Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 6, 1995 TAG: 9506060135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With yet another Group A title in 1994, the Highlanders - to no one's surprise - swept the two biggest honors on the 1994-95 All-Timesland team.
For the third time in four years, Glenvar's Bo Hagen is the coach of the year. Highlanders senior Nick Varney is Timesland's player of the year for the first time.
Glenvar won its second consecutive Group A championship and third in four years in October, beating a strong William Monroe team by 10 shots on its home course.
``This title was really satisfying for a couple of reasons,'' Hagen said. ``First, William Monroe [went on to beat Glenvar] for the state basketball title. Plus, playing on their home course, they had to be the favorite.
``But this bunch is incredible. They seemed to gear the whole season for postseason and fed on the competition. They fired the lowest rounds of any team in postseason in the state.''
Besides Varney, the Glenvar lineup was anchored by senior Ray Harrell and junior Tommy Lesperance. Harrell was fifth and Lesperance fourth in the state. Junior Andy Shelor came up big for Hagen in the Group A tournament, shooting 90-81-171.
Varney, also Timesland's tennis player of the year, was the linchpin on a team that cruised to the school's fourth consecutive Pioneer District and Region C titles.
Varney, who had a stroke average of 68.4 during the regular season, capped a stellar high school career by winning the Bob McLelland Invitational - the biggest high school tournament in the area - in August. Varney won district and regional individual titles before finishing a disappointing fourth in the Group A tournament.
``The only down side to the state was that Nick had been playing so well and came up a little short,'' Hagen said. ``It's great to win as a team, but I really wanted him to go out with a state [individual] title.''
Varney, who will attend North Carolina-Greensboro in the fall on a partial golf scholarship, leaves Glenvar without winning a state individual title. He was 10th as a freshman, second as a sophomore and seventh as a junior.
``Sure, that's a little disappointing,'' Varney said, ``but I'm not complaining. We did win three state titles in four years. The team title always has been our main goal.
``This has been a great run to be a part of here. Ray and I really wanted to win the state this year because we both wanted to go out winners. We wanted to finish strong and we were fortunate to do so.''
Varney is joined on the All-Timesland team by Harrell; Cave Spring's Victor Garcia and Doug Kenney; Northside's Jason Orlando, Brian Agee and Brian Hill; Lord Botetourt's Brian Sweeney; Patrick Henry's Mark Baldwin; and North Cross' Brandon LaCroix.
Jim Wolfe of Northside and David Layman of Cave Spring received serious consideration for coach of the year.
Wolfe's Vikings dominated the Blue Ridge District, easily winning the regular-season and district crowns, before bombing out with a poor performance in the Region III tournament and failing to qualify in Group AA.
Layman's Knights closed the season with a surprising run, finishing second in the Northwest Region and third in the Group AAA tournament.
Other players considered for All-Timesland included Lesperance, Chad Williams of Cave Spring, Eric Reynolds of Rockbridge County and John Ervin of George Wythe.
by CNB