The 14U Fire Ants baseball team traveled to the Richmond area and won the AA Virginia State Championships, held May 23-24. Pictured are: (back row, standing, from left) assistant coach Tommy Russell, head coach Joe Carter, Liam Fish, Archer Rutledge, Dane Camphausen, Tristan Nelson, Zavyor Zenk, Assistant Coach Jason Zenk, assistant coach Doug Kantor (front row, kneeling, from left), Jacob Kaufman, Frank Lavoie, Justin Packs, Will Philpott, Ben Piper, Zach Hamilton, Jackson Kantor. Photo Contributed
West Potomac Junior 4 Crew Competes at Nationals
The West Potomac junior 4 crew boat competed in the SRAA National Championship on May 22-23 in Camden, NJ. The team qualified by winning the Virginia State Championship on May 16.
The ladies, Rachael Brautigam, Rachel Hardison, Liz Brodie, Natalie Lorca and Juliette Burcham, progressed beyond the heatson Friday to race in the semifinals on Saturday morning, the first time in recent memory a West Potomac team has progressed in this event.
Coach Shinners said: “I was fortunate to witness one of the most dramatic come-from-behind finishes that I've ever seen in 25 years of rowing, when the girls put on a tremendous surge at the end of their semifinal race to come in a close fourth, a mere .07 seconds behind the third-place boat (which went on to the 6-boat final later that day). The girls definitely finished in seventh place based on times in the semis; quite an accomplishment.”
The competition started on Friday with qualifying crew teams from around the nation. The two-day event featured many prominent schools. Coach Alan Weatherly said, “We are a small fish in a big pond.”
Seventh in the country is the highest finish ever for a West Potomac boat.
West Potomac Boys’ Soccer Wins Conference 7 Title
The West Potomac boys’ soccer team defeated Woodson 1-0 to win the Conference 7 championship on May 21 at Woodson High School.
It was the first conference/district championship in program history.
The Wolverines defeated Lake Braddock 2-1 in the semifinals on May 19 to advance to the championship match.
West Potomac entered the 6A North region tournament with a 7-5-4 record. The Wolverines faced McLean on Wednesday, after The Gazette’s deadline. The winner of the West Potomac/McLean match will face the winner of Oakton and Osbourn Park in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 29.
MV, WP Softball Teams To Compete at Regionals
The Mount Vernon softball team, the No. 2 seed from Conference 13, will host Massaponax, the No. 3 seed from Conference 15, in the opening round of the 5A North region tournament at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 28.
West Potomac, the No. 3 seed from Conference 7, will travel to face Conference 6 runner-up McLean in the opening round of the 6A North region tournament at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29.