To the victor go the spoils, so they say, and for the second year in a row the spoils go to the Glenvar High boys’ soccer team. Josh Jones has been named Virginia High School League Class 2 Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and the Highlanders also have the state Player of the Year for the second straight season. This year its senior Jake Williams after Colin Clapper won the award last year. Williams captained a back line that allowed zero goals in three state tournament games and had shutouts in the final 10 games of the season. Williams’ leadership and direction from the back, his ball-winning ability, and one-on-one defending anchored the Glenvar defensive unit. Jake’s biggest goal came off a header in the 78th minute from a corner kick to give the Highlanders a 1-0 win over Clarke County in the 2023 state finals. Williams also scored a goal in this year’s state semifinal win against Bruton. Jones completed his fourth year at Glenvar, leading the Highlanders to back-to-back state championships with a 1-0 win over Radford in the finals. Glenvar finished the season 22-0 with 18 shutouts and outscoring opponents 93-4.
The Highlanders have compiled a 75-3-2 record, winning ten trophies since 2021 including four straight Three Rivers District and Region C championships along with back-to-back state championships. Before arriving at Glenvar Jones, a William Byrd High School graduate, spent 18 seasons leading the Salem girls’ team. His record there was 269-73-30 with a state title in 2003, two state runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017, five region championships and seven district championships.
The all-state soccer team consists of five forwards, five midfielders, five defenders and one goalkeeper. Only those players selected first-team all-region are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region. In addition to Williams Glenvar had three other players make the first team, senior midfielder Zach Curfiss, junior midfielder Aidan Hylton and sophomore defenseman Cooper Mullins. Second team all-state selections from Glenvar include senior forward Bryce King and junior forward Kian Fisher.
Williams and Jones also swept Player and Coach of the Year in both Region 2C and the Three Rivers District. Joining Williams on the all-region first team are King, Fisher, Hylton, Curfiss, Mullins and keeper Grayson Shepherd. Second team all-region Highlanders are Luke Farmer, Adam Saunders, Alan Vu and Tyler Curfiss. In the Three Rivers first team goes to Williams, King, Shepherd, Fisher, Hylton, Mullins and Zach Curfiss. Tyler Curfiss, Saunders and Vu made the second team.