Wildcat Inductees Share Memories, Life Lessons

RC Inducts Five Into Athletic Hall Of Fame

Honoring an accomplished group of former student-athletes, the Rockbridge County High School Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its third class in a banquet on Saturday night at the RC gym.

The inductees, selected by a committee after receiving nominations, are football player and wrestler Patrick Bannon (class of 2007), volleyball player Kaitlin McFaddin Deacon (2006), the late football player Stephen “Chase” Prasnicki (2006), girls basketball and lacrosse player Lauren Prasnicki (2010), and boys tennis player Wray Sherman (2001). On Friday night, the inductees were recognized at halftime at midfield during the Wildcats’ home game against Blacksburg at Prasnicki-Field at Veterans Stadium.

The evening began with an introduction from Valerie Clay, Hall of Fame committee member and a social studies teacher at the high school. RC Principal Mike Craft then gave a tribute to the class. “Tonight we are celebrating the achievements of athletes, both on and off the field,” said Craft. “We honor their dedication, perseverance, sportsmanship, and those are trademarks of Wildcat athletics.”

After attendees enjoyed a dinner provided by Kenney’s, the first inductee to speak was Bannon. While at RC, Patrick played football and wrestled. During his football career, he was voted team captain in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, Patrick helped the Wildcats win the district and regional championships before falling to Richlands 29-28 in the Group AA, Division 3 state championship game. Patrick earned firstteam all-district recognition as a linebacker in the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons, and he was voted the 2006 Valley District defensive player of the year. He was a first-team all-district tight end in 2006, and was recognized as a first-team all-region and all-state linebacker in 2005 and 2006. As a senior, Patrick was voted firstteam all-region and second-team all-state as a tight end.

Before leaving RC, Patrick set several school records, including career tackles with 424, most tackles in a season (153), most tackles in a game (21), most career caused fumbles with seven, most career blocked field goals and extra-point attempts with five, and the most blocked kicks in a single game with two.

Patrick was also a standout wrestler for the Wildcats, earning more than 100 career wins. He was a three-time captain for the wrestling team, a district champion, a three-time regional qualifier, and a three-time state qualifier. His highest finish at the state tournament was fifth place at 215-pounds.

After graduating from RC, Patrick played football at Liberty University, where he was a fouryear letter winner on teams that won four Big South Conference championships. As a senior, Patrick was voted team defensive captain and a member of the All-Big South Conference team as a defensive end. Patrick went on to earn a Master of Business Administration in strategic leadership from the University of Delaware. He works as a northeast regional sales manager for Tennant Company. Patrick and his wife, Samantha, live in Clayton, Del., with their children, Laikyn and Trace.

In his remarks, Patrick shared a story about Chase Prasnicki, getting up and lifting weights every day and then having Chase throw passes to him. Patrick said Chase gave him “an unbelievable work ethic.”

“The only reason I caught any passes and was all-state was because of him that year,” said Patrick, getting tearful. “To this day, every morning, I have the feeling of Chase waking me at dawn and saying, ‘Come on, Batman [his nickname for Bannon].”

- The next inductee to speak was Lauren Prasnicki, who played four years of lacrosse and basketball. In lacrosse, Lauren was voted first-team all-district and all-region as a junior and senior, and she was named the Wildcats’ Most Valuable Player as a senior. As a junior, she played for Team Virginia at the National Tournament.

Lauren went on to play lacrosse at Longwood University, where she served as team captain her junior and senior years. During that time, she received several accolades, including All-Big South First Team, Virginia Sports Information Directors all-state second team, Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Association Academic Honor Roll, Big South Honor Roll and Longwood Scholar-Athlete Award. While at Longwood, Lauren became the all-time career assists leader in school history, a record that still stands.

After Longwood, Lauren earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from James Madison University. Lauren works at Walter Reed National Military Center, and she and her husband, Peter Reifenrath, live in Bethesda, Md.

Lauren kept her speech brief, thanking her parents, her brothers, Chase and Tyler; and her husband for “all of your constant love and support.” - The third inductee was Wray Sherman, who played four years of tennis for RC. Wray was the Wildcat’s No. 1 singles player for three years and was on the No. 1 doubles team all four years, compiling more than 60 wins. As a senior, Wray was voted the Blue Ridge District player of the year after going 12-0 in both singles and doubles competition.

Wray continued his academic and tennis career at Shepherd University in West Virginia, where he was a four-year starter for a record-breaking team. While Wray was there, Shepherd went 78-10, including 39-0 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Wray’s career record at Shepherd was 12928, with two individual conference championships.

After college, Wray continued with tennis for 10 years as a United State Professional Tennis Association-certified tennis teaching professional and coach. He coached at Waynesboro High School and served as assistant coach for the James Madison University women’s team from 2010-2012. Wray coached thousands of students, with many of them going on to have college tennis careers.

Wray is a site lead at Amazon’s warehouse in Waynesboro and lives with his wife, Ashley, and their sons, Kellen and Bryce.

In his remarks, Wray told a story about his high school coach, David Miller. During his senior year, Wray and his rival from Blacksburg were both 7-0. Wray had lost to his opponent the previous year, but he started out well this time and was up 5-1 and won the first set, but Wray’s opponent came back and won the second set and went up 5-2 in the third and final set.

Wray said he wouldn’t usually talk with Miller during the match, but he flagged him over for help. “I explained all the strategies I’d been trying, all the things I’d been doing, and he’s just listening and shaking his head. When I was done, I just looked at him for anything advice, and he looked at me, and he said, ‘Wray, I don’t know how you’re gonna win this match, but you do.’” Getting emotional, Wray said, “I was up against the wall. I was one game away, and I ended up facing double match point against me, and he’s serving, and then I figured it out. I had no fear. I was able to just say, ‘You know what, I’m winning this match.’ I faced two serves. Both of them, I absolutely crushed the ball back, and they didn’t come back. I won the last five games.”

“All the lessons I’ve learned, everything that I took away, that lesson has stuck with me,” added Wray. “Whenever there’s any sort of trouble and turmoil, there’s a way. I know how to overcome it. That’s what sports do. Sports matter.” - The next inductee was Deacon, who was a standout volleyball player for the Wildcats. Katilin was a second-team alldistrict selection as a junior and received first-team all-district honors as a senior. She was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and received first-team All-Timesland honors in both her junior and senior years.

While in high school, Kaitlin played volleyball for the Roanoke Juniors Roanoke Club, on the 16’s Elite and the 17’s and 18’s national teams. Kaitlin was selected for the 2006 Virginia High School League All-Star Game. She also played tennis for the Wildcats and was named Top Cat and Homecoming Queen.

After high school, Kaitlin played college volleyball at JMU. As a freshman, she was named Colonial Athletic Association rookie of the week and voted to the CAA All-Rookie Team. As a sophomore, Kaitlin had 10 matches with doubledigit kills, including 10 kills in the CAA semifinals against the University of Delaware. During her junior year, Kaitlin received the CAACommissioner’sAward and the JMU Athletic Director Scholar-Athlete Award. Due to injuries and multiple surgeries, Kaitlin retired from competitive volleyball after her junior year.

Kaitlin graduated from JMU with a degree in health sciences, with a concentration in public health education. She and her husband, Nathan, live in Lexington with their daughters Sophie, Abby Leigh and Ridgely.

In her speech, Kaitlin thanked the committee and all of her coaches that saw potential in her. She gave a lot of credit to her high school volleyball coach, April Washburn, “for really seeking out the potential in me as an individual and as an athlete. She really took the time to propel me and motivate me to move forward into other leagues.” - The final inductee was Chase Prasnicki, who was the starting quarterback for the Wildcats for three years from 2003 to 2005. Chase earned first-team alldistrict honors as a quarterback his junior and senior years. As a senior, he was named Valley District offensive player of the year and was selected to the all-region first team and received all-state honors.

While at RC, Chase held several career passing records: most total yards with 4,230, most completions in a game (25), best completion percentage in a game (80.6), best season completion percentage (67), and best career completion percentage (60.3). Chase was named RC athlete of the year in 2006 and was a Wendy’s High School Heisman recipient.

After high school, Chase received an appointment to the United States Military Academy in West Point and played for the Army. Chase served as a backup quarterback for three years at West Point before moving to safety his senior year. He was a vital member of the Army Black Knight defense during his senior year and earned significant playing time.

Following his graduation from West Point in 2010, Chase served as a graduate assistant football coach at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School in Fort Monmouth, N.J.

In 2011, Chase graduated with honors from the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leaders course at Fort Sill, Okla. Before attending U.S. Army Ranger and Airborne schools at Fort Benning, Ga., Chase was assigned briefly as an Army recruiter in Rockbridge County. He graduated from Ranger School in September 2011 and Airborne School in October 2011.

Chase would depart for his first duty assignment as an Army Ranger with the Fourth Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, Airborne Brigade Combat Team stationed at U.S. Army Garrison in Bamberg, Germany.

On June 22, 2012, Chase and his team were deployed to Afghanistan. Five days later on June 27, 2012, Chase paid the ultimate sacrifice when he was killed when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Following Chase Prasnicki’s induction, Doug Chase, former sports editor and columnist for The News-Gazette and a 1970 Lexington High School graduate, spoke on all five inductees. “What I most remember about Kaitlin is her joy, her passion,” said Doug.

Wray and Doug’s son, Ryan, were the same age, and Doug remembers Wray riding his bike to their house. The Chases would give Wray a ride back, and Wray would go to Washington and Lee University to hit a tennis ball against a wall for hours. “He ends up being a great player,” said Doug.

Doug said Lauren Prasnicki had “the toughest act to follow, to follow an older sibling who had distinguished himself. I never for a minute suspected that she felt that pressure. Perhaps she did, but she made her own way.”

Discussing Patrick Bannon, Doug talked about how the two of them went to the Glasgow Moose Lodge one Sunday afternoon. “We spent that afternoon out there impressing little kids, and Patrick was like, ‘Wow, I feel good about this.’” Remembering Chase Prasnicki, Doug said, “Each of us every day should think about Chase and think and think about what he sacrificed for us. Think about what we sacrifice for him. I would ask you every day to be kind, share your passion and joy. Never be ashamed to share what makes you passionate. Never forget that you’re all Wildcats.”