The Shadow
LOW MOOR (VR) — Sportsmanship and unity were on full display Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, when Alleghany and Covington high schools squared off for the final volleyball match between the two schools.
The high schools will combine in the fall of 2023 and form Alleghany High School. Alleghany County Public Schools and Covington City Public Schools merged on July 1 to form Alleghany Highlands Public Schools.
As part of the merger plan, students in grades 9-12 next year will attend Alleghany High School. Covington High School will become a middle school and serve students in grades 6-8. The middle school will be named Covington Middle School.
With the athletic rivalries between Alleghany High School and Covington High School in their final year, AHPS activities director Bryan Stinespring contacted the two coaches prior to the volleyball match Thursday. Mary Tyree is the coach of the CHS volleyball team. The AHS team is coached by Hannah Bradley.
“Coach Bradley and I were approached by AD Stinespring about the possibility of doing some type of commemorative gesture towards the uniting of the volleyball teams next year. So we put our heads together yesterday and came up with the idea of the seniors passing the volleyballs from each school down to the juniors on each team,” Tyree said, who is in her 13th season at the helm of the Cougars.
The plan worked to perfection as the girls on each team took part in the ceremonial gesture and posed for a photograph. Covington players wore navy blue, and the Alleghany team wore its Columbia blue uniforms. Navy blue and Columbia blue will be the AHS school colors next year. The colors were selected by students in voting last year. The mascot will be the cougar. The colors and the mascot will symbolize the proud histories of AHS and CHS.
“The highlight of the ceremony was when the student sections chanted ‘Alleghany Cougars!’” Tyree said.
The match was played at CHS in a gym that was packed with exuberant fans. In that atmosphere, emotions could have easily gotten the best of the players, pushing sportsmanship aside,” Coach Bradley said.
“The sportsmanship shown between both teams Thursday was incredible. I never doubted it wouldn’t be. But with the roaring crowd, it would have been easy for the sportsmanship to crumble. It was truly an amazing experience. Although the time has come for the rivalry to be over, we can unite as a positive front and move forward as a single system,” she said.
For Lauren Bragg, a senior captain of the CHS volleyball team, one of the highlights was passing a ball during the ceremony to one of her best friends, who happens to play for AHS.
“Playing my last volleyball game against Alleghany was a little heartbreaking, but having the honor to pass the ball over to one of my best friends, Abbi Riley, made me realize how much of an honor it was to be a part of this amazing team, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the coming years,” Bragg said.
Seniors Ariana Bolden, Kalin Rice, Alyssa Taylor, and Lindsay Wrenn served as the AHS captains.
“Both sides are competitive and always have been, but at the end of the game, you could see the love and support between the two teams come together. Hearing the student sections yell ‘Alleghany Cougars’ was an awesome experience,” said Rice, a player involved with the AHS program for five years.
Alleghany Highlands Public Schools is stressing sportsmanship to its student-athletes this year as part of a Virginia High School League initiative. The VHSL wants good sportsmanship, fair play, honesty, and respect for others to be evident in all levels of competition.
“The CHS and AHS volleyball teams displayed tremendous sportsmanship and unity. As we know, this was the last volleyball contest between AHS and CHS. The teams, coaches, students and fans all reflected the ideals surrounding sportsmanship and unity. For all of us, it was an impactful moment,” said Stinespring, who has coached at the high school and collegiate levels.
Since being hired as AD in April, Stinespring has sought to instill a sense of pride at both schools as they prepare to merge in 2023. He said he was moved by the overall atmosphere at the volleyball match.
“The students began a chant of ‘Alleghany Cougars! Alleghany Cougars!’ The fans joined in. They stood, they cheered, they smiled, and yes, there were tears. Perhaps they unknowingly reminded us all of our ‘why,’” Stinespring said.
“As I told CHS over the intercom Friday morning, I have been blessed to have been a part of many awesome settings, but none more impactful than Thursday night. It started as an idea, and our young people, our students, took it and used it to remind us that ‘all together, we will!” he added.
The Cougars won Thursday’s match in straight sets.
