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Looking back on the past year, there were a lot of accomplishments for our local athletes. Here are what The News-Gazette has deemed the top five local sports stories of 2023.
PM Harriers Win State
Led by senior Kovyk Chandler’s individual victory, the Parry McCluer High School boys cross country team won its third Class 1 state title in five years.
Racing at Green Hill Park in Salem in mid-November, the Fighting Blues scored 61 points to defeat runner-up Mathews by 18 points. Chandler, who had placed third inthe state as a sophomore and second as a junior, won the flat 5-kilometer race this year in 15 minutes, 54.1 seconds, and his younger brother Kebryl, a freshman, placed second in 15:59.1. Kovyk also won state titles this year in indoor track and field (1600-meter and 3200-meter runs) and in outdoor track and field (3200-meter run). The Blues are coached by Chris Poluikis.
RC’s Ali Pfaff Shines
Before graduating from Rockbridge County High School in May, Ali Pfaff won Class 3 state swimming titles in the girls’ 100yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke.
After winning a total of four individual state titles during her high school career, two as a junior, Pfaff qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, achieving the qualifying time when she won the 100-meter backstroke at the Virginia State Swimming Senior Champs meet in Lynchburg. Competing in her final meet for the Virginia Gators, a Roanoke-based club team, Pfaff finished the backstroke race in 1:01.26 to beat the qualifying standard for the Olympic Trials, 1:01.89.
Pfaff is now a Division I swimmer for Duke University and already holds the school record in the 200-meter backstroke.
Laxers Make State Semis
For the third consecutive year, the RC girls lacrosse team won the Region 4D title and advanced to the Class 4 state semifinals. All three years, the Wildcats have fallen to Western Albemarle. The Wildcats lost 16-10 in June, and Western Albemarle went on to win its first state title in program history.
The Wildcats, coached by Susan Nye, finished with a record of 16-2, with their only other setback coming against Western Albemarle in a 9-8 overtime thriller in March. Six Wildcats – Region 4D player of the year McKenzie Hines, Rachel Hines, Libba Erskine, Jaden McCoy, Lola Mulitalo and Nala Shearer – earned all-state honors.
RC Netters Win Region
The RC volleyball team won its third regional title in program history and its first regional crown in five years. In the Region 3C finals in early November, the Wildcats earned a 3-0 win over Rustburg. The Wildcats’ season concluded a week later with a 3-2 loss to Christiansburg in the Class 3 state quarterfinals.
Coached by Kassidy Beagan, the Wildcats went 27-2, winning their seventh consecutive Valley District regular-season title and claiming the district tournament title. Three Wildcats – Region 3C player of the year Maddie Dahl, McKenzie Burch and Sophie Vaught – earned all-state honors.
W&L Men Go Far
For the second time in three years, the Washington and Lee University men’s soccer team made it to the NCAA Division III national semifinals.
The Generals advanced by winning a penalty shootout, 5-4, with Colorado College in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, which took place on Dec. 1 in Salem, W&L overcame a two-goal, second-half deficit to force a penalty shootout with No. 13 Amherst, but the Generals lost the shootout, 2-0.
W&L, coached by Mike Singleton, finished 15-4-6.
