Albert Einstein High School | Archive | February, 2009

By Kyle Wannen
For DigitalSports.com

In last year’s 4A/3A West Regional Championships, Walt Whitman’s wrestling team only had one regional champion and finished three points behind Magruder for the team championship.

This year the Vikings returned a slew of wrestlers who qualified for states in last year’s tournament, and each of them finished at least one spot higher as Whitman took this year’s team championship by over 23 points. Three wrestlers won their respective weight classes and all eight Vikings wrestlers who participated in Saturday’s meet qualified for the state-wide tournament next weekend.

“Bringing eight guys here and having all eight of them qualify for states, it was a great job,” Vikings coach Derek Manon said. “We wrestled real well. We didn’t wrestle our best last weekend so we wanted to come here and have a good showing.”

“Everyone just came back with a chip on their shoulder,” senior co-captain Aaron Norris (189) said. “They all came here with something to prove and they all wrestled real tough.”

Co-captain Eric Beverly (145) remained undefeated this season for the Vikings with a victory on Saturday. In his first match without having to wear a protective face mask that he required all season, Beverly won the championship by major decision (15-5) with a dominant performance against Wootton’s Mike Barbaro. Last year Beverly finished in second place in the 140-lb weight class.

“It feels good. I can see. I can breathe,” Beverly said. “It’s just another stepping stone. I’m just going to try to keep on improving and work hard at states, I think things will take care of themselves.”

Norris won his title with a 4-1 decision over Paul Okeyo of Walter Johnson and junior Danny Lee (215) defeated Seneca Valley’s Bernard Wolley with a 2-1 decision. Last year Norris finished second in the 160-lb weight class while Lee finished third in the same weight class.

“Those guys who are winning those titles, I mean, they’ve really stepped up over the last year,” Manon said. “Our three captains, Beverly, Norris and [Steven] Fisher, they’ve done all the little things that a coach could have asked. To get these champs and the team title here is pretty special.”

“We’ve all been working very hard,” Lee said. “We graduated a few kids but not that many and we had a bunch of freshmen and sophomores that were just going to move up the next year and I knew they were just going to get betterand better and they proved it tonight.”

Fisher (160) and junior Taylor Leighton (171) each finished in second place for the Vikings. Sophomores Eric Harder (119) and Andrew Follmann (125) each finished in third place while junior Sawyer Symington (112) finished in fourth. Last year Leighton finished in third and Fisher and Harder each finished in fourth.

“It’s tough to lose that way in the semis but to wrestle back like that and qualify for states, it’s a huge help to the team,” Fisher said.

CHEN USES LATE REVERSE TO WIN

Late in the third round against Magruder’s Max Schneiderman, Churchill’s Mike Chen (119) pulled off a move he had been practicing all year which resulted in a match-winning reversal. Schneiderman had been predicted to win the weight class and had been dominant throughout the season including defeating Chen last week at the County tournament.

“I just hipped over,” Chen said. “It’s something I’ve been working on all year as defense. I was just trying to make it close.”

GALEANO WINS WITH FOUR SECONDS REMAINING

Springbrook’s Joe Galeano (130) scored a takedown with four second remaining in his title match against the favored Kekura Musa from Blair. Galeano won the match with a 4-3 decision and got revenge after losing the county title to Musa last weekend.

“There was a minute left and I was down by one and so I had to take a chance,” Galeano said. “Musa’s been a top contender and he’s beaten me three times. I had nothing to lose so I decided to go out and wrestle, you know, be smart.”

GAMBLE REPEATS AS REGIONAL CHAMPION

Last week Sherwood’s Steven Gamble became the only four-time county champion in Montgomery County history and he followed up that performance by winning his fourth consecutive regional title with a 6-0 decision against Fisher.

“It was a big statement to win counties and regionals,” Gamble said. “It’s been one of my biggest goals to win a state championship in wrestling ever since I started in high school. Losing three times in a row in the state finals, it’s kind of hard but I’ve been looking forward to this year.”

BADJE ATTAINS 100TH CAREER VICTORY

After he pinned Leighton in 1:49, Springbrook’s Nadjitade Badje (171) not only remained undefeated, but he also reached his 100th career win and won his weight-class title.

TEAM RESULTS

1 148.50 Walt Whitman

2 125.00 Springbrook

3 111.00 Sherwood

4 110.00 Thomas Wootton

5 105.50 Quince Orchard

6 100.50 Magruder

7 74.00 Northwest

8 66.50 Hubie Blake

9 55.00 Walter Johnson

10 39.00 Bethesda-CC

11 31.00 Albert Einstein

12 27.00 Paint Branch

13 25.00 Winston Churchill

14 21.00 Wheaton

15 19.50 Gaithersburg

16 19.00 Montgomery Blair

17 16.00 Seneca Valley

18 15.00 Watkins Mill

19 8.00 Damascus

20 0.00 John F. Kennedy

      0.00 Richard Montgomery

PLACE WINNERS

Championship

103 Eli Bienstock, Quince Orchard
Fall Ravi Choxi, Magruder, 1:38

112 Rasheim Smith, Hubie Blake
Dec Jordan Tolbert, Magruder, 15-8

119 Mike Chen, Winston Churchill
Dec Max Schneiderman, Magruder, 4-3

125 Shane Bramble, Thomas Wootton
Dec Michael Henning, Northwest, 5-3

130 Joe Galeano, Springbrook Dec
Kekura Musa, Montgomery Blair, 4-3

135 Joey McKenna, Hubie Blake Dec
Tyler Tockman, Sherwood, 5-2

140 Arthur Holland, Quince
Orchard T-Fall Tyler Luckett, Northwest, 15-0; 3:51

145 Eric Beverly, Walt Whitman
M-Dec Mike Barbaro, Thomas Wootton, 15-5

152 Reed Neubaum, Quince Orchard
Dec Josh Lowy, Sherwood, 8-6

160 Steven Gamble, Sherwood Dec
Steven Fisher, Walt Whitman, 6-0

171 Nadjitade Badje, Springbrook
Fall Taylor Leighton, Walt Whitman, 1:48

189 Aaron Norris, Walt Whitman
Dec Paul Okeyo, Walter Johnson, 4-1

215 Danny Lee, Walt Whitman Dec
Bernard Wolley, Seneca Valley, 2-1

285 Dake Williams, Quince Orchard
Fall Gerrad Brown, Springbrook, 3:15

Consolation

103 Nitesh Donti, Northwest Dec
Jacob Weaver, Thomas Wootton, 1-0

112 Tommy Wilson, Albert Einstein
Dec Sawyer Symington, Walt Whitman, 6-0

119 Eric Harder, Walt Whitman Dec
Eddie Madden, Hubie Blake, 7-5; SV

125 Andrew Follmann, Walt Whitman
Fall Andy Tran, Springbrook, 4:17

130 Tony Scarnecchia, Walter
Johnson Frft Jeremy Rosenthal, Thomas Wootton

135 Sarantos Tripoulas, Wheaton
Dec Michael Roberts, Paint Branch, 9-2

140 Ricky Echeona, Albert
Einstein Dec Alex Abramson, Springbrook, 10-4

145 Miche Ulysse, Springbrook
Fall John Ramsey, Walter Johnson, 4:54

152 George Murphy, Watkins Mill
M-Dec Scott Oberst, Thomas Wootton, 14-2

160 Noah Joseph, Bethesda-CC Dec Chris
Ralli, Magruder, 10-3

171 Greg Hamilton, Northwest Fall
Tony Maroulis, Magruder, 4:37

189 John Rinaldi, Magruder Dec
Josh Hertz, Sherwood, 8-6; SV

215 Sam Hollman, Thomas Wootton
Fall Abel Dasilva, Springbrook, 1:49

285 Andrew Midgette, Sherwood Dec
Winterford Mensah, Paint Branch, 5-0

5th Place

103 Thomas Parsley, Gaithersburg
Fall Jake Sutton, Winston Churchill, 0:33

112 Vincent Galeano, Springbrook
Fall Oleg Loughner, Sherwood, 4:36

119 James Kerrick, Sherwood Dec
Adam Pereira, Bethesda-CC, 5-3

125 Anthony Steffes, Hubie Blake
Dflt Montgomery Barnsley, Sherwood, INJ

130 Sam Turow, Northwest Dec Ray
Mencia, Sherwood, 3-0

135 Tyler Warren, Gaithersburg
Dec Kyle Nisson, Thomas Wootton, 2-1

140 James Roach, Bethesda-CC Dec
Eric Mears, Thomas Wootton, 4-0

145 Jack Cunningham, Magruder Dec
Chris Byars, Albert Einstein, 6-4; OT

152 Don Cazeau, Springbrook Dec
Jacob White, Northwest, 10-5

160 Austin Williams, Quince
Orchard Dec Jack Corbett, Thomas Wootton, 6-1

171 Collins Nitcheu, Bethesda-CC
Fall Greg Potemken, Thomas Wootton, 4:37

189 Fred Stephenson, Damascus
M-Dec Casey Wolt, Quince Orchard, 16-6

215 Michael Perez, Wheaton Dec
Ian Banson, Paint Branch, 6-3

285 Patrick Teixeira, Walter Johnson Dec Mike Hill,
Bethesda-CC, 2-1

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By Ryan Mink and Kyle Wannen
rmink@digitalsports.com

There have been 25 three-time Montgomery County champions, starting in 1965. There’s been a three-time state champions such as Andy Lowy and even a wrestler who nearly went undefeated over his career in Eren Civan.

Sherwood’s Steven Gamble has never won a state championship. But now he has something never of them can ever claim.

Saturday evening at Blair, Gamble became the first four-time Montgomery County champion in history. In the process he also won the Richard J. Monisera Award, given to the senior who has scored the most points during his career in the Montgomery County Wrestling Tournament.

“I thought, ‘This is it, you can make history,” the 160-pound senior said, recalling his thoughts on the mat. “It’s something to get on a list that nobody’s been on yet.”

His finals win also clinched Sherwood’s team Montgomery County championship as the Warriors topped Whitman by 12 points. Sherwood had one individual compared to Whitman’s three, but did well in consolations.

Gamble, who won his first county title at 130 pounds, didn’t have a cakewalk again this year. He came up against Whitman senior Steven Fisher in the finals and earned a 7-1 decision. He earned pins in his other three bouts.

“It’s a pretty big deal,” Gamble said. “Our county, I think, is one of the best counties throughout the state of Maryland.”

Civan would have had a very good chance of winning his fourth state title in 2007 had he not severely injured his knee. April would have had a good shot at it in 2004 had he not hurt his shoulder.

As Sherwood coach Scott Beattie said, it certainly takes some luck. But it takes more hard work and talent. Gamble has always stood out with his superb mat presence and body awareness and of course is a hard worker.

Asked what Gamble’s finest attribute may be, Beattie said, “his mat suave.”

Gamble has always been a confident wrestler, but since placing second at states for the third consecutive year he has developed a calm confidence.

What triggered that demeanor, in which Gamble feels less nervous heading into matches and is more willing to take criticism in practice, came on the football field instead of the mat.

Led by Gamble at linebacker, Sherwood surprised many by winning the 4A Maryland football state title, which snapped Gamble’s title drought.

“He’s intense, but he’s having fun with it,” Beattie said. “It was kind of like [the plug] was pulled.”

Gamble will likely get another crack at a state wrestling championship. But Saturday at least knocked out one long-term goal he had – a goal that Gamble set his sights on at the end of last year.

“It’s about the same as a state championship,” Gamble said. “Four times is a lot of times winning, but winning it once as a state championship would be nice.”

WHITMAN BRINGS HOME THREE CHAMPIONS

Last season Walt Whitman finished undefeated through all their county duals matches but at the Montgomery County Championship they had no player win the county championship in their respective weight classes. This season the Vikings boasted another great duals record and the regional duals title, but on Saturday they found great success at the county championships.

Senior Eric Beverly continued his undefeated season by winning the 145-lb weight class with a 12-7 decision over Wootton’s Mike Barbaro. Beverly has been a dominant force throughout the season despite the fact that he had broken his nose and was wearing a protective mask.

“The mask *****, but it comes off,” Beverly said. “So by regions I’ll be able to breathe easier. I’ve been told it’s scary.”

Aaron Norris won the 189-lb weight class with an 8-5 decision over Magruder’s John Rinaldi and Danny Lee won the 215-lb weight class by fall in 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

QUINCE ORCHARD LEADS WITH FOUR TITLES

For most of the season, Quince Orchard’s Dake Williams was out with a broken foot. Williams only returned to practice two weeks ago but none of that mattered as he won the heavyweight championship on Saturday.

Williams pinned Springbrook’s Gerrad Brown, the only wrestler to defeat Williams in his short season, in one minutes and 39 seconds.

”It feels great to know that I can come back from four months off and step right back in,” Williams said.

In the semifinals Williams pulled a great move on Sherwood’s Andrew Midgette and pinned him in 10 seconds on the first move of the match.

“I felt what I wanted to feel and then I just threw him,” Williams said.

Eli Bienstock (103), Arthur Holland (140) and Reed Neubaum (152) all also won their respective weight class championships for the Cougars.

Neubaum pulled out a big win over Sherwood’s Josh Lowy and Holland pulled out an overtime win against Poolesville’s Kyle Flick when Flick was called for an illegal move.

NORTHWOOD’S STOCKY SURPRISES

On a Northwood high team that has had a tough season, sophomore Luke Stocky quietly compiled a solid 30-3 record while remaining under the radar of his opponents.

But after winning the 125-lb championship on Saturday, everyone knows who the sophomore wrestler is.

“Since we haven’t had a county champion in like 25 years, it’s pretty good,” Stocky said. “Northwood’s not really there for wrestling but I’m representing.”

Stocky defeated Northwest’s Michael Henning with a 4-3 decision. After landing the first takedown, Stocky controlled the match and did not allow Henning to score until very late.

“First take down, he wasn’t getting up, I made sure,” Stocky said.

SMITH REACHES 100 WINS AND TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP

Last season, Blake’s Rasheim Smith (112) finished second in states and his performance at the county championships forebodes that he might have another strong finish this season.

Smith earned his 100th career win on Friday against Einstein’s Tommy Wilson. Then he defeated Magruder’s Jordan Tolbert with a 7-4 decision to win the 112-lb championship.

“Pretty much I was happy but I guess it didn’t hit me until after the fact that it happened,” Smith said about his milestone win. “Everyone pointed it out and it felt pretty good.”

SPRINGBROOK’S BADJE REMAINS UNDEFEATED

Nadjitade Badje improved to 31-0 this season for the Blue Devils and has continually been the most dominant wrestler in the 171-lb weight class.

Saturday Badje pinned Blair’s Alhaji Janneh in four minutes and 24 seconds to win the 171-lb championship.

TEAM RESULTS

1   178.50  Sherwood
2   166.50  Walt Whitman
3   159.00  Springbrook
4   145.50  Quince Orchard
5   133.50  Magruder
6   110.50  Northwest
7    88.50  Thomas Wootton
      88.50  Clarksburg
9    77.00  Poolesville
10    71.00  Hubie Blake
11    67.00  Bethesda-CC
12    62.50  Montgomery Blair
13    54.00  Winston Churchill
14    47.00  Walter Johnson
15    40.00  Paint Branch
16    37.50  Damascus
17    37.00  Albert Einstein
18    36.00  Northwood
19    33.00  Watkins Mill
20    28.00  Seneca Valley
21    27.00  Gaithersburg
22    25.00  Wheaton
23    17.00  John F. Kennedy
24    14.00  Rockville
25     4.00  Richard Montgomery

PLACE-WINNERS

Championship
103   Eli Bienstock, Quince Orchard Dec Mac Raum, Clarksburg, 6-3
112   Rasheim Smith, Hubie Blake Dec Jordan Tolbert, Magruder, 7-4
119   Max Schneiderman, Magruder Dec Mike Chen, Winston Churchill, 10-4
125   Luke Stocky, Northwood Dec Michael Henning, Northwest, 4-3
130   Kekura Musa, Montgomery Blair Dec Joe Galeano, Springbrook, 9-6
135   Logan Wilson, Poolesville Dec Chris Williamson, Clarksburg, 7-4
140   Arthur Holland, Quince Orchard Dec Kyle Flick, Poolesville, 9-8; SV
145   Eric Beverly, Walt Whitman Dec Mike Barbaro, Thomas Wootton, 12-7
152   Reed Neubaum, Quince Orchard Dec Josh Lowy, Sherwood, 9-3
160   Steven Gamble, Sherwood Dec Steven Fisher, Walt Whitman, 7-1
171   Nadjitade Badje, Springbrook Fall Alhaji Janneh, Montgomery Blair, 4:24
189   Aaron Norris, Walt Whitman Dec John Rinaldi, Magruder, 8-5
215   Danny Lee, Walt Whitman Fall Bernard Wolley, Seneca Valley, 2:42
285   Dake Williams, Quince Orchard Fall Gerrad Brown, Springbrook, 1:15

Consolation
103   Ravi Choxi, Magruder Dec Nitesh Donti, Northwest, 6-2
112   Tommy Wilson, Albert Einstein Fall Ben Asadi, Clarksburg, 4:27
119   Eddie Madden, Hubie Blake Dec Jeff Tallia, Poolesville, 2-0
125   Andrew Follmann, Walt Whitman Dec Shane Bramble, Thomas Wootton, 5-4
130   Roja Stephenson, Clarksburg Dec Ray Mencia, Sherwood, 5-4
135   Joey McKenna, Hubie Blake Dec Tyler Tockman, Sherwood, 6-1
140   Tyler Luckett, Northwest Dec James Roach, Bethesda-CC, 8-2
145   Miche Ulysse, Springbrook Dec Chris Costantino, Sherwood, 2-0
152   George Murphy, Watkins Mill Fall Jacob White, Northwest, 1:51
160   Noah Joseph, Bethesda-CC Dec Chris Ralli, Magruder, 4-0
171   Taylor Leighton, Walt Whitman Dec Collins Nitcheu, Bethesda-CC, 5-3
189   Josh Hertz, Sherwood Dec Paul Okeyo, Walter Johnson, 14-10; OT
215   Ian Banson, Paint Branch Fall Sam Hollman, Thomas Wootton, 5:03
285   Andrew Midgette, Sherwood Fall Aaron Butler, John F. Kennedy, 3:50

5th Place
103   Thomas Parsley, Gaithersburg M-Dec Jake Sutton, Winston Churchill, 10-0
112   Oleg Loughner, Sherwood Dec Sawyer Symington, Walt Whitman, 6-4
119   James Kerrick, Sherwood Fall Abdul Wahla, Gaithersburg, 2:20
125   Andy Tran, Springbrook Dec Anthony Steffes, Hubie Blake, 11-9
130   Tony Sarnecchia, Walter Johnson Dec Jeremy Rosenthal, Thomas Wootton, 3-0
135   Sarantos Tripoulas, Wheaton Dec Tyler Warren, Gaithersburg, 7-4
140   Alex Abramson, Springbrook Dec Eric Mears, Thomas Wootton, 5-1
145   John Ramsey, Walter Johnson Dec Johni Meeks, Montgomery Blair, 7-0
152   Cammeron Mayberry, Magruder M-Dec Michah Cacopardo, Damascus, 14-6
160   Austin Williams, Quince Orchard Dec Sasha Barrow, Springbrook, 7-4
171   Greg Hamilton, Northwest Dec Desean Martinez, Clarksburg, 7-3
189   Fred Stephenson, Damascus Dec Casey Wolt, Quince Orchard, 9-6
215   Anton Mursin, Northwest Dec Abel Dasilva, Springbrook, 6-4; OT
285   Winterford Mensah, Paint Branch Dec Kevin Mrohs, Thomas Wootton, 3-2

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With their best finish at the county tournament since 2006, Einstein will send four wrestlers to the Regional Tournament at Sherwood HS starting at 5:00 p.m. Friday evening. With 37 points, the Titans finished ahead of eight other schools including DCC rivals Kennedy, Northwood and Wheaton and only ½ point behind Damascus.

Tommy Wilson (112) advances on the strength of his third place finish and Ricky Echeona (140), Chris Byars (145) and Alec Anderson (161) advance based on the point system which is based on season records and tournament placement over the season.

Jorge Villatoro (119) and Oscar Salazar (125) have been selected as alternates.

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Weight: 103
Eli Bienstock (Fr), Quince Orchard Fall Jake Sutton (Fr), Winston Churchill, 1:45
Mac Raum (Fr), Clarksburg Dec Ravi Choxi (Sr), Magruder, 9-5

Weight: 112
Rasheim Smith (Sr), Hubie Blake Fall Ben Asadi (Jr), Clarksburg, 1:55
Jordan Tolbert (So), Magruder Fall Sawyer Symington (Jr), Walt Whitman, 3:39

Weight: 119
Max Schneiderman (Sr), Magruder Dec Jeff Tallia (Sr), Poolesville, 7-3
Mike Chen (Sr), Winston Churchill Dec James Kerrick (Sr), Sherwood, 7-5

Weight: 125
Michael Henning (So), Northwest Dec Andrew Follmann (So), Walt Whitman, 3-2
Luke Stocky (So), Northwood Fall Andy Tran (Sr), Springbrook, 3:32

Weight: 130
Kekura Musa (Sr), Montgomery Blair Dec Jeremy Rosenthal (Sr), Thomas Wootton, 6-3
Joe Galeano (Jr), Springbrook M-Dec Roja Stephenson (Jr), Clarksburg, 9-0

Weight: 135
Chris Williamson (Jr), Clarksburg Dec Sarantos Tripoulas (Sr), Wheaton, 7-5
Logan Wilson (Jr), Poolesville Dec Joey McKenna (Sr), Hubie Blake, 9-8

Weight: 140
Arthur Holland (Sr), Quince Orchard M-Dec James Roach (Jr), Bethesda-CC, 8-0
Kyle Flick (Jr), Poolesville Dec Tyler Luckett (Sr), Northwest, 9-7

Weight: 145
Eric Beverly (Sr), Walt Whitman T-Fall Chris Costantino (Jr), Sherwood, 16-1; 5:21
Mike Barbaro (Jr), Thomas Wootton Dec John Ramsey (Sr), Walter Johnson, 6-3

Weight: 152
Josh Lowy (Jr), Sherwood Dec Jacob White (Sr), Northwest, 10-6
Reed Neubaum (Jr), Quince Orchard Dec George Murphy (Sr), Watkins Mill, 11-5

Weight: 160
Steven Gamble (Sr), Sherwood Fall Chris Ralli (Sr), Magruder, 3:10
Steven Fisher (Sr), Walt Whitman Fall Noah Joseph (Sr), Bethesda-CC, 1:20

Weight: 171
Nadjitade Badje (Sr), Springbrook Dec Collins Nitcheu (So), Bethesda-CC, 6-1
Alhaji Janneh (Sr), Montgomery Blair Dec Taylor Leighton (Jr), Walt Whitman, 5-3

Weight: 189
Aaron Norris (Sr), Walt Whitman Dec Josh Hertz (Jr), Sherwood, 3-2
John Rinaldi (Sr), Magruder Dec Paul Okeyo (Sr), Walter Johnson, 10-6

Weight: 215
Danny Lee (Jr), Walt Whitman Fall Sam Hollman (Sr), Thomas Wootton, 3:40
Bernard Wolley (So), Seneca Valley Dec Ian Banson (Jr), Paint Branch, 4-3

Weight: 285
Gerrad Brown (Sr), Springbrook Dec Winterford Mensah (Sr), Paint Branch, 8-7
Dake Williams (Sr), Quince Orchard Fall Andrew Midgette (Sr), Sherwood, 0:10

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley could have picked from a myriad of charities or organizations to get involved with.

But when he thought long and hard about how he would like to give back to the community, Cooley chose education.

Cooley’s thirst for education and his adamant belief that it has played a large part in making him an NFL star brought him to Montgomery Blair High School Wednesday morning, where Cooley spoke to an auditorium packed with excited Blazers seniors.

“This is my opportunity to help others,” Cooley said. “It’s something I feel extremely strong about.”

Cooley launched his Chris Cooley Education Fund, which will allow Cooley to visit eight area high schools in three days. At each school, Cooley will make a $5,000 donation to the school’s academic programs.

He also announced the establishment of college scholarships through the Chris Cooley Scholarship Fund. He will provide eight “high-potential, low-income high school seniors” – one from each school – with a $25,000 college scholarship.

Cooley visited Fairmont Heights earlier in the morning and will head to Eastern, Spingarn, Forestville, Gar-Field, Clark County and Warren County high schools in the next couple of days. He plans on getting funding for the scholarships through auctioning his artwork and that of local artists and students at the Ritz Carlton some time in May.

“I think the most important thing for me to convey is that even though I play in the NFL, education has been a huge factor in getting to where I am in my life,” Cooley said. “It’s something I highly value.”

Cooley went to Logan High School in Utah, where he went on to excel in football, wrestling and baseball. But Cooley didn’t excel right away. He didn’t reach the varsity until his senior year, after he grew four inches and gained 40 pounds.

He received a scholarship to play football in his hometown at Utah State, but early on accepted that would be the end of his football career. That was just fine by him, however, because he was more focused on following his mother’s footsteps and becoming a high school art teacher.

“Without that education, without that process, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to become a football player, to make money, to know what to do with my money,” Cooley said. “What a good education is to me is an education that provides a person the ability to think for themselves.”

Cooley played on special teams for his first two years and most of his junior year before he was given a chance when the first-stringer fumbled. Cooley made a name for himself the rest of that year, then led the nation in receptions as a senior.

That’s when his football career took off. Soon, he was being interviewed by NFL coaches and he attributes his skills in handling those situations to his education. Once being drafted by the Redskins in the 2004 draft, Cooley’s education certainly wasn’t shed.

Learning and studying plays, going to five-hour meetings and dealing with the media are all part of Cooley’s day-to-day chores.

“To be good, I’ve got to study,” Cooley said. “Being prompt, being on time, being smart, being a student, it all factors into what I do in my career. So that whole education process is so important. I don’t just put on pads in football.”

The learning hasn’t stopped. Cooley told a story about a recent run-in with a light socket. Determined to fix it himself, Cooley didn’t shut off the house’s electric before grabbing hold of the wires.

“I had a numb hand for a couple hours,” Cooley said. “I learned.”

The Blair students were captivated throughout the Power Point presentation, which Cooley’s mother helped him create and his brother administered in the auditorium. The students got chances to ask him questions and pose with him afterwards.

“It was very motivational,” said Blair’s Keith Ayensu, who plays football and runs track. “He can relate to us athletes.”

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Click here for coverage from Friday’s diving!

Churchill’s swimmers have tried to dunk Coach Rodney Van Tassell at the end of counties the past several years but were never able to get him.

This year, Van Tassell was prepared to get wet and there may have been no stopping it even if he hadn’t.

Churchill’s boys and girls swim teams both won Montgomery County championships in the same meet for the first time in school history Saturday at the MLK Swim Center. The girls won their second straight county title while the boys captured their first ever.

“I saw it coming,” Van Tassell said.

The Bulldog girls topped Walter Johnson by scoring 366 points compared to 290 for the Wildcats. Churchill’s boys scored 316 points, 63 points more than second-place Walter Johnson. The Bulldogs placed fifth at counties last year.

For each team, it’s a continuation of an undefeated season and the same result as they had at Divisionals last weekend.

“I think we all got really excited,” junior Alicia Watkins said. “I never actually experienced being this good before.”

The boys won the 200-yard medley to open the meet behind senior Andrew Fisher, freshman Collin Stanhope, senior Chris Verboncoeur and freshman Colin Asbury and broke Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s record from 1997 in the process.

Verboncoeur also won the 200-yard IM, but that was the only two events the boys won as they were led by their depth yet again.

“We have some great freshmen guys,” Verboncoeur said. “We did not know about our freshmen. They have stepped up so much.”

Like the boys, the girls started the morning with a win in the 200-yard medley with senior Dorothy Yu, junior Karen Chen, sophomore Yvonne Huo and Watkins. They broke their own record from last year.

Watkins won the 200-yard free and 500-yard free as well.

The girls also took the 200-yard free relay behind Huo, Yu, Jenny Erickson and Natalya Ares, beating Walter Johnson in the final leg when Wildcats anchor Elizabeth Pepper slipped off the block.

Churchill beat the meet record, set  by Walter Johnson last year, by 82 hundredths of a second with a time of 1:39.58 and avenged a loss in the same event at divisional.

“All I was focused on was beating WJ,” Erickson said.

While the boys will have quite a challenge taking on the Georgetown Prep and Gonzaga’s of the pool at Metros next weekend, the girls may have a more manageable path towards a possible championship, which likely would have to go through 14-time champion Good Counsel.

“For the girls, I think we’re in the drivers’ seat,” Van Tassel said. “It’s ours to lose.”

POOLESVILLE’S CHUANG DOMINATES

After winning Metros at 200 IM and 100-yard backstroke last year, Poolesville’s Cara Chuang has been chasing nobody but herself.

The junior won both of those events at Saturday’s Montgomery County championships, but felt somewhat disappointed that she didn’t eclipse her own records.

She didn’t best her personal best in the 200 IM, which she set her freshman year when she was challenged by Good Counsel’s Colleen Haase.

“That year I had somebody to chase,” Chuang said. “Right now I’m already ahead of the field. Psychologically you kind of back off even if you don’t want to.”

Chuang bested her county meet record of 56.33 with a time of 55.96 in the 100 backstroke. She fell 37 hundreths of a second behind her Montgomery County record. Chuang said she didn’t know what to expect Saturday because she has been tapering for Metros.

Chuang’s goal for Metros is to break 55 seconds – and of course if she wins the battle against the clock she will likely beat out her competition as well.

“It’s really hard because it’s all about mental,” Chuang said. “There’s not somebody next to you physically, so it’s all in your head.”

BLAIR’S McGEHEE HAS RECORD BREAKING DAY

Andrew McGehee was a backstroker.

The Blair senior was trying to qualify for juniors at that event, but after failing to do so he “eventually lost steam.”

So this year, McGehee switched to the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard ****** stroke. On Saturday, his rapid ascension at his new events paid off as he won both events and snapped two Blair school records in the process.

His 50 freestyle time of 21.84 was eight hundredths of a second faster than Jeremy Fain’s 15-year old record. Then, McGehee’s 100-yard ****** time of 58.52 topped Blair’s Yang Yang. He knocked 0.2 seconds off his 50 time and nearly one-and-a-half seconds off his 100 time.

“It’s pretty awesome,” McGehee said of snapping Fain’s record. “It’s the oldest record on the book. It’s mine now. Hopefully it will stay there for another 15 years.”

McGehee said he had a good feeling he would break the records at some point this season, but just didn’t know when. McGehee attributed his success to a big meal before the meet and some good sleep.

“I felt really good today,” McGehee said. “I’m amazingly happy with my swims. … I’m better at short distances and I guess free and ****** complement themselves somehow.”

INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS

1.    Boys 200-yard medley relay: Churchill, 1:39.68*
2.    Girls 200-yard medley relay: Churchill, 1:49.84*
3.    Boys 200-yard free: Mike Anderson (Sherwood), 1:44.84
4.    Girls 200-yard free: Alicia Watkins (Churchill), 1:54.00
5.    Boys 200-yard IM: Chris Verboncoeur (Churchill), 1:58.59
6.    Girls 200-yard IM: Cara Chuang (Poolesville), 2:07.40
7.    Boys 50-yard free: Andrew McGehee (Blair), 21.84
8.    Girls 50-yard free: Emily Ryczek (Sherwood), 24.35
9.    Boys 1-meter diving: Logan Shinholser (Paint Branch), 425.85
10.   Girls 1-meter diving: Brittany Powell (Magruder), 388.90
11.   Boys 100-meter fly: Eric Conrad (Sherwood), 51.89
12.   Girls 100-meter fly: Danielle Schulkin (Whitman), 57.56
13.   Boys 100-yard free: Matt Stevens (Blake), 48.73
14.   Girls 100-yard free: Emily Ryczek (Sherwood), 52.47
15.   Boys 500-yard free: Mike Anderson (Sherwood), 4:40.68
16.   Girls 500-yard free: Alicia Watkins (Churchill), 5:04.10
17.   Boys 200-yard free relay: Walter Johnson, 1:30.54
18.   Girls 200-yard free relay: Churchill, 1:39.58*
19.   Boys 100-yard back: Eric Conrad (Sherwood), 52.89
20.   Girls 100-yard back: Cara Chuang (Poolesville), 55.96*
21.   Boys 100-yard ******: Andrew McGehee (Blair), 58.52
22.   Girls 100-yard ******: Sarah VanDoren (Damascus), 1:05.85
23.   Boys 400-yard free relay: Sherwood, 3:20.40
24.   Girls 400-yard free relay: Walter Johnson, 3:36.86

TEAM STANDINGS

Boys:
1. Churchill – 316
2. Walter Johnson – 253
3. Sherwood – 229
4. Wootton – 213
5. Blair – 197
6t. Bethesda-Chevy Chase – 174
6t. Northwest – 174
8. Whitman – 151
9. Richard Montgomery – 135
10. Blake – 116
11. Quince Orchard – 60
12. Gaithersburg – 58
13. Northwood – 53
14t. Rockville – 28
14t. Springbrook – 28
16. Seneca Valley – 25
17t. Poolesville – 21
17t. Einstein – 21
19. Paint Branch – 20
20. Magruder – 19
21. Damascus – 12
22t. Kennedy – 11
22t. Watkins Mill – 11

Girls:
1. Churchill – 366
2. Walter Johnson – 290
3. Whitman – 249.5
4. Sherwood – 171
5. Richard Montgomery – 162
6. Northwest – 152
7. Poolesville – 150
8. Quince Orchard – 147
9. Magruder – 112
10. Wootton – 101
11. Bethesda-Chevy Chase – 95
12. Blair – 91.5
13. Damascus – 80
14. Blake – 64
15. Gaithersburg – 51
16. Northwood – 27
17. Seneca Valley – 9
18. Springbrook – 4
19. Rockville – 2
20. Clarksburg – 1

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Einstein fell to Damascus Saturday afternoon, 53-20.

The Titans scored on pins by Ricky Echeona (145) and Alec Anderson (160) while Tommy Wilson (125) and Chris Byars (152) added major decisions for the final tally.

Einstein closed out the dual meet season at 4-10, equaling their best output in three seasons. The Titans also ended the regular season with four wrestlers with 20 wins or more for the first time in at least 10 years, going back to the team that featured state champs Tim Lowe (two-time) and Matt Butler. Echeona led the way with 29, followed by Anderson with 26, Byars with 24 and Tommy Wilson with 20, giving him three straight seasons with 20 or more victories.

Damascus scored on falls by Andy Creighton (171) and Dennis Creegan (130) and major decisions by Jacob Mavromatis (135) and Billy Kitterman (103). Bobby Velisak (119) added a decision and forfeits were awarded to Matt Hinkle (140), Fred Stevenson (189), Andy Morris (215), James Scafate (285) and Jordon Dye (112).

The Titans have two weeks off in preparation for the county tournament February 20-21 at Blair High School

The Junior Varsity Tournament is next weekend at Gaithersburg HS and Matt Jones, Shaun Flynn and Angel Enamorado will be among the Titans participating.

 
Damascus 53, Damascus 20
Match Started at 215

215-Morris (DA) by forfeit 6-0
285-Scafate (DA)  by forfeit 12-0
103-Kitterman (DA) maj dec 14-4 over Hyman (AE)  16-0
112-Dye (DA) by forfeit 22-0
119-Velisak (DA) dec 8-6 Villatoro (AE) 25-0
125-Wilson (AE) maj dec Hill (DA) 10-1   25-4
130-Creegan (DA) by fall 3:31 over Salazar 31-4
135-Mavromatis (DA) maj dec Jones (AE) 35-4
140-Hinkle (DA) by forfeit 41-4
145-Echeona (AE) by fall 1:44 over Ross 41-10
152-Byars (AE) maj dec 8-0 Wise (DA) 41-14
160-Anderson (AE) by fall 3:59 over Cacopardo 41-20
171-Creighton (DA) by fall 3:00 over Flynn (AE) 47-20
189-Stevenson (DA) by forfeit 53-20

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Einstein saluted its nine seniors prior to the meet, saying farewell to Alec Anderson, Chris Byars, Ricky Echeona, Sarah Hyman, Matt Jones, Nebi Mohammed, Gabriel Rodriguez, Oscar Salazar and Thomas Wilson.

Anderson, Byars, Echeona, Salazar and Wilson have combined for more that 100 wins this season and have helped the Titans improve from no wins last year to 4 this season and kept them more competitive than in previous seasons.

Einstein won the meet 54-18 winning all their matches by forfeit. Kennedy picked up two forfeits and one pin in the only match wrestled on the evening.

 
Einstein 54, Kennedy 18
Match started at 145

145-Echeona (AE) ff 6-0
152-Byars (AE) ff    12-0
160-Anderson (AE) ff 18-0
171-Flynn (AE) ff 24-0
189-Double FF
215-Gales (KDY) ff 24-6
275-Butler (KDY) ff 24-12
103-Hyman (AE) ff 30-12
112-Wilson (AE) ff 36-12
119-Villatoro (AE) ff 42-12
125-Salazar (AE) ff 48-12
130-Jones (AE) ff 54-12
135-Joun (KDY) by fall :54 over Enamorado (AE) 54-18

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The Titans split with Wheaton and Rockville in a tri meet at Wheaton on Saturday. Einstein took the first match against Wheaton 39-36 and fell to Rockville 39-17.

In the first match, the Titans got pins from Jorge Villatoro at 119, Angel Enamorado in thrilling overtime match at 135 and Alec Anderson at 160. Sarah Hyman (103) Tommy Wilson (112) and Oscar Salazar (125) picked up forfeit wins and Chris Byars added a decision for the Titans points.

Wheaton was led by Calvin Ray (125), Sam Tripoulas (140), Marcos Rego (145) and Marvin Padilla (171). Rego and Tripoulas both recorded falls and Ray and Padilla picked up decisions. Wheaton added forfeit wins by Daniel Alegbeyel, Kevin Valle and Michael Perez at 189, 215 and 275 for the Knight’s finally tally.

Einstein 39, Wheaton 36
Match started 275

275-Perez (W) by forfeit 6-0
103-Hyman (AE) by forfeit 6-6
112-Wilson (AE) by forfeit 6-12
119-Villatoro (AE) by fall :24 Velasco (W) 6-18
125-Salazar (AE) by forfeit 6-24
130-Ray (W)  dec 11-5 Jones 9-24
135-Enamorado (AE) by fall 6:52 (OT) Parada 9-30
140-Tripoulas (W) by fall 1:30 Monsell (AE) 15-30
145-Rego (W) by fall 3:28 Rodriguez (AE) 21-30
150-Byars (AE) dec 5-0 Santos (W) 21-33
160-Anderson (AE) by fall 1:48 Manza (W) 21-39
171-Padilla (W) dec 8-5 Flynn (AE) 24-39
189-Alegbeyel (W) by forfeit 30-39
215-Valle (W) by forfeit 36-39

Einstein’s Sarah Hyman picked up her first high school victory with a hard fought 4-1 decision over Rockville’s Abertin. Luke Berantich followed with a hard fought 5-4 win over Tommy Wilson at 112. Jorge Villatoro added his second victory of the day with a 10-5 win over Bressard and Oscar Salazar picked up a major decison to put Einstein up early 10-3. Rockville stormed back with a major decison by Volkman and pins by Walte, Weite and Adato to put Rockville up for good at 25-10. Einstein’s Chris Byars got the Titans back on the board with a 5-0 decision and Alec Anderson closed out the Titans scoring with a first period pin. Rockville added a pin by Green and forfeits at 189 for the final tally.

Rockville 39, Einstein 17
Match started at 103

103-Hyman (AE) dec 4-1 Abertin (R) 3-0
112-Bernatich (R) dec 5-4 Wilson (AE) 3-3
119-Villatoro (AE) dec 10-5 Brassard (R) 6-3
125-Salazar (AE) Maj dec 8-0 Kwong (R) 10-3
130-Volkman (R) maj dec 10-1 Escoto (AE) 10-7
135-Walte (R) by fall :37 over Enamorado (AE) 10-13
140-Weite (R) by fall 1:19 over Monsell (AE) 10-19
145-Adato (R) by fall 3:54 over Rodriguez (AE) 10-25
152-Byars (AE) dec 5-4 Puhl (R) 13-25
160-Anderson (AE) by fall 1:40 Rose (R) 19-25
171-Green (R) by fall 3:35 Flynn (AE) 19-31
189-Vjin (R) by forfeit 19-37
215-275 Double Forfeit

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