Page S-MIIUtOR-HERALD-Tuesday, May SI, 1»T7 Riddle And Maner Win Top Awards At Net Fete Tim Riddle, Sarah Maner, Kevin Morehead and Scott Summltt won the top awards at Thursday’s Rotary Club ten Is banquet at the lOngs Mountain Country Club. Riddle, a junior, and Maner, a senior, won most valuable player trophies and Morehead, a senior, and Summltt, a junior, copped the awards as the outstanding doubles team. In addition to the tro phies, Coach Ed Ouy pre sented plaques to the members of the boys team, which won the Western N. C. High Schools Activities Association championship, and also presented letlers and-or stars to all the boys and girls players. Riddle held down the number one singles posi tion all season and capped a brilliant season by win ning the bl-conlerence and association singles titles and the Southwestern Conference suid associa tion player of the year awards. Riddle’s only loss In singles competition came to 18-year-old Pender Mur phy of Charlotte Latin, who Is the state’s third-ranked singles player and who won the state title for Inde pendent school players. Riddle breezed through the conference, taking the number one ranking away from Steve Stroud of R-S Central, who was the league’s player of the year last spring. Riddle de feated his close friend and summertime doubles part ner, Butch Dunn of Wilkes Central, for the title In both the bl-conference and GN!Y 9T€WI\RT KMHS Mountaineers^ Final Year bi WNCHSAA Was A Good One Another high school athletic season has come and gosie. In many ways Uke all others, but In some other ways entirely different. Hie season was like others In that officials were still Just as blind as aver, moat coaches continued to cooperate with the press when they won but made themselves scarce when they lost, and still others, never bothered to call win or lose. But this sports season was different from many ottiers in that It eras the final season ever for the compact Western N. C. High Schoola Activities Assocla- tfcm, and It was unlike others for sonne of the South- arestam Conference schools who all of a sudden found thsmselves In the champlonahh> pleture.il Fbr Klnp Mountain High, lU final year In the WN- CHBAA was highly successful. The Mountaineers were winners In just about every sport, and they were In the championAlp picture In several sports. And, the good thing about It all, la that they did It with young players. Beginning In the fall, the KMHS football team produced Its boat eeason elnoe UM, winning eight of 10 games and leading the SWC the first six weeks of the campaign. ’They climbed Into the state’s top 10 rankings for the first time since ’M, even though their stay was a brief week. ’Ihe footballers lost only tour full-time starters, quarterback Mike Bumgarner, halfback Richard Ross, and linemen ’lim Spicer and Marie Moore. So, chances of a ehamplonahlp year hi their first season In the North OaroUna High Schools Athletic Association are very good. ’Hie winter brought some good news and bad news tor basketball. ’Ihe good news was that KMHS won Its first glrla Jayvss championship, was In the running for the boys title until the final week of the season, and had Its best varsity glris record since ’68. But the bad news was that the varsity boys had their worst record since the 1860’s, whaling only five baUgames. Joe Rountree, one of KM’s youngest coaches, coached the glrla jayvees to their confersnes title and Dennis Dukes, another young coach, had the boys leading the league until the final week. Kathy Brooks, another first year coach, took over the girls program and did a good coaching job,winning 14 games. She’s likely to spend the summer worrying about how to replace the school’s an-tlme scoring queen, Susan Mitcham. ’Ihe winter wrestling season wasn’t a succoas, team wise, but Coach Bo Ootorth produced another SWC Wrastlor of the Tear In heavyweight David Gordon. Gordon finished aeoond In the WNCHSAA tournament, the best ftailah for a KMHS grappler since Alfred Ash won the association ehamplonahlp four years ago. The spring brought soma more contenders, a young bassball team which came within a pme of whialng the ccnferance tltlo, a young tennis team which copped the bt-oonforance and aaaodatlon crowns, and a golf team which lost the league tttla by a atroks. Ihcoept tor coaches Barry Gibaon, Bud Bumgardner and David Bolin, and the 17 determined young ballplayers, nobody pvs the Mountaineer baaeballers muchofa chance of winning the confsience title. ’There wars only two sanlors on the team and six of the ntna fUU-tlme atariars were sophomores. But, after a slow non-conference start In which the Mountloa won only one of seven games, they began to Jell and mads the SWC playoffs as the number two team In Division Ons. ’They then knocked off Division ’Two champ Crest and took WNCHSAA favorite South Print three games before falling In the bast of three aerias. The golf team, also a young chib, won five of nine regular season matches and finished third In both the conference and association tournaments. ’They lost the SWC crown by a single stroke to Bast Gaston and Shslby and they were In contsntton for the association crown until the final round. ’Ihe big nswamaker, however, was the boys taimla taam, which swept the blconferenos and tltlas with case after bring upset by Shslby In regular season play. Ooaoh Bd Guy produced the assoelatlon’s number two doubles taam of Scott Summltt and Kevin Morehead, and the bl-oonference and asaoriatlon singles cham- plon, ’Tim Riddle. (Please 'Ibni To Page 8) association tournaments. Riddle was the first athlete In the history of KMHS to win the associa tion championship. The Mountaineers, also, became the first tennis team to cop the association title and they became the only SWC school besides Shelby to win the title In over a decade. Uke Riddle, Maner was a good example on how hard work pays big dividends. A year ago, she was playing the number six singles position but worked hard during the off-season to move up to the number one slot. She held down that position during the entire year. In addition, the KMHS senior teamed with Mercedes Smith to form the Mountalnettes’ top doubles team, and they earned a number four seeding for the bl- conference tourney. ’They scored both of KM’s points in the bi-conference event. Summltt and Mor^ead finished second lii the association out of 56 teams that started out In bl- (Please Tbm To Page S) ^PORT? TENNIS MVPs — Coach Ed Guy, right, presents most valuable tennis awards to Sarah MaiMr and Tim Riddle at Hmrsday’s Rotary Club hmoheon at the Kings Photos By Gary Stewart Mountain Country Qub. The Monntahieem oompleted their best season ever this fttut, winning the bl- oonference and assoelatloa ohamplonship. 1 Home of the never ending sale. 1 LOWES FOODS & OFFER YOU GREAf WEST SATE PUZA • SlfilSY ROAD— 8:30 • 9:00 MON. THRU SAT: , SUNDAYS 1:00 - 6:00 PRICES IN THIS AD GOOD THRU SUN.. 6-5-77... CHICKEN FRENCH FRIES CAL IDA 5 LB. BAG CRINKLE CUT OUR SAVE AT LOWES FOODS PRICE WHY PAY SAVE AT LOWES FOODS OUR PRICE WHY PAY Tide 84 Oz. ndheq Detergent.... ^2” $259 iMiinol14'/