L-town: King of county

High school is named All-Sports Award winner again, its 23rd in 24 years

Friday, July 7, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo File Photo by Reid Silverman The night after the Leonardtown girls lacrosse team won its first SMAC title, the boys team repeated as the conference champion. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The Enterprise presented the All-Sports Award trophy to Principal J. Scott Smith at Leonardtown High School’s Spring Athletic Banquet on May 24. The Enterprise All-Sports Award is given to the St. Mary’s County high school with the best overall record based on winning percentage.

Leonardtown wins the award for the 23rd time in its 24-year history. This also marks the 17th straight year that Leonardtown has won, with the closest races being in 2000-01 and 2001-02. The last and only time another St. Mary’s County school has won the award was Great Mills in the 1988-89 school year. Leonardtown finished second that year.

This past school year, Leonardtown led overall after each sports season — fall, winter and spring. Second and third place overall was decided by less than 1 percent.

The Enterprise All-Sports Award recognizes overall athletic excellence by honoring the St. Mary’s County high school with the best winning percentage in 20 varsity sports. Boys and girls cross country, field hockey, football, golf, boys and girls soccer and volleyball make up the fall sports for the public schools. Boys and girls basketball, boys and girls swimming and wrestling take up the winter months. The spring brings baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, tennis along with boys and girls track and field.

St. Mary’s Ryken plays in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. Unlike its county counterparts, which plays in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, the school plays golf in the spring while tennis is split up into two teams. Girls tennis is played in the fall and boys in the spring. It does not compete in football or swimming and records are not kept for cross country and track and field. The public schools compete in indoor track and field during the winter and records are not kept.

The records for each sport displayed in the chart are verified and also reflect playoff action. Since the award is based on a winning percentage, this policy rewards teams’ success in postseason action without penalizing those that are ineligible.

Leonardtown

Leonardtown had eight or more wins in 16 sports during the school year. The school’s spring record was 68-43-0, a percentage of .6126, and Leonardtown finished with an overall mark of 213-125-1, a percentage of .6298.

The fall was the best of the three seasons for Leonardtown, compiling 90 wins in 134 contests with one tie.

The girls soccer team (14-1) rallied with two goals in the final 12 minutes of regulation to win the SMAC championship with a 2-1 victory over Northern on Oct. 18. Senior Heather Cooke’s penalty kick with just more than three minutes remaining stood up as the winning goal. Three days later, the team completed an undefeated regular season with a 2-1 victory at county-rival Chopticon. Leonardtown’s journey ended in the Class 4A South Region semifinals as fourth-seeded Broadneck upset the top-seeded Raiders, 2-0, on Nov. 4.

The Leonardtown volleyball team (11-5) advanced to the regional semifinals for the second straight season. The third-seeded Raiders swept Arundel in the quarterfinals Nov. 7, but fell in four games to second-seeded Broadneck two nights later to have their season ended. It was the second straight year that the team finished with 11 victories.

The boys and girls cross country teams, which won the St. Mary’s Invitational on Sept. 13, each finished undefeated in regular season action for the second straight campaign with identical 12-0 records. The success didn’t stop there, as both squads won the SMAC meet Oct. 26.

The boys finished third in the Class 4A East region meet Nov. 3 and 10th at states Nov. 12, while the girls took second at regionals and sixth at states.

Sophomore Katlyn Dillow finished sixth with a time of 19 minutes 49 seconds to lead the Leonardtown girls, cutting off more than a minute from her eighth-place 21:05 at the 2005 state meet, while senior Chris Glynn’s 34th-place finish led the boys to a top-10 team finish.

In the spring, Dillow and the Raiders girls track and field team won the SMAC regular season title and finished 12-0. Dillow was a regional champion in the 1,600 run (5:13.6) and took sixth at states (5:17.77). Dillow, senior hurdler Jessica Dabulskis, freshman Alexandra Evitts, senior thrower Whitney Pulliam and the 800 relay team all earned top-10 finishes at the state meet.

The girls swim team has not lost in the first two seasons that St. Mary’s County has competed in the sport. Leonardtown also finished first in the SMAC championships for the second straight year.

Senior Allison Davis finished first in the 100 freestyle at the SMAC and regional meets in record times. Davis completed the event in 55.37 at regionals Feb. 20 and finished in 54.76 at the SMAC meet five days later. She also took first in the 500 free at the SMAC meet (5:33.63) and was part of Leonardtown’s 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, both of which set SMAC and regional meet records.

The wrestling team (18-4) finished its SMAC slate at 8-3 to finish third and qualify for the 4A⁄3A South Region duals. Leonardtown started the season 7-0 by taking the Chopticon tournament Dec. 10 and had two placers at the 4A⁄3A state tournament.

Senior Quade Miller, who was a runner-up at the SMAC meet Feb. 18 and won the Class 4A⁄3A South Regional title Feb. 25, took fourth at 160 pounds at the state meet and had a 38-3 record for the season. Senior Chad Ausley, who won the SMAC title and the regional title the following Saturday, was fifth at 125 at the state meet and finished 36-4 for the season. The team took third at the SMAC meet and at regionals and 20th at states.

On back-to-back days in the beginning of May, the boys and girls lacrosse teams clinched conference titles.

Leonardtown defeated Great Mills, 13-6, on May 4 to win its first girls lacrosse SMAC championship. It was the first for any St. Mary’s County girls program. The Raiders (12-2) were undefeated through their first 11 games and had lost their first game of the year to Huntingtown three days prior to winning the title. Senior Jen Jones scored four goals and added an assist, while senior Julie Woodburn finished with 20 saves in the title-clinching game.

Sophomore Courtney Williams scored four goals to pace Leonardtown past Chopticon, 8-6, in the championship game of the seventh annual Braves Invitational girls lacrosse tournament April 8. It was the first time since 2002 that the Raiders won the title, ending the Braves’ three-year reign.

The night after the girls won the SMAC title, the boys lacrosse team (11-4) captured its second straight SMAC championship as it defeated Great Mills, 11-2.

Leonardtown, led by junior Ian Hanson’s 19 saves, shut out the Hornets in the final 46:05. Four different players scored twice, while three others tacked on one goal apiece for the team.

The tennis team (14-2) tied La Plata for the SMAC and Region IV championships with both schools taking home top honors. Leonardtown’s only two losses during the regular season came against La Plata, the SMAC regular season champion.

Doubles tandems carried the Raiders from the boys duo of seniors Scott Halperin and Jeff Bailey to having two mixed doubles teams make the state tournament. Katie Staso and Tim Mayer beat teammates Maci Stevenson and Tyler Myerburg in the SMAC final May 13, then Stevenson and Myerburg defeated Staso and Mayer in the regional final May 20. Both mixed doubles teams made it to the second round at states May 26.

St. Mary’s Ryken

St. Mary’s Ryken eked out a second-place finish over Chopticon, ending the spring with a mark of 51-61-0, a percentage of .4554 and had an overall mark of 109-158-7 for a percentage of .4106.

The boys lacrosse team became the first in eight seasons to defeat DeMatha, 9-4, on April 20 on the opponent’s home field in Hyattsville. Sophomore Zack Angel scored four goals to lead the Knights and sophomore Andrew Wascavage needed to make just five saves, including a one-on-one that changed the momentum of the game. It was the first time ever that a St. Mary’s Ryken team of any kind had beaten DeMatha.

Two weeks later, the Knights won their first WCAC regular season championship after an 8-6 victory at Good Counsel. The team received the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and lost to Gonzaga in the semifinals, 9-7, on May 15.

St. Mary’s Ryken (16-3) had its second-best win total in the program’s history. The Knights allowed less than five goals a game and gave up more than 10 in a contest once.

The golf team played the top four teams in the WCAC — Paul VI, Gonzaga, DeMatha and Bishop Ireton —in a row to begin its season and was 0-4 after the first 10 days of the campaign, but rebounded to win five of its final six matches to finish 5-5. It marked the first time since 2001 when the school was playing a SMAC schedule though not officially with the conference anymore that the program had a .500 record or better.

Senior Sean Barwis hit a three-foot putt against St. John’s to ensure victory, then St. Mary’s Ryken knocked off Holy Cross to end the season even.

The softball team, 16-10 under first-year coach Mike Kriner, captured its first Leonardtown Easter tournament title since 2002 by defeating Chopticon and Great Mills. St. Mary’s Ryken outscored its two opponents 27-1 in the April 15 tournament, run-ruling the Hornets in the title game, 11-1. Junior Amanda Hanson allowed a run on four hits and struck out 21 hitters, 10 in the title game, in the two games.

St. Mary’s Ryken fell to O’Connell, 5-2, in the WCAC semifinals May 19. The Knights got behind 5-0 early and shut out O’Connell, which was 24-1 and ranked 19th in the USA Today⁄NFCA softball coaches poll coming into the game, over the final four innings.

The boys basketball team (16-11) enjoyed its first over .500 season since the 1999-2000 campaign. It won 11 games total in the previous three seasons combined and had not finished with a double-digit winning season since the 2001-02 campaign before last season.

St. Mary’s Ryken defeated St. John’s, ranked ninth in the area coming into the game, 55-52, in a Feb. 21 home makeup game to finish the regular season. By defeating St. John’s, the Knights were the fifth seed in the WCAC tournament. Last season, the Knights did not win a conference game and were the 10th seed. The team’s run in the 2006 tournament ended in a 55-37 quarterfinal loss to fourth-seeded O’Connell.

Tara Pappas turned two programs around in a matter of months and without much time to prepare in both.

Just three weeks before tryouts, Pappas became the school’s field hockey coach. St. Mary’s Ryken (9-5) led visiting Good Counsel, 3-0, at halftime in the conference semifinals, but fell 5-4 in overtime.

Pappas had about 1 1⁄2 weeks to get prepared for her next new job, as head coach of a girls basketball program that had won just four games the previous season.

The Knights (11-16) were 8-3 in the first month of the season, but lost seven straight games after that and the final six of the campaign. The team almost doubled the amount of wins in the 2005-06 campaign than in the past two seasons combined (six). It was 6-0 against SMAC teams, winning the Leonardtown and Huntingtown tournaments.

Chopticon

Chopticon ended the spring season with a record of 48-60-1, a percentage of .4450, and finished the school year with a mark of 135-197-1 for a percentage of .4069.

The football team (7-3) finished the first month of the Tony Lisanti era with a 4-0 record. Chopticon had won more games than it did all of the previous year (three) when September was completed.

The Braves came from behind at Patuxent on Sept. 23 to win in overtime, 27-24, rallying from down 21-6 to force the extra period. The following Friday, they defeated a Lackey team that lost in the finals of the Class 3A South Region playoffs, 22-18, on the Chargers’ home field.

Chopticon finished the season by winning its final three games, including over Great Mills and Leonardtown by a combined score of 58-12.

The girls soccer team (11-6) won the season-opening McDonough tournament Sept. 10, defeating Lackey, 3-2, in the title game. The championship trophy was the first the program had ever earned.

Eleven days later, Chopticon (a fifth-place SMAC finish of 7-4) knocked off a Westlake team that would finish second in the conference. The third-seeded Braves faced off with Westlake for a trip to the Class 3A South regional championship game Nov. 4 with the Wolverines winning, 1-0.

The field hockey team (9-5) advanced to the finals of the 3A South region playoffs and fell Nov. 3 to Northern, which earned its second straight trip to states. As the No. 3 seed, Chopticon got past Lackey and La Plata to reach the finals. The Braves were the only county team to make it to the title game of the field hockey playoffs.

The boys cross country team (6-6 during the regular season) won its first region championship since 1990 by capturing the 3A South Region meet Nov. 3. Chopticon had five runners end up in the top 15, led by junior James Young’s fifth-place finish of 18:08.77. The Braves were 13 points better than Westlake to win the region and took 18th at states. The successes continued in the spring, as the boys track and field team was 6-6, while the girls ended up 7-4-1.

The wrestling team (11-10 in regular season matches) shined at the 4A⁄3A state tournament March 5. Senior Lucas Black, after winning the Class 4A⁄3A South Regional title Feb. 25, won the 135-pound state championship to give the SMAC five state champions. Black made it a clean sweep with his 1-0 decision over Broadneck’s Mike Vakas. It was Black’s second state title, his first being at 103 two years ago as a sophomore. He finished his senior season with a record of 33-3. Brandon Cox, who won the SMAC and regional titles, took fourth at states at 171. Chopticon finished 15th as a team.

The girls lacrosse team (10-4) came off a showing in the state tournament last season, the first for any St. Mary’s County squad, and had its second straight 10-win season. Chopticon competed for the SMAC title deep into the season for the first time ever, finishing a game out of the conference championship race with an 8-2 record. The Braves’ two SMAC losses came to Leonardtown, the SMAC champion.

Great Mills

Great Mills finished fourth, ending the spring with a record of 38-71-1, 35 win percentage, and had an overall mark of 110-222-3, a percentage of .3328.

A week before tryouts for the 2005-06 boys basketball season began, Great Mills welcomed back boys basketball coach Frank Peck, who returned from the war in Iraq and to the job he had two seasons ago. The Hornets started winning with abundance again and played for the SMAC title Feb. 21 at Lackey, but the Chargers won with a fourth-quarter surge. On March 6, the teams met again to decide the 3A South Region title and, again, Lackey came away the winner. It went on to the state finals.

Great Mills finished 19-6 overall, a second-place 14-2 in conference play, after starting the season 0-2. Peck took over a below .500 team in the 2003-04 campaign and the program had its first winning season since the 2000-01 season.

The volleyball team (10-6) won as many matches last season than it had in the previous eight seasons combined and it had as many losses in 2004 as it did wins last season (10). The 7-4 finish in the conference placed the Hornets fifth behind Leonardtown and the power teams to the north: Northern, SMAC champion Calvert and 3A state champion Huntingtown.

Great Mills was awarded the third seed in the 3A South Region playoffs and swept sixth-seeded Westlake in the quarterfinals Nov. 7, then, two nights later, lost to Huntingtown in the semifinals.

The tennis team (15-3) had a 10-match winning streak this past spring, spanning one month, and finished with three more victories than it did a year ago.

Junior Cody Kohn finished the regular season with a 13-2 record in boys singles. His only two losses this spring were to La Plata’s Daniel Barnas and Huntingtown’s Andrew Nottage, both of whom were voted All-County boys athletes of the year in Charles and Calvert counties, respectfully.

The postseason found both of Great Mills’ singles players — No. 1 player Kohn and senior No. 2 player Scott Woodburn — teaming to play doubles in the SMAC, regional and state tournaments.

Kohn and Woodburn defeated Leonardtown’s Scott Halperin and Jeff Bailey in straight sets to win the SMAC tournament doubles title and made it to the finals of the Region IV tournament before falling in three sets. They advanced to states and lost their first-round match.

Senior Miku White finished tops for the girls with a 14-4 record in the regular season, while seniors Laura Olson and Onna Roloson were 12-2 at No. 1 girls doubles. White and Kohn were once again voted All-County athletes of the year.

E-mail Paul Watson at pwatson@somdnews.com.