibility I’m going to have to take now that I’ve scored 30 points two times in a row,” said Bryant.

The Mountaineers have five remaining games this season before the SoCon Tournament. With Bryant at the helm, Appalachian can turn their season around and be a dominant force in the tournament.

Bryant is confident her leadership will unite other leaders on the team in these final games.

“If I have to lead in scoring and be a go-to player then that’s what I got to do,” said Bryant. “We also have people that lead us emotionally and rebounding and things like that.”

Bryant’s dislike for starting is rooted in her days playing high school basketball, she said. Her senior year, she only started two times yet was named to first team All-Conference and averaged 14.8 points a game.

“I just feel more comfortable [coming off the bench],” said Bryant. “I can see everything that’s going on and see some of the openings.”

Head coach Barbie Breedlove has talked to her star about starting but is more concerned with her performance on the court.

“If you can score 30 points off the bench in two games, you can continue to come off the bench,” said Breedlove.

A lot of Bryant’s success comes from her diversity as a player. She can score on the drive, from three-point territory and from behind the free throw line.

Ten of her 34 points against ETSU came from free throws. She hit three out of six three-pointers along with her 10 field goals.

Bryant hopes her success on the court will allow her team to enjoy more success.

“I know people are going to hear about this, so they’re going to guard me tight,” said Bryant. “That will open up a lot for my teammates.”

Bryant, a graduate of Hillside High School in Durham, still has two years left with the Mountaineers. Her early signs of leadership are rays of hope for the future of the program.

“Everybody’s saying ‘gosh, you have two more years left, I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen,’ ” said Bryant. “I’m just going to take it one game at a time.”

On the other hand, Breedlove sees the potential in her young star.

“I’ve been here since 1986, and I’ve seen a lot of very, very good players come through here,” said Breedlove.

“For Aisha to accomplish [two consecutive 30-point games] as a sophomore is a tremendous testament to her athleticism and her work ethic.”

For right now, however, Appalachian’s newest leader is content to be winning.

“I can’t look too far in the future because I have no clue what I’m going to be doing,” said Bryant. “It feels good right now, it feels good to win and I’m happy to be here.”