DC – Washington Catholic Athletic Conference | Archive | September, 2008

To the DigitalSports community:

DigitalSports has evolved substantially over the past year, and as we continue to grow we strive to offer you the most in-depth reporting of high school and youth sports in the greater Washington, D.C. region.

In doing so, we have received innumerable suggestions and requests from the community on how to further promote area athletics and how to provide long overdue services to those who participate in and enjoy them.

In the coming days and weeks, DigitalSports will evolve again to meet those requests.

We will be overhauling our video players and distribution methods so our content staff can maximize the diversity of covered events and – ultimately – allow for downloadable video content for players, parents, coaches and recruiters.

Due to these changes, no new video content will available for the next 48 to 72 hours. That includes both game clips and produced recap shows. However, during the transition, all previously provided coverage will be available for your enjoyment.

The DigitalSports content team sincerely thanks all of those who frequent these pages. It is because of your unbelievable dedication that these exciting advancements are both possible and necessary.

Signed,

The Washington, D.C. content team:

Angela Watts        Assistant General Manager
Dan Sousa             Senior Content Manager
Phil Murphy          Senior Multimedia/ Content Manager
Andy States          Content Manager  — SMAC
Ryan Mink             Content Manager  — WCAC, Montgomery County
Jimmy Thomas      Content Manager  — Northern Region
Paul Frommelt       Content Manager  — Prince William
Alysia Deem          Content Manager  — Loudoun County
Eric Gilmore           Content Manager  — Prince George’s

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Cross Country coverage sponsored by Potomac River Running

**Video Below Includes Preview of Oatlands Course!**

By Dan Sousa & Alysia Deem
LoudounPrepSports.com

Leesburg, VA (Sept. 18, 2008) – When the Oatlands Invitational started back in 2005 it was a respectable race with 40 teams, mostly from the Northern Virginia area. After 2006 meet organizers mailed out 100 CDs of the race to top programs around the country and the result was that in 2007 more than 70 teams competed, including the nationally-ranked Saratoga Springs girls from New York.

The field has expanded to even greater proportions for 2008 as 101 teams, even a squad from Colorado, will take to the 5K course this Saturday Sept. 20 on the historic grounds of the Oatlands Plantation outside of Leesburg in Loudoun County.

Saratoga Springs is back to defend its girls title against teams from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado and the District of Columbia. On the boys side, the meet features eight of the top 10 teams ranked by www.milestat.com in the state of Virginia, including Oakton, Thomas Jefferson, Atlee, Potomac Falls, Western Albemarle, Robinson and Mountain View.

The meet, hosted by Freedom (South Riding) and Loudoun County high schools, is expected to draw nearly 4,400 athletes, making it one of the largest cross country meets on the East Coast and one of the largest single high school sporting events in the state of Virginia.

The course (see below for an exclusive video preview) is mostly grass, with rolling hills, some wooded trails, and two creek crossings. Runners can expect some short hills with sharp inclines.

Interestingly Northern Virginia boys have claimed the individual title all three years but all three girls titles have come from out of state runners.

Admission is $5 per car and the spectator-friendly course requires very little walking to watch the action which gets underway at 9 a.m. with the JV Underclassmen Girls Race (unlimited runners). The rest of the schedule includes:

9:45 JV Underclassmen Boys Race (unlimited runners)
10:25 JV Upperclassmen Girls Race (unlimited runners)
11:05 JV Upperclassmen Boys Race (unlimited runners)
11:45 Varsity Girls B Race (7 runners per team)
12:25 Varsity Boys B Race (7 runners per team)
1:05 Varsity Girls A Race (7 runners per team)
1:45 Varsity Boys A Race (7 runners per team)
2:30 Awards (medals given to top 25 individudals in each race. Top three teams in Varsity A races and top two teams in Varsity B and JV races receive trophies)

2007 Results
Boys team: 1, Thomas Jefferson. 2, Robinson. 3, Potomac Falls. 4, Woodson. 5, University (MD).
Girls team: 1, Saratoga Springs (NY). 2, University (MD). 3, Millbrook. 4, Herndon. 5, Walt Whitman (MD).
Boys Individual: Brad Kenimer (T.C. Williams) 16:00.04
Girls Individual: Hannah Davidson (Saratoga Springs NY) 18:04.96

2006 Results
Boys team: 1, Mountain View. 2, Walt Whitman (MD). 3, Sherwood (MD). 4, Heritage. 5, Robinson.
Girls team: 1, Lake Braddock. 2, Langley. 3, Westfield. 4, Brooke Point. 5, University(MD).
Boys Individual: Brad Kenimer (T.C. Williams) 16:13.85
Girls Individual: Amber Rilery (University MD) 19:03.07

2005 Results
Boys team: 1, Clarke County. 2, North Stafford. 3, Herndon. 4, Osbourn Park. 5, Chantilly.
Girls team: 1, Northwest (MD). 2, Westfield. 3, Clarke County. 4, Brooke Point. 5, Lake Braddock.
Boys Individual: Abraham Daganchew (Herndon) 15:45.96
Girls Individual: Brittany Copeland (Brooke Point) 19:04.94

2008 Schools Attending
Annandale
Atlee (boys #4 state VA)
Battlefield HS
Bishop Ireton
Brentsville (girls #8 state VA)
Briar Woods
Broad Run
Brooke Point
Burrell (PA)
C.D. Hylton
Catoctin HS (MD)
Centreville
Chantilly
Charlottesville
Clarke County
Clover Hill
Corning East (NY)
Cosby
Dominion HS
Eastern Mennonite

Edmund Burke
Elizabeth Seton High School
Elkins (WV)
Falls Church
Fredericksburg Academy
Freedom (South Riding)
Gar-field
George C. Marshall
Georgetown Prep (MD)
Gonzaga (DC)
Good Counsel (MD)
Governor Thomas Johnson HS (MD)
Grandview High School (Colorado)
Harrisonburg
Heritage (Leesburg)
Hermitage
Herndon (#5 girls state VA)
Holton-Arms School (MD)
Holy Cross Academy (MD)
James Madison

James Monroe
James Wood
John Handley
Kettle Run
Langley
Lee-Davis
Liberty HS
Linganore (MD)
Loudoun County
Loudoun Valley HS
Louisa
Manassas Park
McLean
Middletown (Girls) (MD)
Millbrook
Monticello
Mount Vernon
Mountain View (boys #10 state VA)
North Stafford
Northwest HS (MD)

Northwood (MD)
Notre Dame Academy (VA)
Oakton (#2 state VA) (girls #7 state VA)
Osbourn HS
Osbourn Park
Park View
Paul VI
Potomac Falls (boys #5 state VA)
Potomac HS
Quince Orchard (MD)
Riverview (PA)
Robert E. Lee (Springfield, VA)
Robinson HS (boys #7 state VA)
Roland Park Country School (MD)
Saratoga Springs (NY)
Sherando
Sherwood
South Lakes
Spotswood
St. John’s (MD)

Stafford
Stone Bridge
Strasburg
T.C. Williams
Thomas Jefferson S & T (boys #3 state VA) (girls #3 state VA)
Trinity School at Meadow View
Turner Ashby
Wakefield
Walkersville HS (MD)
Walt Whitman (MD)
Washington HS (WV)
Washington-Lee HS
West Potomac
West Springfield
Western Albemarle (boys #6 state VA)
Westfield
Williamsports HS (MD)
Winston Churchill (MD)
Woodbridge
Yorktown

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

Are you a weekend high school, youth or community sports media warrior?  If you are taking photos or videos and would like to display them here on the DigitalSports D.C. Metro website, then FanShare is for you!

Getting started with FanShare is easy:

Step 1:  Capture your favorite sports moments in PHOTOS, VIDEOS, ARTICLES, or all three!

Step 2:  Send us your media.

Step 3:  A DigitalSports D.C. Metro FanShare Referee will review your media.

Step 4:  You will be contacted so that we can verify your information.

Step 5:  Upon verification, your media will be posted to the DigitalSports D.C. Metro website and/or its sub-sites.

Step 6:  Show all of your friends and family how great your media is!

Now, let’s break down each step in a little more detail:

Steps 1 and 2

Photos: There are hundreds of digital cameras out there!  Most however, allow you to take photos in the .jpg format.  This is a good thing, because this is the format we need your photos to be in.  Also, please keep your file size to under 10 mb per photo.  If you’re not sure how big your file sizes are, send one photo to us and we can let you know if you’re on the right track.  Lastly…tell us about your photos!  You can give each a caption or your can tell us in a paragraph or two what they are all about. 

Video:  Video is a bit more complicated, but you’ll be happy to know that we do accept most all types of video files.  If you are an advanced user and can send us files in a .flv format, then please send us those files.  If, like most people, you don’t know the difference between a .avi and a .mpg, then just send us what you have and we’ll work with you to streamline the process.  As with photos, please tell us what the video is!  What game or event is it from?  Who’s in it?  What’s happening in the video?  Let us know!

Stories:  All you have to do to get us a story is…send us your story!  Either attach a word document or write it right in the email itself.

Regardless of what you send, please tell us about YOU.  Please include your name, phone number, what team you represent (if applicable), etc.  We will need to contact you for verification purposes.

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO SEND YOUR CONTENT.

Steps 3 and 4

The rules are simple – keep your media clean and fun and it will be posted!  Your media will be reviewed by a DigitalSports D.C. Metro FanShare Referee, and they do this to 1) check for improper footage and 2) check to make sure the formats are correct and usable.  If your content is usable (which we’re sure it will be since you took the time to shoot it and send it!), we will then contact you to verify your identity and to let you know your content has been approved.

Steps 5 and 6

Your content will then be posted into all of the appropriate places and we’ll let you know where those places are.  When you see your content online you’ll be able to share it with everyone by using the Share Features that are available throughout the website.

HOW TO SEND YOUR CONTENT:

Sending your content is easy!  All you have to do is send us an email at dcfanshare@digitalsports.com and attach your media.

Please be sure to read the Terms of Use below, because when you send media you are agreeing to these Terms.  

TERMS OF USE:

Grant of Irrevocable License.  By submitting an Article, Photo and/or Video file to DigitalSports, you grant DigitalSports the irrevocable world-wide right to use , reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and display the Article, Photo, and/or Video, in whole, or in part, on the DigitalSports website; and  to distribute  to any of our third-party content partners for distribution to their audiences and to the public such Article, Photo and/or Video.   This includes, but is not limited to distribution in online (internet) or offline vehicles such as printed publications, internal promotions, and television broadcasts.

Representations and Warranties.  By submitting an Article, Photo and/or Video you represent and warrant that:

(i)    You are the sole owner of all rights to the Article, Photo and/or Video, and that the Article, Photo, and/or Video is your original work.
(ii)   The Article, Photo and/or Video (including audio track) does not violate any copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary rights of any third party, including privacy and publicity rights.
(iii)  You have all necessary permissions from all participants, if any, appearing in the Photo and/or Video, and you are not, and will not be, violating your obligations or any rights of any third party by submitting the Photo and/or Video.

Right to Selectively Distribute.  We reserve the right in our sole and absolute discretion  to post, not post, remove, and selectively distribute any Article, Photo and/or Video for any reason at any time.

Limitation of Liability. DigitalSports shall not be liable to you or any third parties forany direct, indirect, special, consequential, punitive damages or any damages whatsoever, even if advised of the possibility of such damages, allegedly sustained or arising out of the Article, Photo and/or Video submission, your use or reliance on the DigitalSports website or any of the information or
materials available in connection with DigitalSports FanShare, regardless of the type of claim or the nature of the cause of action.

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington, D.C.

** Re-live the entire game in 10 minutes with the video player below. Also, watch post-game interviews from Thursday.**

Click here for the photo gallery from Thursday’s game.

Good Counsel Coach Kelly Stodter may have unlocked the key to defeating a Bethesda-Chevy Chase team that has appeared in 19 of the past 21 Maryland state championship games: socks and a basketball court.

The Falcons practice indoors an hour every day on hardwood courts with socks over their sticks to improve stick-handling and passing on the fast surface. And their speed and athleticism played significant roles in the 2-1 road win over the legendary Barons on Thursday.

“Since August 15, we’ve been inside doing these special drills – box drills – on a basketball court with socks on our sticks,” explained Stodter, whose Falcons have won five of the last seven WCAC titles. “The velocity is so much faster and the stick has to be so much faster. And then you develop an off hand.

“When you’re doing nothing but all these drills on a basketball court, it’s nothing but click, click, click. If at Good Counsel we’re inside, it’s fast, fast, fast. Then we go outside, it’s Kentucky Bluegrass and it’s very, very slow. If we keep doing [that], they’ll grow and grow and grow as players.”

Added junior Shannon Lechner: “Our stick skills were a little bit rusty from playing summer lacrosse, soccer and swimming. The ball is a lot faster in the gym, obviously. It increases our stick skills. Taking care of the ball a lot quicker, it really helped on a field like this today.”

But at half time, the score was tied at 1 and it was Bethesda-Chevy Chase who had the visible possession advantage, having taken six penalty corners to Good Counsel’s one.

The Falcons, however, capitalized when it counted. They drew a penalty stroke with 9 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the second half.

Lechner, the team’s leading scorer, is one of many Falcons who have voluntarily stayed after practice to work on penalty strokes. She stepped to the spot and calmly flipped the ball past the outstretched glove of senior goalkeeper Claire Veith for the game-winning goal.

“You never know when you’re going to [take a stroke],” Lechner said. “We had to go into strokes in overtime against Holy Cross last year. It’s probably the most nerve-wracking part of field hockey. You’re all by yourself.

“It’s all mental. I was just praying that it would go in, that all my hard work and practicing would pay off. We wanted it really bad.”
 
Added Stodter: “She scored on the right pipe; the right post. And that’s the weak side of the goalie because it’s her left foot. So yesterday, I kept saying, ‘I’ll give you a dollar’ — but I was kidding — ‘if you get it inside that right post.’ And that’s exactly where she scored.”

The Falcons dropped a forward back as a second sweeper and survived the Baron onslaught over the final minutes. But Good Counsel forced to do so without senior midfielder Monica Baumgartner, an All-American lacrosse player and one of the team’s best on-the-ball defenders.

With 4:36 remaining, an errant Bethesda pass struck Baumgartner above the left eye and, after a moment, she had to be helped from the field.

“She’s about to get stitches,” said Stodter. “She got stitches the last time we played this team, right in the chin. She’s a tough kid and she was not supposed to play today. She didn’t start. She has a sore shoulder and was not supposed to play, but when they scored the first goal, she insisted on going in.

“And she didn’t come out until she took a ball.”

Added sophomore Kelly Lechner, who scored the Falcons’ first goal: “She planned on not playing this game, but being a team captain, she wanted to pull through for her team and she ends up getting hit in the eye … She’s our best player.”

This game is the first of a grueling stretch for Good Counsel (1-0) and Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Both the Falcons and Barons play a non-conference schedule to open the season that looks more like a state playoff bracket.

Good Counsel will play Seton tomorrow before taking on rival Holy Cross on Tuesday and St. Mary’s Ryken on Thursday.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase (1-1), which has only lost 29 times in Amy Wood’s 15-plus seasons as head coach, faces both halves of last year’s Maryland 4A final – Severna Park and Quince Orchard – in a double-header on Saturday.

“We were out-athleted today,” said Wood (222-29-5 all-time), who only returns three starters from last year’s Maryland 3A state runner-up. “We were out of gas and out-athleted. … We had opportunities and we never took any shots in the circle. They had far fewer opportunities inside the 25, but they probably got more shots off than us.

“[Our girls] have to decide if they want it. They didn’t go in with the mentality to get every ball and Good Counsel did. … They have to decide because we’re playing two pretty good teams on Saturday and they have to have the upstairs mentality.”

E-mail: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

[!] Flag as Inappropriate

Processing your request, Please wait....

Report as:	Violent or Repulsive Content|Hateful or Abusive Content|Harmful Dangerous Acts|Child Abuse|Spam|Infringes My Rights
Write in Words: (Optional)