By Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Twenty-three student-athletes from Christiansburg High School have signed letters of intent to continue their playing careers in college.
The group made the announcement during an event Tuesday in the school’s gymnasium.
Reid Allen will play football at Concord University. He played football at Christiansburg High School for four years and was a 2021 Honorable Mention All-River-Ridge linebacker selection. At CHS, he is a member of the National Honor Society. At Concord, Reid plans to study education.
Jaxson Clarke will attend Virginia Military Institute to play football. He played football for four years at CHS and was an all-district, all-county and all-region performer in 2022. At VMI, Clarke plans to study psychology.
Dillon Craig will attend Milligan University, a private Christian college in Tennessee, to run cross country and indoor/outdoor track He ran cross country and track for the Blue Demons for four years. As a freshman, Dillon placed fourth in the region in the 3200. The 4×800 team of which he was a part placed second. In outdoor, he placed third in the region 3200. As a sophomore, in cross country he ran for a varsity squad that won the region and placed second at the 3A state meet. In indoor track, he placed third in the 3200 in region and ran with a 4×800 team that placed second in the state. He qualified for the New Balance Nationals and was awarded the ACE award. As a junior, he ran for the region champion and 3A runner-up cross-country team and was named all-region. In indoor, he was all-state in the 1600 and competed in the 4×800 at the state meet. As a senior, Craig ran for the region runner-up cross-country team and earned all-region and all-state honors. At Milligan University, Craig plans to study Children’s Education.
Casey Graham will attend Emory & Henry College to play football. As a senior, he was selected the All-County Player of the year, the All-County Offensive player of the year, the NRV Crunch Offensive Player of the year, and the First Team All-County quarterback. He also received honorable mention honors as the all-region quarterback and was named the WFXR and Crunch Week 2 Player of the Week. He further received honorable mention All-District and All-Region Defensive all purpose honors. He was a three-year letter winner and a four-year leadership award winner. At Emory and Henry, he plans to study business and sports management.
Drew Lloyd also will play football at Emory & Henry College. In 2021, he was named first-team all-region defensive end, and in 2022, he was named second-team all-region running back and first-team all-county defense. At Emory & Henry, he plans to study exercise science.
Kenyon Johnson-Buchannon will attend Ferrum College to play football. In 2022, he was selected first-team all-district linebacker, second-team all-River Ridge District running back, and second team all-region defensive all purpose. He was also named the all-county defensive unit. At Ferrum, he plans to study health and human performance.
Stephan Mythril will attend Bluefield University to play football. In 2022, Myrthril was selected all-county running back, first-team all-district running back, second-team all-region running back and was named the team’s most improved player. At Bluefield, Mythril plans to study sports and business management.
Tyrique Taylor will play football and participate in track and field for Emory & Henry College. In football, he was selected first-team all-region defensive end, honorable-mention all-district and all-region tight end, and was named the News Messenger/News Journal all-county defensive lineman of the year. In basketball, he was a first-team all-district and first-team all-region player. In track and field, Taylor was a state qualifier in both shot and discus, placing third in the state for discus last year. He is CHS track and field school record holder for the discus with a throw of 153 feet, 4 inches.
Kayla Waters will attend Christopher Newport University to run cross country and track. She is a two-time all-region performer in cross country and was twice named the CHS cross-country runner of the year. At Christiansburg High School, he is on the honor roll, the New River Community College’spPresident’s list and the New River Community College’s dean’s list. At Christopher Newport, Walters plans to study Kinesiology.
Emilee Horton will attend Tusculum University to participate in bowling. Horton has been bowling for 10 years and carries a 198 game average with a high game of 279 and a high series of 690. At Tusculum, she plans to study business and entrepreneurship education.
Natalie Jones plans to attend James Madison University for diving. She is a four-time Region 3D diving champion, was the 3A state diving runner-up as a freshman, and was a three-time state 3A Diving Champion. She was on the New River Community College president’s list last fall.
At James Madison, she plans to study Psychology and Pre-Law.
Aiden Lacoma will attend Virginia Tech to wrestle. He is a two-time state champion. At Virginia Tech, he plans to study business education.
Luke Robie also will attend Virginia Tech to wrestle for his father, who is the head coach of the Hokies. He is a 2022 Virginia state champion and a three-time state placer. At Virginia Tech, he plans to study business management.
Anna Blaine will attend Ferrum College to play soccer. She was a 2021 second-team all-region
selection and has been a CHS student of the month. She is graduating early and at Ferrum plans to study physical education.
Kendall Britt will attend Concord University to play soccer. At Concord, he plans to study business education.
Nathan Fillipiak will attend Randolph College to play lacrosse. He was a three-year letterman in football and earned second-team all-district honors while winning the Positive Belief Award and the Attitude Award. He was named the Best New Player of the year in lacrosse and is a member of the National Honor Society. At Randolph, he plans to study environmental studies.
Dawson Gragg will attend Concord University to play baseball. He was a four-year varsity letterman at CHS. At Concord, he plans to study biological sciences.
Zander Grimes will attend Barton College to play Lacrosse. At CHS, he was the 2021 Most Valuable Player and was a 3-year captain. At Barton, Grimes plans to study exercise science.
Nate Hall will attend Concord University to play baseball. He played baseball for four years at
CHS and is a four-year varsity letterman. At Concord, he plans to study sports medicine.
Jordan Harris will attend South Carolina State to play soccer. She is a four-year varsity letter winner, was named to the 2021 All-Region second team and is a 2022 team captain. She was the soccer MVP as an eighth grader, is in the top five percent of her class academically, is on the All-A’s honor roll, the President’s List at NRCC, and is a member of the BETA Club and the National Honor Society. In addition, she was a Girl’s State attendee, president of the Boy Scouts of America, and is a student representative on the Christiansburg Recreation Advisory Board. At South Carolina State, she plans to study political science.
Baylee Reasor will attend Emory &Henry College to play softball.
Lily Shepherd will attend Concord University to play soccer and run track. She was a 2021 honorable mention all-region Soccer player and an all-state and region-champion performer in outdoor track. At Concord, Shepherd plans to study pre-school education.
Kenna Smith will attend Freed Hardeman University to play tennis. At CHS, she was a regional
qualifier her junior year in singles and doubles. She is the National Honor Society Historian, a student government co-president and past reporter, a member of the BETA Club, serves on the Pharmacy Tech Advisory Committee, and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. At Freed Hardeman, she plans to study biology.
