Thomas Dale’s Kristen Greene tossed the shot 39-2, the longest in Virginia this indoor season. Considering her U.S. Army connections, it’s no surprise Kristen Greene specializes in something resembling a cannonball. Minus any gunpowder, Thomas Dale High School’s junior shot putter generally blows away the competition. Her victorious 39-2 toss Dec. 27 at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Newport News is the longest in Virginia this indoor season.

Andrew White scored 17 points and Myles Turner netted 14 as No. 8 Thomas Dale edged Prince George to win in overtime in Central District play. A closely-played contest, Dale missed two free throws with one second remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. Michael Simms, Aaron Epps and Airek Green added 10 points apiece for the Knights.

Ka’lia Johnson recorded 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Andrea Hobbs had 16 points (four 3-pointers) as No. 2 Thomas Dale remained undefeated in the Central District with a win over Prince George. Alyssa Frye had nine assists and Taylor Bradley added three steals for the Knights. Brianca Washington scored 16 points and LaCreshia Page had 11 for the Royals.PRINCE GEORGE (4-2 Central, 8-5)

The Cosby High School girls basketball team—ranked No. 1 in the Times-Dispatch Top 10 poll—is No. 4 in a statewide Group AAA poll released today. Thomas Dale High School’s girls rank ninth in the poll, admninistered by The Associated Press. Here are the rankings for all three groups, with first-place votes in parentheses, record and total points received based on a 10-through-1 voting system:

All games 7:30 unless noted

Andrea Hobbs scored 14 points and Ka’lia Johnson added 12 as No. 2 Thomas Dale routed Central District rival Dinwiddie. Courtney Williams and Shawnee Sweeney pulled down nine rebounds apiece and Alyssa Frye had four assists for the Knights. Kiara Mays led the Generals with 14 points followed by Haysha Griffen with 10. DINWIDDIE (0-5 Central, 3-11)

The players’ roles are clearly defined for the Petersburg boys basketball team. The short guys—Drejon Scott, Chris Moore and Tyre Desmore—play in-your-jersey defense all over the floor, break down the opposing defense with penetration and pass to the big guys. The big guys—Virginia Tech signee Cadarian Raines (6-9), Chris Evans (6-6) and Du’Vaughn Maxwell (6-6)—receive the passes on the inside.

The Top-ranked Petersburg Wave trounced the No. 7 Thomas Dale Knights 85-59 tonight at Dale in a Central District matchup. The 26-point spread is one point less than the Wave’s average margin of victory this season. The closest any team has come is 13 points in Petersburg’s road win over Eastern Region nemesis Booker T. Washington. Chris Evans led the Wave with 19 points.

Thomas Dale’s Ka-Lia Johnson scored 23 points and Alyssa Frye added 10 to help the No. 2 Knights defeat No. 9 Petersburg in a Central District matchup. Ashley Whitaker led the Crimson Wave with 18 points. Frye 10, Sweeney 8, Johnson 23, Brown 3, Williams 0, Hobbs 4, Scott 4, Bradley 9, Cofield 0. Totals 19 17-28 61.
PETERSBURG (3-2, 5-5)

Airek Green had seven assists and five rebounds to go along with 18 points in leading the Knights over the Colonials in a Central District matchup. Myles Turner had 14 points, and Aaron Epps added 11 for No. 7 Thomas Dale. Jacob Hagy recorded 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals for Colonial Heights, and Delvonta Nivens had 14 points.

J’Quan Martin scored 12 of his 26 points in the second quarter to give L.C. Bird an 8-point lead at halftime, and the sixth-ranked Skyhawks defeated No. 5 Thomas Dale. Martin added 14 rebounds for a double-double and four blocks and four steals. Rico Ferguson (seven rebounds, five assists) scored 15 points and Ken Pankey netted 13 for L.C. Bird.

Shawnee Sweeney and Andrea Hobbs each scored 15 points to lead No. 2 Thomas Dale past homestanding Colonial Heights in a Central District matchup. Frye 13, Sweeney 15, Johnson 7, Brown 10, Williams 7, Hobbs 15, Scott 6, Bradley 7, Cofield 3. Totals 34 9-13 83.
COLONIAL HEIGHTS (2-6, 2-2) Toombs 4, Akers 5, Wells 9, Sponsler 0, Tyler 3, Bauer 5, Thompson 2, Rowe 4, Ragsdale 0, Philligane 2. Totals 15 1-7 34.
Thomas Dale————————————- 27 15 24 17—83
Colonial Heights————————————- 6 7 10 11—34

HONORABLE MENTION
  Ends/linemen : Nolan Borzelleca, Sr., Douglas Freeman; Collin Christovich, Jr., Powhatan; John Dommert, Sr., Thomas Dale; Abu Kamara, Sr., Hermitage; Devon Jackson, Sr., Hermitage; Russ Leboff, Sr., Blessed Sacrament Huguenot; Tex Prichett, Sr., Hanover; Justin Shields, Sr., King William; Mike Siracusa, Sr., Deep Run. Linebackers : Hunter Broome, Sr., Collegiate; Patrick Corrigan, Sr., Collegiate; Drake Evans, Jr., Thomas Dale; Doug Fraser, Sr., Douglas Freeman; Austin Hersh, Sr., James River; DeShawn Holmes, Jr., Highland Springs; Daryl Howell, Jr., Hermitage; Patrick Gallagher, Sr., Deep Run; Billy Skrobacz, Sr., Deep Run; Melvin Trotter, Jr., Matoaca; Deon Watts, Jr., Blessed Sacrament Huguenot. Backs : Marcus Center, Sr., Deep Run; Will Connerley, Jr., Lee-Davis; Hunter Cox, Sr., Cosby; Mike Green, Sr., Thomas Dale; Anthony Harris, So., L.C. Bird; Trei Kelley, Jr., Collegiate; Will Swoope, Sr., Benedictine; Kendall Trainum, Sr., Blessed Sacrament Huguenot

HONORABLE MENTION
  Wide receiver : Blake Forlines, Sr., Mills Godwin; Teddy Gorrell, Sr., Collegiate; T.J. Harvey, Sr., Lee-Davis; Matt Snead, Sr., Hermitage. Tight end : Mike Goad, Sr., Matoaca; Duan Perez-Means, Sr., Hermitage; Tyler Johnson, Sr., Prince George. Tackle : Jonathan Crawley, Sr., Huguenot; Jon LaBrake, Sr., Prince George; Quentin Spain, Jr., Petersburg; Bobby Watkins, Sr., Douglas Freeman. Guard : Matt Arkema, Jr., Midlothian; Greg Gallop, Jr., Thomas Dale; Sakori Wilson, Sr., Varina. Center: Xavier Fernandez, Jr., Varina. Quarterback : Josh Bailey, Sr., Clover Hill; Michael Johnson, Sr., Hermitage; Will White, Jr., Trinity Episcopal. Running back : Jacob Bennett, Jr., J.R. Tucker; Kurt Fleming, Jr., St. Christopher’s; Demondre Woodson, Sr., Petersburg. Kicker : Stephen Denuel, Jr., Cosby. Utility : Tyler Henderson, Sr., Manchester; Shawn Minor, Jr., Powhatan

When games became intense, Thomas Dale’s Bradley Johnston always came through as the hit man.