By David Selig
The Winchester Star

From the way he carries himself to the sound his name makes every time it pops out of the loudspeakers at a sporting event, Brock Lockhart seems to have been pulled straight out of central casting for the role of a star high school athlete.

All the James Wood senior did to perpetuate that was break a 32-year-old school rushing record, help push his football and basketball teams to the regional playoffs, and lead his baseball team in batting.

The only area athlete to be voted an all-district performer in three sports this school year, Lockhart has been named The Winchester Star Boys' Athlete of the Year.

"It's your last year. You just want to do everything and not have any regrets," said Lockhart, who added basketball to his repertoire for the first time since his freshman year. "You don't want to look back and say, 'What if I worked harder?' You've just got to work hard every day."

Lockhart was working hard from the start of the school year, putting together the most prolific rushing display in James Wood history.

After rushing for 628 yards as a junior, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound running back piled up 962 yards through just the first four games of the season.

On Oct. 16 - seven games into the schedule - Lockhart surpassed Clayton Hartman's single-season school rushing record of 1,326, set in 1977.
Lockhart - who also starred at linebacker - finished the season with an area-best 2,016 rushing yards (6.8 per carry) and 20 touchdowns.

He was selected first-team All-Northwestern District, first-team All-Region II, and second-team All-Group AA.

But none of that was part of Lockhart's fondest fall memory.

The slice of history he cherishes most is lifting James Wood to its first playoff victory since 1970 when the Colonels edged Loudoun County 27-25 in the Region II Division 4 quarterfinals Nov. 14 at the Handley Bowl.

Lockhart rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns in that game - with 202 of those yards coming in the second half, sparked by an 85-yard jaunt down the right sideline.

"Once he had that long run, he had it in his head that he was going to do whatever he could to win that game," Colonels football coach Mike Bolin said. "In the second half we just turned around, handed it to him, and let him go."

When asked his fondest memory from a busy sports year, Lockhart didn't hesitate.

"Winning that playoff game in football, definitely," he said. "Because we haven't won one in like 30-something years ....

"If we want to look back in 20 years, we can say we were the class that finally won a regional game. When we go back to reunions and stuff, we can talk about that. And we set the mark for next year's team, so they can strive for that goal."

That sort of season would lead many to crave a nice extended break, but Lockhart decided to join James Wood's basketball team for the first time in three years.

Lockhart didn't expect to become a hoops star, but coach Al Smith had approached him in school about coming on to help rebound and defend in the post.

He ended up averaging 9.5 points (second-best on the team), 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals and was selected second-team all-district.

"I definitely surprised myself," Lockhart said. "I [didn't think] I was going to be starting anytime soon, but I worked hard in practice and ended up starting halfway through the season."

As in football - when Wood skidded through the district season before that playoff win - the Colonels showed early signs of promise in basketball before a late swoon dropped them to the fourth seed in the district tournament.

After knocking off Millbrook in the play-in game, the Colonels came back the next night to upset Handley in the semifinals, clinching a Region II berth behind a team-high 18 points from Lockhart.

"When Brock gets something in his head, he's going to do it," said Bolin, who is often a spectator at his school's other athletic events. "It's the same in football and baseball and basketball. He's a determined young man, and he certainly played like that."

With the football and basketball teams making extended postseason runs, Lockhart admitted "it definitely took its toll during baseball season."

The third baseman didn't get off to a hot start at the plate, but he finished the year with a .317 batting average (matching Cody Vorous for the team lead) and was named to the district's second team.

Balancing the three sports will be worthwhile practice for Lockhart, who said he plans to play football and baseball at Shenandoah University in the year ahead.

Lockhart - initially recruited to play football - said he'll probably settle on one sport by his sophomore year.

He's still holding out hope of going pro in one of them, but he'll also pursue a degree in criminal justice. With that, Lockhart said he'd like to one day go into the Secret Service or become a police officer.

Whatever he does, the experience of pushing himself to the limit athletically has certainly set Lockhart up with a blueprint for success.

"It definitely taught me to always work hard," he said, "and good things will pay off in the end."

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