An alcohol-free party sponsored by Albemarle High School wasn’t particularly well-attended, but prom-night drinking was down overall, officials say.
Prom weekend for area public high schools came and went on Saturday without a single drunk-driving tragedy. Police did bust up a 5:30am bonfire party in Crozet last Sunday morning, however, arresting 16 mostly Western Albemarle High teens on charges of underage possession of alcohol. In addition, cops responded to a few smaller events, says Albemarle Police Lt. John Teixeira.
“In regards to alcohol-related underage drinking, it was slightly below average for prom weekend,” says Teixeira.
Police listened to the grapevine for news of big parties, but didn’t have any specific plans to nab underage drinkers, according to Teixeira. The issue was much on the minds of parents following the death of Albemarle High School lacrosse player Nolan Jenkins, who was killed on May 19 in a single-car accident. Police believe the accident was alcohol-related.
A school-sponsored after-prom party, which was designed to keep teens safe and alcohol-free, drew a smaller crowd than organizers would have liked, according to Vickie Marsh, who helped plan the event. According to Marsh, over 500 students attended—though only around 100 stayed until the party ended at 5am.
The reverberations from Jenkins’ death led to the Albemarle lacrosse team canceling their season, despite a 17-2 record and a chance at a state championship.
In the team’s first game after Jenkins’ death, they shut out Hylton High, 17-0—the score a seemingly deliberate tribute to their lost teammate, whose number was 17. Later that week, however, the team decided to end the season. “To put it simply, there were too many negative allegations, too much finger-pointing, too many rumors that surrounded the death of Nolan, their teammate,” says Deb Tyson, Albemarle High’s athletic director. “When the negativity continued, they chose not to play—their great respect for Nolan’s family was more important than that they continued. It is so indicative of the character of these men when they could have been regional champions two hours later.”
It is widely rumored that other lacrosse players were at the party Jenkins attended before his wreck. Police charged 11 teens with underage drinking at that party.
“It wasn’t about any rumors—just the idea that Nolan wasn’t there,” says coach Pat McAdams. “None of us were prepared emotionally to think about lacrosse. [The team] lost their best friend and their teammate at the same time. I don’t think that’s something you ever get over.”—Will Goldsmith