Per Ken Wright: LCPS has announced on their website that school will be closed the remainder of the week.  Since Monday 2/15 is already a holiday, the next school day will be Tuesday 2/16.  The Athletic Directors are meeting tomorrow and Wednesday to try and figure out where to go from here. Please check email in the days to follow, and I will pass along what I know as soon as I know it. 

Per Boosters: The Upcoming Events** schedule will be updated as we receive word from Mr. Wright. All Winters Sports are affected by the delay to include District Wrestling, Gynmastics Districts and State Qualifier, Swim Districts & Region, and Girls/Boys Basketball end of the regular season and District schedule. 

We ask that Basketball parents be flexible and responsive to short notice requests to work concessions and tickets.

**Note: ALL Upcoming Events have been dated for this Sat. 2/13 (Regions, Sun. 2/14), and labeled 'Date & Time TBD' for the purpose of showing the remaining events. Dates will be corrected as we receive updates.

Score:

Boys: 115.50 LCHS (2-4) vs. 170.5 DHS

Girls: 127 LCHS (3-3) vs. 159 DHS

Combined: 242.50 LCHS (1-5) vs. 329.50 DHS

The Lady Raiders broke two Loudoun County High School Swim Team Records and earned a state qualifying time in the 200 Medley Relay in their meet against Dominion High School this past Friday, January 29, 2010, at Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of these girls,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda. “We’ve been working on starts, turns, and stroke technique in order to get this final relay a qualifying time for States.” Grzeda is referring to the Lady Raiders already having the 200 and 400 Yard Freestyle Relays with state qualifying times for the season.

The Lady Raiders who earned the state qualifying time/LCHS Swim Team Record were Senior Captain Julie Strange, Sophie Newton (So.), Katie Russell (So.), and Adrienne Rivera (Fr.) and their time was 2:02.00.

The Boys fell to Dominion High School but had a great start going into the meet with Senior Captains Nick Cechak and Will Shoemaker, Joe Gibson (Jr.), and Jake Koenig (So.) taking first in the 200 Yard Medley Relay in 1:50.81 missing the state qualifying time in this event by two hundredths of a second.

Freshman Kyle Bowers placed third in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:14.78 while Junior Jay Wareham also took third in the 200 Yard IM in 2:21.75. Bowers would later take third in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:10.53 as well.

Jake Koenig (So.) earned two first place finishes for the Raiders in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 1:00.28, and 100 Yard Breaststroke 1:09.57, the two events that he hopes to place in at the District Meet next weekend. He has already qualified for States in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and the two Raiders relays.

Senior Captain Nick Cechak took second place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 56.12 and Senior Captain Will Shoemaker tied for third place in the same event capturing a time of 56.78.

Nick McCord (Fr.) and Chris Stowell (Jr.) earned first and second place in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:31.88 and 5:57.83 for the Raiders and Joe Gibson (Jr.) took third in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:09.13.

After capturing the state qualifying time and LCHS School Record in the 200 Medley Relay the Lady Raiders Abby Gribbin (Jr.) took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:23.12 and Julie Strange (Sr.) took first place in the 200 IM in 2:34.65 and Amanda Armstrong (So.) captured third place in 2:44.38. Strange would later take third place in the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:15.06.

Monday, February 1, 2010, Leesburg, VA, Loudoun County High School - County continued its hot play pretty much completely shutting down rival Heritage making it 3 wins in a row and bring the season record up to 500 as they recorded a convincing 67-58 VICTORY!!

The Raiders never let Heritage get a lead as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead and never looked back.  Worth Mays pumped in 6 first quarter points and Mahir Mkronjic and Callie Brown had 3 rebounds each.  The Raiders led 15-11 at the end of the first.

Kris Pratt started off the second with a steal with a coast-to-coast and a behind the back assist by Calle.  A Bryan Huber steal put 2 more points up, and then Mahir got hot on his 3 pointers. He would hit 5 on the night.  The Raiders took a 28-26 lead into the half.

County kept the good play up in the 3rd with AC drawing another charge, a nice tip-in by Calle, more Worth drives down the lane, a few more 3's by Mahir and some good defense by Doc.

The Raiders locked it up in the 4th with blocks by Mahir, Worth, Calle, and Yacim.

Snow permitting, the Raiders return to action Wednesday evening in a make up at home against Loudoun Valley.

LOUDOUN COUNTY 67, HERITAGE 58 
H (0-0, 0-0) — Cavan 11, Nelson 9, Russell 8, Arbogast 7, Dentler 7, Calhoun 5, Summers 5, Swanson 4, Figert 2. Totals 20 12-23 58.
L (9-9, 3-6) — Mrkonjic 26, Mays 14, Brown 9, Campbell 6, Pratt 4, O'Connell 3, Huber 2, Parker 2, Cokely 1. Totals 24 14-29 67.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 28-26.
Three-point goals: H 6 (Cavan, Nelson 2, Russell, Dentler, Summers); L 5 (Mrkonjic 5).

The Freshmen Lady Raiders avenged an season opening defeat by besting Heritage 30-13 on the Pride's home court.  The team improved to 8-3 overall with the win over a non district foe. Against Dulles District teams, the squad is 6-1.  Stephanie Schulze led all scorers with 14 points and Chanelle Starks added 8.  Sierra Jackson contributed 5.  Megan Sullivan and Emma Brown also scored.  Amber Reinecke and Hanna Thaler led the defense which produced 10 steals.

The Lady Raiders led 23-0 after the first quarter as they defeated the Heritage Pride 73-47.

In that first quarter, Alex Lapple connected on all eight of her points as six different players scored in the opening frame.

In the victory, the Raiders had four players finish in double figure scoring as they were led by Brittany Batts game high 17 points.  Batts also finished with five rebounds and four steals.

Kendra Holmes had 14 points to go along with 13 rebounds and two blocked shots.  Alissa Kain was next with 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.  The fourth Raider in double digits was Jenna Strange.  Strange tallied 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and four steals.

County's first quarter total of 23 points was surpassed by their 26 third quarter points as they led 62-32 going into the fourth quarter.

County's road win gives them their ninth straight victory as they improve their overall record to 15-2.  Heritage falls to 3-12.

Erika Grabbi had a team high 15 points to lead the host Pride.

Loudoun County 73, Heritage 47

L (15-2, 8-1) — Batts 17, Holmes 14, A. Kain 13, Strange 12, Lapple 8, Cummings 3, Linnemann 3, Grimsley 2, Saleck 1. Totals 29 9-21 73.
H (3-12, 1-3) — Grabbi 15, Sterling 11, McDonald 8, Nibbelink 5, Smart 4, Evans 2, Scott 2. Totals 20 5-11 47.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 36-15.
Three-point goals: L 6 (Batts 2, A. Kain 2, Strange 2); H 2 (McDonald, Nibbelink).
Rebounds: L 40 (Batts 5, Holmes 13, A. Kain 7, Strange 7, Cummings 4, Linnemann, Grimsley 2, Knudsen).
Assists: L 15 (Batts 2, Holmes 2, A. Kain 6, Strange 2, Linnemann, Grimsley, Saleck).

Friday, January 29, 2010, Leesburg, VA, Loudoun County High School - The Raiders improved on their play of last Friday and turned in a solid performance against Park View, a team that handled County earlier this season.

A stingy defense keeping high-scoring Park View sophmore Ryan McCarter to 11 points made the difference this time. 

Worth Mays made a jumper with 20 seconds left to put the Raiders up for good.  Mahir Mrkonjic led the Raiders with 17 points, and Calle Brown added 8 points 9 rebounds and 5 assists.  Dan O'Connell came in off the bench and added 8 points.

County is now 8-9 on the season (3-6 in the Dulles District).  Saturday nights game against Valley has been postponed until Wednesday 2/3.  The Raiders have a 3-game home stand starting Monday February 1 against Heritage, Valley Wednesday, and Potomac Falls Friday night.

LOUDOUN COUNTY 56, PARK VIEW 55
P (10-7, 3-3) - Owens 26, McCarter 11, Shooks 8, Early 5, French 3, Dombkowski 2. Totals 20 11-14 55.
L (8-9, 3-6) - Mrkonjic 17, Campbell 9, Brown 8, Mays 8, O'Connell 8, Pratt 4, Huber 2. Totals 21 7-11 56.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 30-29.
Three-point goals: P 4 (Owens 2, Early, French); L 7 (Mrkonjic 5, Campbell 2).

The Loudoun County Lady Raiders went on the road and defeated the Park View Patriots 73-51 for their eighth straight victory.

County outscored the Patriots 28-8 in the second quarter to open up the game and take a 41-19 lead into the half.  Senior Kendra Holmes scored all 11 of her first half points in the second quarter explosion.

Holmes would go on to score 17 points while adding 11 rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots.  Junior Brittany Batts would take home team high scoring honors by scoring 20 points, 14 in the first half, while connecting on four three pointers and dishing out four assists.

Senior Alissa Kain and Sophomore Casey Cummings would also finish in double digits as Kain scored 13 points and Cummings 10.  Kain also contributed nine rebounds and five assists while Cummings pulled down seven rebounds.

Sophomore Jenna Strange would tie Holmes with game high rebounding honors as she also tallied 11.

Freshman Chloe Owens led Park View in scoring honors with a game high 25 points.  She scored 13 of those in the fourth quarter as County took a 58-31 lead into the final frame.

County will be back in action tomorrow night when they travel to Purcellville to take on the Loudoun Valley Vikings.

Loudoun County 73, Park View 51

L (14-2, 8-1) — Batts 20, Holmes 17, A. Kain 13, Cummings 10, Strange 6, Linnemann 5, Grimsley 2. Totals 28 13-23 73.
P (5-12, 2-6) — Owens 25, Sheppard 12, Himmelberger 6, Dillard 4, Stephens 2, Westbrook 2. Totals 21 8-23 51.
Halftime: Loudoun County, 41-19.
Three-point goals: L 4 (Batts 4); P 1 (Owens).
Rebounds: L 42 (Batts, Holmes 11, A. Kain 9, Cummings 7, Strange 11, Linnemann, Knudsen, Lapple).
Assists: L 18 (Batts 4, Holmes 4, A. Kain 5, Strange 3, Linnemann, Lapple).

Washington Post at All Met Sports

Friday, January 29, 2010

Loudoun County senior guard Alissa Kain, a key contributor in the Raiders' 2008-09 Virginia AA Division 4 championship run, has committed to continue her education and basketball career at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Score:

Boys: 129 LCHS (2-3) vs. 157 PFHS

Girls: 114 LCHS (3-2) vs. 172 PFHS

Combined: 243 LCHS (1-4) vs. 329 PFHS

Sophie Newton (So.) and Jake Koenig (So.) individual swims were the highlights of the Raiders defeat to Potomac Falls High School this past Friday, January 22, at the Claude Moore Recreation Center, in Sterling, Va.

The addition of Newton’s two State Qualifying times this week (in the 500 Yard Freestyle in 5:33.83 taking first place and the 100 Yard Backstroke in 1:03.69 taking second place) gives her six State Qualifying times in individual events for the season; those events are the 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Butterfly, 200 Yard Individual Medley, and 50 Yard Freestyle. Sophie has also helped the Lady Raiders 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays State Qualifying times this season.

“Sophie is an amazing swimmer with a vast amount of talent,” said Head Coach Nick Grzeda. “It is not often that such a well rounded swimmer comes your way; especially one who is so humble and yet steadfast in succeeding on her terms. I am excited to see what she will be capable of in two years when she is a senior.”

Sophie now has five individual LCHS School Records as well as one relay: the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.

Sophomore Jake Koenig earned his first individual state qualifying time in the 100 Yard Breaststroke narrowly defeating Potomac Falls HS’s Eoghan (pronounced Owen) Foley with a time of 1:07.09. This will be the second time that Jake has broken the LCHS School Record this season in this event.

“Jake truly devoted himself to this race tonight,” said Raiders Assistant Coach Jess Fry- Jones. “Before going to the block, he said, “I’m getting the State Cut,” and he did! There was no one that was going to distract him from doing so.”

Koenig (So.) also earned a win in the 100 Yard Butterfly in 59.92 for the evening with teammate Courtner Clark taking a close second place in 1:00.65.

The Raider Boys fell to the Potomac Falls 200 Medley Relay at the beginning of the meet, but Senior Captain Will Shoemaker took second place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:04.69 capturing a personal best time in this event. Courtner Clark (So.) had an amazing swim in the 200 Yard I.M. taking first place in 2:11.69 and earning a personal best time in this event. Junior Jay Wareham took third place in 2:25.10 while Senior Captain Nick Cechak took third place in the 50 Yard Freestyle in 24.75.

Senior Captains Will Shoemaker and Nick Cechak took second and third places in the 100 Yard Freestyle for the evening; Shoemaker second place in 55.55 and Cechak third place in 56.02.

Junior Chris Stowell earned a personal best in the 500 Yard Freestyle for the evening, taking second place in 5:56.93 while fellow juniors Joe Gibson and Jay Wareham took first and third places in the 100 Yard Backstroke; Gibson first place in 1:05.29 and Wareham third place in 1:10.43.

The Raider Boys won the final relay, the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:43.60. The relay was made up of Raiders Senior Captains Will Shoemaker and Nick Cechak, Cort Clark (So.), and Jake Koenig (So.).

The Lady Raiders also fell to the Panthers in the 200 Medley Relay, however Sophomore Katie Russell took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle in 2:09.85 and Senior Captain Julie Strange took third in the 200 Yard IM in 2:32.59, a personal best time for Strange in the event. Katie Russell would later take first place in the 100 Yard Freestyle in 58.73, her personal best for the season, narrowly missing the State Qualifying time.

Elise Rivera (Sr.) took third in the 50 Yard in 28.29, and Adrienne Rivera (Fr.) also earned third place in the 100 Yard Breaststroke in 1:21.67. The Lady Raiders 400 Yard Freestyle Relay easily took first place in 4:02.02; the relay was made up of Senior Captain Julie Strange, Elise Rivera (Sr.), Sophie Newton (So.), and Katie Russell (So.).

“I was pleased to see some of the Lady Raiders stepping up and taking their swims seriously,” said Fry-Jones. “Elise Rivera has been working extremely hard the past few weeks and it shows in the past two meets.”

Next weekend the Raiders have two meets scheduled: Friday, January 29, at Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, Va., at 5:30 PM against Dominion High School, and Saturday, January 30, at Ida Lee Recreation Center in Leesburg, Va., at 6:00 PM against Briar Woods High School.

Congratulations to the following members of the VHSL AA LCHS State Championship Raider Volleyball Team:

1st Team All-State:

Juliane Hanna, Sr.

Robin Marsala, Sr.

AA State Player of the Year:

Juliane Hanna

AA State Coach of the Year:

Jarod Brown