Inexperienced Lady Trojans fall 15-5 to Colonial Heights

First-year coach Maria Bates knew she faced a challenge when she inherited the reins of New Kent’s softball program. A lack of veteran experience on the roster showed during two road games last week and surfaced again at Monday’s home opener. Her Lady Trojans spotted Colonial Heights’ Colonials a 4-0 first inning lead. The hosts attempted to keep pace, but the visitors added five runs in the second and pulled away from there for a 15-5 win in six innings, dropping the hosts to 0-3. “They’re young and they haven’t played together that much,” Bates said afterward concerning her team….
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Coles wins two, Kowal repeats as New Kent claims second place at Shoot the Gun and Run Invitational

New Kent’s Kyle Coles emerged as a double event winner while teammate Griffin Kowal claimed the top spot in the boys’ pole vault as they powered the host Trojans to a second-place finish at the fifth annual Shoot the Gun and Run Invitational on Mar. 18. The Trojans accumulated 105 points, good enough to finish runner-up at their home meet. District foe and Bay Rivers District powerhouse Lafayette took home the top recognition with 165 points. Charles City’s boys team scored five points to take 11th place in the competition. Coles took the top spot in the horizontal jumping events,…
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Cavaliers’ quick start downs Charles City in season opener

Charles City co-ed soccer is entering its second season, hoping to improve on their one win-mark last year. But running into a buzzsaw powerhouse in Tidewater District foe King William Cavaliers turned out to be too much in the Mar. 16 contest. Six goals within the first 25 minutes of the contest overwhelmed the host Panthers as they fell 9-1 in the opening game of the 2017 season. The Panthers maintained pressure defense early on before King William’s Brenon Sawdy punched one into the back of the net eight minutes in. At the 15-minute mark, Jeremy Vergara took advantage of…
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Christian guides Mountaineers into NCAA tournament for second time in four years

Mount St. Mary’s head basketball coach and New Kent native Jamion Christian led his Mountaineers to a 71-61 victory over the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash on Mar. 7, earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. The win marks the second time Christian has led the Mountaineers to the big dance, with his other appearance coming in 2014. Christian received accolades as the Northeast Conference’s coach of the year and guided the Mountaineers to its first regular season title in 21 years. Christian graduated from New Kent High School in 2000 and was named the Group 1A Player of the…
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Stranglehold on state titles

Freedom Martial Arts sending nine to national competition

Freedom Martial Arts, located in New Kent, won the Tae Kwon Do Virginia AAU State Qualifier in Fredericksburg on Feb. 18. The team competed against other groups throughout the state, earning a total of nine medals and a trip to compete in the AAU National competition in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on July 4. Gold medal winners at state competition were Olivia Altizer, Sierra Altizer, Nate Nottingham, and Chayse Brinkley. Silver medal winners included Dakotah Brinkley, Andrew LeBlanc, and Caressa Altizer, while Steven Stone and Zach Wiseman’s performances earned them bronze medals. Freedom Martial Arts “Olympic Sports Team” is led by…
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Christian named NEC Coach of the Year

New Kent native and Mount St. Mary’s head basketball coach Jamion Christian has been named the Northeast Conference’s Coach of the Year. Christian led the Mountaineers to a 12-4 conference record and a first place regular season finish in the Northeast Conference. His leadership landed players Elijah Long as a first-team conference selection, Junior Robinson as a second-team conference selection, and Miles Wilson on the all-rookie team. Christian is completing his fifth year at the school and has taken the Mountaineers to the conference tournament in each year of his tenure.

New Kent’s Kowal repeats as 3A state indoor pole vault champ

New Kent senior Griffin Kowal successfully defended his state pole vault title by winning the event and breaking the meet record during the 2017 3A state indoor track championships held Friday and Saturday at Roanoke College. Kowal cleared 14 feet, 6 inches to better the old state indoor record, set in 2015, by a half-inch. The winning vault was his first of the day, having passed at lower heights. He attempted to extend his record, but missed on three attempts at 15-3. He now heads to outdoor track where he also holds the state 3A title from a year ago….
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Championship coaching

Charles City’s Hickman named Tidewater District’s most outstanding player

Charles City Lady Panther Santaesha Hickman was named as the Tidewater District’s player-of-the-year in girls basketball for this past season. The sophomore guard averaged 25.7 points per game this year on her way to accumulating a new school single season record of 540 points. Hickman was also named as a first team member of both the Tidewater District and Conference 42, respectively. On the boys’ side, two Panther seniors garnered second team Tidewater District honors. The backcourt duo of Ray Crump and Kyle Jones were recognized during the district meeting. Crump also earned second team Conference 42 honors while Jones…
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