It was a fun and exciting school year at Manteo High School. MHS finished as the top 2A in the NCC in Men’s Soccer, Women’s Cross Country, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Women’s Indoor Track, Women’s Swimming, Golf, Women’s Soccer, and Women’s Track and Field. Manteo also finished as the top 2A in the Wells Fargo Conference Standings for the second year in a row. We take a look back at a few highlights from the 2022-2023 Year in Manteo High School Athletics.

Cross Country teams perform well on the regional and state stage

Womens Cross Country were 2A East Regional Champions as they finish 1,2,4,5,6. The Men’s Cross Country finished third in the regional as well.  Madison Flynn finished as Regional Champion for the second year in a row and Freshman Meredith Gaskill was the Regional Runner-up.  At the NCHSAA State Championships your Women’s Cross Country team finished 5th overall and the Men’s Cross Country team ended the year at 16th in North Carolina 2A.  Madison Flynn finished 6th overall.

Head Cross Country Coach Emily Dinoto was named Northeastern Coastal Conference Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year. Alongside her is Assistant Coach Dan Gale.

Cross Country All Conference Performers: Kenzie Flynn, Madison Flynn, Meredith Gaskill, Abbi Calvio, Luke Stevens, Sam Head

All Region: Meredith Gaskill, Madison Flynn, Kenzie Flynn, Abbi Calvio, Caroline Gay, Jayden Wassel

All State: Madison Flynn

NCC Coach of the Year: Emily Dinoto (Womens)

Manteo Football begins new era, wins the Marlin Bowl

Manteo Football began a new era under first year Head Coach Brian Emery. With a young team, Coach Emery put in a new offensive system that saw the Redskins utilize a ground attack that controlled the clock and pace of play. Your Manteo Redskins won the 2022 Marlin Bowl in a hard fought 20-15 game vs First Flight.

Philip Neal and Casey Winstead, longtime MHS Football managers and alumni, were named 2022 Redskins of the Year.

Football All Conference Performers: Jackson Gaskill, Noah Blalock

Women’s Tennis has good season and sends two to NCHSAA State Championships

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For the first time in many years, Manteo Women’s Tennis sent two individuals to the NCHSAA State Championships.  Freshmen Natalia Buchta and Cora Walker finished fourth in the 2A East Regionals as a doubles team, and went on to compete in the State Championships. 

Freshman Natalia Buchta was also the 2022 Northeastern Coastal Conference Singles Champion.

Womens Tennis All Conference Performers: Cora Walker, Natalia Buchta

All Region: Cora Walker, Natalia Buchta

Manteo Volleyball has strong campaign and receives AVCA/NCVBCA honors

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Manteo Volleyball had a strong campaign finishing second in the Northeastern Coastal Conference and 15-5 overall.  Three Manteo volleyball players were named to preseason watchlists, and three were honored with end of the year awards from the AVCA and NCVBCA. 

Volleyball All Conference Performers: 1st Team: Kelley Cook, Erika Bailey – 2nd Team: Bella Alexander – Honorable Mention: Grace Albarty

NCVBCA All Region: Erika Bailey, Kelley Cook

AVCA Best and Brightest: Sophia Harper

Manteo Soccer plays for 2A Regional Title again in 2022

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The Men’s Soccer team saw another banner season as they advanced to the 2A East Regional Final for the second time in two seasons.  They finished 17-3-3 overall and were the top 2A school out of the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

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Head Soccer Coach Ralph Cleaver was named the 2A Coach of the Year in North Carolina

Men’s Soccer All Conference Performers: Damian Rivera, Oscar Rivera, Amyas Kenyon, Eddie Turberville

All Region: Brian Estrada-Tovar, Eddie Turberville, Damian Rivera, Amyas Kenyon, Oscar Rivera

Regional Player of Year: Eddie Turberville

All State: Eddie Turberville

NC 2A Coach of the Year: Ralph Cleaver

Manteo High School Athletics Hall of Fame inducts new members

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The MHS Athletics Hall of Fame saw a brief pause due to the COVID pandemic.  This fall the MHS HOF inducted 8 new members to represent the class of 2020, 2021, and 2022.  These former Manteo High School student athletes and coaches were honored at halftime of the September 1 football game vs Gates County.

Fall Sports Student Athletes in the Classroom

Manteo Fall Sports had 64 NCHSAA scholar-athletes for the first semester (varsity 3.5 weighted GPA or higher)! 6 fall varsity teams receive scholar athlete recognition (3.1 unweighted team GPA or higher)!

Competition Cheer shines at Conference Competition

The Manteo High School Competition Cheer squad performed well at their competition on December 10 at Camden High School.  They worked hard for many weeks to prepare, and finished third overall and as the top 2A school in the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

Manteo Wrestling has record breaking year

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The Manteo wrestling program completed a great season that saw many wrestlers enter the record books. As a dual team the program reached the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2002 after defeating four seed Seaforth in the second round.

Nick Brewster, Riley Perciful, and Dylan Polatty all broke 40 wins for the season and joined the 40 win club! They also all finished top 4 in their regional and qualified for the State Championships. Nick Brewster went on to finish 6th in the state. Dylan Polatty and Riley Perciful also both broke the 100 win mark during the season to join an elite list of Manteo Wrestlers. Dylan Polatty would also break the MHS record for takedowns in a season.

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In 2022-2023 Manteo Wrestling fielded its first ever Women’s program! Thalia Aguirre Gomez, Nelly Almeida, Ami Barrios, and Angelica Ayala were all part of the first year program.

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Coach Jimmy Metzinger was also named Northeastern Coastal Conference Coach of the Year!

Wrestling All Conference Performers: Dylan Polatty, Nick Brewster, Riley Perciful

All Region: Thalia Aguirre Gomez, Nick Brewster, Riley Perciful, Dylan Polatty

All State: Riley Perciful, Nick Brewster, Thalia Aguirre Gomez

NCC Coach of the Year: Jimmy Metzinger

Manteo Swimming sends seven to Regionals

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The Manteo swim teams competed well throughout the year. The girls team would be the top finishing 2A team in the NCC. Manteo swimming was able to send seven swimmers to regionals. Regional qualifiers were Gwyn Benkusky, Franni Evans, Sterling Wright, Meredith Gaskill, Bella Alexander, Landon Creamer, and Ben Hanusik.

Women’s 200 Medley Relay finished third at Regionals, Ben Hanusik took 5th in the 500 free, The Womens sprint relay team (50 free) took fourth place, and freshman Meredith Gaskill placed 6th in the 100 butterfly.

Gwyn Benkusky continued her banner career at Manteo as she finished as the Regional runner up in the 200 free and was the 100 freestyle regional champion! She would go on to finish 6th in the state in the 100 free and 9th in the 200 free.

Manteo swimmers at the NCHSAA State Championships! Ben Hanusik finished 18th in the state in the 500 free and Meredith Gaskill 16th in the 100 fly.

Swimming All Conference Performers: Meredith Gaskill, Gwyn Benkusky, Franni Mueller, Bella Alexander, Ben Hanusik,

All Region: Ben Hanusik, Meredith Gaskill, Gwyn Benkusky, Bella Alexander, Franni Mueller, Sterling Wright

All State: Gwyn Benkusky

Indoor Track competes well at State Competition in just second year

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Indoor/Winter track is in just its second year of existence. Even so Manteo was able to send 8 individuals to compete at the State Championships in Winston Salem.

Here are some of the state finishes. Caroline Gay – 4th in pole vault Madison Flynn – 8th in 1000 and 9th in 1600 Isaac Jarvis – 6th in pole vault Jordan Stokes – 11th in pole vault. Girls 4×800 (Caroline Gay, Abbi Calvio, Kenzie Flynn, Madison Flynn) finish 5th in 2A North Carolina Girls 4×400 (Kenzie Flynn, Caroline Gay, Marla Woodson, Madison Flynn) finish 8th in 2A North Carolina.

Indoor Track All Conference Performers: Caroline Gay, Isaac Jarvis

All State: Caroline Gay, Isaac Jarvis, Madison Flynn, Abbi Calvio, Kenzie Flynn, Marla Woodson

Womens Basketball has strong, exciting season

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The 2022-2023 Womens Basketball team had a superb season that saw them go 16-7 overall and 10-4 inside the conference. This was good enough for second place in the NCC. They knocked off Hertford County in the NCC Tournament semifinals to reach the tournament Championship vs Northeastern.

Womens Basketball All Conference Performers: Erika Bailey, Jill Leary, Kyla Mallory

Men’s Basketball has best season in recent years

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The Men’s Basketball season was one to remember as they finished 17-8 overall for one their best seasons in many years. They defeated Southwest Onslow at home in the first round of the State Playoffs.

Junior center Kaleb Spencer recorded the schools first triple double in a home victory over Edenton Holmes. Spencer would go on to record several more triple doubles throughout the remainder of the season.

Men’s Basketball All Conference Performers: Kaleb Spencer, Kenyon Conti

MHS Winter Sports Scholar Athletes

MHS had 50 NCHSAA scholar-athletes for the first semester (varsity 3.5 weighted GPA or higher)! 7 Winter Varsity teams receive scholar athlete recognition (3.1 unweighted team GPA or higher)!

Golf sends five members to Regionals

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Manteo Golf sent 5 individuals to regionals this past season, the most in a season in many years. The team competed well throughout the season and finished as the top 2A school in the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

Regional Qualifiers – Logan Futch, Grey Clark, Kennedy Kite, Aidan Braswell, and Spencer James

Golf All Conference Performers: Spencer James, Grey Clark, Kennedy Kite

Men’s Tennis improves throughout the season

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Manteo Men’s Tennis showed continued improvement throughout the season with a mix of veterans and newcomers. They sent three individuals to regionals (Cole Walker, Jack Gregory, Sam Cage).

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Senior Cole Walker finished a fantastic career at MHS by finishing in the top 8 in 2A in the State of North Carolina. He was also the East Regional Runner-up.

Men’s Tennis All Conference Performers: Cole Walker, Sam Cage

All Region: Cole Walker

All State: Cole Walker

Baseball: JD Perry makes remarkable comeback

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Sophomore JD Perry overcame the odds, and took the mound for the Redskins in the May 1 baseball game vs Hatteras. It was his first time back on the field in a game since suffering a serious injury the prior summer. He worked extremely hard to make his comeback, and used the immense support of his family, team mates, coaches, and community.

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Manteo Baseball finished the season by winning 5 of their final 7 contests.

Baseball All Conference Performers: Taylor Granitzki, Bryson Sherrod, Riley Perciful

Manteo Softball relies on experienced senior group

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Manteo Softball leaned on their seniors for the majority of the season, which saw them finish 4th inside the conference. They went on to fall 7-4 at state ranked East Duplin in the 2A State Playoffs.

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Senior Jill Leary entered the NCHSAA record books this season after she hit .603 for the season, and finished with a .536 average for her career.

Softball All Conference Performers: Jill Leary, Sydnee Ballance, Erika Bailey

Outdoor Track Teams have fantastic seasons again in 2023

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Manteo Women’s and Men’s Track teams have another great season as the Men’s Team finished 6th in the region and the Women’s Track team took Regional Runner-up honors. MHS pole vaulters took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in both Men’s and Women’s Regional pole vaulting competition. Manteo Track reached the podium on numerous occasions at Regionals and sent 14 individuals to the State Championships in Greensboro.

Women’s Track with their Regional Runner-up trophy. Coach Melissa Mann was also named Co-coach of the Year for the Northeastern Coastal Conference.

Track State Qualifiers in Greensboro

Track All Conference Performers: Kyla Mallory, Caroline Gay, Isaac Jarvis

All Region: Madison Flynn, Isaac Jarvis, Caroline Gay, Meredith Gaskill, Jennifer Pena-Munoz, Kyla Mallory, Elle Edwards, Willa Meredith, Paige Reibel, Josie Tripp

All State: Madison Flynn, Isaac Jarvis, Jordan Stokes, Meredith Gaskill, Elle Edwards, Caroline Gay

NCC Co-Coach of the Year: Melissa Mann

Women’s Soccer wins Regional Title, plays for State Title

Women’s Soccer team with their Regional Championship trophy after defeating Clinton.

Women’s Soccer had another phenomenal season in which they won the Northeastern Coastal Conference and were also East Regional Champions for the first time in school history. Coach Ralph Cleaver was also once again named NCC Coach of the Year.

Women’s Soccer All Conference Performers: Kenzie Flynn, Jordan Cobb, Abbi Calvio, Angelica Landzuri, CC Lowe, Hannah Hogan

Conference Player of the Year: Kenzie Flynn

All Region: Lizzy Mantz, Mya Kelly, Kenzie Flynn, Jordan Cobb, Abbi Calvio, Angelica Landzuri, CC Lowe, Hannah Hogan

All State: Kenzie Flynn

NCC Coach of the Year: Ralph Cleaver

Amyas Kenyon awarded NCHSAA Heart of a Champion

Senior Student Athlete Amyas Kenyon was awarded the NCHSAA Heart of a Champion Award. To be considered, student athletes must have participated in at least one varsity sport or activity, including cheerleading, during the 2022-2023 school year, have not been ejected from any contest, and must have demonstrated outstanding citizenship and sportsmanship during their high school careers. Amyas has been a member of the Soccer, Basketball, and Track programs during his career at MHS.

Spring Sports Scholar Athletes