Notes: New Princess Anne boys hoops coach was looking for a challenge

Princess Anne has a new boys basketball coach. 

He’s Robert Woodley, 57, who has been coaching basketball for the past 35 seasons as a head or assistant coach. He has spent the last eight seasons at Pasquotank High School near Elizabeth City. 

“I was just looking for a different challenge,” said Woodley, who has a 326-206 record in 23 seasons as a head coach. “And I was impressed with the people at Princess Anne. I just felt this is where I need to be.”

Woodley replaces David Sneed, who resigned last month after two seasons. His record was 6-34, including 4-15 last season. The Cavaliers haven’t won a Beach District regular-season title since 1999, the same year they won the Group AAA state title. They won the district tournament in 2003.

“The No. 1 thing I’m trying to do is not dwell on the past but look to the future,” said Woodley, who meets with his team Friday. “I want to bring excitement back to the program. I want to try and make it as much fun as possible.”

Track and field: Landstown girls run among the nation’s best 

The Landstown girls team should have a lot of confidence as it heads into the postseason. 

The Eagles became the first girls team from South Hampton Roads to compete in a Championship of America final at the prestigious Penn Relays. 

The 400 relay team of Olivia Hutchins, Leah Brown, Cierra McGee and Marlena Wesh ran 46.07 to place fourth in the final. That time ranks among the nation’s best this season. The 1,600 relay team of McGee, Wesh, Kelnesha Hinnant and Taylor Wheaton ran in 3:42.77, which also ranks among the nation’s best .   The Eastern District fared well on the boys side at the Penn Relays, too.   Booker T. Washington’s Cordarol Madison, Rasul Crenshaw, Anthony Church and Deshawn Wilson ran a school-record 3:18.62 in the 1,600 relay. Their time is the second-fastest in the state this season behind Bethel, which ran 3:14.71 in the trials. 

“By going to the Penn Relays and running that time, it’s got their confidence up real high,” Bookers coach Che’ Jacobs said. “I really got a feeling that by Nike Outdoor Nationals that they should be down around 3:13 or 3:12. We’ll see how far they can go come June.” 

Lake Taylor’s Derek Green, Travis Williams, Michael Jackson and Derrick Whiting ran a 3:24.09 to win their 1,600-relay heat. 

Their time is the third-best in South Hampton Roads this season.

Track and field: Shortened event leaves Grassfield frustrated 

The Penn Relays weren’t the only big meet going on last weekend.

Many South Hampton Roads teams were among the more than 100 in Charlottesville for the Dogwood Classic. 

Grassfield’s girls finished third with 32 points behind Deep Run (39) and Potomac (34). But the Grizzlies feel they could have won the meet if it had not been called after a two-hour delay because of a storm. 

The Grizzlies still had four events left, on the track, and Karimah Shepherd was leading the triple jump in the preliminaries. 

“We were disappointed because we had a really good shot of winning it,” Grassfield coach J.P Banks said. 

Shepherd had an outstanding day. She was third in the long jump (18-1¾), third in the 100 meters (12.49) and ran on the victorious 400 relay team. 

“I think she’s capable of going 19 in the long jump and 39 in the triple jump,” Banks said. 

Myesha Barr ran 58.47 to finish fourth in the 400, and the 3,200 relay placed fourth. 

Track and field: Two Invitational meets offer valuable tune-ups

With district meets on the horizon, many South Hampton Road teams will be competing at two big meets this Saturday as a tune-up .   Teams will be going to the Suffolk Invitational at Lakeland or the Virginia Beach Invitational at Landstown. 

The Suffolk Invitational begins at 9 a.m. The Virginia Beach Invitational is a twilight meet that begins at 3 p.m. 

Baseball: Beasley's pitching helping Norfolk Academy contend 

Norfolk Academy’s John Beasley ran his record to 6-1 last week and has led the Bulldogs into contention in the Tidewater Conference. Cape Henry Collegiate, Greenbrier Christian and Norfolk Academy entered this week with one conference loss. The Bulldogs and Cape Henry play today at 4:30 p.m. 

Beasley, a junior righthander, has a 1.63 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 39 innings. His only loss came to Woodberry Forest. 

“He’s been our No. 1 for a couple years now,” coach Scott Fowler said. “He throws four legitimate pitches for a strike. His out pitch is as good a high school slider as I’ve seen.”

Baseball: A look down the stretch

Checking on some of South Hampton Roads’ hottest Group AAA teams as they head down the stretch ...   Western Branch: The Bruins, South Hampton Roads’ only unbeaten team, own a two-game lead in the Southeastern District. Pitchers Chad O’Connor (0.00 ERA) and Jared Sivertson (0.74 ERA) have been a handful .   Landstown: The Eagles are alone in first place in the Beach District after knocking off Princess Anne last week. Three players – Cameron Day, Mike Feduniewicz and Cameron Butler – are batting .396 or better, and righthander Kyle Lawhorn is 5-1 with a 1.42 ERA. Landstown has a key game Thursday against Kellam. 

Cox: The Falcons (8-7) rebounded from an 0-7 start to move into the top half of the Beach District. Drew Wilkinson is batting .444, and pitcher Ryan Mattes (4-2, 3.30 ERA) has won four consecutive decisions. 

Lake Taylor: The Titans entered this week with a seven-game winning streak, a stretch that included victories over Eastern District front-runners Granby and Maury. Rob Costa is 6-1 on the mound and is batting .432 with 20 RBIs. 

Indian River: The Braves, who play Great Bridge in a key Southeastern District game Friday, have won their past five games. Lance Alley is batting .485 and is 5-1 on the mound. 

Boys soccer: Grassfield making noise after challenging start 

Grassfield has rebounded in Southeastern District play after starting the season with losses to Ocean Lakes, Tallwood, Churchland and First Colonial. 

All four of those teams are ranked among South Hampton Roads’ top 10. 

“We’re getting everybody on the same page after our tough out-of-district schedule,” said coach Robbie Gobble, who had coached the Great Bridge junior varsity the past two years. 

In the past two weeks, the Grizzlies (4-6-1, 2-1-1) have topped three-time defending regular-season and tournament champ Hickory and tied current district leader Western Branch. 

Jabari Powell leads the team with three goals, but 13 others have at least one goal. 

“We feel we can compete with any of the teams in the district,” said Gobble, who has experience with first-year success. 

Gobble played for Hickory in its first season of 1997, when the Hawks won the district title. 

“These kids want to be in the district tournament,” he added. “They want to compete for a title.” 

Boys lacrosse: Cape Henry’s big week culminates with key test 

Cape Henry Collegiate is in the middle of a marathon week. 

The Dolphins (9-3, 3-0 Tidewater Conference), opened the week against Walsingham and Hampton Roads Academy and will play Bishop Sullivan Catholic today and a club team from Tabb High on Saturday. 

“The kids are pretty tired of practicing, so they’re amped up for these games,” coach Charlie Lonergan said. 

But the highlight has to be Friday’s 7 p.m. clash against Norfolk Academy at Virginia Wesleyan College.   The Bulldogs are the top-ranked Division I private school team in the state. Cape Henry is ranked No. 10, and both teams are undefeated in the TCIS. 

“Norfolk Academy is the top dog around here,” Lonergan said. “If that’s where you want to get, that’s the team you have to go through.” 

Also, money will be raised during Friday’s game to benefit the D.A. Taylor Foundation, which provides scholarship funds to South Hampton Roads students. 

College commitments

-- Western Branch catcher Jacob Pierce has committed to play baseball at Ferrum. 

-- Salem’s Sheila-Marie Smith and Kempsville’s Chelsea Krall have signed scholarship deals to bowl for Norfolk State’s women’s team. 

– Compiled by Larry Rubama, Jami Frankenberry and Darrell Cuenca