06/07/2026
Peace Out to the 2025/26 Year of Sports โ๐ผ
Yesterday I covered AHS Cougars Outdoor Track & Field at STATES at Lynchburg University with this guy right here, and boy we had some good laughs! Mark Pifer and I have been friends for darn near 25 years now, I guess since when I began working as a photographer at the newspaper at age sixteen. We have lots of funny stories to tell, some serious ones and even some sad ones, as that's the course of life over 25 years.
You will never meet a more dedicated person or sports editor, than Mark. Sure, he could have written his stories from in the AC, but not Mark, he SHOWS UP to events. He is what a true sports editor should be, one that attends events, gets interviews from coaches and kids, and really cares about our youth.
Now that I have taken on this adventure of covering games in the aspect of photos only, Mark and I still continue to work together. I share my photos with the Recorder when Gavins not available and Mark will share some stats with me when needed for a feature. Heck he even shared a photo with me yesterday as mine of that one athlete didn't turn out. But that's what we do, because it is more important to us for the athlete to get coverage that they deserve.
Yesterday ended high school sports for this year for me. So now it's time to take the next few months off (maybe lol) to get things done around the house or maybe even enjoy a relaxing day at the lake.
I truly know that our parents and athletes appreciate what we do, not just through a 'thank you' but also by parents offering me rides to away games, or reaching out to me to let me know when a game is delayed or even canceled. Those little things are so helpful in rearrange schedules. The biggest thank you i love is the smile on a student's face or even them saying they appreciate it. When a kid tells you they appreciate what you do, you know that means something!
I still have the track meet photos to post and a couple end of the year wrap up things I'll be sharing. I just wanted to come on here and tell you guys that
I APPRECIATE YOU, the parents, the students, my business sponsors that make this page possible AND the AHS faculty for being so kind to me, Lesley Nickell ๐ซถ๐ฝ๐ธ
Alleghany Cougars Athletics
Alleghany Highlands Public Schools