11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
Narcotics tip leads Dothan police to Philly fugitive suspected in Ponzi scheme that cheated retirees
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Alabama school board picks Deputy Superintendent Tommy Bice for new superintendent
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10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Ed Addie resigns as Kennedy Charter boys basketball coach
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Kennedy Charter boys basketball coach Ed Addie, who led the Eagles to a 25-3 record last season, has resigned from the south Charlotte public school.
Kennedy Charter principal William Stubbs declined comment. He said an announcement regarding basketball at Kennedy Charter would be forthcoming next week.
Addie, 46, said he is looking at other opportunities.
“I have a six-year-old boy," Addie said, "and I run my youth basketball program (Queen City Athletic Associaton) and between coaching and QCAA I just never see him. And I want to spend more time with him. He’s beginning to play sports. He’s playing baseball and I missed half his games. Even during basketball season, his games were on Fridays and I missed all of his basketball games because we had games at Kennedy Charter.”
Addie said he struggled with his decision, including leaving a Kennedy Charter team that could return 11 of 12 players, including first-team All-Observer selection Donte’ Clark. Clark, a 6-foot-4 rising senior, has offers from Miami, Tennesse, Clemson and Memphis, among others.
Addie said two other players have Division I offers: rising 6-7 senior center J.J. Douglas (Gardner-Webb, Mercer) and rising 6-5 junior B.J. Gladden (11 total offers, including Cincinnati, Xavier, Alabama)
“Even though I have coaching opportunities from other schools,” Addie said, “I feel as though I may choose to stay at home and build my youth basketball program and spend time with my son.”
NC private school all state baseball, girls soccer, lacrosse
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NCISAA All-State Baseball
1A: Darren Armstrong..Lawrence Academy; Cody Neal..Wayne Country Day School; Chase Darden..Wayne Christian School; Hansen French..Trinity School of Durham; Ryan Williams..Northeast Academy; Jim Porter..Lawrence Academy; Robbie Stokely, Greenfield School; Cole Davis..Wayne Country Day School; Zack Eubanks..Lawrence Academy; Tyler Rackley..Burlington Christian Academy; Matt Johnson..Hickory Christian Academy; Chase Roupp..Faith Christian School; J.B.Williams..Lawrence Academy; Ryan Lilley..Lawrence Academy
2A: Lamar Briggs..Davidson Day School; Zach Roddy..Asheville Christian Academy; Bailey Clark..Asheville Christian Academy; James McGougan..Fayetteville Christian School; Cody Buschslinger..Harrells Christian Academy; Richie Sanfillippo..Caldwell Academy; Donnie Sellers..Westchester Country Day School; Nico Mancuso..Caldwell Academy; Markel Johnson..Westchester Country Day School; Daniel Branon..Caldwell Academy; Jonathan Martin..First Assembly; Matt Hinson..Arendell Parrott Academy; Jonah Sheets..St. David’s School; Evan Hill..Arendell Parrott Academy
3A: Jon Olczak..Wesleyan Christian Academy; Bailey Ober..Charlotte Christian School; T.J. McDonald..Village Christian Academy; Weston Wilson..Wesleyan Christian Academy; Daniel Stack..Providence Day School; Keenan Szulik..Cary Academy; Ross Rushing..Metrolina Christian Academy; Peter Englert..Covenant Day School; Trae Sweeting..Christ School; Tyler Britton.. High Point Christian Academy; Chris Corbett.. High Point Christian Academy; Tiger Miller..High Point Christian Academy; Colin Walls..Charlotte Country Day School; Drew Loepprich..Charlotte Country Day School
NCISAA Lacrosse
Girls: Caroline Margolis – Ravenscroft School; Hanna Krueger – Charlotte Country Day School; Austin Brown – Providence Day School; Elizabeth Eason – Durham Academy; Melissa Funsten – Ravenscroft School; London Vaughn – Charlotte Country Day School; Cailan Howey – Providence Day School; Robin Blazing – Durham Academy; Mattie Shuman – Charlotte Country Day School; Mara Woollard – Providence Day School; Linley Benson – Charlotte Country Day School; Katherine Hodges – Durham Academy; Rachel Hianik – Ravenscroft School; Jordan Barry – Durham Academy; Grace Anderson – Charlotte Latin School; Caroline Allbert – Charlotte Country Day School; Chloe Lewis – Durham Academy; Savannah Jane Story – Ravenscroft School; Sarah Lucas – Greensboro Day School
Boys: Carson Clough – Charlotte Latin School; Josh Ohaus – Providence Day School; Jason Weber – Christ School; Tony Asher – Providence Day School; Pat Regan – Cape Fear Academy; Jimbo Barnes – Ravenscroft School; Marshall Burlingame – Charlotte Latin School; Steve Onak – Providence Day School; Will Donohue – Charlotte Latin School; Danny Lowe – Christ School; Braxton Carr – Durham Academy; Baylor Koch – Cannon School; Clay Fisher – Providence Day School; Gibbs McEachran – Christ School; Kyle Fairchild – Durham Academy
NCISAA Girls Soccer
1A: Landyn McDevitt – Community Christian School; Hailey Dail – Community Christian School; Madison Bolen – Grace Christian School; Meredith Lyons – Trinity Academy of Raleigh; Joelle Brown – Community Christian School; Deborah DeGraff – Statesville Christian School; Alyssa Burton – Hickory Christian Academy; Rachel Lambert – Statesville Christian School; Caroline Kowalski – Elon School; Becca Sharpe – Burlington Christian Academy; Nikki Behake – Trinity School of Durham; Cameron Johnson – Greenfield School; Mary Love Taylor – Greenfield School; Dana McLaughlin – Epiphany School; Catherine Ford – Wayne Country Day School; Sarah Best – Wayne Country Day School; Baker Bedgood – Greenfield School
2A: Caroline Barnes – Cape Fear Academy; Mary Dixon – O’Neal School; Abigail Degaetano – Fayetteville Academy; Chandler Tinsley – Asheville Christian Academy; Bekah Page – Caldwell Academy; Jayne Langemeyer – Caldwell Academy; Anna MacClain – Carolina Friends School; Rachel Sharkey – American Hebrew Academy; Ashley Gorman – Caldwell Academy; Stephanie Cossall – Rocky Mount Academy; Brae Buster – Cary Christian School; Kaitlin Dunston – St. David’s School; Julia Manchester – Cary Christian School; Jana Warren – Arendell Parrott Academy; Hanna Gierman - St. David’s School; Courtney Selle – Westminster Catawba; Caitlin Rodrigues – Davidson Day School; Ciara Murphy – Davidson Day School
3A: Vicky Bruce – Cannon School; Caroline Lindquist – Ravenscroft School; Ashley Finke – Charlotte Latin School; Cameron Castleberry – Ravenscroft School; Kelsey Supple – Greensboro Day School; Adelaide Cummings – Charlotte Country Day School; Sydney Branson – Cary Academy; Anna Estep – Cannon School; Caylin Prillaman – Wesleyan Christian Academy; Raina Johnson – Charlotte Country Day School; Anna Okwara – Charlotte Latin School; Shannon Arnold – Greensboro Day School; Anna Melton – Covenant Day School; Lauren Lucas – Providence Day School; Catherine Blair – Saint Mary’s School; Alex Proehl – Wesleyan Christian Academy; Shannon Cleaver – Durham Academy
Mallard Creek WR Marquez North leads strong NC contigent on national 250 prep football recruiting list
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Mallard Creek’s 6-foot-3, 205-pound rising senior Marquez North, a wide receiver, is the highest-ranking Carolinas player in the Rivals.com top 250. The recruiting website annually ranks the nation’s top 250 rising seniors.
North, ranked No. 31, had 39 catches for more than 1,000 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
Also on the list:
No. 56, Vance LB Larenz Bryant (6-1, 203)
No. 80 Butler LB Peter Kalambayi (6-3, 229)
No. 89 Pendleton (SC) DT Michael Hill (6-3, 315)
No. 136 Hope Mills South View DE Greg Gilmore (6-4, 275)
No. 139 Goose Creek (SC) WR Tramel Terry (6-0, 190)
No. 170 Mallard Creek DB Brian Walker (5-10, 170)
No. 192 Albemarle OL R.J. Prince (6-6, 280)
No. 230 Butler WR Uriah LeMay (6-1, 181)
No. 236 Richmond Senior OL Tyrone Crowder (6-2, 315)
No. 245 Raleigh Wakefield QB Connor Mitch (6-3, 210)
North, ranked No. 31, had 39 catches for more than 1,000 yards and 19 touchdowns last season.
Also on the list:
No. 56, Vance LB Larenz Bryant (6-1, 203)
No. 80 Butler LB Peter Kalambayi (6-3, 229)
No. 89 Pendleton (SC) DT Michael Hill (6-3, 315)
No. 136 Hope Mills South View DE Greg Gilmore (6-4, 275)
No. 139 Goose Creek (SC) WR Tramel Terry (6-0, 190)
No. 170 Mallard Creek DB Brian Walker (5-10, 170)
No. 192 Albemarle OL R.J. Prince (6-6, 280)
No. 230 Butler WR Uriah LeMay (6-1, 181)
No. 236 Richmond Senior OL Tyrone Crowder (6-2, 315)
No. 245 Raleigh Wakefield QB Connor Mitch (6-3, 210)
Myers Park girls basketball coach Dustin Terrel resigns
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Myers Park girls basketball coach Dustin Terrel, who led the Mustangs to the state semifinals in March, has resigned, Mustangs athletics director Rick Lewis said.
Lewis said Terrel has taken a job as an assistant coach at Wingate University. He said Myers Park would hire a coach within a week.
Under Terrel, Myers Park started the 2011-12 season with 31 straight wins. The Mustangs lost in the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship game to West Forsyth. Next season, Myers Park is scheduled to return nine of 13 players and will be a state championship favorite.
Myers Park hires fmr Prov Day coach Barbara Nelson as girls basketball coach
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After five years at Wingate University, Barbara Nelson -- one of the most successful coaches in N.C. history -- is coming back to high school.
Myers Park athletics director Rick Lewis said the Mustangs have hired Nelson to coach the girls basketball team. The former Wingate head women’s coach will replace Dustin Terrel, who resigned to become an assistant at Wingate under new coach Ann Hancock, a longtime former North Carolina assistant coach.
Nelson, 49, resigned at Wingate in May. She’ll start her 27th season as a head coach in November.
“Wingate is a great place to work, with wonderful people,” Nelson said, “but college coaching is very difficult. College is a business and a good bit of your job is the business. At heart, I’m a high school coach. That doesn’t mean I won’t ever coach college again. It was a great ride (at Wingate) and a great five years. I really enjoyed it, but it was time for us to go our separate ways.”
Nelson was 101-51 at Wingate with three NCAA tournament appearances. Her teams won one regular-season South Atlantic conference championship and two tournament titles. Wingate also made one NCAA Elite Eight appearance under Nelson, who was the 2008 South Atlantic conference coach of the year.
Nelson has coached two USA Basketball junior teams to gold medals and was named USA Basketball Developmental coach of the year in 2010.
Before Wingate, Nelson was head girls coach at Providence Day for 21 years. Her teams were 437-176 with seven state cahmpionships and nine conference championships. Nelson’s teams won a record five Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 championships and she was named Observer girls coach of the year a record five times.
At Myers Park, Nelson plans to teach physical education, pending completing entry requirements to teach in N.C. public schools.
She’ll inherit a team that returns nine of 13 players from last season when Myers Park finished 31-1 and reached the N.C. 4A Western Regional championship game -- or N.C. state semifinal.
Nelson said her team will face high expectations.
“Every team has a plateau they can reach by showing up and doing some work to get there,” she said. “But it requires having players who want to work and want to buy into a team philosophy and having a coach who wants to push them. I want to be a coach who can push a team to reach their highest plateau. What that will be I don’t know. I haven’t met these kids yet and haven’t been in the gym with them.”
One thing Nelson does know is that she’s looking forward to the challenge.
“I think change is good,” she said. “It gets you excited about things and thinking about things you haven’t thought about. I think this is going to be fun.”
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Student Brings Gun To School
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MOBILE, Alabama --A scare this morning for students at Baker High School. A student is now in custody after bringing a gun on campus. The school's principal received a tip from another student that a 17 year-old junior was coming to school on a bus with a gun. Once the bus arrived, the student was confronted by the principal who apprehended the student's backpack.
Officials say that's when the student ran, but he was shortly tracked down by a school resource officer.
Officials say no students were in danger. There is currently no information as to why the student brought the gun on campus. The student's name has not been released.
Officials say that's when the student ran, but he was shortly tracked down by a school resource officer.
Officials say no students were in danger. There is currently no information as to why the student brought the gun on campus. The student's name has not been released.
Governor attending 2 Veterans Day events
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MONTGOMERY — Alabama's governor will be participating in two Veterans Day events.A spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley says he will attend the Veterans Day program at Westminster School in Birmingham at 8:30 a.m. Friday and then speak at the Montgomery River Region Veterans Day program at 10 a.m. at the Capitol.
Bentley served in the Air Force before opening a medical practice in Tuscaloosa.
Bentley served in the Air Force before opening a medical practice in Tuscaloosa.
Offshore lease sale, first since oil spill, set for December
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Oil dots the beaches as vacationers take to the waters at Perdido Point on Thursday, June 10, 2010, after the Deepwater Horizon accident.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The Department of Interior says it has set a December date for the next Gulf offshore oil and natural gas lease sale — the first such sale since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill.
The Dec. 14 sale will take place in New Orleans in the Superdome and include all the unleased areas in an area known as the Western Gulf Planning Area offshore Texas.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that oversight of deepwater drilling has been strengthened and the industry has improved its ability to contain a subsea blowout and respond to a spill.
Tommy Beaudreau, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, says the decision to hold a lease sale was done "after careful analysis" of the effects of the BP spill.
Oil dots the beaches as vacationers take to the waters at Perdido Point on Thursday, June 10, 2010, after the Deepwater Horizon accident. NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The Department of Interior says it has set a December date for the next Gulf offshore oil and natural gas lease sale — the first such sale since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and BP oil spill.
The Dec. 14 sale will take place in New Orleans in the Superdome and include all the unleased areas in an area known as the Western Gulf Planning Area offshore Texas.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Thursday that oversight of deepwater drilling has been strengthened and the industry has improved its ability to contain a subsea blowout and respond to a spill.
Tommy Beaudreau, the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, says the decision to hold a lease sale was done "after careful analysis" of the effects of the BP spill.
Brazilian man accused of marrying 2 different women in attempt to stay in U.S.
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Renato Camara is accused of entering 2 sham marriages.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Renato Camara was facing deportation by an immigration judge who was skeptical about the legitimacy of his marriage to an American when he married a second U.S. woman, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The 37-year-old Brazilian man gave up his right to a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Over the objection of prosecutors, U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine “Kit” Nelson ordered that Camara be released from jail, but only after a telephone line is installed in his Baldwin County home so that authorities can keep track of the defendant with an electronic monitoring device.
Nelson sent marriage fraud charges against Camara to a grand jury, along with an unrelated marriage fraud case involving another foreign couple.
Camara’s court-appointed attorney, Cindy Powell, said after Thursday’s hearing that she could not comment on the allegations.
“The focus today was just to try to get him out,” she said.
According to an affidavit filed by a Homeland Security agent, the defendant came to the United States in 2005 on a tourist visa but stayed past its expiration. In 2007, Camara married an American named Dianne Rojas and later applied for a green card.
According to the affidavit, Citizenship and Immigration Services officials interviewed the couple separately in 2007 and noted several discrepancies in their answers. Rojas confessed that the union was a sham and said Camara offered her $6,000 to marry him, the affidavit alleges.
Authorities initiated deportation proceedings against Camara in October 2010 and scheduled a hearing in Orlando for September of this year.
But Camara in February married a Baldwin County woman named Angela Green, who has been charged with marriage fraud and has pleaded not guilty. Green admitted to investigators that marriage was fraudulent, telling them that Camara had paid her $600 so far of a promised sum of $8,000, according to the allegations.
Homeland Security Special Agent Randy Hoffman testified Thursday that Green told investigators that Camara moved into her home part-time, staying about 3 to 4 days a week. That is where he was when authorities arrested him earlier this week.
“He wanted to move in to substantiate the fraudulent marriage,” Hoffman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Overstreet asked Nelson to keep Camara in jail on grounds that he is a risk to flee. He said the defendant is a “proven liar” who tried to fake his first marriage.
“Lo and behold, he enters into this second marriage through fraudulent means,” Overstreet said.
Powell noted that her client was aware of a federal investigation since August, but remained in Baldwin County. What’s more, she said, he is broke.
“I don’t think that this man has the means to go anywhere,” she said.
In the other case, authorities allege that a couple originally from the Czech Republic, Antonin Matusek, 33, and Katerina Ondrackova, 34 conspired with American friends to set up arranged marriages so they could stay in the country. They live together in Orange Beach.
Ondrackova married Kevin Walker in January 2007. They met to sign divorce papers in August of this year, 5 months after Ondrakova’s naturalization application was approved.
Matusek married Jessica Vogelsang in November 2009, and immigration officials approved his permanent residency application in September 2010.
A grand jury indicted Vogelsang on marriage fraud charges last month; Walker recently died.
Renato Camara is accused of entering 2 sham marriages.MOBILE, Alabama -- Renato Camara was facing deportation by an immigration judge who was skeptical about the legitimacy of his marriage to an American when he married a second U.S. woman, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The 37-year-old Brazilian man gave up his right to a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
Over the objection of prosecutors, U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine “Kit” Nelson ordered that Camara be released from jail, but only after a telephone line is installed in his Baldwin County home so that authorities can keep track of the defendant with an electronic monitoring device.
Nelson sent marriage fraud charges against Camara to a grand jury, along with an unrelated marriage fraud case involving another foreign couple.
Camara’s court-appointed attorney, Cindy Powell, said after Thursday’s hearing that she could not comment on the allegations.
“The focus today was just to try to get him out,” she said.
According to an affidavit filed by a Homeland Security agent, the defendant came to the United States in 2005 on a tourist visa but stayed past its expiration. In 2007, Camara married an American named Dianne Rojas and later applied for a green card.
According to the affidavit, Citizenship and Immigration Services officials interviewed the couple separately in 2007 and noted several discrepancies in their answers. Rojas confessed that the union was a sham and said Camara offered her $6,000 to marry him, the affidavit alleges.
Authorities initiated deportation proceedings against Camara in October 2010 and scheduled a hearing in Orlando for September of this year.
But Camara in February married a Baldwin County woman named Angela Green, who has been charged with marriage fraud and has pleaded not guilty. Green admitted to investigators that marriage was fraudulent, telling them that Camara had paid her $600 so far of a promised sum of $8,000, according to the allegations.
Homeland Security Special Agent Randy Hoffman testified Thursday that Green told investigators that Camara moved into her home part-time, staying about 3 to 4 days a week. That is where he was when authorities arrested him earlier this week.
“He wanted to move in to substantiate the fraudulent marriage,” Hoffman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Overstreet asked Nelson to keep Camara in jail on grounds that he is a risk to flee. He said the defendant is a “proven liar” who tried to fake his first marriage.
“Lo and behold, he enters into this second marriage through fraudulent means,” Overstreet said.
Powell noted that her client was aware of a federal investigation since August, but remained in Baldwin County. What’s more, she said, he is broke.
“I don’t think that this man has the means to go anywhere,” she said.
In the other case, authorities allege that a couple originally from the Czech Republic, Antonin Matusek, 33, and Katerina Ondrackova, 34 conspired with American friends to set up arranged marriages so they could stay in the country. They live together in Orange Beach.
Ondrackova married Kevin Walker in January 2007. They met to sign divorce papers in August of this year, 5 months after Ondrakova’s naturalization application was approved.
Matusek married Jessica Vogelsang in November 2009, and immigration officials approved his permanent residency application in September 2010.
A grand jury indicted Vogelsang on marriage fraud charges last month; Walker recently died.
Stockton seeks county help for hiking trail
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BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- Work on a planned project at Stockton Civic Club may have to wait while members find more cash, according to discussion with county commissioners at Tuesday’s work session.
Club representative Jason Padgett told commissioners that the community group had secured a 99-year lease on the property from the Baldwin County Board of Education and had been able to add three buildings to the park area. The next project includes a paved walking and running trail around an area that could be used as a football or soccer field, Padgett said. The park currently has a walking trail paved with wood chips, but maintenance is difficult, Padgett said.
He pointed out that the county uses the site as a polling place and the park has the only helicopter landing pad in the northern end of the county.
Padgett said that in past projects, the commission had contributed labor and equipment costs if groups paid for materials used in construction jobs. In this case, according to estimates by county staff members, equipment costs would be $9,910 with labor adding $7,020. If the trail is six feet wide, the asphalt would run an estimated $8,781, or $11,331 if the trail is nine feet wide. The total project would cost between $25,711 and $28,261, depending on the width of the trail.
Chairman Bob James told Padgett that commissioners had been consistent in denying similar requests from organizations since eliminating contingency funds under their discretion last year. Commissioners Charles “Skip” Gruber and Frank Burt said they would be willing for the county to absorb the equipment cost if the club could contribute some or all of the labor cost.
County Engineer Cal Markert said county work crews in the area could do the work while waiting on utilities workers to complete right-of-way work on nearby road projects.
“We don’t have the contingency funds,” Gruber said, “and we’ve got to recoup our labor costs.”
BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- Work on a planned project at Stockton Civic Club may have to wait while members find more cash, according to discussion with county commissioners at Tuesday’s work session.
Club representative Jason Padgett told commissioners that the community group had secured a 99-year lease on the property from the Baldwin County Board of Education and had been able to add three buildings to the park area. The next project includes a paved walking and running trail around an area that could be used as a football or soccer field, Padgett said. The park currently has a walking trail paved with wood chips, but maintenance is difficult, Padgett said.
He pointed out that the county uses the site as a polling place and the park has the only helicopter landing pad in the northern end of the county.
Padgett said that in past projects, the commission had contributed labor and equipment costs if groups paid for materials used in construction jobs. In this case, according to estimates by county staff members, equipment costs would be $9,910 with labor adding $7,020. If the trail is six feet wide, the asphalt would run an estimated $8,781, or $11,331 if the trail is nine feet wide. The total project would cost between $25,711 and $28,261, depending on the width of the trail.
Chairman Bob James told Padgett that commissioners had been consistent in denying similar requests from organizations since eliminating contingency funds under their discretion last year. Commissioners Charles “Skip” Gruber and Frank Burt said they would be willing for the county to absorb the equipment cost if the club could contribute some or all of the labor cost.
County Engineer Cal Markert said county work crews in the area could do the work while waiting on utilities workers to complete right-of-way work on nearby road projects.
“We don’t have the contingency funds,” Gruber said, “and we’ve got to recoup our labor costs.”
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Condi Rice touts power of education, democracy in Mobile speech
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Former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice delivers the keynote address at the University of Mobile's 7th annual Leadership Banquet Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 at the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center in Mobile, Ala.
MOBILE, Alabama -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who rose from segregated Alabama to become the first black woman to serve as the nation’s top diplomat, spoke stirringly about the transformative power of education on the individual and democracy on the world during an appearance Thursday in Mobile.
Rice, 58, who left public office in 2009 after eight eventful years in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush, recounted the story of her upbringing in Birmingham and her time in Washington, D.C., during a dinner gala at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
Rice, now working as a political science professor at Stanford University, was the keynote speaker at the University of Mobile’s annual Leadership Banquet, which drew an audience of nearly 900 and raised more than $250,000 for the school’s scholarship fund. She was introduced by UM President Mark Foley as "an extraordinary American leader."
Rice told the story of her grandfather, John Wesley Rice Sr., a son of slaves from Eutaw, Ala., who used money he earned picking cotton to enroll as a freshman at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa. When the money ran out, she said, he discovered that scholarships were available for students who were willing to become Presbyterian ministers.
"Grandaddy Rice said, ‘You know, that is exactly what I had in mind,’" Rice said. "And my family has been college-educated and Presbyterian ever since."
Her grandfather, she said, was on to something.
"He knew that education was going to transform him into somebody he otherwise would never have been," she said. "And our family set sail for heights that John Wesley Rice Sr. might never have foreseen."
Rice praised the Baptist-affiliated university for its commitment to developing "servant leaders."
"You’re not just showing young people how to get a job. You’re giving them whole new horizons about who they might be, and what they might do," she said.
Rice also drew from "No Higher Honor," her newly published memoir, to reflect on her tenure at the highest levels of government. Rice served as a top foreign policy adviser to President George H.W. Bush, then served as National Security Adviser to President George W. Bush during his first term from 2001 to 2005. Bush appointed her as Secretary of State in 2005.
Rice said her experience in Washington taught her the power of democracy and the important role the U.S. fills as a global leader.
"There is a world out there that has been shocked" by terrorism and economic strife, she said. "The world is chaotic, and it cries out for leadership. Someone must lead, and I believe very strongly that it better be the United States that does."
Rice said the country is experiencing tough economic times, but that the American spirit is one of resilience.
"What inspires me is to meet young people like I’ve met here today, who understand that they must be devoted to something bigger than themselves," she said. "They give me optimism, and we need to give them encouragement. The lesson of our country is that things that seem impossible become inevitable, in retrospect."
Rice, a Republican, steered away from political commentary, saying her future belongs at Stanford and not in elected office.
"There is nothing like the university, because there is nothing like the opportunity to shape young minds," she said. "One day, they will show us that they will not accept the world as it is, and they will remake the world as it should be."
Rice, an accomplished pianist, was presented with a musical arrangement written and performed for her by UM music professor Duane Plash. The piano solo, entitled "A Testament of Hymns," included music from several spiritual songs favored by Rice.
Dr. Condoleezza Rice visited the University of Mobile on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Dr. Rice addressed the students and then took text questions from the gathering.
Earlier Thursday, Rice spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of students at the University of Mobile’s Ram Hall. She encouraged her audience to take risks, challenge themselves academically and pursue their passions.
"I only want to say one thing to you about being in college," Rice said during brief opening remarks. "It’s maybe the greatest time in your life, and I hope you are taking full advantage of this fine university to find what you are passionate about, and to try and do some things that are hard for you, that get you out of your comfort zone."
Rice spent most of her time on stage answering questions from the audience, delivered via text, Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Topics ranged from the one word she would like to be remembered by — "perseverance," she said — to presidential politics, foreign relations, her childhood in Birmingham and her pick in the upcoming Iron Bowl.
"Roll Tide!" she said, drawing hearty applause — and a smattering of boos — from the students.
Rice also signed copies of her new memoir during an appearance Thursday at Page and Palette book store in Fairhope. A line of about 500 customers clutched copies of the book and braved a brisk morning wind as they waited in a line that stretched down De La Mare Avenue.
"It’s great to be back in Alabama, where I’m from," she said. "It’s wonderful."
Former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice delivers the keynote address at the University of Mobile's 7th annual Leadership Banquet Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 at the Arthur Outlaw Convention Center in Mobile, Ala. MOBILE, Alabama -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who rose from segregated Alabama to become the first black woman to serve as the nation’s top diplomat, spoke stirringly about the transformative power of education on the individual and democracy on the world during an appearance Thursday in Mobile.
Rice, 58, who left public office in 2009 after eight eventful years in the Cabinet of President George W. Bush, recounted the story of her upbringing in Birmingham and her time in Washington, D.C., during a dinner gala at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
Rice, now working as a political science professor at Stanford University, was the keynote speaker at the University of Mobile’s annual Leadership Banquet, which drew an audience of nearly 900 and raised more than $250,000 for the school’s scholarship fund. She was introduced by UM President Mark Foley as "an extraordinary American leader."
Rice told the story of her grandfather, John Wesley Rice Sr., a son of slaves from Eutaw, Ala., who used money he earned picking cotton to enroll as a freshman at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa. When the money ran out, she said, he discovered that scholarships were available for students who were willing to become Presbyterian ministers.
"Grandaddy Rice said, ‘You know, that is exactly what I had in mind,’" Rice said. "And my family has been college-educated and Presbyterian ever since."
Her grandfather, she said, was on to something.
"He knew that education was going to transform him into somebody he otherwise would never have been," she said. "And our family set sail for heights that John Wesley Rice Sr. might never have foreseen."
Rice praised the Baptist-affiliated university for its commitment to developing "servant leaders."
"You’re not just showing young people how to get a job. You’re giving them whole new horizons about who they might be, and what they might do," she said.
Rice also drew from "No Higher Honor," her newly published memoir, to reflect on her tenure at the highest levels of government. Rice served as a top foreign policy adviser to President George H.W. Bush, then served as National Security Adviser to President George W. Bush during his first term from 2001 to 2005. Bush appointed her as Secretary of State in 2005.
Rice said her experience in Washington taught her the power of democracy and the important role the U.S. fills as a global leader.
"There is a world out there that has been shocked" by terrorism and economic strife, she said. "The world is chaotic, and it cries out for leadership. Someone must lead, and I believe very strongly that it better be the United States that does."
Rice said the country is experiencing tough economic times, but that the American spirit is one of resilience.
"What inspires me is to meet young people like I’ve met here today, who understand that they must be devoted to something bigger than themselves," she said. "They give me optimism, and we need to give them encouragement. The lesson of our country is that things that seem impossible become inevitable, in retrospect."
Rice, a Republican, steered away from political commentary, saying her future belongs at Stanford and not in elected office.
"There is nothing like the university, because there is nothing like the opportunity to shape young minds," she said. "One day, they will show us that they will not accept the world as it is, and they will remake the world as it should be."
Rice, an accomplished pianist, was presented with a musical arrangement written and performed for her by UM music professor Duane Plash. The piano solo, entitled "A Testament of Hymns," included music from several spiritual songs favored by Rice.
Dr. Condoleezza Rice visited the University of Mobile on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Dr. Rice addressed the students and then took text questions from the gathering. Earlier Thursday, Rice spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of students at the University of Mobile’s Ram Hall. She encouraged her audience to take risks, challenge themselves academically and pursue their passions.
"I only want to say one thing to you about being in college," Rice said during brief opening remarks. "It’s maybe the greatest time in your life, and I hope you are taking full advantage of this fine university to find what you are passionate about, and to try and do some things that are hard for you, that get you out of your comfort zone."
Rice spent most of her time on stage answering questions from the audience, delivered via text, Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Topics ranged from the one word she would like to be remembered by — "perseverance," she said — to presidential politics, foreign relations, her childhood in Birmingham and her pick in the upcoming Iron Bowl.
"Roll Tide!" she said, drawing hearty applause — and a smattering of boos — from the students.
Rice also signed copies of her new memoir during an appearance Thursday at Page and Palette book store in Fairhope. A line of about 500 customers clutched copies of the book and braved a brisk morning wind as they waited in a line that stretched down De La Mare Avenue.
"It’s great to be back in Alabama, where I’m from," she said. "It’s wonderful."
Three meth labs discovered in Walnut Hill......
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A hazardous materials team from the Escambia County (Fla.) Rapid Response unit was called into action Tuesday night in Walnut Hill by Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies in order to neutralize three “one pot” meth labs discovered at a residence on Rigby Road.
Working off an anonymous tip, deputies responded to the home of 44-year- old Mark Steven McGhee, where the meth labs were quickly located. Deputies arrested McGhee and 24-year-old Charissa Leigh Clarke and charged each suspect with production of methamphetamine, possession of a listed chemical with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking methamphetamine.
Deputies described the “one pot” labs as “a plastic bottle with white sludge inside and a plastic tube attached to the cap.” Deputies reported at least one of the three labs to have been active. Each of the three labs was found inside a 20 oz plastic drink bottle.
Both suspects were taken into custody after deputies were allowed to search the home, where they observed “the distinct odor of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory” and items routinely used in the manufacturing of methamphetamines.
Deputy James Gilman cleared the home of officers and suspects after discovering a “bottle producing vapor from the tube” in the home’s utility room. Gilman said he recognized the item to be a possibly volatile component of a working meth lab.
According to police reports, McGhee told deputies he was a methamphetamine user and that he and Clarke had been manufacturing the drug inside the home. McGhee said there were still several grams inside the home and reported to deputies the remainder of the meth had been given to Clarke’s sister “Nicole” and another unidentified woman earlier Tuesday evening. McGhee also admitting to having sold methamphetamines on several occasions.
Clarke told deputies she had been asleep at McGhee’s residence. She admitted having knowledge of McGhee’s drug use, but said she was unaware he was manufacturing methamphetamines.
Inside the residence, deputies also found a hydrochloric acid generator, which tested positive for the presence of the gas, along with approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine oil inside one of the “one pot” labs.
Both McGhee and Clarke were transported to the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola and will go before a circuit judge on Dec. 1. Both suspects are currently being held on $40,500 bond.
Working off an anonymous tip, deputies responded to the home of 44-year- old Mark Steven McGhee, where the meth labs were quickly located. Deputies arrested McGhee and 24-year-old Charissa Leigh Clarke and charged each suspect with production of methamphetamine, possession of a listed chemical with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trafficking methamphetamine.
Deputies described the “one pot” labs as “a plastic bottle with white sludge inside and a plastic tube attached to the cap.” Deputies reported at least one of the three labs to have been active. Each of the three labs was found inside a 20 oz plastic drink bottle.
Both suspects were taken into custody after deputies were allowed to search the home, where they observed “the distinct odor of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory” and items routinely used in the manufacturing of methamphetamines.
Deputy James Gilman cleared the home of officers and suspects after discovering a “bottle producing vapor from the tube” in the home’s utility room. Gilman said he recognized the item to be a possibly volatile component of a working meth lab.
According to police reports, McGhee told deputies he was a methamphetamine user and that he and Clarke had been manufacturing the drug inside the home. McGhee said there were still several grams inside the home and reported to deputies the remainder of the meth had been given to Clarke’s sister “Nicole” and another unidentified woman earlier Tuesday evening. McGhee also admitting to having sold methamphetamines on several occasions.
Clarke told deputies she had been asleep at McGhee’s residence. She admitted having knowledge of McGhee’s drug use, but said she was unaware he was manufacturing methamphetamines.
Inside the residence, deputies also found a hydrochloric acid generator, which tested positive for the presence of the gas, along with approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine oil inside one of the “one pot” labs.
Both McGhee and Clarke were transported to the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola and will go before a circuit judge on Dec. 1. Both suspects are currently being held on $40,500 bond.
- McGhee
- Clarke
Two arrested in shooting, stabbing case
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The mother of a 15-year-old party honoree has been arrested on assault charges. The charges stem from a shooting and stabbing incident that took place Sunday at the Masonic Lodge on Brennan Avenue. A second person has also been arrested in connection with the case according to Brewton Police officials.
Michael Johnson, 36, and Twolla Drakeford were arrested in as a suspect in an incident that left five people injured from stab and gunshot wounds.
Brewton Police Sgt. Steven Ferguson said Johnson’s arrest came after a lead pointed to him as the shooting suspect.
“We put him in a line up in Atmore and asked witnesses to pick who they believed the shooter was out of that line up,” Ferguson said. “Our witnesses picked Johnson out of the lineup and named him as the person responsible for the shooting.”
Johnson was arrested without incident Wednesday by Brewton Police and was charged with three counts of first-degree assault.
Ferguson said a search warrant was issued for Johnson’s home to continue the investigation into the case.
“The search warrant of Johnson’s home resulted in uncovering evidence we believe will be helpful in the prosecution of this case,” Ferguson said.
A second person was arrested in connection with the stabbing incident at the same gathering on Brennan Avenue, Ferguson said.
Twolla Drakeford was arrested in connection with the stabbing incident that left two individuals injured.
Drakeford was charged with on count of first-degree assault in connection with the case.
Ferguson said the investigation remains open and other charges are possible in the case.
The case that has put the two suspects behind bars took place at a party hosted by Drakeford for her daughter, Ferguson said.
“There had been an altercation in the building and it spilled out into the parking lot where the stabbing occurred,” Ferguson said. “At some point after the stabbing took place, shots were fired, leaving three people wounded.”
All of those injured were treated for their wounds with one Atmore resident taken by Life Flight to a Mobile hospital. His condition was listed as fair earlier this week. Other injuries were not life threatening, Ferguson said.
No information on bond for Johnson or Drakeford was immediately available.
Michael Johnson, 36, and Twolla Drakeford were arrested in as a suspect in an incident that left five people injured from stab and gunshot wounds.
Brewton Police Sgt. Steven Ferguson said Johnson’s arrest came after a lead pointed to him as the shooting suspect.
“We put him in a line up in Atmore and asked witnesses to pick who they believed the shooter was out of that line up,” Ferguson said. “Our witnesses picked Johnson out of the lineup and named him as the person responsible for the shooting.”
Johnson was arrested without incident Wednesday by Brewton Police and was charged with three counts of first-degree assault.
Ferguson said a search warrant was issued for Johnson’s home to continue the investigation into the case.
“The search warrant of Johnson’s home resulted in uncovering evidence we believe will be helpful in the prosecution of this case,” Ferguson said.
A second person was arrested in connection with the stabbing incident at the same gathering on Brennan Avenue, Ferguson said.
Twolla Drakeford was arrested in connection with the stabbing incident that left two individuals injured.
Drakeford was charged with on count of first-degree assault in connection with the case.
Ferguson said the investigation remains open and other charges are possible in the case.
The case that has put the two suspects behind bars took place at a party hosted by Drakeford for her daughter, Ferguson said.
“There had been an altercation in the building and it spilled out into the parking lot where the stabbing occurred,” Ferguson said. “At some point after the stabbing took place, shots were fired, leaving three people wounded.”
All of those injured were treated for their wounds with one Atmore resident taken by Life Flight to a Mobile hospital. His condition was listed as fair earlier this week. Other injuries were not life threatening, Ferguson said.
No information on bond for Johnson or Drakeford was immediately available.
11-11-11 brings hopes of good luck
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From China to New York, place your bets! Tie the knot! Make a wish!Friday marked the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011. Around the world, people celebrated the triple convergence of 11s with a splash.
Some 1,000 ethnic Chinese couples exchanged vows across Malaysia on a date viewed as auspicious and romantic. In China, a special "1111" train started at 11:11 a.m. on the No. 11 line in Shanghai.
"The numbers rhyme with one husband, one wife and one soul in Chinese and signifies a marriage that would last a lifetime," said nurse Pua Kim Giok, 25, who tied the knot with engineer Lee Chin Siong, 27. They were among 460 couples who got married at the popular Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.
Not everyone was smiling, however.
Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Great Pyramid of Giza following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11.
The authority's head Mustafa Amin said in a statement Friday that the pyramid of Khufu, also known as Cheops, would be closed until Saturday morning for "necessary maintenance."
The closure followed a string of unconfirmed reports in local media that unknown groups would try to hold "Jewish" or "Masonic" rites on the site.
Amin said all reports of planned ceremonies at the site were "completely lacking in truth." The statement did not say whether the rest of the pyramid complex, one of Egypt's biggest tourist attractions, would be closed to visitors.
In the U.S., the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., was planning drawings every 11 minutes for up to $1,111.
In Las Vegas, Clark County Clerk Diana Alba got ready for an onslaught of weddings. She was expecting the number of couples to surpass the crowd on 08/08/08 and equal the throng on 10/10/10. It may not, however, reach the turnout seen on July 7, 2007 — a date that consists of three lucky sevens.
"That was like the granddaddy of all dates," Alba said.
Bryan Savage of Oklahoma City was among those tying the knot on 11-11. He said the number 11 is meaningful to him and his fiancée, Tara Melton, because his birthday is in November and they met in November.
"It's just kind of cool and we didn't really want Valentine's Day or a holiday, but we just wanted something memorable," he said.
Plus, he said, it will be easier to remember his anniversary.
In Des Moines, Iowa, Dr. Ross Valone, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will refund any fees he collects from delivering babies Friday. In Bellevue, Wash., Jason Brown will open his new grocery store at 11:11 a.m.
Vikki MacKinnon, a numerologist in Calgary, Ontario, said she expected the day to be a "cosmic wake-up call."
"Eleven is a number of illumination and enlightenment, a number of insight, blinding flashes of the obvious, and a number of transformation," she said.
The Chinese have always had a fascination with number sequences.
And in a country where ages of first marriages are creeping upward, the 11/11/11 date represents six "bare sticks," a term for bachelors in Chinese.
And there are now more of them, with housing prices, focus on jobs and growing independence of young women meaning people are getting married later.
"It's just difficult for men to afford the housing prices nowadays, and traditionally in China that is the responsibility of the man his family. I feel a lot of pressure from this," said Zheng An, a 26-year-old employee at a solar company in Shanghai.
Some 1,000 ethnic Chinese couples exchanged vows across Malaysia on a date viewed as auspicious and romantic. In China, a special "1111" train started at 11:11 a.m. on the No. 11 line in Shanghai.
"The numbers rhyme with one husband, one wife and one soul in Chinese and signifies a marriage that would last a lifetime," said nurse Pua Kim Giok, 25, who tied the knot with engineer Lee Chin Siong, 27. They were among 460 couples who got married at the popular Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.
Not everyone was smiling, however.
Egypt's antiquities authority closed the largest of the Great Pyramid of Giza following rumors that groups would try to hold spiritual ceremonies on the site at 11:11.
The authority's head Mustafa Amin said in a statement Friday that the pyramid of Khufu, also known as Cheops, would be closed until Saturday morning for "necessary maintenance."
The closure followed a string of unconfirmed reports in local media that unknown groups would try to hold "Jewish" or "Masonic" rites on the site.
Amin said all reports of planned ceremonies at the site were "completely lacking in truth." The statement did not say whether the rest of the pyramid complex, one of Egypt's biggest tourist attractions, would be closed to visitors.
In the U.S., the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., was planning drawings every 11 minutes for up to $1,111.
In Las Vegas, Clark County Clerk Diana Alba got ready for an onslaught of weddings. She was expecting the number of couples to surpass the crowd on 08/08/08 and equal the throng on 10/10/10. It may not, however, reach the turnout seen on July 7, 2007 — a date that consists of three lucky sevens.
"That was like the granddaddy of all dates," Alba said.
Bryan Savage of Oklahoma City was among those tying the knot on 11-11. He said the number 11 is meaningful to him and his fiancée, Tara Melton, because his birthday is in November and they met in November.
"It's just kind of cool and we didn't really want Valentine's Day or a holiday, but we just wanted something memorable," he said.
Plus, he said, it will be easier to remember his anniversary.
In Des Moines, Iowa, Dr. Ross Valone, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will refund any fees he collects from delivering babies Friday. In Bellevue, Wash., Jason Brown will open his new grocery store at 11:11 a.m.
Vikki MacKinnon, a numerologist in Calgary, Ontario, said she expected the day to be a "cosmic wake-up call."
"Eleven is a number of illumination and enlightenment, a number of insight, blinding flashes of the obvious, and a number of transformation," she said.
The Chinese have always had a fascination with number sequences.
And in a country where ages of first marriages are creeping upward, the 11/11/11 date represents six "bare sticks," a term for bachelors in Chinese.
And there are now more of them, with housing prices, focus on jobs and growing independence of young women meaning people are getting married later.
"It's just difficult for men to afford the housing prices nowadays, and traditionally in China that is the responsibility of the man his family. I feel a lot of pressure from this," said Zheng An, a 26-year-old employee at a solar company in Shanghai.
A Conservative Guide for Good Governance
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By Kiki Bradley
Legislators at all levels face a challenge in making sure that their legislation and policies represent good governance which utilizes reason, common sense and first principles. Some common sense goals of politicians should be to limit the control of the government over individuals, allow flexibility for bureaucrats to meet measurable results and to terminate programs that fail to meet their stated goals. If politicians could employ some simple criteria, the government would work in a manner more consistent with the consent of the governed.
Below is a good, yet not comprehensive guide to protect the taxpayer through good governance.
First, the President of The Heritage Foundation, Ed Feulner, laid out some first principals for legislators in his book Getting America Right. The following six questions should be asked before a politician embarks on implementing an idea or creating legislation:
However, secondly once these questions have been addressed here are some supplemental guidelines for legislators and executives to consider including in any legislation as it moves forward through the governmental process: .
By Kiki Bradley
Legislators at all levels face a challenge in making sure that their legislation and policies represent good governance which utilizes reason, common sense and first principles. Some common sense goals of politicians should be to limit the control of the government over individuals, allow flexibility for bureaucrats to meet measurable results and to terminate programs that fail to meet their stated goals. If politicians could employ some simple criteria, the government would work in a manner more consistent with the consent of the governed.
Below is a good, yet not comprehensive guide to protect the taxpayer through good governance.
First, the President of The Heritage Foundation, Ed Feulner, laid out some first principals for legislators in his book Getting America Right. The following six questions should be asked before a politician embarks on implementing an idea or creating legislation:
- Is it the government’s business?
- Does it promote self-reliance?
- Is it responsible?
- Does it make us more prosperous?
- Does it make us safer?
- Does it unify us?
However, secondly once these questions have been addressed here are some supplemental guidelines for legislators and executives to consider including in any legislation as it moves forward through the governmental process: .
- Sunset Legislation – An end date provision should be inserted to every program. A program should cease to exist once that date is met unless the legislature proactively moves to continue it. One of the often stated problems with government is that the programs created by Congress live on in perpetuity. A sunset measure would make this very difficult to happen. An example of a time frame for a sunset would be anywhere from five to ten years after enactment.
- Measurable Outcomes – Specific measurements of success should be mandated as part of any new legislation by a date certain. No program is worth continuing if it never produces intended outcomes. Along with specific outcomes, the programs should have stated goals and purposes and timetables for completion.
- Penalties for Non-Success – If a program fails to meet its intended purpose or outcomes, there should be specific consequences that follow. Penalties could include such things as loss of a grant, a percentage loss of a block grant to a state, authority being given to another overseer, a probation period, immediate ending of the program.
- Pay for it — Any new policy or program that has a cost attached to it should be paid for within the bill or measure. Paying for it should never amount to new taxation instead it should come in the form of elimination of another program within the overall budget.
- Flexibility — Allow whoever administers the program (aside from the federal government) the flexibility of how to run the program. When welfare was reformed in 1996 it gave maximum flexibility along with accountability to the states and they were very innovative in how they restructured their welfare services. The caveat to flexibility is that it also must be paired with measurable outcomes and penalties for failure to meet those outcomes.
- No New Programs – The number of government programs should not be added to. Instead, take a current program or two or more similar ones and fold them in together. If you think they ought to have a new purpose, then add the new purpose to their description or use of funds. But never create an entirely new program. There are plenty of programs on the books that could be reformed to a new purpose.
- Grant Program Musts – In the event a program is administered in the form of grants to either states or directly to providers, the following policies should be included in the actual legislation:
- Measurable outcomes;
- Timetables for completion of outcomes;
- Consequences for failure to meet timetables;
- Pay grantees after they have completed their task . ie.“Pay for Performance;”
- At least 25 percent of grantees each year must be new grantees;
- A grantee must have at least 50 percent of its funding from private sources;
- A grantee must have at least 3 years of experience/operation before being eligible.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Dubois, Wyoming: America's Newest 6-Man Gem
To contact us Click HERE
12 Players, Count 'em, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.The last time I saw a football game in Dubois, the home team could barely field an eleven-man team. There might have been three to four reserves on the sideline, and anytime a team’s bench is that thin, there’s bound to be someone who is reluctant for any action—a five-foot, four-inch, 115-pound freshman in particular.
Beginning this season, for better or worse, the Dubois Rams are amongst Wyoming’s six-man ranks. Personally, I think it’s a good fit.
Unlike many “six-man towns” I’ve visited, Dubois is a big town. In the last census, they notched 971 residents. In my travels, six-man communities are typically between 200 and 300 residents. Yet, the high school enrollment (9-12) at Dubois is a mere 54, which is right in the ballpark of a six-man program. Might we draw up a theory or two from these numbers regarding Dubois and its residents? One: there are an unusual number of households without children. Two: Many of these childless households are retired folks. Whether I’m right or wrong in my novice demographic analysis here doesn’t really matter. What matters is the Rams have a great fan base to draw on, and should they continue in winning, I suspect attendance could be daunting for home games.
Despite moving down in class, Dubois has at least one outstanding item to improve upon. Most shocking to me was the absence of game programs. Just to be sure, I asked around. I’ve seen many football games over the years in some of the poorest and smallest school districts, but never have I attended a game where programs weren’t waiting for spectators at the gate. Hopefully this was just a one-time slip up at Dubois. Small town high school football has much charm in the things that are not present, but found in larger class games. I’d like to think that missing programs are not one of those charms.
PAT4 Rattlers, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As it turned out, program or no program, I was pretty stoked to be attending this particular game in Dubois, nestled up to the Wind River mountain range. My excitement had nothing to do with Dubois hosting their first home game as a six-man team or the fact that the Rams were ranked number-two and were about to battle Little Snake River, the number-one ranked team. Nope, it was because the game was on Saturday.
It’s been a lament of mine for years when it comes to attending Wyoming small town high school football games. In the past, if a game wasn’t on Friday night because a school didn’t have lights, they would hold their games on Thursday or Friday afternoons—never Saturdays like Montana—which was always extremely prohibitive for me working on Fridays. Even attending a game as close as Burlington (only 40 miles away) has required some conniving and/or sacrifice in the past. But here in the last couple of years (and maybe it has something to do with the formation of the six-man class), there are more games played on Saturday afternoons. So, I’m tipping my hat to the all the schools embracing Saturday games as well as the Wyoming High School Activities Association—I’m sure they’ve had something to do with this new scheduling trend too.
By the way, this particular game at Dubois was not only on Saturday, but at 3:00 instead of 1:00—providing even more cushion for travel time.
On a final and unrelated note… What are we to make of Tongue River’s woes? Playing in Wyoming’s 2A eleven-man class, the Eagles have forfeit their season because not enough kids signed up to play.Those students who did sign up are playing down the road with their 2A rival, Big Horn.
12 Players, Count 'em, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.The last time I saw a football game in Dubois, the home team could barely field an eleven-man team. There might have been three to four reserves on the sideline, and anytime a team’s bench is that thin, there’s bound to be someone who is reluctant for any action—a five-foot, four-inch, 115-pound freshman in particular.
Beginning this season, for better or worse, the Dubois Rams are amongst Wyoming’s six-man ranks. Personally, I think it’s a good fit.
Unlike many “six-man towns” I’ve visited, Dubois is a big town. In the last census, they notched 971 residents. In my travels, six-man communities are typically between 200 and 300 residents. Yet, the high school enrollment (9-12) at Dubois is a mere 54, which is right in the ballpark of a six-man program. Might we draw up a theory or two from these numbers regarding Dubois and its residents? One: there are an unusual number of households without children. Two: Many of these childless households are retired folks. Whether I’m right or wrong in my novice demographic analysis here doesn’t really matter. What matters is the Rams have a great fan base to draw on, and should they continue in winning, I suspect attendance could be daunting for home games.
Despite moving down in class, Dubois has at least one outstanding item to improve upon. Most shocking to me was the absence of game programs. Just to be sure, I asked around. I’ve seen many football games over the years in some of the poorest and smallest school districts, but never have I attended a game where programs weren’t waiting for spectators at the gate. Hopefully this was just a one-time slip up at Dubois. Small town high school football has much charm in the things that are not present, but found in larger class games. I’d like to think that missing programs are not one of those charms.
PAT4 Rattlers, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As it turned out, program or no program, I was pretty stoked to be attending this particular game in Dubois, nestled up to the Wind River mountain range. My excitement had nothing to do with Dubois hosting their first home game as a six-man team or the fact that the Rams were ranked number-two and were about to battle Little Snake River, the number-one ranked team. Nope, it was because the game was on Saturday.
It’s been a lament of mine for years when it comes to attending Wyoming small town high school football games. In the past, if a game wasn’t on Friday night because a school didn’t have lights, they would hold their games on Thursday or Friday afternoons—never Saturdays like Montana—which was always extremely prohibitive for me working on Fridays. Even attending a game as close as Burlington (only 40 miles away) has required some conniving and/or sacrifice in the past. But here in the last couple of years (and maybe it has something to do with the formation of the six-man class), there are more games played on Saturday afternoons. So, I’m tipping my hat to the all the schools embracing Saturday games as well as the Wyoming High School Activities Association—I’m sure they’ve had something to do with this new scheduling trend too.
By the way, this particular game at Dubois was not only on Saturday, but at 3:00 instead of 1:00—providing even more cushion for travel time.
On a final and unrelated note… What are we to make of Tongue River’s woes? Playing in Wyoming’s 2A eleven-man class, the Eagles have forfeit their season because not enough kids signed up to play.Those students who did sign up are playing down the road with their 2A rival, Big Horn.
A Montana Football Thoroughfare
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191 Stretch, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.The following was written last year, but was never finished and thus never posted. After a recent trek up U.S. Highway 191 recently, I was reminded again of the many drives up and down this stretch of highway—going back to 1999.
September 2010
Even though it was the last official weekend of the summer, a touch of autumn was already in the air. Earlier in the week I had noticed a smattering of yellow leaves here and there within the trees of town and now, as I was making my way through Bridger, Montana on an early Saturday morning, the bank clock told me it was 39 degrees.
Continuing on up the road and approaching Laurel, Montana, I was thinking about the “regularity” of these trips into Montana to attend the football games in the state’s various small and obscure towns. One of those regularities had to do with where I found my second cup of coffee for the morning—lately it has been the City Brew in Laurel, Montana, just before I jump on Interstate 90 and head east or west.
There were some great games that weekend. Scobey at Wibaux, Harlowton at Joliet, Ft. Benton at Chinook—even the Powell Panthers (my town) were undefeated and on the road in Buffalo to face the equally undefeated Bison.
Nevertheless, I choose to attend an off-the-radar game in Moore, Montana where the winless three-school co-op of Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap faced the Refiners of Sunburst who hadn’t notched a win either.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Driving toward Moore that day, I considered another regularity in these Montana junkets—U.S. Highway 191. I started wondering how many times I’d been up and down its asphalt—maybe three or four times a year over the course of some ten years adding up to 30 or 40 roundtrips. Was it possible?
Titanettes, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr. For the record, U.S. Highway 191 is the main north-south artery to access many of the places where small town high school football is played in Montana. Starting with Harlowton, other game locations I’ve attended in the 191-vicinity include Moore, Hobson, Stanford, Geraldine, Highwood, Centerville, Geyser, Belt, Fort Benton, and Denton.
For me, U.S. Highway 191 begins in Big Timber, Montana—a place that acquired its name from Lewis and Clark as they gathered timbers to build rafts for their float down the Yellowstone River. From Big Timber, 191 is pretty much a straight north-south run with nothing but the foothills of the scenic (and usually snowcapped) Crazy Mountains and wide-open spaces farther north. There are no other communities that warrant a reduction in the speed limit until Harlowton, approximately 44 miles straight up 191.
Making up for the lack of human activity between Big Timber and Harlowton, any given traveler at any given time is likely to see mule deer somewhere along that 44-mile stretch—most likely just beyond Big Timber. I refer to that section of highway as “Deer Alley.”
Years ago when I was on my way to attend a six-man game in Geraldine, I left Powell on a Friday night with a motel reservation in Stanford. I followed a duel-wheeled pick-up truck out of Big Timber that Friday night, but I didn’t keep up with him. Somewhere in the foothills maybe ten miles up the road, I came across a sight I’d never seen—the fresh, fragmented and scattered remains of what was probably a mule deer that could have doubled as a suicide bomber. I attempted to slow my vehicle down as it started sliding on the animal’s spilled blood frozen to the cold highway. Fortunately I managed to maintain control of my car despite the steaming carnage. I half expected to find a wrecked pick-up somewhere off the road, but there were no signs that it had even passed through nor did I ever see it again. From that point, I easily remained wide-awake, driving through the dark Montana night and on to Stanford.
On any given road trip, the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter is a steady diet for my ears. On this particular day, her song “Alone But Not Lonely” grabbed me like no other time in the past. Its cello stirred me while the singer’s soothing voice ached with a question of who I was in my solitude on Highway 191. On that particular day I could definitely answer that, yes, I was alone, but hardly lonely in these wide-open places of Montana.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Harlowton (or “Harlo” as some call it) might seem bleak in its first impression, but I have grown more comfortable with each visit to this football enclave. Whether camping in my truck at the rest stop/campgrounds by the rodeo grounds, or getting my morning cup of joe at the Snowy Mountain Coffee Shop, I seldom just drive through this community. Cruise down Main Street to the old Graves Hotel and you might find yourself fantasizing about purchasing and fixing up that historic landmark. Of course, Harlowton has been a terminal destination as well thanks to the Harlowton Engineers eight-man football team, and few football fields in the state are better illuminated than Harlowton.
Seven Bines in the Sun, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As you take the next section of Highway 191 out of Harlow, the Judith Gap Wind Farm awaits you. The highway splits the collection of giant turbines giving the traveler a feeling of smallness. The first electrical power started flowing from Judith Gap in 2005. Some might claim these monstrosities ruin the scenic value of such locations, but given a choice, I’ll take the clean symmetry of a wind farm any day over the chaotic and dirty clutter of equipment associated with a gas or oil field operation.
Past the wind farm and into the tiny town of Judith Gap, a milkshake is in order from the Judith Gap Mercantile if time permits and it’s the right time of day.
For me, something in the landscape… something in the world starts to change as you make your way north from Judith Gap. This is a magical place… a place where the sagebrush begins yielding to the winter wheat… where the light is different because the sun’s angle is lower.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Five miles off the highway between Judith Gap and Eddie’s Corner is the town of Buffalo with its five residents. If you have the time, have a look around this town that once was. It’s about as close to a ghost town short of actually being one. The old bank building and school are worthy of a visit—if nothing else to only stare and wonder.
Officially Highway 191 picks up again on its northern direction at Lewistown, but for me it ends near the town of Moore where it meets Montana State Route 200. This junction is known as Eddie’s Corner—named after the one business that provides round-the-clock meals, gasoline, a lounge and a handful of windowless motel rooms. Although Moore is not far away, it is out of sight, rendering Eddie’s Corner more like an outpost on the frontier.
Before embarking on my return down 191, I often have a meal at Eddie’s Corner following a Saturday afternoon game in the area and listen to the other customers talking about the various football games they attended that day from all over the state. Thanks to Eddie’s Corner, I usually know about the outcomes of two or three other football games before I ever read about them on the Internet or newspapers.
Two Roads..., a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr. I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. —Robert Frost
191 Stretch, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.The following was written last year, but was never finished and thus never posted. After a recent trek up U.S. Highway 191 recently, I was reminded again of the many drives up and down this stretch of highway—going back to 1999.
September 2010
Even though it was the last official weekend of the summer, a touch of autumn was already in the air. Earlier in the week I had noticed a smattering of yellow leaves here and there within the trees of town and now, as I was making my way through Bridger, Montana on an early Saturday morning, the bank clock told me it was 39 degrees.
Continuing on up the road and approaching Laurel, Montana, I was thinking about the “regularity” of these trips into Montana to attend the football games in the state’s various small and obscure towns. One of those regularities had to do with where I found my second cup of coffee for the morning—lately it has been the City Brew in Laurel, Montana, just before I jump on Interstate 90 and head east or west.
There were some great games that weekend. Scobey at Wibaux, Harlowton at Joliet, Ft. Benton at Chinook—even the Powell Panthers (my town) were undefeated and on the road in Buffalo to face the equally undefeated Bison.
Nevertheless, I choose to attend an off-the-radar game in Moore, Montana where the winless three-school co-op of Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap faced the Refiners of Sunburst who hadn’t notched a win either.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Driving toward Moore that day, I considered another regularity in these Montana junkets—U.S. Highway 191. I started wondering how many times I’d been up and down its asphalt—maybe three or four times a year over the course of some ten years adding up to 30 or 40 roundtrips. Was it possible?
Titanettes, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr. For the record, U.S. Highway 191 is the main north-south artery to access many of the places where small town high school football is played in Montana. Starting with Harlowton, other game locations I’ve attended in the 191-vicinity include Moore, Hobson, Stanford, Geraldine, Highwood, Centerville, Geyser, Belt, Fort Benton, and Denton.
For me, U.S. Highway 191 begins in Big Timber, Montana—a place that acquired its name from Lewis and Clark as they gathered timbers to build rafts for their float down the Yellowstone River. From Big Timber, 191 is pretty much a straight north-south run with nothing but the foothills of the scenic (and usually snowcapped) Crazy Mountains and wide-open spaces farther north. There are no other communities that warrant a reduction in the speed limit until Harlowton, approximately 44 miles straight up 191.
Making up for the lack of human activity between Big Timber and Harlowton, any given traveler at any given time is likely to see mule deer somewhere along that 44-mile stretch—most likely just beyond Big Timber. I refer to that section of highway as “Deer Alley.”
Years ago when I was on my way to attend a six-man game in Geraldine, I left Powell on a Friday night with a motel reservation in Stanford. I followed a duel-wheeled pick-up truck out of Big Timber that Friday night, but I didn’t keep up with him. Somewhere in the foothills maybe ten miles up the road, I came across a sight I’d never seen—the fresh, fragmented and scattered remains of what was probably a mule deer that could have doubled as a suicide bomber. I attempted to slow my vehicle down as it started sliding on the animal’s spilled blood frozen to the cold highway. Fortunately I managed to maintain control of my car despite the steaming carnage. I half expected to find a wrecked pick-up somewhere off the road, but there were no signs that it had even passed through nor did I ever see it again. From that point, I easily remained wide-awake, driving through the dark Montana night and on to Stanford.
On any given road trip, the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter is a steady diet for my ears. On this particular day, her song “Alone But Not Lonely” grabbed me like no other time in the past. Its cello stirred me while the singer’s soothing voice ached with a question of who I was in my solitude on Highway 191. On that particular day I could definitely answer that, yes, I was alone, but hardly lonely in these wide-open places of Montana.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
Harlowton (or “Harlo” as some call it) might seem bleak in its first impression, but I have grown more comfortable with each visit to this football enclave. Whether camping in my truck at the rest stop/campgrounds by the rodeo grounds, or getting my morning cup of joe at the Snowy Mountain Coffee Shop, I seldom just drive through this community. Cruise down Main Street to the old Graves Hotel and you might find yourself fantasizing about purchasing and fixing up that historic landmark. Of course, Harlowton has been a terminal destination as well thanks to the Harlowton Engineers eight-man football team, and few football fields in the state are better illuminated than Harlowton.
Seven Bines in the Sun, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As you take the next section of Highway 191 out of Harlow, the Judith Gap Wind Farm awaits you. The highway splits the collection of giant turbines giving the traveler a feeling of smallness. The first electrical power started flowing from Judith Gap in 2005. Some might claim these monstrosities ruin the scenic value of such locations, but given a choice, I’ll take the clean symmetry of a wind farm any day over the chaotic and dirty clutter of equipment associated with a gas or oil field operation.
Past the wind farm and into the tiny town of Judith Gap, a milkshake is in order from the Judith Gap Mercantile if time permits and it’s the right time of day.
For me, something in the landscape… something in the world starts to change as you make your way north from Judith Gap. This is a magical place… a place where the sagebrush begins yielding to the winter wheat… where the light is different because the sun’s angle is lower.
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Five miles off the highway between Judith Gap and Eddie’s Corner is the town of Buffalo with its five residents. If you have the time, have a look around this town that once was. It’s about as close to a ghost town short of actually being one. The old bank building and school are worthy of a visit—if nothing else to only stare and wonder.
Officially Highway 191 picks up again on its northern direction at Lewistown, but for me it ends near the town of Moore where it meets Montana State Route 200. This junction is known as Eddie’s Corner—named after the one business that provides round-the-clock meals, gasoline, a lounge and a handful of windowless motel rooms. Although Moore is not far away, it is out of sight, rendering Eddie’s Corner more like an outpost on the frontier.
Before embarking on my return down 191, I often have a meal at Eddie’s Corner following a Saturday afternoon game in the area and listen to the other customers talking about the various football games they attended that day from all over the state. Thanks to Eddie’s Corner, I usually know about the outcomes of two or three other football games before I ever read about them on the Internet or newspapers.
Two Roads..., a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr. I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. —Robert Frost
Winning With Gardiner
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End Zone Seats, Second Deck, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.It wasn’t in my long-term plan at the beginning of the football season, but I’ve seen the Gardiner Bruins play twice this year. Once in Harlowton, and the other day on their home field against Broadveiw-Lavina. Both times, the Bruins lost. In fact, over the years I’ve seen them play several times either away or at home, and I’m pretty sure, they’ve never won in my presence.
Perhaps for their sake, I’ll stop attending their games just in case I’m the cause. Yet, like all football teams, good and bad seasons come and go. No doubt, Gardiner will be a contender again before long—perhaps even notching another state title in a few short years.
Keep in mind, the Bruins did win it all in 1997 and have seen limited playoff action in recent years. So, it’s not like Gardiner has a bad gene pool when it comes to football players.
Regardless of the team’s win-loss record, Gardiner is one of the great places to watch a game. There are no lights, so almost all home games are played on Saturday afternoon with Electric Peak looming over the gridiron (weather permitting). Rumor has it, even bison from nearby Yellowstone National Park have been known to show up for a game. And after the game, you can get a great bite to eat at Rosie’s Café or wander in the Park for the remaining few hours of daylight… talk about a double feature.
As I get older, I find myself more frequently considering those places in the country where I might retire. Of course, one of my conditions is that it must be a small town and there must be a high school football team in the community. For those two reasons alone, Gardiner might be on my short list when it’s time to make that decision.
End Zone Seats, Second Deck, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.It wasn’t in my long-term plan at the beginning of the football season, but I’ve seen the Gardiner Bruins play twice this year. Once in Harlowton, and the other day on their home field against Broadveiw-Lavina. Both times, the Bruins lost. In fact, over the years I’ve seen them play several times either away or at home, and I’m pretty sure, they’ve never won in my presence.
Perhaps for their sake, I’ll stop attending their games just in case I’m the cause. Yet, like all football teams, good and bad seasons come and go. No doubt, Gardiner will be a contender again before long—perhaps even notching another state title in a few short years.
Keep in mind, the Bruins did win it all in 1997 and have seen limited playoff action in recent years. So, it’s not like Gardiner has a bad gene pool when it comes to football players.
Regardless of the team’s win-loss record, Gardiner is one of the great places to watch a game. There are no lights, so almost all home games are played on Saturday afternoon with Electric Peak looming over the gridiron (weather permitting). Rumor has it, even bison from nearby Yellowstone National Park have been known to show up for a game. And after the game, you can get a great bite to eat at Rosie’s Café or wander in the Park for the remaining few hours of daylight… talk about a double feature.
As I get older, I find myself more frequently considering those places in the country where I might retire. Of course, one of my conditions is that it must be a small town and there must be a high school football team in the community. For those two reasons alone, Gardiner might be on my short list when it’s time to make that decision.
A Miner Story
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Final Minutes, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.I’ve never seen Centerville lose… well, not until this year. In ’99 they defeated Denton at home for all the marbles and then I saw them come from behind against Hysham in the 2004 playoffs (when Hysham was an understaffed, but tough eight-man team). Then I witnessed the Miner’s miracle state-title victory over heavily-favored Wibaux in 2006 followed up by a 2007 regular-season game on the road in Sunburst. There might be another C-ville game I attended, but I can’t be sure.
However, as mentioned above, things are different this year. I witnessed a Miner loss at Power against the Titans a couple of weeks ago and then again, this past weekend in their first-round playoff game against top-seeded Fairview.
In deciding which of the sixteen Class C games (both eight-man and six-man) to attend in Montana this past weekend, it was a tough choice that had nothing to do with seeing a particular team play—it was about the matchups. I knew the number-twos versus the number-threes would provide the most promise of excitement, but I started looking at the number-ones versus the number-fours and reckoned that Centerville would be the best challenge for any number-one seeded team.
Of course, I looked right past the Mustangs of Ennis and their excursion to Superior.
Yet, somewhere in the back of my mind I ascertained that the day would come when I’d see the Miners drop a game, but certainly not two in the same season. Because of this (and other questionable logic), I reckoned that Centerville had a real chance in Fairview based on the above… and three other factors. First, Centerville looked tough at Power even though they were eventually overrun by the speed-prolific Titans. Second, I reckoned that the Warriors of Fairview had only been tested once—against Wibaux, and rumor was that the Longhorns weren’t completely healthy when the two Eastern Conference powerhouses faced off at the end of the regular season. Lastly, Centerville’s skipper is Ted Richards, a seasoned eight-man coach who can take a bunch of average athletes and transform them into state contenders in no-time flat.
Centerville Vista, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As it turned out, my logic fell a bit short. Centerville was dominated by Fairview from the get-go, and it probably didn’t help that the Miners started the first quarter working against a stiff Eastern Montana wind. By the time the first quarter was over, the Warriors had already racked up 28 points. (Driving back from Fairview Saturday evening, I found myself wondering how often coaches have instructed their captains to choose the wind direction over kicking, receiving or deferring when the coin toss is won.)
Despite my poor football logic, I feel pretty confident in saying that if Fairview can play their remaining games as they played against Centerville, it will take a monumental effort to defeat them—on their home turf no less. I’m a believer now.
The Future of Mining
In visiting with a few Centerville fans who made the long trip to Fairview, I was saddened to learn about the low student enrollment projections for future classes which means that Centerville might have to consider playing six-man someday. Typically, I don’t find such news too disturbing, but when a team like Centerville—an icon in the eight-man ranks—has to consider this scenario, it hurts a bit. That said, compared to no-man, six-man is always a nice alternative.
As I made my way down I-94 with this on my mind, I considered placing an advertisement in the Great Falls Tribune that attempts to persuade young couples with children living in the sprawling metropolis to consider the nearby “bedroom communities” of Centerville, Sand Coulee, and Stockett as great places to raise a family. This advertisement would also include an invitation to visit Coach Ted Richards about the football program.
Well, the good news for now is that the Miners are a young team. Of the 23 listed on the roster, 10 are sophomores. But, after that I’m told the numbers start dropping fast. Likewise, Fairview has a huge junior class with 13 juniors out of 24 on their roster. So, if the Warriors can’t be stopped this year, they might make next year look even easier.
I don’t like to cheer or favor any one team, but if a gun were held to my head and I had to pick one, Centerville would be way up there on my list. It’s a great location for a game as the gridiron is tucked away in one of the hidden coulees of the area and there are no floodlights, so home games are always on Saturday afternoons. Further, the Miners have always been a scrappy, no-nonsense team much like the Nittany Lions of Penn State.
The Last Play, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.Every team has their moment in the sun even if some get more exposure. But one thing is for sure, no school is always dominant—not even the (current) best known programs like Drummond, Wibaux, Denton or Centerville. Sure, they might remain competitive in most years, but despite the high-caliber coaches and steady flow of good athletes, none are invincible as we saw in Superior this past week. And like it or not, every school spends some time as a non-contender (even if some spend more time there than others). It’ll happen someday. One season in the future, a team like Shields Valley will win the state title while a perennial power like Wibaux fails to notch a victory. Hasn’t it happened already?
As fans of the game, the loudest cheer should not be for our favorite team, but for the small town football programs like Centerville; that they will always have a school with enough kids to field a competitive team. It’s a wish that goes on and on, and hopefully fulfilled even after we are all gone.
Final Minutes, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.I’ve never seen Centerville lose… well, not until this year. In ’99 they defeated Denton at home for all the marbles and then I saw them come from behind against Hysham in the 2004 playoffs (when Hysham was an understaffed, but tough eight-man team). Then I witnessed the Miner’s miracle state-title victory over heavily-favored Wibaux in 2006 followed up by a 2007 regular-season game on the road in Sunburst. There might be another C-ville game I attended, but I can’t be sure.
However, as mentioned above, things are different this year. I witnessed a Miner loss at Power against the Titans a couple of weeks ago and then again, this past weekend in their first-round playoff game against top-seeded Fairview.
In deciding which of the sixteen Class C games (both eight-man and six-man) to attend in Montana this past weekend, it was a tough choice that had nothing to do with seeing a particular team play—it was about the matchups. I knew the number-twos versus the number-threes would provide the most promise of excitement, but I started looking at the number-ones versus the number-fours and reckoned that Centerville would be the best challenge for any number-one seeded team.
Of course, I looked right past the Mustangs of Ennis and their excursion to Superior.
Yet, somewhere in the back of my mind I ascertained that the day would come when I’d see the Miners drop a game, but certainly not two in the same season. Because of this (and other questionable logic), I reckoned that Centerville had a real chance in Fairview based on the above… and three other factors. First, Centerville looked tough at Power even though they were eventually overrun by the speed-prolific Titans. Second, I reckoned that the Warriors of Fairview had only been tested once—against Wibaux, and rumor was that the Longhorns weren’t completely healthy when the two Eastern Conference powerhouses faced off at the end of the regular season. Lastly, Centerville’s skipper is Ted Richards, a seasoned eight-man coach who can take a bunch of average athletes and transform them into state contenders in no-time flat.
Centerville Vista, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.As it turned out, my logic fell a bit short. Centerville was dominated by Fairview from the get-go, and it probably didn’t help that the Miners started the first quarter working against a stiff Eastern Montana wind. By the time the first quarter was over, the Warriors had already racked up 28 points. (Driving back from Fairview Saturday evening, I found myself wondering how often coaches have instructed their captains to choose the wind direction over kicking, receiving or deferring when the coin toss is won.)
Despite my poor football logic, I feel pretty confident in saying that if Fairview can play their remaining games as they played against Centerville, it will take a monumental effort to defeat them—on their home turf no less. I’m a believer now.
The Future of Mining
In visiting with a few Centerville fans who made the long trip to Fairview, I was saddened to learn about the low student enrollment projections for future classes which means that Centerville might have to consider playing six-man someday. Typically, I don’t find such news too disturbing, but when a team like Centerville—an icon in the eight-man ranks—has to consider this scenario, it hurts a bit. That said, compared to no-man, six-man is always a nice alternative.
As I made my way down I-94 with this on my mind, I considered placing an advertisement in the Great Falls Tribune that attempts to persuade young couples with children living in the sprawling metropolis to consider the nearby “bedroom communities” of Centerville, Sand Coulee, and Stockett as great places to raise a family. This advertisement would also include an invitation to visit Coach Ted Richards about the football program.
Well, the good news for now is that the Miners are a young team. Of the 23 listed on the roster, 10 are sophomores. But, after that I’m told the numbers start dropping fast. Likewise, Fairview has a huge junior class with 13 juniors out of 24 on their roster. So, if the Warriors can’t be stopped this year, they might make next year look even easier.
I don’t like to cheer or favor any one team, but if a gun were held to my head and I had to pick one, Centerville would be way up there on my list. It’s a great location for a game as the gridiron is tucked away in one of the hidden coulees of the area and there are no floodlights, so home games are always on Saturday afternoons. Further, the Miners have always been a scrappy, no-nonsense team much like the Nittany Lions of Penn State.
The Last Play, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.Every team has their moment in the sun even if some get more exposure. But one thing is for sure, no school is always dominant—not even the (current) best known programs like Drummond, Wibaux, Denton or Centerville. Sure, they might remain competitive in most years, but despite the high-caliber coaches and steady flow of good athletes, none are invincible as we saw in Superior this past week. And like it or not, every school spends some time as a non-contender (even if some spend more time there than others). It’ll happen someday. One season in the future, a team like Shields Valley will win the state title while a perennial power like Wibaux fails to notch a victory. Hasn’t it happened already?
As fans of the game, the loudest cheer should not be for our favorite team, but for the small town football programs like Centerville; that they will always have a school with enough kids to field a competitive team. It’s a wish that goes on and on, and hopefully fulfilled even after we are all gone.
All-Stars Shine One Last Time
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Sticker Exchange, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.Unlike most football games of Class C nature, I decided not to take my camera equipment to the Bob Cleverley Class C Eight-Man All Star game this past weekend in Butte, Montana… although the gear was in the car had I changed my mind. “To shoot or not to shoot,” was something I’d been mulling around all week prior to the game and the final decision didn’t come until I surveyed Alumni Stadium on the campus of Montana Tech in Butte.
As expected, I found the setting to be an exalted version of what is typically a modest and humble game played in places like Centerville or Scobey—which is a key attraction for folks like me. Yet, the All-Star “shoot-out” in Butte, with its JumboTron and a cream-of-the-crop roster is OK—in the same way that the prom doesn’t represent a typical day of school. And besides, isn’t it always nice to give the students a taste of what it feels like to be important and dress up accordingly (assuming that is your understanding of high school proms)?
So, I just sat back and watched the game much like everyone else. I did use my camera phone a couple times (for the above image too), but no more than anyone else who had such devices in the stands. Here are a few things that came to me as I soaked up the night.
I’m not sure which side (the Red or Blue) was the more spirited, but I’m pretty sure the folks from White Sulphur Springs cheered the loudest for their all-stars Cy Williams, Keith Forkin and Tyler West (along with coaches Barry Hedrich and Pat Morris) whenever they were introduced or made a big play.
One might think that having the game in June is a bit “non-representational” of autumn weather, but give Butte credit for making sure the evening felt like typical fall weather (even if the sun didn’t set until the third quarter). I should have brought a blanket to wrap myself in while watching the game.
As far as the game’s outcome (which is probably the least important revolving around this event), the Blue (West/North All Stars) must have noticed a chink in the Red (East/South All Stars) armor as they took a seven-point advantage at halftime and ended the game with a 49-22 victory. Some may have been surprised given the Red included state champions Twin Bridges and and runner-up Fairview. Yet, this was a game of seniors only. And for all we know, perhaps the Red simply had more fun during their week of camp prior to the game.
As the game unfolded, I couldn’t help but think several times that this particular game would be the last game of organized football for many of these talented and athletic young men. So, it was gratifying to see five-foot-six-inch, 120-pound, Superior running back Matt Campbell slip into the end zone one last time despite the stiff opposition coming at him from all angles during the game.
Next year… I suspect there’s many of us out there who would like to attend both all-star games when it comes to Class C. So, why not hold the six-man contest on the first Friday of June and then have the eight-man game the following night. What a fun weekend of travel and football.
Sticker Exchange, a photo by mdt1960 on Flickr.Unlike most football games of Class C nature, I decided not to take my camera equipment to the Bob Cleverley Class C Eight-Man All Star game this past weekend in Butte, Montana… although the gear was in the car had I changed my mind. “To shoot or not to shoot,” was something I’d been mulling around all week prior to the game and the final decision didn’t come until I surveyed Alumni Stadium on the campus of Montana Tech in Butte.
As expected, I found the setting to be an exalted version of what is typically a modest and humble game played in places like Centerville or Scobey—which is a key attraction for folks like me. Yet, the All-Star “shoot-out” in Butte, with its JumboTron and a cream-of-the-crop roster is OK—in the same way that the prom doesn’t represent a typical day of school. And besides, isn’t it always nice to give the students a taste of what it feels like to be important and dress up accordingly (assuming that is your understanding of high school proms)?
So, I just sat back and watched the game much like everyone else. I did use my camera phone a couple times (for the above image too), but no more than anyone else who had such devices in the stands. Here are a few things that came to me as I soaked up the night.
I’m not sure which side (the Red or Blue) was the more spirited, but I’m pretty sure the folks from White Sulphur Springs cheered the loudest for their all-stars Cy Williams, Keith Forkin and Tyler West (along with coaches Barry Hedrich and Pat Morris) whenever they were introduced or made a big play.
One might think that having the game in June is a bit “non-representational” of autumn weather, but give Butte credit for making sure the evening felt like typical fall weather (even if the sun didn’t set until the third quarter). I should have brought a blanket to wrap myself in while watching the game.
As far as the game’s outcome (which is probably the least important revolving around this event), the Blue (West/North All Stars) must have noticed a chink in the Red (East/South All Stars) armor as they took a seven-point advantage at halftime and ended the game with a 49-22 victory. Some may have been surprised given the Red included state champions Twin Bridges and and runner-up Fairview. Yet, this was a game of seniors only. And for all we know, perhaps the Red simply had more fun during their week of camp prior to the game.
As the game unfolded, I couldn’t help but think several times that this particular game would be the last game of organized football for many of these talented and athletic young men. So, it was gratifying to see five-foot-six-inch, 120-pound, Superior running back Matt Campbell slip into the end zone one last time despite the stiff opposition coming at him from all angles during the game.
Next year… I suspect there’s many of us out there who would like to attend both all-star games when it comes to Class C. So, why not hold the six-man contest on the first Friday of June and then have the eight-man game the following night. What a fun weekend of travel and football.
4 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
News: Claudia Dodson VHSL Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award Winners Announced
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Charlottesville (June 29, 2012) - A record 34 high schools -- including Heritage, Park View and Tuscarora from Loudoun County -- have been awarded the 2011-12 Claudia Dodson VHSL Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award which recognizes member schools that have established policies and procedures that make sportsmanship a priority and an expectation within the school and school community.
“I consider this to be the Virginia High School League’s most prestigious award,” said VHSL Deputy Director Tom Zimorski. “It’s the only award that the entire school is graded on.”
There is no limit on the number of schools that might be recognized in a given year; selection is based on whether or not the school meets the criteria which utilizes a self-assessment checklist of 50 points relating to administration, coaches, student-athletes, cheerleaders, performance groups, student support, parents and spectators. The total score is then adjusted by deducting points for student-athlete ejections, coach ejections and inappropriate behavior at state championship events. Using the adjusted score, a school must score 90 percent or better to qualify.
The award was renamed in 2007 to honor the memory of Claudia Dodson, a VHSL Assistant Director from 1971-2002, who passed away in 2007.
This year’s award winners:
Bayside HS, Virginia Beach(3rd recognition)
Booker T. Washington HS, Norfolk(3rd recognition)
Central HS, Woodstock(1st recognition)
Christiansburg HS, Christiansburg(1st recognition)
Deep Creek HS, Chesapeake (6th recognition)
Eastern Montgomery HS, Elliston(3rd recognition)
First Colonial HS, Virginia Beach (11th recognition)
Frank W. Cox HS, Virginia Beach(12th recognition)
Grafton HS, Yorktown(3rd recognition)
Granby HS, Norfolk(1st recognition)
Grassfield HS, Chesapeake (5th recognition)
Great Bridge HS, Chesapeake (9th recognition)
Green Run HS, Virginia Beach(1st recognition)
Heritage HS, Leesburg(3rd recognition)
Hickory HS, Chesapeake (4th recognition)
King’s Fork HS, Suffolk(2nd recognition)
Lake Taylor HS, Norfolk(5th recognition)
Landstown HS, Virginia Beach(7th recognition)
Marion Senior HS, Marion(1st recognition)
Maury HS, Norfolk(4th recognition)
Middlesex HS, Saluda (6th recognition)
Norview HS, Norfolk(4th recognition)
Ocean Lakes HS, Virginia Beach(16th recognition)
Oscar Smith HS, Chesapeake (9th recognition)
Park View HS, Sterling(11th recognition)
Patrick Henry HS, Glade Spring(2nd recognition)
Phoebus HS, Hampton (1st recognition)
Princess Anne HS, Virginia Beach (11th recognition)
Salem HS, Virginia Beach(7th recognition)
Tuscarora HS, Leesburg(1st recognition)
Virginia HS, Bristol(1st recognition)
West Point HS, West Point (12th recognition)
Western Branch HS, Chesapeake (6th recognition)
York HS, Yorktown (4th recognition)
“I consider this to be the Virginia High School League’s most prestigious award,” said VHSL Deputy Director Tom Zimorski. “It’s the only award that the entire school is graded on.”
There is no limit on the number of schools that might be recognized in a given year; selection is based on whether or not the school meets the criteria which utilizes a self-assessment checklist of 50 points relating to administration, coaches, student-athletes, cheerleaders, performance groups, student support, parents and spectators. The total score is then adjusted by deducting points for student-athlete ejections, coach ejections and inappropriate behavior at state championship events. Using the adjusted score, a school must score 90 percent or better to qualify.
The award was renamed in 2007 to honor the memory of Claudia Dodson, a VHSL Assistant Director from 1971-2002, who passed away in 2007.
This year’s award winners:
Bayside HS, Virginia Beach(3rd recognition)
Booker T. Washington HS, Norfolk(3rd recognition)
Central HS, Woodstock(1st recognition)
Christiansburg HS, Christiansburg(1st recognition)
Deep Creek HS, Chesapeake (6th recognition)
Eastern Montgomery HS, Elliston(3rd recognition)
First Colonial HS, Virginia Beach (11th recognition)
Frank W. Cox HS, Virginia Beach(12th recognition)
Grafton HS, Yorktown(3rd recognition)
Granby HS, Norfolk(1st recognition)
Grassfield HS, Chesapeake (5th recognition)
Great Bridge HS, Chesapeake (9th recognition)
Green Run HS, Virginia Beach(1st recognition)
Heritage HS, Leesburg(3rd recognition)
Hickory HS, Chesapeake (4th recognition)
King’s Fork HS, Suffolk(2nd recognition)
Lake Taylor HS, Norfolk(5th recognition)
Landstown HS, Virginia Beach(7th recognition)
Marion Senior HS, Marion(1st recognition)
Maury HS, Norfolk(4th recognition)
Middlesex HS, Saluda (6th recognition)
Norview HS, Norfolk(4th recognition)
Ocean Lakes HS, Virginia Beach(16th recognition)
Oscar Smith HS, Chesapeake (9th recognition)
Park View HS, Sterling(11th recognition)
Patrick Henry HS, Glade Spring(2nd recognition)
Phoebus HS, Hampton (1st recognition)
Princess Anne HS, Virginia Beach (11th recognition)
Salem HS, Virginia Beach(7th recognition)
Tuscarora HS, Leesburg(1st recognition)
Virginia HS, Bristol(1st recognition)
West Point HS, West Point (12th recognition)
Western Branch HS, Chesapeake (6th recognition)
York HS, Yorktown (4th recognition)
2011-12 Sports Year in Review: Part 4
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This is the last of a 4-part series as Viva Loudoun editor Dan Sousa takes a look at the 2011-12 high school sports year in Loudoun
Spring 2012: Woodgrove Takes Softball, Girls Soccer State Titles; T&F Stars Shine; Tuscarora Boys Soccer, Broad Run Girls Soccer, Softball Fall Just Short of State Titles
Baseball
Freedom had won theregular season Cedar Run title finishing one game ahead of Osbourn and Patriot.
In the first round ofthe Northern Region tournament, Stone Bridge trailed Oakton, 3-0, in the bottomof the sixth before rallying for four runs with Mocabee stranding the basesloaded in the final inning to secure the victory. The Bulldogs then ran intoeventual AAA state champion Lake Braddock in the regional quarterfinals.
Potomac Falls (21-4)ruled the AA Dulles District in the regular season behind Dulles DistrictPlayer of the Year Jackson Rogers as the Panthers went 18-2 and claimed theregular-season title. Loudoun Valley (17-8), however, turned the tables onPotomac Falls in the district tournament, knocking off the Panthers 4-2 in thetitle game to end Potomac Falls’ winning streak at 18 straight games.
Max Hughes picked upthe win for Valley in the title game and Danny Pugh led the hitters, going2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.
Woodgrove (18-6)finished runner-up in the Dulles District regular-season with outfielder JoshSweet and first baseman Scott VanSteelant both named first team Region II as wwerePotomac Falls’ Rogers and Loudoun County DH Cabot Phillips.
Both Potomac Fallsand Loudoun Valley advanced to the Region II semifinals but fell short ofqualifying for States as the Panthers lost to Powhatan, 10-7, in a crazy 13-inninggame in Sterling and Valley lost to Monticello.
Heritage (11-13),like Loudoun Valley, returning to AA after playing up at AAA the previous twoyears, upset Liberty, 6-2, in the first round of the playoffs behind the playof Zack Hopeck, who had the win and the game-tying RBI and Dan Robinson’s 3-RBInight, but then the Pride ran into Potomac Falls in the regional quarterfinals.
Softball
In 2012, Woodgrove(27-2) returned to the state finals and this time it was all Wolverines asAllie Reid threw a 2-hitter at Radford and hit a home run for good measure tolead the Wolverines to the VHSL state title with a 9-0 win over Broadway in theone-sided title game.
Woodgrove’s statetitle was the ninth brought back to Loudoun since 2000 with Wolverine coach JoeSpicer collecting state titles in 2003 and 2005 at Loudoun Valley before heleft to start the Woodgrove program two years ago.
The Wolverines hadonly five seniors on the roster but they provided veteran leadership in keyspots with Reid and catcher Christy Haney a rock-solid battery; Amanda Rathjenat third and Courtney Bogan in the outfield were also anchors. Junior AshleyCole was the top hitter for Woodgrove and she clobbered a home run in the statesemifinal win over Abingdon.
Briar Woods (22-5)probably would have been in Radford challenging Woodgrove for the state titlebut the Falcons ran into Poquoson pitcher Maggie Tyler who not only held theFalcons to one hit in a 1-0 state quarterfinal win but broke up Macy Jones’no-hitter with a hit in the seventh inning that started the winning rally.
For Jones, Region IIPitcher of the Year and Dulles District Player of the Year, it was the end to abrilliant 4-year career that saw her lead the Falcons to the 2011 state title.She will play outfield next year for Penn State. Briar Woods went 86-18 duringJones’s reign.
It figured thatAshburn would send a AAA team to the Final 4 at Westfield High School but itwas a bit of a surprise when it was Broad Run (18-6), not Stone Bridge (24-3)advancing.
Both teams had wondistrict titles with Stone Bridge claiming the Liberty District and Broad Runthe Cedar Run District and both teams had won regional titles with Stone Bridgewinning the Northern Region and Broad Run the Northwest Region but the Bulldogshad gotten the lion’s share of the publicity on the season while the Spartansflew under the radar.
While Stone Bridgewas stopped by Patrick Henry-Ashland, 4-0, in a state quarterfinal in Ashburn,Broad Run, just down the road, was beating Hickory, 2-1, to advance to thestate semifinals with a clutch two-out hit by freshman Madison Smalls and aspectacular defensive play by third base Amanda Pugh in the seventh inning topreserve the win.
Both the Ashburnschools had exciting wins to take their respective regional titles with BroadRun beating Osbourn Park, 7-3, in 10 innings and Stone Bridge rallying forthree runs in the seventh inning to beat Oakton, 5-4. The Spartans season finallycame to an end in a 10-2 loss to Cosby in the state semifinals.
Stone Bridge was ledby the hard-hitting Sydney Broderick and Northern Region as well as LibertyDistrict Player of the Year, shortstop Niki Prince on the season, both juniors.Broad Run was led by outfielders Frankie Bellar and McKall Miller, both firstteam all region.
Woodgrove capturedthe Region II title by edging Briar Woods, 3-2, and the Wolverines edged BriarWoods, 1-0, to win the Dulles District title. The Falcons advanced to thedistrict finals after Jones lifted the team to a 1-0 win over LoudounCounty (17-8) in the semifinals with ashutout win and the walkoff game-winning RBI singles.
Stone Bridge won theLiberty District tournament with a 2-1 win over Madison. Broad Run, afterwinning the Cedar Run regular season, could not add the district tournamenttitle as the finals were wiped out by several days of rain.
Soccer
It was a 3-year epic journey, born in heartbreakat Loudoun Valley High School in 2010 when nine of this year's 11 starters wereunderclassmen on the Vikings team that fell in penalty kicks to Cosby in theAAA state semifinals, forged in bitterness when the first-year Wolverinesout-played Blacksburg in 2011 only to lose 1-0, and finally it ended in Radfordthis spring as Woodgrove brought home the new school's first ever state titlewith a 3-0 win over Dulles District foe Loudoun County.
It was the secondtime in three years that the AA state finals was an all-Loudoun affair asLoudoun County fell to Broad Run in 2009 during the Spartans 4-year run at thetop.
With a roster thatfeatures a dozen girls committed to play college soccer -- including sixjuniors and six seniors -- expectations were indeed high for Woodgrove thisseason and the Wolverines made good with a 24-0-1 season that included 23straight wins after an opening week 0-0 tie with Briar Woods.
For Loudoun County(18-5-2) it was a season in which the Raiders did everything they could do …except for beat Woodgrove as County fell five times to the Purcellville teamincluding losses in the Dulles District, Region II and then state title games.
Loudoun wasn’t juststrong at AA but also had powerful AAA teams as Stone Bridge (16-3-2) won theNorthern Region after a perfect 7-0-0 Liberty District regular season andFreedom (13-4-2) had the best season in school history, capturing the Cedar RunDistrict regular-season title on the final night of the season.
Broad Run (14-4-5),moving up to AAA from AA, suffered as many losses and ties during the regularseason than they did during their four straight AA state title from 2008 to2011 but the Spartans came together at the right time, upended Freedom in theCedar Run District title game, knocked off the metro area’s top team, ForestPark, in the Northwestern Region tournament, as well as surviving in penalty kickson the road in another win, and then shocked highly-ranked Kellam, ranked No.10 in the nation by one poll, in the state quarterfinals.
The incredible rundidn’t stop for the Spartans until the state finals when their magic finallyran out, just barely, as Cosby beat Broad Run in penalty kicks after 100minutes of scoreless soccer. Broad Run had advanced to the finals with a 1-0win over Deep Run on Darbie Kelley’s early penalty kick in the semifinals.
It was Deep Run thathad knocked off Stone Bridge in the state quarterfinals, stopping the run ofthe Bulldogs high-scoring junior forwards Ashley Herndon and Murielle Tiernanwith Tiernan being named the Washington Post’s All Met Player of the Year.
Broad Run senior ErinBrady and freshman Caroline Kerns, who had several huge clutch goals in theplayoffs, were named first team all Northwest Region as was Freedom’s MalloryUllrich.
The Woodgrove girlsroad to the state title was almost derailed in the state quarterfinals when theWolverines found themselves in overtime against Grafton but Ashley Bonnerscored two goals in the 10-minute extra time for the 3-1 win. Woodgrove thenshut out Blacksburg 3-0 in the semifinals while Loudoun County scored with threeminutes left to knock off Jefferson Forest, 1-0, in the other semi.
Loudoun County seniorforward Shauna Kain was named the Dulles District Player of the Year as well asthe Region II Player of the Year. Woodgrove’s Lucy Etro and Sarah Hardison werealso first team all region as was Loudoun County’s Alana Mackey and KelseySlack.
On the boys side notas many teams made deep runs in the playoffs but that didn’t stop Loudoun frommaking headlines in Radford as second-year Tuscarora (21-3-2), led by DullesDistrict Player of the Year Angel Ceron-Garcia, shocked Blacksburg, 4-1, in thestate semifinals and lost a close AA state title game to Jamestown, 4-3, in avery entertaining final.
Jamestown came downlate to beat Jefferson Forest and had to fight off a Tuscarora comeback in thestate title game. The Huskies were down 2-0 and 3-1 in the AA final but ralliedwith Ceron-Garcia scoring twice in a quick second-half span only to haveJamestown get the game winner with less than 10 minutes to play.
Freedom (13-5-2), ledby lanky striker Phillip McQuitty, had the best season in school history withboth the Cedar Run regular-season and district tournament titles before theyfell in the regional semifinals.
Briar Woods (18-4-2)finished the Dulles District regular season tied with Tuscarora and then theFalcons beat the Huskies in penalty kicks in a special playoff for thedistrict’s top seed. Tuscarora, however, beat Briar Woods in Ashburn in both theDulles District and Region II tournament title games. The Falcons ran intoJamestown into the state quarterfinals and saw their season, best in schoolhistory, end.
Woodgrove (8-7-2) didnot advance to the Region II tournament after Loudoun County (7-10-4) knockedoff the Wolverines in the district quarterfinals but the Wolverines had quite aturnaround from 2011 when they were 1-15 overall, finishing third in 2012 inthe district race.
Loudoun County andPark View (11-9-1) showed the district’s depth with wins on the road in thefirst round of the Region II tournament before falling in the quarterfinals.
Lacrosse
Woodgrove girls(15-4) taking the sectional title was not a surprise but it was a surprise forthe Woodgrove boys (15-6) as the Wolverines were the No. 3 seed coming out ofthe Dulles District, behind Briar Woods (16-2) and Dominion (13-8).
Woodgrove, now on aroll, then knocked off Dominion, 9-8, in Sterling to claim the sectional title.Dominion had advanced with a semifinal win over Kettle Run that was delayed byweather for three nights.
The Woodgrove girlsrolled through sectionals, beating Loudoun Valley (12-7), 21-11, and then LoudounCounty (15-6), 15-9, for the championship.
Both the Dominionboys, led by Brett Bushman, Nick Kierschke and Troy Farmer, and the LoudounCounty girls, led by Haley Knudsen, advanced to the state tournament where theyfell on the road to AAA Northern Region champions with Dominion losing toLangley 18-5 and Loudoun County to Oakton, 20-2.
The Broad Run boys(8-9) and Stone Bridge boys (8-7) were knocked out of the first round ofregionals in AAA play.
Stone Bridge attackDylan Maltz and goalie Jesse Southward were both named Northern Region firstteam.
The Dulles Districtboys lacrosse season was a very watchable close scramble all season with thedistrict tournament telling the tale: in the semifinals, Briar Woods beatLoudoun Valley, 11-10, in overtime and Dominion edged Woodgrove, 9-8, before atitle game won by Briar Woods over Dominion, 9-8, in overtime.
Tennis
Freedom boys, led bytop player Wesley Wong, claimed the Cedar Run District and Northwestern Regiontitles and advanced to the AAA Final 4 in Virginia Beach before falling.
Loudoun County boysclaimed the Dulles District season with an unbeaten run and advanced to theRegion II semifinals before falling. The Raiders beat Kettle Run in thequarterfinals, 5-1, but lost to Handley. Briar Woods, Dulles Districtrunner-up, beat Fauquier on the road, 5-1 in the quarterfinals but the Falconswere knocked out by eventual Region II champion Western Albemarle.
The Broad Run girlswon the Cedar Run District tournament titles before falling in Northwest Regionplay, claiming the school’s best season ever.
Woodgrove, anothergreat second-year program from Purcellville, rolled through the Dulles Districtseason unbeaten before falling in Region II play. Woodgrove beat Skyline in thequarterfinals, 5-1, but lost 5-3 to eventual regional champion WesternAlbemarle.
Wolverine seniorSunnie Lampl won both the Dulles District and Region II titles in singles and advanced to the state tournamentwhere she lost in the AA state semifinals. Lampl did not drop a set whiledefending her Region II title. She also repeated as Dulles District singleschampion.
Lampl and her doublespartner Lucia Jacangelo captured the Dulles District title with a perfectseason but fell in the Region II semifinals. Also falling in the regionalsemifinals were the Dominion duo of Dominique Huynh and Kate Gorbach.
The Broad Run girlsdoubles team of Mel Waterman and Clara Sartor finished runner-up in theNorthwest Region tournament to advance to the VHSL AAA state quarterfinalswhere the Spartan duo lost to the eventual state runner-ups, a team from Cosby.
Dominion’s Alex Chouwas unbeaten in the regular season, won the Dulles District tournament andadvanced to the AA Region II finals with straight set wins in the regionalquarterfinals and semifinals before falling Cam Scott of Western Albemarle, whoclaimed the state title in Radford.
Chou and doublespartner Jake Stapleton won the Dulles District title but fell in the Region IIsemifinals to Scott and his partner.
In the end it was theFreedom boys advancing deeper than any of the other teams in the playoffs witha win over Cox in the quarterfinals and then a loss to eventual AAA statechampion Deep Run, 5-2, in the AAA state semifinals. The state quarterfinal winwas par for the course for the Eagles on the season as Freedom blitzed Cox withWong, Alex Cragg, Brian Park, Varun Kulkarni and David Choi all winning instraight sets. Tin Nguyen-Phan was still on the court when the win wasclinched.
Track and Field
The Raiders finished with 48 points while Glassscored 50 with the state meet coming down to the final race as Loudoun Countytook third in the 4x400 meter realy with the quartet of junior Steven Graham,sophomore Nolan Graves, junior Patrick Joseph and senior Teddy Murphy turningin a 3:23.24 for a third place finish and six points.
That would have been enough for County to claimthe crown but Glass shaved almost 90 seconds off their seed time to sneak intosixth place and score a crucial three points that turned out to be thedifference. (It should also be noted that Glass picked up five points in thepole vault, an event that Loudoun athletes are not allowed to compete in).Woodgrove girls took fifth place.
Joseph had a double-title meet claiming the 800meters with a 1:54.41 and then the 1600 meters with a 4:15.71. Graham won the400 meters state title with a 49.01.
Heritage seniorMarcus Finney capped his great prep career in style with wins in the 110 meterhurdles (state record 14.10) and 300 meter hurdles (38.53) as well as a fourthin the 100 meters (10.98). Raider Murphy was third in the 100 hurdles (14.57)and the 300 meter hurdles as well at 39.08
Woodgrove's AtemNtantag scored a sixth in the triple jump at 43-10.00. Briar Woods seniorSchaefer Beardsley was third in the discus with a 149-09 heave.
Briar Woods senior Shaquera Leach finished herbrilliant career with a third in the 200 meters (25.31), third in the 400meters (56.99) and a sixth in the 100 meters (12.32). Raider Murphy
Woodgrove senior Anna Harpster took fourth inthe 400 meters (58.67) and fifth in the 200 meters (25.88).
Dulles District girls took three of the eighttop spots in the 800 meters with Woodgrove's Audrey Houghton second(2:15.19), Dominion's Bridget Rice third (2:18.94) and Heritage's Lisa Pallottaeighth (2:20.93). Rice also took sixth in the 1600 meters (5:14.09).
Houghton ran anchor on the Woodgrove winning4x800 meter relay team with Lydia Cromwell, Florence Thompson and AlexJuzbasich claiming the gold with a 9:33.80. Tuscarora claimed All-State with aneighth place finish by Jannen Hermann, Courtney Walker, Natalie Rosas and AnnWasko at 9:50.77.
Houghton, Thompson and Harpster teamed withsophomore Gaynor Houghton to take second in the 4x400 relay with a 4:02.94.Fauteux anchored the Potomac Falls team with Jessica Lee, Dominique White andTori Daczkowski to a fourth place finish at 4:05.93.
Tuscarora girls were strong in the field eventswith Madison Wells and Lori Kostka tying for fifth in the high jump at 5-00.Teammate Amirah Al-Bayyinah was third in the triple jump (36-10.50).
Potomac Falls senior Eileen Fauteux medaled inboth hurdles with a third in the 300 meters (45.72) and seventh in 100 meters(15.66). Tuscarora junior Takiea Edmonds was fifth in the 300 meter hurdleswith a 46.89.
At the AAA statemeet, Broad Run High School senior Jonathan Russell finished a brilliant prepcareer with a first place. Russell, who will run in college at South Carolina,ran a 37.95 to win the 300 meter hurdles by almost a full second. He was also9th in the 200 meters.
Also on the boys side, Stone Bridgesophomore D'Ante Yarborough finished fifth in the 110 meter hurdles with a14.56 finals.
The Freedom High School girls track and field4x100 relay team of Amanda Salami, Toni Fletcher, Asia Brown and CortneyO'Connell turned in a 48.66 to place 7th overall.
At the Region IImeet, the only thing slowing down the Loudoun County High School boys track andfield team from running to history were frequent weather delays at TuscaroraHigh school. When the all clear was given, it was all Raiders breaking the tapeas Loudoun County took six of the eight events on the track and finishedrunner-up in the other two as they won their first ever regional title goingaway.
Loudoun County, with juniors Graham winning the100 (11.00), 200 (22.29) and 400 (48.28) and Joseph winning the 800 (1:54.98)and 1600 (4:15.82), scored 84 points to finish nearly 30 points clear ofrunner-up Fauquier (56).
The 48.28 for Graham in the 400 was the loneRegion II mark to fall at the meet Adding to the Raiders point lode were seniorMurphy who won the 300 meter hurdles with a school-record 38.44, beatingrunner-up Heritage's Marcus Finney (39.28). Finney turned the tables in the 110hurdles winning with a 14.46 to Murphy's runner-up 14.58.
In the only non-hurdle track event no won by theRaiders, the 3200 meters, County finished 2-3 with seniors Josh Showalter andBruce McIntosh combining for 14 team points.
On the girls side, Woodgrove finished fourthwith 38 points.
The Wolverine girlsquartet of senior Houghton, senior Cromwell, junior Juzbasich and seniorThompson won the 4x800 relay with a finals time of 9:32.73 that clipped morethan 10 seconds off their season best time. Houghton and Thompson then teamedwith sophomore Gaynor Houghton and senior Anna Harpster to take the 4x400relay, this time shaving more than four seconds off their best time with a4:04.94.
Houghton was one of two Loudoun's individualgirls winners with a winning 2:15.04 in the 800 meters. Tuscarora's NatalieRosas won the 3200 meters with a 11:28.08.
At the district level, Loudoun County boys andTuscarora girls took team titles in the Dulles.
Loudoun County'sGraham swept all three sprints (100, 200 and 400 meters) and won the long jumpfor four individual titles. In one of the most exciting races of the evening,Graham nipped Heritage's Finney in the 100 meters, 10.94 to 10.96.
Finney had set the district meet record inprelims with a 10.91. Finney continued his record-setting ways with a 14.42 inthe 100 meter hurdles. Graham's time of 49.15 in the 400 meters was also adistrict record.
Briar Woods' Shaquera Leach swept all threesprints on the girls side including district meet records in the 100 meters(12.24) and 200 meters (25.07).
Potomac Falls' Fauteux ruled the hurdles for thegirls with titles in the 100 and 300 meters and a leg on the Panthers winning4x100 relay team. The 300 meters time of 45.83 was a meet record and assuredFauteux of family bragging rights as it eclipsed her older sister Nicole'sPotomac Falls school mark.
More meet records fell as Woodgrove's Houghtonturned in a 2:17.73 in the 800 meters and Tuscarora's Lori Kostka jumped 5-04in the high jump. Kostka was also on the Huskies winning 4x400 meter relayteam.
Joseph (winning 800 and 1600 meters) andShowalter (3200 meters) made it a clean sweep for the Raiders from 100 to 3200meters on the track. Murphy finished runner-up in both hurdles for the Raidersor else it would have been an amazing clean sweep for County in all individualevents on the track. Joseph and Murphy were also half of the Raiders winning4x400 meter relay team.
Amirah Al-Bayyinah helped Tuscarora win thegirls title with gold in the long and triple jumps.
Spring 2012: Woodgrove Takes Softball, Girls Soccer State Titles; T&F Stars Shine; Tuscarora Boys Soccer, Broad Run Girls Soccer, Softball Fall Just Short of State Titles
Baseball
Freedom had won theregular season Cedar Run title finishing one game ahead of Osbourn and Patriot.
In the first round ofthe Northern Region tournament, Stone Bridge trailed Oakton, 3-0, in the bottomof the sixth before rallying for four runs with Mocabee stranding the basesloaded in the final inning to secure the victory. The Bulldogs then ran intoeventual AAA state champion Lake Braddock in the regional quarterfinals.
Potomac Falls (21-4)ruled the AA Dulles District in the regular season behind Dulles DistrictPlayer of the Year Jackson Rogers as the Panthers went 18-2 and claimed theregular-season title. Loudoun Valley (17-8), however, turned the tables onPotomac Falls in the district tournament, knocking off the Panthers 4-2 in thetitle game to end Potomac Falls’ winning streak at 18 straight games.
Max Hughes picked upthe win for Valley in the title game and Danny Pugh led the hitters, going2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.
Woodgrove (18-6)finished runner-up in the Dulles District regular-season with outfielder JoshSweet and first baseman Scott VanSteelant both named first team Region II as wwerePotomac Falls’ Rogers and Loudoun County DH Cabot Phillips.
Both Potomac Fallsand Loudoun Valley advanced to the Region II semifinals but fell short ofqualifying for States as the Panthers lost to Powhatan, 10-7, in a crazy 13-inninggame in Sterling and Valley lost to Monticello.
Heritage (11-13),like Loudoun Valley, returning to AA after playing up at AAA the previous twoyears, upset Liberty, 6-2, in the first round of the playoffs behind the playof Zack Hopeck, who had the win and the game-tying RBI and Dan Robinson’s 3-RBInight, but then the Pride ran into Potomac Falls in the regional quarterfinals.
Softball
In 2012, Woodgrove(27-2) returned to the state finals and this time it was all Wolverines asAllie Reid threw a 2-hitter at Radford and hit a home run for good measure tolead the Wolverines to the VHSL state title with a 9-0 win over Broadway in theone-sided title game.
Woodgrove’s statetitle was the ninth brought back to Loudoun since 2000 with Wolverine coach JoeSpicer collecting state titles in 2003 and 2005 at Loudoun Valley before heleft to start the Woodgrove program two years ago.
The Wolverines hadonly five seniors on the roster but they provided veteran leadership in keyspots with Reid and catcher Christy Haney a rock-solid battery; Amanda Rathjenat third and Courtney Bogan in the outfield were also anchors. Junior AshleyCole was the top hitter for Woodgrove and she clobbered a home run in the statesemifinal win over Abingdon.
Briar Woods (22-5)probably would have been in Radford challenging Woodgrove for the state titlebut the Falcons ran into Poquoson pitcher Maggie Tyler who not only held theFalcons to one hit in a 1-0 state quarterfinal win but broke up Macy Jones’no-hitter with a hit in the seventh inning that started the winning rally.
For Jones, Region IIPitcher of the Year and Dulles District Player of the Year, it was the end to abrilliant 4-year career that saw her lead the Falcons to the 2011 state title.She will play outfield next year for Penn State. Briar Woods went 86-18 duringJones’s reign.
It figured thatAshburn would send a AAA team to the Final 4 at Westfield High School but itwas a bit of a surprise when it was Broad Run (18-6), not Stone Bridge (24-3)advancing.
Both teams had wondistrict titles with Stone Bridge claiming the Liberty District and Broad Runthe Cedar Run District and both teams had won regional titles with Stone Bridgewinning the Northern Region and Broad Run the Northwest Region but the Bulldogshad gotten the lion’s share of the publicity on the season while the Spartansflew under the radar.
While Stone Bridgewas stopped by Patrick Henry-Ashland, 4-0, in a state quarterfinal in Ashburn,Broad Run, just down the road, was beating Hickory, 2-1, to advance to thestate semifinals with a clutch two-out hit by freshman Madison Smalls and aspectacular defensive play by third base Amanda Pugh in the seventh inning topreserve the win.
Both the Ashburnschools had exciting wins to take their respective regional titles with BroadRun beating Osbourn Park, 7-3, in 10 innings and Stone Bridge rallying forthree runs in the seventh inning to beat Oakton, 5-4. The Spartans season finallycame to an end in a 10-2 loss to Cosby in the state semifinals.
Stone Bridge was ledby the hard-hitting Sydney Broderick and Northern Region as well as LibertyDistrict Player of the Year, shortstop Niki Prince on the season, both juniors.Broad Run was led by outfielders Frankie Bellar and McKall Miller, both firstteam all region.
Woodgrove capturedthe Region II title by edging Briar Woods, 3-2, and the Wolverines edged BriarWoods, 1-0, to win the Dulles District title. The Falcons advanced to thedistrict finals after Jones lifted the team to a 1-0 win over LoudounCounty (17-8) in the semifinals with ashutout win and the walkoff game-winning RBI singles.
Stone Bridge won theLiberty District tournament with a 2-1 win over Madison. Broad Run, afterwinning the Cedar Run regular season, could not add the district tournamenttitle as the finals were wiped out by several days of rain.
Soccer
It was a 3-year epic journey, born in heartbreakat Loudoun Valley High School in 2010 when nine of this year's 11 starters wereunderclassmen on the Vikings team that fell in penalty kicks to Cosby in theAAA state semifinals, forged in bitterness when the first-year Wolverinesout-played Blacksburg in 2011 only to lose 1-0, and finally it ended in Radfordthis spring as Woodgrove brought home the new school's first ever state titlewith a 3-0 win over Dulles District foe Loudoun County.
It was the secondtime in three years that the AA state finals was an all-Loudoun affair asLoudoun County fell to Broad Run in 2009 during the Spartans 4-year run at thetop.
With a roster thatfeatures a dozen girls committed to play college soccer -- including sixjuniors and six seniors -- expectations were indeed high for Woodgrove thisseason and the Wolverines made good with a 24-0-1 season that included 23straight wins after an opening week 0-0 tie with Briar Woods.
For Loudoun County(18-5-2) it was a season in which the Raiders did everything they could do …except for beat Woodgrove as County fell five times to the Purcellville teamincluding losses in the Dulles District, Region II and then state title games.
Loudoun wasn’t juststrong at AA but also had powerful AAA teams as Stone Bridge (16-3-2) won theNorthern Region after a perfect 7-0-0 Liberty District regular season andFreedom (13-4-2) had the best season in school history, capturing the Cedar RunDistrict regular-season title on the final night of the season.
Broad Run (14-4-5),moving up to AAA from AA, suffered as many losses and ties during the regularseason than they did during their four straight AA state title from 2008 to2011 but the Spartans came together at the right time, upended Freedom in theCedar Run District title game, knocked off the metro area’s top team, ForestPark, in the Northwestern Region tournament, as well as surviving in penalty kickson the road in another win, and then shocked highly-ranked Kellam, ranked No.10 in the nation by one poll, in the state quarterfinals.
The incredible rundidn’t stop for the Spartans until the state finals when their magic finallyran out, just barely, as Cosby beat Broad Run in penalty kicks after 100minutes of scoreless soccer. Broad Run had advanced to the finals with a 1-0win over Deep Run on Darbie Kelley’s early penalty kick in the semifinals.
It was Deep Run thathad knocked off Stone Bridge in the state quarterfinals, stopping the run ofthe Bulldogs high-scoring junior forwards Ashley Herndon and Murielle Tiernanwith Tiernan being named the Washington Post’s All Met Player of the Year.
Broad Run senior ErinBrady and freshman Caroline Kerns, who had several huge clutch goals in theplayoffs, were named first team all Northwest Region as was Freedom’s MalloryUllrich.
The Woodgrove girlsroad to the state title was almost derailed in the state quarterfinals when theWolverines found themselves in overtime against Grafton but Ashley Bonnerscored two goals in the 10-minute extra time for the 3-1 win. Woodgrove thenshut out Blacksburg 3-0 in the semifinals while Loudoun County scored with threeminutes left to knock off Jefferson Forest, 1-0, in the other semi.
Loudoun County seniorforward Shauna Kain was named the Dulles District Player of the Year as well asthe Region II Player of the Year. Woodgrove’s Lucy Etro and Sarah Hardison werealso first team all region as was Loudoun County’s Alana Mackey and KelseySlack.
On the boys side notas many teams made deep runs in the playoffs but that didn’t stop Loudoun frommaking headlines in Radford as second-year Tuscarora (21-3-2), led by DullesDistrict Player of the Year Angel Ceron-Garcia, shocked Blacksburg, 4-1, in thestate semifinals and lost a close AA state title game to Jamestown, 4-3, in avery entertaining final.
Jamestown came downlate to beat Jefferson Forest and had to fight off a Tuscarora comeback in thestate title game. The Huskies were down 2-0 and 3-1 in the AA final but ralliedwith Ceron-Garcia scoring twice in a quick second-half span only to haveJamestown get the game winner with less than 10 minutes to play.
Freedom (13-5-2), ledby lanky striker Phillip McQuitty, had the best season in school history withboth the Cedar Run regular-season and district tournament titles before theyfell in the regional semifinals.
Briar Woods (18-4-2)finished the Dulles District regular season tied with Tuscarora and then theFalcons beat the Huskies in penalty kicks in a special playoff for thedistrict’s top seed. Tuscarora, however, beat Briar Woods in Ashburn in both theDulles District and Region II tournament title games. The Falcons ran intoJamestown into the state quarterfinals and saw their season, best in schoolhistory, end.
Woodgrove (8-7-2) didnot advance to the Region II tournament after Loudoun County (7-10-4) knockedoff the Wolverines in the district quarterfinals but the Wolverines had quite aturnaround from 2011 when they were 1-15 overall, finishing third in 2012 inthe district race.
Loudoun County andPark View (11-9-1) showed the district’s depth with wins on the road in thefirst round of the Region II tournament before falling in the quarterfinals.
Lacrosse
Woodgrove girls(15-4) taking the sectional title was not a surprise but it was a surprise forthe Woodgrove boys (15-6) as the Wolverines were the No. 3 seed coming out ofthe Dulles District, behind Briar Woods (16-2) and Dominion (13-8).
Woodgrove, now on aroll, then knocked off Dominion, 9-8, in Sterling to claim the sectional title.Dominion had advanced with a semifinal win over Kettle Run that was delayed byweather for three nights.
The Woodgrove girlsrolled through sectionals, beating Loudoun Valley (12-7), 21-11, and then LoudounCounty (15-6), 15-9, for the championship.
Both the Dominionboys, led by Brett Bushman, Nick Kierschke and Troy Farmer, and the LoudounCounty girls, led by Haley Knudsen, advanced to the state tournament where theyfell on the road to AAA Northern Region champions with Dominion losing toLangley 18-5 and Loudoun County to Oakton, 20-2.
The Broad Run boys(8-9) and Stone Bridge boys (8-7) were knocked out of the first round ofregionals in AAA play.
Stone Bridge attackDylan Maltz and goalie Jesse Southward were both named Northern Region firstteam.
The Dulles Districtboys lacrosse season was a very watchable close scramble all season with thedistrict tournament telling the tale: in the semifinals, Briar Woods beatLoudoun Valley, 11-10, in overtime and Dominion edged Woodgrove, 9-8, before atitle game won by Briar Woods over Dominion, 9-8, in overtime.
Tennis
Freedom boys, led bytop player Wesley Wong, claimed the Cedar Run District and Northwestern Regiontitles and advanced to the AAA Final 4 in Virginia Beach before falling.
Loudoun County boysclaimed the Dulles District season with an unbeaten run and advanced to theRegion II semifinals before falling. The Raiders beat Kettle Run in thequarterfinals, 5-1, but lost to Handley. Briar Woods, Dulles Districtrunner-up, beat Fauquier on the road, 5-1 in the quarterfinals but the Falconswere knocked out by eventual Region II champion Western Albemarle.
The Broad Run girlswon the Cedar Run District tournament titles before falling in Northwest Regionplay, claiming the school’s best season ever.
Woodgrove, anothergreat second-year program from Purcellville, rolled through the Dulles Districtseason unbeaten before falling in Region II play. Woodgrove beat Skyline in thequarterfinals, 5-1, but lost 5-3 to eventual regional champion WesternAlbemarle.
Wolverine seniorSunnie Lampl won both the Dulles District and Region II titles in singles and advanced to the state tournamentwhere she lost in the AA state semifinals. Lampl did not drop a set whiledefending her Region II title. She also repeated as Dulles District singleschampion.
Lampl and her doublespartner Lucia Jacangelo captured the Dulles District title with a perfectseason but fell in the Region II semifinals. Also falling in the regionalsemifinals were the Dominion duo of Dominique Huynh and Kate Gorbach.
The Broad Run girlsdoubles team of Mel Waterman and Clara Sartor finished runner-up in theNorthwest Region tournament to advance to the VHSL AAA state quarterfinalswhere the Spartan duo lost to the eventual state runner-ups, a team from Cosby.
Dominion’s Alex Chouwas unbeaten in the regular season, won the Dulles District tournament andadvanced to the AA Region II finals with straight set wins in the regionalquarterfinals and semifinals before falling Cam Scott of Western Albemarle, whoclaimed the state title in Radford.
Chou and doublespartner Jake Stapleton won the Dulles District title but fell in the Region IIsemifinals to Scott and his partner.
In the end it was theFreedom boys advancing deeper than any of the other teams in the playoffs witha win over Cox in the quarterfinals and then a loss to eventual AAA statechampion Deep Run, 5-2, in the AAA state semifinals. The state quarterfinal winwas par for the course for the Eagles on the season as Freedom blitzed Cox withWong, Alex Cragg, Brian Park, Varun Kulkarni and David Choi all winning instraight sets. Tin Nguyen-Phan was still on the court when the win wasclinched.
Track and Field
The Raiders finished with 48 points while Glassscored 50 with the state meet coming down to the final race as Loudoun Countytook third in the 4x400 meter realy with the quartet of junior Steven Graham,sophomore Nolan Graves, junior Patrick Joseph and senior Teddy Murphy turningin a 3:23.24 for a third place finish and six points.
That would have been enough for County to claimthe crown but Glass shaved almost 90 seconds off their seed time to sneak intosixth place and score a crucial three points that turned out to be thedifference. (It should also be noted that Glass picked up five points in thepole vault, an event that Loudoun athletes are not allowed to compete in).Woodgrove girls took fifth place.
Joseph had a double-title meet claiming the 800meters with a 1:54.41 and then the 1600 meters with a 4:15.71. Graham won the400 meters state title with a 49.01.
Heritage seniorMarcus Finney capped his great prep career in style with wins in the 110 meterhurdles (state record 14.10) and 300 meter hurdles (38.53) as well as a fourthin the 100 meters (10.98). Raider Murphy was third in the 100 hurdles (14.57)and the 300 meter hurdles as well at 39.08
Woodgrove's AtemNtantag scored a sixth in the triple jump at 43-10.00. Briar Woods seniorSchaefer Beardsley was third in the discus with a 149-09 heave.
Briar Woods senior Shaquera Leach finished herbrilliant career with a third in the 200 meters (25.31), third in the 400meters (56.99) and a sixth in the 100 meters (12.32). Raider Murphy
Woodgrove senior Anna Harpster took fourth inthe 400 meters (58.67) and fifth in the 200 meters (25.88).
Dulles District girls took three of the eighttop spots in the 800 meters with Woodgrove's Audrey Houghton second(2:15.19), Dominion's Bridget Rice third (2:18.94) and Heritage's Lisa Pallottaeighth (2:20.93). Rice also took sixth in the 1600 meters (5:14.09).
Houghton ran anchor on the Woodgrove winning4x800 meter relay team with Lydia Cromwell, Florence Thompson and AlexJuzbasich claiming the gold with a 9:33.80. Tuscarora claimed All-State with aneighth place finish by Jannen Hermann, Courtney Walker, Natalie Rosas and AnnWasko at 9:50.77.
Houghton, Thompson and Harpster teamed withsophomore Gaynor Houghton to take second in the 4x400 relay with a 4:02.94.Fauteux anchored the Potomac Falls team with Jessica Lee, Dominique White andTori Daczkowski to a fourth place finish at 4:05.93.
Tuscarora girls were strong in the field eventswith Madison Wells and Lori Kostka tying for fifth in the high jump at 5-00.Teammate Amirah Al-Bayyinah was third in the triple jump (36-10.50).
Potomac Falls senior Eileen Fauteux medaled inboth hurdles with a third in the 300 meters (45.72) and seventh in 100 meters(15.66). Tuscarora junior Takiea Edmonds was fifth in the 300 meter hurdleswith a 46.89.
At the AAA statemeet, Broad Run High School senior Jonathan Russell finished a brilliant prepcareer with a first place. Russell, who will run in college at South Carolina,ran a 37.95 to win the 300 meter hurdles by almost a full second. He was also9th in the 200 meters.
Also on the boys side, Stone Bridgesophomore D'Ante Yarborough finished fifth in the 110 meter hurdles with a14.56 finals.
The Freedom High School girls track and field4x100 relay team of Amanda Salami, Toni Fletcher, Asia Brown and CortneyO'Connell turned in a 48.66 to place 7th overall.
At the Region IImeet, the only thing slowing down the Loudoun County High School boys track andfield team from running to history were frequent weather delays at TuscaroraHigh school. When the all clear was given, it was all Raiders breaking the tapeas Loudoun County took six of the eight events on the track and finishedrunner-up in the other two as they won their first ever regional title goingaway.
Loudoun County, with juniors Graham winning the100 (11.00), 200 (22.29) and 400 (48.28) and Joseph winning the 800 (1:54.98)and 1600 (4:15.82), scored 84 points to finish nearly 30 points clear ofrunner-up Fauquier (56).
The 48.28 for Graham in the 400 was the loneRegion II mark to fall at the meet Adding to the Raiders point lode were seniorMurphy who won the 300 meter hurdles with a school-record 38.44, beatingrunner-up Heritage's Marcus Finney (39.28). Finney turned the tables in the 110hurdles winning with a 14.46 to Murphy's runner-up 14.58.
In the only non-hurdle track event no won by theRaiders, the 3200 meters, County finished 2-3 with seniors Josh Showalter andBruce McIntosh combining for 14 team points.
On the girls side, Woodgrove finished fourthwith 38 points.
The Wolverine girlsquartet of senior Houghton, senior Cromwell, junior Juzbasich and seniorThompson won the 4x800 relay with a finals time of 9:32.73 that clipped morethan 10 seconds off their season best time. Houghton and Thompson then teamedwith sophomore Gaynor Houghton and senior Anna Harpster to take the 4x400relay, this time shaving more than four seconds off their best time with a4:04.94.
Houghton was one of two Loudoun's individualgirls winners with a winning 2:15.04 in the 800 meters. Tuscarora's NatalieRosas won the 3200 meters with a 11:28.08.
At the district level, Loudoun County boys andTuscarora girls took team titles in the Dulles.
Loudoun County'sGraham swept all three sprints (100, 200 and 400 meters) and won the long jumpfor four individual titles. In one of the most exciting races of the evening,Graham nipped Heritage's Finney in the 100 meters, 10.94 to 10.96.
Finney had set the district meet record inprelims with a 10.91. Finney continued his record-setting ways with a 14.42 inthe 100 meter hurdles. Graham's time of 49.15 in the 400 meters was also adistrict record.
Briar Woods' Shaquera Leach swept all threesprints on the girls side including district meet records in the 100 meters(12.24) and 200 meters (25.07).
Potomac Falls' Fauteux ruled the hurdles for thegirls with titles in the 100 and 300 meters and a leg on the Panthers winning4x100 relay team. The 300 meters time of 45.83 was a meet record and assuredFauteux of family bragging rights as it eclipsed her older sister Nicole'sPotomac Falls school mark.
More meet records fell as Woodgrove's Houghtonturned in a 2:17.73 in the 800 meters and Tuscarora's Lori Kostka jumped 5-04in the high jump. Kostka was also on the Huskies winning 4x400 meter relayteam.
Joseph (winning 800 and 1600 meters) andShowalter (3200 meters) made it a clean sweep for the Raiders from 100 to 3200meters on the track. Murphy finished runner-up in both hurdles for the Raidersor else it would have been an amazing clean sweep for County in all individualevents on the track. Joseph and Murphy were also half of the Raiders winning4x400 meter relay team.
Amirah Al-Bayyinah helped Tuscarora win thegirls title with gold in the long and triple jumps.
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