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2022 College baseball: Alvernia at Randolph-Macon noon/3:00 p.m.

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County teams reunite in state swim meet

By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor

RICHMOND — For the first time in years, all four county high school swim teams competed in the same state tournament. As usual, however, all four teams represented the county well.

Both Hanover’s boys and girls teams finished in the top 10, as did Atlee’s boys and Patrick Henry’s girls, in the Virginia High School League Class 4 swim and dive championships at Collegiate School Aquatic Center Friday.

Patrick Henry’s Amanda Barnard led the county teams in individual wins with two: first in the girls 200-yard individual medley with a 2:03.15 finish, then second in the 500 freestyle with a 4:55.00 finish. Atlee’s Mollie Ivie won the girls 100 backstroke in 56.79. On the boys side, Atlee’s Brock Rempe won the boys 100 breaststroke in 55.59.

The Patriots, in particular, did quite well considering their relatively small size among their Class 4 competitors.

“That was really good to be able to compete at the level we did,” said Patrick Henry head swim coach Bob Flanagan. “We had a number of people get on the podium. Amanda won in two individual events which was incredible for her to be able to do that in backto-back years. But then, along with some other strong freshmen and sophomore swimmers were able to get on the podium in both of their relays. That was exciting. And then the guys also did well.”

The Patriot girls 200 medley relay team of Barnard, Kate Balut, Molly Hoben and Maddie Medei finished fifth. The same quartet finished sixth in the 200 freestyle relay. On the boys side, Hayden Bartz finished fifth in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.

Atlee’s boys were led by strong relay performances. The 200 freestyle relay team of Brock Rempe, Peter Frame, Jace Hollinger and Tyler Caten) finished second. The 200 medley relay team of Caten, Rempe, Brandon Harvey and Hollinger finished fourth. Caten and Hollinger finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 50 freestyle. Caten finished fourth in the 100 freestyle and Rempe eighth in the 200 individual medley.

On the girls side, Molly Ivie also finished third in the 200 butterfly.

“I was really impressed. Everyone performed, really did great,” said Atlee head swim coach Karen Seeber. “The boys 200 medley and 200 free (relays) were disappointed — they were hoping to win, but they dropped time from the beginning and Brock set a pool record, well, a meet record, for his breaststroke.

“We were a little surprised that Mollie got her time in the backstroke. She won that, so that was exciting.”

Hanover’s Sam Castle popped up in the finals in a number of events, finishing fifth in the boys 100 backstroke and eighth in the 100 freestyle. He was also part of the Hawks’ fourth-place 400 freestyle relay with Nathaniel Eliason, Henry Atkinson and Bryce Newton. The quartet finished fifth in the 200 medley relay. Eliason also finished second in the 500 freestyle.

On the girls side, Jordyn Dillard finished sixth in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 100 freestyle. Dillard was also part of the Hawks’ seventhplace 400 freestyle relay team with Morgan Pittman, Emma Allison and Cere Duplissey.

Hanover head swim coach George Massey praised the Class 4 performances overall.

“Just amazing! Eleven state records,” he said. “There were just some just some incredible performances. It’s great to be a part of that.”

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

Dave Lawrence/The Local

Above, Patrick Henry’s Amanda Barnard sweeps her arms in a graceful arc as she swims to victory in the girls 500-yard freestyle in the VHSL Class 4 swim championships at SwimRVA Friday. She beat her preliminary time by six seconds with a 4:55.00 fi nish. Left, Hanover’s Nathaniel Eliason seems to shoot streams of water from his fi ngertips during the boys 500yard freestyle. Eliason fi nished second in 4:40.92.

Frowert fi ghts to second state wrestling title

By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor

VIRGINIA BEACH — Atlee’s Alex Frowert had a difficult year. He injured his shoulder in December but didn’t realize it. Later, he was diagnosed with a torn labrum and hoped he could finish his senior season.

Frowert, a 152-pounder, went undefeated going into the Virginia High School League Class 4 wrestling championships Friday and Saturday at Virginia Beach Sports Center. He went out of there undefeated as well to claim his second state championship.

Frowert won his first three matches in the championship tournament by pins. His opponent in the final, Great Bridge’s Jack Hawbaker, was not so easily subdued. Frowert struggled to maintain a 2-1 advantage until the final seconds, when he managed an additional takedown for a 4-1 decision.

“He brought it to me,” Frowert said. “I could see I needed to keep my attacks up. I saw the problem and I had a game plan for that, but it was a lot tighter than I wanted it to be. In the end I got the job done.”

Frowert reached the championship final by pinning Salem’s Matthew McNeil in 1:56 in the first round, pinning Fauquier’s Reece Kuhns in 3:05 in the quarterfinals and pinning Sherando’s Brogan Teter in 3:38 in the semifinals.

Frowert’s championship campaign and the 28 points that came with it led the Raiders to a sixth-place finish — the highest finish for any Hanover County team. Great Bridge won the team championship with 235 points. Sherando was second with 120.5, followed by Eastern View (117.5), Loudoun County (98.5), and Spotsylvania with 72. Atlee was just two points behind with 70.

Mechanicsville finished 19th with 31 points. Hanover was 24th with 29 and Patrick Henry in a tie for 33rd with 13.

In addition to Frowert, three other Raiders scored. Eric Ludwig finished fourth in the 106-pound class and scored 16 points. Will Rittenhouse likewise finished fourth in the 160pound class for 14 points, and Mateo Duarte finished sixth in the 113-pound class for 12 points.

Hanover was led by Noah Bentley, who finished sixth in the 126-pound class for 12 points. Jacob Epperly finished sixth in the 220-pound class for 11 points. Neither Will Hart (138 pounds) nor Zach Tyler (170 pounds) placed, but they still scored three points apiece for the Hawks.

Two Mustangs placed. Andrew Kozubal finished sixth in the 145-pound class and scored 10 points for Mechanicsville, while Joseph Elaal was sixth in the 195-pound class and scored nine. Jake Owens (138 pounds) scored five points, Joseph Koenig (152 pounds) four and Ryan Magill (126 pounds) three.

Dave Lawrence/The Local

Above, Atlee’s Alex Frowert takes a shot at Great Bridge’s Jack Hawbaker in the 152-pound title match in the Virginia High School League Class 4 wrestling championships at Virginia Beach Sports Center Saturday. Frowert won the title with a 4-1 decision. Left, it may not look like it, but the exhausted wrestler on the left, Powhatan’s Mitchell Johnson, survived a grueling multi-overtime match with Dominion’s Jimenez Jacob (right) to claim the 195-pound championship.

Dillion O`Keefe led Patrick Henry with a sixth-place finish in the 132-pound class. He scored 11 points. Christien DesChamps (113 pounds) did not place but scored two points for the Patriots.

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

VHSL Class 4 wrestling (at Virginia Beach Sports Center)

Team scores: 1. Great Bridge 235; 2. Sherando 120.5; 3. Eastern View 117.5; 4. Loudoun County 98.5; 5. Spotsylvania 72; 6. Atlee 70; 7. (tie) Liberty (Bealeton), Powhatan 65; 9. Jefferson Forest 63; 10. Orange County 61; 11. Dominion 57; 12. King George 52; 13. Broad Run 51; 14. John Handley 46; 15. Louisa County 43; 16. James Wood 42; 17. Fauquier 37; 18. Salem (Salem) 35; 19. Mechanicsville 31; 20. (tie) Deep Creek, Kettle Run, Matoaca, Rock Ridge 30; 24. Hanover 29; 25. (tie) Dinwiddie, Loudoun Valley 28; 27. Pulaski County 26; 28. Millbrook High School 23; 29. (tie) Blacksburg, Western Albemarle 22; 31. (tie) Jamestown, Smithfield 20; 33. (tie) Courtland, Lightridge, Patrick Henry, Varina 13; 37. (tie) Heritage, Warhill 10; 39. Monacan 9; 40. Grafton 7; 41. Denbigh 6; 42. Amherst County 5; 43. Tuscarora 4; 44. (tie) E. C. Glass, Henrico 3; 46. (tie) Churchland, Hampton, King`s Fork, Manor, Warwick 0.

Championship finals 106: Bryson Rios (LC) d. Waylon Rogers (OC) 2-0; 113: Noah Ortiz (GB) p. Colton Bendure (JW) 3:50; 120: Anthony Lucchiani (SHE) p. Nicholas Baker (JH) 1:26; 126: Caleb Neal (GB) d. Foster Cardinale (LIB) 2-1; 132: Eric Doran (GB) md. Cam Sheads (EV) 10-1; 138: Luke Roberts (LC) d. Kyle Csikari (SPO) tf. 5:43 (18-1); 145: Keagan Judd (SHE) md. Santiago Pena (DOM) 14-2; 152: Alex Frowert (ATL) d. Jack Hawbaker (GB) 4-1; 160: Ty Chittum (GB) p. Matt Wirth (JF) 2:50; 170: Noah Lawrence (GB) d. Joey Burch (WA) 4-3; 182: Kingsley Menifee (FAU) d. Abram Chumley (KR) 4-0; 195: Mitchell Johnson (POW) d. Jimenez Jacob (DOM) UTB 2-1; 220: Brett Clatterbaugh (EV) p. Aydan Willis (SHE) 1:26; 285: Alex Birchmeier (BR) p. Keyshawn Burgos (MAT) 2:49.

Third place 106: Seth Ayo (SPO) p. Eric Ludwig (ATL) 2:39; 113: Zach Rios (LC) md. Luke Wells (POW) 11-1; 120: Elijah Smoot (EV) d. Dylan Coward (POW) 9-7; 126: Owen Greslick (LOU) d. Tyler Koerner (SHE) tf. 4:55 (16-0); 132: Nik Voros (SMI) d. Ethan Turner (OC) 6-4; 138: Kyman Kinney (SAL) d. Caleb Cambeis (JF) 8-6; 145: Noah Hall (LIB) p. Nicholas Marck (LHT) 3:59; 152: Kadin Smoot (EV) d. David Norris (KG) 5-1; 160: Simon Bishop (JH) d. Will Rittenhouse (ATL) 6-1; 170: Nathan Mallery (DC) d. Royce Hall (LIB) tb. 5-3; 182: Evan Alger (PC) d. Andrew Gingras (LV) 8-6; 195: Jared Williams (GB) d. Ilias Cholakis (RR) 1-0; 220: Braeden Fluke (GB) p. Caleb Graham (LC) 4:18; 285: Brayden Walker (EV) d. Jett Helmut (MIL) 5-1.

Patriot girls advance, boys fall in 4B openers

By Rob Witham for Th e Local

ASHLAND — If, indeed, it was the final home appearance for the “Triple Threat,” they went out with a bang.

Logan Nuckols, Jessica Osuanah and T’Niyah Baylor, who have been playing basketball together since their Liberty Middle School days, combined for 49 of Patrick Henry’s 69 points in a decisive 69-24 triumph over Capital District rival Varina in the first round of the Region 4B girls basketball championship tournament on Friday night.

The victory sends the fifthseeded Patriots to a quarterfinal date with the No. 4 seed, Monacan, a team that has become a perennial state title contender, including three straight Virginia High School League (VHSL) titles between 2015 and 2017.

More important than the point total, however, was how, in other aspects of the game, the Patriots showed how they can control the narrative, as it were, forcing a team to play the Patrick Henry way, disrupting their game plan. Once the Patriots crank up their transition game, led by Nuckols — a commit to Campbell University — if you can’t slow it down, opponents find themselves simply left behind and worn out.

Osuanah added 16 rebounds to her 12-point performance, while Baylor scored 10 of her 15 points in the first half that saw Patrick Henry (15-6) build a 40-14 halftime lead.

Nuckols poured in 19 of her game-high 22 points in the first half. She now stands at 1,380 career points, which is fourth all-time in Patriot history behind Taylor Huber, Summer Price, who serves as an assistant to head coach Phillip Cobb this

Joel Klein for The Local

Patrick Henry’s Jamie McElroy (22) attempts a jump shot while Varina’s AnNikah Burton (4) tries to bat the ball away in the Patriots’ 69-24 Region 4B win Friday. The Patriots advanced to face Monacan in the quarterfi nals Tuesday after this edition went to press.

year, and Katie Anderson. Had Nuckols had a “normal” junior season schedule, who knows how many points she could have scored?

Cobb noted there was no issue with his team looking past Varina, even though they already had registered two wins over the Blue Devils this season, including a win just seven days previously.

“We played well tonight. If we win the rebound battle, 30% of the time, you’ll win the game,” Cobb said. “When we win that battle, we typically win. That’s the focus. Tonight we were able to pick up the tempo, pressure them, which definitely went in our favor.”

The head coach was quick to praise another Patriot who represents the future of the program.

“Alicia Artis stepped up big time and had one of her career games tonight,” Cobb said. “Sixteen points, and, better yet, 10 rebounds. She had a doubledouble.”

While Osuanah can rebound thanks to her superior height and wingspan, for the smaller Artis, it’s all about positioning under the basket. She, indeed, dominated in the paint in the victory.

While things went well for the women, the seventh-seeded Patrick Henry men saw their 2021-22 season come to a disappointing close, falling to No. 10 Matoaca 65-49 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates.

Bursts by both teams wrote the first half story, with Patrick Henry (10-13) scoring the last five points of the first period for a 9-8 lead. After watching the Warriors go on an 11-0 run in just under two minutes to take a 19-12 advantage with 5:32 left in the first half, the Patriots, playing without star senior Christian Berry, matched Matoaca’s run when Paul Pasowicz nailed a 3-pointer for a 23-21 lead near the end of the half.

Where Patrick Henry faltered was in the third period, where they managed just seven points, allowing Matoaca to rebuild its lead to eight. In the fourth, the Patriots were able to stay alive at the free throw line, down just six with 3:01 to go, but Matoaca finished the contest, ironically, on another run, as the Patriots went cold and the Warriors scored 14 of the game’s last 18 points.

Rob Witham can be reached at sports@mechlocal.com.

Mustang girls run away with regional victory

Win was team’s fi rst in regional play in years

By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor

MECHANICSVILLE — The girls basketball teams at Mechanicsville High School have at times advanced to a regional tournament, but in the time that head coach Alvin Puller has been at their helm, none won a postseason game.

Until Friday, that is. The sixth-seeded Mustangs found a way to cool an initially warm King George offense, holding the 11th-seeded Foxes to single digits in the second and third quarters for a commanding 72-42 win over their visitors.

Mechanicsville next visited No. 3 Powhatan in a quarterfinal that occurred Tuesday after this edition went to press.

“It’s the very first time for me,” Puller said of the Mustangs’ postseason win. “It’s been, I think, my 13th year. We’ve been [in the regions] before but never won a game. It’s a good win — very good.”

This difference this year has been the supporting cast built around a strong playmaker. Past Mechanicsville/Lee-Davis teams have not had the multitude of weapons the current team fields.

“You can’t focus on one person. You’ve got to focus on several,” Puller said. “We’ve got several who can put it in (the basket) at any given time. All five of our starters can score at will.”

In all, eight Mustangs scored. Lydia Elkins and Ashley Owens each scored eight points. Bennett Carlton scored nine points, and Kate Carlton scored 10. But Mechanicsville’s main coming together off the court. It has really benefitted us on the court. The skill has always been there. It’s just a matter of us getting along and not bringing teenage-girl drama.”

With a huge second-half lead, the Mustangs were able to get more of their players significant playing time on the floor. And, while Butler had the biggest tally, she also was able to dish the ball out more often to her teammates and let them take advantage of their own opportunities.

“It’s very good. I set a goal for myself this year and I hit that, so now I’m trying to help everybody get to their goal since they helped me get to mine.”

Their larger goal: making the state tournament. It won’t be easy to get there, but this year, that dream is most certainly within reach.

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

weapon — Madi Butler — was able to dominate the stat column with 27 points of her own.

Butler said the abundant help has made her job easier. But a lot of the growth the team has made has been internal.

“We cut out the drama,” she said. “We work hard in practice and just play together as a team and sort things out the right way. That’s a big part of it —

Dave Lawrence/The Local

Mechanicsville’s Madi Butler drives through a crowd of King George defenders in the Mustangs’ 72-42 victory over the visiting Foxes in a Region 4B fi rst-round playoff Friday. Butler fi nished with a gamehigh 27 points.

KING GEORGE (42) — Davidson 8, Watson 2, Sobota 15, Truslow 5, Breen 6, Callahan 6. Totals 16 4-9 42.

MECHANICSVILLE (72) — Bowman 4, K. Carlton 10, Oliveria 0, Elkins 8, B. Carlton 9, Rucker 4, Owens 8, S. Young 0, Thomas 2, Butler 27. Totals 31 5-10 72.

King George 13 4 7 18 — 42 Mechanicsville 19 19 20 14 — 72

3-point goals — KG: Sobota 4, Davidson, Truslow; MEC: K. Carlton 2, Elkins 2, Butler.