ROANOKE, Va. – We put a bow on the Spring sports season with VHSL championships wrapping up in the Roanoke-Salem area and in Charlottesville as well.
At Kerr Stadium on the campus of Roanoke College, we had the boys and girls Class 1 soccer finals. The Galax Maroon Tide yielded goals from Alberto Vera and Eddie Erazo on their way to a 2-1 championship win over West Point. It proved to be the seventh state championship in the last 10 seasons for Galax.
Auburn girls team paced itself. Eagles trailed early before flipping the script. Big goals from Stacy Lewis and Katie Light--not only to take the lead but keep it as well. Auburn earned the 6-2 win over Northumberland, it’s first state title since the 2019 season.
Class 2 soccer finals were played at Spartan Stadium at Salem High School. On the girls side, undefeated Glenvar faced off with Clarke County. The Eagles defeated the Highlanders 6-0 in the 2023 semifinals. Glenvar played like a totally different team, confident every step of the way. Maddie Frackelton didn’t allow a single goal, but neither did the Eagles. We had a PK shootout to determine a winner. That’s when Glenvar earned the win, 4-3 in PKs.
“We’ve been practicing PKs for that so I didn’t think I was that good but we’ve been practicing and practicing and it was just good,” Frackelton said.
“A lot of people counted us out today and said we couldn’t beat Clarke County especially after they beat us in the semifinals last year 6-0. But our girls are mentally strong and were mentally prepared to come in here and do what they needed to do,” said Glenvar head coach Kyleigh Drew.
In boys Class 4 action from Charlottesville, we had a rematch from the Region 4D Final: Jefferson Forest vs. Charlottesville. While the Cavaliers were able to force overtime, the Black Knights prevailed for the 2-1 victory.
Christiansburg softball capped off a season of “firsts” by winning its first Class 3 state championship behind a 6-3 win over Turner Ashby. The Knights forced extra innings late but that’s when Kadyn Camper and Tyleigh Dillard helped the Blue Demons score three runs in the 8th inning to secure the victory.
“I was very nervous,” said Blue Demons infielder Makaylee Hughes. “Not going to lie, I’ve been in a slump here recently in the last couple games. I got that ball, I was hunting for my pitch, and I found my pitch and drove it and it felt really good to get out of my slump.”
“Even if we did lose, hey we made it here and I’m proud of us for doing that.” said Camper. “But, we won, so I have to give it to everybody.”
“We were definitely down after they were tied,” Reasor added. “We were just like alright lets go, this is time to kick it in, and we did. And I’m very proud of us.”
Also on the diamond, Jefferson Forest softball is the Class 4 state runner-up after a 7-0 loss to Woodgrove. While in Class 3 baseball, York hit a late grand slam to secure a 10-5 victory over LCA. The Bulldogs earned state runner-up for the second consecutive season.
In Class 4 girls lacrosse, Rockbridge County came up short against Western Albemarle, 12-8.
We also had a few singles tennis champs crowned on Saturday. Salem’s Drew Perez earned the boy Class 4 state title while Patrick Henry’s Ana Maria Rincon went back-to-back as Class 5 girls singles champion.