Injury cleared way for championship in high jump
Before Kequan Henley ever took off as a high-flying state champion in the high jump, the tall and springy Armstrong High School student was in love with basketball. Then during his sophomore year in 2014, he suffered a significant injury. …
Old-fashioned baseball reigns in the country
Baseball is losing ground in urban areas but remains a premier attraction down dusty country roads, far removed from the city’s hustle and bustle. On diamonds carved out of the woods in places like Prince George and Dinwiddie counties, old-fashioned …
VCU heading South
Virginia Commonwealth University will be taking its basketball talents South during the upcoming season. Coach Will Wade’s Rams will play the University of Illinois on Dec. 3 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat.
VUU signs 4
Virginia Union University basketball coach Jay Butler has announced signings of four new players and suggests more may be on the way.
Former VUU football center now Roanoke’s new mayor
Sherman Lea has gone from the center of the football action at Virginia Union University to the center of the political arena in Roanoke, where he is now the mayor elect.
Ali was golden starting in 1960 Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome were held during the height of the bitter Cold War. Helping to ease world tension was 18-year-old Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., just two months after his graduation from Central High School in Louisville, Ky., …
Highland Springs junior vaulting toward championship
As a younger athlete, Chris St. Helen tried his luck at basketball, football and long-distance running, and he was average. Then he discovered the pole vault and he was average no more. From then on, it has been up, up …
VUU coach, player on ballot for College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame has taken notice of Virginia Union University’s rich football history. Former Panthers Coach Joe Taylor and defensive stalwart William Dillon are on the ballot as candidates for the Hall of Fame Class of 2017.
VSU extends Blow’s contract
Virginia State University officials like what they see in basketball Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. so much so they have extended his contract through 2021.
Brothers awaiting Olympic trials after injuries
Noah Lyles has bigger fish to fry than Virginia’s 6A Track and Field Championships.
Serena screams to a halt in French Open
The real Serena Williams finally turned up at the French Open last Saturday in pursuit of a 22nd grand slam singles title. But it was to no avail.
Washington Nats manager Dusty Baker recalls his ‘heckuva good time’ in Richmond
It has been 45 years since he last swung a bat at the former Parker Field, but Dusty Baker remembers Richmond. Graciously, Baker, the current Washington Nationals manager, granted an interview to the Free Press on May 28, prior to …
Va.’s fastest sprinter, Noah Lyles, running in Newport News this weekend
Track fans have one last chance to see in person the fastest sprinter in Virginia High School League history. Noah Lyles, a 5-foot-9 senior at Alexandria’s T.C. Williams High School, is the favorite to win 100-meter dash at this weekend’s …
Local area softball stars gearing up for championships
The Cooke’s-Allen softball team, long known as Cooke’s Lawn Service, has been mowing down its softball competitors for decades.
Donations allow Armstrong High to ‘play ball’
The enthusiastic words “Play ball!” were heard on Armstrong High School’s campus this spring for the first time in many baseball seasons.
