VivaLoudoun's 2009-10 High School Sports Year in Review - Part 2: Winter

(July 15, 2010)  - We continue our look at the high school sports year in Loudoun with highlights from winter when the Potomac Falls boys made history with Loudoun's first ever state title and the Freedom girls basketball team added a second straight state title.

Here’s how the sports in winter broke down:

Boys’ Basketball
Jeff Hawes, the only boys basketball coach since Potomac Falls opened its doors in 1997, had long positioned the Panthers as the top boys hoops program in Loudoun but in 2009-10 Potomac Falls finally reached the very top of the mountaintop as they captured the first state title in Loudoun’s boys basketball history with a thrilling 69-64 double overtime win over Broadway in the Division 4 finals at VCU.

And the Panthers (23-2) might just be warming up as the team didn’t start any seniors and lose just two to graduation. Junior Lukas Mihailovich signaled earlier in the season that he and the Pathers were on to something special as he scored a school-record 50 points in an amazing triple overtime, 111-108 win over Stone Bridge … finished off by Mihailovich’s beyond halfcourt buzzer beater.

In the postseason Mihailovich averaged 26 points per game and scored 33 points in the championship win. Sophomore center Gregory Graves stepped up big in the postseason with the 6-foot-6 center registering a triple-double in the state semifinals – 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. When Mihailovich and Graves weren’t occupying opponents, Potomac Falls junior Brendon Chesson was smoothly knifing through defenses for acrobatic baskets.

When it was all over, Hawes brought home Coach of the Year honors for the state and Mihailovich was named first team all-state.

Broad Run (20-4), led by senior Kevin McGaughey (second team all-state, Region II Division 4 Player
of the Year) was one of the top AA teams in the state but unfortunately the Spartans kept running into a Panther roadblock. After splitting games in the regular season, Broad Run fell to Potomac Falls in not only the Dulles District tournament finals but also in the regional semifinals as the Spartans came up one game short of making the state playoffs for the first time in school history.

Girls’ Basketball
Much like boys basketball with Potomac Falls and Broad Run, two of the top girls basketball teams in the state for Division 4 were both in the Dulles District as Freedom (21-5) and Loudoun County (19-4) both entered the season after winning state titles the previous season.

With Freedom moving up in classification from Division 3 to Division 4 there could only be one state champion from Loudoun and it was the Eagles as they battled the Raiders in a rugged five game series including a special playoff game decided the district’s top seed after the two teams split in the regular season and then in the district tournament finals and regional semifinals.

Freedom, led by senior Kelsey Buchanan (Division 4 Player of the Year for the state), won all three of those postseason match-ups with a Loudoun County team led by senior Kendra Holmes and junior Brittany Batts, both second-team all-state.

To Loudoun County’s credit, once Freedom got clear of the Raiders with the 49-40 regional semifinal win, it was smooth sailing as they smashed the next four opponents by an average margin of 26 points on the way to the back-to-back state titles: 62-33 over Liberty, 75-41 over Courtland, 44-27 over Turner Ashby and then 68-44 over Spotswood in the finals.

While Freedom got plenty of big play from senior point guard Jessica Escorza and junior Dionna Scott, it was the 6-foot-3 Buchanan with the signature postseason for the second straight year as she finished her prep career with authority, going 32 of 52 from the field in three games for 61.5 percent to average 24.7 points with 18.0 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game.

Potomac Falls (13-7) not only qualified for the postseason in school history but the Panthers captured a regional playoff win with a 46-44 win over Brentsville as Raven Short and Symone’ Berry combined for 38 points. Stone Bridge (12-8) made it to the Northern Region playoffs before bowing out in the first round.

Gymnastics
Loudoun Valley High School's Amanda Huebner finished sixth on the floor and Stone Bridge's Tori Severin was tied for sixth on the bars at the VHSL state meet. Huebner scored 9.475 on the floor and Severin scored 9.575 on the bars.

In the All-Around, Broad Run senior Drea Ewen was 10th with a 36.450.
Severin was second on the bars at the AAA Northern Region meet where the Bulldogs were third in the team competition, just missing a trip to the state meet. Huebner was second at the Northwest Region meet.

Ewen, a who won the Dulles District All-Around, repeated with a win in the All-Around at the A/AA state qualifier with a 36.00 including a win on the bars (9.450). Loudoun County's Jessica Drews was second in the All-Around with a 35.550 including a win on the beam (9.150).

Allie Daczkowski of Potomac Falls was impressive with a third in the All-Around (35.400) including wins in the vault (9.300) and on the floor (9.350). The fourth and final qualifier to the state All-Around was Alexis Chaet of Freedom with a 34.925.

At the Dulles District meet, Ewen and her sister, Kimmy Ewen, swept the All-Around but the Spartans were edged for the team title by two-tenths of a point as Freedom claimed the school's first ever gymnastics district banner.

Freedom scored a season-best 136.325 to edge Broad Run at 136.125. The Eagles didn't win any individual events -- Drea Ewen captured the bars (9.425) and beam (9.200), teammate Crystal Noschese won the vault (9.425) and Potomac Falls' Daczkowski won the floor (9.200) but Chaet, fifth in the All-Around, led a deep Eagle squad that included Shannon Landry, 7th in the All-Around, Lauren McClure, 9th, and Morgan Toelle, 14th.

Stone Bridge repeated their AAA Liberty title with an overpowering display on the floor with All-Around champion Amy Fissmer leading a charge to the podium with five Bulldogs finishing in the top six in the event. When it was all said and done the Bulldogs had scored a team record 141.900 points to take the title with Fissmer scoring 35.950 for the All-Around crown and teammate Severin third at 34.925.

The Bulldogs depth was evident, especially on the floor where Fissmer scored 9.300 to win and teammates Kelly McCabe and Casey Merwin tied for third at 9.225 followed by Severin in fifth with a 9.100 and Bulldog Chelsea Fonseca in sixth with a 9.000. Severin, out for a month with an ankle injury, took the vault with an 8.950 and Fissmer was third at 8.800.

Boys’ Swimming
It was a tough season for local swimmers as severe weather forced cancellation of both the district and regional meets at the AA level.

Loudoun swimmers still made a big splash at the AA state meet with Broad Run High School junior Mark Sarman capturing both the 200 IM and 100 fly titles and helping the Spartan 200 free relay team to a state title as well.

Broad Run scored 149, good enough for fifth place, just behind Lafayette at 153.
Sarman, who posted an All-American time of 1:54.30 in the 200 IM win, was joined in the 200 free relay by sophomores Jacob Leidy and Alan Horback and senior Mike Poltash. They swam a 1:29.09 for the win. Leidy was fifth in the 100 back (54.93) and sixth in the 200 IM (2:00.56).

The Broad Run boys also took fourth in the 400 free relay with Cameron Lucas joining Horback, Leidy and Sarman for a 3:22.30.

Briar Woods senior Nick Mason finished sixth in the 100 breast and eighth in the 200 free. Mason also joined junior Steffen Vater and senior Chris Farley and Ryan Faulkner to take 6th in the 200 medley relay with a 1:44.49.

The Freedom boys 200 free relay placed 5th with junior Ozan Duran, sophomore Andrew Smith, freshman Michael Harman and sophomore Nick Campbell swimming a 1:33.07.

Girls’ Swimming
Like the boys, the girls faced setbacks due to weather as snowstorms scuttled the Dulles District and Region II meets.

Despite the lack of pool time, the Briar Woods girls finished fourth in the AA state meet and won, not one, but two relays as they swam away with the Medley and 400 free titles.

The Falcon girls with 163.5 points were just 10 points out of second place.

The Briar Woods quartet of freshman Caleigh Hensley, freshman Kristin Haufler, sophomore Alli Haufler, and senior Elise Guessford were state champions with a time of 1:50.60. And the same four girls combined for the Falcons 400 free relay win with Guessford, Kristin Haufler, Hensley, and Alli Haufler swimming 3:36.14.

Alli Haufler placed second in the 100 fly with a 56.61 and she took 7th in the 200 free (1:57.99) while sister Kristin Haufler was 7th in the 100 free (54.41). Guessford finished up her Falcon career with a 5th in the 500 free (5:15.63) and 8th in the 200 free (1:59.00). Also in the 500, Dominion sophomore Jalyn Marks took 6th with a 5:16.18.

At the AAA state meet, Heritage's Kaleigh Rosenburg was eighth in the 100 breast.

Wrestling
Broad Run High School senior Vince DiRenzo finished his great career with a fourth place finish at the VHSL AA state wrestling tournament in Salem and what is believed to be Loudoun's all-time mark for career wins with 161 total over four years. Freedom and Potomac Falls combined to send five wrestlers to the podium.

For Freedom, Chuong Le (119) and Charles Constantino (171) took fifth and Joseph Sheptock (145) took seventh. For Potomac Falls, Nick Rea (112) was sixth and Aaron Rowane (160) was 8th.
Freedom placed 21st with 28 points. DiRenzo's final career win total of 161 is five better than Potomac Falls grad Paul Rowane's 156.

Freedom cruised through the Dulles District regular season and tournament to claim titles and then the Eagles took fifth at the Region II meet which was run in one long day due to snowstorms with the final matches not taking place until after midnight.