Lenoir News-Topic: Warriors have named new AD,
assigned head football coach to guide girls’ hoops team
WARRIORS’ PATH
Former Hibriten head coach Monte Simmons is the new varsity girls’ basketball head coach at West Caldwell, where he is also head football coach. He moves back into basketball again after girls’ coach and athletic director Stephen McMasters accepts a job in private business.
Here’s a look at the last 20 season of girls’ varsity basketball at West Caldwell (*–state playoff team):
Year Coach Record
20-21 Stephen McMasters 0-8
19-20 Brad Mangum 3-17
18-19 Brad Mangum 7-17
17-18 Brad Mangum 5-20
16-17 Joshua Reeves 12-12*
15-16 Joshua Reeves 11-13*
14-15 Joshua Reeves 2-18
13-14 Rikki Ogle 10-11*
12-13 Rikki Ogle 7-14*
11-12 Rikki Ogle 9-13*
10-11 Stephen McMasters 11-15*
09-10 Stephen McMasters 10-15*
08-09 Stephen McMasters 5-19
07-08 Stephen McMasters 3-21
06-07 Scott Greene 2-21
05-06 Scott Greene 5-19
04-05 Scott Greene 18-10*
03-04 Karen Trivett 28-2*
02-03 Karen Trivett 19-8*
01-02 Karen Trivett 20-7*
TOTALS 187-280
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com research and files
By CHRIS HOBBS
Hobbs Daily Report.com
LENOIR – The landscape of West Caldwell High will change dramatically with the departure of athletic director and girls’ varsity basketball head coach Stephen McMasters.
McMasters, a former Warriors athlete, has announced his is leaving to work in private business as a sales job for Farm Bureau Insurance, an opportunity he’s passed on before became he felt the timing wasn’t right.
SIMMONS
The decision by McMasters — plus naming head football coach Monte Simmons to again coach a varsity girls’ basketball team and head wrestling coach Aaron Annis as the new athletic director – was first reported by The Lenoir News-Topic (see full story below).
McMasters, 45, has been Warriors athletic director for 11 years and at his alma mater for 22 years.
He coached the varsity girls’ basketball team twice, in last season’s COVID 19 shortened year (0-8) and four seasons that began in 2007-2008.
McMasters guided two state playoff teams (2009-10 and 2010-11) and his five teams went 29-78.
Simmons, who came to West Caldwell after a stint as head football coach at West Iredell, spent six years as head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Hibriten.
He became head coach at Hibriten in 2008-2009 with his first team going 1-19. His next three teams were 6-16, 5-18 and 8-17 and reached the postseason, and his last two went 2-20 and 6-16. The Panthers were 28-106 under Simmons.
Simmons will be trying to snap West Caldwell’s streak of 16 straight non-winning seasons (one .500) when he takes over. The Warriors haven’t had a winning season since Scott Greene coached them in 2004-2005 (18-10).
The change in head girls’ coaches in the 15th since the late 1970s, and West Caldwell has head 12 winning seasons, two at .500 and 30 losing seasons in the past 44 years. Eight of those 12 winning teams won at least 20 games and seven of those reached the West Regionals. The Warriors were state 3A champions in 1984-85 and 1986-86.
NEWS-TOPIC STORY (Posted by permission): NEWS TOPIC STORY ON WEST CALDWELL
