Brad Cornelsen is still convinced the fix was in. He just can't prove it. Sitting in Memphis' coaches booth two years ago in Memorial Stadium at Kansas, Cornelsen was settling into his role as Memphis' co-offensive coordinator. It was just his second game in the role after spending three seasons...
At an age when his peers are celebrating the athletic exploits of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Williamsburg's Charles Wynder is still showing off his competitive edge and excelling at several sports. For the second straight year, Wynder, a retired Army colonel, collected six medals...
When Virginia Tech's football players returned to campus after winter break, Coach Justin Fuente was waiting with a reality check. As rewarding as 2016 may have been, public perception regarding the Hokies was about to change. Quarterback Jerod Evans, running back Sam Rogers, wide receivers Isaiah...
Last season doesn't much interest Justin Fuente. Not the 10 victories, Coastal Division title, or Belk Bowl comeback, and certainly not the ACC Coach of the Year hardware he earned in his Virginia Tech debut. He is beyond appreciative of the young men who engineered that success, plus the durable...
As Peninsula natives, Mike Tomlin and Carl Francis are well-versed in our region's rich sports heritage. They were entrenched as young athletes, remain so as respected administrators and never miss an opportunity to stump for the 757. One specific piece of the fabric fascinates them. "There's always...
Though seven weeks remain until Wake Forest becomes the first ACC program to open the football season, it's never too early for hopeful coaches and players to wax poetic about their teams' chances. As usual, there's no shortage of hot topics — both pertaining to matters on and off the field — to...
Boo Williams gets it. After more than three decades of coaching summer basketball, he knows the circuit is more about exposure and opportunity for young people than wins and championships. Still, competition is the root of any sporting endeavor, and no one enjoys losing. Especially someone spoiled...
Virginia free safety Quin Blanding does his best work in loud stadiums, either on crisp fall afternoons or under the glow of the lights. He does his best relaxing in a dark, quiet room, where he lets his mind drift elsewhere. Blanding, a senior who starred at Bayside High in Virginia Beach, goes...
FAB 15 1. TERADJA MITCHELL | LB High school: Bishop Sullivan Catholic (Virginia Beach). Height/Weight: 6-foot-2/240 pounds. College situation: Committed in June to Ohio State after considering Florida State as a finalist. Also has scholarship offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, Clemson,...
When Filip Mihaljevic first arrived at Virginia, he had two goals — graduate with an impressive grade point average and win a national championship. He wasn't willing to settle for anything less. His approach to college life has always been guided by high levels of achievement. It's what helped...
Since the 1930s, students have played squash on Virginia’s campus. Now, the game is about to change in a big way for U.Va. athletes with an aptitude for the sport. U.Va. announced Friday men’s and women’s squash will be fully-funded varsity sports beginning in the 2017-18 academic year, with grant-in-aid...
Though Virginia lacked the headline-grabbing three national championships of the 2014-15 academic year and didn’t quite match the overall excellence of ’15-16, the Cavaliers’ athletic programs still managed another top-20 finish this year in the final Directors’ Cup standings. U.Va. placed 19th...
This is Tony Shaver's 15th offseason as William and Mary's basketball coach. It's been like none other. First, just after the 2016-17 season ended, 6-foot-9 center Jack Whitman informed Shaver he would play his final year elsewhere. Then, in early June, wing Greg Malinowski did the same. In a matter...
For more than three decades, Matt Kelchner and Jimmye Laycock have had a relationship based on mutual respect. It began when Kelchner was an assistant for Laycock at William and Mary and carried into Kelchner's days as the head coach at Christopher Newport. So calling up Laycock to recommend Paul...
WILLIAMSBURG — Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback and reigning MVP, knew the question would surface. When he met with the media, sure. But also during a Q&A session with kids at the Colonial All-Pro Football Camp. Who was your favorite quarterback growing up? What's it like throwing passes...
They say news travels fast. Not for Harry Nodwell, who last week became only the second athlete in Christopher Newport University history to earn All-American status in two sports. Nodwell, who played soccer in the fall and golf in the spring, is back home in England until late July. He spends...
The Woodside girls basketball program enters Phylicia Allen's senior year in a state of flux — an unfamiliar position for the program and for the point guard. Former coach Mike Tallon anchored the program for 20 years, including Allen's first three years with the Wolverines, before he retired after...
HAMPTON — At one point during the panel discussion “From the 757 to the NFL,” at Hampton University on Thursday, four-time Pro Bowl quarterback Michael Vick readied to answer a question about why there were so many prominent players from the area code he helped make famous.In the audience, Hampton...
Recent Menchville graduate Gillian Niesel became a late addition to the state girls soccer all-star game hosted by the Virginia High School Coaches Association. Niesel received word of an open roster spot Monday, then went to her newly minted alma mater to pick up her white and purple jersey Tuesday....
Kevin Tripp hoped to finish his high school soccer career with a win, meaning a second Jamestown High Group 4A boys state title in three seasons. He'll gladly settle for a three-goal performance and Most Valuable Player honors in leading the East to a 4-3 win over the West in the Virginia High...
A statewide high school all-star volleyball game coincided with Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven, and players on the East team decided to take advantage. Recent Jamestown graduate Maria Esch was one of nine players on the East squad and 18 seniors overall selected to the Virginia High School Coaches...
Practice for Virginia High School League football begins July 27. Unless something happens quickly, Grafton High will start without a head coach. That job has been vacant since late-January, when Matt McLeod resigned after four seasons for personal and family reasons. Former Apprentice School head...
Teradja Mitchell didn't need to prove much last summer when he arrived at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High. His rep as a vicious hitter on the football field was well-established, but Bishop Sullivan coach Chris Scott wanted to see Mitchell's ferocity firsthand. Scott won't forget the first time he...
There are plenty of measurements that explain Jamestown High's return to Daily Press Athletic Program of the Year for the first time since 2010-11, from a team standpoint and individually. You can start with the girls swim team's Group 4A state title and five other top-three finishes in Virginia...
HAMPTON — Bethel senior Jeremiah Owusu turned to catch a pass during the first game of the 2016 football season, then headed upfield, certain a defender would catch him from behind. Instead, he found an extra burst of speed within him and broke down the field for a big gain for the Bruins. As he...
HAMPTON — When Phoebus senior Amira Aduma felt a pull in her hamstring at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet in March, the track star also started to feel snakebitten. While the Daily Press Female Athlete of the Year had a pile of state titles from her high school career, including three from...
Nearly two months ago, Warhill High student Juan Spence had to fight for his life after sustaining critical injuries from a crash that left him pinned underneath the car he was riding in as a passenger. Doctors then told his mother, Elizabeth Butler, that 95 percent of patients that undergo the...