The Arlington Comets Red soccer team won the Girls U-10 Patriot Division of the Bethesda Thanksgiving Soccer Tournament, which was held on Nov. 13-14. The Comets were not only undefeated in their early round games, they shut out all of their opponents (Frederick (2-0), Braddock Road (2-0), and Stafford (6-0)) in the preliminaries. In the finals, the Comets faced the only other undefeated team in the Division, the Waldorf Rogues. The Comets defeated Waldorf by a score of 4-1. The Comets are coached by Erik Footland, Natalie Gurson, and Lyle Adams. The Comets players are: Ana Coutlakis, Cadyn Westhoff, Carly Rivera, Cate Barrett, Emily Sible, Katie Belt, Maeve Marsh, Maggie McDonough, Mckenna Cromwell, Mia Puletti, and Petie Nassetta.
<b>W-L’s Amend Finishes 27th</b>
Washington-Lee junior Isabel Amend, competing in her first cross country season, finished 27th at the VHSL AAA state cross country championships on Saturday at Great Meadow. Amend finished with a time of 19 minutes, 14 seconds, 22 seconds behind the 15th-place finisher. The top 15 individuals earn all-state honors. She was the second-best finisher from the National District behind Edison’s Myah Hicks (17th, 18:56).
Amend qualified for states during the indoor and outdoor track seasons of her sophomore year.
"I think I forgot how tough state meets are," Amend said after Saturday’s race. "They’re supposed to challenge you. I think this course has obstacles each mile. Starting, everyone went really, really fast and as we approached the last mile, the hill was a killer."
Stafford’s Hannah Lowery won the race with a time of 17:41, edging Lake Braddock’s Sophie Chase. Midlothian won the team title with 104 points, nine better than Maggie Walker. Thomas Jefferson was the Northern Region’s top team, placing fourth.
"I feel like this is a good experience for me," Amend said. "I’ll learn from this experience and remember what this is like for next year."
<b>Yorktown Volleyball Ends Season</b>
The Yorktown volleyball team lost to Robinson 3-0 in the regional quarterfinals on Nov. 9, ending the Patriots’ season. Yorktown advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over West Springfield, the third time in four years the Patriots advanced past the first round of regionals.
<b>Competing at Pickleball Nationals</b>
Arlington residents Toui Pomsouvan, Marian Lapp and Denise Fay competed in the senior (50 and older) division of the USA Pickleball Association’s National Tournament, held Nov. 1-7 in Buckeye, Ariz. Pomsouvan won a silver medal in the men’s 65-and-over singles.
Those interested in pickleball can compete at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center and Walter Reed Senior Center. For more information, call the Office of Senior Adult Programs at 703-228-4745 or visit www.usapa.org.