Opinion and editorial items theSCORE

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Bowling, Track & Field and Baseball prepare to dominate this spring Bowling

When it comes to the bowling alley, the Aggies were fearless. Alumni Cameron Strombeck sat down with our Editor-in-Chief Jerry Humphrey and told him that teams felt their

presence as soon as they stepped into the building. “Every time we stepped into the building teams knew who we were,” Strombeck said. e bowling team nished as the sixth-ranked team in the nation, this is the highest nal ranking in school history. e Aggies took home their second MEAC title in four years. e Aggies look to continue this dominance in the MEAC as they are the only team to stay in the MEAC as the majority of the teams have moved to the Big South. Sophomore Melanie Katen was named preseason Bowler of the Year. Her former teammate, Cameron Strombeck won the same award a year prior. Both Melanie Katen and

Ericka Quesada were named on the All-MEAC preseason team. ese two athletes look to fuel the Aggies to rst place once again. e Aggies received 13 rst-place votes to win the

MEAC in 2021-2022. Head Coach Kim Terrell-Kearney is honored to be recognized as one of the best programs at the con-

ference. “As a program, being named the favorite to repeat as conference champion is a de nite honor,” said Terrell-Kearney. “ e MEAC has traditionally been one of the stronger conferences in the country. We look forward to getting the season started and throwing a lot of strikes.”

Springin’

Into Sports

MELVIN HARRIS

Score Editor mtharris3@aggies.ncat.edu

Track & Field

When it came to Track & Field, the Aggies not only made national headlines but were known worldwide for their talents. Trevor Stewart and Randolph Ross Jr. became Olympic gold medalists in the men’s 4x400-meter relay of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

e event also marked the rst time two Aggies have competed on the same team for a single Olympic event.

ese two along with many others look to continue their dominance this upcoming season. e Aggies men’s and women’s track team both nished top-5 nationally, N.C. A&T was the only school to accomplish this accolade.

e Aggies have made their presence known, whether that is on the mound, track, or bowling alley, competitors know that N.C. A&T will make their game plan harder than usual.

Baseball

e Aggies are bringing back the majority of their roster, so team chemistry should be high to start o with. Although the Aggies have not been as successful when it comes to baseball, things are turning up for the program. e di erence-maker this year will be the new coaching changes. During the o -season, the Aggies lost former assistant baseball coach Stefan Jordan. Head Coach Ben Hall welcomed Elliot McCummings as the new assistant baseball coach and Breydan Gorham as a volunteer assistant. Gorham will coach the A&T catchers and serve as the camp director and assist in all aspects of the program. Hall is ecstatic to have McCummings on the sta and

expects him to help with getting more players involved with the program. “ rilled to add Elliott to our sta ,” said Hall. “He has done a great job at all his stops and deserves this opportunity. He is organized and will bring a great presence to our recruiting e orts.”

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, November 17, 2021 9

Recap of NCAT’s Inaugural Big South Football Season

ALEXIS DAVIS

Lead Score Reporter akdavis1@aggies.ncat.edu

With the Aggies last home game approaching towards the end of the month, it’s safe to say that N.C. A&T’s f rst season in the Big South was a learning experience due to many moving parts.

N.C. A&T has experienced various impressive moments, but they have also come up short a few times when the odds were in their favor. They’ve struggled with consistency on the defensive and offensive end and some opponents have been able to spot this and capitalize on it.

To begin the season, the Aggies faced Furman University and Duke University. When the Aggies faced Furman, they did not have all of their defensive starters. Each team had two turnovers, but the Paladins were able to turn those into points for themselves. N.C. A&T was not able to follow suit.

Duke University’s speedy style of play was simply not something the Aggies were accustomed to facing and they were able to seal their fate during various third downs.

After taking two tough losses, N.C. A&T were ready to show what they’re made of at the Aggie Eagle classic. The duel between the two was an outstanding way to bring in the f rst win of the season.

Fresh from defeating their rival, N.C. A&T experienced two more victories. N.C. A&T earned its f rst Big South win against Robert Morris by taking care of the ball and not making careless and costly mistakes.

For the remainder of their games in October, the Aggies lost their momentum and experienced a three-game losing streak.

In their game against Kennesaw State, they experienced a season low of only 31 yards and a season high of pass attempts with 35. In the heartbreaking loss during the Aggies’ homecoming game the team could not control their ball movement and Monmouth University appeared to make all the right moves especially in the second half.

After three rocky performances, the Aggies were able to show up and show out defensively against Charleston Southern.

Despite the ups and downs of the season, some students seem to be understanding of the conference change the Aggies made and the time needed to properly adjust.

“I think the football season is going the way we expect when you change conferences,” Jordan Wilder, a senior at N.C. A&T said. “Like any other school, we’ve also had to adapt to playing during a pandemic and unfortunately we’ve had some amazing talent sidelined as a result of it. We have a great coaching staff and always

See RECAP on page 10

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The A&T Register | ncatregister.com | Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Men, women ready for Bball season

MELVIN HARRIS

Score Editor mtharris3@aggies.ncat.edu

Following a historic season last year, both the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams have something to prove with being in a new conference.

The Men’s basketball team won the MEAC in a dominant fashion last year. The Aggies went 7-1 in the conference and fnished frst in the conference. This was the frst time the Men’s basketball team won the MEAC regular-season title in 30 years.

Unfortunately, due to a positive COVID-19 test amongst the players and faculty, the team was disqualifed from tournament play.

The Aggies look to continue their dominance while striving to win the Big South title this year. The team lost many key players such as Kwe Parker, Tyrone Lyons and Fred Cleveland. However, there have been new additions to the team that will be benefcial to their success this season.

One of the players that the Aggies hope will perform well early in the season is freshman Duncan Powell. The 6’8 power forward was ranked 85th in his class.

Powell brings an interior presence that will help the Aggies on both sides of the ball. Powell can score the ball inside and out, and is a crafty fnisher around the rim.

The power forward has big goals with his time at N.C. A&T. Powell hopes to help lead the Aggies to heights they have never reached before.

“I have to get there, win the conference tournament, and go to the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the Final Four,” Powell said to the Dallas Morning News. “I’ve got to do all that or everything I’ve done in life is pointless.”

I had the opportunity to interview point guard Kam Langley over the offseason about losing so many key players and who he looks to step up this season.

“It’s hard to fll that void that those three guys left for us but I think this year we have a good group of guys and talent, hopefully, we can do something with it,” Langley said.

The Aggies are predicted to fnish third in the North Division of the Big South Conference.

As for the Lady Aggies, the plan is to repeat the same process as the year prior. The only caveat is the new competition they will have to face twice a season.

The Lady Aggies were able to win the MEAC Championship in a chaotic fashion. Similar to the Men’s team, the women lost key players and leaders to their team like Deja Winters and Jayla Jones-Pack.

Senior Jasmen Walton looks to lead the Aggies in their frst season in the Big South. When I interviewed Walton last year after their tournament run, she said it was their focus over the off-season that separated them from the rest of their conference.

“The focus because during the summer we got together a lot, we did run-ins and pickups. I felt like we were all in,” Walton said.

Walton averaged 7.4 points along with 3.4 assists per game last @NCATMBB and @ladyaggiewbb Men’s and Women’s basketball season is underway. season. She’ll be getting even more looks on offense being the focal point.

The Lady Aggies are projected to fnish fourth in the Big South this season.

Expect senior Kennedy Boyd to have a strong senior season. After transferring from Chapel-Hill, Boyd has been contributing to the team very well. With many spots being available, look for her to handle the ball on offense.

The Men’s basketball team’s frst home game will be on Nov. 18 vs. Greensboro College. The Lady Aggies will make their frst appearance at Corbett Sports Center on Dec. 4 vs. South Carolina State University.

RECAP from page 9

Other students are optimistic about the upcoming Aggies’ upcoming seasons in the Big South.

“I think that our team did well trying to adjust to a more challenging division, but this season was a little bittersweet,” Jared Woodruff, a graduating senior at N.C. A&T said. “Since this is going to be my last year of undergrad at NCAT, I was hoping for our team to end with a winning season, but I am proud of their efforts and am hopeful; that next year they will be back and better in the Big South.”

Head coach Sam Washington and his Aggies will close out the 2021 season against Gardner-Webb at Truist Stadium on Nov. 20. The game will be televised on ESPN3.