Welcome to the Mountain Amateur Athletic Club
Our Mission Statement
The Mountain Amateur Athletic Club seeks to recognize and honor the talents of our local athletes and their successes both in sports and in life.
We are a non-profit organization that fulfills its mission by presenting the annual High School Sports Awards Banquet and Western North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony through generous sponsors.
WNC Sports Awards Banquet May 19, 2024
Purchase tickets by clicking on the 2024 Banquet tickets below.
Tickets for the 2024 WNC Sports Awards Banquet. There are no physical tickets but buyers will get an email confirmation of the purchase. The confirmation code on your receipt will not work at this time. Please do not click on that link. Guests are then put on a list for assigned seats. When checking in at the night of the banquet, your table number will be given to you. Ticket sales will end May 12.
The 62nd WNC Sports Awards Banquet presented by Ingles will be held on Sunday, May 19 `at the Omni Grove Park Inn.
The banquet, first held in 1959 and conducted by the Mountain Amateur Athletic Club, honors the area’s top high school athletes and teams with 24 awards, 18 scholarships, the Riley Howell Courage Award, and a Special Olympics Scholarship.
More than 100 of WNC’s top student-athletes are invited to the banquet, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Omni Grove Park Inn’s Grand Ballroom.
Tickets are available to the public and can be purchased for $45 at wncsportsawards.org.
Finalists for the awards and scholarships recipients were selected from nominations from WNC coaches and athletic directors, who received their nomination forms in March.
For more information, contact Martha Gates at marthagates18@gmail.com.
Below is a list of finalists for each award that will be handed out on May 19.
Wells Fargo Advisors/Aiken, Meyer, Whatley Division II Female Athlete Major Sport: Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville; Dvdaya Swimmer, Cherokee; Whitney Rogers, Cherokee; Ryann Hernandez, Asheville School; Joscelyn Stamper, Cherokee.
Northwestern Mutual/Carole Martin Division II Female Athlete Olympic Sport: Caroline Barton, Carolina Day; Virginia Thorsen, Asheville School; Eliza Perry, Hendersonville; Arizona Blankenship Swain, Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville.
Homewood Suites Division II Female Team Major Sport: Brevard volleyball; Cherokee basketball; East Rutherford basketball; Mountain Heritage basketball; Polk County volleyball.
Mills Manufacturing Division II Female Team Olympic Sport: Asheville School swimming; Hendersonville tennis; Swain cross country; Swain indoor track and field; Swain outdoor track and field.
Nicole and Kyte Ferrell Division II Male Athlete Major Sport: Cuttler Adams, Robbinsville; Tyler West, Andrews, CJ Landrum, Hendersonville; Justin Rowe, Asheville School.
Tara and Frank Burdette Division II Male Athlete Olympic Sport: Kage Williams, Robbinsville; Connor Warren, Mitchell; Dawson Reeves, Christ School; Parker Pulliam, Asheville Christian; Alexis Panama, Robbinsville; Jesse Shelton, Mountain Heritage.
Fields Auto Group Division II Male Team Major Sport: Robbinsville football, Christ School basketball, Asheville School football, Owen soccer.
Blue Ridge Division of EmergeOrtho Division II Male Team Olympic Sport: Mitchell golf, Robbinsville wrestling; Swain track and field.
Ann Brandis Division I Female Athlete Major Sport: Avery Moffit, Franklin; Tori Ensley, Franklin; Emma Bryson, West Henderson; Dorothy Mills, Pisgah; Marianne Maxon, West Henderson; Bailey Rowe, North Henderson.
First Citizens Bank Division I Female Athlete Olympic Sport: Emma Hall, West Henderson; Eden Barnwell, North Buncombe; Boston Stringer, Franklin; Avery Mays, North Buncombe; Hope Smith, Franklin.
HomeTrust Bank Division I Female Team Major Sport: Asheville HS soccer; Reynolds basketball; Roberson volleyball; West Henderson soccer; North Henderson volleyball.
Nat & Carolyn Arthur Division I Female Team Olympic Sport: Franklin tennis; Franklin outdoor track and field; North Buncombe track and field; North Henderson wrestling.
Goforth Builders Inc. Division I Male Athlete Major Sport: Triutt Manuel, West Henderson; Jackson Lyda, West Henderson; Brandon Guest, Reynolds; Nick Parham, Roberson; James Black, Reynolds.
Massasoit of North Carolina, Inc. Division I Male Athlete Olympic Sport: Elijah Cochran, Franklin; Bodhi McCormack, Enka; Tayman Howell, West Henderson; Logan Russo, Franklin; Reese Meadows, North Henderson.
McKinney Insurance Services Division I Male Team Major Sport: Reynolds football; Roberson baseball; West Henderson baseball; West Henderson football.
Rodeway Inn & Suites Division I Male Team Olympic Sport: Franklin outdoor track and field; Pisgah wrestling; Roberson cross country.
Paramount Kia Division II Female Academic Award: Mary Grace Tisdale, East Rutherford; Kinleigh Queen, Andrews; Alexis Grayson, East Rutherford; Louisa Koon, Carolina Day; Lily Fender, Mountain Heritage.
Blue Ridge Imaging Technologies Division I Female Academic Award: Tori Ensley Franklin; Emma Bryson, West Henderson; Avery Mays. North Buncombe; Hope Smith, Franklin; Katie Johnson, North Buncombe.
Heath & Nikol Shuler Division II Male Academic Award: Josiah LaNave, Chase; Connor Warren, Mitchell. Jordan Dixon, East Rutherford; Manning Stewart, Carolina Day.
Alan Tate Beverly-Hanks Realtors Division I Male Academic Award: Evan Byrd, Pisgah; Bodhi McCormack, Enka; Aaron Jennings, Franklin; Barrett Stork, Franklin.
Apollo Flame Division II Female Athlete of the Year: Caroline Barton, Carolina Day; Zoie Shuler, Robbinsville; Eliza Perry, Hendersonville; Joscelyn Stamper, Cherokee; Virginia Thorsen, Asheville School.
Young Transportation Division II Male Athlete of the Year: Cuttler Adams, Robbinsville; Justin Rowe, Asheville School; Jesse Shelton, Mountain Heritage; Connor Warren, Mitchell; Tyler West, Andrews; Kage Williams, Robbinsville.
Lary & Jan Schulhof Division I Female Athlete of the Year: Eden Barnwell, North Buncombe; Avery Mays, North Buncombe; Tori Ensley, Franklin; Dot Mills, Pisgah; Avery Moffitt, Franklin.
Henry Logan Division I Male Athlete of the Year: Truitt Manuel, West Henderson; Brandon Guest, Reynolds; Lex Dinwiddie, Roberson; Jackson Lyda, West Henderson; James Black, Reynolds.
Scholarship Winners: Kage Williams (Robbinsville); Avery Moffitt (Franklin); Elijah Cochran (Franklin); Hope Smith (Franklin); Aaron Jennings (Franklin); Connor Ross Warren (Mitchell); Bohdi McCormack (Enka); Quinn Roberts (Roberson); Emmy Earnhardt (Swain); Connor Lambert (Swain); Memory Frapp (Robbinsville); Carson Heath (Roberson); Joshua Hernandez-Gomez (Andrews); Avery Mays (North Buncombe); Eden Barnwell (North Buncombe); Anna Wilcox (Reynolds); Nancy Perez-Ortega (North Henderson); Henry Stuart (Chris School).
HOF Member Peterson Passes Away
The Mountain Amateur Athletic Committee was sad to learn that one of its Hall of Fame members Bruce Peterson passed away in early March.
Bruce was a legend in the sports community in Asheville and at one time spearheaded our committee. He was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2004 and you’ll have to look far and wide for someone more deserving. He was a five-sport athlete at Lee Edwards HS and then earned 11 letters at Western Carolina in football, basketball, and tennis.
Bruce would go on to become an outstanding football coach at Asheville HS where he led the Cougars to the state playoffs seven times in an 11-year period. Coach Peterson would leave coaching and then become an excellent high school administrator. He was Principal at Enka HS where he was named Principal of the Year and earned an award from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association for his contributions to high school athletics.
Bruce and his wife Carol worked tirelessly for the Asheville sports community. They helped form the Asheville Buncombe Sports Commission and with a hard-working committee brought back the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament along with many other events including the Billie Jean Cup. He also served at UNC Asheville on the Board of Trustees and was the athletic department’s liaison.
Bruce worked right until the end. He helped run last year’s Southern Conference Tournament and attended last fall’s Western North Carolina Hall of Fame banquet. One of the great moments at the banquet was when fellow Hall of Fame member Kenny Ford came over to Bruce’s table and talked to him for a while. Two great legends talking about football though Bruce said afterwards he was doing a lot of listening with Kenny!
This year’s committee would like to say thank you to Bruce Peterson for his amazing life and contributions to sports in the WNC community. One of the reasons we’re still an organization is became of Bruce Peterson.