November 2010 WinStar - Ciera Ulan

Ciera Ulan is a sophomore who runs on the Albemarle High School Cross Country team which is ranked in the top 10 in AAA schools in Virginia. She has consistently been one of the top runners on the team and recently placed 17th with a time of 19:50 at the Northwest Regional Meet. Her coach Cathy Coffman says, "Ciera is a wonderful teammate with a great winning attitude. She is a fantastic role model for the younger runners and she always has a smile on her face and a funny story to tell. I can't wait to see what success she has in the next 3 years."

October 2010 WinStar - Riley Martin

Riley Martin is a junior co-captain at Western Albemarle High School and has been playing volleyball since she was 10. She has been on the Varsity at Western since her freshman year and has been a starter in each of her three seasons. During her time on the team, the Warriors have captured three consecutive district championships and maintained a perfect undefeated record against Jefferson District opponents. Under her direction, the squad has compiled a 64-11* overall win-loss record, and has placed 5th in the state tournament the last two years..

Riley has a 3.7 unweighted GPA (4.2, weighted), and is a member of both the World Culture Club, and the French Club. She carries a strenuous academic load: two AP classes and the rest are honors. She works as a “barista” at a local coffee shop and describes her hobbies as “volleyball.” In the off-season, Riley competes in the USA Volleyball Junior Olympic program through the Charlottesville Area Volleyball Club.

Stats:
Riley two weeks ago broke the school single-match assist record in a victory over Fluvanna and eclipsed both the single-season and career assist records the next week in victories over. She's already tallied 597* assists this year. She leads the team in aces, with 36*, and boasts a 92%* serve percentage plus a .466* kill efficiency rating.

Coach’s Comments:
"Every great team needs an extraordinary leader to guide them to greatness. Riley is that leader for Western. Her drive to excel is contagious, yet she is gracious in both defeat and in victory. She is an excellent student of the game and never backs away from a difficult challenge."

April 2010 WinStar - Liz Pinkerton

Elizabeth (Liz) Pinkerton is a junior at The Covenant School who began playing soccer when she was five years old. Since the age of 10, she has been a member of the travel team of the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle. After captaining the Covenant School JV Soccer team during her seventh grade year, Liz was pulled up to the Varsity squad after the JV season ended to help her Varsity team finish out the season. She was a valuable player and made the winning penalty kick in the quarterfinals of the State Tournament that year. At the end of her sophomore season, Liz was voted by her teammates to serve as a captain of the team this year. Liz has struggled through shin splints and stress fractures since her ninth grade year, but refused to give up or change sports, instead committing herself to daily icings and taping her shins for competitions. Last year her varsity season ended with a broken collarbone in the second to last regular season match. After sustaining a concussion in February 2010 during a SOCA tournament game, Liz made it clear to her parents and doctors alike that this injury would not deter her from continuing to play soccer. While Liz has been on the Varsity team, The Covenant School has won the League of Independent Schools tournament twice, played in the last four Division II State Final Fours, and is currently two-time Division II State Champions. She currently plays center back for her team.

Her coach at Covenant, Pat Campbell says, “Liz is like a coach on the field for our team. When I’m deciding positions or practice drills for our team, I consult with the Assistant Coaches and the Captains. Liz always gives great input, even if it’s not always what I want to hear. Her passion for the game inspires everyone around her. Despite playing the game with as much zeal as anyone, she always plays fair and with unsurpassed sportsmanship.”

Liz is a High Honor Roll student taking multiple Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors level courses and was nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Atlanta this summer. She is eager to do this because of her interest in going pre-medicine in college. She also plans on taking part in a mission trip to Nicaragua this June, and is excited about service in a Spanish speaking country.