The new Timesland top 15 is out and plenty of changes were made after four major meets were held over the weekend.

Among the highlights:

*Blacksburg put four runners under two minutes in the boys 800 meters at the MileStat Elite Classic in Richmond.

*Nick Link of Blacksburg ran 4:16.05 in the 1,600, while Noah Combs clocked 9:22.88 in the 3,200. Blacksburg’s Emily Beaty ran 5:06.22 in the girls 1,600.

*William Byrd’s Marcellus Fletcher went 46 feet in the triple jump at the Joe Curcio Invitational in Lynchburg where Alexis Brown of James River tossed the shot 38-10 and Liberty’s Nicole Smith threw the discus 121-8.

2013 TIMESLAND TRACK AND FIELD CHECKLIST

NOTE: Rankings are based on major invitationals and postseason meets. Meets include are Knights Invitational, Raleigh Relays, Big Red Invitational, Vince Bradford Relays, Mike Brown Invitational, Falcons Track Classic, Colonel Classic, Judy Thomas Invitational, Frank Carver Invitational, All-American Relays, Amherst Invitational, Tri-Cities Track Classic, Buffalo Invitational, MileStat Elite Classic, Joe Curcio Invitational and Bearcat Invitational.

BOYS
100 meters
1. Khalil Bonds, William Fleming (Colonel), 11.03
2. Andrew Storms, George Wythe (All-American), 11.10
3. Brandon Carter, Martinsville (Colonel), 11.18
4. Ryan Layman, George Wythe (All-American), 11.40
5. Arius McConnell, Salem (All-American), 11.41
6. Tanner Reed, Christiansburg (Colonel), 11.43
7. Riley Blevins, Marion (Thomas), 11.48
8. Joey Augustin, Christiansburg (Curcio), 11.53
9. Jamaal Preston, Liberty (Big Red), 11.55
…..Travis Hedgepeth, George Wythe (All-American), 11.55
11. Ryan Sims, Blacksburg (Knights), 11.57
12  Josh Pearson, Bassett (Buffalo), 11.58
13. Patrick Shulz, James River (All-American), 11.64
14. Ryan Kelly, Hidden Valley (Colonel), 11.65
15. Davonta Womack, Salem (Curcio), 11.67 Read more »

Congrats to Ryan Gravley of Carroll County, Tay Taylor of Salem, Caleb Tanner of Floyd County and Sa’Mone Moore of Covington.

They have been named basketball players of the year in their respective regions.

The list is below:

BOYS BASKETBALL
REGION IV
First team
Ryan Gravley, Carroll County, sr.; Dylan Hodson, Hidden Valley, sr.; Paris Jamison, Martinsville, sr.; Josh Hess, Abingdon, jr.; Mack Owens, Abingdon, sr.
Second team
Troy Mann, Salem, jr.; Chris Hampton, Magna Vista, sr.; Michael Ayares, Blacksburg, sr.; Joey Augustin, Christiansburg, sr.; Ethan Richardson, Marion, sr.
Player of the year
Ryan Gravley, Carroll County.
Division 4 coach of the year
Brad Hawks, Carroll County.
Division 3 coach of the year
B.J. Lasley, Abingdon.

REGION C
First team
Caleb Tanner, Floyd County, jr.; Isaiah Phillips, Radford, jr.; Tyler Crockett, Glenvar, sr.; Asher Dillow, Bland County, sr.; Charlie Fitzgerald, Parry McCluer, sr.
Second team
Reid Sturgill, Chilhowie, sr.; Brandon Lemons, Floyd County, sr.; Isaac Baltazar, George Wythe, sr.; Colby Hill, Graham, soph.; Jeremy Williams, Glenvar, soph.
Player of the year
Caleb Tanner, Floyd County.
Division 2 coach of the year
Rick Cormany, Radford.
Division 1 coach of the year
Nelson Fox, Parry McCluer.

GIRLS BASKETBALL
REGION IV
First team
Tay Taylor, Salem, sr.; Brittany Allen, Richlands, jr.; Ebony Reynolds, Patrick County, soph.; Taylor Blevins, Abingdon, soph.; Andrea Venable, Bassett, sr.
Second team
Tessa Foley, Salem, sr.; Taylor Catron, Tazewell, sr.; Darian Thornton, Christiansburg, sr.; Hailey Singleton, Hidden Valley, fr.; Cassie Richardson, Richlands, sr.]
Player of the year
Tay Taylor, Salem.
Division 4 coach of the year
DeWayne Harrell, Salem.
Division 3 coach of the year
Dennis Palmer, Richlands.

REGION C
First team
Sa’Mone Moore, Covington, jr.; Danielle Catron, Chilhowie, jr.; Kasey Uecker, PH-Glade Spring, sr.; Brooke Bostwick, Auburn, jr.; Maggie Wilbourne, Glenvar, soph.
Second team
Amanda Hollandsworth, Floyd County, jr.; Ashley King, James River, sr.; Sarah Whisman, Fort Chiswell, sr.; Sydney Lindsey, Galax, soph.; Carley Lytton, Floyd County, soph.
Player of the year
Sa’Mone Moore, Covington.
Division 2 coach of the year
Alan Cantrell, Floyd County.
Division 1 coach of the year
Mark Pifer, Covington.

Rockbridge County’s boys basketball team won a coin flip with Alleghany to determine the No. 3 seed for next week’s Blue Ridge District boys tournament.

As a result, Rockbridge will host Staunton River in a first-round game Monday, while Alleghany will host Lord Botetourt.

The Blue Ridge elected not to have Northside and Byrd meet in a playoff game to determine a regular-season champion because the two teams will be in different regional divisions. Byrd will be the Blue Ridge’s No. 1 seed in the Region III Division 4 bracket, while Northside will be the Blue Ridge’s No. 1 team in Division 3.

Northside won a tiebreaker over William Byrd for the No. 1 seed in the Blue Ridge tournament. The tiebreaker came down to the Blue Ridge’s third criterion — results against common nondistrict opponents. Northside’s 1-1 record against Cave Spring trumped Byrd’s 0-2 mark against the Knights, giving the Vikings the No. 1 seed.

Rockbridge and Alleghany needed the extra step to break their tie. Staunton River principal Michelle Morgan conducted the coin flip Friday and it came up roses for the Wildcats.

Therefore, the Rockbridge-Staunton River winner will play Byrd in a Tuesday semifinal at Staunton River. The Alleghany-Botetourt winner plays Northside.

It is possible that the Blue Ridge could have two consolation games on Thursday.

If Alleghany and Rockbridge both lose in the same round, they would meet in a consolation game for the No. 2 bid to the Division 3 tournament. The same would apply to Staunton River and Lord Botetourt in Division 4.

It’s 10 a.m. Saturday, mere hours since I rolled back into Roanoke from Pearisburg where Giles senior Ian Mann put up more than three bills of rushing yardage and threw a TD pass in the Spartans’ 41-14 win over James River in the first round of the Division 2 West Section football playoffs.

Sixty-four games took place across Virginia on Friday night. Eight more are today, wrapping up the opening round. The Central Region finished its regular season last night. The Richmond-area Group AAA teams will join the playoff party next week.

Here’s what jumped out at me Friday:

1. Some Group A schools from the 434 and 804 struggled big-time.
Covington destroyed Rappahannock 51-28 on the road, while Parry McCluer handled Charles City 33-7 in the Division 1 East Section. Bath County nearly pulled off a second straight first-round win in losing at No. 2 seed Sussex Central 14-10. Also, in Division 2 Gretna was hammered at Grayson County 44-31, while Dan River got steamrolled 55-27 at home by Stuarts Draft. Division 2 East top seed Essex, unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in Group A by the AP, had a fairly close shave against 3-7 Luray before winning 28-12.
Was the Dogwood District that far down this year? It appears so after last night. William Campbell, at 3-7, saved some face for the league with a 41-22 win over West Point in Division 1 East. Altavista, seeded No. 4, hosts Surry County today, but this is an Altavista team that lost earlier this year to James River.
Conversely, the Shenandoah District had a pretty good night. Stuarts Draft, Riverheads and Wilson Memorial all had blowout wins. East Rockingham also won a Division 2 East game and will get its shot at Essex next week. The game between Riverheads and Wilson Memorial next week in Fishersville should be a monster. Read more »

Twenty-eight Timesland teams will be involved in 22 games Friday and Saturday as the VHSL football playoffs open across the state.

So, I’ve been a little busy this week collecting enough information on some of these outlying teams as well as compiling the final Timesland regular-season statistics, which will appear in their usual place in The Roanoke Times on Friday.

A version of these capsule previews also will run in the paper. They will include my predictions for Friday’s 21 games and the one Timesland game Saturday. The prep fearless forecasters contest is still running, although the emails with the list of games was not sent out until late this afternoon.

Also, check Friday’s paper for a feature story on Patrick Henry assistant coach Jeff Johnson and a story on Cave Spring place-kicker Daniel Seymour, who will play in a football game Friday night and then run in the VHSL Group AA cross country championships Saturday morning. 

One note to those who have asked. Yes, the All-Region IV team did appear briefly on the blog Wednesday. It was sent in prematurely by one of the league’s ADs, and I complied with a request to take it down until further notice.

The playoff capsules sans predictions are below:

NORTHWEST REGION DIVISION 6
PATRICK HENRY (8-2) at COLONIAL FORGE (8-2)
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Coaches: Patrick Henry (Alan Fiddler), Colonial Forge (Bill Brown).
Scouting Patrick Henry: PH is in the playoffs for the first time since 2000 with the last playoff win in 1994. Virginia Tech-bound QB David Prince has run for 687 yards and passed for 703. Xavier Whorley (174 carries, 1,210 yards, 18 TDs) is the top back. LB Demetrius Anderson and DE Nate Lee (21 TFLs) lead the defense. PK Jacob Otterman has five FGs.
Scouting Colonial Forge: The Forge, located in Stafford, lost 21-14 at Franklin County last year in the first round. The Eagles are 3-2 against AAA playoff teams with losses to C.D. Hylton (35-16) and Massaponax (59-30). QB Damen Daniel (592 rush yards, 962 pass yards) leads the offense. Brown has won VHSL state titles at two other schools.
Next week: The NW Region reseeds. The winner gets either Hylton or Stonewall Jackson. Read more »

The schedule for the first-round of the VHSL playoffs has been set for Timesland teams. Twenty-one of the 22 Timesland games will be played on Friday. Radford will play at Clintwood at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The complete statewide schedule is below:
 
FIRST-ROUND VHSL PLAYOFF PAIRINGS
DIVISION 6
Eastern Region
Granby (9-1) at Ocean Lakes (10-0), Friday, 7 p.m.
Bayside (8-2) at Oscar Smith (9-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Grassfield (8-2) at Salem-Virginia Beach (8-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
Western Branch (8-2) at Bethel (8-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Read more »

Who were the biggest gainers and biggest losers after the smoke cleared Friday night in Week 9 of the high school football regular season?
With regard to how Friday night’s outcomes affected the playoff scenarios, here is the scorecard:
For the official rating scale points updated by the VHSL, click here.

TOUCHDOWNS
 1. Glenvar. The Highlanders’ 48-44 win over Radford moved them up to No. 16 in the Division 2 West Section. Glenvar now has a clear path to a playoff berth if the Highlanders can sweep Auburn and Eastern Montgomery in the last two weeks.
 2. Northside. The Vikings all but locked up a playoff berth in Region III Division 3 with their overtime victory at William Byrd. Now the Vikings have their eyes on a possible No. 2 seed even though they are No. 5 currently. Read more »

1. Salem (8-0)

2. Patrick Henry (6-2)

3. Magna Vista (6-2)

Read more »