From the AD: Recapping the 2011-12 sports year

PHCC's Carly Schmidt earned Region X Player of the Year honors and ranked among the nation's best with 14 regular-season home runs.

Sports programs are well-positioned for even more success

     Another year is in the books for the Patrick Henry Community College athletic department. PHCC experienced a great deal of success this year and is expected to see even more next year. Both basketball teams finished runner-ups in the regular season and tournament races, while each team was ranked in the top 20 nationally. 

     On the men's side, Kenny Wade was named Region X Coach of the Year and point guard Ed Jenkins picked up several athletic honors. Ed was named first-team All Region, Region X Player of the Year, first-team all-NJCAA D2 All-American and first-team American Basketball Coaches Association All-American. 

On the women's side, Eulandra Forrest was a first-team All-Region X selection for her efforts this season, while leading the Lady Pats to a 24-5 season.

     Softball brought the program’s first Region X Tournament championship home after defeating Surry Community College in the title game. Carly Schmidt was named Player of the Year for the Patriots and will be nominated for the All-America team in late May. Rachel Hawks finished up her career at PHCC by getting regional first-team honors as a pitcher for the second straight season. Addtionally, Whitney Catterton, Danielle Santos, Briget Farmer and Frankie Carleo made the all-Region X team. The Lady Patriots lost to Illinois Central College in the District P Championship and finished with a record of 34-23

     Baseball had an up and down season, finishing 26-19 overall.  PHCC knocked off Pasco Hernando out of Florida in the first round of the Region X tournament before dropping its final two games. Dylan Harvey paced the Patriots this season offensively and earned first-team Region X honors.  Additionally, Bill Steven, a native of Canada, also made the first team all-Region X squad. 

     Off the playing field, the athletic department added former Martinsville Bulletin sports editor Johnny Buck to the staff as the sports information director, and a strong percentage of sophomores have completed their requirements for an associate’s degree.  A special thanks to Kenny Webster for all of his hard work taking photos this season and additional thanks to Dr. Steve Burdine and J.R. Smith for their efforts to assist the student-athletes in the area of medical needs.

     “This was a very successful year for PHCC Athletics,” stated athletic director Christopher Parker.  “I am very excited to see what next year has in store for us.”

Softball team wins Region X tourney title


The Patrick Henry Community College softball team won its first Region X tournament title on Saturday in Dobson, N. C. Above the Patriots are shown with their championship trophy. (Photo by Kenny Webster) 

PHCC will host District P tourney on Friday

     Patrick Henry Community College’s softball team will host Illinois Central at 1 p.m. Friday in the first game of a best-of-three series for the District P Tournament championship, with the winner advancing to the national tournament in Clinton, Miss.
     The Lady Patriots will play Illinois Central twice Friday. If a third game is needed, it will take place Saturday at PHCC.
     Patrick Henry earned the tourney berth by overcoming an early 2-0 deficit Saturday with a six-run third inning to beat Surry Community College 8-4 and win the program’s first Region X Tournament.
     Every starter for PHCC finished with at least one hit as the Lady Patriots made up for a close loss in last year’s tournament title game.
     “The girls played with a ton of heart and all pulled together to winthe tournament,” said PHCC head coach Kathleen Brown. “Everyone is really, really excited, and they definitely deserved it. We played the best that we have all season.”

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PHCC announces fall tryouts for men’s and women’s soccer teams

            The men’s and women’s soccer teams at Patrick Henry Community College will host open tryouts on Aug. 1-2 at the Smith River Sports Complex (SRSC).
            Any PHCC student taking at least 12 credit hours of coursework will be eligible to participate in the tryouts. The 2012-13 school year will mark the inception of Patrick Henry’s soccer programs. Both teams will compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association, making them Virginia’s only JUCO soccer teams.
            “I'm really excited to be a part of the Patriot family and the first junior college soccer program in the state of Virginia,” said PHCC men’s coach Scott Haywood. “Not only will our athletes get the chance to compete at a high level, you can’t beat the low cost of PHCC and the high quality of education it provides.”
            Tryouts will take place from 9-10:30 a.m. and 3-4:30 p.m. each day. In order to complete a tryout, players must participate in one morning and one evening session at the SRSC, which is located on 1000 Irisburg Road in Axton.
            Participants should arrive with all necessary equipment, including cleats, shin guards, a ball and drinking water. Each morning session will cover technical ball skills, speed, agility and conditioning. Afternoon sessions will feature small-sided and full-sided play.
            “I'm looking for good technical skills – things like passing, dribbling, receiving and finishing,” said Haywood. “I also want to see good awareness of where to be on the field when they are not in possession of the ball – good spacing. And good decision making abilities are always important, as well. My tryouts center on these concepts of the game. I hope we’ll have a big turnout at the SRSC.”
            Participants must also show proof of a completed Athletic Physical Examination form and Student Athlete Eligibility form. Those forms are available at PHCC’s official athletics website, www.phccsports.com.
            Lady Patriots coach Larry Wylie can be contacted at (276) 606-2904 or by email at lwylie@ph.vccs.edu. Haywood can be reached at (920) 289-0054 or via email at shaywood@ph.vccs.edu.

Jenkins named first-team All-American!

Point guard is first PHCC men's player to earn top national honor

Patrick Henry Community College men’s basketball player Ed Jenkins was named a National Junior College Athletics Association first-team All-American on Tuesday, becoming the only player in program history to earn such an honor.

The 5-foot-10 Jenkins finished with a scoring average of 19.4 points per game during the regular season, and the point guard also excelled at distributing in the Patriots’ high-tempo offense, doling out 5.2 assists per contest.

“It’s a great honor,” Jenkins said. “It shows me that over these two years, I came here and did what I told coach (Kenny) Wade I was gonna do, which was make the most of my two years at PHCC and go hard every day in practice.”

The unanimous Region X Player of the Year, Jenkins also led the team with 2.6 steals per game.

Jenkins became eligible for the All-American team once he was named the region’s player of the year. He was one of just 10 players from the nation’s NJCAA Division II ranks to make the first team.

Ten others were named second-team All-America selections, and 10 more were named third-team honorees.

“This is a fitting end to the career of one of PHCC’s all-time great players,” PHCC coach Kenny Wade said. “Ed has been a leader on and off the court since the day he arrived on campus. Every time he suited up, I knew we had a chance to win. Even better, Ed’s always been a great teammate. He will leave some big shoes to fill.”

A Woodbridge native and a graduate of T.C. Williams High School, Jenkins became the first player in PHCC history to score 1,000 points in his career, and he served as a team captain this year.

Despite losing four players from the roster during the season, Jenkins and the Patriots (20-8 overall, 12-4) finished second in the Region X regular-season standings and advanced to the Region X Tournament title game.

“This is a great award for me and my teammates,” said Jenkins, “because without my teammates I’m nothing.”

Jenkins is receiving interest from several four-year college programs but has yet to officially commit to any school.