Four MCPS coaches have been named 2022 All-Met Coaches of the Year by The Washington Post– Peg Keiller, Kellie Redmond, Prasad Gerard, and Michelle Hunsicker-Blair. Additional information about each coach available below:
• Peg Keiller, girls’ soccer coach at Quince Orchard High School, was named Coach of the Year. Coaching at Quince Orchard since 1999, Keiller’s teams have won two 4A state championships in five finals appearances.
Bryan Bresee has officially declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, according to his Instagram post from earlier Monday afternoon. The 6’5, 305lb Clemson defensive lineman graduated from Damascus High School in 2019. He is the former No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2020, and played three years at Clemson, missing significant time in 2021 with an ACL tear. He is widely expected to be drafted in the first round. His announcement and more on his time at Damascus below:
“When I committed to play football for Clemson University, I never could have imagined how special this opportunity would be. The support I have received from the Clemson community the past 3 seasons has been amazing. I truly appreciate this experience.
A panel of 40 sports writers and editors from news outlets across the country voted MoCo-native Katie Ledecky the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the second time, edging out 400m hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in balloting. Ledecky previously won AP Female Athlete of the Year in 2017.
Ledecky was raised in Bethesda, where she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and attended high school at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, where she graduated in 2015. During her high-school swimming career at Stone ridge, Ledecky twice set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle, and she twice set the national high school record in the 200-yard freestyle. Ledecky finished her high school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-meter breaststroke.
Xavier men’s soccer player Makel Rasheed was drafted by Nashville SC in MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas on Wednesday night. He was taken as the seventh pick (65th overall) in the third round. The Rockville, Md. native, who is a 2019 graduate of Walter Johnson High School, was the second Musketeer taken in the draft as Cole Jensen went in the first round (pick No. 18) to Inter Miami CF. Xavier had two players taken in the same draft for the first time in program history.
The 2022 All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection helped the Musketeers match the program’s highest United Soccer Coaches Ranking this season (No. 9 on Oct. 18). The defender also helped the Musketeers match the program record for longest unbeaten streak to start a season (14 matches) and set the program record for fewest losses in a season (2).
Student-athletes from throughout MCPS high schools participated in a Student-Athlete Leadership Council Meeting at Carver Educational Services Center on Sept. 13. The meeting discussed a variety of topics, including strong leadership and enhancing participation in MCPS athletics. In addition, students on the council recently produced this PSA, a message about being respectful, encouraging and supportive at all athletic events. The video can be seen below:
Chris Rindov, a 2019 graduate of Rockville High School and captain of the Maryland soccer team, has been drafted in the second round of the MLS Draft by Sporting KC.
The 6’2, 190 pound defender from Rockville is coming off of a 2022 season where he was named First Team Big Ten and two-time Big Ten Player of the Week. In his time at Maryland, he was a three-time All Big Ten Academic Selection and went from a true walk on to starter to captain of the team. During his time at Rockville, he scored five goals and had an assist his senior year, being named a Washington Post Honorable Mention selection and first-team All-Montgomery County. He won four Maryland State Championships (2016-2019) and played club soccer at OBGC.
On Tuesday, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association officially permitted high school athletes to monetize their NIL and maintain their eligibility. Under the new policy, it is permissible for student-athletes to financially gain from the use of their own NIL in commercial endorsements, promotional activities, social media presence, product or service advertisements or NFTs. Student-athletes must keep their NIL activities and participation in interscholastic activities separate.
The guidance prohibits high school student athletes from doing NIL deals to promote video games. The MPSSAA also prohibits the formation of collectives – groups of boosters that support schools through NIL activities – by employees, contractors and vendors of member schools. MPSSAA Guidance for Name, Image, and Likeness Related To Interscholastic Athletics:
Joshua Pitsenberger has been named the Ivy League Rooking of the Year after an impressive freshman year at Yale. Pitsenberger, who is from Bethesda and attended North Bethesda Middle School before going on to star as a student-athlete at The Avalon School, helped lead Yale to a 8-2 overall record (and 6-1 in the conference).
This season, Pitsenberger has rushed for 667 yards on 120 carries for 5.6 yards per carry and 6 touchdowns. He also has 10 catches for 53 yards and one receiving touchdown. He has been named Rookie of the Week four times this season and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA. As a senior at Avalon, he rushed for 1,156 yards on 188 carries and scored 13 touchdowns, and had 36 receptions to go along with two receiving touchdowns. He also added two returns for touchdowns. Growing up he played football in Bethesda’s Maplewood Athletic Association and comes from a large, football-loving family. According to the Yale athletics website, he has eight brothers who have also played football.
1. Quince Orchard 14-0: The Cougars defeated Flowers from PG county, in the 4A State title game, 32-7. RB Iverson Howard had 195 yards rushing and 2 TDs and DE Jaylen Harvey 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble & a blocked punt, in the win. QO won their 5th overall State Championship and their 3rd in 5 years. With the victory Head Coach John Kelley earned his 100th victory.
2. Damascus 13-1: The Swarmin’ Hornets beat Oakdale from Frederick county, in the 3A State title game 21-14. RB Dillion Dunathan had 228 yards rushing and 2 TDs and DT Will Terry had 6 tackles and 1 sack in the win. Damascus won their 12th State championship, tying Seneca Valley & Dunbar for the most all time in Maryland.
Shortly before kickoff of Thursday night’s Maryland 4A state championship football game at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman noticed that he’d received a text message from former Quince Orchard High School football star Johnny Hodges. “He wants to know where he can get a livestream of the game,” said Ashman to his companions at the 50-yard-line as they prepared to watch QO defend its state title against C.H. Flowers High School of Prince Georges County.
That Hodges, a 2019 QO graduate and cocaptain of the 2018 championship team, would still want to watch a team of players who weren’t even at QO when he played, isn’t all that remarkable when you think about it. Hodges’ loyalty to his former coaches and the QO football program runs deep. Neither is the fact that of all the people he might contact to find out where to find a livestream, he’d choose the Mayor of Gaithersburg. Ashman’s love of QO football as a parent of two QO alums, including a former football player, is well known throughout the community.
Below you’ll see the 2022 3A/2A Coaches All-County Football Team (as selected by MCPS football coaches). Included you’ll also see awards for MVP, co-player of the year, defensive player of […]