Volleyball: Three Loudoun Players Make PrepVolleyball.com's Top 100 List for Class of 2012

(Sept. 27, 2011) - Three Loudoun volleyball players -- Heritage's Kelsey Hrebenach, Stone Bridge's Alex Heyn and Madeira School's Breanna Atkinson -- have made the PrepVolleyball.com's top 100 in their Senior Aces listing of the top recruits from the Class of 2012.

Heritage's Hrebenach is listed at No. 47. The 6-foot-1 athlete will play next year at Maryland.

At No. 68 is Heyn, out this season for Stone Bridge after shoulder surgery, the 6-foot-4 middle will play at The Ohio State.

Breanna Atkinson, who lives in Loudoun but plays at Madeira School in McLean, comes in at No. 89. She will play next year at Duke.

Are we missing a local athlete on the Senior Aces list -- let us know at dan.sousa@vivaloudoun.com.

Football: Briar Woods Big Playmaker Junior Alex Carter Drawing College Interest with Six Verbal Offers

Carter makes leaping grab in state title win

(Feb. 24, 2011) - Briar Woods High School big playmaker Alex Carter, a junior WR/DB that helped the Falcons to the school's first ever state football title in December, is drawing bigtime interest from NCAA Division I schools with six verbal offers already from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Stanford, Duke and Kansas State.

Falcon coach Charlie Pierce says that Tennessee and Notre Dame are close to making their offers soon.

"Alex has a lot to offer to these programs on offense, defense or special teams," said Pierce.

Carter, son of former Washington Redskins defensive back Tom Carter, led Briar Woods in all-purpose yards and in total receptions with 48 for an average of 15.8 yards per catch.

Averaging 4.6 yards per rush, Carter was electrifying on returns, averaging 38.5 yards per kickoff return and scoring two touchdowns including a school-reocrd 98-yarder. He finished second on the team with 11 total touchdowns.

On defense, he had 50 total tackles with two interceptions and 10 pass break ups.

"The one thing that really stands out with his play is his ability to come up with big plays when the team needed it," said Pierce.

Those big plays in the playoffs included a 65-yard field-reversing catch-and-run TD against Liberty in the regional playoffs that was the game's only score and a leaping grab that he turned into a 77-yard touchdown in the state title game against Harrisonburg. That catch from freshman quarterback Trace McSorley came with Briar Woods trailing and turned the game around as the Falcons went on to win 41-21. On the defensive side of the ball he had an interception return of 38 yards for a score in the state semifinals.

In the classroom, Carter tackles AP and honor classes while carrying a 4.10 GPA leading Pierce to label him truly an "outstanding student athlete."

Volleyball: Two Stone Bridge Players Verbally Commit - Class of 2011 Amy Christensen to UConn and Class of 2012 Alex Heyn to Ohio State

(Aug. 26, 2010) - Showing its depth and talent, Stone Bridge High School has already had two volleyball players verbally commit to NCAA Division I college scholarships including Class of 2011 Amy Christensen, who will play at the University of Connecticut, and Class of 2012 Alex Heyn, who will play at The Ohio State University.

Christensen, who can play defense as well as she can play the front row, and the 6-foot-4 Heyn helped the Bulldogs to a spectacular 22-3 record last year with the team falling short of the state tournament after setter Amanda Miller broke her leg in the Liberty District tournament.

Both play in the Virginia Elite program with Christensen with the 17s and Heyn with the 16s. Heyn joins Elite teammate Breanna Atkinson, an Ashburn native that plays for the private Madiera School, as an early Class of 2012 commitment. Atkinson will play for Duke starting in the fall of 2012.

Football: Stone Bridge 6-foot-7 Junior Rob Burns Gets an Offer from Duke

(Feb. 13, 2010) - Duke University has joined the University of Virginia in offering Stone Bridge High School junior defensive end Rob Burns. The 6-foot-7 standout is actually escaping the snow and taking a visit to Durham, N.C. this weekend to catch a Blue Devil basketball game and meet the football coaching staff.

Burns, who helped the Bulldogs make the AAA Division 5 state title game in December, picked up his offer from UVa two days before Christmas and then Duke offered on Feb. 3. More offers are sure to follow for the 230-pounder that can bench 315 pounds and run a 4.8 40.