Kirastin Cole has done it again. This time she has landed a JM first-The Free Lance Star’s All-Area Girls Basketball Player of the Year! This accomplishment is one of many but definitely a prestigious award that clearly establishes her to be a dominant player in this area.

She was also chosen by the Virginia High School Coach’s Association to receive an All-State honorable mention and will take part in a VHSCA  All-Star game in Virginia Beach on July 6^th. She is only the fourth JM girl to compete in the VHSCA game.

Kirastin has been a player on JM’s Varsity Basketball team since 2006. According to Coach Julian Bumbrey, “She was ready for the varsity level as a freshman, when she showed a mental toughness from day one, and has matured and progressed altogether over the course of her basketball career.”

She has contributed to the team in many ways, but has really established her reputation as a central force over the last two years. Last year she was led by Bilnita Armstead and Connie Harrison-Lewis, but still managed to score double figures.

This year, during JM’s first game of the season, Dec. 2, 2009, she became only the third girl ever at JM to score 1000 plus points. Two of her past team members were the only other two to score 1000 points plus during their time at JM:  Bilnita Armstead in February of 2008 and Connie Harrison-Lewis in February of 2009. This accomplishment was an auspicious start to a phenomenal basketball season.

Shortly after, in a game against Manassas Park, she was named the Lady Jackets Tip-Off Tournament MVP. That night she achieved a triple-double with an astounding 35 points, a career high, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

This season, she averaged 24.4 points and 4.8 steals per game.  She not only led the area in scoring among boys and girls, she was also listed in the Washington Post as the third leading scorer in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area.

These statistics prove that Kirastin is strong in both aspects of her game-offense and defense. She seems to go gracefully to the hoop and easily steals the ball from her competitors. Her reputation for dominating the court inspired fear in other teams that turned into double- and triple-teaming. Kirastin and Bumbrey always had to plan for that, “…we constantly saw [double and triple teaming] and it eventually wore her down…it was certainly frustrating…but she still managed to average over 18 points per game despite the defenses geared to stop her” (Bumbrey). Although she was sometimes diverted from her straight path to the hoop, she quickly adjusted with passes or trick moves that usually outwitted the competition.

When asked about one of his favorite memories of Kirastin, Coach Bumbrey recalled her second game as a freshman when she scored 33 points, defended a now prominent player at William & Mary-Chanelle Murchison-and led the Jackets to victory in double overtime.

Her game isn’t over yet. She plans to continue playing on a collegiate level. Several colleges have expressed their interest in having her play for them: Longwood University, Wingate University, Christopher Newport University, Eastern Mennonite, Virginia Union, and Patrick Henry Community College (JUCO).