Sports

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2021 Prep basketball: The Ville Classic at Mechanicsville 5:30 p.m./7:15 p.m.

12 23

2021 Prep basketball: Battle in Bird Cage at Hanover 6:00 p.m.

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Holiday spirit aplenty at Hawk swim meet

By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor

RICHMOND — While relatively new among area swim invitationals, the Hanover Hawks Holiday Swim Invitational quickly established itself as a holiday tradition. Except for last year, when the usual winter swim season was postponed until the spring.

This year, the meet returned. And neither the holiday nor the competitive spirit was diminished by the unplanned break. Nearly two dozen boys and girls teams from central Virginia and beyond showed up full of competitors determined to give it their best.

By the time it was over, Western Albemarle’s boys dominated the field, amassing more than 150 points (457.5) than runner-up Mills Godwin (302). Maggie Walker Governor’s School was third with 189 points, followed by Cosby (180) and Blacksburg (161). James River (149), Atlee (127), Monacan (112), Hanover (97.5) and Midlothian (92) made up the rest of the top 10.

The girls competition was closer, at least until the final relay. Monacan edged Cosby by three points, 288 to 285, for the win. The other top 10 teams were Mills Godwin (251) was third. Western Albemarle (240), Jamestown (198.5), Maggie Walker (161), Hanover (130), Blacksburg (121), Glen Allen (90) and Midlothian (81).

For Western Albemarle swim coach Dan Bledsoe, the biggest reason for celebration

Dave Lawrence/The Local

Patrick Henry’s Amanda Barnard creates a pane of water as she slices through the lane on the opening leg of the girls 200-yard individual medley in the Hanover Hawks Holiday Swim Invitational at SwimRVA Saturday. Barnard fi nished second in 2:03.28.

at this traditionally merry meet — which continued with its tradition of a singalong of “Winter Wonderland” — was the fact that the meet was being held.

“I just so happy that we’re back doing this,” Bledsoe said. “After last year, it was such a hitor-miss season . . . I was happy that we had a part of the season. But to have some bit of normalcy for these kids — it is a lot of fun. You can see the excitement in all the teams here. George [Massey] does an amazing job putting this on. It’s a good thing seeing the kids energized.”

Western Albemarle’s boys swept all three relays. Thomas Heilman, Jack Smith, Jackson Schundler and Matthew Heilman won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:33.96. Sam Johnson, Richard Wang, Anthony Garono and Thomas Heilman won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:24.89. Thomas Heilman, Johnson, Smith and Matthew Heilman won the 400 freestyle relay in 3:06.41.

Individually, Johnson won the 50 freestyle (21.47) and 100 butterfly (50.39). Matthew Heilman won the 100 freestyle (46.90) and 100 breaststroke.

Going into the final two events, only 20 points separated the Monacan girls from Western Albemarle in fourth place. But the Chiefs aired out their lead over the third- and fourth-place teams with a pair of top-4 finishes in the 100 breaststroke — Rachael Brown finished second in 1:04.10 and Piper Price fourth in 1:06.49 — and a fourth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:38.69).

Runner-up Cosby, however, made the finish interesting, closing to withing three points of Monacan with a win in the 400 freestyle relay. The Titans’ team of Allison Dodd, Claire Dafoe, Cynthia Huang and Lexi Stephens dropped 6.86 seconds off their seed time with a 3:30.32 finish.

“It did get pretty interesting,” Monacan head swim coach Brian Singleton said. “It comes down to relays, but it kind of always does. But [the Chiefs] pulled through and had some big-time swims.”

Monacan had two winning relay teams, opening with a victory for its 200 medley relay team of Cassie Bauer, Rachael Brown, Carleigh Dillman and Raegan Canada (1:46.57). The Chiefs’ 200 freestyle relay team of Carleigh Dillman, Shannah Dillman, Piper Price and Canada also won (1:39.69).

New meet records were set for half of the Hawk Invitational’s 22 events. In addition to Western Albemarle’s three boys relay wins — all three meet records — Matthew Heilman individually set a new meet record in the 100 breaststroke (56.22). Monacan’s girls set a new meet record in their win in the 200 medley relay.

Cosby’s Claire Dafoe set a pair of meet records: in the girls 200 freestyle (1:50.40) and 500 freestyle (4:50.92).

Mills Godwin’s Zoe Dixon set meet records in the girls 200 individual medley (1:58.44) and 100 butterfly (54.18).

Ashland resident Christine Datovech set a pair of meet records for Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, first in the girls 50 freestyle (23.58) and second in the 100 backstroke (55.11).

Among other county swimmers, Patrick Henry’s Amanda Barnard led the pack with 33 points. She finished second in the girls 200 individual medley and third in the 100 butterfly. She was also part of the Patriots’ 10th-place 200 freestyle relay team (with Caroline Cox, Maddie Medei and Kate Balut) and 11th-place 200 medley relay team (with Balut, Medei, and Carolyn Wright).

see SPIRIT, pg. 19 The Mechanicsville Local December 22, 2021 17

Trojans seize title in Mechanicsville Classic

By Robby Fletcher Richmond Suburban News

MECHANICSVILLE — Nineteen wrestling teams went to the mat at the Mechanicsville Holiday Classic Friday and Saturday, going head-to-head in an exciting two-day wrestling tournament.

By the time wrestling ended Saturday afternoon, Midlothian’s Trojans had battled their way to the top with three first-place finishers and 184 team points.

Midlothian’s tournamentwinning group was headlined by senior Crew Gregory (110), who ran through the 160pound bracket and won the title with an 18-3 tech fall over Powhatan’s Andrew Cheatham. Gregory was joined at the top of the podium by teammates Knox and Ashby Berry, who won first-place honors in the 152 and 170-pound competitions respectively.

Orange County and Mechanicsville High School rounded out the top-3 in the competition with 163 and 160 points.

One particularly impressive run was from Hanover sophomore Noah Bentley, who won the 132-pound title. Bentley won four straight matches by fall, including a wild title match with Orange County’s Ethan Turner that found Bentley needing an injury timeout after a tough fall on his head in the second period. Down 6-2 before the stoppage, Bentley would continue in the event and come back with a pin in the third period to give Hanover its only first-place finisher at the tournament.

“You just have to be tough mentally and physically in all aspects of the game,” Bentley said. “At the beginning, he had me on my back a couple of times, and I really thought I was going to get pinned, but you just always have to stay in the match and think ‘I’m always going to win.’ ”

Powhatan finished fifth in the team results but had two wrestlers take home first-place honors. Senior Adam Camp (4-0) had an impressive run through his weight class and concluded the tournament by securing a pin of Atlee’s Gabe Blair in 1:50. In his semifinal matchup with Dominic Turner of Orange County, Camp showed his strength by not allowing Turner to get any sort of momentum, getting a first-period takedown, a stellar reversal in the second and one final takedown in the third to win by a 6-0 decision.

“I was definitely shocked,” Camp said about the final. “That was my first time ever being in one, and it felt great to come out with a win. Our team’s just been practicing like crazy and working really hard, and it’s obviously showing.”

The Indians’ other winner was senior Mitchell Johnson in the 195-pound class. Johnson, 8-1 on the season, won his final two matches by decision. In the semifinal, Johnson came out aggressive before settling into a more calculated approach once he took a 3-0 lead. He’d take the match with a 6-0 score. In the final against Deep Run senior Tyler Wilkinson, Johnson was just as patient to get his points, earning two takedowns and an escape in the second and third periods to win with a 5-1 decision.

While not having any athlete winning first place, the hosting Mechanicsville Mustangs had plenty of high-level performers in their home gym, including junior Jacob Koenig (8-3), who finished second in the 152pound bracket and generated 22 team points. Sophomore Carter Walton also gave the Mustangs 22 team points after finishing third in the 113-pound competition.

Of the 19 participating schools, nine of them had athletes finishing in first place.

Robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatan-

Joel Klein for The Local

Mechanicsville’s Jacob Koenig defeats Deep Run’s Ian Mayhugh 5-2 in a 152-pound semifi nal. Koenig fi nished second overall.

today.com.

Mechanicsville Holiday Classic (at Mechanicsville H.S.)

Team scores: 1. Midlothian 184.0; 2. Orange County 163.0; 3. Mechanicsville 160.0; 4. Deep Run 157.0; 5. Powhatan 151.0; 6. Louisa County 143.5; 7. Varina 101.0; 8. Atlee 95.0; 9. Patrick Henry 93.5; 10. Hanover 86.0; 11. Douglas S. Freeman 63.0; 12. Jamestown 58.0; 13. Thomas Dale 54.0; 14. King William 49.0; 15. Mechanicsville `B` 44.0; 16. Mills E. Godwin 43.0; 17. Caroline 36.0; 18. Maggie L. Walker Governor`s School 35.5; 19. New Kent 28.0.

Individual results 1st Place

106: Waylon Rogers (ORA) p. Sam Parsons (MID) 5:11; 113: Drew Fink (TD) p. Justin Jones (ORA) 5:53; 120: Jerry Simon (DR) d. Dylan Coward (POW) 7-2; 126: Owen Greslick (LOU) d. David Simon (DR) 4-2; 132: Noah Bentley (HAN) p. Ethan Turner (ORA) 2:22; 138: Austin Weeks (KW) d. Zach Hewins (VAR) 13-8; 145: Cameron Mckay (DR) d. Stuart Altman (MG) 3-1; 152: Knox Berry (MID) d. Jacob Koenig (MEC) 13-6; 160: Crew Gregory (MID) tf. Andrew Cheatham (POW) 5:46 (18-3); 170: Ashby Berry (MID) p. Hans Rehme (POW) 3:38; 182: Adam Camp (POW) p. Gabe Blair (ATL) 2:57; 195: Mitchell Johnson (POW) d. Tyler Wilkinson (DR) 5-1; 220: Jared Russett (JAM) p. Adam Elaal (MEC) 1:02; 285: Thomas Pierce (ORA) p. Brey Loving (DF) 0:41.

3rd Place

106: Eric Ludwig (ATL) p. Sara Forsyth (PH) 0:37; 113: Carter Walton (MEC) p. Michael Poindexter (VAR) 2:56; 120: Gianpaolo Ciotola (LOU) p. Grace Bolstad (MID) 1:50; 126: Gavin Utley (POW) d. Ryan Magill (MEC) 6-0; 132: Callad Gregory (MID) md. Jacob Maust (ATL) 8-0; 138: Alex Macfarlane (MID) p. Gavin Greslick (LOU) 2:37; 145: Kasey Casazza (LOU) md. Jackson Garnett (ORA) 8-0; 152: Ian Mayhugh (DR) d. Tanner Painting (LOU) 4-1; 160: Nick Torbush (LOU) p. Kevin Bagby (MEC) 4:21; 170: Copper Wendley (JAM) p. Zach Tyler (HAN) 1:29; 182: Dominic Turner (ORA) p. Jason Cooper (PH) 1:50; 195: Joseph Elaal (MEC) p. Bishop Casteel (KW) 2:00; 220: Malique Tunstall (CAR) p. Aiden Ball (PH) 0:26; 285: Nicholas Gagliardi (DR) p. Jordan Watson (PH) 0:41.

5th Place

106: Cameron Givens (VAR) d. Kaitlyn Klock (CAR), forfeit; 113: Blake Deschamps (PH) d. Mateo Duarte (ATL), forfeit; 120: Curtis Johnson (VAR) p. Mitchell Dye (TD) 0:43; 126: Jack Laroche (MLWGS) md. Jeremiah Adkins (VAR) 14-4; 132: Robert Tovornik (LOU) p. Linus Stansbury (PH) 2:18; 138: Tony Caramucci (MLWGS) d. Brian Holland (DR) 5-4; 145: Andrew Kozubal (MEC) d. Reid Garnett (DF), forfeit; 152: Aiden Hutchinson (NK) p. Jake Owens (MEC B) 2:16; 160: Zach Crowder (HAN) p. Chris Drozdowicz (MEC B) 3:29; 170: Nick Owens (MEC) d. Max Bidou (MEC B), forfeit; 182: Yousef Murshed (MEC) p. Daniel Mullins (MEC B) 0:18; 195: Braiden Swift (ORA) d. Matthew Notorianni (MID), injury (3:08); 220: Tim Graff (MLWGS) p. Trent Cannon (KW) 0:48; 285: Kivonte Eure (VAR) p. Adam Swanton (CAR) 3:35.

County basketball teams stay busy as break begins

By Rob Witham for Th e Local

HENRICO — As boys basketball teams worked their way to winter break, one bounced back from a loss to a perennial power for a key victory, another continued a tough stretch thanks, in part, to a key injury, and one, after getting a semifinal win in a tournament on the host’s home floor, ran into a buzzsaw in the title game.

For the Hanover Hawks, after an 82-44 drubbing at the hands of Varina, now a fellow member of Region 4B, it was back to the drawing board for their matchup at home Thursday with Deep Run.

“Event plus response equals outcome. This is something we talk about daily within our program,” said Hawks head coach Rob Rice. “The event is the past, response is the present, and outcome is the future. Our players know that the only thing we can control is our response which always impacts the outcome.”

Thanks to a 14-point performance from senior Charlie Rohr, and a double-double from Will Krickovic, who scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Hanover held off Deep Run 51-43 to improve its record to 4-2.

“Our focus was on making Deep Run take contested shots and only giving them one shot per possession,” Rice explained. “The best teams defend at a high level, night in and night out, and it takes discipline, effort, and unselfishness. We did that on Thursday, but still have a long way to go.”

Owen DeShazo had nine points and seven rebounds in the victory.

The Hawks are hosting their own holiday classic this week, “Battle at The Birdcage.” Original boys participant Powhatan pulled out over the weekend due to COVID-19 protocols, so Hanover will face King George in the tournament’s final game on Thursday at 6 p.m.

For Atlee, a 3-1 start seems like a lifetime ago as the Raiders are no in the midst of a fourgame losing streak. Playing without Drew Hollins, Atlee, after falling at Hanover, lost three straight at home: to Deep Run in overtime, to Highland Springs by three, and, Thursday night, to Mills Godwin 64-51.

The Eagles began the game with an 11-0 run to establish a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Raiders got within five to end the period, but saw Mills Godwin up the lead to 12 at 29-17 at the break.

Atlee (3-5) would only get as close as eight points, as the Eagles used timely shooting and good work at the free throw line to secure the win. Rally Axselle and Jacob Gompers each scored 11 points for the Raiders, while Garrett Bralley added seven.

The Raiders next play in the Tri-Cities Holiday Tournament, which began Tuesday. They faced Dinwiddie in a firstround game at Hopewell High School after this edition went to press.

Patrick Henry completed the 2021 portion of its schedule at the Ralph Crockett Holiday Tournament at J.R. Tucker High School. After defeating the host Tigers in the semifinal round Thursday, the Patriots faced unbeaten Manchester for the championship.

From the tip, the Lancers controlled both sides of the floor, defeating the Patriots for the crown 90-22, holding Patrick Henry (3-5) to just seven points in the second half.

Christian Berry and David Ward each scored eight points for the Patriots, who will return to action on Jan. 4 hosting Armstrong, which defeated Tucker in the consolation game of the Crockett Tournament 66-56.

Mechanicsville returns to play when the Mustangs host The Ville Holiday Classic beginning Tuesday. The boys will host the newly formed Grace Christian School, led by former Mechanicsville head coach Chad Bishop, in a semifinal at 7:15 p.m. Colonial Heights and King William round out the boys tournament field.

There will be a girls tourney as well, with New Kent facing King William Tuesday in one semifinal, while the host Mustangs play Colonial Heights in the other. Play began at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Rob Witham for The Local

Patrick Henry’s Aidan Ward (2) beats several Manchester opponents to a rebound Thursday night.

SPIRIT

Continued from pg. 17

Hayden Bartz led Patrick Henry’s boys with 22 points. He finished sixth in the 500 freestyle and ninth in the 200 individual medley. He was also on the Patriots’ sixth-place 200 freestyle relay team (with Cole Nuckols, Michael Causey and Deklan Cauthorne) and 12th-place 200 medley relay team (with Nuckols, Kaleb Kashinejad, and Causey).

Hanover’s Jordyn Dillard led the Hawks with 30 points. She finished in both the girls 200 and 100 freestyles and was part of the Hawks’ fifth-place 200 freestyle relay team (Allison Everhart, Cere Duplissey and Morgan Pittman) and sixthplace 400 freestyle relay team (with Emma Allison, Pittman and Duplissey).

Sam Castle led Hanover’s boys with 29 points from fourth-place finishes in the boys 100 freestyle and fifth-place finishes in the 100 backstroke. He was also of two Hawk eighthplace relay teams: the 200 medley relay (with Bryce Newton, Henry Atkinson and Nathaniel Eliason) and 400 freestyle relay team (with Eliason, Nicholas Ligday and Newton).

Mollie Ivie led Atlee’s girls with 29 points. She finished third in the girls 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 butterfly. She was also part of Atlee’s 11thplace 200 freestyle relay team (with Avery Jenkins, Emily Stevens and Morgan Pritchard) and 12th-place 400 freestyle relay team (with Jenkins, Taylor Downes and Pritchard).

Jace Hollinger led the Raider boys with 25 points from a third-place finish in the boys 50 freestyle and ninth-place finish in the 100 freestyle. He was also part of Atlee’s fourth-place boys 200 medley relay team (with Tyler Caten, Brock Rempe and Brandon Harvey) and fifthplace 200 freestyle relay team (with Rempe, Harvey and Rempe).

Tyler Hill led Mechanicsville with 24 points. He finished sixth in the boys 100 butterfly and eighth in the 50 freestyle. He was also part of the Mustangs’ 12th-place 200 freestyle relay team (with Alex Pruemer, Cooper Early and Matthew Bock) and 14th-place 200 medley relay team (with Early, Jacob Brown and Pruemer).

Dave Lawrence can be reached at dlawrence@mechlocal.com.

Boys team scores: 1. Western Albemarle 457.5; 2. Mills Godwin 302; 3. Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School 189; 4. Cosby 180; 5. Blacksburg 161; 6. James River 149; 7. Atlee 127; 8. Monacan 112; 9. Hanover 97.5; 10. Midlothian 92; 11. Patrick Henry 79; 12. Glen Allen 57; 13. Mechanicsville 51; 14. Matoaca 26; 15. Jamestown 25; 16. Charlottesville 21; 17. Manchester 16; 18. Colonial Heights 11. 200-yard medley relay: 1. Western Albemarle (Thomas Heilman, Jack Smith, Jackson Schundler, Matthew Heilman) 1:33.96; 200 freestyle: 1. Ryan Hufford (MON) 1:41.67; 200 individual medley: 1. Bryce Mortimer (MLWGS) 1:54.31; 50 free: 1. Sam Johnson (WA) 21.47; 100 butterfly: 1. Sam Johnson (WA) 50.39; 100 free: 1. Matthew Heilman (WA) 46.90; 500 free: 1. William Glass (MID) 4:37.90; 200 freestyle relay: 1. Western Albemarle (Sam Johnson, Richard Wang, Anthony Garono, Thomas Heilman) 1:24.89; 100 backstroke: 1. Crash Ackerly (MLWGS) 51.43; 100 breaststroke: 1. Matthew Heilman (WA) 56.22; 400 freestyle relay: 1. Western Albemarle (Thomas Heilman, Sam Johnson, Jack Smith, Matthew Heilman) 3:06.41.

Girls team scores: 1. Monacan 288; 2. Cosby 285; 3. Mills Godwin 251; 4. Western Albemarle 240; 5. Jamestown 198.5; 6. Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School 161; 7. Hanover 130; 8. Blacksburg 121; 9. Glen Allen 90; 10. Midlothian 81; 11. James River 80; 12. Atlee 65; 13. Patrick Henry 60.5; 14. Colonial Heights 50; 15. Manchester 18; 16. Matoaca 14; 17. Deep Run 10; 18. Mechanicsville 1. 200-yard medley relay: 1. Monacan (Cassie Bauer, Rachael Brown, Carleigh Dillman, Raegan Canada) 1:46.57; 200 freestyle: 1. Claire Dafoe (COS) 1:50.40; 200 individual medley: 1. Zoe Dixon (MG) 1:58.44; 50 free: 1. Christine Datovech (MLWGS) 23.58; 100 butterfly: 1. Zoe Dixon (MG) 54.18; 100 free: 1. Wyllo Hanson (JAM) 51.69; 500 free: 1. Claire Dafoe (COS) 4:50.92; 200 freestyle relay: 1. Monacan (Carleigh Dillman, Shannah Dillman, Piper Price, Raegan Canada) 1:39.69; 100 backstroke: 1. Christine Datovech (MLWGS) 55.11; 100 breaststroke: 1. Riley Bridgman (CH) 1:03.32; 400 freestyle relay: 1. Cosby (Allison Dodd, Claire Dafoe, Cynthia Huang, Lexi Stephens) 3:30.32.