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The month of June has brought high school championships and plenty of awards to students around this area. We have several more to report on from this past week, which is when the Virginia High School League released its Class 2 All-State teams for baseball, among others. 

Making the list were several players familiar to avid readers of The Herald. Buckingham County’s Justin Gunter made the first team All-State for third base. Part of a Buckingham team that recorded 18 wins for the first time in almost 15 years, Gunter drove in all three of the Knights’ runs in their final game of the season, as they lost in the state semifinals 18-3 to eventual champions Patrick County. 

Gunter’s teammate, starting pitcher Avery Schaeffer, made the second team All-State list. The Knights finished at 18-3, a perfect 12-0 in region, winning both the district and regional championships.

Also making the All-State baseball team were two members of the Prince Edward County squad, designated hitter Barrett Motter and outfielder Tanner Morris. Prince Edward went 9-11 this year overall, finishing sixth in the region with a 4-8 record there. Morris led the team in two categories, with 18 stolen bases on the season and a fielding percentage of 0.973. By comparison, a perfect fielding percentage is 1.00.

As far as other local athletes, Farmville native and Hamilton College student Mattison Kinne was also honored this month. Kinne was named to the 2023 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) spring All-Academic Team for baseball. The recognition honors sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher.

Kinne, a rising sophomore majoring in physics, is a graduate of Prince Edward County High School.

The NESCAC, established in 1971, includes 11 highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities located in the Northeast, and sponsors 27 conference championship sports.