Inductees

Rick Magee '75

Boys’ Varsity Football and Boys' Varsity Soccer
Rick played football as a running back for North Cross under Coach Muscaro and soccer under Coach Cook. Rick was known for his speed, agility, and leadership on both teams. In football, he was the Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1974 and gained over 1,000 yards in just eight games. Coach Muscaro has noted that the 1974 football team, the first team to play on Willis Field, laid the groundwork for excellence for the future of Raider football. 
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Rick also played soccer for North Cross on Coach Cook’s very first soccer team. In fact, Rick was the first player to score a goal for the first win. Coach Cook has shared that Rick’s leadership and excellence on and off the field made the Raiders soccer team successful. Rick attributes many successes in his life thanks to the discipline, accountability, and leadership learned from his coaches.

John Douthat '80

Boys' Varsity Football
John played football for North Cross under Coach Muscaro from 1976-1979. John scored 334 points in three years and rushed for 4,130 yards, leading the Roanoke All Metro area in points his senior year. John also finished second on the Roanoke All Metro Team for offensive player of the year, the first North Cross player to make the team. 
​John was the first athlete to ever receive the Mark Higgins Excellence in Sports Award in 1979. Established by the class of 1979, this award is given annually by the graduating class members to the senior who they feel exhibits excellence in and dedication to athletics throughout his/her career at North Cross. John attributes this induction to the talented offensive line players and Coach Muscaro. John spent over 10 years coaching youth sports in Roanoke, including girls and boys youth soccer, lacrosse, and the Patrick Henry High School Junior Varsity Lacrosse team.

1994 Varsity Volleyball Team

The 1994 North Cross School Volleyball Team won the very first independent school state volleyball title under Coach Donna Satterwhite. The 1994 Blue Ridge Athletic Conference championship team, composed of seven seniors, one junior, and five sophomores, had an unbelievable season that consisted of defeats against AAA high schools Patrick Henry and Cave Spring. The team demonstrated its athletic ability with an outstanding season record of 24 wins and two losses.

Inductees

John C. Minor III '67

Boys’ Basketball and Boys' Golf
​John Minor played on the first North Cross basketball team (1962-1963) as an 8th grader. He became a team leader and leading scorer. He was team captain his senior year. During the 1964-1965 season he was selected Honorable Mention on the All Roanoke City-County basketball team. 
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North Cross started its golf team in 1965 and was able to compete with the larger public high schools very quickly. The team won the 1966 Roanoke High School City-County Championship going undefeated in their matches. John won the 1967 Roanoke Valley Golf Association Junior Championship and was runner up in the Roanoke Jaycee Golf Tournament to fellow teammate Frank Smith. The team had the opportunity to play the Virginia Tech freshman golf team but lost a very close match 14 ½ to 12 ½. Fortunately, both John and Frank Smith won their matches against Tech’s top two players. John continued his golf accomplishments at Virginia Tech. His teams won the Virginia State Intercollegiate Golf Championship in 1969, 1970, 1971, and came in second to UVA in 1972; John finished second in 1970 and third in 1972 in the tournament. In 1971, after a successful golf season, John received an invitation to represent Virginia Tech in the 1971 NCAA Championship and in 1972; he won the Marshall University Collegiate Tournament.

1981 Varsity Football Team

1981 Virginia Independent Conference Champions, the ‘81 Football team was the first team to win the VIC at North Cross since 1975.  The team’s record was 8-1 and the only loss was by one point early in the season. Many on the team were named to the VIC all-conference team. On offense, the team’s strength was its offensive line and running game. It outscored opponents 284-43 and averaged 31.5 points per game. On defense, the team’s strength was its defensive  line’s ability to penetrate along with tackling in numbers. It allowed only an average of 4.7 points per game and 43 points for the entire season. Unfortunately, this team did not get to play for a state title as there was no post-season play at the time. Head Coach Jim Muscaro was quoted as saying, “It makes every game a championship game for us,” in reference to no post-season play.  
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Front Row: Kent Ayyildiz, David Bird, Charlie Pinkard, Eric Hummel, Scott Fleming, Arthur Frazier, Toby Rock, Clark Worthy, and Peter Crum.
Second Row: Jeff Hutchinson,Sam DeLong, David Hutchinson, Jimmy Mayson, John Johnson, Mark Sandy, Carl Bumgarner, Chris Kuelling, Paul Higgins, and Bill Bailey.
Third Row: Bill Fahrbach,Chris Neikirk, Ben Flora, Mike Jofko, Wes Bradley, Tom Branch, Matt Crum, Jonathan Schloss, Tommy Sarvay, and Jim Justice.
Fourth Row:  Doug Horn and John Parrott - coaches; Barney Hammond, David Cumins, and Mike Kweller - managers: Tim Pickard, Jamie Loftin; Chris Smith, Robby Frazier - managers; Jim Muscaro - Head Coach.

Blair Calvert Trail '95

Girls' Softball and Volleyball, Coach, Athletic Director
Blair Trail is an accomplished player, coach, and athletic director, and she encourages and inspires a love of athletics in others. Below are just a few of her impressive stats as a high school athlete.

Seventh Grade 1989-90: JV Basketball, JV Softball MVP. Eighth Grade 1990-91: Softball, All Conference. Ninth Grade 1991-92: Volleyball MVP, All Conference, All Tournament. Softball, All Conference. Tenth Grade 1992-93: Softball MVP, All Conference, All State. Eleventh Grade 1993-94: Volleyball, Best Offensive Player, All Conference, All Timesland. Softball MVP, All Conference, All Tournament, All State. Twelfth Grade 1994-95: Volleyball Captain, MVP, Softball, MVP, Captain.  Also chosen State Player of The Year by the coaches of the Virginia, Independent Schools Volleyball Association. Blair placed North Cross to the first VISVA State Championship with her teammates and Coach of the Year, Donna Satterwhite. In addition, she received the Thomas A. Slack Award, the Mark Higgins Award, and the B'nai B'rith Athletic and Achievement Award.

Blair went on to play volleyball at Radford University from 1995-1997, and then transferred to Roanoke College where she played volleyball from 1997-1999 and graduated in 1999. She subsequently took over as Head Coach of the volleyball program at the college that same year (1999). Blair taught second grade at North Cross from 2002-2015. In 2015, she became Assistant Athletic Director at the school before becoming Athletic Director from 2018-2023. 

Brandon LaCroix '98

Boys' Golf
Brandon LaCroix played varsity golf at North Cross for five years, leading the team to five Conference championships. He was a four-sport letterman, three-time MVP, and he earned All-Conference five times. Brandon went on to play Division I Golf at Duke University for four years. After college, Brandon went on to play golf for two years professionally and played in one PGA Tour event. Brandon continues to impact the Roanoke Valley and beyond through golf. Not only is he still a regular winner and competitor in the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame and the Virginia State Golf Association tournaments, he was also inducted into the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame in 2019. While Brandon is an elite and well decorated golfer, he remains a humble and devoted Raider. ​
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Preston Lemon '05

Boys' Tennis
Preston Lemon played tennis at North Cross School from 2000-2005 and was a fierce competitor, a team leader, and an encourager to his fellow teammates. In eighth grade, he was  Rookie of the Year and four-time MVP from coach Deke Andrews. Preston won three straight VIC Singles Championships in 2001, 2002, 2003, and in 2005. He was four-time All Timesland Player and All Timesland Player of the Year in 2003 as a sophomore. He lost only four singles matches in five seasons. In addition to playing for North Cross, Preston competed in the USTA Mid-Atlantic Section. He finished ranked #2 in Boys 18 and Under Singles in 2004 and #4 in 2005. He was a member of the Junior Davis Cup in 2005 and was ranked 95th nationally in 2005.  Upon graduation from North Cross, Preston entered Virginia Tech and played on the tennis team for four years. Currently, he works with Wilson Sporting Goods as a Territory Sales Manager selling tennis-related items. He continues to promote his love and respect for the game of tennis in both his professional and personal life. ​
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Inductees

Lindsay Leffler Vandegrift ‘03

Girls' Soccer & Basketball
Lindsay Leffler Vandegrift ‘03 was one of the best Girls’ Soccer players to ever play at North Cross. She played Varsity soccer all four years of her Upper School career and was captain for three of those years. She led the team to three BRC Championships in 2000, 2001, and 2003 and was named the Most Valuable Player in 2001, 2002, and 2003. She ranks 4th at North Cross in career goals and points with 57 goals and 153 points, and she is 2nd in career assists with 39. She also played Girls’ Varsity Basketball for the Raiders and soccer for the Roanoke Stars and the Soccer Olympic Development Program. She went on to play Division II Soccer at Presbyterian College, where she earned All-Conference honors all four years (2003-2006) and All-Region honors during three of her four seasons (2003, 2004, 2006).

Jim Muscaro

Boys’ Football, Basketball, Golf, & Baseball Coach, 1972-2007
In his 35 years coaching at North Cross, Jim Muscaro coached 993 basketball games and 410 football games. He led the Raiders to 9 VIC Conference Championships in Boys’ Varsity Football (1975, 1981-1982, 1987-1989, 1992-1993, 1996), 6 VIC Conference Championships in Boys’ Varsity Basketball (1979, 1981, 1987-1989, 1993), 8 VIC Conference Championships in Boys’ Varsity Golf (1976-1982, 1984), and 1 VIC Conference Championship in Boys’ Varsity Baseball (1988). He also coached three state championship teams: 1988 and 1993 Boys’ Varsity Basketball and 1993 Boys’ Varsity Football. In 1993, he was named Coach of the Year by the Virginia Independent Conference and the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association. He was also named Coach of the Year by the Roanoke World News in 1974 and Timesland Coach of the Year in 1975. At the time of his retirement, his records stood at 246-158-5 in football and 592-401 in basketball.

1993 Varsity Football Team

Dubbed “The Year of the Champions” in the 1994 yearbook, the fall 1993 football season was exciting to say the least. Coach Muscaro led his team to both the VIC Conference Championship and the Division I State Championship with a 13-0 undefeated season.

Donna Satterwhite

Girls’ Volleyball & Softball Coach, 1971-2011
Donna Satterwhite was hired in 1971 as a physical education teacher and the girls’ athletic director for North Cross. She was instrumental in broadening girls athletic opportunities, as well as starting the conferences we still play in today - the Blue Ridge Conference and the Virginia Independent Conference. She coached girls’ volleyball and softball, leading her teams to 8 BRC Conference Championships in Girls’ Varsity Softball (1980-1982, 1984-1987, 1989) and 8 BRC Conference Championships in Girls’ Varsity Volleyball (1982, 1985-1987, 1989, 1992-1994). The year 1994 was a particularly big year, as Satterwhite’s volleyball team took home the very first independent school state volleyball title, and Satterwhite was named Coach of the Year by both the Blue Ridge Conference and the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association.

Richard Cook

Boys’ Soccer & Golf Coach, 1972-2017
Often aptly referred to as the “Father of Soccer in the Roanoke Valley,” Richard Cook coached boys’ soccer at North Cross for 35 years. He was hired in 1972 by John Tucker, the second headmaster at North Cross, where he was brought in to teach middle school history and to start a soccer program. Cook went even further, eventually fostering soccer programs in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and Salem, as well as starting the first travel soccer program in the area, the Roanoke Stars. He coached the Raiders to an impressive 18 VIC Conference Championships (1988-1995, 1997-1999, 2001-2007) and one State Championship (2007) in Boys’ Varsity Soccer. At the time of his retirement, he had coached 609 soccer games at North Cross and had a record of 449-112-48.