Varsity athletes advance to the next level
0L.C. Bird standout volleyball player Jessica Bradbury announced her commitment to Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia to continue her volleyball career. Hollins is not a traditional volleyball power, however, Bradbury said that she loved first year head coach Kat Lawson’s approach to building the program. “I want to help build the program,” said Bradbury. “Coach [Lawson] is ready to rock and so am I.” Bradbury will graduate in June and has certainly been an important building block to L.C. Bird’s program. An integral part of L.C. Bird’s 2013 Conference 12 Championship team, she led the team in assists as the…
Skyhawks Basketball: Ladies advance to states, boys drop double OT thriller
0With last week’s Conference Championships both the L.C. Bird boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were assured spots in the 5A South Region tournament. Both figured to have excellent opportunities to win the two games needed to advance to state. While the boys fell in a double overtime thriller to Henrico last Wednesday, The Lady Skyhawks are two wins away from achieving their preseason goal of a state championship in All-American Taja Cole’s senior season. Picking up from last week’s Village News, the girls continued their run with a battle against 25-0 Highland Springs last Wednesday. The Springers and Skyhawks faced…
Warriors win second straight state wrestling title
0The Matoaca Warriors wrestling program reached a lofty goal set after last season ended. Saturday at Robinson High School, Matoaca repeated as 5A State Champions. The gradual improvement of a program has begun to bloom into a dynasty. “The first one was a history making one, we didn’t have one at the school,” Matoaca Wrestling Head Coach Michael Moore said. “We didn’t know if it was luck so we had to win another one to show everyone that it wasn’t just luck.” This year’s team excelled on both an individual and team basis. Individual champions included Brandon Woody (106 pounds),…
General Pinky leads Bird into battle
0Playing for the best team in the Chesterfield area allows a lot of players to generate buzz. For L.C. Bird, there are so many players that can be the leading scorer every night. There’s the obvious in seniors Kenny Williams and C.J. Miles, who have led the team in scoring each of the last two years. Then there are the breakout players, like Charles Falden who is currently averaging 14 points per game after playing JV last year. What do they all have in common? They are often set up by sophomore point guard Johquin “Pinky” Wiley. He is affectionately…
Matoaca slams competition at Conference 12 tourney
0The Matoaca Warriors clinched their second consecutive Conference 12 Championship on Saturday. Neal Richards earned his second All-Academic honor and second Wrestler of the Year accolade in the first two years of Conference 12. For Matoaca, all things were right in the wrestling world. Eleven of 12 participants advanced to their respective weight class finals. The one that did not, Matthew Lockhart (145), placed third. Brandon Woody (106), Sam Braswell (113), Markus Taborn (126), Adam Wilmer (132), Joseph Nicholson (138), Richards (152), Patrick Grier (195), Hunter Kerns (220) and Anthony Helm (285), were all Conference 12 Champions. Yamique Webb (160)…
One Small Step… A Giant Leap for Titiana Marsh
0Leap frog is a popular children’s game, played on playgrounds everywhere. The premise is simple; you crouch like a frog, and someone behind you “hops” over you. “Ribbiting” is optional. Titiana Marsh, a freshman at Thomas Dale isn’t that far removed from those playground days, but her triple jump of 40-00.00 turned heads two weekends ago at an indoor track meet at St. Christopher’s. “It’s been hard to pick up her vibe,” said Thomas Dale Head Track Coach Jay Price. “Marsh is excited, but knows different aspects of her jump could be improved- she wants to get better.” 40 feet…
Ring of Champions
0Coaches, along with parents and teachers, are some of the most impactful people that a young person will cross paths with. For Dickie King, a 1966 graduate of Staunton Military Academy that attended and ran track for four years at Thomas Dale, this was an opportunity to recognize the impact his track coach, Jack Westfall, had on him. “I saw Coach Westfall at Kroger, riding on his mart cart,” explained King. “It made me wonder – if I was 80, would everyone remember everything I did?” Two Fridays ago, Thomas Dale inducted their newest class into the Ring of Champions,…
Johnny Grubb inducted into Va. Hall of Fame
0If you have a World Series trophy sitting in your home, you would have to think that life had been pretty good. For former 1984 World Series Champion Johnny Grubb, things got even better as he was elected into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the 2015 class. “I put that up there as one of the top things in my life,” said Grubb. “I know people have been writing letters and supporting me and that helped me a lot.” Grubb is a graduate and former baseball coach at Meadowbrook High School and candidly reflected on…