Marine Cpl. Jorge Salazar hands the torch to Navy Sonar Technician Surface 2nd Class Shericka Goza during the opening ceremony for the 2014 Warrior Games at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Sunday, September 28, 2014.

Air Force’s Daniel Crane competes against Navy’s Jonathan Adviento in the gold-medal match of the individual recurve archery competition at the 2014 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. Adviento won the gold.

The Marine Corps wheelchair basketball team listens to the national anthem before taking on Army in the gold medal match. The Marines defeated Army for the gold medal at the 2014 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Friday, October 3, 2014.

Marine Corps volleyball coach Brent Petersen gets excited as the Marines close within a point of beating Navy in the first game of Thursday’s gold-medal match. Navy defeated Marine Corps 2-1 to win the gold medal at the 2014 Warrior Games at US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday, October 2, 2014.

Army’s Brian Boone warms up before the start of preliminary heats in the swim competition at the 2014 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Tuesday, September 30, 2014.

Col. Shane Tomko, commander of the Wounded Warrior Regiment, congratulates Adam Vickers, gold medalist in the men’s recumbent cycling race at the 2014 Warrior Games at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Monday, September 29, 2014.

Air Force assistant swim coach Cami Stock hugs retired Staff Sgt. Nicholas Dadgostar following a preliminary heat of the 50-meter freestyle swim at the 2014 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs. Dadgostar was injured in a diving accident and only recently returned to the water.

The US Air Force Academy Falcons defeat the US Naval Academy Midshipmen 30-21 at the US Air Froce Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday, October 4, 2014. The halftime program served as the closing ceremony for the Warrior Games.

–Sports Picture Story 2nd Place: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–From the historic Yorktown Battlefield to the largest naval base in the world, Hampton Roads lives and breathes the military. In addition to producing athletes that go on to compete at Division 1 colleges and universities across the country, Hampton Roads is also home to a large military population. This series of portraits celebrates the best in athletics from a region marked by its military strength. These young athletes, like the men and women who protect our country, represent the best of their field. From Left to Right: Connor Rinoski, Allyson Babinsack, Rachel Brewer, Lia Batchelor, Chantel Ray and Austen Delnicki are photographed on the flight-deck of the carrier of the USS Harry S. Truman. These athletes excelled at their sport earning the title “All-Star”. The USS Truman is the eighth of the Nimitz-class carriers and was commissioned in 1998. The super carrier can accommodate approximately 90 aircraft and the flight deck is 4.5 acres and is capable of launching aircraft from two forward and two waist catapults.

Schekel Wallace is the defensive football player of the year from Lafayette High. He is pictured with a RS-1 diesel locomotive. This train engine was used in WWII to move supplies over a railroad that ran from Persia to get supplies behind the lines to the Russians. This mission became especially important in the winter when Russian ports were frozen closed.

Corey White from Heritage High is the male volleyball palyer of the year. He is pictured with a U.S. Army CH-54 Skycrane helicopter at Ft. Eustis. It is capable of carrying many different types of loads from vehicles to artillery pieces weighing up to 20,000 pounds.

Reeves Trott of Lafayette is the male soccer player of the year. Reeves is on the USS Wisconsin underneath the 16 inch guns. The Iowa-class battleship has nine guns that fire explosive rounds some over 2,000 pounds and can accurately engage targets up to 23 miles away.

Michael Dunphy kicks up a wall of spray as he cuts back on a wave during the Vans Pro Final today Aug. 24, 2014 at the 52nd Annual Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships (CE-ECSC) presented by Vans at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Michael who is from Virginia Beach, Virginia won the event. (L. Todd Spencer / The Virginian-Pilot)

The 52nd Annual East Coast Surfing Championships, were held this year at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. More than 200 professional surfers competed in the world’s second-oldest continuously-run surfing contest.

Holmes Clarke gets covered up on a small beach break during the semifinal of the Grand Master event at the world’s second-oldest continuously-run surfing contest the 52nd Annual Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships .

The 52nd Annual East Coast Surfing Championships, were held this year at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. More than 200 professional surfers competed in the world’s second-oldest continuously-run surfing contest.

Wilson Memorial cheerleading coaches Renae Bailey, left, and Shannon Capriotti, right, celebrate the final moments of their team’s Group 2A cheerleading state championship winning performance in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Wilson Memorial High School cheerleaders hold hands awaiting the results of the Group 2A cheerleading state championship in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Wilson Memorial High School cheerleaders perform during the Group 2A cheerleading state championship in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Wilson Memorial High School’s Savannah Hull, center, talks with teammates before their Group 2A cheerleading state championship performance in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Waynesboro High School cheerleaders warm up before the start of their Group 3A cheerleading state championship performance in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Wilson Memorial High School cheerleaders walk together to the warm up area before their Group 2A cheerleading state championship performance in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Robert E. Lee High School’s Gabby Sansom, who tore her ACL and meniscus in a previous competition, is comforted by her teammates before they started their state finals routine without her in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

Wilson Memorial High School cheerleaders perform during the Group 2A cheerleading state championship in Richmond on Nov. 8, 2014.

–News Picture Story 2nd Place: Jonathon Gruneke/Daily Press–Monsur Dawodu, left, stares off into the distance as Jide Oshin, right, hands back the mugshot of Rashad D’Antrell Ashlock, a 20-year-old who has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Jide’s father, Isaac Oshin, owner of Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar. Dozens of people gathered outside the club Friday evening for a vigil to remember Isaac Oshin. Oshin was shot to death Wednesday evening inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Ave.

Jide Oshin begins to cry while remembering his father, Isaac Oshin, owner of Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar, inside the club before the start of Friday’s vigil. Dozens of people gathered outside the club Friday evening for a vigil to remember Isaac Oshin who was shot to death Wednesday evening inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Ave.

Friends and family listen during a vigil for Isaac Oshin outside Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar Friday evening. Dozens of people gathered outside the club to remember Isaac Oshin who was shot to death inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Avenue Wednesday evening.

Friends and family lights candles during a vigil for Isaac Oshin outside Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar Friday evening. Dozens of people gathered outside the club to remember Isaac Oshin who was shot to death inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Avenue Wednesday evening.

Rita Thornton begins to cry during a vigil for Isaac Oshin outside Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar Friday evening. Dozens of people gathered outside the club to remember Isaac Oshin who was shot to death inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Avenue Wednesday evening.

Terry Riddick walks past a sign during Friday evening’s vigil for Isaac Oshin outside Majik City Gentlemen’s Club and Sports Bar Friday evening. Dozens of people gathered outside the club to remember Isaac Oshin who was shot to death inside the club at 5825 Jefferson Avenue Wednesday evening.

Adelynne MacKenzie, 2, plugs her ears as the U.S. Fllet Forces Band plays prior to the christening of the submarine John Warner SSN 785 Saturday evening at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Navy personnel and guests tour around the submarine John Warner SSN 785 before the christening Saturday evening at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Navy crew of the submarine John Warner SSN 785 stand before the start of the christening Saturday evening at Newport News Shipbuilding.

Jeanne Warner christens the submarine John Warner SSN 785 Saturday evening at Newport News Shipbuilding.

HAMPTON, VA – APRIL 17: Phillip Roebuck takes a drag off of his vaporizer while back stage at The Taphouse on Thursday, April 17, 2014 in Hampton, Va.

HAMPTON, VA – NOVEMBER 8: Straps attached to his boots activate the drum rig on his back while Phillip Roebuck performs at The American Theater on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 in Portsmouth, Va.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – FEB 15: Dada Gauche, left, accompanies Phillip Roebuck on stage during his album release party at The Jewish Mother on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014 in Virginia Beach, Va.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 23: Phillip Roebuck drinks his master cleanse solution while driving to a concert venue on Sunday, March 23, 2014 in Charlottesville, Va. Roebuck is performing at a benefit concert in the evening.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 23: Phillip Roebuck performs at a benefit concert at the Paramount Theater on Sunday, March 23, 2014 in Charlottesville, Va. Poorly promoted, the benefit concert attendees were mostly the musicians that were asked to perform.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 23: Phillip Roebuck, left, is comforted by his Phoenix after performing at a benefit concert at the Paramount Theater on Sunday, March 23, 2014 in Charlottesville, Va. Something Roebuck ate didn’t agree with him and made him sick.

LANCASTER, PA – OCTOBER 3: Back in their hotel room, Phillip Roebuck, left, checks his email on his smartphone while his wife Phoenix Roebuck, right, enjoys a microwaved burrito from a gas station after a performance at The Chameleon Club in the early hours of Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 in Lancaster, Penn. Roebuck opened up for The Devil Makes Three for two nights on their tour.

–Feature Picture Story 2nd Place: Rich-Joseph Facun/The Virginian Pilot–“Cosplay” Cosplay, literally means “Costume Play.” Cosplay is a subculture where individuals dress up and pretend to be a fictional character usually based upon a sci-fi, comic book, manga or anime character. The rapid growth in the number of people cosplaying as a hobby has made the phenomenon a significant aspect ofÊpopular cultureÊin Japan and some other parts of Asia and in the Western world. Cosplay events are common features ofÊfan conventionsÊand there are also dedicated conventions and local and international competitions, as well asÊsocial networks, websites and other forms of media centered on cosplay activities. CAPTION: Taylor Whitehurst, 17, cosplays as Bonnie from Five Nights at Freddy’s. Whitehurst said she chose her character because “I could make her cute yet very creepy.”

Robert Laubach III , 20, cosplays as Sorin Lucien. Laubach III said “As an original character for the game from Iron Kingdom me and the group [I’m with] promote the game with our cosplay.”

Alexis Delese, 14, cosplays as Freddy Fazber from Five Nights at Freddy’s. Delese said “I chose to cosplay this character because Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of my favorite horror games and my friends needed a Freddy for their group.”

Cameron Allen, 29, cosplays as Frank the Bunny. Allen said he chose his character because “Frank the Bunny is one of my favorite movie characters from Donnie Darko, he tries to get Donnie to understand time travel and why the world was ending. He is dark and quite misunderstood. Like a demonic bunny version of Alice in Wonderland’s Cheshire Car. Truly a fan favorite.”

Ryan Lee, 22, cosplays as Kamina. Lee asked “Why wouldn’t someone cosplay kamina?”

Elvis Brown, 18, cosplays as the Joker. Whitehurst said “My favorite DC character is Joker so why not dress like him? Harley is my girlfriend’s favorite character anyway.”

Katelyn Heath, 15, cosplays as Foxy of Five Nights at Freddy’s. Heath said she chose her character because “I wanted to do something different with her to make her cute. I also fell in love with the game.”

Matthew stretches his “narm,” a nickname he created as a mix between “nub” and “arm,” while making holiday treats alongside his cousin Tori Critzer.

Matthew plays video games while hanging out with his cousin. Watching the screen it is hard to tell which of the players was using only one hand.

Matthew says the Pledge of Allegiance before homeroom class at Wilson Elementary School. One of his dream’s is joining the military to drive trucks, fly jets or work with computers.

Matthew wrestles with his cousin Patrick Henderson on a chilly afternoon in Waynesboro.

Matthew Mitchell laughs as he’s sprayed with a hose before diving down a slip and slide at a Staunton Braves and Waynesboro Generals baseball game during the summer.

–Feature Picture Story HM: Autumn Parry/The News& Advance–Promise Guy, 13, is encouraged by her host mother Barbara Austin to touch moss on a tree, while on a scavenger hunt in the woods at Claytor Natures Study Center in Bedford, Va. “I’m not built for this,” said Promise as she ventured on the nature walk with her host family. This is Promise’s fourth year participating in The Fresh Air Fund of New York City, which sends thousands of children to rural homes every year so they can experience life outside the city.

Promise and Sahara share a laugh while preparing blackberry cobbler with fresh berries they picked earlier that morning at Morris Orchard in Monroe, Va.

Sahara (left) and Promise (right) cuddle together on the recliner as they watch TV on a slow day at their host family’s home in Madison Heights, Va.

Promise looks out the window at Sahara playing outdoors while at her host family’s home in Madison, Heights, Va. The girls are part of The Fresh Air Fund of New York City, which sends thousands of children every year to rural homes so they can experience life outside the city.

Promise slowly reels in her line as she waits for fish to bite during a fishing trip at a small pond in Bedford, Va. Promise began to express her frustrations after hours of fishing without any luck.

Promise reads recipe instructions as she helps her host mother Barbara Austin make blackberry cobbler from the berries they picked earlier in the morning at Morris Orchard in Monroe, Va.

Promise sits in the car as she refuses to get on the bus heading back to New York City at the end of her ten day stay in Virginia with Barbara Austin.

–Feature Picture Story HM: Mike Morones/Navy Times—The plebes of the class of 2018 arrive for Induction Day, or I-Day, at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on —-Tuesday, July 1, 2014. I-day marks the beginning of their transformation from civilian to future naval officer, starting with a haircut, memorizing the rules, Navy traditions and facts in Reef Points and the appropriate military responses to commands.

Zachary Wesemsnn, left, and Mitchell Perry get their hair cut as plebes of the class of 2018 arrive for Induction Day at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, July 1, 2014.

Plebes listen to instructions during Induction Day at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday, July 1, 2014.

–Feature Picture Story HM: Rich-Joseph Facun/The Virginian Pilot — “American Summer” There was a time when summer was punctuated by the cross-country family road trip. In the first half of the last century, freshly laid blacktop helped catapult automobile travel. The idea of heading West on the open road to discover the land, to lasso the unknown, and to churn the imagination was adopted as another facet of the ÒAmerican Dream.Ó Then in the 1950s, the United States became the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles. Middle-classÊAmerican families were able to afford an automobile and the car culture was born. Under the tutelage of Dwight D. Eisenhower,the Interstate Highway System spread like wildfire, allowing Americans a new-found mobility that permeated the ways of our life and culture.ÊOnce-iconic roads like Route 66 were mostly replaced by larger arteries, relentlessly pumping freight and people across the country. In the residue of today’s tech-savvy culture where life is now set to hyper-drive, time has been forfeited. Kinfolk no longer choose to spend countless hours buckled into the seats of the family station wagon, watching the world go by. Why drive when you can fly? The Facun family, my family, bucked the trend and, from coast to coast, embraced the open road. This is our story, our ÒAmerican Summer.Ó

Despite a push to move away from technology while on the road my daughter, Opal Facun, 3, watches a movie and reacts when she spots dairy cows dotting the landscape while heading west on US 64 in Virginia.

The morning after completing the first leg of the trip my wife Jasmine Facun, our daughter Opal and Levi-Joseph, 9, wait to be seated at a cafe in Athens, Ohio. We stopped in Athens to give my son a tour of Ohio University where I attended school.

Open spaces and radical changes in the landscape serve as a crash course in US geography. Just off of US 76 in Northeastern Colorado, a handmade sign at a gas station, unintentionally serves as a definitive icon of the Americana road trip.

From the terrace of Lookout Studio, my wife Jasmine and our son Levi-Joseph, 9, visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Providing our children the opportunity to visit one of our nation’s National Parks was one of many goals we set prior to the road trip.

Road trips don’t always go as planned. While en route to a relatives ranch in Colorado we discovered that due to a miscommunication we weren’t going to be able to stay at their home. We made a quick adjustment and ended up visiting a friend in Denver, CO where our daughter Opal, 3, curled up in the warmth of the morning sun.

Levi-Joseph, my wife Jasmine and Opal, 3, feel at home in Sedona, AZ. The kids fell in love with Northern Arizona and kept asking if we could move to Flagstaff where Jasmine’s father and stepmother reside.

–Feature 2nd Place: Jay Westcott/Freelance–Doug Church, of Mishawaka, Indiana, performs during finals of the 2014 Ocean City ElvisFest on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 in Ocean City, Md. Church went on to win the 2014 Ocean City ElvisFest.

–Feature 3rd Place: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–Henry Baum wears a dog on his head during the Johnny Peers’ Muttvile Comix show at the Pets Expo in Hampton, Virginia. (Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press)

–General News 1st Place: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell is swarmed by local and national media after leaving the federal courthouse in Richmond. The jury in his corruption case did not reach a verdict after the second day of deliberations.

–General News 2nd Place: Mike Morones/Military Times–Steven R. Woods becomes emotional after receiving the flag for his father Army Staff Sgt. Lawrence Woods during a burial service on Friday, March 21, for seven service members who died on Oct. 24, 1964 near Bu Prang, Vietnam. The remains of Staff Sgt. Woods were recently identified though partial remains of six service members and the complete remains of an eighth crew member were recovered in 1964.

–General News HM: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–Khori Allende-El of the Moorish Science Temple of America marches with about forty peaceful protestors up Jefferson Ave. to the Newport News Police headquarters. The march was held to draw attention to the situation in Ferguson, Missouri and to gun violence in general.

Gina Junkermann places running shoes with the message of “MEG STRONG WE LOVE YOU!” at the corner of Hickory Hill Road and East Patrick Henry Road in honor of Meg Menzies, who died a day before after being struck by a car driven by a drunken driver.

–General News HM: Scott Elmquist/Style Weekly–Layla Hall, 6, holds a candle in honor of her cousin Samantha Myers, 20, during a vigil. Myers’ step sister, Yvette L. Hairston, 40, confessed to the crime and has been charged with murder. (Scott Elmquist/Style Weekly)

–Illustration 1st Place: Alexa Welch Edlund/Richmond TImes-Dispatch–A good credit score using FICO numbers.

–Illustration 2nd Place: Stephanie Klein Davis/Roanoke Times–Table 50’s mixed fruit moonshine cocktail made with Virginia Lightning and local fruit from Tim Belcher at Rolling Meadows Farms in Snow Creek (Franklin County), is mixed and served in a mason jar.

–Illustration 3rd Place: Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record–Don and Lindsay Denny act out part of the Christmas Story. The couple’s “retro house,” is one of the stops on the Downtown Holiday Tour in Harrisonburg this year.

–Lifestyle 1st Place: L. Todd Spencer/The VIrginian-Pilot–Three year old Layla Sawicki inside her home in Virginia Beach, Virginia, along with Nasyah her service dog who is trained to spot seizures in Layla.

–Lifestyle 3rd Place: Daniel Min/Richmond Times-Dispatch –Rebecca Harris, foreground, and other Richmond Community High School 9th graders react to cold wave as they visit beach after the long day of their daily activities in Chincoteague. For some of them, this is their first time camping trip and being away from their parents as they grew up in urban setting and with single parents. “It’s a classroom that using a whole world as part of the learning tools. Bonding, share jokes they have, experience of being able to take care of themselves and their friends are really the other half of this trip,” teacher Summer Schultz said.

–Lifestyle HM: Alexandra Welch Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch–James Howard helps slow down Vance Sutphin’s wheelchair as Anthony Pendergrast guides it as they descend to the fishing dock during a retreat at Howard’s home for veterans from McGuire VA Hospital’s Spinal Chord Injury Unit Thursday, June 5, 2014. Nancy Wellons, James’ mother, carries the fishing pole. Pendergrast is a bus drive at the hospital.

–Pictorial 1st Place: Rich-Joseph Facun/The Virginian-Pilot –Aida Rodriguez plays a game of dominoes at her home in Mission Viejo, California. Aida, a Cuban immigrant.

–Pictorial HM: Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record–A flock of Canadian geese settle down for the evening north of a Harrisonburg, Va., cornfield as Massanutten Mountain looms in the background on Feb. 11, 2014.

–Portrait 1st Place: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–Maurice Smith was the radio operator on a C-47 that flew through a wall of flack on D-Day to drop Airborne troopers behind the German defenders. Mr. Smith passed away two weeks after this photo was taken.

–Portrait 2nd Place: Jay Westcott/Freelance–Warren Taylor, a member of the Pamunkey Indian tribe, is dressed and painted for a ceremony commemorating the 400th anniversary of Pocahontas’ wedding to John Rolfe, on Saturday, April 5, 2014 in Jamestown, Va.

–Portrait 3rd Place: Griffin Moores/News-Leader–Kavon Robertson, who at 14-years-old has won six boxing championship belts, rests for a moment after a bout of hitting the punching bag at the Staunton Boxing Club on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014. Robertson is training for the chance to fight with the the U.S. Junior Olympic team in January.

–Portrait HM: Rich-Joseph Facun/The Virginian-Pilot–Hennglise Dorival, 15, who is from Haiti, at her host family’s home, Friday, April 25, 2014 in Virginia Beach, VA. Dorival suffers from a massive facial deformity caused by a tumor that began growing four years ago in one of the sinuses of her nose. This coming Monday, staff from Operation Smile will remove the tumor at CHKD through the World Care program.

–Sports Action 2nd Place: Peter Casey/Freelance–Russell Henley chips up to the 1st green during the second round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course.

–Sports Feature 2nd Place: Alexandra Welch-Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch–Maryland’s Tayler Stiles puts another cap on Andrew Amaro’s head as Ben Brewster watches during their NCAA game against UVA in Charlottesville Sunday, June 8, 2014.

–Sports Feature 3rd Place: Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press–The Savannah State women’s basketball team celebrates their 65-47 NCAA college basketball game win over Maryland Eastern Shore in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship, Saturday, March 14, 2015 in Norfolk, Va.

–Spot News 1st Place: Hyunsoo Leo Kim/The Virginian-Pilot–A Norfolk police pauses next to police vehicle as he investigates the scene of shooting where Norfolk Police Officer Brian Jones was killed in the line of duty late Friday, at the 7400 block of Wellington Road in Norfolk, Va. 2014.

–Spot News 2nd Place: Jonathon Gruenke/Daily Press–A Newport News police officer assists a resident away from an apartment building in the 700 block of Waterfront Circle as Newport News firefighters respond to a fire Friday afternoon.

–Spot News 3rd Place: Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press–Friends and family of stabbing victim Taiwo Douglas-Wells react to the news that he had died from his wounds sustained in an attack behind Newsome Park Elementary School.

–Spot News HM: Griffin Moores/The News & Advance–An injured driver who crashed his drilling rig through a guard rail along I-64 screams as rescue workers attempt to remove him from an embankment in Waynesboro on Sept. 24, 2014.