Sports 2021-22

Boys beat Nansemond-Suffolk 8-7 for 4th state title

5/25/2022

LEADERS: Coach Chris Pollock, Spencer Brown ‘22, Zane Ratliff ‘22, Will Hoff ‘23 and Hayden Burns ‘22 show off the championship plaque at Nansemond-Suffolk on May 21. Ratliff and Hoff earned All-State honors. Photo by Eason Zhou
Boys’ lacrosse:
beat Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 8-7 on May 21 at NSA in VISAA D2 State Championship;
revenged earlier loss to NSA 8-7 in overtime during regular season, which forced NCS to travel to NSA for the final;
defeated VES 11-8 on May 19 at home;
took lead early, lost the lead, then came back in second half;
scored with goals by Zane Ratliff ‘22, Ian Cann ‘23, Joe Mason ‘23, Caleb Thompson ‘23 and Jack Durham ‘25;
controlled possessions as Ashton Cornett ‘24 won 12 of 17 faceoffs;
kept the scoring advantage when Hayden Burns ‘22 saved eight shots;
won three state championships in last five years;
won first state championship in 2010.

“Offense played out of their minds. Defense played out of their minds. Faceoff played out of his mind. Phenomenal effort by everybody. Especially Hayden, he’s our No. 1 goalie.” - JoJo Mason ‘23

“We had a great start to the game. Defense had a couple of bad plays that let in a couple of goals. Second half we turned it up and [scored]three or four and it was electric. They couldn’t stop us. We got the momentum.When we get the momentum, nobody can stop our lacrosse team.” - Jack Durham ‘25

“While we did not play our best lacrosse game we kept it close in the quarter and then tied it right before halftime at 5-5. They scored a goal in the 3rd period that hit the referee and bounced right to the NSA player who passed it and scored. We then scored 3 goals in the 4th quarter to take the lead 8-6. They scored to make it 8-7 and then won the next faceoff. We played great defense and had a scoring chance at our end, which was saved by the NSA goalie. They then got the ball back and threw it over the midline, but we were called for offsides so they got the ball back. We then got a push in the back penalty, which we fought off. They were able to get a shot off with 50 seconds left, but they missed the goal and Ian ran out the shot to give us possession. He cleared the ball and after a timeout, we were running out the clock, and Ian got hit in the head so we basically ran out the clock. I think the fact that we played a close game in the semis against VES helped us against NSA. They had two blowout victories and we were battle tested. The boys never got down and played hard for 48 minutes. A total team effort! - Coach Pollock

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Boys' Track, Baseball, Girls' Soccer and Boys' Tennis win Conference Championships

5/15/2022

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Down 2-4 after singles, the boys won all three doubles sets to secure their second straight Virginia Independent Conference championship over tennis archival Covenant. Held at the Boarshead Club in Charlottesville because the weather forecast called for rain, the match started at 5 and ended at 9:15, likely a record for longest match in school history. In the video, watch No. 3 doubles Colin Chandel '23 rip a backhand winner down the line on championship point. Chandel also won his match at No. 4 singles. In the picture above, Captain No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles Rees Wenk '22 holds the championship plaque while No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles Connor Erwin '22 and No. 1 singles and doubles Henry Lugar '25 show their plaques for earning First-Team All-Conference awards. From left to right: Erwin, Rees, No. 6 Tyler Bloomfield '25, Lugar, Chandel, No. 5. Jacob Juneau '26, No. 3 doubles Christian Lang '25 and Sam Schaefer '26.

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Maria Krotov plays golf for more than 1 team

5/4/2022

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How I do more with my bike

5/4/2022

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Since I was about 10 years old, I have always had a significant obsession with cycling. When I was young and learning how to ride a bike, I never had training wheels. I learned very quickly and loved doing it.
When I started to take it seriously, I dropped all my other sports for it. I rode almost every day of the week, putting in 10-hour, 150-200-mile weeks. This consists of trail riding, road riding, and fixe riding.
My first fast season was the fall of 2019. Thanks to my coach Chris Berry, I trained all summer for the big race series. NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) is a series in every state once a year. When I was 11, I won the middle school category of about 60 riders. This year NICA was in the fall.
Soon after, at the start of 2020, my season came to a screeching halt. Covid hit, and all of my race events were canceled. I continued to work hard without any racing throughout 2020.
Racing started back up in the spring of 2021 during the Virginia High School (VAHS) race series that takes place in different places around Virginia. I raced in the middle school category. In 8th grade, which
was my last middle school race. In a field of nearly 130 riders, I came away with the biggest win.
During the summer, My coach and I, Chris rode from Lewisburg to Cass WV on the greenbrier river trail. This was an out and back ride that took about 11 hours. In total it was 157 miles. We also did it on Fixies. A fixie is a bike with no gears, and you can not stop pedaling.
Toward the end of summer and near the start of fall, I started working hard again. I was in the gym 3 times a week doing weight training, putting in 100+ mile weeks. I was just about to begin my freshman year, and NICA was coming up faster than ever, and I tried my best to be ready. I came away with second place in the first race at Miller School. At the second race, two weeks later, In Stokesville, VA, I got the win. In the past, I have always had amazing races at Stokesville and never lost a NICA or a VAHS race there. In the next two races, I was 2nd place. Overall that season, I was the No. 2 freshman in Virginia.
VAHS starts at Miller School next week. I am hoping to do very well. This is the peak of my spring season

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#1 helps Lax team start as VISAA D-II No.1

5/4/2022

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#1 helps Lax team start as VISAA D-II No.1

5/4/2022

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The 2022 season began with boys lacrosse team achieving great results. Until late April, they were ranked No. 1 in VISAA D-II, but after a loss to a recent overtime loss to Nansemond Suffolk, they dropped to No. 2.
Such a good situation is inseparable from the excellent performance of the team members.
Ian Cann ‘23 has helped the team stay high in the poll by scoring 18 goals and making 15 assists for 33 points (second only to Zane Ratliff ‘22) as one of the attackers, through April 22. He is undoubtedly one of the important players on the team.
Cann has played Lacrosse for eight years so far, which is longer than some players’ time combined. He said the energy that you get from the team and the fast pace of the game motivates him for this long time.
Cann said that he feels great about this season and thinks the team does a great job of working together on the field, but he feels that the team could have better practices. Also, he hopes people or other things can be improved.
The team graduated ten players last year after winning the state championship. As one of the main players this year, Ian has expectations for the results of this year’s team. He says no team is going to be the same. He just expects everyone to play their game and play as a team because that’s what it takes to be a successful team.This year’s situation makes him a little bit stressed, because he didn’t know what to expect, but after a couple games he feels comfortable with the team this year.
Ian wants to play college lacrosse, but he is not only a lacrosse player, but also a football player. He said that he reclassed because he has only played seven and a half football games in the past two years because of injuries. And he prefers football, but a lot of people tell him that he should focus on lacrosse.
“I just want to thank my family for always supporting me in everything I do and pushing me to become not only an athlete but also making me the best person that I can be,” Cann said. “I also want to thank my coaches for pushing me to work on things that I could be better at. Finally my friends and teammates for always having my back on and off the field.

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Best shot - Marc Mendoza '23 makes a layup in the first game against Catholic, while Matt Trott '22 blocks out. Photo by Eason Zhou

2/25/2022

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Supertuck banned from UCI

2/24/2022

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By Henry Schumm '25

In April of 2021, the UCI ( Union Cycliste international) banned the Supertuck, a particular maneuver done by a cyclist while going downhill at very high speeds.
According to Dan Roe, text editor from the bicycling running world magazine, article on the Supertuck ban, riders position their pelvises onto the bike’s top tube to reduce aerodynamic drag.
The UCI banned this for many reasons. One reason was that it was hazardous for big groups of cyclists to go downhill at any speed greater than 30 miles per hour. Another reason for the Supertuck ban is that this position sacrifices control to achieve a higher rate of speed. The Supertuck makes it dangerous for the rider and other riders because of limited control. The Supertruck is also considered an unfair advantage as it allows riders to
break away from the peloton at increasing speeds.
You could see why the super tuck was banned; it is hazardous and proposes more dangers than necessary.
Cycling down a hill at high speeds without a super tuck is even dangerous in itself. The UCI made an intelligent decision when trying to protect others when in a group, but I disagree with their thoughts about cycling by yourself without a big pack of riders. When by yourself, it could be a helpful tool when trying to catch back on to the group or help you move further away from the pack.
In a race, if you were being slowly dropped further and further off the back of the pack and you had the advantage of the Supertuck, would it be fair or not?
The answer is simple, yes, it would.
Riders are already losing ground very quickly, and they have this advantage to use.
But no, riders can’t use it because it is banned by the UCI.
I am saying to this argument that this advantage does not provide any extra equipment or gear; you simply move your body.
So, I can understand why this is not allowed in a group of riders, but I think it should be allowed individually as it provides a safer advantage.
Crashes have been a very big problem while doing the supertuck monevur. This is another reason it was banned. When doing the Supertuck all it takes is one wrong move to end your career.
I agree with the UCI on this factor, but I still think it could be done safely. It could be done on a straight road without many turns and without a group of people. If in a group, then when one person messes up, they mess everyone up.
There are a few types of tucks, some provide more advantages than others, but as you know the Supertuck, is when the rider sits on the top tube and flattens back. Another type of tuck, “Safe tube tuck”(as seen in the image on left rider) is allowed in all pro races because you still have plenty of control over the bike, this is when the rider arches the back to get as low as possible with hands in the drop bar position but still sitting on the saddle.
The Supertuck was proven, in wind tunnel research, to be 14 percent faster than a normal position. The safe tube tuck is nine percent faster than the standard riding position. Although the supertuck provides a massive advantage, it is unsafe, and for that reason I say that the uci was right to make this ban.

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