Darryl McClure during the gymnasium dedication in his honor.
By Mike Gore
Guest Writer
The Mountain Amateur Athletic Club is proud to announce its 2025 Western North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame class. The induction ceremony will be on Sunday, Oct. 12 at the Omni Grove Park Inn. Tickets are $60 and will go on sale at: www.wncsportsawards.org later this month.
This year’s class includes golfer Brenda Corrie-Kuehn, former Tuscola volleyball coach and gymnastics standout Susan Hartsell, former Hayesville girls’ basketball coach Darryl McClure and former Asheville High football coach Danny Wilkins. The Lifetime Achievement Award winner is Asheville trailblazer Matthew Bacoate, Jr.
Kuehn has enjoyed a stellar career as one of the top amateur golfers in the world. She has participated in two World Cups and two Curtis Cups. She helped lead the U.S. to the 1998 Curtis Cup championship by going 4-0 in match play. Kuehn has participated in 13 U.S. Amateurs and nine U.S. Opens. She enjoyed a successful collegiate career at Wake Forest and won the ACC individual championship in 1986. Kuehn has been inducted into the Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Golf Coaches Hall of Fame. She was named to the ACC’s 50th anniversary team in 2002.
Hartsell was the volleyball coach at Tuscola for 27 years and is the all-time winningest coach in any sport at the school. She led the Mountaineers to an incredible eight consecutive regional championships and appearances in the 4-A state championship match. Tuscola won the state title in 1987. In addition, she also enjoyed an outstanding gymnastics career at T.C. Roberson and Western Carolina University. Hartsell was the individual state champion three times while she performed at WCU. She was inducted into the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.
McClure produced one of the most amazing dynasties in history as the Yellow Jackets won an incredible six straight 1-A state championships in girls’ basketball from 1988-1993. He was the head coach of the Hayesville program for 22 years and produced a 426-172 overall record. Hayesville captured seven conference titles under his leadership. He was named AP Coach of the Year twice and was also named Coach-of-the Year by the Asheville Citizen-Times on two occasions.
Wilkins coached football at Asheville from 2000-2016 and finished his career with the Cougars as the program’s all-time winningest coach with 162 wins. He led Asheville to a perfect 15-0 season in 2005 and a 3-A state championship. Wilkins guided the Cougars to 12 conference championships, including 10 straight titles. He coached four teams that had unbeaten regular seasons and Asheville reached the Western Regional Championship game five times during his tenure. He was named the conference Coach of the Year 12 times.
Bacoate has been a leader in the Asheville community for many years. The 95-year-old has run the Skyview Open Golf Tournament the past 12 years and is President of the
Skyview Golfing Association. He was instrumental in integrating Star Lanes Bowling Center in the 1960s. In his long and
distinguished career, Bacoate was appointed to the state’s first Minority Business
Development Committee in 1969 and had been invited to the White House twice in the 1970s.