With the 2013-2014 school year officially over we’re looking back and compiling top-10 lists of the, best individual performances, best campaigns and best games we saw. Up first are the individual performances, a sampling of athletes from Central Virginia transcending the game where their efforts were so dominant there was nothing anyone could do about it.
No. 1 – Albemarle’s Matt Crist goes off in 5A state championship
The bar was already set pretty high when Crist led Albemarle past Loudoun Valley in the state semifinals with a 5-goal showing. But that turned out to be a warmup.
Offense was tough to come by for the Patriots when the faced a dominant group of Loudoun County long poles in the state finals. Albemarle found success when they got Crist the ball, but that wasn’t easy as the Raiders knew what was coming and did everything they could, often physically, to deny the Patriots star attackman a good look at the goal. Crist’s teammates got creative to get him the ball and seemingly every shot he took went into the back of the net.
Behind Crist’s 6-goal showing Albemarle was able to come from behind to force overtime. And when Crist put his team into sudden death OT, fellow senior teammate Kevin Bernardino made sure that Crist’s production did not go to waste as he scored the game winner. The victory gave the Patriots their first lacrosse state championship and could not have come with a more memorable individual performance.
No. 2 – Fork Union’s Ali Khalafalla dominates state swim meet
By the narrowest of margins — 267 to 266 — Fork Union’s boys swim team edged St. Christopher’s for the VISAA Division I championship.
Without senior Ali Khalafalla that simply doesn’t happen.
Khalafalla exploded in his final high school meet, winning Most Outstanding Male Swimmer honors by setting two different state records in the 50-freestyle and the 100-freestyle races. His 100-free broke his own 2013 state record and pushed him to victory by nearly three full seconds.
He factored into two more event state titles by swimming legs on the title-winning 200-free and 400-free relay teams for the Blue Devils, scoring the most points he possibly could’ve at the state meet.
He, quite simply, couldn’t have done it any better.
No. 3 – Western Albemarle’s Michael Nafziger scores twice in state final to lift Warriors
Make no mistake about it, Western Albemarle was buried. The Warriors’ boys soccer team was simply done. Down 2-1 to a Blacksburg team with little time remaining that knows how to finish, Western looked done.
But Michael Nafziger refused to let that be the case.
After scoring the Warriors’ first goal that put them up 1-0 with 33 minutes left, Nafziger came up with the biggest goal of the season, shaking off a yellow card that forced him to the sideline. He struck with just minutes left to equalize the game at 2-2, setting the stage for Western’s victory in penalty kicks after a tense overtime.
That’s a pair of goals in the state championship game, including one when seemingly all hope was lost to force overtime all while playing a critical role for the Warriors’ defense. That’s a tremendous finish to a high school career.
No. 4 – Western Albemarle’s Remedy Rule wins three event titles at Group 3A state championship
Remedy Rule has been an explosive presence in high school girls swimming since she first leapt off the blocks for Western Albemarle as a freshman. Her decorated high school career continued at the 2014 Group 3A championships.
That’s when Rule served as a one-woman wrecking crew, winning a pair of individual state titles in the 100-butterfly and 100-backstroke while anchoring the 200-freestyle relay as part of Western’s fourth-straight state championship.
Rule even threw in a leg on the second place medley relay team, allowing her to factor in to 114 points for Western in the championship. Not bad for a junior who still has another year to build on her legacy.
No. 5 — Buckingham County’s Kenneth Johnson goes for 428 yards and four TDs against Central Lunenburg
Central Lunenburg was coming off a huge win over Goochland. A win over Buckingham County the next week would have all but guaranteed the Chargers a James River District title — it was a three team district, just like the previous two seasons. With Buckingham having fallen to Goochland two weeks prior to the meeting with Central, there was no wiggle room for the Knights. So senior Kenneth Johnson just went and decided to take matters into his own hands.
There’s simply no arguing with 428 yards and four touchdowns, and really, no way to describe it as the numbers just have that pop. It’s not supposed to happen, and not in a 48-minute game, and certainly not in a crucial district game like this meeting between the Knights and Chargers. There were questions about Buckingham coming into the season, and certainly after its season opening loss to Appomattox. Would a young offensive line find a grove? Would Johnson be able to carry the rushing load on his own? This was Johnson and his offensive line giving a definitive answer, one that would launch them through their Conference, through their Region and into the Division 2A final four as the last team standing in Central Virginia.
Johnson ran with his trademark power and ran often against Lunenburg. There’s no question that the Chargers, and more over, the rest of the JRD is all too happy he’s graduated and can hurt them no longer
No. 6 – Western Albemarle’s Jack Maynard strikes out 12, gives up three hits and a walk to Monticello
It was an exceptional game, a dueling banjo type between the starting pitchers. Western Albemarle’s Jack Maynard was as close to flawless as you could get on the mound, not just in this game, but with little argument, the entire season. Monticello’s Sean Bynres had a true breakout season and was almost as brilliant as Maynard, again, not just in this game, but also all year long.
But there’s no denying what Maynard did for his team on April 17th. Monticello gave Western all it could handle that day. But there was no getting past Maynard’s stuff on the hill. As good as Byrnes’ 10 strikeout showing was, Maynard found a way to one-up his counterpart. After striking out the first four batters he faced, the Warriors senior ace went on to finish with 12 K’s. He surrendered just three hits. He walked one batter. He sat down the final five batters he faced between the sixth and seventh innings.
The complete game shutout was one of many gems that Maynard put together in his last go around in a Western uniform. It was also the most climatic and we’ll argue the best pitching performance anyone put together this year. And considering the showing Byrnes had in this same game, that’s saying something.
No. 7 – Louisa County’s Raeshawn Bishop goes 1-2 in five events at the Conference 23 championship
Raeshawn Bishop is one of those track and field athletes that showed amazing versatility and excelled across the circuit in his time at Louisa County. In his senior year he put together a showcase effort, a true example of that at the Conference 23 championship.
Bishop’s big day included edging a teammate in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.54, just over a tenth of a second better than Markel Groomes. In the 300 hurdles, Bishop picked up right where he left off, beating out Dante Franklin of Amherst by well over a second, clocking in at 40.17 to pick up a second first place finish. In the high jump, Bishop tied with Fluvanna County’s KaShawn Anderson with a jump of 5-10 to take second place. The Louisa senior took part in the long jump and took second there as well, finishing just behind John Handley’s Dontae Mauck. And just to round out the day on a bright note, Bishop blew away the competition in the triple jump, getting the best of Mauck this time with a jump of 45-10.75.
It was a monster performance for Bishop and his showing in the state championship was almost as good. Bishop went on to take seventh in Division 4A in the high jump, fifth in the long jump and win the triple jump. As good as that showing was, there’s still something about placing first and second in five events.
No. 8 – Charlottesville’s Taylor Watkins explodes at Conference 23 championship
Taylor Watkins had herself a year, both indoors and out on the track and field circuit. But her showing in the Conference 23 championships was as dominant as it gets.
The Charlottesville sophomore blew by the competition in the 100 meter dash, posting a time of 12.56 seconds, a half second faster than her closest opponent. Then she cruised to another first place finish, a 25.22 time in the 200 meter dash, edging teammate Kendall Dowdell. After that she won the 400 meter dash by more than three seconds, posting a 58.06 time.
Watkins went on to take fourth place in the Division 4A championships in the 100 and then seventh in the 200. In the winter, she was third in the 300, second in the 500 and sixth in the 55. It was a dominant season for her, but her showing in the Conference 23 meet was nothing short of perfect. And her outstanding sophomore year only makes you wonder what kind of show she might put on the next two years.
No. 9 – Fluvanna County’s Maddy Kline goes off in Region 4A quarterfinals
This was an historic season for Fluvanna volleyball. The Flucos beat Western for the first time in a decade and qualified for the Region tournament by winning the Conference 23 championship. Fluvanna was just a win away from the state tournament and all-state honoree Maddy Kline was a huge reason why.
Kline put together one of her best all-around performances against Carroll County for a coveted region tournament victory for the Flucos. Kline went off for 18 kills, five aces and 13 digs against the Cavaliers to vault Fluvanna into the Region 4A North semifinals and a win away from a state tournament berth. Just a junior, Kline led the Flucos in kills and digs in the victory, making plays all over the floor in a memorable home victory for Fluvanna.
No. 10 – Blue Ridge’s Mamadi Diakite blocks 10 shots against Virginia Episcopal
Mamadi Diakite exploded onto the scene at Blue Ridge, immediately becoming the most impressive defensive force in the area and one of the best in the state when he arrived shortly after the start of the Barons’ basketball season.
One of his breakout performances was a 10-block outing against a deep, talented Virginia Episcopal squad that made clear that Diakite wasn’t going to be ignored. He altered an incredible amount of shots against the Bishops and while the Barons lost to VES, Diakite was incredible. He averaged six blocks per game in his limited time with Blue Ridge and set the table for an incredible 2014, especially since he started to come around offensively at the end of the season. As he continues to become a balanced, frightening star on both ends of the court, things could get very interesting and very quickly up in St. George.
Honorable Mentions
Monticello girls lacrosse’s Bailey Mincer’s 7 goals vs Albemarle
Louisa County softball’s Katie Harlow 4-4, 3 doubles, throws complete game, Region 4A quarters
Albemarle track and field’s Ryan Thomas wins 1000-meter indoor title
Fluvanna track and field’s Hannah Meador winning fourth-straight pole vault state title
Charlottesville boys basketball’s Leon Straus’ 26 points, 11 in 4th, against Western
Fluvanna baseball’s Maxx Turner 8 inning CG win, 11 Ks, 3 for 4, RBI 3B
Monticello football’s Aaron Dudley’s three-interception performance against Western
Goochland’s Jaylen Allen’s 176 yards, 3TDs against FUMA on 10 carries
Western football’s Kent Henry’s 12-for-15, 297-yard and six total touchdowns against CHS
Western Albemarle’s Forrest White’s 4-goal game vs. CHS
Madison softball’s Lauren Seale 13K in 5.0 innings against Mason
Monticello football’s Kyree Koonce 3-TD 5-touch game
Fluvanna girls soccer’s Morgan Symmer’s 19-save game against Albemarle
