Top 100: Mike Wallace, Madison, Baseball
Wallace carried Madison to Virginia's first official baseball championship before playing 117 games in the majors.
Mike Wallace won't give himself the credit he deserves. Like most professional baseball players, Wallace believes in a lot of luck and fortune. He believes that luck carried him and the Warhawks to the first Virginia High School League sponsored state championship in 1968 and luck helped Woodrow Wilson rip the title from him in 1969.
Top 100: Willie Pile, West Potomac, Football, 1998
Willie Pile, second year member of the Dallas Cowboys, can only marvel at how far the game of football has taken him in such a short time. He only first began playing as a high school freshman back in 1994 at West Potomac High School in Alexandria.
Top 100: Joe Koshansky, Baseball
Joe Koshansky was able to sum up his career as a baseball player at Chantilly High School in just one sentence: "I pitched pretty well and I hit a few home runs." Koshansky, who graduated in 2000, did much more for his team than pitch a few scoreless innings and hit a few over the fence.
Top 100: Alex Irmer, Wakefield Basketball, 2005
Wakefield High boys basketball coach Tony Bentley always understood that versatile 6-foot 7-inch Alex Irmer was much more than just another good ball player.
Top 100: Mary Yarrison, Diving, Lee 2003
The four-time high school state champion returned from injuries to continue a stellar diving career collegiately, nationally and internationally.
When she won her third diving state championship in 2002, Mary Yarrison walked away from the meet with a hint of anger. She may have won three state championships in three years, she was only a junior, but she didn't have the record yet.
Top 100: Cathron Birge, Track, Lake Braddock 1986
Teammate in an individual sport.
When the Lake Braddock girls track team won the Northern Region Championship in 1986, the lone senior was out with a mono diagnosis. Many wondered if Cathron Birge would be able to run in the following week's state championship.
Top 100: Bryant Johnson, Herndon Football, 1986
Barry Johnson, arguably Herndon High School's greatest athlete, remembers a newspaper article that tore him up inside. He doesn't remember the specifics, but he remembers reading the words as something to the effect of "There is only one Johnson at Herndon High School."
Top 100: Bob DeProspero, Robinson Wrestling, 1981
After not making the varsity wrestling team his freshman year of high school, Bob DeProspero, a 1981 Robinson graduate, went on to win all but one match in the remaining three years of his high school career.
Cancer-Free Randolph Returns to Titans
Coach missed final six games of 2011 season.
T.C. Williams head football coach Dennis Randolph was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2011, causing him to miss the final six games of the season. One year later, he's cancer-free and back coaching the Titans.
Top 100: Larry Fones, Fairfax Football, Baseball and Basketball, 1948
Larry Fones is from a different time. Fones is from a time when football players wore leather helmets and guns marked the end of the games' quarters.
Top 100: Eddie Royal, Football, 2003
Westfield was trailing early in the 2003 Group AAA Division 6 state championship game. It was a position that the Bulldogs had not been in very often that season.
Top 100: Felton Brothers, Basketball Hayfield 1994 and 1998
Two brothers, seven years, one program, numerous accolades and immeasurable impact.
The writing above the number 33 jersey on Hayfield Secondary's Basketball Hall of Fame wall says the number was retired in 1997. A deeper gaze into the number reveals a story of family, winning and losing, record breaking, team leadership and passion for the sport.
Top 100: Brandon Corso, Football, Woodson 1992
In September of 1991 the Connection came out with its Northern Virginia Football Preview for that year. The caption under the photo on page 3 read, "Woodson flies Air Corso again in 1991."
Meet the Aces
Host families, sponsors celebrate Alexandria Aces.
The Alexandria Aces celebrated with their host families, coaches, corporate partners and fans at the second annual Meet the Aces dinner June 26 at Union Street Public House.
Tsunami Earns Division Championship
Despite a persistent rainfall and a near 30-degree drop in temperature Saturday morning July 21, Riverside Gardens’ Tsunami swim team defeated the host team from High Point Pool by a score of 269-151. With the win, Riverside Gardens became NVSL Division Six champions. The Tsunamis ended the season undefeated: 5-0.