Virginia Amateur Sports, Inc (VAS) organizers of the Virginia Commonwealth Games at Liberty University, annual athletes of the year have been selected:
Haylee Moore of Oakwood was named Youth – Female Athlete of the Year, Micah Jones of Roanoke was named Youth – Male Athlete of the Year, Jacob Jackson of Vinton was named Adult – Male Athlete of the Year and Michelle Christine of Leesburg was named Adult – Female Athlete of the Year.
These athletes were selected from the nominees in their category. Nominations are submitted online annually beginning around June and typically run through August (depending on National Congress of State Games deadlines).
Haylee earned a Bronze medal competing in the Girls Basketball tournament. Haylee is a Senior Student Athlete at Twin Valley High School. She is currently tied for Valedictorian of her graduating class. She is heavily involved in school activities and is often a leader in class projects. Recently, she has been involved in the flood relief effort that impacted over 600 homes in the Whitewood section of Buchanan County, VA in July. She is a very active student athlete, competing, in Basketball, Volleyball, Golf, Cheer, Tennis, Track and previously in Cross Country.
Micah Jones has competed in the Games for many years and has earned numerous medals in Track & Field. Per his nomination, “Micah has challenged himself both academically and athletically. Micah is very determined to be the best version of himself in all facets of his life. While maintaining a tough academic schedule, Micah has still been able to succeed in Track & Field winning a National Championship, 4 individual state championships, and multiple district & regional honors. Still with all his accolades both academically and athletically, Micah has continued to remain down to earth and personable. He is an amazing young person and it has been a privilege to see him grow up and blossom into the person he is becoming.”
Jacob earned a gold medal in Bowling during the 2022 Games. He has been bowling since 8 years old. Per his nomination, at the Games this year, “Jacob bowled 5 games of qualifying and averaged 225 per game then came back second day and bowled 4 more games. After nine games of bowling he was in first place and averaged 232 for the 9 games.”. Jacob loves helping youth bowlers with their games and also drills balls in the pro shop at Vinton Bowling Center.
Michelle is an accomplished triathlete, competing in our Jamestown event in June. Per her nomination “She placed first in Kinetic Multisports Tri Series and top 3 at Several USA Triathlon National Championships in 2021 and 2022 while also qualifying for Worlds 2022 and 2023.”.
These athletes were nominated to represent Virginia in the running for National Congress of State Games Athletes of the Year and those winners will be announced in late October.