Highland County Public Schools

LOW MOOR — Another decorated Snead Award class was honored last Thursday night in the cafeteria of LewisGale Hospital Alleghany.

The Alleghany Highlands Kiwanis Club, Richard Brian Snead Sportsmanship Award Class of 2026 was recognized, swelling the number of recipients of the award over the years to 107.

Logan Large of Boys Home joined Colleen Adams and Elijah Good, from Highland, Kenley Smith and Owen Perdue, of Bath County, and Emma Skidmore and Carter Nicely, of Alleghany, as Snead winners.

“Tonight goes to show it doesn’t matter how big your school is, it doesn’t matter how many were in your graduating class, what matters is the preparation, it’s the opportunities, it’s the culture and the core values that’s instilled in everybody in this general area,” said Nate Black, a linebacker and team captain on Bath County High School’s state championship team back in 2001, who is currently a referee in the Atlantic Coast Conference. “My parents still live here and there is nothing better than coming back and seeing the folks I went to school with.”

The Snead Award has roots back to 1988. It began when Emory Brackman, long-time sports editor of the Covington Virginian and Virginian Review, started presenting a sportsmanship award to an area athlete.

Richard Brian Snead was the first recipient of the award. In 1990, Richard’s life was cut short by an automobile accident, and Brackman renamed the award to honor him.

The Snead Award was reborn in 2013 with major help from the local Kiwanis Club. Through the generosity of the club, the award was expanded and for 14 years has been given to a male and female at area high schools.

The coaches in the area select senior athletes that have best represented their schools, in athletics, in the classroom and in the community.

Black, who now lives in Harrisonburg, shared his story on his steps to being a “white hat” — head referee — in the ACC. It started when he began officiating basketball and umpiring baseball on the youth level in Bath County, and continued when he became a student at Bridgewater College. He started moving up the ranks in football, from Friday night high school games, to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, the American Athletic Conference and now, the ACC.

Black was in charge of games all over the country this past fall, from Virginia, to Boston College, to SMU, to Stanford and California, ending with his fifth consecutive bowl game, the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa between Iowa and Vanderbilt.

“Preparation and opportunity,” Black emphasized as he told the story of his officiating career.

“The opportunity is going to come,” he said to the room and especially to the award winners. “You don’t know when it’s going to come. It might be six months from now; it might be six years from now. You guys are going to step away from athletics and step into a career, but the same principles are going to apply. Have you done everything, are your core values aligned, to make the most of the opportunities presented to you?

“I’m telling you right now that the foundation laid by people in this area is second to none,” Black finished. “I think you can look around at the people in this room and see that. I just thank you guys for the opportunity to be here tonight. It’s been a pleasure.”

The Snead Award Class of 2026 Logan Large, Boys Home

Logan played basketball and soccer on the hill, but it was on the basketball court that he made a name for himself.

With “logo” three-point range, he was the team’s Most Valuable Player and averaged over 17 points a contest.

In a game at Temple Baptist Academy this past winter, Logan nearly brought the Bears back from a big deficit, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter alone, ending the night with eight threes and a career-high 38 points.

Logan will be entering the workforce with a long-term goal of being an entrepreneur.

Colleen Adams, Highland

Colleen, the youngest of six siblings who all graduated from Highland High School, was born into competition, and used that upbringing as a Ram on the volleyball court, basketball court, softball diamond, and on the track.

A multiple all-district recipient, her highlights included helping the softball team to the regional tournament in their first varsity season since 2012, as well as going to back-to-back state track meets, competing in the high jump as a junior and running a leg on the 4×100 team that set a school record earlier this month at James Madison.

Colleen will attend North Carolina State University and study environmental science in the College of Natural Resources.

Elijah Good, Highland

Elijah will always be a part of Highland High School sports history, having helped the Rams make regional tournaments in basketball and baseball during his career.

He hit .396 and drove in 17 runs his junior season on the baseball field, while being a “magnet” for elbows and a hard-working post player on the basketball court.

An all-district performer in both sports, he also was a three-year member of the track team, as well as a student council and National Honor Society member.

Elijah will be attending James Madison University this fall.

Kenley Smith, Bath County

Kenley excelled both on the volleyball court and the soccer pitch while a Charger, serving as a team captain in both sports.

In her senior volleyball season, she piled up 178 kills, 645 assists and 363 digs, and in her career, she was honored with many all-district and all-region selections.

Kenley also participated in track for two seasons and was a varsity cheerleader for one year.

Through the dual enrollment program, she earned multiple college credits while at Bath County.

She plans to attend Virginia Western Community College to pursue a degree in dental hygiene.

Owen Perdue, Bath County

Another Snead recipient who received multiple all-district and all-region honors, Owen played football, basketball and baseball as a Charger.

A football highlight included a 32-tackle game against Parry McCluer, while this spring he hit .547, knocked in 20 runs and scored 24 times, helping his team to 12 wins and a berth in the district baseball tournament championship game.

Owen will be attending Mountain Gateway Community College in the fall for electrical and instrumentation.

Emma Skidmore, Alleghany

Emma played volleyball, basketball and softball in her career as a Mountaineer turned Cougar, but it was in the circle on the softball field that she probably most felt at home.

In her last two seasons, she won 20 games, struck out 213 hitters over 180 and two-thirds of an inning, while pitching to a 2.27 earned run average.

She earned all-district and all-region honors and this spring pitched a perfect game in a Shenandoah District game at Rockbridge County.

Emma has already earned her associate’s degree at Mountain Gateway Community College through governor’s school, and continues to take classes, pursuing a career in the radiology field.

Carter Nicely, Alleghany

Like Emma, Carter also owns an associate’s degree from Mountain Gateway Community College, and will attend Virginia Tech in the fall to study biological sciences.

A 1,000-yard rusher on the football field his junior season, he was an all-district and all-region recipient.

He also worked his way to a decorated wrestling career at Alleghany.

In his senior season, he compiled a 43-1 record, with his lone loss coming in the state championship match.

Carter leaves Alleghany with school records for wins (167), winning percentage (.874) and pins (101).

Past Snead Award winners

• 1988 – Richard Snead, Covington;
• 1989 – Andy Marcontell, Covington;
• 1990 – Lenny Vail, Alleghany;

• 1991 – Larry Helton, Covington;
• 1992 – John Denius, Bath County;
• 1993 – Andy Lambert, Covington;
• 1994 – Brandy Brown, Alleghany;
• 1995 – Mike Barber, Covington;
• 1996-97 – Tracey Walker, Covington;
• 1997-98 – Henry Wolfe, Alleghany;
• 1999 – Brent May, Covington;
• 2000 – Justin Alexander, Bath County;
• 2001 – Jason Wolfe, Covington;
• 2002 – Travis McCue, Alleghany;
• 2003 – Daniel Strasser, Bath County;
• 2004 – Gavin Haynes, Alleghany;
• 2005 – Jessi Allman, Alleghany;

• 2013 – Catie Carpenter and Tanner Seay, Alleghany; Katie Rice and Lucas Hodge, Bath County; Kristina Huffman and Charlie Dickson, Covington;

• 2014 – Savanna Herr and Travis Allard, Alleghany; Jessie O’Conner and Owen Fry, Bath County; Sa’Mone Moore and Hayden Rice, Covington;

• 2015 – Emily Oyler and John Reed, Alleghany; Emily Black and Clay Robertson, Bath County; Shalia Notice and Derek Dressler, Covington;

• 2016 – Heather Mayes and Tyler Broughman, Alleghany; Lindsay Malcolm and Eli Altizer, Bath County; Laramie Mc- Callister and Kameron Pierce, Covington;

• 2017 – Elaina Fridley and Kent Rooklin, Alleghany; Mackenzie Weaver and Caleb Fry, Bath County; Tiffany Burr and Caleb Haynes, Covington;

• 2018 – Margaret Donnan and Trey Honts, Alleghany; Skylynn Lee and Bubba Maddow, Bath County; Abby McCallister and K.J. Moore, Covington;

• 2019 – Bailee Leitch and Tanner Arritt, Alleghany; Kassedi Estes and Sean Gardener, Bath County; Haven Coles and Jaun Miller, Covington;

• 2020 – Emma Nicely and Brian Broughman, Alleghany; Selena Wolfe and Logan Miller, Bath County; Katie Woodward and Shawn Shiflett, Covington;

• 2021 – Abby Martin and Erik Honaker, Alleghany; Emily Douglas and Wyatt Harmon, Bath County; Christen Holloway and Sammy Akers, Covington;

• 2022 – Erin Harden and Nathan Clark, Alleghany; Sarah Eaton and Matthew Keyser, Bath County; Cristi Persinger and Mitchell Tallman, Covington;

• 2023 – Kendell Keene and Kellen Lowman, Alleghany; Allison Hess and Issac Gwin, Bath County; Aubrey Brown and Luke Conner, Covington; Kirsten Wood and Michael Campbell, Highland; Jareem Reid, Boys Home;

• 2024 – Abbie Fridley and Chris Harden, Alleghany; Abbey Phillips and Hunter Waldeck, Bath County; Zalea Good and Greg Meehan, Highland; Kenneth Bailey, Boys Home;

• 2025 – Bryce Leitch and Gavin Via, Alleghany; Anna Essex and Cooper Lowry, Bath County; Hannah Meyerhoeffer and John Wagner, Highland; Ephy Morris, Boys Home;

• 2026 – Emma Skidmore and Carter Nicely, Alleghany; Kenley Smith and Owen Perdue, Bath County; Colleen Adams and Elijah Good, Highland; Logan Large, Boys Home.