PREPS PLUS: Blue Ridge gets its big man back

Blue Ridge used a well-balanced attack to overpower Hargrave Military Academy 104-36 on Tuesday night, as four players scored in double figures.

In fact, of the 10 players who reached the scoring column, seven scored six or more.

The Barons got a big-time performance from junior Darnell Turner, a transfer from Goochland who scored a game-high 28 points on 14 field goals. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.

But Blue Ridge also got a boost from junior center Martins Abele, who added 17 points and 11 boards. The 7-foot-1, 295-pound Latvian is undoubtedly a welcome presence inside.

“He’s come back from an injury he had before Christmas,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey. “He’s gotten himself into really good shape and is playing really aggressively and really well.”

Also reaching double figures were Scott Williams (20 points) and Denzel Wilson, who recorded 10 points, 13 assists and five steals in the rout.

Blue Ridge (11-1, 2-0 VIC) plays host to Liberty Christian on Friday in its final tuneup before its showdown with the Miller School on Tuesday.

Patriots stay perfect in the pool

The Albemarle High boys swim team put together a 4-0 record entering Wednesday’s City-County swim meet with its most recent wins coming last month against Commonwealth District opponents North Stafford and Brooke Point.

The Patriots downed North Stafford 199-87 behind a strong performance from Ryan McGhee, Sean Cudahy, Roger Fan, and Alex Lampron in the 200 medley relay. Jack McHugh, C.J. Trachta and Josh Sachs went 1-2-3 in the 200 free.

Other highlights for Albemarle included the 200 individual medley, as Fan, Cudahy, McGhee and Tim Webb swept the top four spots. Matt Solomon won the 50 and 100 free and Lampron finished second in the 50 free, while Trachta and Fan went 1-2 in the 100 fly. Trachta, John Leonard, Lampron and McHugh teamed to win the 200 free relay. Cudahy, Michael Bernardino, Webb and Mike Patronik all recorded time drops in their 1-2-3-4 finish in the 100 breast.

In Albemarle’s 118-52 win over Brooke Point, McGhee, Webb, Fan and Lampron got the team off to a good start with a win in the 200 medley relay in 1:55.28. Fan also led a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 IM and then went on to pick up another win in the 100 fly. Other notable performances included McHugh, who won the 100 free as Albemarle also took second and third in the event. Trachta, Leonard, McHugh and Solomon won the 200 free relay in a time of 1:35.71, while Webb picked up a win in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:09.69.

On the girls side, North Stafford edged Albemarle 147-139 on Dec. 9. Holly Harper led the way with wins in the 50 and 100 free. Harper also teamed with Katie Roddy, Nikki Ross and Hannah Cohoon to win the 200 freestyle relay. Roddy, who also won the 100 backstroke, was a member of the winning 400 freestyle relay team along with Cohoon, Harper and Kelly Gilgannon.

Albemarle picked up its second win of the season as it outdistanced Brooke Point 104-66.

The team got off to a stellar start as it swept the top three spots in the 200 medley relay. Leading the way in the event were Corinne Sharp, Kelsey Peck, Cat Cashwell and Melanie Freshwater. Ross captured a win in the 200 IM with a season-best time of 2:33.75, while Harper won the 100 fly, getting closer to her second state standard time. Sharp and Ross won their second individual events of the day in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke, respectively.

Foky continues a family tradition

All Charlottesville swimmer Daniel Foky was doing was signing a card and dropping it in the mail, but it drew quite the reaction from his mother.

“My mom started crying,” Foky said.

And with good reason. The card confirmed that Foky was accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy, where generations in Foky’s mother’s family have matriculated. That’s where the star sprinter will swim collegiately starting next fall, ensuring he will remain a Black Knight even after graduating from CHS.

“It’s a honor to get the chance to go there,” Foky said. “I’ve been immersed in it since I was little, it was always there. It’s nice for that dream to become a reality.”

Foky received his nomination from former Sen. John W. Warner right before Thanksgiving, and early in December he got his appointment from West Point.

Foky made some noise in the spring of 2008 by placing in the top 60 at Junior Nationals in the 50-meter freestyle, his signature event and one that is almost always separated by hundredths of a second — swimming’s answer to track and field’s 100-meter dash.

Foky visited Virginia, too, but the cross-town trip made it pretty clear where he belonged.

“I liked going on the recruiting trip to UVa, but I think it just solidified that I wanted to go to West Point,” he said.

Mountaineers find other ways to hurt opponents

Usually, Logan Terrell leads the way for Madison County’s boys basketball team, the big junior handling the bulk of the scoring load.

Well, apparently even if Terrell only finishes with five points, Madison can put together a win.

Jerel Carter poured in 22 points as Terrell was held in check by George Mason earlier this week, and Carter sparked the Mountaineers to a 56-45 victory in their Bull Run district opener.

With Carter, Sam Utz, David Falk and Matt Garr all providing Madison with scoring balance, teams won’t be able to just clamp down on Terrell — the Mountaineers (12-0, 1-0 Bull Run) just have too many weapons.

Farber-Miller earns honors at Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins’ Andrew Farber-Miller, a 2006 St. Anne’s-Belfield graduate, was named the MVP at the ECAC Holiday Festival as he helped lead the Blue Jays to the tournament title on Jan. 4. He was also named the PrestoSports/Provident Pride Player of the Week for his achievements in the inaugural basketball tournament.

Farber-Miller, a junior forward, shot 75 percent from the floor and averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds in the team’s wins over Penn State-Altoona and Roger Williams. The 6-foot-8, 230-pounder recorded his first double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) of the season in the tournament final in just 19 minutes of action.

Farber-Miller, a two-year starter, has scored in double figures in nine straight games. He leads the Blue Jays in points (14.9), rebounds (6.6) and field-goal percentage (.620).

Hopkins (7-3) defeated Ursinus 73-70 in a Centennial Conference matchup on Wednesday night.

Farber-Miller, a senior firefighter with the Earlysville and Charlottesville Fire Departments, is majoring in public health. He is the son of Steve Miller and Karen Farber.