Carpenter, DeJarnette named top scholar-athletes

Kristin Carpenter and Ben DeJarnette are used to being in the spotlight.

They have been there since entering high school four years: Carpenter at Hanover High and DeJarnette at neighboring Atlee.

Carpenter plays national-team caliber volleyball. DeJarnette excels in cross country and the distance races (1,600 and 3,200) in indoor and outdoor track.

Even with all their success athletically and in the classroom, they continue to be gracious and humble.

Carpenter and DeJarnette were honored as the 2009 Times-Dispatch/Sports Backers Scholar-Athletes of the Year at a banquet last night at The Jefferson Hotel. They were chosen from 10 girls and 10 boys finalists and will receive $7,500 scholarships.

"I just think I'm truly blessed with volleyball and the support of my family . . . I wouldn't have done it without my dad, the coach at Atlee, while I played at Hanover," said Carpenter, who drew laughter from the audience. "I know he hates it, but I think it's great. It's been an unbelievable ride and a great journey. I can't wait to go to college."

Said DeJarnette, "The one thing I don't do enough is to thank the people responsible for helping me get here. My parents, my sister [Emma who was a finalist]. Thanks a lot. Coach [Jim] Triemplar. He's been a perfect personality foil to me the last four years. He's the stoic, patient one and I'm the heart-on-the-sleeve, emotional personality . . . And my teammates. They were the guys that make this so much fun. From the memories of winning Brentsville relays together to the one they like to remind me of when I locked my keys in the car with it still running."

This year's runners-up were Paige Johnston of Midlothian and Will Bates of Thomas Dale. Each received $4,000 scholarships. The other 16 finalists were awarded $2,000 scholarships.

Also recognized were the Williams Mullen teams of the year: the Mills Godwin girls tennis team and the Collegiate boys swimming squad. Mills Godwin won its third consecutive state title and sixth in eight years. Collegiate won its third straight Virginia Independent Schools title with a bevy of All-America time swimmers. Each team received $1,000.

Williams Mullen also gave $500 to the runners-up: the Midlothian girls cross country team (last year's inaugural winners) and James River golf.

The CJW Sports Medicine presented Comeback Players of the Year awards to Chelsea Derr of Manchester and Chris Harper of Douglas Freeman. Each received $1,000 scholarships, and their schools received $500.

Carpenter was the Capital District player of the year and was named to the all-Central Region and All-Metro first teams for entire high school career. This season, she won every player of the year award possible, and Hanover retired her uniform jersey.

She was an All-American and won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. National junior team. She set the ball and played outside hitter for Hanover. Despite her jumping ability and offensive skills, she's a libero on the national team.

With volleyball taking up much of her life, she still produced a 4.1 GPA. She is headed to Penn State, a past national champion, to play volleyball.

DeJarnette went head to head with Midlothian's Jason Witt for three years but was the dominant runner in the Central Region this year. He won the region cross country title and was Times-Dispatch runner of the year. He won the region indoor 3,200, posted the best 1,600 time and was T-D indoor track runner of the year. In the just-concluded outdoor season, he won the region 1,600 and 3,200 (record setting time), then won the state 3,200. It isn't official yet, but he will be the T-D's outdoor runner of the year.

He carried a 4.57 GPA and choose distance-running heaven for a college: the University of Oregon.

Contact Arthur Utley at (804) 649-6559 or .