Former Gap standout Ingram signs with West Virginia; all-state cheer; basketball scores
CROZET — It's official. Jackson Ingram is headed to Morgantown to play baseball. The Miller School senior had a signing ceremony Monday as he committed to West Virginia University.
"It's been a long time coming," Ingram said. "It's been something I've looked forward to, being able to make it official and having all my family there for support, it was a great experience."
Ingram is from Staunton and spent his first two years of high school at Buffalo Gap before transferring to the private school in Crozet. One of the main reasons he made the move was to play for Miller's coach, Billy Wagner, a seven time Major League Baseball all-star relief pitcher.
"Being able to be coached by somebody like Billy Wagner is just an incredible experience," Ingram said. "You really can't pass that up."
Wagner said it was probably an eye-opening experience for Ingram coming to Miller. The baseball program plays a challenging schedule and it's not like the a public school baseball experience, but Ingram adjusted.
"What he brought to us was leadership and a commitment to getting better every day," Wagner said. "He's a captain this year and I don't pick the captains, the team picks the captain. That tells me the team thinks highly of him. It's easy to find followers but it's hard to find leaders."
Playing Division 1 baseball has been a goal of Ingram's since he was young. He wants to play professionally some day but this was the first step.
"Finally being able to make this happen is just a dream come true," he said.
West Virginia felt like a second home when he visited, Ingram said, saying it just felt natural. He is expecting to play shortstop or middle infield and the coaches have told him with hard work he could play as a freshman.
Wagner said Ingram was very fast and has a good bat, which will translate well to the college game.
"I think he'll just grow with reps," Wagner said. "Once he learns the speed of the game ... I think he'll be a huge component to their success."
All-region cheer
Wilson Memorial's Chi Williams and Waynesboro's Natali Lopez both made the VHSL Class 3 all-state cheerleading team. Wilson also placed two cheerleaders — Kenzie Campbell and Kaitlyn Snead — on the second team while Waynesboro's Tessa Midkiff also made second team all-state.
High school basketball
Staunton fell to Harrisonburg 46-26 in girls basketball Wednesday. Jordan Bell led the Storm with 12 points while Avian Fields added 11 in the loss. Staunton is now 1-1 and travels to Mountain View Friday night.
Waynesboro's girls lost to Charlottesville 64-25. Aaliyah Diggs and Kaitlyn Hull finished with seven points each for the Little Giants. Waynesboro is at Alleghany County Friday.
Buffalo Gap opened its girls basketball season with a 55-7 win over Nelson County. The Gap boys lost to Nelson County 56-48 and are now 1-1 on the season.
Staunton's boys team lost to Harrisonburg 71-70.
Waynesboro's boys lost 73-35 to Charlottesville. Jackson Darden's nine points and Kaveon Washington's eight paced Waynesboro.
"Our kids need to learn how to play with heart and give 100% effort on every play," Waynesboro coach John Spears said. "We couldn’t match up with them in either the zone or man. They shot it well from the outside which hurt us trying to double on (Luka) Matic in the post."
The 6-11 Luka Matic had 21 points to lead Charlottesville.
Thursday night, Fort Defiance travels to Turner Ashby for a girls-boys doubleheader. The girls tip at 5:30 p.m. and the boys follow. There's also a doubleheader at Stuarts Draft, with the boys hosting Central Woodstock at 6 p.m. and the girls playing Central in the second game.
In other games Thursday, Wilson Memorial is at Liberty Christian Academy in boys basketball, while Liberty Christian's girls travel to Fishersville to play Wilson.
More: A trip to the state football championship on the line Saturday when Riverheads hosts Poquoson
More: Historic Staunton Foundation's 48th annual Holiday House Tour
— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Former Gap standout Ingram signs with West Virginia; all-state cheer; basketball scores
