Ten Christiansburg athletes signed letters of intent Thursday to play sports at the next level. Pictured are: (from left) Addie Blaine (Bluefield College, soccer), Nic Cook (Ferrum, football), Nathan Gaffney (SVU, football), Marshall Keller (Princeton, wrestling), Kevan Lambert (Emory & Henry, baseball), Grace Martn (St. Leo, soccer), Brandon McGuire (Emory & Henry, tennis), Charles Nwaihesie (Bluefield College, football), Will Stout (Ferrum, baseball) and Xander Whitehurst (Bluefield College, wrestling).
Christiansburg High School held a signing Thursday in the school’s gymnasium as 10 student-athletes announced their intentions to continue their playing career in college.
Marshall Keller will wrestle at Princeton, Grace Martin soccer at St. Leo, Addie Blaine soccer at Bluefield, Kevan Lambert baseball at Emory and Henry, Brandon McGuire tennis at Bluefield, Nathan Gaffney football at Southern Virginia, Charles Nwaihesie football at Bluefield, Nic Cook football at Ferrum, Will Stout baseball at Ferrum and Xander Whitehurst wrestling at Bluefield.
Blaine has played soccer for the past five years at Christiansburg and has also been a member of the girls’ basketball team. She was second team all-conference goalie and won the coaches award two times. Blaine plans to major in criminal justice at Bluefield.
Cook has played football for the past four years at Christiansburg and was also a member of the basketball and tennis teams. He served as team captain for both his junior and senior year, was second team all-district offense all-purpose player, honorable mention all-conference and was voted the team’s most outstanding back. He plans to study communications at Ferrum.
Gaffney plans to attend Southern Virginia University to play football. He started at defensive back both his junior and senior years and was also a member of the Christiansburg tennis team.
“The coaching staff at SVU is great. They really care for the players in academic and football ways, when I went on my official visit, SVU felt like a home away from home,” he said.
Gaffney hopes to study to be an athletic trainer
Lambert will play baseball at Emory and Henry College. He was the CHS baseball team’s most valuable player n 2016 and also received the team’s leadership award. He plans to major in sports management.
Martin will attend St. Leo University to play soccer. Last season, she was second team all-conference midfield and defensive player. She plans to major in business and marketing.
“I choose Saint Leo University because I’ve always dreamed to play collegiate soccer in Florida. I have family that live near campus and a cousin that graduated from Saint Leo University. I also choose Saint Leo because they are a competition D2 team with wonderful coaches and future teammates. Saint Leo also offers my intended major, as well as, many opportunities for my future career,” she said.
Martin plans to major in Business and Marketing and is planning to enroll in Saint Leo University’s 3+1 accelerator program, where she intends to earn a bachelor’s degree and MBA in marketing within four years.
McGuire is headed to Emory and Henry to continue his tennis career after being named all-conference three straight times.
Nwahesie will play football at Bluefield. He was first team all county this past season along with second team all-district, all-conference and all-region at the running back position. Nwahesie plans to major in sports management.
Stout s headed to Ferrum College to play baseball. Last season, he was named all-district and all-conference as a pitcher. She plans to major in business management.
