Student
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everything 1 need to know about the high jump and the
400.
"So, I'm still learning every single day. It's been "hard
trying to juggle school work and coming here [RJR] with
coaching responsibilities and helping kids with their prob
lems. It is a lot. But, it's definitely worth it."
Reynolds, a 21-year-old English major with a 3.5
grade-point average, Brst came to Wake Forest in 2013.
She's on track to graduate in December, which is a semes
ter early. Her career goals are to serve as a school principal
and later on, as a school system superintendent.
Although Reynolds' days as a competitive athlete are
over, she gets immense satisfaction in helping athletes
learn and grow. Watching them exceed their own self
imposed limitations, she explained, makes the time she
spends with them worthwhile. ?
i
"I know a lot of these kids' stories and backgrounds,"
she said. "It's a joy to listen to what they have to say after
they've posted a personal best or did something they
thought they could never do."
Reynolds points to high jumper Tremond Wright as a
prime example. Wright, a senior basketball player, was a
complete newbie to high jumping. After basketball sea
son, Wright decided to come out for track and he started
working with Reynolds.
In less than a month, Wright improved by 10 inches
and was No. 1 in the NCRunners Class 4-A state rankings
in mid-April (cleared 6-feet-6 inches). Wright's promising
season, however, ended prematurely when he suffered a
torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) after playing in a
pick-up basketball game.
"I remember Tremond telling me 'I can never do
this,'" said Reynolds. "But once he put in the work and
got better with his technique, he progressed very quickly.
As a first-time jumper, he became among the tops in the
state prior to his injury. Working with the athletes and
helping them reach their potential is what keeps me com
ing back."
. Wright doesn't hesitate to credit Reynolds for his
growth as a raw rookie. "Coach Reynolds really helped a
lot," he said. "She was always there to encourage me and
support me. 1 appreciated that so much."
The past two years have been an enjoyable learning
process for Reynolds. Looking back on that time, she
notes how big a role experience plays in a coach's ability
to bring out the best in their athletes.
"I've teamed how to get the kids to buy into the pro
gram," she said. "They're beginning to take track more
seriously. They realize you can get a full-ride [scholar
ship] to college with track and field.
"I'm definitely working on a more personal level with
them. In the high jump, now I can tell them what direction
we're taking in training from one week to the next. Last
year, it was more like 'just jump and we'll pray for the
best."'
Reload
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an off-season," said coach Kevin
Ritsche of WSSU. "And a lot of
that has to do with the high level of
success that we've had year after
year. But this is the sixth straight
year that Winston-Salem State
baseball has had 30 or more wins in
a season."
Looking back on the season, the
Rams needed just one win against
Chowan to get an automatic post
season bid. Although they had a
high ranking in the Atlantic Region
(ninth), it still wasn't enough to go
as an at-large entry. Only the top
seven teams in each region can
make the playoffs.
"At No. 9, we were among the
top 20 percent in our region, which
has about 40 teams," Ritsche said.
"This was not our best year, but we
were still in position to compete for
championships. For us, it was a
case of having a bad day at the
office for the first time in five
years."
One of the major needs that
Ritsche is looking to fill for next
season is replacing starting pitchers
Nathan Steger (6-3,2.83 ERA) and
Devin McLemore (5-4,4.02 ERA),
plus ace reliever Jordan Cummings
(4-3, 2.08 ERA, 5 saves). Steger
was voted the CIAA's Player of the
Year and Cummings was an all
conference pick.
"For next season, we're trying
to bring in as many arms as we
can," he said. "But we're filling in
at other positions, too. I feel like
we're ahead of schedule with our
recruiting."
One of the keys for WSSU in
2017, Ritsche explained, is devel
oping and maintaining consistency
from start to finish. Outside the
CIA A, the Rams struggled in that
department (they were 18-19 in
non-conference games). "It's
important that we become more
consistent in February and March,"
he said. "If we can do that, we will
avoid having to depend on staging a
late-season rally to ensure that we
have a successful finish to the sea
son."
The Rams figure to be prime
factors again in Division II with the
emergence of Randy Norris. The
freshman second baseman who
played high school ball at
Greensboro Dudley, had a superla
tive season in his first college cam
paign.
Norris, 6-2, 210, made the
CIAA's All-Tournament team and
was second team All-CIAA. Given
his production as a rookie - 351
batting average with 5 home runs
and 35 RBIs - there doesn't seem
to be any ceiling on how much
more he can achieve as a collegian.
It didn't take Norris long to
make a favorable impression on
Ritsche in WSSU's season-opening
series against Millersville, who was
ranked No. 1 in Division II at that
time. Playing second base for the
first time in his career, Norris
turned five double plays during that
three-game set.
"Randy was overlooked by a lot
of the smaller Division I schools
when he came out of high school,"
said Ritsche. "And he was a sur
prise to most people, including us.
"With his size and speed, he
can play at first or second, or any
where in the outfield. I'd have to
say that he was our most consistent
bat this season. Randy hits with
power to all fields and he doesn't
chase pitches."
I Photo by Craig T. Greenlee
In six seasons, Kevin Ritsche has a .649
winning percentage (213-115) as the
Rams baseball coach.
QEA's
Ndiaye signs with
Fordham University
BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Pape Ndiaye of Quality
Education Academy will
continue his basketball
career at the next level.
Ndiaye, a 6-9, 225-pound
senior power forward,
recently signed a national
letter-of-intent with
Fordham University (N.Y.).
7-3 record on the ultra
competitive Grind Session
circuit, which features
teams who are stocked with
the top high school basket
ball talent in the country.
QEA capped a superla
tive season by advancing to
the finals of the Grind
Session National
Championships played in
Kansas two months ago.
Once Ndiaye received
medical clearance to rejoin
the team, he opted to not
play AAU basketball this
past summer. His sole
focus centered on regaining
his strength and physical
conditioning.
When he's completely
healthy, Ndiaye poses
problems because of his
versatility. He's effective
"Pape Ndiaye has played for one of the most
successful high school programs in the country."
-Jeff Neubauer, coach
The Rams compete in the
Atlantic 10 Conference.
Ndiaye, a four-year var
sity performer, returned to
the Pharaohs line-up for the
2015-16 campaign after
missing all of the previous
season with a torn ACL
(anterior cfliciate ligament)
that he suffered a week
before the season opener in
/November 2014.
Over the course this
past season, Ndiaye contin
ued to make progress in
fully recovering from the
knee injury. His inside
presence at both ends of the
floor was a key factor for
QEA, which finished the
season at 27-6.
The Pharaohs solidified
their reputation as a nation
al-caliber program with a
The Pharaohs' title bid fell
short in the finals with an
82-74 loss to Victory Rock
Prep (Florida).
"Pape Ndiaye has
played for one of the most
successful high school pro
grams in the country," said
Fordham coach Jeff
Neubauer on the school's
website. "He has been very
well coached and will con
tinue to improve as he gets
healthy."
During the season prior
to his injury, Ndiaye aver
aged 10 points, 6 rebounds
and 2 blocked shots. In the
process, he got serious
looks from over 20 col
leges, which included
Mississippi State,
Oklahoma, Washington
State and UNC Charlotte.
'
when playing with his back
to the basket. But he can
also face-up and hit the
mid-range jumper, plus
he's a skilled enough ball
handler to take defenders to
the basket off the dribble.
Defensively, he's a rugged
rebounder and menacing
shot blocker.
"It was hard for me to
sit and watch (the season of
the injury)," Ndiaye con
fessed in an early-season
interview. "I felt like I let
my teammates down.
Coach [Isaac Pitts] did a
great job in helping me to
keep my mind right. All
during rehab he kept telling
me,'Don't give up, don't
give up.'"
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Photo by Cnk$ T. QmnW
Power forward Pape Ndiaye of Quality Education Academy recently signed
with Fordham University.