The heavy hitters of Richmond’s sporting scene were all out on Saturday night, celebrating the area’s best sporting moments and performances from the past year.
The Inaugural RVA Sports Awards, presented by Rosie’s, took place at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in front of a sold-out crowd, and were broadcast live on CBS 6 as well.
The big awards, for the athletes of the year, were given to one athlete who has made national headlines, and another who is less recognizable but no less impactful.
The female winner was Keira D’Amato, the Midlothian mom and runner who recently set the record for fastest marathon by an American woman.
She finished the Houston Marathon in 2:19.12 in mid-January, but received the award for her work during the 2021 running season, when she broke the record in the 8K that was a part of the Richmond Marathon weekend, finishing in 24 minutes, 47 seconds.
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The men’s winner was Sportable’s Chris Marston, who won the USA Paratriathlon National Championship. Marston beat out the Kickers’ Emiliano Terzaghi and former VCU hoops star Bones Hyland in fan voting to claim the honor.
The coach of the year was Varina’s Marcus Lewis, who led the Blue Devils to a state title in football.
The team of the year is Patrick Henry’s boys volleyball team, which won a sixth consecutive state title.
Winning for moment of the year was an at-bat during the PONY League World Series in Chesterfield. Abrielle Shaw, of the Chesterfield team, pitched to Aubrey Easley of North Carolina during the Bronco 11U World Series in July.
It was the first time in the event’s history that a girl served as both the pitcher and the hitter.
Two awards that were announced prior to the event were handed out — the Community Champion Award was given to Bobby Ukrop and the VCU Center for Sport Leadership gave the Power of Sport award to Michael Robinson.
The event also included a Courage Story award, which was given to 804 Coaches for a Change, a group of area coaches who lent their hand to anti-racism efforts.
The event was the first of its kind, and was hosted by Tiki Barber, a Roanoke native and a former star at the University of Virginia and in the NFL.
