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Wes Berrier

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Blue Comets to stage first Fan Fest on Friday

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Asheboro High School seeks community interest

ASHEBORO – The first Blue Comets Fan Fest for Asheboro High School athletics will be held Friday night at Lee Stone Stadium on campus.

Athletics director Wes Berrier said the objective is to create a massive community event.

“The main reason is trying to bridge that gap between the school and community,” Berrier said. “More or less building school spirit and building community spirit. It’s a great way for us to introduce our fall athletes and kind of showcase these teams.”

Fall sports teams will be featured.

The event begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The evening’s activities are a lead-up to the football team’s midnight madness practice that’s expected to run for about 90 minutes beginning at midnight.

Admission is free, though wristbands will need to be purchased to use a bounce house and inflatable water slides along with chances to throw at the dunking booth. Concessions will be sold and the Booster Club will have spirit gear for sale.

The idea for the Fan Fest came from new football coach Calvin Brown, formerly of Providence Grove where the Patriots had a similar event. Berrier said meetings with the Booster Club began in the spring to put this together.

It will extend beyond the high school Blue Comets. Middle school football players and cheerleaders and youth football and cheerleaders also will be recognized. The school’s marching band will perform.

Asheboro is the largest high school in Randolph County. It’s the only school in the county that’s a member of the Mid-Piedmont Conference.

While the emphasis is on fall sports, the school’s wrestling team and girls’ soccer team will be involved with concessions and face painting.

Those in the dunking booth, in half-hour intervals, include Brown, principal Ryan Moody, boys’ basketball coach Brian Nance, superintendent Aaron Woody, school counselor Allyson Key and Berrier. There’s a reason that Berrier goes last because he ”hopes everyone’s arm is tired” by that point.

Berrier said the goal is for a festival atmosphere and “to make this a huge school / community event that will continue to grow every year.”

New coaches

In addition to Brown, there are several new coaches leading fall teams for Asheboro.

The cross country coach is Griffin Dozier, son of former coach Angela Dozier. She’ll move to a role as assistant coach.

Griffin Dozier is a former Asheboro runner from the Class of 2017.

Dwayne Lester will take over as girls’ golf coach, replacing Heather Norris.

Kelly Smith was named the new volleyball coach last winter.

Asheboro at SWR girls Nov2022

Prep Notes: Coaches have various results in debuts

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Maddie Small of Southwestern Randolph goes up for a shot against Asheboro during last week’s season opener. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Southwestern Randolph ruined the coaching debut for Asheboro’s Mike Headen in girls’ basketball last week.

The host Cougars defeated Asheboro 52-49 in Friday night’s non-conference game.

Headen was promoted from assistant coach to head coach during the summer upon the retirement of Don Corry.

Also in girls’ basketball, a couple of area players who’ve already eclipsed 1,000 career points got off to good starts. They are seniors Gracyn Hall and Autumn Gentry.

Hall of Randleman racked up 16 points in a 73-58 victory against Lexington. Elizabeth York’s 27 points paced Randleman.

Gentry of Trinity had 22 points as the Bulldogs defeated Southern Guilford 50-36.

Wrestling

New coach Jake Berrier of Asheboro has the Blue Comets off to a solid start.

On the first day of action, Asheboro defeated East Gaston 46-27 and West Charlotte 84-0, but sustained a 54-18 loss to host Bandys.

Then in the Forbush Duals, the Blue Comets went 4-1.

They defeated Forbush, Ashe County, Walkertown and Trinity, but suffered a loss to St. Stephens.

Berrier replaced his father, Wes Berrier, as the head coach when the elder Berrier became the school’s athletics director during the summer.

At the Wheatmore Duals, Wheatmore posted a 1-3 team record. Dominic Hittepole and Trey Swinney both went 4-0 for the Warriors. Diego Gutierrez and Matthew Perdue were both 5-0 for Asheboro.

Boys’ soccer

Just a few days after defeating Asheboro in the Class 3-A West Region final, Hickory finished its quest for a state championship.

Hickory, which was the 2021 state runner-up, defeated Jacksonville 2-1 in the championship game Saturday at Browns Summit.

Wes Berrier Asheboro AD August 2022

New Asheboro AD sees grand potential, calls Blue Comets ‘a sleeping giant’

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Wes Berrier, the new athletics director for Asheboro High School, checks out the first day of football practice last week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – Wes Berrier’s view of athletics at Asheboro High School is one of great potential. He’d like to see the Blue Comets’ programs return to prominence.

“A sleeping giant,” the new athletics director said. “I feel I’m coming in at a great time. I’m expecting big things as far as our athletics.”

Berrier officially became the athletics director this summer, though he filled that role for the final couple of months of the 2021-22 school year upon the retirement of Steve Luck.

Berrier had been Asheboro’s wrestling coach until taking this new assignment. He remains a business teacher at the high school.

It has been a turbulent time for Asheboro athletics because of an ongoing campus construction project that has displaced most of the teams. They’ve been without the simply comforts of team locker rooms. Some of the challenges that existed in 2021-22 will remain at least for a few more months.

“Just being out of the school has made it tough for everybody. Kids like a routine,” Berrier said. “We’ve made it work. It hasn’t been fun. Things are going to be better.”

For 2021-22, Asheboro finished fifth out of six schools in the Mid-Piedmont Conference in the Wells Fargo Cup standings that gives an indication of overall ranking of each school’s teams for a school year.

“I think the morale will be improved where we can turn this ship around,” Berrier said. “Get everything built back up.”

Berrier, who turned 54 this summer, said it’s important to have a bridge between the high school and community. Among his goals is to help build a stronger booster club.

He said he has been encouraged by interest in the incoming freshman class with up 150 potential athletes coming into the high school. He oversaw a physical night for the newcomers and a session where middle schoolers were able to meet coaches across the athletics department.

Berrier had to step down as wrestling coach because of the city school district’s policy that prevents the athletics director from being a head coach.

The new AD’s son, Jake Berrier, will move from assistant coach to head coach for the wrestling team.

“He’s definitely ready for it,” his father said.

In Wes Berrier’s eight seasons as wrestling coach, the Blue Comets had eight state championships (7 male, 1 female) earned to go with 13 total state place finishes. During the past season, nine Blue Comets received All-Mid-Piedmont Conference honors and Berrier was the league’s Coach of the Year.

Because of the uncertainty of the on-campus facilities, Asheboro withdrew its bid to be the host school for a Class 3-A wrestling regional in 2023.