Gametime Henrico: Feb. 13-19, 2023

The Wildcats’ wrestling squad finished 14th at the VHSL 5A state championships. Leading the way was senior Cameron McKay, who won the state title in the 150-pound weight class over sophomore Leonard Ashley of Granby. Jerry Simon also had a great day, finishing as the state runner-up in the 126-pound weight class, falling to Owen Rawls of Nansemond River.

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The Wildcats’ girls’ basketball team improved to 15-8 on the season after their 62-16 win over Tucker (3-20) in the first round of the Region 5C playoffs. The Cats have now won six games in a row and will face No. 3 seed Highland Springs (16-4) in the regional quarterfinals this week. The boys’ team improved to 6-16 on the season and won its first round regional playoff game as well, defeating Meadowbrook (5-16) 66-63 to set up a game against No. 1 seed Glen Allen (17-5) in the regional quarterfinals.

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The Wildcats’ track and field program had a strong showing at the VHSL Region 5C championships last week. On the girls’ side, senior Dairam Ferrer finished sixth in the 55-meter dash with a personal best time of 7.34. In the 300-meter dash, Sydney Yarema finished eighth, Kamille Atkins finished fifth and Helen Hahn finished fourth to give their team a total of 10 points. Freshman Peyton Walker took home the bronze medal in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:11.24, and freshman Addy Wicker set a new personal best time of 3:21.2 to finish eighth overall. Sophomore Ella Joy Jacobs finished fifth overall in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:39.86. In the 3200-meter run, standout Sidney Walters took home the regional title with a time of 11:26.91, while sophomore Hazel Wells took home the silver medal with a personal best time of 11:30.67, and Anne Caitrin Towey finished fifth with a time of 12:21.49.

After a strong day on the track, Hahn picked up another four points for her team with a season’s best height of 4 feet, 8 inches in the high jump, and Yarema scored three points with a jump of the same distance. In the pole vault, Julia Towey finished fifth overall with a personal best jump of 8 feet, 9 inches. In the team standings, the girls’ squad finished fourth overall with 63 points.

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On the boys’ side, senior Tyler Messinger took home the bronze medal in the 300-meter run with a time of 35.81. Sophomore Jack McDonald ran a personal best time of 1:07.26 in the 500-meter run to finish fourth overall. Carson Koch won the regional title in the 1000-meter run with a lifetime best of 2:35.04, and sophomore Finn Hubbert ran a time of 2:39.24 to finish fifth. John Grayson Schmitt finished eighth overall in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:40.29. The boys went on to finish fifth overall in the team competition with 50 points.

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The Deep Run gymnastics team won the Region 5B championship an advanced to the state tournament, where it finished third overall in the team competition Feb. 18. Christina Parlantieri finished 13th in the all-around competition at states, tied for 25th in the vault competition, eighth in the uneven parallel bars final, tied for 27th in the floor exercise final, and 34th in the balance beam final. Emma Perkins finished tied for 34th in the floor exercise final, Nikki Raffi was 17th in the balance beam final, and Gabby Thurman was 41st in the vault final. Kaitlyn Bickmeier was 25th in the uneven parallel bars final and 39th in the balance beam final.

Freeman High School

The Mavericks’ wrestling squad finished 16th overall in the VHSL 5A state championships last week. Luke Liberatore finished his strong season with a fourth-place finish in the 190-pound weight class, losing the third place match to Cameron Owens of Woodgrove.

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The Mavericks’ girls’ basketball squad improved to 10-12 on the season after a 56-33 win over Prince George (7-15) in the first round of the Region 5C playoffs. The team next will face top-seeded Glen Allen (20-1) in the regional quarterfinals this week. The boys’ team finished the season with a record of 9-14 after a heartbreaking 55-54 loss to Clover Hill (5-18).

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The Mavericks’ track and field team had a great day at the VHSL Region 5C championships. The girls’ squad finished third overall, and the boys’ squad finished fourth overall in the team standings. On the girls’ side, junior Elizabeth Robinson finished sixth in the 300-meter dash with a time of 41.67, then went on to win the regional title in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:17.61. Senior Carter French also picked up points in the 500-meter dash, finishing seventh with a time of 1:21.32. In the 1000-meter run, junior Merrick Mock took home the silver medal with a time of 3:08.23, and freshman Kate Post ran a time of 3:18.07 to finish sixth overall.

In the 1600-meter run, the Mavs dominated with Charlotte Gardner finishing third, Avery Edmondson finishing fourth and Juliet Gardner finishing sixth, good for 14 points in the team standings. Charlotte Gardner would follow up her 1600-meter performance with a bronze medal finish in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:15.12. In the pole vault, Sydney Miller earned a bronze medal finish with a height of 9 feet, 9 inches, while freshman Vivienne Johnson finished seventh with a height of 7 feet, 9 inches. After a regional title and a sixth-place finish on the track, Elizabeth Robinson displayed her versatility with a jump of 16 feet, 11.25 inches in the long jump to finish fourth overall.

On the boys’ side, Miles Figart finished second in the region with a personal best time of 35.58 in the 300-meter dash, then won the regional title in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:05.45. Also scoring in the 500-meter dash was senior Davis Woody, running a personal best time of 1:10.30 to finish eighth overall. In the 1000-meter run, junior Ian Gilstrap finished third overall with a personal best time of 2:37.97, and sophomore Aidan Cassidy finished sixth with a time of 2:39.27. Cassidy also finished fifth overall in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:28.11. In the long jump, senior Ben Coker took home the gold medal with a distance of 21 feet, 9 inches. Davis Woody also scored in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet, 5 inches, good enough for seventh place and a lifetime best.

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Emma Crone finished tied for 19th in the uneven parallel bars’ final and 31st in the floor competition at the state gymnastics championships Feb. 18.

Glen Allen High School

The Glen Allen wrestling squad finished in a tie for 14th place with Deep Run High School, scoring 47 points on the day. Leading the way was senior Mohammed Zanganeh, who won the state title in the 120-pound weight class over freshman Sawyer Jones of Woodgrove. Sophomore Nana Utsey finished as the state runner up in the 165-pound weight class, falling to senior Rafael Hipolito of Independence.

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The Glen Allen basketball programs are all set for their postseason runs, with each team securing the No. 1 seed and a chance to win it all. The girls’ team finished the regular season with a 20-1 record after losing its first game of the season to Thomas Dale (20-1) and then defeating Tucker (3-20) in its regular season finale. Cierra McGinlay finished the year averaging 17.1 points per game and made her college decision last week, opting to continue her academic and athletic career at Richard Bland College. Coming off their first-round bye, McGinlay and the Jags will face No. 8 seed Freeman (10-12) in the Region 5C quarterfinals this week. The boys’ team finished the regular season 17-5 after defeating Tucker 56-48 in its season finale. It will come off a first-round bye to face Deep Run (7-16) in the Region 5C quarterfinals.

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The Jaguars’ track and field programs had an outstanding day at the VHSL Region 5C championships. The girls’ team finished second overall with 78 points, and the boys’ team dominated the region with a total of 100 points to win the regional team title. For the girls, Avery Beike finished fifth overall in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:17.74, and Kayla Boughton finished seventh overall with a time of 3:19.29. Sophomore standout Elly Velasquez won the regional title in the 1600-meter run with a season’s best time of 5:15.36, and Reagan Walters finished eighth overall with a time of 5:46.08. Sophomore Cameron Sheils finished fourth overall in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:16.93. Junior Lauren Ghaemmaghami also picked up points in the 3200-meter run with a lifetime best of 12:36.05. In the shot put, Danielle Bryan took home the gold medal with a distance of 34 feet, 6 inches, Mackenzie Blanchet threw 32 feet, 10 inches to finish third, and Tyra Christian threw 32 feet to finish fifth overall. In the high jump, Christiana Butler finished fourth overall with a jump of 4 feet, 10 inches. In the pole vault, it was all Glen Allen with Emily Romano taking home the regional title with a height of 11 feet, 6 inches, Morgan Pietruszkiewicz finishing second with a height of 10 feet, 3 inches, and Maddie Walsh finishing fourth with a height of 9 feet, 3 inches.

For the boys, Xavier Moss won the regional title in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.56. In the 300-meter dash, Marquis Belle won the gold medal with a time of 34.98, and Steven Bengu finished seventh with a lifetime best of 37.02. After winning the 300-meter dash, Belle took home a silver medal in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:05.83. In the 1000-meter run, Gunnar Mancuso finished second overall with a time of 2:35.06, and Jack Braun finished fourth overall with a time of 2:38.46. Carson Rackley secured a bronze medal finish in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:24.86 to kick off what was an absolute dominant display of long distance running for the Jags heading into the 3200-meter run. Eric Fagan led the way in the 3200-meter run, winning the regional title with a personal best time of 9:36.93. Sophomore Trevor Lawson finished second with a time of 9:44.13, and junior Luke Craven was just outside of a top three finish with his time of 9:56.97, which gave Glen Allen 23 points in the team scores.

In the shot put, the Jags scored 18 points. Leading the way was Seth Morris, who won the regional title with a throw of 46 feet, 7 inches. Pierce Mosley took home the bronze medal with a throw of 43 feet, 11 inches, and Matt McElwain finished sixth with a lifetime best of 41 feet, ’10 inches. In the long jump, Bengu finished fifth with a jump of 20 feet, picking up another four points for Glen Allen.

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Morgan Pietruszkiewicz finished 27th in the vault competition at the state gymnastics championships Feb. 18 and tied for 37th in the balance beam final, while Maddie Walsh finished 42nd in the vault competition. Laina Hawthorne finished 39th in the floor competition.

Godwin High School

The Eagles’ basketball programs each earned a first-round bye in the VHSL Region 5C playoffs for their strong regular seasons. The girls earned the fifth seed after finishing the season 14-8 with a 49-18 win over Maggie Walker and a 47-28 loss to Glen Allen in their season finale. Their first game of the postseason will be against Hermitage (14-7) on the road in the regional quarterfinals. The boys’ team earned the fourth seed, finishing the season with a 16-6 record. Its first postseason game also will come against the Panthers (15-8) in the Region 5C quarterfinals.

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The Eagles’ track and field programs had some solid performances at the VHSL Region 5C championships, where the girls finished 10th overall, and the boys tied for eighth overall in the team standings. On the girls’ side, sophomore Emily Costa finished seventh in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:40.64, and sixth overall in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:26.25. In the long jump, senior Katelyn Griffin finished sixth overall with a personal best jump of 16 feet, 8.5 inches. For the boys, Nicholas Clark finished seventh in the 55-meter dash with a personal best time of 6.74. Iesa Abdul-Qudoos finished fourth in the 300-meter dash with a time of 36.30 and fifth overall in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 6 inches. Junior Berkley Nance won the regional title in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:20.78, and Wayne Bugg finished seventh overall in the triple jump with a personal best mark of 37 feet, 9.5 inches.

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Godwin gymnast Lilly McGinnis finished 14th overall in the all-around competition in the state championships. She also tied for 19th in the uneven parallel bars’ competition and 19th in the balance beam final and was tied for 37th in the floor exercise.

Henrico High School

The Warriors’ girls’ basketball program earned the No. 7 seed in VHSL Region 4B playoffs and didn’t disappoint as it improved to 15-8 on the season after a 71-30 win in the first round against tenth seed King George (11-12). The team will move onto the regional quarterfinals to take on No. 2 Chancellor (16-6) this week.

The boys’ entered the first round of the Region 4B playoffs as the no. 9 seed, and finished the season 11-12 after a tough 45-38 loss to eighth-seed Hanover (14-9).

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The Warriors had many strong performances at the VHSL Region 4B track and field championships, where the boys finished fifth overall, and the girls finished tenth overall as a team. Junior Javon Randall finished fourth overall in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.65. Dallas Gardner took home the silver medal in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:06.44, then followed that up with a bronze medal finish in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.27. Senior Malachi Hayes won the regional title in the shot put with a throw of 51 feet, 6 inches.

On the girls’ side, Micailah Cook won the silver medal in the 300-meter dash with a time of 41.27, and Briana Lewis finished fourth overall in the shot put with a throw of 29 feet, 1.75 inches.

Hermitage High School

The Panthers’ basketball programs took care of business last week, each advancing to the next round of the VHSL Region 5C playoffs. The boys entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season with a 14-8 record. They defeated Tucker (0-24) 64-37 to advance to the Region 5C quarterfinals, where they will take on No. 4 seed Godwin (16-6).

The girls entered the postseason as the No. 4 seed and earned a first round bye after defeating Mechanicsville 52-50 last week to improve to 14-7 on the season. They will play their first playoff game against Godwin (14-8) this week.

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The Panthers’ track and field programs both finished top-10 in the team standings at the VHSL Region 5C championships. The boys went on to finish sixth overall, and the girls finished ninth overall. For the boys, sophomore Landon Reeves finished seventh overall in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:09.73. Senior Quinn Green finished as the silver medalist in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:23.32, and Dahmon Artis finished fourth overall in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.56. In the field events, the Panthers shined, scoring 14 points in the shot put, led by Uriah Harris who took home the silver medal with a throw of 44 feet, 2 inches. Robert (RJ) Gordon finished fourth with a throw of 42 feet, 9 inches, and Robert Steele finished eighth.

On the girls’ side, standout Eden Ramirez showed off her versatility with a silver medal performance in the 55-meter dash and a fourth place finish in the shot put. Sophomore Kaelyn Boarman finished eighth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 10.97, and Kailyn Wiley took home the silver medal in the shot put with a throw of 33 feet, 5 inches.

Highland Springs High School

The Springers’ basketball programs are all set for their postseason runs, each earning a first-round bye for their outstanding regular seasons. The girls enter the VHSL Region 5C playoffs as the No. 3 seed after finishing the season with a record of 16-4 and winning five straight games. They will play sixth-seeded Deep Run (15-8) in the Region 5C quarterfinals this week.

The boys enter the VHSL Region 5C playoffs as the second seed, finishing the regular season with a record of 17-6 after winning their sixth straight game last week, against Hopewell. The defending state champions will play Clover Hill (5-18) in the Region 5C quarterfinals next week.

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The Springers’ track and field programs had an outstanding day at the VHSL Region 5C championship meet, where the girls took home the team title with 91 points, and the boys finished in second with a total of 90 points. Leading the way for the girls was standout Pryncess Jackson, who won the regional title in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.24, won the regional title in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 6 inches, won the regional title in the triple jump with a distance of 39 feet, 10 inches, won the silver medal in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet, 7.25 inches, and finished seventh in the 300-meter dash with a personal best time of 41.82. Jackson’s performance scored 40 of the Springers’ 91 points.

Junior Brianna Ricketts finished eighth overall in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.42, and third overall in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 9.02. Junior Madison Greene took home the silver medal in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.88, then went on to finish fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet, sixth in the shot put with a throw of 29 feet, 5 inches, seventh in the pole vault with a height of 7 feet, 3 inches, and eighth in the long jump with a personal best distance of 16 feet, 3.5 inches.

On the boys’ side, Antario Hopson finished third overall in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.62, while multi-sport athlete Jakyre Henley finished fourth with a time of 6.67. Ephesus Brooks finished sixth overall in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:09.36. In the 55-meter hurdles, Dewan Green finished in the bronze medal position with a time of 8.14, and sophomore Brennan Johnson finished fifth with a time of 8.75. Afterwards, Green won the silver medal in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 8 inches. In the pole vault, sophomore standout Kendric Green won the regional title with a height of 14 feet, and junior Leetrell Hayes finished fourth. In the long jump, Green secured his third top three finish of the day, this time finishing second with a distance of 21 feet, 5 inches. Junior Michael Hamlin finished third with a distance of 20 feet, 9 inches, and freshman Jordan Francisco finished fourth with a jump of 20 feet, 7.5 inches.

Tucker High School

The Tigers’ boys’ basketball team finished a tough regular season with a record of 0-24 after their 56-48 regular season finale loss to Glen Allen (17-5) and their first round 64-37 loss to Hermitage in the VHSL Region 5C playoffs. Against Glen Allen, Camron Williams led the team in scoring with 25 points, Donovan Lee scored 15 points, and Von Ballow scored 4 points and had 10 rebounds.

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The Tigers’ wrestling squad finished 19th overall at the VHSL 5A state championships last week. It was led by senior Grayson Starrett, who finished fourth overall in the 215-pound weight class. Starrett lost in a 1-0 decision in the third-place match to senior Seth Murphy of Nansemond River.

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The Tigers had some solid performances last week at the VHSL Region 5C track and field championships, where the girls finished seventh overall with 33 points. Junior Mariah Jameson won the bronze medal in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.26, then won the silver medal in the 300-meter dash with a time of 40.83. In the 500-meter dash, Journey Mason finished fourth overall with a time of 1:20.58, and Ananda Hamlin finished in fifth place with a time of 1:20.75. In the 3200-meter dash, Isabel Russo finished seventh overall with a personal best time of 12:35.82. In the long jump, Mason found herself on the podium once again with fifth place finish in the long jump, jumping a new personal best of 16 feet, 9.75 inches.

Varina High School

The Blue Devils’ wrestling squad finished 16th overall with 41 points at the VHSL Class 4 state championships. Freshman Jayon Moore finished fourth overall in the 106-pound weight class, falling to Jack Sawyer of Great Bridge in the third-place match, and sophomore Adams Turpin finished third overall in the 285-pound weight class with his victory over Antonio Harris of Spotsylvania in the third place match.

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The Blue Devils’ girls’ basketball squad finished the season 11-12, entering the VHSL Region 4B playoffs as the No. 8, where it fell to No. 9 seed Dinwiddie (12-11) 52-44.

The boys’ team prepares for its first game of the postseason after finishing the regular season with a record of 17-4. It enters the VHSL Region 4B playoffs as the second seed, and its journey to defend last year’s state title starts with a matchup against seventh seed Eastern View (15-9) in the quarterfinals.

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The Blue Devils’ track and field programs had some strong performances at the VHSL Region 4B championships last week, where the boys finished eighth overall with 19 points, and the girls finished ninth overall with 15 points. For the boys, Eric Smith won the regional title in the 55-meter dash with a personal best time of 6.41. Kyree Currie won the silver medal in the shot put with a throw of 45 feet, 0.5 inches, and Jayden Ivey finished eighth in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet, 2 inches.

On the girls’ side, Jillian Sisk won the bronze medal in the 1600-meter run with a season's best time of 5:16.64, then took home the silver medal in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:22.19. In the high jump, Taylor Williams finished eighth with a height of 4 feet, 4 inches.