In terms of actual hardware, Bay Rivers District sports teams hoisted a respectable four state championship trophies in 2013.
Jamestown secured two of them in girls tennis and golf, while Tabb’s indoor track and field and Lafayette’s boys cross-country teams also prevailed on the final day of their respective seasons.
While state banners are the ultimate achievement for every high school athlete, they don’t define a season or a career. Rivalries and other personal achievements can also create lasting memories, and 2013 produced a handful for area athletes and teams.
We relive a few of those moments, listed in chronological order, below.
Lafayette Girls Swimming Upsets Rival Jamestown for Title
On a night head coach Harold Baker said it would take nothing short of a total team effort to beat rival Jamestown for the Bay Rivers District crown, Lafayette’s girls had five different swimmers win events, including the first seven of the meet, to hold off the Eagles 52-42 at Hampton University’s Holland Hall. The star of the meet was Indigo Cristol, who won both the 50 and 100 freestyle events in addition to swimming a leg in the Rams’ 200- and 400-medley relay teams.
Tabb Girls Win AA State Track Title in Final Event
Last winter’s Group AA girls state track and field meet came down to the final meet — the 4×400 relay— which was excellent news for Tabb High. The Tigers, who entered the meet as the three-time defending state champs in the event, took first place in 4:02.03 to help Tabb edge defending champion Blacksburg 46-43 for the crown. Other standouts from the state meet were Lafayette’s Derek Holdsworth, who set a meet record in the 500 meter to help the Rams finish runner-up in the boys standings, and Bruton’s Carley Shannon, who won the girls’ 3200-meter title.
Grafton Boys and Girls Hoops Dominate
Rarely does it happen — at least in the Bay Rivers District — where one school dominates both the boys and girls basketball scene the way Grafton did last winter. Both finished the regular season a perfect 18-0 and went on to capture district tournament and Region I titles, as well. The boys, led by two-time district and region Player of the Year Elijah Moore, went on to play in their second consecutive Division 4 state championship game before losing to Salem, 56-48, at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center. The lady Clippers, led by district and region Player of the Year Olivia Wilson, also made their second straight appearance in the Division 4 state tournament before suffering a 53-48 loss against Loudoun County in the quarterfinals.
Lafayette Boys Soccer Edges Jamestown in OT
Lafayette freshman Reeves Trott broke a 2-2 tie in the first overtime period by drilling home a loose ball off a free kick to give the Rams a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over their bitter rivals from Jamestown on a drenched Wanner Stadium field in early May. It was the first victory over Jamestown since 2005 for Lafayette, which went on to capture Bay Rivers District and Region I titles before losing to Tuscarora in the state quarterfinals.
A Season of Firsts Warhill Baseball
Led by a band of seven seniors who grew up learning the game together, Warhill’s baseball team captured the program’s first Bay Rivers District tournament and Region I titles in a season of firsts. The team was also the first male sports team in school history to play in a state tournament.
Jamestown Girls Tennis Ends Seven-Year State Title Drought
Talented sisters and state finalist doubles tandem Leah and Anna Walter highlighted a seasoned group that helped Jamestown return to the pinnacle of state tennis for the first time in seven years. Leah, the Bay Rivers District and Region I singles champion who graduated in June third on the program’s all-time wins list, and classmates Elizabeth Wallace, Stephanie Kortchak, Kristen Lilley, Nicole Dubois, Sarah Reso and Kathy Sharp all said they were hardened by a 5-1 loss to E.C. Glass in the state semifinals in 2012.
Jamestown Golf Wins Third State Title in Five Years
Seniors Trevor Tremps, Christina Herbert, Matt Meadows and junior Emily Salamy waited anxiously for the official scorecard that showed a narrow three-stroke victory for the Jamestown Eagles golf team at the inaugural Class 4A tournament. With as balanced a team as any Coach Doug Meredith has fielded, the Eagles won the program’s third state title in the past five years. In the 3A tournament held the same day, York’s Connor Rinoski came up just short of capturing individual medalist honors after losing to Loudoun Valley’s Ian Hildebrand in a one-hole playoff.
Merely 90 minutes after running her best time of the season at the Conference 33 cross-country championship to help Bruton qualify for the 3A East region meet, Bruton senior Carley Shannon joined her field hockey teammates and tallied three assists in the Panthers 4-1 win over Northampton in the Conference 33 title game.
Lafayette Boys XC Captures First State Title
Led by Jason Menzies in third, Lafayette’s boys placed three runners in the top 15 of the 3A state meet to clinch the school’s first-ever cross-country title — boys or girls. Andrew Roper (sixth) and Konrad Steck (11th) rounded out the Rams’ top finishers, while York’s Dawson Connell was the district’s top performer in second place.
Bay Rivers District Volleyball Shines in First Year of VHSL Reclassification
Long considered one of the most competitive volleyball districts in the state, Jamestown, Warhill, Grafton and Lafayette solidified that notion by representing the Bay Rivers in the Final Four of the inaugural 3A and 4A state Final Four. Jamestown (4A) and Warhill (3A) each advanced to the state final. While both eventually lost in multiple sets, the Lions celebrated becoming the first athletic team in school history to reach a state title game.
Devonte Dedmon Returns From Injury, Leaves Lasting Impression
After a fantastic first half of the 2013 high school football season, it seemed Dedmon was going to miss the final four games for a Warhill High team that was not advancing to the postseason. Instead, with his team trailing 10-0 in the second half of their final game of the season against New Kent, Dedmon returned at the end of the third quarter and carried the Lions to a 19-17 victory in the final game of his high school career. In 15 minutes on the field, he totaled 88 yards and scored three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 32 seconds left.
Jahlil Green Scores Six TDs in Playoff Win for Lafayette Football
The William and Mary-bound Jahlil Green offered a handful of memorable moments for Lafayette’s football team this fall, but this one is perhaps the most extraordinary. Not necessarily the 183 rushing yards in Lafayette’s 63-7 rout of Warren County in the second round of the 3A East playoffs, but the six — yes, six — touchdowns which he accounted for on just 10 carries to break the school’s previous record for touchdowns in a season held by former great Rian Thompson. The Rams would lose a hard-fought battle the following week at home against James Monroe — their first and only loss of the year — capping off one of the most successful seasons in program history and one of the most dominant in the history of the Bay Rivers District.
