2009-2010 | The year in high school sports

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | JUSTIN HUNTER

Ocean Lakes

Ocean Lakes three-sport star Justin Hunter had a goal before the start of his senior year. He wanted to become the first person to repeat as The Pilot’s Male Athlete of the Year. Mission accomplished.

Hunter was an all-state wide receiver and played in this year’s Under Armour All-America game. In basketball, he was an All-Beach District forward who helped lead his team to the Eastern Region tournament. In track, he won the long, triple and high jumps at the Group AAA track meet to help lead Ocean Lakes to the school’s first ever team state title.

“It means a lot to me because nobody has won it twice in a row,” said Hunter, who will play football and run track at Tennessee. “I’ve worked real hard for it to win it again. And I want to be remembered as one of the best athletes to come out of Virginia.”

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RUNNER-UP | PHILLIP SIMS

Oscar Smith

Sims graduated early to enroll at Alabama, but not before becoming the state’s all-time leading passer and compiling a 48-4 record in four varsity football seasons as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.

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FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR | ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

Princess Anne

Princess Anne’s Elizabeth Williams collected an armload of awards and wowed the nation’s top women’s college basketball coaches – all as a high school junior.

So what’s left for next school year?

“Hopefully, we’ll win the state championship,” Williams said. “That would definitely cap it off.” Williams and the Cavaliers fell short in 2010, losing in the championship game to Lake Taylor. Otherwise, Williams’ resume during this past school year was without peer.

The 6-foot-3 center was a first-team Parade All-American and the Gatorade Virginia, Associated Press and All-Tidewater player of the year after averaging 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Elite college coaches popped in regularly to watch Williams, widely regarded as the top national recruit in the Class of 2010. She has narrowed her list of colleges to Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia.

“It’s a humbling thing to get all these accolades,” Williams said. “I’ll just continue to work hard and try to be a really good leader.”

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RUNNER-UP | MARY MORGAN

Maury

The Virginia-bound soccer player led the Eastern Region in scoring with 48 goals and finished her career with 187. Morgan also was a scrappy forward on the girls basketball team, averaging 9 ppg.

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COACH OF THE YEAR | SAUNDRA SAWYER

Lake Taylor girls basketball

Sawyer guided the Titans to a 30-1 season and the school’s first team state championship. Lake Taylor defeated Princess Anne in the Group AAA title game, giving Norfolk its first state girls basketball champ.

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RUNNER-UP | CLAUDE TOUKENE

Western Branch

Toukene guided the boys and girls to Group AAA state indoor titles – the second school to accomplish that feat since Lake Braddock in 2001 – and led the girls to a state outdoor crown.

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STAR POWER

More South Hampton Roads athletes who stood out this year:

James McAdoo, Norfolk Christian basketball

McAdoo, a junior who committed to North Carolina, was a fourth-team Parade magazine All-American and the Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year after averaging 22.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and leading the Ambassadors to the VIS Division II title.

Shakeela Saunders, Great Bridge track

Saunders, a sophomore, single-handedly scored 41 points – including victories in the long jump and 300 – to help the Wildcats finish second at the Group AAA state indoor meet.

Darrell Wesh, Landstown track

The Virginia Tech-bound sprinter won the 100 and 200 at the Group AAA state outdoor meet and in indoor competition finished first in the 55 and 300 at the state meet and won a national title in the 60 at Nike Indoor Nationals. He recently was named the Gatorade Virginia Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Julianne Phillips, Western Branch swimming

The junior swept the 50 and 100 freestyles in the Group AAA state meet, setting a state record in the 100 at 56.97 seconds.

Kasey Morris, Oscar Smith swimming

The Princeton-bound senior won the Group AAA state 400 freestyle with a national record time of 4:14.90.

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STATE CHAMPS

Ten South Hampton teams won Group AAA state championships in 2009-10 – the area’s biggest haul since winning 12 in 2005. Here’s a look at each Group AAA champion:

Norcom boys basketball

Dorian Finney-Smith scored 17 points and reserve Shelton Haskins hit a putback with 1.5 seconds left to lift the Greyhounds to a 55-54 victory over previously unbeaten Petersburg. The Greyhounds (25-4) became the first Portsmouth team to win a Group AAA state basketball title.

Lake Taylor girls basketball

In the first All-South Hampton Roads basketball state championship game, Titans point guard Linda Stepney keys a 13-0 second-half spurt in a come-from-behind 50-44 victory over Princess Anne. Lake Taylor avenged a loss to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Region final.

Ocean Lakes boys outdoor track

Senior jumper Justin Hunter and senior distance runner Drew Paisley combined for 40 points to help lead the Dolphins – the first state title of any kind for the school.

Western Branch boys indoor track

Seniors Blake Theroux was runner-up in the 1,600 meters and George Matais was fifth in the 1,000 and seventh in the 3,200 to help lead the Bruins.

Western Branch girls indoor and outdoor track

Keilah Tyson, Sydni Cobb and Desmonae Gray helped lead the Bruins to a pair of state titles. Tyson won the high jump (indoor) and 100 (outdoor), while Cobb won the shot put (indoor) and Gray won the triple jump (outdoor) and was on the winning 400 relay team.

Cox field hockey

The Falcons outscored opponents 153-8 en route to a fourth consecutive and 17th overall state title. Cox, ranked No. 1 nationally by topofthecircle.com, blasted the state field by a combined 27-1 scoring margin and finished 25-0. Liz Beckner, Taylor Rhea, Kelsey Rosenmeier and Cara Witte celebrated their four state title with a 5-0 victory over Mountain View.

Cox boys soccer

The Falcons, after dominating opponents all season, got goals from Chris Albiston and Drew Hartell, in a 2-1 state championship game victory over Battlefield. Cox (25-0) won its second straight title.

Cox wrestling

Caleb Richardson (112 pounds), Bryan Whitt (119), Ben Dorsay (145 pounds), Conor O’Hara (215) and Ross Burbank (285) all win individual titles to lead the Falcons to their first state championship in 24 years. Richardson won his second crown, Dorsay his third and Whitt won his fifth state title after winning four at Norfolk Academy.

Kellam gymnastics

Freshman Makyna Kansco’s 38.5 – including 9.9 on vault – and solid scores from Marianna Parker (38.0) and Katie Simpson (37.35) helped the Knights erase the painful memory of three straight runner-up finishes. In the individual state competition, Salem's Maebell Pacheco scored a 9.9 to win vault, while Jenine Hutt tied with Western Branch's Bridget Stefen to win the balance beam title, both with 9.75.

Private schools

This year’s Virginia Independent Schools Division II private-school state champions:

• Nansemond-Suffolk football
• Cape Henry girls volleyball
• Norfolk Christian boys basketball
• Norfolk Christian girls basketball
• Cape Henry baseball
• Greenbrier Christian softball

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FANTASTIC FINISHES

A look back at jaw-dropping games from the 2009-10 school year:

Football: Oscar Smith 28 Grassfield 21

Quarterback Phillip Sims threw a TD pass to Charlie Ricks with 15 second left as the Tigers avoided an upset in the Eastern Region Division 6 semifinals.

Football: Thomas Dale 20 Oscar Smith 17

The Tigers fell behind 14-0 on a snowy, rainy, windy day in Chesterfield, and Demetrick Jackson’s 8-yard touchdown run in overtime seals a Group AAA Division 6 semifinal victory. The Tigers’ winning streak ended at 28 games, and a bid to repeat as state champs also is halted.

Boys basketball: Maury 87 King’s Fork 86

The Commodores rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to upend the defending state champions in three overtimes in an Eastern Region quarterfinal at Scope. Sim Frazier finished with a season 31 points and 10 assists.

Girls basketball: Landstown 45 Salem 39

In a 43-second flurry, the Eagles poured in 13 points – more than they scored in any of the first three quarters – for a miraculous Beach District semifinal win. Landstown trailed by five points with 57 seconds left before Kiana Carpenter’s 3-pointer ignited the furious comeback. Baseball

Baseball: Western Branch 5 Menchville 1

Four hours after the first pitch – following a 94-minute weather delay and five extra innings – the Bruins scored four runs in the top of the 12th to oust the defending state champions in an Eastern Region semifinal. Two days later, Western Branch won its first region championship in 31 years with an 11-9 win in eight innings against Gloucester.

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TOP HEADLINES

Ocean Lakes is unbeaten – and finishes 4-6

The Ocean Lakes football team started the season 6-0 and appeared on its way to defending its Beach District title. But on Oct. 14 a committee of Beach District officials determined the Dolphins used an ineligible player, ordering the team to forfeit all six victories.

“It was one of the most difficult things that I ever had to do as a coach and as a person,” Ocean Lakes coach Chris Scott said after telling his players the school’s appeal was denied. On the field, the Dolphins won every game, but officially they finished 4-6.

New region basketball venue a hit

The Eastern Region boys and girls basketball tournament had been plagued for years by overcrowding at 3,800-seat Churchland High. Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim stepped in, offering to hold the tournament at 8,500-seat Scope. It was a huge success, with nearly 8,000 fans attending the boys and girls championship games.

Said Benny Polk, the tournament director, “We should have done this years ago.”