Sports

Woodson, Samson make All-State

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

After a successful season that ended in the VISAA State Tournament semifinals, the Saint Gertrude Gators basketball team is seeing its top players honored for the tremendous work they put in over the course of the season.

Star players Erin Woodson and Kate Samson were both listed on the VISAA Division I All-State Team, with Woodson listed on the first team and Samson listed on the second.

Other teams to have multiple players make the teams include the VISAA state champion St. Paul VI Panthers, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, Bishop Ireton and Catholic High School.

Woodson, a 6-foot junior who is committed to playing at Purdue Fort-Wayne, was one of eight players listed on the first team.

Woodson had a productive season as one of the team’s most reliable scorers, averaging a team-high 21.6 points per game on 45% efficiency from the field. She also averaged 3.4 assists and 7.7 rebounds, both second highest on the team.

Woodson was also a marquee defensive player on the perimeter, accumulating an impressive 3.7 steals per game, the highest on the team, and 1.4 blocks per game.

During the team’s playoff run, Woodson led the way with averages of 20.5 points, 46% 3-point efficiency, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3 steals in two games.

Samson, meanwhile, wrapped up her Gators career with a terrific senior season

at center.

Samson was second on the team behind Woodson in points with 12.8 points per game, but led the way in field goal percentage at 47%, rebounds at 8.2 per game and blocks with three per game.

At 6-foot-4-inches, Samson was a terrific rim-running big that dominated the paint on both ends of the floor.

One of Samson’s most notable performances in her senior year came against Steward on Jan. 29 when Samson killed the Spartans on the glass with a whopping 20 rebounds to go with 23 points. She finished that game shooting seven-of-17 from the field and nine-of-12 from the free throw line.

One of her other impressive double-doubles came on Jan. 5 against Shining Star Sports Academy when she put up 11 points and 11 rebounds.

While her Gators career has come to an end, her basketball career still has a long way to go, as Samson verbally committed to playing at the United States Naval Academy.

Though the team ultimately fell short of its goals of winning the state championship for a second year in a row, seeing two players earn well-deserved praise for their hard work is a welcome sight for a Gators team that’ll look to build off this season next winter.

Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

File Photo above, photo on the right by Robby Fletcher

Above, Saint Gertrude’s Kate Samson (44) blocks the shot of Collegiate’s Amani KimballMcKavish during the Gators’ victory Friday. Erin Woodson (4) helps defend.

Right, Woodson crosses over to her right hand in a VISAA State Tournament matchup against Catholic on March 2. Woodson scored 29 points in the 60-54 win.

Cadets roundup: tennis, lacrosse share big weeks

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

It was a busy week in sports for the Benedictine Cadets, who saw their baseball, lacrosse and tennis teams all come away with impressive victories as they approach the end of March.

The baseball team moved to 4-2 on the season after winning both games of a Saturday doubleheader against St. Paul VI and Episcopal. Against St. Paul VI, Benedictine scored six runs in the first two innings to cruise to an 8-2 win.

Then against Episcopal, they were just as dominant, knocking off their opponent in a 12-2 win. Their next game comes against Woodberry Forest on April 1.

On the lacrosse field, the Cadets snapped a four-game losing streak with their first win of the season against Fork Union Military Academy in a 15-6 win at home that pushed them in the right direction. They now move to 1-4-1 on the season with a matchup against Trinity at Meadow View on April 2.

The tennis team won two matchups this week, first beating Veritas 5-4 and then taking down Seton, 7-2.

Against Veritas, the team was locked into a 3-3 tie after the singles events, but the Cadets took control through strong play in doubles to pull away with the victory.

Also, the golf team opened up its season with a hard-fought loss against Trinity, 177-148. Though they weren’t able to secure the win, the team has already demonstrated significant improvement compared to last season.

Contributed Photo

Benedictine’s lacrosse team leaves the field after taking down Fork Union 15-11 on March 24.

Goochland track competes at Fluvanna

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

On a gusty Saturday morning, Goochland’s track and field team traveled to Fluvanna County High School for the Fluvanna Invitational along with 13 other schools.

At the invitational, the girls team finished in seventh place with 18 participants while the boys finished in 10th place with 22 participants.

The boys had 12 top-10 finishes during the day, with some particularly strong work in the hurdles, track relays and in the triple and long jump.

Meanwhile, the girls had 11 finishes within the top-10, demonstrating the same speed on the track that earned them multiple state-qualifying runners during the winter track and field season.

The best overall performer of the day was from sophomore Jadelyn Taylor, one of Goochland’s most dynamic sprinters, who finished second in the 100-meter hurdles and third in the 300-meter hurdles.

In the 100, Taylor leaped her way to a 17.31-second result that was 0.51 seconds behind first place winner Shea Hart of Fluvanna County. In the 300, Hart once again gave the Flying Flucos the top prize in the hurdles at 49.10 seconds, while Taylor finished in 52.76 seconds.

Taylor also competed in the long jump for the Bulldogs, finishing in 12th place with a 13-foot, 8-inch jump. In that same competition, her teammate Amore Jackson finished in ninth place at 13-09.50.

In the other running events, Goochland saw a third and fourth place result in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays with times of 5:07.20 and 12:29.24.

The Bulldogs also received a big boost from sophomore Megan Reid’s 1600-meter run, which was a 6:27.14 time that was good for fifth place out of 15 runners.

Another notable performance came from sophomore Leilani Burgess, who performed well in the triple jump, long jump and 400-meter dash. Her triple and high jumps proved to be the best, as the do-it-all athlete finished sixth in both events, recording a distance of 4 feet, 5 inches in the high jump and 30 feet, 5 inches in the triple jump. She also finished in ninth out of 22 runners in the 400, racing ahead toward the finish line for a time of 1:10.22.

On the boys side, three fourth place finishes led the way for the Bulldogs, with juniors Wyatt Davis and Charlie Alston taking those top-5 finishes while the 4x800 relay team also picked up a fourth place result.

Davis got his fourth place result in the high jump, springing to a 5-0.3.00 result. He also finished in seventh in the 400-meter dash, finishing in less than a minute at 58.57 seconds.

Alston, meanwhile, captured fourth in the triple jump, going 38-0.4.00 for another big time Bulldogs performance.

Rounding out a productive day at Fluvanna, sophomore Jonathan Paschall ran a 50.88-second time in the 300meter hurdles, the 4x400 relay team ran a 4:15.16 time and senior Omarion Quarles had a long jump result of 17-7.25

Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

Photos by Robby Fletcher

Left, sophomore Jonathan Paschall soars through the air in the long jump competition at the Fluvanna County High School Invitational on March 26. Paschall finished with a 16-foot, 9.25-inch result. Right, sophomore Lily Edwards runs with the baton in a relay race.

Bulldog roundup: baseball, girls tennis earn first wins

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

Multiple Goochland teams were able to earn their first wins of the season this past week, including a come-frombehind victory for the baseball team and a dominant win for the girls tennis team.

The baseball team, down 5-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning against Nottoway, stormed back to win thanks to a massive 3-RBI triple from junior Mason Gregory and a walkoff RBI single from fellow junior Reese Vincent to win 6-5. The team will have over a week to prepare for their next game when they take on district opponent Fluvanna County on April 11. The softball team also played Nottoway, and fell in a thrilling 5-4 finish that saw them nearly win as well.

The girls tennis team had a week to prepare for its second match of the season after falling to Powhatan 2-7, and they responded as well as they possible could, besting Chancellor at home with a 7-2 score. They play again on April 12 when they travel to Charlottesville High School.

The boys and girls soccer teams gave spirited fights against New Kent on March 22, though both ultimately fell in close contests.

The boys saw goals come from sophomore Yoshi DaSilva and junior Connor Doersch, but a four-goal performance from New Kent’s Xavier Zuazo proved too much to overcome. The girls weren’t able to score on a stifling New Kent defense, but their own defensive strength was able to keep it close throughout in a 2-0 loss.