Fall 2013 Jaguar Sports Boosters bulletin

The Director of Student Activities

Wow- what an amazing fall season for the Falls Church High School Jaguars!!! When the season began in early August, we were dealing with many obstacles that could have hindered success for our sports teams: stadium and practice fields were under construction, the track was not available, teams had to practice off campus, and there were unexpected coaching vacancies. Through it all, the coaches persevered and the athletes persisted, and instead of being brought down, the Jaguars rose above – way above! In late August, FCHS was fortunate to celebrate the installation of two new beautiful synthetic turf fields due to the support from Fairfax County Public Schools, the Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services, and the Falls Church High School Athletic Booster Club. These new fields have made a very positive impact on our teams, students, and community! Once the school year began, the good news kept coming….  Our team had three members compete in the new Region 5A North Tournament –Gary Bornholdt, Ryan Krepp and Kevin Moore.  Our and teams showed steady progress at all levels (freshmen, jv and varsity) and several athletes earned All-Conference recognition.  The Cross Country teams had many accomplishments: in the Capitol Conference 13 Championship, Seniors Emily Grabauskas and Erin Nunan placed in the top 15 along with Nicolas Rodgers on the boy’s side. For the second year in a row, the entire girls’ team advanced to the Region Championship. Nicolas also advanced to Regions for the boys cross country program. From Regionals, Emily Grabauskas and Nicolas Rodgers advanced to the VHSL 5A State Championship and represented FCHS very well!  The FCHS Varsity Cheerleaders had an outstanding season- the Jaguars were the 2013 Capitol Conference 13 Champions! At the 5A North Region Championship, the Jaguar Cheerleaders were phenomenal and advanced to the second round - for the first time in school’s history! In addition they were just a few points away from advancing to the State Championship. And last but certainly not least….  The Jaguar Varsity Football team finished the regular season with a 7-3 record, had the best record in the Capitol Conference 13, won the Bell game vs. Stuart, and was undefeated at home! The Jaguars advanced to the Region playoffs for the first time since 1986. In the first round of the Region 5A North Playoffs, the Jaguars defeated Albemarle H.S. – this was the first Region playoff victory for FCHS since 1976! At print time, the Jaguars are preparing for the second round Region playoff game which will be on November 22nd at Massaponax High School. I am very proud of all of the teams not only for how they competed on the fields, gyms, and courses, but also for how they represented themselves in the classroom (many of our fall athletes were Scholar Athletes - earning a 3.5 grade point average or higher) and in the community! Jaguar School Spirit seems to be at an all-time high and that is due not only to the success of the student athletes, but also to the outstanding support of their parents, the Athletic Booster Club, the FCHS administration and faculty, and the awesome Hype Squad (the student cheering section). —continued on the next page

Falls Church High School Lastly, I want to thank all of the people who do the work behind the scenes to make sure that the Jaguar student athletes have everything they need to be successful – our wonderful new Assistant Directors of Student Activities - Ms. Belinda Kim and Mr. Bobby Krause, our amazing new Administrative Assistant - Ms. Esther Rodriguez, our outstanding Athletic Trainers - Mr. Jon Thompson and Mr. Jake Ivey, our fabulous Athletic Booster Club - led by President Reid Trautz, our very supportive new Principal - Mr. Mike Yohe, and of course our very dedicated coaches! Way to go Jags!!!

— Jeanne Kelly, Director of Student Activities

A Word from the FCHS Sports Boosters President

ow, what a year so far! We are proud to have played a role in securing our W turf fields. We created the first Mosaic Bowl football The fall season launched with a bang in August game to develop another local rivalry and build with the dedication of our two new turf fields and has important relationships with area businesses. We also yet to finish as our varsity football team continues their participated in the planning of the first Falls Church season into the playoffs. Shopping Night at the Mosaic District - again to build August 29th was a happy day, many years in the community awareness and support of FCHS. making. Through the foresight of Activities Director We have had a successful season of fundraising too. Jeanne Kelly and the hard work of her staff and many The on-line email fundraiser in which most fall athletes Falls Church parents over many years, we have participated raised over $11,000 in just a few short modern world-class turf fields for our athletic teams to weeks. That roughly equals $10 for each valid email practice and play on and our marching band to address entered by athletes. We know it was not easy perform on. It has brought a new sense of pride to our to provide some names and emails for this activity, but school and our athletic program. Jaguar pride. it paid off. We hope to have even greater participation However, the on-field performances of our athletes when we repeat this fundraiser next fall. have been a greater source of pride. Several Jaguar Thanks to all those families who are Booster members golfers advanced to regional play, our cheerleaders and are taking advantage of the free entry into all claimed a new conference championship, followed by Jaguar home games. A special thanks to Patron our varsity football winning their first conference members. championship in many years. In November, several cross-country runners advanced to state competition, Like our athletes, when we step up our game, great and we witnessed the first home football playoff things happen. We invite all parents to participate in game—and victory—in many, many years. Booster activities. Whether than is filling multiple shifts each season in the snack bar, helping out at games, The Falls Church Jaguar Athletic Boosters are proud planning for our spring golf tournament, raising of our athletes. Our mission is to enhance the athletic needed funds, selling spirit wear, or being part of our experience of all our athletes. We raise money and we community outreach team, we are happy to have raise community awareness of our athletic program at everyone be a part of the Booster team. Contact any Falls Church. This fall we have been successful in of the Booster Board members, and we’ll find the right both. fit for your busy schedule! — Reid Trautz, Sports Boosters President

Mark Your Calendars: Dec 3 - Winter sports parents/coaches meeting Feb 27 - Winter Sports Awards Night Dec 4 - Winter sports pictures Mar 12 - Spring sports parents/coaches meeting Dec 27 - 30 - Joe Cascio Memorial Mar 13 - Spring sports pictures Tournament Apr 14 - 18 Spring Break Feb 24 - Spring Sports Tryouts Begin April 26 - Jaguar 5K/1 mile fun run Feb 21 - Mr. Jaguar Competition to benefit ANGC June 5 - Spring Sports Awards Night

2 Fall Sports Wrap-Up

Cheerleading School. Sophomores Emily Seracino, Campbell Coach Bea Codjoe Scheuerman, Katie Valases, Sandy Kendall, Batres Maku, and Junior Prethi Chaudhari will

lead a strong group of girls that should compete his has been a great year for Falls Church for the conference 13 title and possibly even a 5A T High School Cheerleading. We have North championship nest year. accomplished so much including becoming the first Capitol Conference Champions! Like the girls team the boys team enjoyed great progress this year. Captains Nicholas Rodgers Expectations were high this season even with two and Matthew Rhodes led the boys cross country new Varsity coaches. With most of the squad team through a very strong season. The boys returning from the previous season, athletes had team enjoyed a huge breakthough performance to get used to a brand new coaching style. We with a great 13th place finish in the highly practiced six days a week and went by the motto competitive Manhattan College Invitational in the “No Excuses, No Regrets”—giving it Bronx, NY. everything we had each and every practice. Finally the Jaguars are incedibly proud of their Head Coach Bea Codjoe is very proud of her new two 5A state meet qualifiers in Emily Grabauskas squad. “I am proud and honored to be a and Nicholas Rodgers and wish them luck in the Jaguar. We have accomplished so much this upcoming 5A state Championship. season and the best is yet to come.” Coach Codjoe went on to say that the nine seniors on the squad played a huge role in their success. She also pays respect to the three captains: Moriah Dreisbach, Sydney Seol, and Brittany Pak, stating that their leadership helped serve as a backbone Golf to the squad. Coach Mike Power Assistant Coach Brown described the season as triumphant, saying that despite defeats, setbacks, he 2013-2014 golf was a success all around. and injuries, the team pulled together for this win. T We had a number of new players enter the “Nothing can top that feeling of being a program. Being new to the game and the concept conference winning coach your first time.” of team golf, the season was a learning experience for both players and coaches. By mid season the veterans and rookies began to mesh as a team. We finished the season with 3-4 record in our conference Cross Country Captains Kevin Moore and Jack Guthermuth lead Coach Bobby Krause the Jaguar golfers this season. Senior Ryan Krepp help anchor the team. Senior Ryan Krepp, his years' cross county team built upon the Junior Kevin Moore and Gary Bornholdt T success from the past few years. The advanced to the conference tournament at Forest women's cross country team under the Greens golf course. leadership of senior captains Emily Grabauskas and Erin Nunan have proved that they are a conference champion contender each year. Although we will lose two of our strongest female runners to graduation this year in Grabauskas and Nunan, there is a strong contingent of young runners who have shown that they are ready to take the torch and continue to develop a strong distance running program at Falls Church High

3 Fall Sports Wrap-Up (continued) Field Hockey Miracle” The play went viral and even made it on Coach Amy Derrickson & Minnie Wodatch ESPN. We lost really close games to Hayfield, Yorktown and W&L. However, we finished the new tradition began for the field hockey regular season undefeated at home and defeated A program this season as two FC alums arch rival Jeb Stuart in the annual “Bell Game.” returned to coach the sport they love. In addition, Senior night was very emotional, twenty seniors they welcomed a new JV head coach and good walked down the track with their parents one last friend, Meredith Hickman, a former field hockey time. It was great to see school, staff and goalie from UMD with a contagious attitude and community come together and show school spirit spirit. as the Jaguar football team finished the season 7 The varsity team finished 7th in the conference -3. and was led by seniors, Brigette Oden, Jill I would look to thank everyone from Ms. Kelly to O’Gara, Emily Flores, Sonya Duong, Anna our awesome band, cheerleaders and Hype Ziegler, Carly Petrazzuolo, Mary Ellen Stivers, squad. Also, a special thanks to Scott McCombs Breeanna Yi, and Khadija Ali (manager). and Dustin Payne for doing the announcing for Throughout the season the team continued to our packed home games. improve in endurance, skill, and confidence. Their Our freshman and JV won several games, and progress was most evident in the last two season showed a promising future for the jaguar football games against competitive opponents Yorktown program. As I complete this article, I am not sure and Marshall. The JV team showed great talent, when this season will end, and how far we will ending the season strong with two wins and a tie. go? I am only positive that we are graduating a The field hockey program would like to recognize great group of seniors, and returning a very Anna Ziegler for making 1st team All-Conference, talented junior and sophomore class. Carly Petrazzuolo, Jill O’Gara, and Bailey nd Senyitko for making 2 team All-Conference, and Brigette Oden and Kimberlyn Pena for receiving Conference Honorable Mentions. Further recognition to Carly Petrazzuolo for two consecutive seasons as an all-Metropolitan VolleyBall Region leader in saves – over 230 goals saved Coach Belinda Kim this season alone! he varsity team finished the season 1-17 The field hockey program bids farewell to our 8 T overall but the team showed a lot of seniors who will be greatly missed, and looks improvement learning a 5-1 and 6-2 system. The forward to the rising talent in our freshmen, team was led by three captains Kim Maltez, sophomore and junior athletes. Nayra Perez, and Jenny Tran who are also selected as honorable mention for the conference. Nayra Perez recorded the most digs, Natalie Samaha recorded the most kills, Jenny Tran recorded the most aces and assists, and Football Marisa recorded the most blocks. Coach Said Aziz The JV team had a very successful season and finished 9-7 overall and 5-2 in the conference. All s I am writing this article for the 2013 Fall of the girls worked very hard during the season A sports banquet, we are getting ready to host and improved their skills immensely. the first playoff game held at FCHS in almost 40 years. This group of hardworking young men and The Freshman team worked hard all season to coaches really deserve it. When I first came to improved their skills and it showed in all of their Falls Church I knew our freshman class would be games. special, and they have really have proved to be a The volleyball program will miss seniors Courtney special group of young men over the past four Franklin, Kim Maltez, Nayra Perez, and Claire years. We started the season 3-0, and we were Ziegler and wishes them all the best!! GO all a part of a historic play called the “Mosaic JAGS!!! 4 Winter Sports Preview Boys’ Basketball Swim & Dive Coach TC Papageorge Coach Clayton Joyner & Robert Lukacevic

he Falls Church High School basketball he Swim and Dive program looks forward to T program is very excited about this coming T the 2013-2014 season. The program has year. The Varsity team will be returning key added two new coaches, Assistant Swim Coach players from last season, along with players Alex Howe, who is a former swimmer and record making the jump from JV to Varsity. holder at Falls Church, and Assistant Dive Coach Curtis Carlin, who is a former NCAA All- The program will also be hosting its 4th annual American Diver. holiday basketball tournament – The Joe Cascio Classic in late December. This tournament is in The Boys team returns a promising Senior class honor of Falls Church JV basketball coach, Joe headed by captains and school record holders Cascio, who lost his battle with cancer in 2010. James Sturges and Matt Quandt. Head Coach Thank you to everyone that makes this Clayton Joyner believes this is the most talented tournament a success. boys swim and dive team the school has seen, and has dubbed the team "The Legion of Building relationships with future student- Doom." Look out for the boys team as records athletes is the foundation of the basketball shall be broken and legends will be made. program at Falls Church. In 2007 the Jaguars basketball youth summer camp was brought The girls team is recovering from losing one of back to Falls Church. The 7th annual summer the largest classes to come through the camp of 2013 consisted of rising 3rd-9th graders, program. However with school record holders coached by current Falls Church players in the Julia Schwartz and Haley Mclean still in the mix, basketball program. This season the boy’s the girls team plans to put up more than a fight. Varsity team will include players that Many of the returning girl swimmers and divers participated in the first annual summer camp of have been training hard throughout the year and 2007. are ready to take on the conference. Another pair to watch out for are the Carlin sisters, Alicia The coaching staff would like to thank all players and Sammie Carlin recently moved here from at the Freshman, JV, and Varsity levels for their Washington State and plan to turn heads from dedication and hard work to building a day one till they graduate. successful program. In addition, we would like to thank all family, friends, faculty, and staff that Coach Lukacevic, a chemistry teacher at Lake support the boy’s basketball program! Braddock Secondary School, is looking forward to another exciting and rewarding season as the “When you care more about your teammates coach of the squad. Coach Lukacevic, a than yourself – seasoned coach of , Debate, and Diving, That is you can achieve greatness.” is returning to FCHS Swim and Dive as the diving coach. As an integral part of the FCHS Swim and Dive Team, Coach Lukacevic prepares each of the divers to learn the minimum required dives as well as optional Dance Team dives in order to compete and earn points for the Coach Jennifer Lee team. Building on last year’s success, Coach Lukacevic is eager to help the returning divers his season will first start off with their new improve their current dives and expand their lists T dance coach, Coach J (Jennifer Lee) who of dives. In addition, Coach Lukacevic is eager has been teaching for more than 12 years. The to help new divers learn enough dives to Falls Church Dance Team is excited and ready compete in each of the meets. for a great season. The dance team will be supporting the Varsity Basketball teams during their homes games. They will also be participating in competitions as well as community events. Stay tuned for some great highlights from the talented dancers! 5 Winter Sports Preview (continued) Winter Track Coaches Mike Cooper and Mark Coach Bobby Krause

he Lady Jaguar gymnasts are excited to start The indoor track and field teams are off to a great T their season in Conference 13 under the start. With a total of 90 athletes attending practice direction of Coach Cooper and Coach Mark. We in the first week we are very excited to realize have 13 team members with 5 returners. Seniors everyone's potential. Returning this year to the Kelly Auka and Moriah Dreisbach lead the team Jaguars track and field team is a strong female as Captains and All Arounds. We look forward to middle distance and distance running group. seeing everyone at our first meet on Dec. 12th at Batres Maku, Erin Nunan, Emily Grabauskas and Mt. Vernon High School. Campbell Scheuerman teamed up last year to post a great 4x800 meter time that missed the school record by less than 2 seconds. With all of these girls back on the team this year not only Girls’ Basketball will they be looking to break this record they will also be looking to earn a spot in the 5A state Coach Janice Pritchett meet. Seniors Emily Grabauskas and Erin Nunan are both ranked in the top 10 in their best events he Falls Church girls basketball program looks and are poised to make a big impact at the first T forward to beginning the 2013-2014 season ever 5A state meet. The boys team returns under new leadership. Janice Pritchett begins her standout sprinter and horizontal jumper Deion first season as the varsity head coach and Dupont who is also looking to place high at the Brandon Bailey as the varsity assistant coach. regional and state level. Senior Nicholas Rodgers Justin Simmons returns with high spirits as the JV coming off an incredible cross country season head coach and introduces a new JV assistant should also place very high at the very coach, Brittani Williams. The freshman program competitive 5A North Regional and 5A state makes their debut with a new head coach, Nicole meets. In addition to all of the veteran talent we Colassi and returning after numerous years, Jim have returning to the this year possibly the most Kearney. exciting part of this team is all of the new talent. Despite the loss of great seniors, the team is With so many dedicated and hardworking excited to start competing! With six returning athletes joining us this year we hope to have varsity players from last year, this year’s team great performances in all of the events. looks to build upon their successes from last year. While the Jaguars will be relying heavily on their returning players, some promising newcomers are excited to make their debut. As a young team with a lot of potential and dedication it appears to be a very competitive season for the Lady Jags!

6 Falls Church High School Winter Sports Head Coaches 2013-2014

Sport: Head Coach: Email: Boys Basketball T.C. Papageorge [email protected] Girls Basketball Janice Pritchett [email protected] Dance Jennifer Lee [email protected] Gymnastics Mike Cooper [email protected] Swim/Dive Clayton Joyner [email protected] Track Bobby Krause rlkrause@fcps,edu Dustin Payne [email protected]

FCHS Student Activities Department: Student Activities phone # 703-207-4023 Jaguar Hotline – 703-821-5245 Sports Webpage: www.fallschurchsports.org Twitter: @FCJagsAthletics

Jeanne Kelly, Director of Student Activities, [email protected] Bobby Krause, Asst. DSA, [email protected] Belinda Kim, Asst. DSA, [email protected] Esther Rodriguez, Administration Assistant, [email protected] Jon Thompson, Certified Athletic Trainer, [email protected]

Christmas Tree Sales at the Mosaic District to Benefit the FCHS Team

The Falls Church High School baseball team will once again be selling Beautiful Fresh Cut Fraser Fir Christmas Trees. Our tree lot will be at the Mosaic District, which has generously offered us a space to sell our trees. When: Weekends starting Friday November 29th. Friday's from 4-7; Saturday's from 10 - 7; and Sunday's from 12-5 Where: The Mosaic District across from the Angelika movie theater (8200 Strawberry Ln., Falls Church) and Target, with dedicated parking spaces to pick up your tree. Park in one of the lots and after you pick out a tree, we will have spaces to load your car.

Please come out and support our Christmas Tree Sale. If you have any questions, contact Kathy Moore at 703-645-0390.

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