Surry Central basketball coach Mandy Holt didn’t even have time to celebrate a nail-biting victory on Wednesday before a surprise ceremony was announced.
The Golden Eagles had just walked through the handshake line after defeating Mount Airy 44-42 and were headed for the locker room when the announcement was made. Holt was perplexed by the request for her team to stay on the floor, but that confusion soon turned to joy.
The Feb. 1 win was Holt’s 200th career win, and the Golden Eagles celebrated that accomplishment with the longtime coach.
Central Athletic Director Wes Evans approached Coach Holt with a bouquet of flowers as the milestone win was announced. Not only was the recognition a surprise, but Holt was also presented with a framed letter from UNC men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis congratulating her.
“I definitely want to thank my husband Travis and my daughter Addy for all their love and support. They got me on the surprise presentation tonight.” Holt said. “I didn’t realize anything was about to happen. I kind of knew where the mark was, but the girls didn’t know because I really didn’t want it to be about me. To me, 200 has nothing to do with me and represents the whole program.”
All 200 of Holt’s wins have come at Surry Central.
Holt took over as Surry Central girls basketball coach in 2008. After a 4-21 start her first year, Central doubled its win total in 2009-10 then steadily improved in the column each year. Central hit double-digit win in Holt’s third season, then the team leaped to an 18-10 record in 2012-13.
The Golden Eagles didn’t stop their ascent there as Surry Central finished 19-7 in 2013-14 and 21-6 in 2014-15. Central won a share of the Western Piedmont 2A Conference Championship in both of those seasons.
The Eagles went on to set the school record for single-season victories by going 24-6 in 2018-19, breaking the previous record of 22 wins that was set in 1994-95.
Surry Central won double-digit games in 10 consecutive seasons from 2010-11 to 2019-20; the 2020-21 team finished 7-5 in a season shortened by covid.
“I love being the leader of the Surry Central basketball program,” Holt said. “It’s really a dream come true that I’m living it. This is something that I’ve wanted since I was little.”
On her milestone victory, Holt said: “It represents not just the players and coaches I have right now, which I’ll forever remember for being with me tonight, but it’s all the players and all of the coaches I’ve had in the past. A lot of hours have been put in by a lot of people.”
When asked who she wanted to recognize and thank for helping her reach this point, Holt said: “It really is my girls, first and foremost, and all the coaches that have helped me, and this accomplishment is really about them. I definitely want to thank my family that has always supported me night in and night out throughout the years. and the whole community. I love being here.”
This content was originally published here.
