Yesterday, VES gathered together to acknowledge the incredible accomplishments of our student athletes. This winter season, our teams participated in 120 games, matches and meets! And this season was not short of accomplishments; two of our wrestlers—Nana Kofi Obeng-Mensah and Neguens Ovincy—competed at Nationals, our swim team qualified more swimmers for the State Championship that ever before (with Spencer Miles finishing 2nd in the 100 free and Caroline Falwell becoming the first female swimmer at VES to participate in the championship finals), our indoor track team finished in 5th at the state meet and Daniel O’Brien won 3 more individual state championships and was named the Virginia Gatorade Runner of the Year for the 2nd consecutive year. Our boys’ JV basketball team won the VIC Division I Conference Championship and our new equestrian program came out of the gate strong, with Ashton Kerkam and Lucy Catheine Olmert earning champion and 1st place results in their shows. The boys’ Varsity basketball team was able to overcome multiple injuries this season and earned their 9th consecutive state tournament invitation. The girls’ varsity basketball finished the season strong and our table tennis team hosted their 3rd annual tournament with the largest crowd of participants yet! 

The following athletes and coaches have earned the distinction of earning all-conference and all-state honors. Basketball and wrestling all-state honors have not been announced yet.

Coach of the Year: Katie Markunas - VIC

1st Team: Spencer Miles - Swimming

1st Team: Nana Kofi Obeng-Mensah - Wrestling

1st Team: Ebube Mbulu - Wrestling 

 

2nd Team: Ismael Plet - Basketball

2nd Team: Klemen Vuga - Basketball

2nd Team: Robby Matos - Basketball 

2nd Team: Emme Gravely - Basketball 

 

All-State: Spencer Miles

All-State: Daniel O’Brien

Below are the individual athletic awards. 

 

                        Boys’ Deacon Basketball 

                        Most Valuable Player: Will Orchowski

                        Most Improved Player: Charlie Spruill

                        Coach’s Award: Stan Chen

                        Heart of Deacon: Joe Staggers

                       

                        Boys’ Junior Varsity Basketball

                        Most Valuable Player: Tremain Parker

                        Coach’s Award: David Basnight & Charlie Dodson

                        Offensive Player of the Year: Riggs Handy

                        Defensive Player of the Year: Elijah Noble

                        Most Improved Player: Bill Chen

 

                        Boys’ Varsity Basketball

                        Most Valuable Player: Isamel Plet

                        Offensive Player of the Year: Walker Andrews

                        Defensive Player of the Year: Desmond Roberts

                        Most Improved Player: Robby Matos

                        Coach’s Award: Piercen Young

 

                        Boys’ Varsity B-Team Basketball

                        Most Valuable Player: Patrick Schools

                        Coach’s Award: Gustav Guenther

 

                        Girls’ Varsity Basketball

                        Offensive Player of the Year: Emme Gravely

                        Defensive Player of the Year: Janiera Carr

                        Bishop Award: Olivia Tompkins

                        Most Improved Player: Mylasia Smith

 

                        Wrestling

                        Most Valuable Wrestler: Nana Kofi Obeng-Mensah

                        Most Improved Wrestler: Reilly Holleran

                        Spirit & Sportsmanship Award: Ebube Mbulu 

                       

                        Boys’ Swimming

                        Most Valuable Swimmer: Spencer Miles

                        Most Improved Swimmer: Jack Sorenson

                        Golden Fin: Minh Nguyen

                        Coach’s Award: Quique Peniche Ruiz

 

                        Girls’ Swimming

                        Most Valuable Swimmer: Sarah Bennett Smith

                        Most Improved Swimmer: Cate Bange

                        Golden Fin: Walker Rose

                        Coach’s Award: Lara Wood

 

                        Table Tennis

                        Most Valuable Player: Kevin Zhao

                        Most Improved Player: Nate Baugher 

 

                        Indoor Track 

                        Most Valuable Player: Daniel O’Brien

                        Most Improved Player: Thomas Cook

                        Coach’s Award: Colin Walsh

 

                        Equestrian

                        Most Valuable Rider: Ashton Kerkam

                        Most Improved Rider: Lucy Catherine Olmert

                        Coach’s Award: Maria Geisel