THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 s
WHITMAN
Continued from Page B-1 “I’ve wrestled for a long, long time and I kind of like teaching people on their own rather than trying to establish my tone.” Said Fenton: “I like to scream in the room at people if they don’t do things right or if they’re taking breaks. But Jack doesn’t really talk that much in the room.” Despite the extreme differences in approach, it works well for the Vikings. Calder is joined by senior captains Jacob Cutler, Kevin Baker and Max Sessions, as well as four-year starter Harriet Symington, to form the nucleus of Whitman’s team, which defeated the Patriots, 46-24, in the opener. “These guys know what they’ve got,” Whitman coach Derek Manon said. “I told them
that we have the potential to do great things, but right now it’s just potential. We need to work in the room, we need to push it every day.” Both Calder (160) and Fenton (145), who are sparring partners in practice, flew a bit under the radar last season en route to their regional titles, but that certainly won’t be the case this year. They’re the top targets for opponents against a Whitman team that is rich with experience. “Any time you’ve got two returning region champs and state qualifiers in the room, it’s a huge bonus,” Manon said of Calder and Fenton. “They know what work is expected of them when they’re out on the mat and they’re looking for those bonus points for the team.” Fenton has been wrestling since he was 5 years old and has known Calder for nearly as long.
Both grew up wrestling at the club level together, along with Symington. “When we wrestle, Mitch and I are complete opposites,” Calder said. “He gets really angry and I stay completely relaxed the whole time. I pretty much never get angry unless the guy is egregiously fouling me or something.” A common bond that both share entering this year is their regional championship crowns from last season. And, as would only seem fitting, they both view holding the title in different ways at the start of the 2013-14 campaign. “There’s a lot more pressure when you wrestle as a region champ,” Calder said. “I feel like I have to dominate every match, or I feel like I’m letting down the prestige. But I think it also gives you a lot more confidence because you know kids are going
to be a lot more scared when they come in, just because of the title.” Added Fenton: “I kind of just put it behind me and thought that this is a completely new season. I basically have a target on my back. Everybody wants to beat the returning region champ.” And while repeat performances by both Calder and Fenton would be impressive, the Vikings, who won a state title in 2005, are cautiously optimistic even greater things could be in store for the team as a whole. “We’ll get there when we get there,” Calder said when asked about the team’s season goals. “The thing about the season is it changes a lot from the beginning to the end. I think it’s a bit too early to talk about where we’re going to be.” ncammarota@gazette.net
PHOTOS BY BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Walt Whitman’s Jack Calder (right) beat Thomas S. Wootton’s Jay Carroll on Saturday.
Page B-3
PHOTOS BY BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Walt Whitman’s Mitch Fenton (back) beat Thomas S. Wootton’s Sina Dayanzadeh on Saturday.
2013 MONTGOMERY COUNTY INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Bethesda Chevy-Chase
Albert Einstein
Richard Montgomery
Sherwood
Athletes to watch: Laila Ismail, Alex Riishojgaard
Athletes to watch: Victoria Cabellos, Luke Woodard
Athletes to watch: Stephen Alexander, Ozioma Edokobi
Athletes to watch: Lauren Woods, Tiffany Woods
Montgomery Blair
Gaithersburg
Northwest
Springbrook
Athletes to watch: Susanna Maisto, Stephen Varella
Athletes to watch: Kayuza “Kelvin” Masanja, Alexia Mitchell
Athletes to watch: Jalen Walker, Tiara Wellman
Athletes to watch: Karen Escobedo, Corey Young
James H. Blake
Georgetown Prep
Paint Branch
Walter Johnson
Athletes to watch: Sarah Moore, Martha Sam
Athletes to watch: Luke Posniewski, Junda Yu
Athletes to watch: Funmi Daramola, Harold Dorsey
Athletes to watch: Christian Campbell, Keirnan Keller
Bullis School
Good Counsel
Poolesville
Watkins Mill
Athletes to watch: Simone Glenn, Kyla Lewis
Athletes to watch: Tyler Cleaver, Rachel Pocratsky
Athletes to watch: Claire Beautz, Chase Weaverling
Athletes to watch: Melanie Dakwa, Sone Penda
Winston Churchill
Holton-Arms
Quince Orchard
Wheaton
Athletes to watch: Kyle Beatty, Lucy Srour
Athletes to watch: Lisa-Anne Barrows
Athletes to watch: Elliott Davis, Donovan Tyler
Athletes to watch: Ryan Scott, Chris Teah
Clarksburg
John F. Kennedy
Rockville
Walt Whitman
Athletes to watch: Claudia Ababio, Tavis Holland
Athletes to watch: Alieu Cole, Devon Hairston
Athletes to watch: Jonathan Baginski, Mecalia Palmer
Athletes to watch: Clare Severe, Ed Smith
Damascus
Landon
Seneca Valley
Thomas S. Wootton
Athletes to watch: Steven Desaulniers, Denise Woode
Athletes to watch: Oliver Hightower, Kevin Soraci
Athletes to watch: Tyatianna Johnson, Damion Rowe
CHAMPIONSHIP
Continued from Page B-1 in Landover, which offered a glimpse of what to expect for the winter season. Senior Tiara Wellman recorded the fourth-best time in the 300 meters (42.70 seconds) while also placing tied for 18th in the 55 — a race she does not usually run. She will be joined by nearly the entire cast from last year’s county and region championship team, including senior Naomi Sheppard and sophomore Chanel Solomon. “Everybody’s coming back, I’m excited about it,” Wellman said. The boys team finished second in the county, region and state last indoor season and is looking to duplicate that success this winter. The group has depth and star power, including a pair of juniors in Diego Zarate and Jalen Walker, the 2013 Gazette’s Athlete of the Year for track and field. In Saturday’s meet, Zarate and Walker looked poised to
NORTHWEST
Continued from Page B-1 uars playoff run. “We knew we had to do it for these seniors this year,” Pierce said. Senior Joshua Gills, who spent part of the season under center, caught five passes for 84 yards. The multi-position star caught a 30-yard touchdown in the second quarter that capped off an 85-yard drive. “This is a terrific season with a storybook ending,” Gills said. “The seniors couldn’t have asked for a better year.” Northwest senior cornerback Rodney Snider had a shutdown performance in the
add to their already impressive resumes. Zarate placed second in the 1,600 (4:35.5) and fourth in the 800 (2:05.6); Walker took first place in the 55 (6.4) and won the 300 (36.4). The boys’ and girls’ teams support each other like they are siblings, Youngblood said. For Zarate, whose freshman sister Sofia placed fifth in the 1,600, that’s actually the case. “We’re pretty much like a family,” Diego said. “We’re all cheering for each other, we’re all pulling for each other.” Northwest will face plenty of tough competition throughout Montgomery County. While Clarksburg’s boys graduated two of its top scorers — Paul Joseph and William Bertrand — the defending county, region and state champions have several up-and-coming runners who could make up for the lost production. Look for Carlos Vanzego and Tavis Holland to account for a significant potion of Clarkburg’s scoring. Vanzego broke a school record in the triple jump (45’8”) at the Sat-
urday meet. “We have new guys sort of having to step into that leadership role and prove themselves,” Clarksburg coach Scott Mathias said. Thomas S. Wootton’s girls finished second in last year’s 4A West Region indoor championship, but lost two talented runners in Gwen Shaw and Sylvia Deppen. They are now running at the University of Louisville and Harvard, respectively. Third-year coach Michael Thompson remains optimistic about his team, with several of his top runners returning, including senior Kiralyn Harrison and Rachel Maizel. “I think making first or second in the county is realistic for us,” Thompson said. Northwest, though, might have as good a chance as any school to field championship teams on both sides. “If each person does their job and we all pull our own weight, then we can really do something big,” Zarate said.
secondary, breaking up four passes and intercepting a deep throw late in the second quarter. The special teams advantage belonged to the Jaguars, whose opening offensive possession started on Suitland’s 28-yard line as a result of a short punt. Northwest capitalized on the field position and took a 6-0 lead after E.J. Lee’s 9-yard rushing touchdown. The Rams started slow for the third consecutive game, committing seven penalties and managing only 105 yards in the first half. Their offense picked up in the second half, but so did their penalties. “You can’t have 17 penalties in a state championship game. That shouldn’t be al-
lowed. Those are things we did and we have to own up to it,” Suitland coach Ed Shields said. The Rams had not lost since November 2012, when they were defeated by Henry A. Wise 41-6 in the 4A South Region final. Northwest’s victory gives Montgomery County its first football state championship since Sherwood won in 2008. “It’s just an amazing feeling,” Pierce said. “Words can’t explain how we all feel right now. It’s great to definitely shock the world, and get it done.”
egoldwein@gazette.net
egoldwein@gazette.net
Athletes to watch: Alan Banks, Rachel Maizel
FILE PHOTO
Poolesville High School’s senior Xavier Laracuente is part of the school’s up-and-coming swim and dive team.
SWIMMING
Continued from Page B-1 Poolesville is in the county’s top six this winter while traditional powers such as Walt Whitman, which dropped to Division II this year for the first time since the late 1990s, and Bethesda-Chevy Chase are not. Based on recent years’ results, it’s likely current second-tier teams like Northwest, which just seven years ago was in the county’s fourth division, and Quince Orchard will make their way into that elite group in the coming years. “I think we’re definitely seeing a lot of development [from other parts of the county],” Whitman coach Geoff Schaefer said. “More teams are hanging with the top teams, you’re going to see a more competitive field.” One reason for the trend, Northwest coach Amy Mason and Leong agreed, is the overall growth of the sport in general. While the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has long been one of the nation’s strongest areas for national-level talent, popularity in swimming has reached new heights with the success of Olympian and Maryland native Michael Phelps and more recently, the ascent of Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart junior Katie Ledecky, Mason said. The building of the Germantown Indoor Swim Center in 2006 is the other major factor. The pristine facility gave northern Montgomery County residents accessibility to an indoor facility and top-notch year-round coaching, something that until then required a pesky commute. Of the county’s six public indoor pools, the Germantown facility, housed at the Sportsplex in Boyds, is the
northernmost. “The swim center opening, it opened up a whole new area for swimming to spread to,” Leong said. “We know Montgomery County is all over a great area for swimming but this made it more accessible [to the northern areas]. We have a bunch of kids on our team who swim there, it’s the closest pool to their home.” When the facility first opened, the younger age groups were the biggest, Mason said, because most of the high school-aged swimmers were already established in their club programs. Seven years later, those younger age groups have made their way to high school. In the past, Mason said, she would be happy to have three or four club swimmers per class. This year, there was an influx of year-round swimmers in the freshman class. The girls’ team alone welcomed eight club-level athletes this winter. High school sports go in cycles, but this recent surge from northern county programs is not one that is likely to pass. Bethesda, Potomac and Rockville only became powerhouse areas after the Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, formerly the Montgomery Aquatic Center, opened in North Bethesda, Walter Johnson coach Jamie Grimes said. In the late 1990s, Watkins Mill was one of the county’s best, but the closing of the neighborhood’s YMCA hindered accessibility to indoor swimming during the winter. “We’re definitely seeing a shift,” Schaefer said. “Germantown has certainly been making an impact the last few years on swimming. I’m interested to watch how this whole season unfolds.” jbeekman@gazette.net