THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 p
Page B-3
Paint Branch wins division Gaithersburg rising, Whitman wins 12th straight game
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BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Montose Christian’s Anthony Cabbagestalk goes over St. Vincent Pallotti’s Michael Ashley to score on Saturday.
Basketball teams find the wins in the losses Coaches say losses can be good during a long season
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Springbrook High School boys’ basketball coach Tom Crowell found something to like in one of his Blue Devils’ low moments of the season. “I tell you what,” Crowell said, “That [loss] might have been the best thing that could have happened to us.” The ‘that’ Crowell was referencing was a 55-52 loss to Clarksburg on Jan. 17, the Blue Devils’ first in 21 days. The defeat, while having its obvious drawbacks on the team’s record and playoff bye aspirations, can sometimes carry far more benefits down the road. It was a humbling learning experience, and exactly “what we needed,” Crowell said. He’s not alone in his assessment of the value of a loss. Numerous other teams around the county have benefitted
from a setback somewhere along the lines. Though it’s never an enjoyable experience, a loss can produce anything from a boost in motivation, pinpointing a vulnerability, or opening a coach’s eyes how to best scheme against a particular opponent or style of play.
BOYS BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK BY TRAVIS MEWHIRTER So, what good has come out of Springbrook’s loss to Clarksburg? Four straight wins by margins of 14 (against John F. Kennedy), 36 (Winston Churchill), 37 (James H. Blake) and four (Richard Montgomery) in which starter Isaiah Eisendorf didn’t play and his replacement, Jermaine Ukaegbu, sprained his ankle. It’s not only Springbrook who has bounced back higher than it had previously been
prior to a defeat. After the Coyotes lost to Col. Zadok Magruder on Jan. 6, they tore through Thomas S. Wootton, Northwest, Springbrook, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase and ascended to the No. 6 spot in The Gazette rankings. Current No. 5 Montgomery Blair dropped a game to Monsignor Farrell out of New York over the holidays and hasn’t lost since, stringing together wins against Churchill (70-54), Richard Montgomery (55-41), Walter Johnson (88-37), then No. 10 Walt Whitman (61-56), Blake (61-52), Paint Branch (64-47), then No. 9 Poolesville (60-41) and B-CC (58-48). Montrose Christian has fared much the same since being stunned by Takoma Academy on Jan. 6. The Mustangs have put together six consecutive wins following that loss and not a single opponent has come within 16 points of them. tmewhirter@gazette.net
Wootton’s football coach dismissed Spinner said he and his staff were let go in last week’s meeting
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BY
ERIC GOLDWEIN STAFF WRITER
Thomas S. Wootton High School football coach Tyree Spinner and his assistants were dismissed last week, Spinner said. Spinner said he learned of his dismissal in a meeting Jan. 29 with Athletic Director Christopher Thompson and Principal Michael Doran. Spinner, hired in January 2012, compiled a 9-11 record in his two seasons leading the Patriots. “My tenure as [coach] was a very successful one,” Spinner wrote in a text to The Gazette. “Not only did we continually progress on the field via overall record, breaking records, breaking losing traditions and mindsets … we built a family, a
brotherhood that they will use throughout the rest of their life.” Thompson confirmed the coaches were no longer on staff and declined further comment, writing in an email to The Gazette that this was a “personnel matter and beyond anything I would be at liberty to discuss.” Spinner led Wootton’s junior varsity team before taking over as varsity coach prior to the 2012 season. He replaced Eddie Tolliver, who went 6-14 in his two years coaching Wootton. The Patriots were 5-5 last fall, including a forfeit (ineligible player) that negated a 41-0 victory against Walter Johnson. Spinner said he intends to continue coaching. “I love this game and I love building boys into young men through this great sport,” Spinner wrote. Wootton’s last winning sea-
GEORGE P. SMITH/FOR THE GAZETTE
Thomas S. Wootton High School football coach Tyree Spinner led his Patriots to a 9-11 mark in two seasons (that record includes a forfeit loss).
son was 2008, when the team went 7-4 under Greg Malling. egoldwein@gazette.net
Track athletes perform well at Virginia Tech Holton Arms wins WMPSSDL championship n
Many of Montgomery County’s top track and field athletes followed up the Jan. 29 public schools’ county championship meet with a trip to Blacksburg, Va., for the Virginia Tech Invitational Friday and Saturday. Times at the meet can be used for regional cuts. The highly competitive meet, which features both public and private school athletes, drew out some top performances; many county athletes earned their New Balance Indoor Nationals qualifying times. Among the county’s top performers were John F. Kennedy’s Devon Hairston, who won the 55-meter dash in a national qualifying time of 7.51 seconds, and Bullis senior Simone Glenn, whose second-place finish in the 300-meter dash (38.82 seconds) set a new county (public and private school) record, according to Mocorunning.com. Glenn
replaced former Northwest High star Olivia Ekpone’s 2009 mark (38.96). — JENNIFER BEEKMAN
Swimming and diving The Holton-Arms School swimming and diving team won its second consecutive Washington Metropolitan Prep School Swimming and Diving League
PREP NOTEBOOK BY GAZETTE STAFF championship Saturday with a 310-244 advantage over runnerup and Independent School League foe Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. The Panthers, who won their ninth ISL title in 11 years a week ago, were propelled by individual wins from Caroline McTaggart (100-yard freestyle) and Isabelle Jubin (50-yard freestyle) and wins in the 200-yard
freestyle relay (Alexis LeMone, Sydney Mathis, Halsey McKinney, McTaggart) and 400-yard freestyle relay (LeMone, Jubin, Emma Raynor, McTaggart). Stone Ridge junior and Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky won the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual medley. Her time of 2:01.78 in the latter set a new mark, breaking a 14-year-old record by five seconds. Georgetown Prep won six events in a second-place finish at WMPSSDLs. Grant Goddard (200-yard freestyle), Carsten Vissering (100-yard freestyle) , Samuel Tarter (200-yard individual medley) and Brandon Goldstein (100-yard butterfly) picked up individual race wins. Goddard, Vissering, Matthew Hirschberger and Adrian Lin won the 200-yard freestylerelayandGoldstein,Goddard, Lin and Hirschberger closed the meet with a win in the 400yard freestyle relay. — JENNIFER BEEKMAN
Paint Branch High School clinched its second consecutive division title on Friday after defeating John F. Kennedy for the second time this season. Sofilia Ngwafang led the Panthers with 14 points while junior Daisa Harris (10 points) was honored at halftime for joining the 1,000-point club. Tyra Sinclair had nine points while Kiara Colston had eight in the Panthers’ 49-41 victory.
GIRLS BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK BY ERIC GOLDWEIN The Panthers (14-2, 5-0 as of Monday) have won their past four games. “It was a really hard fight, we knew we had to put all the attitudes aside,” said Ngwafang, a sophomore. “... This was important [heading toward playoffs] because we need to know we can play against these types of teams and pull out hard wins.” Daysha Adams scored 13 points, Makeda Wright had 10 and Kiara Arnold had nine to lead Kennedy (11-2, 5-2), which has not lost outside of its two matchups against Paint Branch. The Panthers won 53-49 in the first meeting. “It was a great feeling [to close out the win], we worked together as a team, [Kennedy] put up a big fight,” Ngwafang said. “We have been working a lot on post moves. We had a statement to make.”
straight win and tenth in their last 12 games. “People called me after [our first game against Magruder] and I told them to watch out, that Magruder is a good team,” Gaithersburg coach Adrian McDaniel said after the game. “They beat the bricks off us the first time but [Tuesday] we played like we know how. I knew if we could set the tempo, we’d be OK.” Magruder (10-5, 5-3) and Thomas S. Wootton (10-6, 7-2) trail Gaithersburg in the Montgomery 4A West Division.
Gaithersburg not slowing down
Whitman wins its 12th straight
Gaithersburg is playing its best basketball heading into the final stretch of the regular season after a win over Northwest and a payback victory against Col. Zadok Magruder. The Trojans (104, 8-1) defeated the Colonels 53-43 on Jan. 28 after losing to them 60-38 earlier in the season. Senior Janessa Fauntroy scored 20 points to lead the Trojans to their fourth
Whitman extended its nearly two-month win streak to 12 games after a 51-40 victory over Poolesville (12-3, 5-1) on Jan. 28. Junior Nicole Fleck scored 10 of her season-high 16 points in the first quarter as the Vikings (13-2, 5-0) jumped out to an 18-10 lead and held on for the victory. “I made my first shot and then we started running plays for me,” Fleck said. “My
FILE PHOTO
Nicole Fleck (right) of Walt Whitman High School drives to the basket against Tara Thompson of Reservoir during a summer league game.
teammates got me open, and a lot of people on the team weren’t making shots they normally make and I put it in. So it worked out.”
Bullis senior named All-American Bullis School’s Lynee’ Belton was named a McDonald’s All-American on Wednesday and is set to play in the 37th annual high school basketball showcase. Belton, who signed on to play basketball with Duke University, is averaging a team-high 20.6 points per game after sitting out the first 12 games with a concussion. The 6-2 center senior helped lead the Bulldogs to the Independent School League “AA” Division championship last season. The McDonald’s AllAmerican games are scheduled for April 2 at Chicago’s United Center. egoldwein@gazette.net Jennifer Beekman and Harvey Valentine contributed.