Ten student-athletes from Blacksburg High School are planning to continue their sports careers at the collegiate level. Moving on to college competition are Jazzmyn Abbott, Ryan Castle, Connor Cheynet, Katie Currin, Olyssa Harris, Caroline Jones, Claire Morton, Skyler Prosser, Jordan Stevens and Ethan Young.
Jazzmyn Abbott
Jazzmyn Abbott, a senior competition and sideline cheerleader, has committed to cheer with Ferrum College this fall. Abbott started cheering on the Bruins’ varsity squad sideline her freshman year at Blacksburg.
She competed in several cheer invitational tournaments and earned a second-place finish her senior year at the regionals that helped lead her cheer team to the VHSL state championship. She was named second team all-region.
When the competition cheerleading program began her junior year, she was a key player in the growth and the success the program has experienced. Abbott was first tumbling pass throughout the season and helped the competition cheerleading team finish eighth in the state.
Outside of cheer, Abbott has been an active member of the Black Awareness Club and the American Sign Language Society. She will study professional health sciences at Ferrum with plans to pursue a master’s degree in occupational therapy.
Ryan Castle
Ryan Castle, a senior offensive lineman, has committed to play football and study at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Va. He plans on majoring in communication studies.
Castle is a four-year letterman who served as a varsity captain his senior season.
He started all 11 games at right guard for the Bruins in 2019, helping them achieve a 6-5 record in 2019. He was named Second-Team All-River Ridge District,and Honorable Mention All-Region 4D.
Christopher Newport University is a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC).
Connor Cheynet
A senior midfielder for the Bruins’ men’s soccer team, Connor Cheynet has made a commitment to play soccer at Sewanee: The University of the South.
A versatile player, Cheynet was the starting right back as a sophomore for Blacksburg on the 2018 Virginia Class 4 region, district and state championship team that ranked number one among all classifications in Virginia and number four nationally for the spring by MaxPreps.
Cheynet was named second-team All-District and scored two goals and registered four assists. As a junior in 2019, he led Blacksburg in goals with 17 and had six assists playing several positions in the midfield and as a defender. The team won the district regular season and tournament championships, was the region runners-up and reached the state semifinals. Cheynet was honored by being named to the all-district and all-region first teams and the all-state second team.
At the start of his senior season, Cheynet was chosen co-captain by his teammates and was slated to lead from the defensive midfield position. The season, of course, was canceled because of the coronavirus.
Katie Currin
A senior center fielder for the Blacksburg High School softball team, Katie Currin will sign a letter of intent to play softball and major in biology at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. Playing in the Capital Athletic Conference, the Christopher Newport Captains finished the current season ranked #3 in the nation play in the Capital Athletic Conference.
As a freshman, Currin started every game in left field while batting .385. Her freshman campaign was highlighted by a home run in her first varsity game.
Moving to the leadoff spot as a sophomore, Currin batted .529 for the season with 11 doubles, two triples and seven home runs. She led the team in every offensive category including 33 runs scored and 29 RBIs.
She was a key player in the Bruins’ first-ever trip to the state softball playoffs. She had a walk-off home run in the regional quarterfinal game, was three-for-three with three doubles in the regional semifinal game, and was 3-for-4 with a single, a double, and a home run in the regional finals. Currin went on to collect both the Bruins’ hits in the state playoff game.
For her efforts, Currin was named first-team all-district, first-team all-region, and first team all-state.
As a junior, Currin once again played center field and batted leadoff. She hit .530 with 39 runs scored and 20 RBIs. She had eight home runs among her 18 extra base hits and stole 20 bases. She was named first-team all-district, first-team all-region and second-team all-state.
Olyssa Harris
Olyssa Harris, a senior competition and sideline cheerleader, has committed to cheer with a scholarship at Emory & Henry College.
Harris cheered varsity sideline all four years and was a major asset in starting the Blacksburg competition cheerleading team. She competed in several competition cheer invitational tournaments and earned a second-place finish her senior year at regionals that helped the cheer team to the VHSL State Championship.
The competition cheerleading team placed eighth in the state this season. She was named first-team all-region, second-team all-state and second-team All-American as a competition cheerleader.
Outside of cheer, Harris is a member of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), a career and technical student organization. She served as president of the club her senior year. She is also a member of UNICEF, the Black Awareness Club and the National Society of High School Scholars.
Harris will be majoring in education at Emory & Henry.
Caroline Jones
A senior track and field athlete, Caroline Jones has committed to run sprints and jump both the long and triple events at the University of North Georgia located in Dahlonega, Ga.
Jones is a four-year regional and state qualifier and a four-year letter-winning athlete. She holds numerous all-time class level and program history records.
Among her achievements for outdoor track and field, she holds the school records for the sophomore second-place long jump and sophomore third-place triple jump, the junior first-place triple jump, and the all-time program third place 4×200 relay.
Her school records for indoor track and field include junior third-place triple jump and senior third-place triple jump.
Jones also ran cross country.
In addition to athletics, Jones is a member of the National Honor Society, served as an officer in both the Arts of Care Club and the Theater Arts Club and was inducted into the International Thespian Society. During her time with the Blacksburg Theatre program, she earned the Outstanding Actor Award in the 2018 VHSL Regional One Act Competition and the 2019 Virginia Thespian Conference and the 2018 Theatre Arts Club Rookie of the Year.
Her senior indoor season was canceled because of the coronavirus, but now Jones plans to put all her efforts into staying injury free and preparing for her first year of collegiate competition.
She plans to major in biology.
Claire Morton
Claire Morton, a senior thrower, has committed to throw for Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Her freshman and sophomore seasons at Blacksburg, Morton competed in both indoor and outdoor track for shotput and discus. In her junior year, she competed in indoor and outdoor regional meets and placed third in the region for discus.
At the state championship, she placed seventh in discus and set a personal best throw of 112-6. As a senior, she placed eighth in the region for shot put.
Outside of track, Morton is the president of the BHS Science Olympiad team and performs cell biology research at Virginia Tech.
She will be majoring in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins.
Skyler Prosser
With her 2020 soccer season cancelled, midfielder Skyler Prosser decided to walk on at Radford University.
She was an all-county and all-city honoree in 2019 and won the 2019 River Ridge District Player of the Year award. She scored 27 goals in her three seasons of varsity play, which led the team.
Blacksburg head coach Travis Eschenmann said she was the top threat in the area as every team was aware of her no matter where she was on the field.
Prosser plans to study sports nutrition and/or exercise science.
Jordan Stevens
The goalie for the Bruins’ men’s soccer team, Stevens, too, lost his senior seasons to the coronavirus. He has, however, committed to play soccer at Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Miss.
As a freshman, Stevens started for the Bruins and recorded 16 shutouts as Blacksburg was the state runners-up. He earned an all-district honorable mention selection and won the Jim Gwazdauskas award as the Most Improved Player.
As a sophomore, Stevens recorded 12 shutouts as the Bruins, thus playing a key role in Blacksburg’s run to the state championship. In 2019, Stevens battled back from a knee injury to record 13 shutouts. He earned honorable-mention all-district and honorable mention all-region honors as the Bruins made it to the state semifinals.
Stevens’ 41 career shutouts left him only eight short of the state record of 49, which he almost certainly would have broken had he gotten to play his senior season.
He plans to major in athletic training.
Ethan Young
A senior hurdler/sprinter, Ethan Young has committed to run track and field and major in computer science at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.
Young is a four-year member of the varsity indoor track and field team and would have been a two-year member of the outdoor track and field team this spring.
As a sophomore for indoor track, Young finished eighth in the region in the 55m hurdles and made the all-region team. As a junior in indoor track, he finished second in the region in the 55m hurdles and competed at the state level. Again, he made the all-region team.
In outdoor track, as a dual sport athlete (baseball and track), Young finished third in the region in the 110m hurdles and third in the 4×400 relay and made the all-region team after competing at the state level.
His senior indoor season, Young was the MVP for the men’s track team and made all-region and all-state. He finished second in the 55m hurdles in the region and fourth in the 300m and third in the 4×200 relay. At the state competition, he finished fifth in the 55m hurdles and ended his season ranked 37th in Virginia and 228th in the nation.
Despite suffering a broken toe just days prior to the Outdoor Nationals last June, Young competed with the rest of his team in the 4x110m shuttle hurdle relays. The team placed 15th and broke the school record that had stood since 2012.
A member of the National Society of High School Scholars, Young will be a scholar graduate at BHS. He will major in computer science at Mary Washington.
— BHS Athletics