Averett athletics has officially concluded their traditional fall 2021 sport seasons. The Averett cougars competed in their last year of play as members of the USA south conference

Cross-country:

At the beginning of their season, the men and women’s cross-country program added an interim head coach, Doug Wohlstein. The team participated in six races this season, which included the USA South Conference Championships and the NCAA South/Southeast Regionals.

Through the season, the athletes set multiple personal records and placed in two of the races. Rebekah Chase, a rising senior who played 24^th at the Queen City Invite and 13^th and the Hagan Stone classic, said “I am ready to get started in the off-season to be ready for my senior year to hopefully make it to nationals.”

Football:

The Averett football team finished their season with an overall record of 5-5 on the season with a 4-4 conference record.

Throughout the season, the football team set several program reconrds as well as have multiple athletes and rookies of the week. Tristan Quick, Conner Showalter, Jarrod Mosby Isaiah Grice, Shawn Watlington, Johnathan Terrell, Nick Mintz, Terrell England, JaVon Lofton, Will Caviness and Chase Nixon were just a few of the standouts on the team.

“I felt that we had a lot of potential season and just happened to fall short of our goals and expectations,” senior Chase Nixon said.

Although the season did not meet up to the expectations the players had, there was still many positive accomplishments throughout the season.

“I’ll for sure miss the memories I have made with my teammates and the brotherhood we will continue to share,” Nixon said.

This game was the last for Averett’s football program as members of the USA South Conference, ending 22 years of competing in the league with one shared conference title and numerous individual accolades.

Men’s Soccer:

The men’s soccer program had a consistent overall year and had a successful run in the playoffs. The Cougars finished the season with an overall record of 9-7-2 and was tied for the third seed going into the USA South Conference tournament.

During the quarterfinals, Averett faced  Maryville and upset the number 1 seed with a score of 2-1. The men’s soccer team ended their season in the semi-finals against N.C. Wesleyan. The program had five Cougars earn sports on USA South All-Conference.

Bradley Bizzel, a senior on the men’s soccer team, said “unfortunately we did not achieve what we as a team know we could have in winning both conference as well as the conference tournament, but this season was a great was to go out as a senior.”

Women’s Soccer:

The women’s soccer team had much more success this year than the past few. They finished the season with a 5-7-2 overall record and ended up ranked sixth in the USA South.

“It was fun to have some great wins this season, and I am looking forward to see how this program grows after I leave,” senior Morgan Dills said.

The program was led offensively by USA South Rookie of the Year, Celia de Diego. Diego lead the team with 15 goals with one assist in 14 games, with three of her goals being game winners.

Along with All-Conference First Team and East Division First team accolades at forward, she is the first player in program history to be named Rookie of the Year by the conference.

Volleyball:

The women’s volleyball team fell short of expectations this season, but still had a successful year overall. The team finished with an overall record of 24-8 and a 13-5 record in conference play. They had an 8-0 start to the season after competing against strong teams.

During their last game of the season, the Lady Cougars fell short in the USA South tournament to the number one seed Southern Virginia in the quarter finals.

The volleyball program had a couple of players who earned USA South Player of the Week and USA South Rookie of the week multiple times. Senior Sarah Shropshire earned East Division First Team honors while Junior Morgan Barnes earned East Division Second Team honors.

Freshman, Carlie Deason, said “I do not think my freshman year could have been any more fun and exciting, and I am looking forward to see how we can grow over the next three years.”

The women’s program had a lot of youth on the team, which will help them as they are graduating key players and moving out of the USA South. The Cougars finished with a combined 19 conference championships and numbers of individual honors as members of the USA South.

All of these teams that have completed their seasons will be competing in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference beginning next fall.