Damascus Native Wil Armstrong Completes Cross Country Bike Ride For ALS
72 days after commencing his cross country, against the wind bike ride for ALS, Damascus native Will Armstrong has completed his trip. He started on June 26th from Rehoboth Beach, DE, and finished September 6th in First Beach La Push, Washington.
Throughout this journey, Wil updated his daily blog with his progress, experiences, and related statistics. Inspired by his mentor and former basketball coach, Rodney Lapp who has ALS, Will dedicated his cross-country journey to ALS and crowdfunded for the ALS Association.
Over the past 73 days, Wil has ridden and camped in various weather conditions. Riding in the haziness of the Canadian Wildfires in Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota was strenuous work. He would wear a mask while riding to avoid breathing in the smoke.
After camping out in storms, Wil faced another one of Mother Nature’s obstacles, a heat wave in Montana. Morning temperatures were about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and would rise to 100+ degrees Fahrenheit by 2:00. To avoid as much of the heat wave as possible he started to wake up between at 3:30/4:00am to get going before the heat and wind picked up after noon.
He ran off of 6 packs of bagels for weeks, ate over 200 different kinds of bars (fruit bars, nature valley bars etc), and ran an impressive banana and apple count (86 bananas and 74 apples in his second month). Audio books, music playlists and educational podcasts (on crypto currency and economic theory) helped him pass time keeping his mind busy as he peddled his way through. A special shout out goes to the Home Depot theme song, he would loop the song from the commercial almost every day. He even got to apply for jobs and write up cover letters at camp.
Throughout the trip, Wil has been met with the overwhelming kindness of friends, families, and strangers. From getting to know and exchanging stories with strangers, to sleeping on strangers boats, sleeping arrangements (hotels and motels) paid by individuals along the way, camping in strangers back yards, and couch crashing.
To learn more about his daily encounters through out this trip his website is linked HERE. ALS Research donations can be found HERE. To learn more about his ride you can check out our previous article HERE.
Photo Curtesy of @wilsride Instagram
At least eight athletes with MoCo ties qualified for the 2020 Olympics!
Andrew Wilson:
Andrew Wilson, became the first ever D-III swimmer to qualify for US Olympic team. He moved to Bethesda at 3 1/2 when his family moved from London. He started swimming as a child at Kenwood Golf and Country Club. Wilson attended Norwood School in Bethesda until eighth grade where he then transferred to a boarding school in Massachusetts.
At 17, Wilson transferred to Emory University in Atlanta, GA where he persuaded the coach to give him a spot on the team. Wilson didn’t even place on the travel team for the Division III program in his freshman year. Ten years later, Andrew finish second in the final of the 100-meter breaststroke at the U.S. Olympic trials, securing a place on the team. His mother was a gymnast at Yale and his sister swam at Northwestern.
Helen Maroulis:
Helen Louise Maroulis is a Rockville-born freestyle wrestler who competes in the women’s 55-kg 53-kg and 57-kg categories.At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil she became the first-ever American to win a gold medal in women’s freestyle wrestling at the Olympic Games.
She attended Magruder High School for three years, where as a freshman she became the first female wrestler to place at the Maryland state wrestling championships. She has been a great spokesperson for mental health awareness after suffering many physical injuries, brain trauma and the effects of prescription medicines.
Phoebe Bacon:
(Pictured: Inside the Germantown Indoor Pool)
Phoebe Bacon is a Chevy Chase born Olympian swimmer and recent Stone Ridge of Sacred Heart high school School Graduate. She holds the 5th fastest 100 m backstroke swim in the world for the 2019 calendar. She qualified for the US Olympic Swimming Team, placing second in the 200m backstroke at the Olympic Team Trials.
Bacon began swimming during the summer at the age of 3 for the Tallyho Foxes. When Phoebe Bacon was 4 or 5 years old at the Little Flower School in Bethesda, she was assigned an older “buddy” who was more advanced and could teach her; she happened to be paired with at the time 10 or 11 year old Katie Ledecky who ended up becoming her mentor and Olympic teammate.
She swims for the Nations Capital Swim Club (NCAP-MD) at the American University site, just as Katie Ledecky did. At the age of 14 she qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials, but didn’t secure a spot on the team. In 2020 Phoebe set a National High School Record at the D.C. Metros and became the first woman to swim under 51 seconds at a high school meet with a time of 50.89 seconds.
Kayla DiCello:
Northwest High School’s rising senior Kayla DiCello secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic team as an alternate. She is now a six time USA National Team member.
As a sophomore, DiCello accepted a full athletic scholarship to the University of Florida.
Kayla and her two sisters practice gymnastics at Gaithersburg’s Hills Gym off of Lindbergh Drive.
On the Final night of the trials her scores were:
Vault: 29.433
Uneven Bars: 26.766
Balance Beam: 27.566
Floor: 27.466
AA: 111.231
Katie Ledecky:
Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky was born in D.C. and raised in Bethesda. She attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge of Sacred Heart high school in 2015. Ledecky finished her high-school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-meter breaststroke.
Influenced by her mother and brother, she began swimming when she was 6, they swam for the University of New Mexico. Instead of following those footsteps she swam and studied at Stanford University.
At the moment, she is considered the worlds greatest swimmer. She is the current world record holder in the women’s 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle. Ledecky has won five Olympic gold medals, one silver and 15 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. She has been named world Swimmer of the Year five times.
Kyle Snyder:
Our Lady Of Good Councol High School graduate, Kyle Snyder is returning to the olympics. Kyle Snyder is a freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms. In his junior year he was ranked as the #1 pound-for-pound high school wrestler in America by Flowrestling and named the national high school wrestler of the year by both Intermat, and ASICS. During his first three years of high school, he held an impressive record of 179–0. Senior year, he spent his time training at the Olympic Center and competed internationally for Team U.S.A. Winning America’s first Junior World Championship in over 20 years while becoming the youngest two-time Junior World medalist in American history.
After Good Council he attended Ohio State University to Wrestle D-1.
He currently holds the distinction of being the youngest Olympic Gold medalist and the youngest World Champion in American wrestling history (all before his 21st birthday)!
Thea LaFond:
Kennedy graduate Thea LaFond is a long-term substitute teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools and triple jumper representing Dominica. After her time at Kennedy, she continued her athletic and educational career at the University of Maryland in College Park where she set the highest ever women’s triple jump score in school history (44-02.75), a record that still stands today.
She became the first Dominican athlete,to ever win a medal for her country in the competition, earning a bronze medal in the Triple Jump at the 2018 Commonwealth games.
Nicole Enabosi:
Nicloe Enabosi is a Germantown-based Power forward for Nigerian Olympic team. She graduated from Our Lady Of Good Councol High School where she was a decorated track & field and basketball athlete. She averaged 18 points per game and was a member of Best Buddies, Key Club, President Club and Honor Roll.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in May 2019 from the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and a Master’s in International Business in May of 2020. She was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) player of the year for the 2017–18 season. During the 2018-19 season she tore her ACL and missed the season. Enabosi resumed playing for Delaware in the 2019–20 season as a graduate Student.
The 2021 class of the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame (MCSHF) comes from the gridiron, the court, the turf and the fairways.
The Hall today revealed the six inductees who will be honored in a ceremony on Sunday October 17th:
● NFL fullback Richie Anderson (Sherwood HS)
● Former PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman (B-CC HS)
● Celebrated lacrosse coach and rugby player Rob Bordley (Landon School)
● Basketball player and college coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Blair HS)
● Maryland Terp great and NBA guard Greivis Vasquez (Montrose Christian)
● NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Curtis (Richard Montgomery HS)
“These men and women have brought recognition and honor to our community in their respective fields,” says MCSHF Board Chair Trish Heffelfinger. “It is a stellar group and the induction ceremony will be one fabulous evening. And yes, at this time we are planning an in-person event in line with county COVID 19 guidelines.”
More about this year’s inductees:
Richie Anderson played fullback in the NFL for 11 seasons for the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
A native of Olney, the star running back at Sherwood HS, Anderson was named Washington Post high school offensive player of the year and USA Today’s Maryland player of the year, while also playing basketball and being all-county in track. He then went on to play at Penn State.
Drafted by the Jets in the 6th round, Anderson played running back, fullback, and tight end, leading all RBs in receptions in 2000 with 88 catches. After retiring,
Anderson coached for the Jets, Cardinals, and Chiefs.
Deane Beman is one of the most influential people in the history of American golf.
Born in DC, Beman grew up in Bethesda, attending Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He went on to play at the University of Maryland and then on the PGA Tour, where he won four tournaments. He won the U.S. Amateur twice and the British Amateur once.
In 1974, Beman became the second commissioner of the PGA Tour. Over his 20-year tenure, he oversaw the growth of televised golf, and created the Senior PGA Tour and The Presidents Cup. After stepping down, Beman played on the Senior Tour for 12 years. Beman is also a golf course architect. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. He now lives in Florida.
Rob Bordley is one of the winningest coaches in Montgomery County history.
He was the head lacrosse coach at the Landon School for 42 years, winning 655 games, the fifth
most victories of any lacrosse coach in the country. Bordley also excelled in rugby, playing for Washington RFC as well as the US national rugby team.
After earning 17 varsity letters at Landon, Bordley went on to Princeton where he excelled in lacrosse and football, earning all-Ivy League honors in both. He is a member of the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame and the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Charlene Thomas-Swinson has been coaching women’s basketball for 32 years. The Silver Spring native was a two-time McDonalds’ All American
when she starred at Montgomery Blair High School.
She played at Auburn before getting her start in coaching at Takoma Park’s Columbia Union College. Thomas-Swinson was previously the head coach at St. Johns and Tulsa. Since 2015 she has been an assistant coach at LSU.
Greivis Vasquez is the second all-time leading scorer in Maryland Terrapins basketball history.
The Venezuelan born star attended the Montrose Christian School in Rockville, where he led the Mustangs to a 43-5 record as a junior and senior. He went on to the University of Maryland where he started 122 games.
As a senior, he won ACC player of the year and the Bob Cousy award for the nation’s best point guard. After being drafted by Memphis, Vasquez spent 7 seasons in the NBA, while also leading Venezuela in many international basketball tournaments.
Mike Curtis (1943-2020) played linebacker in the NFL for 14 seasons for Baltimore, Seattle, and Washington.
Curtis was a four-time Pro
Bowler and was named 1970 AFC defensive player of the year. A star fullback at Richard Montgomery High School as well as an All-American at Duke, Curtis switched to linebacker once in the NFL. He finished his career with 25 interceptions, and was a member of the Colts Super Bowl winning team in 1971.
This year’s class joins the inaugural 2019 class of Katie Ledecky, Dominique Dawes, Shawn Springs, Bob Milloy, Bruce Murray, and Walter Johnson, as well as our second class of Johnny Holliday, Curtis Pride, Amy Wood, Tom Brown, Jeri Ingram, and Roy Lester in the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame.
The 2020 virtual ceremony can be seen at our website WWW.MCSHF.ORG Additional information can also be found there as it becomes available. Look for additional upcoming announcements. More information about this year’s ceremony can be found at our website www.MCSHF.org
The MCSHF is a non-profit organization established in 2018. Our vision is to build a better community through sports and to develop and support access to sports programs for underserved youth. Potential sponsors can contact Board Chair Trish Heffelfinger at 301.717.7283 or [email protected]. People wishing to contribute can donate here.
Harold “The Human Backboard” Solomon grew up in Silver Spring and attended Springbrook High School. Solomon was a singles and doubles tennis player. In the year 1980 he achieved a career high world ranking of No. 5 in singles. Him and his doubles partner, Eddie Dibbs, were also ranked No. 4 in the world in doubles in 1976.
After graduating from Springbrook, Solomon was an All-American and graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He turned pro in 1972 and has a total of 22 singles titles to his name over his career. Solomon made the finals of the French Open in 1976 and the semifinals of the US Open in 1977.
Solomon is currently in the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame, Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, USTA Mid Atlantic Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Solomon currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his wife and two kids.
Featured photo courtesy of Alchetron.com
By Tom Merritt
