<b>Around the Baseball Diamond</b>
As the Concorde District tournament draws near, area baseball teams find themselves jockeying for playoff positioning, with Westfield and Chantilly entrenched up top and the rest left to follow suit. The Bulldogs held a 10-0 mark against district opponents before Wednesday’s too-late-for-this-edition showdown -- pending rain -- with Chantilly (15-3, 9-1 Concorde).
Westfield improved to 15-1 overall this season with a 5-0 win over Herndon on May 1, as Aaron Hoover threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only two hits. Ryan Williams hit his sixth home run of the season for the Bulldogs and Kevin Reardon had four RBIs.
The same night, Chantilly’s Jordan Johnson tossed complete game of his own in an 11-5 win over Robinson. Johnson needed only 82 pitches to get through all seven innings and didn’t walk a batter. Matt Dewitt finished with a home run and six RBIs, while Danny Bates had a pair of doubles and RBIs.
Centreville was 7-10 as of Wednesday morning with games remaining against Fairfax and Herndon. Two wins by Centreville and a Robinson loss against Oakton Wednesday night would create a scenario where both teams went 6-6 against district opponents and split the regular-seasons series.
The No. 7 seed will play the No. 6 seed to open the district tournament on May 11, and all other action will begin on May 13. The district title game is scheduled for May 18 at Chantilly.
<b>Soccer Shorts</b>
As was expected at the beginning of the season, the Robinson girls’ soccer team has claimed the regular-season Concorde District title with a 6-0 mark, but Chantilly is not too far behind at 9-2-1 overall and 4-1-0 against district opponents. The Chargers squared off with Centreville Wednesday night to conclude their district slate, but the match ended too late for this edition.
Centreville, meanwhile, was 5-3-1 in out-of-district competition while compiling a 3-2-0 mark against Concorde opponents. The Wildcats’ scoring has been widespread this spring, with Jenna Richmond’s five goals leading the squad. Katie O’Donnell has three goals and Molly MacDonnell has two.
First-round play for the district tournament starts with quarterfinal play on May 11, the semifinals on May 13 and the Concorde District final on May 15.
<b>Westfield Basketball Camp</b>
The Westfield boys’ basketball program will hold a series of four camps throughout the end of June and all of July. The first four-day session runs from June 29 through July 3; the second runs from July 13-17; the third from July 20-24; the fourth from July 27-31. For more information, contact Doug Ewell at 703-488-6406 or via email at douglas.ewell@fcps.edu.
<b>Chantilly Basketball Camp</b>
The Chantilly boys’ basketball program will hold four consecutive weeks of basketball camps starting July 6 for boys ages 8 through 15. Cost is $150 and the sessions will be held at Chantilly High School. For more information, call head coach Jim Smith at 703-222-6306 or visit the Chantilly athletics Web site at www.chantillysports.org.
<b>Contributions from All</b>
When all seven Concorde District girls’ tennis coaches met last Saturday to draft what would become this year’s All-District teams, nine parts of that computer’s keyboard got a little bit more of a workout than some of the others -- those nine keys needed to type Centreville.
Except for one player, every member of Centreville’s starting lineup achieved some sort of honor, whether it was a first team singles player, honorable mention laurels or part of a second team doubles pairing.
“That hasn’t happened in a long time,” said Wildcats coach Terry Hicks, whose team finished the regular season at 9-3 and will travel to South County on Monday for its first round regional matchup.
“We’re very thrilled with how the year went,” Hicks added. “Coming in second in our district, we just think that we’ve gotten contributions from everybody. It’s been a very balanced team.”
On the boys’ side, Centreville finished fifth in the district with a 5-7 record, earning wins over Herndon, Fairfax and Oakton.
<b>Soccer Shorts</b>
Averaging more than four goals per game, the Westfield boys’ soccer team sits at 12-1-0 overall, 5-1-0 against Concorde District opponents ahead of next week’s district tournament, which is scheduled to begin on May 13. Despite a 3-1 home loss to Robinson on March 27, Westfield regained its familiar place atop the standings with the Rams second at 4-1-1. With a total of 53 goals, the Bulldogs are the Northern Region’s top offensive team. Sean Murnane leads the squad with 21 markers, and Irvin Herrera has 15 goals and 15 assists.
Centreville, meanwhile, is 4-4-1 overall, 2-2-1 against district foes, and the Wildcats squared off with Chantilly (2-9-1, 2-3-0 Concorde) Wednesday night, which ended too late for this edition. Senior Jacob Lawrence has paced Centreville’s offense this season, scoring a team-high four goals. Calder Street and Pat Luke are tied for second on the team with three apiece.
<b>Around the Softball Diamond</b>
With only two district games remaining, the Westfield softball team has already clinched the regular-season Concorde title. The Bulldogs, at 14-4 overall, 10-0 in the Concorde, sit three games ahead of second-place Centreville (12-5, 7-3 Concorde) prior to the district tournament, which starts with the quarterfinal round on May 13; semifinals are May 15 and the title game is scheduled for May 18 at Chantilly.
Westfield has scored 129 runs this season, while Centreville has totaled 96. Both decisions went to Westfield this spring, with the Bulldogs taking a 10-9 victory on March 31 and a 2-1 win on April 28. Neither team reached the district final last season, as Robinson upset Herndon, 4-2.
<b>Westfield Crew Captures Silver Medals</b>
This past Saturday at the Ted Phoenix Lower Boat Championship Regatta on the Occoquan, two Westfield boats won silver medals. The novice men’s eight came within two feet of winning its race in the closest race of the day, with nothing but open water between it and the third-place finisher.
Those in the boat included Myles Anhalt, Stephen Chastka, Ryan Titzer, Dharanish Gollamudi, Sean Amico, Ben Fairbanks, Cameron Schultz, Daniel Johnson and Jordan Trenkov as coxswain.
The women’s fourth eight won silver in a close race with Jefferson. The boat included Jessie Gold, Mary Burke, Danielle Rehn, Samantha Kehn, Meg Gardner, Sierra Higinbotham, Kristen Neitz, Elizabeth Kearns and coxswain Rachel Kieler.
On Saturday at the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association’s Championship Regatta at Sandy Run Regional Park on the Occoquan, Westfield’s top three men’s and women’s boats will attempt to earn their own medals and qualify for the Scholastic Rowing Association’s National Regatta on Lake Mercer in Princeton, N.J. on May 22-23. For more information about Westfield crew, go to www.westfieldcrew.org.
<b>Scholarship Awarded</b>
Stephanie Kelly, a senior on Centreville’s swim and dive team, won one of six 2008-09 Wachovia Citizenship Award Scholarships, which were presented by the Virginia High School League. A male and female student from each of the VHSL’s three classifications was awarded the $1,000 scholarship. The selection criteria included the applicant’s contributions to family, school or community; promotion of good sportsmanship and citizenship; participation in at least one VHSL activity; and submission of a student essay. A four-year member of the swim and dive team, Kelly volunteered as a swim instructor for the “Make a Splash” program — a water safety and skills program for children, teens and young adults with disabilities. In addition to swimming, Kelly is a member of the National Honor Society and serves as vice president for both the Drama and Key Clubs.
<b>Sign-Up to Swim</b>
Two sessions of registration for the 2009 season of the Sequoia Farms Stingrays swim team will be held on Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and on Sunday, May 17 from 2 until 5 p.m. Registration will be held at the pool, which is located at 5562 Sequoia Farms Drive in Centreville. Current members of Sequoia Farms pools are invited to join the team, while outside pool memberships are available and will qualify a swimmer to become a member of the team as well.
<b>Centreville Basketball Camp</b>
The Centreville booster club is sponsoring a boys’ basketball camp for rising third- through 10th-grade boys. The camp will take place at Centreville High School from June 22-26, and the camp’s cost is $135 for the week. Camp will run from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Contact coach Drew Murphy at 703-802-5476 or by email at andrew.murphy@fcps.edu for more details, or got to www.fcps.edu/CentrevilleHS/boys_basketball_camp.html to download an application.