Marty Gordon
The Virginia High School League has received several appeals from schools for their classification locations as of next year.
Alleghany requests to move down to Class 2, Region B instead of their alignment assignment to Class 3, Region C.
Grayson County requests to move down to Class 1, Region C instead of their alignment assignment to Class 2, Region C.
James River requests to move down to Class 1, Region C, Pioneer District instead of their alignment assignment to Class 2, Region C, Three Rivers District.
Patrick Henry requests to move down to Class 5, Region C instead of their alignment assignment to Class 6, Region A.
Liberty Christina Academy requests to move up to Class 3, Region C instead of their alignment assignment to Class 2, Region C.
Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy requests to move to Class 1, Region C instead of their alignment assignment to Class 1, Region B.
The Appeals Committee is a five-person appeal-hearing panel, approved by, but not members of, the Executive Committee. The five-person panel conducts a hearing to evaluate each appeal during which one representative of the school is permitted to present evidence in support of the appeal. The five-person panel renders its decision in response to the appeal and informs the appellant school within 30 days.
The appeal committee will meet Tuesday, Aug. 25 to consider final appeals. After acting on appeals, the Committee will present its final plan with justification for Executive Committee approval Sept. 23.
Hawkins to Wuerffel List
The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy is presented annually to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership and performance on and off the field. Named after Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Danny Wuerffel, the award reflects his lifelong commitment to leadership, service, and unity.
Marcellous Hawkins played in 11 games last season for Virginia Tech, making nine starts, and has been named to the list. The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma product tallied 118 carries for 749 yards and a touchdown for an average of 6.3 yards a carry.
He forced 44 missed tackles and gained 562 yards after first contact.During his time in Blacksburg, Hawkins has made a positive impact in the New River Valley and surrounding region. Among his efforts, he helped spearhead a canned food drive for Micah’s Backpack, which collected nearly 2,400 cans of food to help address food insecurity in the New River Valley.
Hokies on Freaks List
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman has included two Hokies in his annual Freaks List. Defensive tackle Kemari Copeland, checked in at number seven while linebacker Kaleb Spencer is number 83.
Copeland set a program record when he benched 510 pounds this summer. He also improved his back squat to 735 pounds and clocked 20.2 mph on the GPS. He did a triple broad jump of 27 feet, 7 inches and ran a 4.64 shuttle.
The Virginia Beach product posted 48 tackles with 7.5 TFLs, a team-high 4.5 sacks and an interception last season. This is the second straight year he has been named to the Freaks List.
Spencer bench pressed 375 pounds, squatted 565 and power cleaned 365 this offseason. He also topped 21 mph on the GPS and ran a 4.20 shuttle.
Former Hokie coach to RU
The Radford University track and field programs have announced that Paul Zalewski has joined the program as an assistant coach, focusing on the jumpers and multi-event athletes. Zalewski boasts over 20 years of experience as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level where his expertise will help him lead the Radford Track and Field jumpers and combined event athletes.
Returning to the New River Valley, Zalewski spent a majority of his career as an associate head coach at Virginia Tech, from 2013-24. He comes to Radford after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue University. Zalewski guided four Boilermakers to All-American honors while in Indiana, including Praise Aniamaka to First Team honors and a fifth-place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
RU golf Platform Award
The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced the 2025-26 PLATFORM Golf Team Academic Award recipients last week which included the Radford University men’s golf program for the eighth time in program history and second consecutive season. A GCAA-record 331 schools across six divisions earned a PLATFORM Golf Team Academic Award. 155 schools received Presidents’ Special Recognition for having an average team GPA of 3.5 or above in 2025-26.Radford was one of 88 NCAA Division I Golf teams recognized. The Radford Men’s Golf program also gained three honors from the 2025-26 Cobalt Golf All-America Scholars for NCAA Division I including Tate Corbett, Kieran McCarthy and Louie Stott.
RU Fanfest
Radford University Athletics is excited to host Highlander Fan Fest on Tuesday, Aug. 25 from 5-7 p.m. at the Dedmon Center Practice Field. This year will kick off a new form of Highlander Fan Fest, an evolution of the “Meet the Coaches Night” hosted in previous years. The evening will include kids’ activities, inflatables and more to kick off both the 2026-27 athletics season and academic year. Guests will still have the opportunity to meet and greet the players and coaches from each of Radford’s athletic teams, as well as learn more about each program. Season tickets for the 2026-27 men’s and women’s basketball season will be on sale at the event, giving attendees a chance to secure their favorite seats. Season tickets for the 2026-27 men’s and women’s basketball season will be on sale at the event, giving attendees a chance to secure their favorite seats.
The event is free for all to attend.
