A Life of Leadership: Crystal Cline’s Path from Sports Star to Sheriff Candidate

Crystal Wilson Cline is a well-known member of the Front Royal Police Department and is currently running for the top law enforcement position, Sheriff of Warren County. Captain Crystal Cline’s presence in our community at public events and serious law enforcement incidents is evidence of her versatility and dedication to the Front Royal Police Department and her community.

There is another side to Captain Cline, which is not public and is known by very few. She grew up in Nebraska and was a budding athlete at Hastings College. For personal reasons, she moved to Virginia in 1993. Her first consideration was transferring to Virginia Tech, but this ambitious young lady was unwilling to sit out a year. Crystal sought out Coach Susan Dunagan at Roanoke College, and the rest of the story unfolds in the following paragraphs.

During her first year during the 1993/94 season, Crystal made her presence known by being named to the Second-Team All-ODAC (Old Dominion Athletic Conference), an ODAC Championship, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  A year later, as team Captain, she achieved First-Team All-ODAC honors, was named to the VASID All-State College Division women’s basketball Second-Team, and received national All-American accolades. Her team again won the ODAC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Not satisfied with her basketball achievements, this All-American joined the Roanoke College Volleyball team for the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Crystal led the team in both kills and blocks. She was named to the ODAC All-Tournament Team and selected First Team All-ODAC for two years straight.

The list continues with the naming of Crystal as the 1995 Roanoke College Athlete of the Year. She ranks third in the all-time scoring average for the women’s basketball team at Roanoke College. In 2013, with nine other players, Crystal was named to the All-Decade Women’s Basketball Team for the 1990s.

The crowning achievement for Crystal came in 2005 when she was inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame. This accolade is reserved for the very few, the best of the best. She dominated two sports and made her lasting mark at Roanoke College in just three short years – two years playing basketball and two years playing volleyball.

This brief summary of Crystal Cline’s athletic career outlines her leadership, competitiveness, and an uncompromising high standard of performance. These are the qualities needed to revive a once proud and effective Sheriff’s Department.

To accomplish all that she did in the short span of three years at Roanoke College suggests that Crystal will settle for nothing but the best. Her immediate acceptance by her teammates in 1993 demonstrates a quality of leadership that is more innate than learned and gives some credence to the term “born leader.” She is just that!

If you are down by two points, with the clock running, who would you trust to take the shot?

Bill Hammack
Front Royal, VA
St Petersburg, FL 

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