College Corner: Loudoun County Grad Showalter Joins Liberty Track and Field Program from CNU

College Corner with Dan Sousa

(July 4, 2013) - Loudoun County High School grad Josh Showalter has transferred from Christopher Newport University to Liberty University, according to the Flames track and field program.

Showalter joins the Liberty distance squad after spending his freshman season at CNU. He was named USA South Rookie of the Year after placing third at the USA South Cross Country Championship. The 2013 Mason-Dixon Conference indoor 5K runner-up notched track times of 9:38.30 in the steeplechase and 15:36.69 in the 5K. Showalter clocked a 9:33.53 in the 3,200 as a senior at Loudoun County High School in 2012. He also helped his team finish third at the Virginia Group AA state cross country meet in 2010 and fourth in 2011.

Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun 2012 Falls Sports "Fan Favorites"

(June 19, 2013) - For the first time this year Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun teamed up to pick an All Loudoun team for every varsity sport played in the 13 public high schools in Loudoun County. The competition was fierce to make the teams so we wanted the fans input to honor those athletes that just missed the All Loudoun cut or those that showed team spirit and hard work that often gets overlooked when it comes to honors.

After voting that saw more than 300 nominations, here are the "Fan Favorites" for Fall 2012. Athletes selected will be invited to a photo shoot this Sunday, June 23 at 12:15 p.m. at Replay Sports in Ashburn. RSVP and full details here.

Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun 2012-13 All Loudoun
Fall Sports "Fan Favorites"

Competitive Cheer
Julie DeBoard (JR) Loudoun County
What the fans are saying: "Julia is an exceptional cheerleader that has great skills when it comes to competitive cheer. She is one of the better cheerleaders I have ever seen."

Sarah Mason (SR) Briar Woods
What the fans are saying: "On BWHS varsity cheer all four years as state champs. Team captain junior and senior years. Has cheered competitively since the age of 8. Hard worker and leader on her team. Sarah is full of spirit always with a smile on her face! ... Sarah is an amazing and bright young woman. She's been cheering for as long as I can remember and so dedicated to her craft. She really deserves to be recognized for all of her efforts and undeniable talent ... Great school spirit and intense competitive spirit ... she's awesome and does the coolest stunts!"

Michaela Paschal (SR) Woodgrove
What the fans are saying: "She is an outstanding cheerleader and was a great captain and always ... has a smile on her face and works it on the mat and off the mat pushes herself to the limit ... never gives up and always keeps herself up in her stunts and hits it very neat ... she is amazing!

Emma Schwartzbeck (SO) Broad Run
What the fans are saying: " Much of the success of the Broad Run cheer team was due to the incredible skills of this athlete. Her incredible tumbling amazed the crowd at every competition. She gave 150 percent at every competition and should be recognized for her unbelievable skills and performance! ... Emma was a tremendous asset to the Broad Run competition cheer team and performed tremendously at each and every competition."

Danielle Scoggin (SR) Loudoun County
What the fans are saying: "She is the hardest working cheerleader and can do almost any stunt as a base, back or flyer ... great tumbling experience."

Hayleigh Sternberg (JR) Woodgrove
What the fans are saying: "Hayleigh was on the Woodgrove varsity competitive cheer team for the third year. She improved her skills each year. She is a team player. She will attempt any skill be it basing, flying or tumbling. She has a learning disability auditory processing, and dyslexia. These two disabilities combined make school difficult, but she doesn't let that stop her ... sports are an outlet for her and have helped her keep focus with school and life goals."

Katherine Tropf (SO) Broad Run
What the fans are saying: "Katherine was a great asset to her team all season and should be rewarded! ... Katherine was an incredible cheerleader at Broad Run and proved herself as both an awesome flyer and tumbler on the team! ... 

Kristian Welch (SR) Tuscarora
What the fans are saying: "She was co-captain for the 2012-13 season was such a team player and hard worker."

Football
J.D. Birks (SR) Potomac Falls
What the fans are saying: "He is always working hard is a great leader on and off the field ... second team All-Dulles District pick at DB."

Sterling Dailey (JR) Stone Bridge
What the fans are saying: "second team All-Liberty District ... led Stone Bridge (14-1, D5 state runner-up) with more than 1,500 yards rushing and 21 TDs ... career- high 192 yards rushing in regional semifinal 33-14 win over Langley ... he is a beast!"

Cody Horvath (SR) Park View
What the fans are saying: "all-Dulles District second team sophomore year and first team junior and senior years ... played both sides of the ball almost every play for three years ... team captain! ... double teamed a lot and sometimes triple teamed."

Dorian Jenkins (SR) Broad Run
What the fans are saying: "Dorian was a playmaker for the Spartans and a 2-way starter. During the toughest games, Dorian was the "go to" person to put Broad Run on the board. He was voted the Best Defensive Player of the Year for the Spartans.

Ben Massey (SR) Loudoun County
What the fans are saying: "He always has a positive attitude and great sportsmanship on the field and from the stands you could tell he was keeping  his teammates motivated on the sideline and the defense on the field when the offense was off."

Devin Ramos (SR) Briar Woods
What the fans are saying: "First team all-Dulles District at WR for undefeated, state champion Briar Woods ... second team All-Region II ... honorable mention All-State."

Trey Taylor (SR) Loudoun County
What the fans are saying: "Great team leader! ... OL and DT was 3-year starter for Raiders and second team All-Dulles District in fall."

Kareen Watson (SR) Potomac Falls
What the fans are saying: "He has given so much to the football program and it paid off because he committed to a good school. Has a good heart, always cares about everyone before himself ... Consistently standout player offensively and defensively."

Golf
Kurt Funkhouser (SO) Dominion
What the fans are saying: "Kurt was consistent through the year with his scores and he helped (Dominion) win a critical match against Valley."

Mitch Pittman (SR) Broad Run
What the fans are saying: "Mitch has been a leading scorer o the Broad Run team for four years, including this year, and he deserves to be included on the All County team."

Jorden Schreder (SR) Tuscarora
What the fans are saying: "Jorden is a 3-year letterman who holds the Tuscarora records for lowest 9 hole score, matches played, most postseason play and was the 2012 team MVP."

Thomas Truluck (SO) Tuscarora
What the fans are saying: "Excellent tournament scorer ... tied for team-low 78 at region tournament, shot 80 to help Huskies take second place at Dulles District tournament."

Cross Country
Dane Boegner (JR) Broad Run
What the fans are saying: "Dane is an excellent cross country runner with an amazing year due for him next season ... Top spartan runner with a PR of 17:11.40 at Albemarle Invitational." 

Jordan Ferbrache (SR) Potomac Falls
What the fans are saying: "Jordan has been captain of the Potomac Falls cross country team for the last two years. Due to his leadership and inspiration, Jordan rallied his cross country team to reclaim the Dulles District championship this year. What his team may have lacked individually, they more than made up for as a team, and teams win championships."

Stephen (Stassi) Maclean (JR) Dominion
What the fans are saying: "Because he was running not for glory but for his mom who was very ill in the fall and passed away from appendix cancer on May 16, 2013."

Ethan Pacifico (SR) Potomac Falls
What the fans are saying: "We have many talented athletes at my school, especially runners. What makes Ethan stand out is his dedication to training. Ethan doesn't always come in first, but he is a leader of his team and other athletes by giving an exemplary work ethic. His drive to train and to constantly improve himself is one to be admired -- not just to runners, but for any athlete. No matter the weather, no matter how long it is until the next race, no matter how many or how few friends he has to run with, Ethan never stops running."

Volleyball
Taylor van der Biezen (SO) Briar Woods
What the fans are saying: "Taylor never stops working hard and trying to improve and be the best team player can can be ... She also works very hard off the volleyball court with a current GPA of 4.27. She is currently a setter for NVVA ICE 16-1 ... Taylor is a super hard-working great athlete and student! ... According to MaxPreps.com stats ranked as No. 3 assist leader in competitive Dulles District."

Madeline Fowler (JR) Heritage
What the fans are saying: "She has been a major contributor to the varsity team for three years and due to the overwhelming talent i the Dulles District, continues to be overlooked. She is very deserving of some recognition."

Kristen Haislip (SR) Woodgrove
What the fans are saying: "She made varsity as a freshman and had big role on the team all three years of playing. She is graduating a year early from high school and has committed to play volleyball at Babson College! She is the only volleyball player from Woodgrove to go on to play in college. She is a very hardworking and determined girl, on and off the court. I can't think of anyone that deserves the award for their accomplishments more that Kristen!."

Emilee Pierson (JR) Park View
What the fans are saying: "She is a superior athlete who works so hard and makes such a difference."

Taylor Reed (SR) Dominion
What the fans are saying: "Taylor is a 4-year varsity volleyball player at DHS where she set six school records including  match sets, kills and, aces and season assists and  kills ... despite missing four weeks her SR season she passed 1,000 career assists milestone midway through the season ... MVP for two years for Titans and received "Ironman" award as well for two years ... Multiple position player was captain her SR year."

College Choice Chart: Class of 2013 Now Up to 171 Athletes Committed to Play at Next Level

(May 30, 2013) - The Viva Loudoun College Choice Chart is now up to 171 athletes from the Class of 2013 that will play at the next level. Recently added from Tuscarora High School:

• Logan Feierbach (XC/Track) William and Mary
• Brittany McCullock (Softball) Green Mountain College
• Myron Hernandez (soccer) Shepherd

And from Stone Bridge High School, Trevor Mack will play ice hockey at IUP.

Last year the Class of 2012 set a record with 207 athletes committed. This year's class is the second largest with Class of 2010 at 159 and the Class of 2011 at 145.

 

Boys Cross Country: Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun 2012-13 All-Loudoun Team

(May 12, 2013) - Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun have teamed up to selected their first ever All-Loudoun selections ... the top varsity athletes across the county's 13 public high schools for the 2012-13 school year.

We kick off the selections with the fall sports season and boys cross country!

There will be a photo shoot at Cheers Sports in Ashburn on Sunday, May 19 for those athletes selected with the boys cross country group photo at 9:45 a.m. Please RVSP to dan.sousa@verizon.net or text to 703.509.8826.

Cheers Sports and Viva Loudoun All-Loudoun 2012-13
Boys Cross Country

Sam Brazer (JR) Tuscarora
Tyler Brodie (JR) Stone Bridge
John Dooney (JR) Tuscarora
Logan Feierbach (SR) Tuscarora
Austin Gilbert (SO) Loudoun County
Brady Guertin (JR) Stone Bridge
Ryan Hughes (JR) Briar Woods
Patrick Joseph (SR) Loudoun County
Trent Lancaster (JR) Dominion
Austin Lushinski (SR) Stone Bridge
Chris Schopper (SR) Briar Woods
Robert Willis (SR) Stone Bridge

Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year: Patrick Joseph (SR) Loudoun County
Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year: Matt Henry, Stone Bridge

Boys Cross Country Pack of the Year: Potomac Falls (Matt Celsa JR, Jordan Ferbrache SR, Ethan Pacifico SR, John Deker SO, Sai Kurra SR, Kevin Ryan JR)

On the Sidelines: Freedom Swim Coach Brent Miller Donates "Turbo Kidney" to Ailing Family Friend

On the Sidelines with Dan Sousa

(Jan. 29, 2013) - A Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots football match-up normally puts Freedom High School swim coach Brent Miller at odds with good family friend Mary Davis as Miller is a huge Ravens fan and Davis, originally from the Boston area, is a big-time Patriots fan.

Brent and Jessica Miller

When the two teams met a week ago in the AFC Championship game for the second straight year, Miller teased Davis that she should root at least a little bit for Baltimore ... after all, she was the recipient less than 48 hours earlier of a kidney transplant courtesy of Miller.

"I told Mary that she had a little purple in her now so she had to root for the Ravens," said Miller in an interview Friday as he continues his rapid recuperation from the operation that took place on Jan. 18 at Fairfax Inova Hospital.

Cross Country: Foxcroft JR Edgemond Earns All-State Honors

(Dec. 30, 2012) - Foxcroft School's Amy Edgemond, who had never run competitively before this fall, finished 18th at the VISAA Cross-Country Championships last month to earn All-State honors. Edgemond, a junior from Reston, is believed to be the first Foxcroft athlete to ever be named All State in cross country.

News: Eight Foxcroft School Athletes Receive All-Conference Honors

Melanie Monroe

Amy Edgemond

Lilly MacDonald

Oliva Jane Johnson

Carter Ware

Rebecca Mann

Alicia Holz

Caroline Fout

Middleburg (Dec. 30, 2012) - Eight Foxcroft athletes from three sports have received All-Delaney Athletic Conference honors for their outstanding performance in fall competition.

Field hockey topped the list as five members of the state tournament finalist Foxcroft team received first-team All-DAC honors and another player received second-team mention.

Volleyball and cross country each had one athlete selected for all-DAC honors.

Cross Country: Loudoun County SR Patrick Joseph Logs Historic Run at Footlocker

(Nov. 25, 2012) - Loudoun County High School senior Patrick Joseph may have ran into the record books at the Footlocker South Regional Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. as he posted a 15:11 time thought to be the fastest time ever recorded by a Loudoun runner, according to MileStat records.

"Patrick's time of 15:11 is the fastest time ever recorded by a runner from any school in Loudoun County," said Loudoun County coach Courtney Campbell. "Breaking 16:00 is a huge goal for most all high school runners. There have only been two runners in Loudoun County High School history to break 16:00. There have only been seven in all of the Loudoun schools ever (to break 16:00)."

Cross Country: VHSL AAA Boys and Girls State Meets

(Nov. 12, 2012) - Full results from the VHSL AAA boys and girls state cross country meets held today:

VIRGINIA STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIP - BOYS AAA

Cross Country: VHSL AA Boys State Meet

(Nov. 12, 2012) - Full results from today's VHSL boys cross country AA state meet:

VIRGINIA STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIP - BOYS AA
GREAT MEADOW
Nov. 10, 2012
SUNNY
Results by runhigh.com

PLACE TEAM                POINTS  PLACES OF FINISHERS              AVG. TIME SPREAD

  1 Blacksburg               19    1    2    3    5    8   23   69    15:54    0:46
  2 Lafayette                79    4    7   10   28   30   33   70    16:32    1:02
  3 Christiansburg          129    6   22   25   31   45   52  107    16:46    1:02
  4 John Handley            155   15   20   32   41   47   67   88    16:55    0:46
  5 Brentsville             172   11   12   42   46   61   71   75    16:56    1:03
  6 Hidden Valley           179   19   26   40   43   51   78   91    17:00    0:43
  7 Western Albemarle       190   16   27   35   55   57   72   76    17:03    0:52
  8 Jamestown               201   14   24   36   63   64   84  105    17:03  0:1:00
  9 Potomac Falls           218   38   39   44   48   49   53   60    17:11    0:16

Cross Country: VHSL AA Girls State Meet

(Nov. 10, 2012) - Full results from today's VHSL AA girls state cross country meet:

VIRGINIA STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIP - GIRLS AA
GREAT MEADOW
Nov. 10, 2012
SUNNY
Results by runhigh.com

PLACE TEAM                POINTS  PLACES OF FINISHERS              AVG. TIME SPREAD

  1 Blacksburg               86    3    7   14   24   38   45   49    19:35    1:57
  2 Grafton                 129    5    9   10   52   53  105  109    19:56    1:41
  3 Jefferson Forest        130    4   21   29   34   42   43   58    20:00    1:25
  4 Hidden Valley           131    1   20   28   35   47   87         19:51    2:31
  5 Tuscarora               157   13   15   32   46   51   68   74    20:12    1:14

Breaking: Tuscarora Girls Take 5th at AA State Cross Country Meet; Loudoun County's Patrick Joseph 2nd in Boys Race

(Nov. 10, 2012) - The Tuscarora High School girls cross country team capped a wonderful season in The Plains today with a fifth place finish at the VHSL AA state meet. In the boys race Loudoun County senior Patrick Joseph finished off his brilliant Raider career with a second place finish. In 2011 he was fourth overall and as a sophomore he was 18th.

Check back for complete results later today.

Photo Gallery: Cross Country - Region II Meet 2012

(November 2, 2012) - Viva Loudoun editor Dan Sousa finally made it back to his car from the Region II cross country meet (it is a 5K walk to cover a 5K you know ...) at Tuscarora High School and came back with 400 photos! Check them all out here!

Cross Country: Tuscarora Girls Take Region II Title; Loudoun County SR Patrick Joseph Wins Boys Title

Tuscarora Girls: 2012 Region II XC Champs! (
Nov. 1, 2012) - It may have been an overcast start to November but Loudoun athletes shined at the Region II cross country meet today at the Morven Park course adjacent to Tuscarora High School with the host Huskies taking the girls team title and Loudoun County senior Patrick Joseph winning the boys individual title.

The Potomac Falls boys also moved onto the AA state meet with a third place finish and seven area boys and five girls also qualified as individuals by finishing in the Top 15 including Woodgrove freshman Emma Gillies who placed third.

Girls Cross Country: Region II Full Results

(Nov. 1, 2012) - The Tuscarora High School girls captured the Region II cross country title Thursday on their home course Morven Park:

Boys Cross Country: Region II Full Results

Leesburg (Nov. 1, 2012) - Loudoun County High School senior Patrick Joseph captured the Region II boys cross country title Thursday with a 15:33 run at Morven Park. The Brentsville High School boys won the team title with Potomac Falls placing third:

Cross Country: Stone Bridge Boys Claim First Ever Liberty District Title

(Oct. 31, 2012) - Stone Bridge High School boys cross country team captured its first ever AAA Liberty District title last week at Burke Lake.

Brady Guertin led the Bulldogs with a second place finish at 15:45 and the pack running of Robert Willis-Tayloer Brodie-Austin Lushinski at 6-7-8 gave SB an easy victory over second place TJ, 43 to 73.

Cross Country: Region II Meet Moved from Oatlands to Tuscarora High School

(Oct. 31, 2012) - The Oatlands cross country course is known for its challenging water crossing but flooding this week in the area has prompted the Region II boys and girls cross country meet to move to Tuscarora High School on Thursday, Nov. 1.

The meet will now be run on the Huskies home course, Morven Park, which is adjacent to the school. Fans can park at the school and walk to the course. Girls race starts at 3 p.m., boys at 3:45 p.m.

Cross Country: Complete Dulles District Meet 2012 Results

(Oct. 23, 2012) - The Dulles District 2012 cross country meet at Oatlands on Thursday had  no shortage of interesting story lines:

• The Potomac Falls High School boys returned to the top of the boys standings after a 1-year hiatus. The Panthers, winners of the first 10 Dulles meets held from 2001 thru 2010 before Loudoun County nudged them to the runner-up spot last year, won the title behind a powerful pack with no runner in the top six but the Panthers had all seven athletes come home in the top 18 for 55 team points to runner-up Briar Woods' 64.
• The third-year Tuscarora High School girls program took home their first team title with 51 total points to runner-up Woodgrove, another third-year program, with 70 points.
• Briar Woods senior Jackie Deffer lopped 25 seconds off her Oatlands Invitational time from September, running a 19:49 to win the girls individual title. Woodgrove freshman Emma Gillies ran a 19:59 for second, a second better than her Oatlands Invitational time.
• Loudoun County senior Patrick Joseph won his second straight individual title, cruising home in 16:15 -- some 24 seconds ahead of runner-up Tuscarora junior John Dooney. The Raiders have now claimed four straight individual titles with Tommy Curtin winning in 2009 and 2010.
• Loudoun County girls scored 89 points for third but the real battle came for the fourth and final Region II meet team spot as Heritage and Loudoun Valley both scored 121 points. The Pride advanced by edging the Raiders on a sixth place finish tiebreaker with freshman Mackenzie Scanlon's 46th place finish the clincher. 
• The Falcons boys runner-up finish was the team's highest placing ever in districts, having advance to regionals only once in the previous eight years with a fourth place finish in 2008.
• Also advancing to the Region II meet for the boys were third place Tuscarora (80) and fourth place Loudoun County (82).
• The Panthers pack saw all seven runners finish between 17:07 and 17:45 (six of them within 22 seconds of each other!): junior Matt Celsa (17:07), senior Sai Kurra (17:11), sophomore John Deker (17:14), senior Jordan Ferbrache (17:16), senior Ethan Pacifico (17:18), junior Kevin Ryan (17:29) and senior Nick Clem (17:45).
• The top four teams dominated the top of the leaderboard with only two boys advancing as individuals by finishing in the Top 15: Dominion JR Trent Lancaster (4th, 16:50) and Loudoun Valley FR Drew Hunter (15th, 17:19).
• The Potomac Falls girls, winners of the meet in four of the past five years coming in, saw their consecutive trips to region streak end at 12 straight years with a seventh place finish.
• Tuscarora girls had six place in the top 17: sophomore Anna Wasko (20:00) just a second out of second; freshman Kelly Reilly (20:39), freshman Raiya Al-Nsour (20:51), junior Collen Heberle (20:55), junior Natalie Rosas (21:02), and senior Lori Kostka (21:09).
• Girls advancing as individuals to Region II meet: Loudoun Valley junior Carolyn Conley (4th, 20:10), Woodgrove senior Alex Juzbasich (6th, 20:25), Loudoun Valley junior Molly Polizotto (7th, 20:29), Potomac Falls junior Sarah Dillistin (8th, 20:34).

Complete results

Cross Country: Complete Cedar Run District Results

(Oct. 22, 2012) - It was deja vu all over again for the Cedar Run District cross country meet as the Battlefield High School boys and girls teams continued their lock on the championships. The Bobcat boys, behind Haben Zemichael's third straight individual title, won a sixth straight crown and the Bobcat girls, behind Nicole Cart'ers third straight individual title, made it three in a row on top of the podium.

The Broad Run and Freedom boys and girls teams also advanced to the Northwest Region meet.

Complete results for all runners: