Starting in 2018, the final race name was changed to Joe-Zilla, in honor of longtime PTC president Joe Harney, whose birthday of July 10 coincides around the time of the 5 miler. The final PTC race Harney attended was the 2017 Trailzilla race, shortly before he died on July 20, 2017.

The Trailzilla series name is a takeoff on the Godzilla movie series, and the individual race awards and the three-race series awards are traditionally stones with dinosaur or other creative running themes painted on them. This year the PTC had a rock painting night at the home of race directors Steve and Maria Peters. The JoeZilla race was both a PTC Grand Prix race, and a Hampton Roads Super Grand Prix race. PTC webmaster Thea Ganoe, along with Pete Navin, were also key organizers for the series.

All Trailzilla races were on the mostly shaded and soft-surface trails of the Sandy Bottom Nature Park. It was warm, but not excessively hot for all three. The predicted morning rain for the Joe-Zilla 5 Miler did not start until after all had left the park. The previous Saturday, the race was postponed due to the Friday afternoon and evening deluge flooding many of the trails in the park.

Steve Peters, PTC president for the past five years, emailed, “We are happy to say that the 2024 Trailzilla Series was a success and we are thankful to our volunteers, the city of Hampton, and the Sandy Bottom Nature Park rangers for helping us ensure the 3-race series was completed in spite of a one-week postponement of the JoeZilla 5-Miler due to heavy rains [the date was changed from July 13 to July 20]. This was the first year we’ve used Trailzilla as our PTC Scholarship fundraiser [for graduating seniors, who are PTC members] and we look forward to improving on it next year. It is fitting that the culmination of the series is the Joe-Zilla 5-Miler, named in memory of the late Joe Harney, long-time PTC President who was a huge advocate of the PTC Scholarship fund which enables the PTC to help graduating seniors in a small way as they head off to college. Thanks particularly this year to Grove and Mary Calvert for their generous donation to the PTC Scholarship fund.”

The Joe-Zilla 5 Miler on July 20 came down to a three-man sprint for the men, and a runaway victory for the women, with the top two men both on the Warwick High cross country team. Benjamin Perry, 17, of Newport News outkicked Nate Cochran, 16, of Newport News by one second, 31:40 to 31:41, with Wilson Mason, 33, of Hollis, New Hampshire a step behind in 31:42. All three averaged 6:23 per mile for the measured 4.95-mile race, slightly below the official 5-mile distance.

In contrast, the women’s race was no contest as Svitlana Honcharova, 26, of Williamsburg won by almost seven minutes over Connie Glueck, 60, of Williamsburg, 33:56 to 40:45, with Stephanie Eitzen, 46, of Yorktown third (42:20).

The first race in the series was the 5K on the evening of June 4. At that race Cochran easily beat Perry, 17:22 to 18:00, with Kyle Peters, 15, of Carrollton third in 18:01. At the second series race, a 3.85 miler on the evening of June 18, Cochran won again in 22:22, with Soren Hines, 15, of Newport News second (23:20), Jim Highsmith, 41, of Newport News third (23:26) and Perry fourth (23:26). In track this past spring, Cochran had run fast times of 4:34 in the 1,600 meters and 9:56 in the 3,200 meters.

For the women, Honcharova was runner-up in the first two races. Ariana Logsdon, 16, of Newport News won the 5K (19:52), with Honcharova second (20:56) and Eitzen a distant third (25:07). At the second race, the 3.85 miler, Bethany Spector, 34, of Virginia Beach was first (27:06), Honcharova was second (28:19), Megan Syrett, 41, of Yorktown third (31:29) and Eitzen fourth (31:52).

Special awards (beer glasses) were given to the series winners, with runners having to complete all three races to be eligible. For the men, Cochran won the overall title over Perry, but Perry won the 15-19 age group. Other men’s series award winners were Braxton Lee of Quinton (14-and-under, with his 15th birthday just days after Joe-Zilla), Matthew Armenta of Hampton (35-39), Adam Henry of Newport News (40-44), Kyle Aulenbach of Yorktown (45-49), Aaron Candella of Yorktown (55-59), Tim Westfall of Norfolk (65-69), Jimmy Blount of Williamsburg (70-74), Ron Kellum of Hampton (75-and-over) and Bob Curtin of Hampton (race walk). A number of runners could have won a series age group award, but could not make the rescheduled July 20 race date.

For the women, with two seconds and one first, Honcharova easily won the overall title over Eitzen and Glueck. Age group Trailzilla award winners were Emily Blackburn of Yorktown (women 30-34), Maryanne Lee of Quinton (40-44), Eitzen (45-49), Susan Hagel of Norfolk (50-54), Glueck (60-64) and Deneen Venters of Newport News (race walk).

More than 3,000 miles away, and in a totally different type of running event was the USATF National Masters Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., with the temperatures exceeding 100 degrees (although a dry heat, with low humidity, and a low dew point). Rob Whitaker, 65, of Yorktown was the only distance runner from Hampton Roads who competed, and his highlight was being part of a U.S. and world record relay team at the 4 x 800-meter distance.

The two records were for the men’s 65-69 age group, and the category was the non-running club category. The team and splits were Tim Owen, 65, of Boston (2:33.9), Whitaker (2:37.7), Michael Lebold, 66 of San Diego (2:35.1) and David Westenberg, 66, of Lowell, Mass. (2:29.8). The team’s relay time was 10:16.67. The former non-club  American record was 10:27.85 and the former non-club world record was 10:19.89.

The selection process for the record-setting relay was from the results of the Indoor USATF Masters Championships in March, where Whitaker was fifth in the 800 meters. At that race, Owen, Lebold and Westenberg were part of a relay team that broke the U.S. and world records for the indoor 4 x 800-meter relay for the 65-69 age group. Owen organized the outdoor record-breaking team, recruiting Whitaker to join the group, when one member from the indoor team could not make the outdoor championships. Whitaker had run a 2:35.66 indoors. The relay was essentially a time trial when one other team dropped out late. Whitaker emailed, “Not bragging, but no one was likely to put up a team that would’ve competed against us.” This is definitely the high point of my running career. Congratulations to my teammates who ran so well in 102 degree heat.” The humidity during the relay was 20% and the dewpoint around 50.

After the relay, Whitaker competed in several individual events, placing fifth in the 800 meters (2:37.08 with the temperature 105 degrees) and also fifth in the 1,500 meters (5:27.92). The nationals was his first outdoor meet of the season. Whitaker emailed, “I’ve continued to have injury problems preventing me from competing and training properly.”

Williamsburg’s Steve Chantry was scheduled to have also competed at the Nationals, but the worldwide computer problems canceled his Friday flight, among thousands of other cancellations.

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

Elder emailed, “This is the best 8K course on the Virginia Peninsula! It is an incredible privilege to run or walk on the 8K or 5K course in the place and day America won independence. We want families to start their 4th of July celebration by running or walking together on this fantastic venue.”

There were 259 finishers in the featured 8K, along with more in the 5K fun run. The top three overall men were Matthew DeVillers, 35, of Mystic, Conn. (27:25.3), followed by Derek Ferreira, 21, of Tolland, Conn. (29:47.7) and Christian Wiscovitch, 34, of Chesapeake (31:26.6).

The top three women were all in the top nine overall, including women’s winner Emma Rogers, 24, of Williamsburg, who was the third runner across the finish line. Rogers was timed in 30:00.9, and was followed by Katherine Irgens, 34, of Mystic, Conn. (31:48.7) and Liz Starbuck, 30, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (33:01.2).

For women’s runner up Irgens, the 8K was a true homecoming, as she was a student at York High. She texted, “We came down to Yorktown to run the roads I enjoyed in high school while visiting family. We would definitely come back to do the race again and always enjoy traveling for races. Definitely more challenging now with our new baby, Killian, but I hope that he will catch the running bug too!”

Although she and husband Matthew DeVillers were registered as Mystic, Conn., they don’t live there anymore. Irgens texted, “We signed up for the race and did it in transit to my new duty station in D.C. I was originally a submarine officer and laterally transferred to the engineering duty officer community. I will be working at the Navy yard at a submarine program office. I ran for two years in high school, actually for York High School. The race course was a pretty popular loop I remember running in high school. I was not a very good runner, middle of the pack. I went to Purdue and studied aerospace engineering and was on the crew team. I ran mostly for cross training and started getting more serious about it after college. Since then, I have been training mostly for the marathon distance and have also run for the all-Navy sports team several times. I even had the opportunity to run for the U.S. marathon team at the military world games in Wuhan, China in October 2019. My PRs in the half and full marathon are 1:17 and 2:46. My ultimate goal is to qualify for the Olympic trials.”

Matthew DeVillers ran for the Naval Academy, and is friends with Bethany and Jordan Spector, now from Virginia Beach, and both also Navy grads, and frequent competitors at Colonial Road Runners races.

Women’s winner Rogers, who just completed her graduate studies at William & Mary’s School of Education, and will start her teaching career next month at Clara Byrd Baker Elementary in Williamsburg, is currently in third place for the 2024 CRR Grand Prix, with three wins and one second place, good for 39 points (trailing just Emily Honeycutt and Isabella Strumke, but with fewer races). Rogers won the Colonial Half Marathon, the Kingswood Klam 5K and the FURever 8K, and was second at the DOG Street 5K. At the FURever 8K, held at Jamestown High, her time was 29:59, one second faster than her July 4 time. Rogers emailed, “I was surprised with how similar the times were. I did a workout for the Yorktown 8K, so it’s nice to know I can run that time in different ways. I don’t have any race plans [for the summer], but will probably jump into some 5Ks.” The CRR will take their summer break for July, and will resume Grand Prix racing on Aug. 10 (with the CDR 5K at The Vineyards at Jockeys Neck, and the Aug. 17 Raising the Roof 5K at the Landfall at Jamestown course).

It was also a high school homecoming for the third-place women’s finisher Elizabeth (Liz) Starbuck, a Lafayette High grad, who, like Irgens, has also moved since entering the July 4 race. She emailed, “When I signed up for the race I was living in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, but now I’m in Boston. I still work for Kiewit, a large construction company in North America. We try to get back to Virginia twice a year, this Fourth of July we were home visiting my step dad and grandparents. I really haven’t stopped running since I was 15 [at Lafayette], besides a couple of injury-forced breaks. Recently I started running for Northwodos Athletics and am being coached by Ben True [one of America’s best distance runners]. I’ve found an awesome running community in Portsmouth, NH and Boston.”

“This year I ran the Boston Marathon and it was a tough one. Immediately after crossing the finish line I swore off running any other marathons, but a couple weeks later I signed up for CIM [California International Marathon]. I figured since CIM isn’t till December that will give me enough time to mentally and physically recover. This summer I’m just going to run shorter races, a Tracksmith track 5K in Boston and then Beach to Beacon [Maine]. There’s never a shortage of races in the Northeast, but it’s always fun to run a race in your hometown! The Yorktown 8K was one of the prettiest courses I’ve ever run on! Almost made the humidity bearable! I ran it as a workout trying to make it a progression with a hard effort for the last 2K but the weather and travel got the best of me and I didn’t quite hit the mark, the effort was certainly there though. Emma and I cooled down, so now I’ll hopefully have a buddy to run with when I visit Williamsburg next time.”

It was a family affair for two Williamsburg runners, Connie Glueck, 60, and Doyle Gage, 68. Glueck won the women’s 60-64 age group by more than four minutes with a time of 41:36, but was thrilled to have her sister Tanna Torcaso, 70, of Jacksonville, N.C. also competing in the 8K. Glueck emailed, “My sister Tanna wanted to do a race and they didn’t have any in Jacksonville on July 4th. She got an email from Colonial Sports about the race and decided to fly up. Once she told me she was coming up to do it I decided to join her. That was her first 8K.  She only started running last year at age 69.”

For Gage, he had the honor of running with his twin brother David, 68, of Tucson, Ariz., and they placed first (Doyle, 44:10) and second (David, 53:23) for the men’s 65-69 age group. David’s son Robert just moved to West Virginia, so David and his wife visited them, then came to Williamsburg to see his twin Doyle, and his wife Debra.

Doyle emailed, “We grew up in California and are very close in all our activities, including running. We ran track (1 and 2 mile) and cross country in high school and were always close with our times. After high school, I went to the Air Force Academy and David went to the University of Arizona, met his wife there and stayed in Arizona. I met my wife Debra while in the Air Force, she was a runner too.” They later raced while in South Dakota, then Guam and Riverside, Calif., before moving to Williamsburg from Europe in 2011. This year they are focusing on half marathons around the country, and in Stockholm, Sweden.

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

According to a recent National Collegiate Athletic Association report, the university tops the list in both perfect multiyear academic progress rates and the NCAA public recognition awards.

Implemented in 2003, the APR calculates the academic progress through a team-based metric based on the academic eligibility and retention of student-athletes for each academic term.

“William & Mary student-athletes shine in competition and in the classroom,” William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe said in an email. “The Academic Progress Report is only the latest example of their hard-earned national recognition. I am incredibly proud that William & Mary will continue to prepare well-rounded individuals to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

In total, William & Mary garnered 12 public recognition awards, which were the most in the Coastal Athletic Association, the state of Virginia and among all Division 1 public universities, according to a university announcement. The university ranked ninth overall nationally for awards.

“These ranks are a testament to the hard work of our student-athletes and we couldn’t be prouder,” said Brian Mann, W&M’s athletic director. “I could go on at length about our department-wide honors as well as the different individual honors our student-athletes have received.”

Mann cited the recognition of Tara Kerr of the lacrosse team and Alek Kuzmenchuk of men’s gymnastics, who were named Fulbright Scholars, and Lanni Brown of women’s basketball who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

“I know how much time and effort our student-athletes dedicate to their studies, as well as the countless hours consumed by their individual sports, so it is extremely gratifying to see this tremendous recognition of what they have done so consistently and so well in the classroom,” Mann added.

Public recognition awards go to teams earning APR in the top 10% of all squads in their respective sports. The newly announced winning teams include: women’s basketball, women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s gymnastics, lacrosse, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s swimming, women’s tennis and volleyball.

Each of the programs produced perfect 1,000 multiyear APR scores. While being the top public school in the category, it also ranked No. 8 nationally among all Division 1 schools, also in the CAA and in Virginia.

W&M’s combined APR for 2022-23, the latest available data, was 994.61 for its 21 athletic teams (indoor and outdoor track programs are combined, while its multiyear APR from 2019-20 to 2022-23 was 993.77. The national average multiyear points were 984.

Additionally, Mann said W&M student-athletes had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.4 during the 2024 spring semester. All the team programs posted a GPA of 3.0 or better. Also, 232 of women and men received the W&M Provost Award, which recognizes students who maintain a GPA over 3.5.

For the 18th time in the last 19 years, W&M lead all Division 1 public institutions with an 88% federal graduation rate. Also, the university ranked 10th overall among all Division 1 schools and had the highest graduation rate for student-athletes in the state.

Wilford Kale, kalehouse@aol.com

Then there are the Happy Cat Events races directed by Ellen Alexander. Her purpose is to get road racers out of their comfort zone, to have races at a variety of longer distances utilizing beautiful local parks such as the York River State Park and Freedom Park, with very challenging singletrack or main trails with plenty of roots, twists, turns, uphills and downhills. Her easier courses (the 24-hour and 7-hour runs) use the Greensprings Trail.

Once a year, the two groups merge with the fifth annual Night Owl 9K run, an evening Happy Cats Event race at Freedom Park that is part of the CRR Grand Prix series. This year, more of the regular CRR road racers have tested themselves at Alexander’s races, and they have enjoyed the new experiences, in particular the Arbor Day 15K at the end of April, and the Taskinas Creek Half Marathon at the beginning of June, both on the difficult and very challenging trails of York River State Park.

The Night Owl race offers a variety of challenging surfaces, starting and finishing in the large meadow by the park’s Interpretive Center, using the asphalt backbone trail before encountering first wide trails, then 1 ½ miles of the most challenging singletrack trails B and A. Back on the wide trails, then the asphalt backbone trail, the challenges don’t end, as there is a very long uphill stretch on the asphalt, going to Jolly Pond Road, then on the return a very steep shorter hill, before a flat final half mile to the finish.

The June 29 race started at 6 p.m., so there was time for all to finish with plenty of daylight left to enjoy the post-race party and awards ceremony, with pizza and beer. Plagued by evening storms in recent years, this year’s race moved from late July to late June, and the weather cooperated without any rain. However, the final challenge for the runners was the temperature, about 91 degrees at the start, with a heat index of around 100. There were 167 entrants, and 147 finishers.

The race name comes from the race beneficiary, Nature’s Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation, which brings a selection of owls for the race entrants to observe, learn about, and interact with inside the Interpretive Center.

Despite the tough course conditions, and the summer heat, two men’s and six women’s age group records were broken. The top three overall for the men were Roger Hopper, 33, of Chesapeake (32:52), Adam Otstot, 42, of Williamsburg (33:59) and Erik Stauderman, 24, of Williamsburg (35:25). Otstot broke the men’s 40-44 race record by more than three minutes, while Hopper owns the race overall record at 31:55 from his 2022 win.

For the women, the top three all broke age group records. Winner Randi Marie Dyrkolbotn, 43, of Mandal, Norway won in 42:01 to break the women’s 40-44 record by more than seven minutes. Runnerup Svitlana Honcharova, 26, of Williamsburg (45:03) broke the 25-29 record by 37 seconds, and Marjorie Friedrichs, 57, of Williamsburg ran 45:34 to break Deelyn Robinson’s previous 55-59 record, also by 37 seconds.

Dyrkolbotn was in Virginia to visit her sister, who works for NATO in Norfolk. The typical high temperatures in Norway during the summer are in the 60s, quite the contrast to Saturday’s 91 degrees. The women’s race record is 38:39 by Bethany Spector, 32, of Virginia Beach in 2021.

Also breaking race age group records were Jim Duffy, 72, of Poquoson (men 70-74, 52:43), Connie Glueck, 60, of Williamsburg (women 60-64, 53:37), Carol Hansen-Vessa, 70, of Williamsburg (women 70-74, 1:06:47), and Tracy Freeman, 75, of Williamsburg (women 75-and-over, 1:52:28).

Other leading men were Jason Bridges, 40, of Williamsburg (37:31), Lauritz Dyrkolbotn, 15, of Mandal, Norway (37:45), Kalle Jahn, 32, of Williamsburg (39:26), Timothy Suhr, 53, of Williamsburg (39:50), Jason Wahr, 40, of Virginia Beach (40:00) and Joe Calkins, 53, of Lanexa (40:35). Other leading women were Caitlyn Sylvester, 25, of Virginia Beach (46:19), Connie Cassidy, 42, of Williamsburg (48:52), Katherine Wease, 34, of Williamsburg (49:14) and Jessica Anderson, 42, of Williamsburg (51:36).

On an age-graded basis, as compiled by CRR statistician Jim Gullo, four runners bettered the national-class standard of 80%, led by Otstot (81.89%), Pete Gibson, 68, of Murfreesboro, NC (43:15, 81.00%), Hopper (80.59%) and Friedrichs (80.26%). Above 75% were Suhr (76.52%), Calkins (75.11%) and Randi Marie Dyrkolbotn (75.01%). Five more were above the regional-class level of 70%, Stauderman (74.54%), J.P. Murphy, 60, of Virginia Beach (44:12, 73.41%), Bridges (73.03%), Lauritz Dyrkolbotn (72.25%) and Glueck (70.80%).

Randi Marie Dyrkolbotn emailed, “It was an amazing race, but the temperature was a lot higher than what we are used to in Norway (64 degrees in the summer) and I felt like I was being cooked already after 1km. The trail part was challenging, especially since we don’t run that much on trails, and in the forest. I had to slow down quite a bit for the sharp corners on the trail, and couldn’t get into a good flow there, but it was still really fun. We were so tired when we got off the trail that it was difficult to run as fast as we wanted to on the road.” She has a marathon best of 2:59:29, while her 15-year-old son has run 16:17 (5K), 33:48 (10K) and 1:14:48 (half marathon).

Stauderman emailed, “I ran the Snowy Owl 10 miler in January which was hosted by Ellen and I absolutely loved it. Even though I’m not a big trail runner I love the events she puts on and plan on continuing running in her events. Adam and I went for a test run on Thursday to get a sense of the course and what was coming with all the turns so we didn’t get lost. I enjoyed the change from paved to dirt to straight single trail. I thought it brought out the best in a runner, most versatile and adapting to change throughout the course.”

Stauderman has moved past Jonathan Grimm into third place in the 2024 CRR Grand Prix, behind Otstot and Hopper. “For me, I’m not going to lie, I love coming in the top three, but being an athlete and competing in different sports my whole life [mainly golf for which he competed in college], my goal is to win. I feel like I’m getting faster and adapting to this new sport and I’m enjoying every aspect of it, and will be able to compete with Roger and Adam in the near future. I really want to get my 5K time under 16 minutes in August and by next year competing for the win at DOG Street which would be closer to 15 minutes. I plan on trying to run as many Grand Prix races as I can by the end of the year while also pursuing my passion of training for the Chicago and Boston marathons this upcoming year!”

Calkins emailed, “I love Happy Cat races. Always unique, and difficult. This was my fourth time doing the Night Owl, and I got a PR by 30 seconds from my last run in 2022. I was expecting to be slower due to the heat and being 2 years older, but started fast and just hung on. Now I have another Happy Cat race shirt to add to my wardrobe… which is mostly Happy Cat shirts.”

Friedrichs emailed, “This was only my second trail race, with the first being last year’s Night Owl, and I must say I enjoy them! The hills are a challenge I always enjoy, and the shade in the woods and the volunteers at the water stops were certainly much appreciated. After overcoming several injuries last year I’m finally feeling like I can put my all into running, and have been thrilled to be able to break 80% [age graded] during my last two CRR races. After my higher mileage preparing for the London marathon this spring, I’ve been training more for shorter 5K/10K races this summer and am hoping to be able to PR once the temperatures are a bit cooler this fall. Or at least get another 80+% age graded time!”

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

Although the temperatures weren’t as bad in Southeastern Virginia as they were with record-setting highs up and down the East coast, the first really hot heat wave of summer made for uncomfortable racing. Both races were part of history. The Timberneck race was a benefit for the preservation and restoration of the Timberneck House (built in 1793) by the Fairfield Foundation, responsible for other historic Virginia sites, including the nearby Rosewell. The second annual race was a Peninsula Track Club Grand Prix event, a Hampton Roads Super Grand Prix event, and this year’s test of the “Best of 757,” an annual race selected among the PTC, Colonial Road Runners and Tidewater Striders.

Last year’s “Best of 757” race was the CRR’s Weighted Angels 5K on the USATF-certified Landfall at Jamestown course. The Machicomoco State Park, on the York River, is the second newest state park in Virginia. This year’s 5K course was also recently USATF certified, by CRR vice president Dave Anderson.

The Chesty Puller Twin Bridge race was in honor of the most-decorated Marine in American history, Louis Burwell “Chesty” Puller (1898-1971), who started serving our country in 1918,  retired in 1955 as a Lieutenant General, and was born in West Point and died in Hampton, while buried in the Christ Church Cemetery. He was a distant cousin of U.S. Army General George S. Patton. Puller was noted for going the extra distance, so the West Point race is both a 10K, but also an 11K for “going the extra distance” for those who choose to extend the race an extra 10%.

The top three men overall at Machicomoco were Jonathan Torres, 34, of Newport News (18:07), Timothy Suhr, 53, of Williamsburg (18:47) and Toby Worm, 51, of Smithfield (19:10). The top three Masters (40-and-over men) were Kelvin Anderson, 63, of Newport News (20:05), David Anderson, 54, of Williamsburg (21:16), and William Huff, 53, of Williamsburg (22:00). Also making the top 10 overall were Brian Fries, 36, of Yorktown (21:07) and Braxton Lee, 14, of Quinton (21:49).

Finishing fifth overall, and first for the women was Svitlana Honcharova, 26, of Williamsburg (20:51), followed by Ann Strait, 64, of Irvington (24:17) and Julie Hicks, 48, of Virginia Beach (25:17). The fastest Masters women were Connie Glueck, 60, of Williamsburg (25:34), Christine Schaffner, 61, of Yorktown (28:24), and Susan Hagel, 51, of Norfolk (29:14).

Honcharova broke her own women’s Timberneck course record, improving from 21:34 last year to her 20:51 last Saturday. The men’s course record remains 16:55 by Tidewater Striders president Thomas Hicks, 51, of Virginia Beach, the 2023 winner.

Deneen Venters, 60, of Newport News (38:15) and Eric Dawnkaski, 58, of Williamsburg (40:51) were the race walk winners, a division emphasized for this race (awards going five deep) by race director Rick Webb of Yorktown, a board member of the PTC, and also the race walking chairman for the PTC.

As compiled by Dale Abrahamson for the PTC, the age graded runners above 70% were Kelvin Anderson (81.14%), Strait (80.08%), Suhr (79.68%), Worm (76.83%), Glueck (72.34%), Abrahamson, 75, of Yorktown (25:57, 72.23%), Torres (71.69%), David Anderson (70.96%), Jim Duffy, 72, of Poquoson (25:14, 70.90%) and Honcharova (70.66%).

Both women’s winner Honcharova and men’s runnerup Suhr had similar things to say about the race and the heat. Via text message from her Facebook post, Honcharova wrote “This morning I ran Timberneck 5K at Machicomoco State Park. I placed 1st overall for women and I was overall 5th [including the men]. Also I set a record and I won a raffle dozen donuts. The weather was so hot and hot for a race today but I finished strong.”

Suhr emailed, “Timberneck was really really hot and really in the wide open. Zero shade! Tough 5K with all the heat and direct sun but it really wasn’t terrible because there was a slight breeze and only for about the last mile was the struggle. Didn’t even know that this young state park was there, but it is very pretty. There are some good views of the [York] river. And it seems that the roadway was designed for a 5K because it was a perfect 5K going around the loop road of the state park. Great race, great people, they had amazing door prizes and there were so many that almost everyone got one.”

Third-place Worm emailed, “I enjoy the Timberneck 5K. The state park has great facilities and a mostly flat road loop that makes a 5K easy to set up and run. It’s a great course if you’re working on a tan! Not much shade, and we happened to have an 80+ morning for the race. Last year was much cooler, but hey, the weather is unpredictable. It’s a part of racing. My race strategy was to go out slower and enjoy the course. That didn’t last long though. We had a nice headwind for the first mile and that seemed to keep me running cool and fast. I passed a few folks and was closing in on Suhr when we made a turn and lost the wind. The heat hit me like a ton of bricks and I struggled a bit for miles 2 and 3. Still, finishing 3rd to Tim and Jonathan is great!”

The Chesty Puller race is more of a participatory race for those wanting to honor the most-decorated soldier, and the majority of 10K entrants continued on to make an 11K. For the men in the 11K (153 finishers), the winner was Alec Daniel, 21, of Gloucester (43:41), followed by Jack Strumke, 14, of Toano (47:44). For the women the top two were Isabella Strumke, 10, of Toano (48:15) and Julia Henby, 30, of Providence Forge (48:37).

Jack and Isabella’s father Todd, emailed, “This was our first time doing this race so it was a little confusing regarding the 10K vs. 11K races. To make it even more confusing, as Jack approached the finish line I was urging him to finish strong but thankfully he was smart enough to know that he actually had to pass the finish line and then do one more 1K lap around the neighborhood before being finished. In doing the research on this race before I signed Jack and Isabella up, I learned that the majority of runners do the 11k. This actually makes perfect sense and is incredibly appropriate. The Marine Corps is huge on teaching young recruits (Marines in boot camp) about the incredible history of the Marine Corps and the first Marine they learn about is Chesty Puller, the most decorated and famous Marine of all.”

“Anytime you are doing anything in the Marine Corps such as pull-ups or sit-ups, another Marine will inevitably yell out as a Marine thinks they are reaching their physical limits…”One More For Chesty Puller!!” …and somehow the Marine will find the toughness to do just one more. As you may remember, this is essentially why I started my kids running in the first place…so that when they think they have reached their physical or mental limits they will know that they are not even close and have a lot more left to give…one more for Chesty Puller. Apparently a lot of folks who ran in this event know about Chesty Puller because the 10K had 63 runners while 153 ran one more for Chesty Puller (11K).”

It was already in the upper 70s at the 7:30 a.m. race start, and reached 79 during the race. The race is tough because runners cross over two bridges to the opposite side and quickly turn back, essentially four substantial bridges and hills. Chesty Puller would be proud of the toughness of the course. And of course, he would do the extra 10%.

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

The FURever Homes 8K, and accompanying 5K and one mile pet run, had a nice turnout at Jamestown High for the three races with 409 total finishers; 303 finishers combined in the 8K (the Grand Prix race, with awards in all age groups from 14-and-under to 75-and-over) and the 5K (less competitive with awards to the top five overall men and women), along with 106 finishers in the one mile, a fun run and a pet run.

Many more virtual runners entered to support the cause, the Heritage Humane Society. And a large Vendor Village, with a dozen or more booths of animal-related organizations kept runners and spectators entertained all morning long. The three race directors were Jennifer Lafountain, the marketing and community engagement manager of the Heritage Humane Society, Kimberly Laska, the executive director since 2012 of HHS, and Dave Berger of the nearby Spoke & Art Provisions Co., a CRR board member, and the original FURever race director, which started in 2020. The original Greensprings race, on the same 8K course, was the Greensprings Miles for Smiles 8K, from 2017 to 2019.

At the Run for Mental Strength 6K on the challenging and hilly Warhill Nature Trail, CRR Grand Prix leader Adam Otstot won in 20:04, with Hopper second in 20:42, and Stauderman third in 20:50. At the FURever 8K, the top three men were nine-time CRR Grand Prix champion Hopper, 33, of Chesapeake (27:01), Stauderman, 24, of Williamsburg (28:25) and Wilson Mason, 33, of Hollis, N.H. (30:22). The course record is 25:28 by Evan Leach, 23, of Richmond in 2023, with Hopper second last year in 25:42.

For the women, Emma Rogers, 24, of Williamsburg set a course record of 29:59, breaking the previous mark of 31:41 by Emily Honeycutt in 2023. Honeycutt, 33, of Newport News placed second this year, in 32:55, and Isabella Strumke, 10, of Toano was third in 33:55. Both Rogers (20-24) and Strumke (14-and-under) also broke age group records.

Others in the men’s top 10 were Christopher Minty, 36, of Williamsburg (30:43), Timothy Suhr, 53, of Williamsburg (31:31), Chris Geraghty, 39, of Yorktown (31:59), Jack Strumke, 14, of Toano (32:24), Pete Gibson, 68, of Murfreesboro, N.C. (33:17), Kyle Aulenbach, 47, of Yorktown (34:04), Steven Short, 42, of Hampton (34:05) and David Anderson, 54, of Williamsburg (34:09). Minty broke the race 35-39 age group record by 35 seconds. The other men’s age group record was by Dale Abrahamson, 75, of Yorktown (43:05) for the men’s 75-79 category. Gibson missed his own 65-69 record by 13 seconds.

For the women, the remainder of the top 10 were Svitlana Honcharova, 26, of Williamsburg (34:32), Tricia Murphy, 43, of Williamsburg (35:25), Aimee Gianoukos, 48, of Williamsburg (36:21), Karen Grabowski, 40, of Toano (36:25), Leslie Harrison, 60, of Rotonda West, Fla. (39:33), Katherine Wease, 34, of Williamsburg (40:24), and Jessica Anderson, 42, of Williamsburg (40:52). Honcharova broke Honeycutt’s 25-29 race record by 14 seconds, Murphy broke Megan Schulze’s 40-44 record by seven seconds, and Carol Hansen-Vessa of Williamsburg celebrated her 70th birthday (from six days earlier) by breaking Patricia Travis’s 70-74 record (was 50:28, now 49:22).

On an age-graded basis, as compiled by Travis, two runners bettered the national-class level of 80%, Gibson (83.55%) and Isabella Strumke (83.26%). Four more were above 75%–women’s winner Rogers (79.04%), men’s winner Hopper (77.85%), along with Suhr (76.99%) and Leslie Harrison (76.11%). Stauderman (73.72%), Honeycutt (72.43%), Gianoukos (72.00%), Connie Glueck, 60, of Williamsburg (41:54, 71.85%), David Anderson (71.66%), Orlando Perez, 62, of Newport News (37:03, 70.91%), Murphy (70.68%) and Abrahamson (70.42%) were above the regional class level of 70%.

Stauderman, the sales and service consultant for William & Mary Athletics emailed, “I enjoyed the course and how it mixed in all three of the different running trails in the Greensprings area [the crushed stone Greensprings Trail, and the asphalt Powhatan Creek Trail and Virginia Capital Trail]. I had the thought of going out with Roger because I would never know if I could maintain that faster pace if I didn’t try. Little did I know, it would not work out well. I stayed with him for the first 1.3 miles, but once we got onto the Capital Trail in the sun, I knew I had to back off because I was starting to hurt. My mile splits started strong and then slowly diminished. Once I got to mile 3, I was just trying to get to the finish line because I was not feeling good with the hard start and the heat. My 8K PR time is 28:10 at the Yorktown Freedom Run 8K a few weeks ago and I think if I went out at my pace I would’ve beaten that time, but I decided to go try and win because if you don’t try, you’ll never know!”

Women’s winner Rogers emailed, “I loved running through the Greensprings trails in the shade. That was super nice given the heat. I did not know the course record, so that was a happy surprise. I was satisfied with my time, though it wasn’t my greatest race ever.”

Honeycutt emailed, “Last year I knew the record was attainable, and this year I knew Emma would have an easy time getting it. I also knew this was not a PR course with the trail sections. With the heat and humidity, I went with more of a tempo pace, going out with 2 miles that were somewhere in the 6:20s, slowing to somewhere in the 6:50s for the next 2 miles, and picking it up at the end to finish with a 6:02 last mile.”

Murphy emailed, “This is one of my favorite places to run in town. I love the combination of trails and the flat paved areas. It was hot for me and I definitely think that made a difference in my race. My mile splits were: 6:38, 6:56, 7:25, 7:31, 7:24. I was running alone for most of the race as I was in an empty gap. That made it hard to keep my pace, but it was hot and I didn’t have anything else to give.”

Leslie Harrison of Florida was a familiar face, but with a different name. She was a national class triathlete and Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier as Leslie Fedon from Virginia Beach, and was a regular for decades at all the major road races in the Hampton Roads area (Shamrock, Hampton Coliseum, Colonial Half Marathon, etc.). Her marathon PR and Olympic Trials qualifier of 2:41:47 came at the 1995 Shamrock Marathon, where she placed second overall. She was also ninth female at the 1989 Hawaii Ironman World Championship Triathlon in 9:49. Her 8K PR of 27:40 came at Shamrock 1996. Harrison texted, “I loved the [FURever] course and the trails in the park system. I was looking for a distance between 5-10 miles. We visit Norfolk, Virginia Beach several times a year. I love running in Williamsburg and looking for races there.” She retired from the Virginia Beach public schools in 2017, where she coached cross country and track at Cox High from 1997-2016.

Although the 5K was less competitive than the Grand Prix 8K, one exceptional time was recorded. Elliot Bruhl, 17, a Jamestown High junior cross country runner, ran a 17:15 to break the previous 5K course record of 17:32 by Jacob Warner, 21, of Williamsburg, a W&M student, in 2020. He age graded a regional-class 75.08%. The women’s winner of the 5K, Michelle Ballin, 41, of Williamsburg ran a 21:49 and age graded 69.78%.

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

McCoy, who completed 16 seasons as the head coach at Niagara in New York state, led the Purple Eagles to a memorable season in 2024. They won 38 games, shared the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season championship, won the league tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach McCoy to William & Mary,” W&M athletic director Brian Mann said in a release. “After comprehensive discussions during the process, I am confident that his outstanding coaching ability and his motivational skills will keep our baseball program on track for continued success. He will compete for championships, and he will ensure that our players have a premier student-athlete experience.”

McCoy said in the release, “William & Mary is a phenomenal school with great athletics and academics, and I love being around high performers on the field and in the classroom.”

He replaces Mike McRae, whose contract was not renewed. Over the past three years, the Tribe went 90-74, including 42-39 in the CAA.

McCoy became the first Niagara head coach to be named the MAAC Coach of the Year since 2003. His 299 victories are the most in Purple Eagles history. The 2024 team led the league in batting average (.305), and Niagara’s pitchers held opponents to a .264 average, the MAAC’s lowest.

Before going to Niagara, McCoy was a volunteer coach at James Madison, and his head-coaching stops include Charlottesville High. He played for Dakota Wesleyan, where he captained a conference championship team in 2002, and got a master’s degree from Virginia.

Rogers won the Colonial Half Marathon in February with a dominant performance (1 hour, 18 minutes, 10 seconds), but then had a serious bike accident in March and is just now recovering to running form.

The eighth annual Kingswood Klam 5K was held last Saturday, starting and finishing at the Kingswood Pool. It had two out-and-backs, of West Kingswood Road and Oak Road, before a loop of Dover Road and Kingswood Road. It was mostly flat, but with several short inclines — not the fastest of courses, but not too challenging. It was the ninth Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix race of 2024.

Many participants, either from the CRR or members of the Kingswood Pool, had the home-course advantage of running past their ownhouses. There were 117 entrants, with 94 finishers in the 5K and 19 finishers in the 1-mile fun run. The race director was Gina Waddell.

Rogers, 23, of Williamsburg, won for the women by 1 ¼ minutes with a time of 17:55, just three seconds shy of the course-record 17:52 set by Laura Labuschaigne, 27, of Richmond, another W&M grad, at the 2023 Kingswood race. CRR Grand Prix leader Emily Honeycutt, 33, of Newport News was second in 19:10, and the rapidly improving Tricia Murphy, 43, of Williamsburg was third in 20:44. Both Rogers (women 20-24) and Murphy (women 40-44) broke Kingswood age-group records.

For the men, CRR Grand Prix leader Adam Otstot, 42, of Williamsburg won his sixth CRR Grand Prix race of 2024 with a time of 16:03. He also won the Virginia Fire Chiefs 5K, Queens Lake 5K, Virginia Regional Ballet 5K, Run for Mental Strength 6K and Proud to Serve 6K, but his best effort of the year was a fourth-place 15:14 at the highly competitive Run the DOG Street 5K.

Nine-time CRR Grand Prix champion Roger Hopper, 33, of Chesapeake, plagued by injuries this year, was the runner-up in 16:22, with Lafayette High and George Mason graduate Nathaniel Darling third in 17:00. Hopper has the Kingswood course record at 15:33 from 2023, while Otstot has the age-group records for both men 35-39 (15:42 in 2021) and men 40-44 (15:39 in 2023).

Besides Rogers and Murphy, women’s age-group records were broken by Marie Shay, 68, of Williamsburg in the 65-69 age group (her 25:49 was six seconds faster than her previous mark of 25:55 from 2023) and Deneen Venters, 60, of Newport News (35:23 in the race walk). For themen, two age-group records were broken, by Isabella Strumke’s older brother Jack Strumke, 14, of Toano for men 14-and-under (18:40), his third CRR age-group record, and by Pete Gibson, 68, of Murfreesboro, North Carolina, for men 65-69 (19:44, a record by just one second).

On an age-graded basis, as compiled by CRR statistician Jim Gullo, four runners bettered the national-class standard of 80% — Gibson (86.44%), Otstot (85.58%), Rogers (82.23%) and Marjorie Friedrichs, 57, of Williamsburg (fifth overall for the women in 22:04, 80.86%). Over 75% were Shay (79.39%), Hopper (79.01%); Tim Suhr, 53, of Williamsburg (19:04, 78.50%); Honeycutt (77.04%); 2018 Kingswood Klam men’s winner Jason Bridges, 40, of Williamsburg (18:39, 76.51%); Joe Calkins, 53, of Lanexa (19:41, 76.04%) and Darling (75.82%).

Bettering the regional-class standard of 70% were Connie Glueck, 60, of Williamsburg (24:51, 74.43%); Murphy (74.42%); David Anderson, 54, of Williamsburg (20:33, 73.43%); George Christopher, 55, of Downingtown, Pennsylvania (20:47, 73.21%, and running past the house he grew up in, on Oak Road); Dale Abrahamson, 75, of Yorktown (25:37, 73.17%); Jack Strumke (72.60%); Kyle Aulenbach, 47, of Yorktown (20:04, 71.10%) and Chris Abelt, 67, of Williamsburg (24:04, 70.10%, running by his residence on West Kingswood).

Rogers emailed, “A few months back, a student I was student-teaching asked me to do this race if I could. I’m so glad I did because it was an absolute blast. I was able to see kids excel and have fun with running, which was so gratifying. My goal was to finish and have fun. I got pretty sickearlier last week and took a few days off to recover. Still didn’t feel 100% healthy on Saturday, but happy with how it went given the circumstances.

“I was at the W&M School of Education getting my Masters of Arts in Education and will be teaching fifth grade at Clara Byrd Baker next year. I’m super-excited. I had a bad bike accident on St. Patrick’s Day. Spent the night in the ER with a concussion and shoulder injury, plus road rash and bruises. I took a week or so off after that before trying to do any physical activity at all.

“After a few days of running, I developed lower back/glute pain severe enough to make it impossible to even walk. I stopped running immediately and took two weeks off. My first week back to running was the DOG 5K [where she placed second for the women in 17:22]. I was still not 100% and did have pain after that race. I finally got my MRI results back. I had a micro-fracture in my sacrum from my crash. By the time I had my follow-up in May, it was essentially healed. Unfortunately, I’ve had bone injuries before. The silver lining is I know what to do (PT, rest, don’t push through pain, see a doctor, get imaging, etc.). I think that expedited the recovery process for me. I haven’t had pain in at least a month. Accounting for the sacral injury, it took a little over two months to fully heal. No goals or anything [for 2024], just have fun and enjoy being healthy. I have a long-term 5K goal, but it’ll probably have to wait for the fall.”

Otstot emailed, “I established a lead pretty early and used the three turnarounds to gauge the gap to second and adjusted my pace accordingly. My lead grew from about 6 seconds at a half-mile to 17 seconds by 1.5 miles. At that point I eased off a bit and managed the lead. My mile splits were 4:55, 5:05, 5:19. I’ve been racing a lot over the past three months, so once I was comfortable that I would hold the lead, I didn’t do any more just for the sake of running a faster time. I had to leave before the CRR picnic and pool party to go and celebrate my grandmother’s 98th birthday!”

Hopper emailed, “Grandma’s Marathon is Saturday, June 22nd. Training has been all right, although it has been challenging trying to even get close to what I was doing in 2023, when I averaged almost 120 miles per week prior to my hip injury in October. My recent weekly mileages have been 80-80-70-110-100-80-100, with no shortage of hiccups due to the upper back pain I’ve been dealing with since February, as well as other little injuries popping up as I try to push the envelope while figuring out what my current limits are. I’m relieved to be able to train consistently again after a frustrating winter. Luckily my hip injury is almost completely under control, and I’ve been able to make a lot of progress with my back as well.”

Darling emailed, “I was with Roger for the first mile and then faded back. I was 50/50 on even running the race. I ran the Loudon Street Mile two weeks prior (4:27) and considered taking a break afterwards but tried to train through. Should have taken a week break, so I was pretty fatigued going into Kingswood. 5K times [in 2024] have been 16:37, 16:42 and 17:00.”

Murphy emailed, “We’ve been getting really lucky with beautiful race weather the last few races. I thought it felt good for a summer race. I stayed for a bit and enjoyed some pizza and pool time. Such a great way to cool off and continue the social aspect. I love racing, but I love the friendships I’ve developed through these races just as much.

“I do not consider it a fast course, although apparently it was for me since it was a new PR. My previous PR was at Queens Lake where I ran 20:54. My 5Ks from this year are 21:52 (Jamestown Swamp Run), 21:24 (Fire Chiefs), 20:54 (Queens Lake), 21:16 (Brew with a View), 20:44 (Kingswood). I’m hoping for sub-20:30 as my next goal and sub-20:00 would be great. We all know I like to go out fast, I just have to figure out how to keep that fast pace for even longer.”

Murphy has run Kingswood the past four years and has gotten faster each year — 25:18, 24:19, 22:04, 20:44.

Rick Platt is president of Colonial Road Runners.

Hanson took a trip down memory lane last Friday, when he watched younger brother Jake and the Lafayette High Rams play in the Class 3 state semifinals. Five years ago, Hanson, then a freshman like Jake, was the winning pitcher for Lafayette in its state championship-game victory.

A few weeks later, he committed to play for Virginia, where he currently platoons at third base with Eric Becker. After watching his brother and his former teammates in the state semis, he made some new memories.

Hanson started at third and produced a stellar defensive play in the Cavaliers’ win over Kansas State in the NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional opener. He followed on Saturday with a three-run double as UVA won 10-4 to complete a two-game sweep of the Wildcats and earn a spot in the College World Series.

“The excitement was overwhelming,” Hanson said. “Not just to qualify, but to go back and get another crack at that championship trophy.”

The Cavaliers (46-15) begin CWS play in Omaha, Nebraska, at 2 p.m. Friday against North Carolina (47-14). UVA also reached the CWS a year ago, but was eliminated with consecutive losses to Florida and Texas Christian.

“Last year, you could tell in our (Super Regional) celebration we were just excited to go,” Hanson said. “This year, the mindset is to go there, compete and play University of Virginia baseball.

“We want to have fun and take it all in, but our main goal is to win the national championship and not just go to Omaha.”

A true freshman a year ago, Hanson made the trip to Omaha, but did not play. While he was grateful just to be a part of it then, he is virtually certain to see playing time this year and is likely to start against left-handed pitchers.

He goes into the series batting a solid .309 with 34 runs, 37 RBIs, seven doubles and seven home runs in 52 games. That’s double the number of games he played in a year ago, when he displayed his potential by hitting .356 in 26 games.

The seven home runs this season are the first of his collegiate career.

“I haven’t made any big changes mechanically,” he said. “You’ve got to shorten your swing and learn to adapt and make adjustments.

“With every pitch, every day, every week, every month, you learn to make adjustments. But the biggest key is being athletic and not being a robot.”

Hanson had two home runs as UVA won two of three in a weekend series against No. 11 Louisville and another in a win over CWS opponent North Carolina. That he’s hitting so well is a huge bonus for the Cavaliers because he usually bats in the No. 9 spot.

“It’s where Coach (Brian O’Connor) put me, and personally I love it,” Hanson said. “There’s usually guys on base when I come up, too, so doing whatever the team needs in different situations has been great.

“People get caught up in mechanics, but what has really helped me improve is that Coach makes everything game-like in practice and we compete every day.”

Hanson — who quarterbacked Lafayette to a football state championship and was All-Tidewater Athlete of the Year in high school — said that relying on his athleticism helps him defensively at third base, a new position for him in college. That and bringing a “shortstop mindset” to the hot corner.

“That means being athletic and moving your feet,” he said. “The biggest thing I learned about third base is that you can get stuck, but it helped a lot to watch how Griff O’Ferrall (now the Cavs’ starting shortstop) moved when he played third.”

Would Hanson like to go back to shortstop, the position he’s played most of his career, at some point? That doesn’t matter.

“I’ll play in the outfield or at catcher if they want,” he said. “In high school, you want to win, but everybody is looking for personal success, too.

“Here at Virginia, everybody is a team guy and playing for the name on the front of the jersey.”

Freshman Christoph Schweitzer provided almost as much impact as any player could have. Thursday, he led Bruton to its first boys tennis team state crown with a 5-2 victory over Radford on Liberty University’s courts, winning at No. 1 singles and adding the clinching point at No. 1 doubles with Max de Winter. Schweitzer then started the event’s individual phase by joining de Winter to win a doubles semifinal.

Schweitzer began Friday with a 6-2, 7-5 singles semifinal victory over Grayson County’s Keyshawn Phipps, then joined de Winter for a 6-3, 6-4 triumph in the doubles final against Richlands’ Jack Clem and Cooper Hurst.

Schweitzer’s streak finally ended Saturday, when Clem repeated as the singles champion with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over him.

Grafton’s Christiansen takes two titles

Also at Liberty, Grafton’s Rainer Christiansen came through at the best time possible.

Thursday morning, his match at No. 1 singles went unfinished as powerful Western Albemarle ran its state championship streak to seven by shutting out the Clippers 5-0.

But Christiansen wouldn’t taste individual defeat as a Clipper. Thursday afternoon, he and John Lee halted Western Albemarle’s two-year streak of winning doubles crowns, edging Brader Eby and Wade Sturman 7-5, 7-5 in a semifinal.

Friday, Christiansen, authored a dramatic 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) singles semifinal victory over Eby. That preceded the doubles final, in which Christiansen and Lee defeated Maggie Walker’s Alex Percey and Ethan Choe 6-4, 6-4.

Saturday, before he and his family needed to get back east for graduation, Christiansen completed a storybook 12th-grade season with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Christiansburg’s Lucas Beasley. Vastly improved this year as his school dropped from Class 4, Christiansen took his fourth consecutive region title and the Bay Rivers’ first state boys singles crown since Grafton’s Yakov Diskin won three in a row in Group AA from 2004-06.

Diskin often was coached by Christiansen’s father, Eric, who won AA doubles titles in 1997 and ’98 and soon will be Rainer’s coach with Christopher Newport.

Menchville’s Onoff rules in Class 5

Meanwhile, Menchville senior Matthew Onoff took a surprising Class 5 singles championship at Huntington Park, where his father, Thomas, is the recreation program coordinator for the city of Newport News.

Dylan Chou of Douglas Freeman, the Region C winner, was a huge favorite to repeat as the state champion, but an injury prevented him from playing his semifinal against Cox senior Neil Vanga, opening the door for an unexpected champ.

In a semifinal Friday, Onoff showed his newfound consistency by posting a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Lightridge’s Thanush Buneti.

Saturday, Onoff romped 6-0, 6-0 over Vanga of Cox, who defeated him 6-2, 6-3 indoors during a Universal Tennis Rating event last fall. It won the first state tennis crown for a Peninsula District player since Menchville’s Kip Layman won back-to-back Group AAA championships in 1991 and ’92.

Also at Huntington Park, Jamestown star Keean Buirski’s first state singles appearance was a 6-2, 6-3 Class 4 semifinal loss to Broad Run’s Neel Pasunuri. Buirski won the Region A championship in singles and in doubles with Charles Aractingi for the region team champion Eagles.