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A HUGE thank you to all who made the WCHS Booster Club sponsored Senior Sports Awards a success!
The event included honoring 118 Senior Scholar Athletes who maintained a weighted gpa of 3.75 or greater in high school, special awards & presentations by the coaches in each sport, the exclusive Senior Choice Awards voted on by the Senior athletes Pam Vranis and Alex Kantor, and the coveted Mike Carroll awards to Diana Brown and Matt Risk.
Congratulations to the girls track and field team for their 3rd place finish at the State meet! Churchill is proud to be home to the 4A triple jump champion Serenah Polite, whose jump of 35' 11" earned her the gold medal.
Other highlights included two girls relay teams breaking school records. The 4x200m relay of Taylor Caulk, Ale Martinez, Maryam Fikri, and Katie Wolf broke the school record of 1:43.40 - that was set in 1981 - with their time of 1:43.35 in their 3rd place finish at States. The 4x100m relay of Taylor Caulk, Ale Martinez, Serenah Polite, and Katie Wolf lowered their previous record set in the regional meet to 48.31, which was also good for a 3rd place finish.
Other scorers for the girls team included Katie Wolf (2nd in 100m and 3rd in 200m), Maryam Fikri (6th in 800m and 5th in 1600m), Alex Giedd (5th in 3200m), Serenah Polite (8th in 100m hurdles and 3rd in long jump), and Ale Martinez (5th in 300m hurdles). In breaking the 4x200m record at the State meet, Katie Wolf now holds every Churchill individual and relay record for the sprints, both indoors and outdoors - 55m, 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 500m, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, and the distance medley relay.
The Churchill boys team ran to a 12th place finish at States, with some outstanding performances as well. Micah Phillips-Spencer finished 4th in the 100m dash, Sei Masuoka finished 2nd in the 800m run, Will Conway was 8th in the 1600m run, Zach Weinstein was 6th in the 3200m run, and the boys 4x800m relay of Alex Kim, Sami Aougab, Will Conway, and Sei Masuoka finished 5th.
A Survey of Youth Sports Finds Winning Isn't the Only Thing, By MARK HYMAN, January 31, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/sports/31youth.html
At a time when sports tutors seem as plentiful as piano teachers and high school games are routinely nationally televised, Peter Barston has learned something important about youth sports.
Adults may lean toward turning children's games into an approximation of professional sports. But ask young players what they want, and the answer can be disarmingly simple. More than training to be a Super Bowl star, more than even winning, youngsters play sports for fun - at least they do in Darien, Conn., Barston said.
He has not proved that scientifically. But a research project spearheaded by Barston, a sophomore at Fairfield Prep, makes an intriguing case that while parents dream big, their children focus on the small stuff. Since August, Barston has toured youth leagues in Darien, asking this question: Why do you play sports? So far, he has polled about 255 members of the Darien Junior Football League, who range from fourth grade to eighth grade, and 470 boys and girls in the same grades from the Darien Y.M.C.A. basketball league. Barston, 15, has begun to survey players in the local softball program. Next up are baseball players and, if he receives permission from league officials, lacrosse players.
The project was born of curiosity - and happenstance. Last summer, his father, Mike, who serves on the board of the junior baseball league, attended a workshop by the Positive Coaching Alliance, a national organization advocating a kinder youth sports culture. The presentation referred to a 20-year-old study by scientists at Michigan State's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports who had polled young athletes about their reasons for participating in sports. Barston and his 12-year-old brother, Stephen, took that survey at their father's urging. Then, with his father's encouragement, Barston began pondering a local version. "I thought it would be really interesting to update it for Darien," he said.
The survey is a single page listing 11 reasons children might have for playing sports, including the laid-back (to have fun, to make friends) and the purposeful (to win, to earn a college scholarship). Like the Michigan State researchers, Barston instructed the Darien players to assign points based on the importance of the reasons for a total of 100. From the mound of data he gathered, Barston found a striking pattern. No matter how he categorized the responses, the most important reason youngsters gave for playing sports was the same: to have fun. That was the top response from football and basketball players, from boys and from girls, and from players in each grade from fourth to eighth. In the basketball survey, 95 percent of boys and 98 percent of girls cited fun as a reason for playing, nearly twice the number who mentioned winning. Barston does not say that his poll is statistically accurate. But it is a window into what offensive linemen and power forwards think about sports and might say to their parents and coaches - if they were asked. "It shows kids are out there to get away from their lives and have a good time with their friends," Barston, a recreation league second baseman, said. "They're not out there just to win." His preliminary findings are not far from what the Michigan State researchers Martha Ewing and Vern Seefeldt concluded in 1989. Their study of 28,000 boys and girls around the country asked, Why do you play sports? The top answer then was "fun," followed by "to do something I'm good at" and "to improve my skills." "Winning" did not crack the top 10.
When told about Barston's survey, Ewing said: "It's a great project. Within communities, parents and sport organizations need to do more of it - talk to the athletes." Barston said his initial reason for undertaking the survey was simply to compare the views of young athletes today with those from 20 years ago. He estimated that he had spent more than 100 hours on the project, and now he is thinking bigger. Barston has been toying with the idea of starting a Web site where he would post data and encourage other young people to start "Why Do You Play?" projects. "The Web site idea is very preliminary," he said. "I am trying to think of ways to spread the word and get other people to do this in their hometowns." Parents and league officials in Darien have praised Barston's efforts. Guy Wisinski, a member of the junior football league's board, said the survey was a "touch of reality" for adults. "It reminds us why kids play sports in the first place," he said. "It's not about winning a championship in the fourth grade and having that be a life achievement."
All-Gazette tennis, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, excerpts:
Player of the Year: Lauren Pinsky. Churchill, Junior
Improved all-court game led to one-loss regular season, No. 1 singles county title. Will make third trip to state tournament this spring, but first as all-Montgomery Region II champion.
Coach of the Year, Ben Woods, Churchill, 10th year
Veteran's savvy, positive relationship with players led Bulldogs to third consecutive county title.
Doubles
Maggie Yiin (Sr.)
Joanne Liu (Sr.)
Churchill
Capped unbeaten season with No. 1 doubles county tournament title.
Tanya Bagheri (Soph.)
Jill Teitelbaum (Soph.)
Churchill
Future of Churchill tennis finished 13-0 with No. 2 county title.
Honorable mention
Robyn Baird (Churchill, Sr.)
Churchill rules county tennis, Top singles title up for grabs on Monday after Friday match postponed due to rain, darkness, by Jennifer Beekman, Gazette Staff Writer, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, http://www.gazette.net/stories/10242009/montspo84704_32549.shtml
Bulldogs' Brown, set records at state golf, by Dan Greenberg, Gazette, October 22, 2009, http://www.gazette.net/stories/10222009/montspo100903_32544.shtml
excerpt: Brown is only the second girl in Churchill history to win a state crown, along with three-time champion Kim Cayce, who twice shot rounds of 161. And though his team disappointingly missed the second round of team competition, Yakubik more than salvaged the tournament for the Hornets. Yakubik hit six birdies in Wednesday's round to eke out the runner-up trophy by one stroke over Broadneck's (Anne Arundel) Bart George. "I had four bogeys and a double, so I could have done a little bit better," said Yakubic. "But it's a good finish."
Churchill grabbed its own second-place trophy,
totaling 660 strokes in two days to close eight strokes behind Frederick's Urbana
By any means necessary, Churchill football is 7-0, Kantor, Quinn run wild through elements in win over Wootton on Friday night, by Dan Greenberg, Gazette Staff Writer, October 17, 2009, http://www.gazette.net/stories/10172009/montspo84800_32554.shtml
Churchill quarterback Alex Kantor tries to turn the corner on a Wootton defender. Kantor picked off two passes and rushed for the game's first score in the undefeated Bulldogs' 31-21 victory.
Fullback Matt Risk provided the clincher, going untouched on a 41-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs up by 17. Kantor opened the scoring by escaping to his left and steaming down an empty sideline for 28 yards.
Halfback Ryan Quinn was up to his usual tricks, as well as some not-so-customary ones. The county's third-leading rusher entering the evening, Quinn slogged through the slop for 137 yards. But his most vital contribution came on the only play of the Bulldogs' second third-quarter possession. After taking a pitch from Kantor, Quinn fired a laser down the middle to Swepson, who curled inside for the catch and outraced Wootton's Alex Kelly for a 63-yard score. "That was probably the luckiest thing ever," said Quinn. "We tried it in practice and it never worked."
Meanwhile, Swepson had a big game not just through the air. He threw a few monstrous blocks, including the one that sprung Kantor on his opening score. "Honestly, the block was better," said Swepson, "because A.K. was able to get the touchdown. I like seeing other people get some [glory]."
Despite the heroics from its counterpart, Wootton (2-5) had a legitimate chance to win. Its quarterback tandem of Alex Kelly and Jeff Porter moved the chains regularly, while senior Mark Kennedy had a big night (5 catches, 111 yards, two touchdowns). Two huge miscues inside the red zone ultimately sealed the Patriots' fate. Up 7-6 in the first half, they had the ball inside the Churchill 10-yard line, but a fumbled exchange between Kelly and running back Stephen Chen was recovered by Bulldogs senior Jeremy Bernitt. Late in the third quarter, Wootton had an even better opportunity, with the ball at Churchill's 2-yard line, down nine. But the first-down snap sailed high, and Kelly could only fall on the ball at the 12. A play later, he was intercepted by Kantor at the goal line. "Everybody's pushing through injuries, soreness, sickness," said Kantor. "We're just doing a great job. And obviously, with them knocking us out of the playoffs last year, this is big."
**Also see at: Churchill Uses Strong Running Game to Topple Wootton, 31-21, By Dan Greenberg, Gazette Staff Writer, Friday, October 16, 2009 11:29 PM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101604062.html
It wasn't pretty any way you look at it, but the Churchill football team thrives on the unsightly. The Bulldogs' 31-21 victory over arch-rival Wootton Friday followed the usual script: They kept it close, ground out long possessions and made big plays when they had to. And while a driving rainstorm and muddy field made passing miserable for quarterback Alex Kantor, all that mattered was two numbers: seven and zero. "We like to keep it close; I don't like it, but I'll take it" said Kantor. "I couldn't really grip the ball. It was a combination of every time I'd grip the ball, it's covered in mud, and then our center would kind of dip it in the mud every snap. But you know, our offense is really designed to just eat up clock." That it did, as the Churchill ground game pounded out 283 yards. Most came right up the gut against an overmatched Patriots line, including two big runs. |
Bulldogs wrap up division, Vranis' goal gives Churchill girls soccer 1-0 victory over Gaithersburg Thursday, by Andy MacAlpine, Special to The Gazette, October 9, 2009, http://www.gazette.net/stories/10092009/montspo100543_32555.shtml
After cruising through its first seven games this season, the Churchill girls soccer team just wanted to survive Thursday night. With seven girls - including four starters - out with illnesses, the Bulldogs made an early goal from senior Pam Vranis stand up for a 1-0 win at Gaithersburg, clinching the Class 4A West Division championship with five games remaining. It is their first division title since 1997. "I told the girls I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty," said Churchill coach Haroot Hakopian. "It was an ugly, ugly game. With so many girls out, that was totally a makeshift lineup. But we gutted it out."
Vranis' goal, assisted by Alexis Shay in the game's seventh minute, gave the Bulldogs a quick lead. But a Gaithersburg lineup that had averaged nearly three goals per game prior to Thursday came right back by taking advantage of Churchill's inexperienced midfield. And with 17 minutes left in the first half, Bulldogs starting goalkeeper Nicole Andrews suffered a minor knee injury, giving way to junior Krista Quicker in the net. "I actually like how we responded to the goal; I think it woke us up," Gaithersburg coach Paul Dowell said. "We did a good job of attacking, and our fitness level is good. We just missed our opportunities. They have the tools; it's just a matter of getting them to have confidence. We're getting there." The Trojans (6-2) kept pushing throughout the second half, as leading scorers Sarah Seipp and Julia Navarro each got good looks. But long shots like Kristin Kraemer's booming kick from 20 yards away, shots from close range like Navarro's opportunity at the right post, and two corner kicks were all turned away by Quicker and the Bulldogs defense.
"I love our defense," said Quicker, who finished with six saves. "We actually started out kind of slow, but we kept with it and a lot of girls stepped up. Our defense did a great job." Churchill (7-0) outshot the Trojans 12-8, as Gaithersburg senior Leslie Galfond tallied four saves. "Our division is so tough; we knew it was going to be a battle," Hakopian said. "They put a lot of pressure on us the whole game, but my hat's off to our defense. I'm proud of them."
Boys Soccer falls in Regional finalsdave posted on 11/7/2008This year, Churchill featured the top talent in the fleet-footed Dansky, who led the county with 26 goals. But its season ended in a repeat performance, a second-straight one-goal loss to the Colonels in the regional finals.
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