This fall’s early signing period – Nov. 11-18, when high school student-athletes officially complete their national letters-of-intent – wasn’t just about the basketball programs (see pages 28 and 29). It was also the same time that other Virginia Tech teams were able to land some of their own future Hokies. Here’s a sneak peek:
GOLF
Head coach Jay Hardwick and his staff will welcome one golfer to the squad in the fall of 2010, Bryce Chalkley from St. Christopher’s School in Richmond, Va. At the time of his signing, Chalkley was ranked 27th in the Polo Golf Rankings and 53rd nationally for the class of 2010.
“Bryce is a very consistent player who has succeeded on the junior and amateur levels and continues to work hard to improve,” Hardwick said.
Earlier this year, Chalkley won his second consecutive Virginia Prep League championship and was named to the VISAA all-state first team for the second year in a row. He also won the 2009 American Junior Golf Association Kingsmill Open, has seven top-10 finishes in AJGA events and has won events on two other junior circuits. He was a two-time selection to represent Virginia in both the Virginias/Carolinas and the Virginia/West Virginia Junior Team Matches.
SOFTBALL
Head coach Scot Thomas and his staff only signed two players to begin play in 2011, but they are two good ones. Dani Anderson is a shortstop/third baseman from Rio Linda, Calif., while Kat Banks is a pitcher/infielder from Hendersonville, Tenn.
“This isn’t our largest signing class, but it’s one that features two very good players who can come in and play at several different spots,” Thomas said. “Dani is a quality player who comes to us from a quality summer program, while Kat has a lot of potential both in the circle and elsewhere in the lineup. It’s going to be fun to watch both of these players get better as Hokies.”
Anderson has earned all-conference honors during all three years at Rio Linda High. She hit .394 her freshman year, .426 her sophomore year and .379 last season.
Banks is a multi-purpose threat who led Beech High to a state runner-up finish last year. She has batted over .400 for her career and is 76-6 in the circle heading into her senior season. As a junior, she went 34-3 with 16 shutouts, 345 strikeouts and a 0.70 ERA in the circle. She also hit .418 with 13 doubles, four triples and five home runs, while driving in 50 runs, to earn first-team all-state honors.
VOLLEYBALL
Head coach Chris Riley and his staff also secured a solid pair of recruits this November. Samantha Gostling, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from Charlotte, N.C., and Tori Hamsher, a 6-3 middle blocker from Bath, Pa., will join the Hokies in time for the 2010 season.
“We signed two of the best attackers in the country,” Riley said. “We expect them to make a large and immediate impact on our program when they arrive in Blacksburg.”
Gostling attends Audrey Kell High School and was named to prepvolleyball.com’s Top 100 Senior Aces list this season after registering 453 kills and 275 digs. She also hit .344 on the year, while tallying 50 service aces and 40 blocks en route to leading the Knights to the North Carolina 4A state title match.
Hamsher attends Nazareth Area High School, where she received Lehigh Valley Conference player of the year honors as a senior and also earned a spot on prepvolleyball.com’s Top 100 Senior Aces list. In her final season, she registered 228 kills with a .592 hitting percentage, while recording 114 blocks, and took the Eagles to the District XI semifinals.
WRESTLING
Head coach Kevin Dresser and his staff signed six wrestlers who will begin competing next season, three of whom are among the top 100 nationally.
Devin Carter (Christiansburg High/Christiansburg, Va.) is a two-time Virginia state champion and was the 2009 Timesland wrestler of the year as named by The Roanoke Times. As a junior, he went 52-1 to earn the spot as the top-ranked 112-pounder in the country by Amateur Wrestling News. At the time of his signing, he was ranked as the No. 13 overall national prospect and No. 2 in the country at 125 pounds by InterMat. He is projected to compete at 125/133 pounds.
Ty Mitch (Aurora High/Aurora, Ohio) was ranked the No. 37 overall national prospect and third in the country at 119 pounds by InterMat at the time of his signing. The projected 125-pounder was a 2009 Junior Freestyle national champion at 119 pounds and also took fourth at the 2008 Cadet Nationals at 105 pounds. He is a two-time Ohio state champion who went 40-4 last year as a junior.
Projected 184-pounder Angelo Malvestuto (Niagara Wheatfield High/Niagara Falls, N.Y.) is a three-time New York state Division-I place-winner who took second at the 2009 NHSCA Junior Nationals. At the time of his signing, he was the No. 76 national prospect and was ranked 11th in the country at 189 pounds by InterMat.
Harrison Hightower (University School/Strongsville, Ohio) is a two-time Ohio state champion who is projected as a 165-pounder in college.
Tyler Eitel (Bishop Lynch High/Forney, Texas) is a two-time prep national finalist and is projected as a 174-pounder in college.
Sam Law (Cape Henry Collegiate School/Virginia Beach, Va.) was a 2009 VISAA state champion at 145 pounds and could wrestle at 165 or 174 pounds in college.
“Mitch and Carter lead what we feel might be our best class ever,” Dresser said. “Hightower, Malvestuto and Eitel provide us with national-caliber guys in the upper weights, which is a concern for us at this point. All in all, this class could be really special."
