11 Hidden Valley Student-Athletes Sign NLI

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — Monday night, 11 Hidden Valley High School student-athletes signed their national letters of intent.

Abigail Atwood: Eastern Mennonite University – Track

Abigail Atwood has officially committed to Eastern Mennonite University, an NCAA Division III school in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for track and field.

After Abby finished her sophomore year at Hidden Valley High School, she made the executive decision to graduate a year early. This year she has been completing both junior and senior classes. Abby has earned two varsity letters in track throughout her high school career. She received one from Patrick Henry High School and the second when she transferred to Hidden Valley High School.

While at Hidden Valley, Abby was a member of both the basketball and track teams. She competed in the VHSL state meet twice, once during her first outdoor track season at Hidden Valley in 2023 and the second during her first indoor track season this past February. At both meets she competed in the 100-meter hurdles and high jump, ranking in the top 10.

Abby is excited to extend her athletic and academic careers at Eastern Mennonite, where she will begin studying for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Kayla Bowles: Roanoke College – Cheer

Kayla Bowles has committed to cheer at Roanoke College. Kayla started cheering at the age of 6 with the Hidden Valley Rec Club. This is where she fell in love with the sport. Kayla would like to thank all of her cheer coaches during all of her Rec years for all the time and energy that they invested in her!

Kayla cheered for the Hidden Valley Titans for 4 years and 1 year in competition cheer. Kayla would like to thank Coach Britt and Coach Abigail for being an exceptional mentor and great leader. Their unwavering support and guidance have been invaluable and they have been a great source of inspiration and guidance and Kayla is truly grateful.

While at Hidden Valley Kayla also was in choir since 6th grade without any interruption. and would like to thank Mr. Miller for helping Kayla as an individual and wanted to let him know she enjoyed the achievements of the choir as a whole!

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Jackson Getz: Wingate University – Football

Jackson Getz has committed to play football at Wingate University, an NCAA Division II school in Wingate, North Carolina.

Jackson has played two years of football at Hidden Valley High School and was a team captain during the 2023 season. In 2023, on offense Jackson was selected as a member of the All-River Ridge District 1st team and All-Region 3D 1st team. During the 2023 season, Jackson had 31 receptions for 738 yards and 4 Touchdowns and tacked on 3 interceptions on defense, including a “Pick Six”.

While at Hidden Valley, Jackson has also been a member of the Basketball team. He lettered for 3 years and was a co-captain of the team in his Junior and Senior years. He helped the team earn its first playoff win in 4 years.

Caleb Hagadorn: Bucknell University – Swim

Caleb Hagadorn has committed to swim at Bucknell University, an NCAA Division I school in Lewisburg, PA. where he has also been accepted to the Freeman School of Business and plans to major in Finance.

Caleb has been swimming since he was 5 years old. He has been on the varsity swim team since his 8th grade year, a four-year letter winner, and is a Region 3D Winner in the 50 Yard Freestyle and a three-time winner in the 100 Yard Backstroke. He qualified for the VHSL State Championship in all four years of his High School career and finished as high as 2nd in the 100 Yard Backstroke while earning first-team all-state in both his Junior and Senior years. During his time at Hidden Valley, Caleb has broken school records in the 100-yard Freestyle and 100-yard Backstroke.

While at Hidden Valley, Caleb has also been a member of the baseball team lettering on varsity his Sophomore through Senior years. He is mainly a pitcher where his fastball reaches the high 80’s. As a pitcher, he led the team in strikeouts his junior year and currently has the lowest earned run average of the starting pitchers along with the highest strikeout per inning pitched.

Caleb attributes much of his swimming success in and out of the pool to the support of his family and many coaches, including Hidden Valley’s Keller Sadler and his current club coach, Morgan Richter of the Virginia Gators.

Richard Hearp: Roanoke College – Golf

Richard Hearp has committed to play college golf at Roanoke College, an NCAA Division III school in Roanoke.

During his time at Hidden Valley High School, Richard was team captain junior and senior years. While he was part of the HVHS Golf team, they won the Heritage Invitational and finished third in the state. Richard made River Ridge all-district and all-metro during his junior and senior years.

During his junior year, Richard qualified as an individual for the 3D state tournament. In his senior year, he was named the Region 3D player of the year after winning the regional championship held at Draper Golf Club shooting a 69, he won in a playoff with back-to-back birdies.

Juelz Lawton: Averett University – Football

Juelz Ishawn Lawton has committed to play football at Averett University, an NCAA Division III school in Danville.

Juelz has lettered for two years at Hidden Valley High School both while starting at defensive tackle for the Titans. During his 2023 football season, Juelz had 15 tackles with 2 tackles for loss.

Courtney Monard: Kings College – Soccer

Courtney Monard has committed to play soccer at King’s College.

Courtney was a four-year letter winner and has been the starting goalie for the varsity soccer team since her freshman year. During her time at Hidden Valley, she has helped her team win two regional championships, and make it to both state semifinals and finals.

Courtney has received multiple district awards, including 1st Team All-District Goalie this year, and regional recognition for her standout play in goal during her four-year career at Hidden Valley.

This year, she is a captain and has helped lead her team to a 10-5-1 season record with 8 clean sheets. The women’s soccer team will be continuing their season this week by playing in the regional quarterfinals when they take on Lord Botetourt.

Brayden Moore: Averett University – Football

Brayden Moore has committed to play football at Averett University, a NCAA Division III school in Danville.

Brayden has been a two-year letter winner at HVHS for the Varsity football team and was the starting quarterback in 2022 and 2023. Prior, Brayden was also the starting quarterback for the JV football team in 2021 and 2022. Brayden leaves Hidden Valley in the top five statistically for quarterbacks at Hidden Valley for passing yards, completions, and touchdowns thrown.

Lauren Murray: Roanoke College – Cross Country/Track

Lauren Murray is committed to running cross country and track at the D3 level at Roanoke College. At Hidden Valley, she was a four-year member of the Cross country, track, and swim teams. Outside of running at Hidden Valley, she has also run three half marathons. She would like to thank her parents, her brothers, her wonderful teams, and coaches: Oakes, Sadler, Stevens, and especially Stewart.

J. Vincent Phelps: Bluefield University – Football

J. Vincent Phelps has committed to play football at Bluefield University, a NCAA Division II school in Bluefield, Virginia.

J. Vincent has been a four-year letter winner at Hidden Valley High School and was a team co-captain during the 2023 season for the Titans. In 2023, J. Vincent was selected as an Honorable Mention of the River Ridge District for both the offensive and defensive lines. He was also recognized as an Honorable Mention Region 3D offensive lineman. Following his senior season, J. Vincent was also awarded the Titan Pride Award which is presented to the player who best represents the core values of the Titan Football Program both on and off the field.

While at Hidden Valley, J. Vincent has also been a two-year member of the outdoor track team, where he throws the shot put, in which he qualified and will be competing in Regionals this week.

J. Vincent is excited for the opportunity to continue his athletic and academic career at Bluefield University.

Daniel Robinson: Christopher Newport University – Football

Daniel Robinson has committed to play football at Christopher Newport University, an NCAA Division III school in Newport News.

Daniel has been a four-year letter winner at Hidden Valley High School and one of the football teams co-captains during the 2023 season for the Titans. In 2023, Daniel was selected as a member of the River Ridge District and Region 3D 2nd Team Linebacker. During the 2023 season, Daniel had a total of 57 tackles, two touchdowns, 44 rushing yards, 214 receiving yards, and the opportunity to play quarterback, where he completed a five-yard pass during the Blacksburg game.

While at Hidden Valley, Daniel has also been a member of the indoor and outdoor track teams, where he throws shot put and discus. Daniel will be competing in regionals later this week.

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