Trinity Girls Volleyball Team Wins League Championship

The Trinity School at Meadow View’s girls volleyball team, comprised of seventh and eighth grade students, won the Northern Virginia Independent Athletic Conference (NVIAC) post season tournament, claiming victory over the previously undefeated Virginia Academy girls team.

The Trinity team, also called “the Tempest,” has won the league’s championship for the third straight year and is coached by Mary Beth Harris, Gina Dietz, Ted Green and Lisa Tychsen.

McLean Volleyball Finishes Third in District

In the first round of the Liberty District tournament held on Monday, Oct. 27, the McLean High School girls Volleyball team began with a slow start, losing their first two games 16-25 and 24-26 to Woodson High School. The McLean Highlanders, however, rallied in time to win the next two games, 25-21 and 25-18. In the match tiebreaker, the Highlanders trailed Woodson 1-5, but then played strong to win the game, and the match, 15-8. Cat Davis, named to the All-Liberty District first team, made 31 kills during the match. McLean seniors Alex Yensen and Lea Williams, who both received Honorable Mentions from the district, performed well throughout the game, along with strong plays from Katie Phelan, Sarah Kolmorgen and Hela Hedda. On. Oct. 28, the Highlanders headed to Stone Bridge High School to challenge Stone Bridge’s team, which is ranked first in the district. McLean lost the match, 26-28, 12-25 and 18-25. On Nov. 3, the team won the first round of the Regional Tournament, held at South County High School, against Edison High School, but lost its match against Chantilly High School the next day.

TJHSST Girls Win 2008 Cross Country Championship

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) girls Cross Country team won their first regional championship since 2000, while the TJHSST boys team placed third. The Northern Virginia Regional Cross Country Championship race was held on Thursday, Oct. 30, at Burke Lake Park’s 5-kilometer cross country course. Both Jefferson boys and girls teams will compete in the Virginia state AAA championship cross country race on Nov. 8, at Great Meadows in The Plains, Virginia.

The TJHSST girls team outpaced the runner-up Oakton High School by a score of 69 to 100. Three Jefferson girls earned All-Region Honors: Stephanie Marzen who placed third with 18:01, Sarah Stites, eighth, with 18:09, and Katherine Sheridan, 11th, with 18:16. Also placing for TJHSST were Neesha and Rekha Schnepf, who respectively finished 18th (18:36) and 33rd (18:59). Sarah Nielsen, 59th (19:24) and Kathleen Ryan, 79th (20:03).

The TJHSST boys team placed third behind winner Oakton and runner-up Robinson. However, their third-place finish earned them their eighth consecutive trip to the Virginia AAA state meet. TJHSST boys ran as a pack with a very tight 19-second spread between their top five runners: Alex Witko, who was 17th with 15:53, Timmy Galvin, 20th (15:57), Colin Maloney, 28th (16:06), Jimmy Wu, 32nd (16:11), Logan Gates, 34th (16:12), Max Dreo, 46th (16:20), and Joey Jachowski, 62nd (16:36).

Thomas Jefferson Scores Victory, Heads to Division Playoffs

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology football Colonials traveled to South Lakes High School to face the Seahawks for their final district game of the season, winning the game that has sent the Colonials to the AAA Division 5 playoffs for the first time since 2004, and only the second time in 20 years. The Colonials scored first on a 6-yard pass from quarterback Ben Daly to Daniel Barnes. South Lakes went ahead in the second quarter 7-6. The Colonials were able to score again just before halftime on a 5 yard run by Daly with a PAT by Evan Burch to regain the lead 13-7. The Colonials opened the second half with a fumble recovery on the Seahawks first possession by Adil Dittmer but were unable to score. TJHSST then had another opportunity as Sy Rashid delivered a strong hit following a mishandled punt return by South Lakes with a recovery by Jason Schwartz. They eventually were able to score in the fourth quarter on a 24 yard FG by Burch to go up 16-7 securing a playoff berth. TJHSST travels to Stone Bridge High School next Friday to face the Bulldogs for the first round of the Northern Virginia AAA Division 5 playoffs.

Falls Church High School Clinches Bell Game

In its annual football match-up against J.E.B. Stuart High School, Falls Church High School won this year’s Bell Game 27-12. The Bell Game, named after a bell retrieved from the U.S.S. J.E.B. Stuart, has become a tradition between the two rivals since the 1960s. Falls Church High School has won the game since 1999 except for 2004.