Make no mistake, this isn’t about competition — this is simply a matter of numbers for William Monroe High School.
And in 2011, the Dragons will, apparently, get their wish.
After taking their case in front of the Redistricting and Reclassification committee, Monroe won its appeal to move from Group AA to Group A. Approval from the executive committee still remains on the schedule, but all signs point to the Dragons making the switch.
“This is not a decline in competition by any means — this is strictly a size thing,” said William Monore athletic director Katie Brunelle.
The Dragons will most likely shift out of the Jefferson District into the Bull Run District, home to rival Madison County. Monroe was a charter member of the Jefferson back in the late 1990s after increased enrollment forced the Dragons — then a Group A school — to move to Group AA.
As to that numbers argument, Monroe will go from being significantly the smallest school in the JD to the school with the biggest enrollment in the Bull Run, edging out Clarke County by almost 100 students. Now Monroe won’t have to face schools like Louisa County, who’s enrollment sits at about 1,399 according to the VHSL’s Final Alignment Plan. Monroe is listed at 827 students in the projection, but currently sits at just one student over the dividing line between Group AA and Group A with 755 students.
The Redistricting and Reclassification committee adjusts the original final plan, and completes a drawn out journey for Monroe’s administration. The support within Monroe’s system was overwhelming — Brunelle and the other key decision-makers like superintendent Timothy Jeck spoke with coaches and the majority supported the appeal. And there was no opposition throughout the state.
“Each school has the right to write a letter of opposition, and we received none—which is great,” Brunelle said.
Also in 2011, Orange County will move out of the JD and into the Commonwealth District in Group AAA, Powhattan will move into the Jefferson and Goochland will move out of the district. That leaves Charlottesville, Fluvanna County, Western Albemarle, Louisa County, Monticello and Powhattan as the new Jefferson District in Group AA Region II.
Yoga helps center Monticello girls tennis squad
When Monticello’s girls tennis team has a rain day that forces them inside and off the court, the Mustangs can be found in a school hallway, rolling out yoga mats.
Yes, yoga mats.
The Mustangs get into yoga poses, listen to yoga music and do a lot of breathing exercises.
“We do little bits and pieces of meditation,” said Monticello’s April Ecenrode.
It isn’t exactly a traditional high school workout, but it’s getting the job done for the Mustangs. Under new head coach Lea Doise and assistant Mo Gaffney, Monticello pulled out a monster win over Western Albemarle last week, winning 6-3 to knock off the Warriors, a perennial powerhouse.
Of course, that yoga is paired with a big dose of conditioning including jump roping, suicide runs and ball pickups. That conditioning paid off in the nip-and-tuck singles and doubles matches against Western, with both Ecenrode and Samantha Lin both rallying to win their matchups at the fifth and sixth spots.
Friday, Monticello faces off against Albemarle in a game that’s listed as a scrimmage but pits two of the area’s best players, Monticello’s Lizzy Gaffney and Albemarle’s Megan Napalitano, in the No.1 spot. Gaffney has never lost a regular season Jefferson District match — she made quick work of her match against Western by winning 10-0 — while Napolitano is anchoring a Patriots squad that boasts an 8-1 record this year.
Jefferson District’s top hurlers do battle
If there’s one day that should offer a glimpse as to what we can expect in the Jefferson District baseball tournament, today’s that day.
For starters, the first and second place teams square off when Goochland heads to Mineral to face a Louisa County team that has yet to drop a district contest.
So far this season, Orange County has given the Lions their toughest test within the district as they forced extra innings before Louisa was able to walk off with the win in the bottom of the eighth last Tuesday.
Nearly halfway though the season, Lions have restablished their reputation as one of the toughest opponents a team can face within the Jefferson, and Hornets coach Jesse Lohr offered a simple reason why this Louisa squad has been so effective thus far.
“We know what we’re going to get everytime we face Louisa,” Lohr said. “Gunnar (Carroll) is going to throw strikes, he’s going to strike some people out.”
With Carroll taking the mound Tuesday, runs will be at a premium for the Bulldogs. But the same looks to be true for the Lions as well.
Ben Verlander has yet lose a game this year. In 25 innings of work, he’s completed a pair of games, surrendered just four runs, only one of which was earned, and struck out 33 batters. He also comes into the game with a WHIP (walks plus hits divided by innings pitched) of 0.80, meaning that average, the senior pitcher roughly allows one base runner for every two innings pitched.
After falling to Fluvanna County on Friday, Goochland now trails Louisa by one game. With Orange and Western Albemarle sitting tied for third place in the standings, a Lions victory would put them out in front with some wiggle room, while a Bulldogs win would make a tight race even tighter.
The second big game of the day takes place in Palmyra where the Fluvanna County looks to follow up wins against William Monroe and Goochland with a strong outing against visiting Orange. After his team fell in their first three district games of the year, Flucos coach Mike Sheridan has stressed that every game for the rest of the season is a “must win situation” if his group hopes to earn one of the higher seeds in the tournament.
Of course, the Hornets feel the same way. And having already pitched against Carrol and Verlander, Orange’s Derek Justice will go up against another outstanding pitcher when he goes toe-to-toe with Fluvanna’s ace, Ryan Foster.
If you’re a fan of pitching, whether your in Mineral or Palmyra, you should get your money’s worth at the gate.
