PREP NOTES: Warriors control JD race

Western Albemarle has established its place at the top of the Jefferson District, going unbeaten in its first seven games. The battle for second place is heating up though, with a pair of one-loss teams — Louisa County and Goochland, which are set to play Friday night.

The Lions have recorded back-to-back district wins over Orange County (in overtime) and Charlottesville since dropping a game at Western. The Bulldogs, the newest members of the district, have reeled off three straight district wins after falling to Charlottesville (their lone loss of the season) in their JD debut.

Goochland coach Joe Fowler couldn’t be more pleased with the way his team has progressed since making the move to Group AA from the Group A James River District.

“It makes me feel good about the program we have, because even when we were winning in single-A [other teams] would say, you’re just a single-A team, you can’t play with the big boys,” said Fowler, who led Goochland to a Group A title in 2006. “And to come up and play with the big guys and do relatively well is a testament to the hard work our kids have put in during the offseason.”

Louisa visits Goochland on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Barons No. 1 in Division II

Blue Ridge, which boasts a 4-2 record, is the top team in Division 2 in the latest VISAA football poll. The Barons are coming off a 31-14 win over Christchurch last week. In that game, Blue Ridge trailed 14-0, then scored 31 unanswered points to secure the win. Speedy McCauley, A.J. Williams and Andre Roberts all scored to help the Barons come away with the win.

Blue Ridge visits VES on Saturday and can clinch a spot in the VISAA playoffs with a victory.

Owen earns USTA award

Covenant senior Stephen Owen is set to receive the USTA Virginia Junior Tournament player of the year award on Saturday at the USTA/Virginia Tennis annual meeting in Glen Allen.

Playing in the No. 3 singles spot, Owen helped lead Covenant to a repeat VIS Division 2 team title in the spring.

Charlottesville boys tennis coach John Morris will receive the No-Cut coach of the year award.

Hendrix sets school record

Albemarle senior setter Abby Hendrix set the school’s career assists record with her performance against Colonial Forge last week. In the Patriots’ 3-2 win over the Eagles, Hendrix dished out 45 assists. She added 44 assists Monday night in another Albemarle victory over Colonial Forge.

The Patriots’ 3-1 victory over Brooke Point on Tuesday night clinched the Commonwealth District regular-season title. Albemarle will open the Northwest Region playoffs at home as it looks to repeat as Group AAA champion.

Walker nabs weekly A-10 honor

Richmond freshman golfer Daniel Walker was recently named Atlantic 10 rookie of the week after posting a pair of top-5 finishes.

Walker, an Earlysville native who was home-schooled, placed third as he helped lead the Spiders to the tournament title at the Frank Landrey Invitational. He also tied for fourth (3-over 145) in leading Richmond to a fourth-place finish at the Big 5 Invitational.

This marks the second Atlantic 10 rookie of the week honor for Walker, who is third on the team with a 74.18 scoring average.

The Spiders wrapped up the fall season this week at the Georgetown Hoya Invitational.

Outdoor benefit concert at AHS

On Oct. 25 the Albemarle athletic department will host an outdoor benefit concert in memory of former AHS boys lacrosse player Nolan Jenkins. Tickets can be purchased from the AHS athletic department or online at the Albemarle High School home page, by clicking the link to benefit concert. The event will be held from 5-8 p.m. All proceeds go to the AHS turf project.

“Dig Pink” night at Covenant

On Oct. 27, Covenant’s volleyball team will hold a “Dig Pink” night, joining hundreds of high schools and colleges from around the nation this fall to help raise awareness about breast cancer. Spectators are encouraged to wear pink to the match versus St. Catherine’s, which begins at 5:30 p.m. There is no admission charge to enter the game, but donations will be accepted to give to the Side-Out Foundation.

Women in Sports holds tennis fundraiser

This past Sunday, Women in Sports held its first WinS tennis event at Glenmore Country Club. Thirty-two women’s doubles teams from the area participated in the event to raise money to support the group’s mission of recognizing outstanding female athletes in the Albemarle-Charlottesville area.

WinS recognizes high school female athletes throughout the school year on the website http://www.winscville.org and at the annual banquet with awards and scholarships. Financial grants are also given to female athletic groups in the community throughout the year.