From past baseball and soccer players to a cross country athlete, over the next few months the Catamounts will be covered by reporters with their own personal experiences playing on sports teams.
Three students are at the helm of the Western Carolinian Sports Section this semester, bringing varied sports backgrounds and their own unique perspective of the sports world to the newspaper.
WCU sophomore Justin Caudell, in his first year at the Western Carolinian, was tapped to be the Sports Editor in August. Not a stranger when it comes to working in a newspaper office, for the past five years Justin has been the Sports and Weather reporter for the Crossroads Chronicle newspaper in Cashiers and has also spent time at The Highlander newspaper in Highlands as an office assistant.
Justin will look to brush off some of his knowledge of journalism on to two sports writers, Western freshmen Kaitlyn Mullis and Cory Spaugh. Kaitlyn and Cory both spent some time working for their respective high school newspapers and are eager to get back to writing.
Following are brief biographies about Justin, Kaitlyn and Cory, as well as the staff’s responses to a few survey questions.
CORY SPAUGH, Sports Writer
Born and raised in Tobbacoville, North Carolina, a town just outside of Winston Salem, Cory is a 2008 graduate of North Forsyth High School. He is undecided on a major or minor at Western and has a younger sister who is a sophomore at North Forsyth. Cory is the son of David and Phyllis Spaugh.
Athletic History: Two years of playing baseball for North ForsythFavorite Sport: BaseballFavorite Sports Teams: Professional: Atlanta Braves and Dallas CowboysFavorite Sport to Attend: FootballFavorite Sport to Watch on TV: Football
KAITLYN MULLINS, Sports Writer
Born and raised in Midland, North Carolina, Kaitlyn is a 2008 graduate of Central Cabarrus High School. She is a Communications major at Western with a double minor in Journalism and Studio Art. Kaitlyn has two older sisters, one living in Winston Salem and one residing in Concord. She is the daughter of Ron and Debbi Mullis.
Athletic History: One year of playing softball at Central Cabarrus and two years of cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track.
Favorite Sport: Cross CountryFavorite Sports Teams: Collegiate: Duke Blue Devils (Basketball)Favorite Sport to Attend: College basketballFavorite Sport to Watch on TV: College basketball
JUSTIN CAUDELL, Sports Editor
Born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, Justin moved to the small town of Cashiers in Western North Carolina with his family in 1996. He is a December, 2006 graduate of Blue Ridge High School, and is majoring in Journalism at Western Carolina, with a minor in Political Science. Justin, who presently resides in Sapphire, has an older sister, Jennifer, who also attended Western. He is the son of Rick and Becky Caudell. After graduating from WCU, Justin plans on attending Florida State University to obtain a degree in Meteorology.
Athletic History: Two years of playing baseball and soccer at Blue Ridge. He was also an assistant volleyball coach for Blue Ridge in 2006 and spent time as the school’s scoreboard operator and statistician. Justin is presently still a part of his past high school’s athletic program as a member of the Blue Ridge School Athletic Booster Club Board of Directors.
Favorite Sport: FootballFavorite Sports Teams: Professional: Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs and Carolina HurricanesCollegiate: Western Carolina and Florida State UniversityFavorite Sport to Attend: Any and all, but mainly football, baseball and hockeyFavorite Sport to Watch on TV: Football and Baseball
