By Paul Frommelt
Click the
“Photos” and “Videos” links above to view pictures and highlights from
a preseason practice of the Battlefield wrestling team.
Osbourn Park Girls Look to Continue Winning Tradition
It’s always hard to duplicate a successful season. Last year, the Osbourn Park girls indoor track team certainly had a successful season. Led by senior sprinters Bethany and Brittany Hyter, the Yellow Jackets won Cedar Run District and Northwest Region titles and finished fifth at the AAA state meet.
“We had a good year. We thought that we could compete at the highest levels,” said Osbourn Park head coach Mike D. Feldman. “We did about as well as we could do.”
That doesn’t mean that the Yellow Jackets were satisfied. This year, Osbourn Park’s girls team isn’t looking to duplicate their success from a year ago — they’re looking to surpass it.
“Was it disappointing? Yeah, but it wasn’t the end of the world,” said Feldman of the Yellow Jackets’ fifth-place finish at the state meet. The difference between third-place Westfield and the fifth-place Yellow Jackets was just five points — the difference between a first-place finish and a fourth place finish in one event. Less than .12 seconds in a 55-meter dash, or three seconds in a two-mile run. “We just didn’t have enough to catch them.”
This year’s young Yellow Jacket squad has an uphill battle ahead of them. Losing the Hyter sisters to graduation, as well as all-state hurdler Michelle Ferguson, all-region jumper Peyton Alston and all-region hurdler Danni McKensie hurts the Yellow Jackets — and makes them a much younger squad.
“We aren’t going to sneak up on anybody because we don’t sneak up anymore, but our young kids have an opportunity to step up and do some things,” said Feldman. “We developed some athletes. We’re very young, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be good.”
Coming off of a cross country Northwest Region title in the fall, the Yellow Jackets’ distance runners, led by junior Ariel Karabinus and sophomore Kayla Tyrell, look to be the strength of the team this year.
“Right now, on paper, it looks like Kayla and Ariel are going to be a pretty competitive one-two punch,” said Feldman.
The Yellow Jackets also return senior sprinter Tialei Waikiki, junior sprinter Amanda Nocera, sophomore distance runner Natale Gelata and junior middle distance runner Ashley Wybersky.
“Our kids are going to be competitive. But to win the district, win the region and be a top five team in the state? Man, that’s anybody’s guess,” said Feldman.
On the boys side, the Yellow Jackets have been hit with a tough injury right off the bat. All-state hurdler Paul DeVito has been sidelined since July with a deep ankle bruise. Feldman is unsure whether DeVito will be able to compete at all during the indoor season.
As with the girls side, Feldman will be relying on his younger athletes to carry the torch for the boys.
“We have some young sprint kids that nobody is really thinking about,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. We are young and not battle tested. They haven’t been to the rodeo yet.”
News and Notes Around Prince William
Potomac head coach Steve Petrosky enters his seventh year with the Panthers after a successful 2007-2008 indoor campaign that saw the Panther boys win the Northwest Region championship and finish fourth at the AAA meet. Petrosky, however, only returns four boys from last year’s squad. Brice Mathews (300 and 500 district champ; 300 region champ), Wesley Jones (long jump and triple jump district champ), Eric Gyamfi (regional record-holder in 500) and Joshuah Turner (55 district champ) all graduated from last year’s squad. Mathews, Jones, Gyamfi and Turner were also the members of Potomac’s 4×400 team that took first at the state meet. Petrosky as loses all-district and all-region distance runner Jeff Poindexter, but returns his younger brother, Andre, who took the Cardinal District cross country championship in the fall. Petrosky’s girls side, however, brings back a wealth of talent, including runners Yvonne Amegashie and Debra Baner, as well as jumpers Lauren Coleman, Pearl Bickersteth and Brittany Johnson. Last year, the Potomac girls were runners-up in the Cardinal District and the Northwest Region.
Woodbridge head coach Andrew McCarthy returns 20 athletes to his Vikings squad that finished top-five in the region on both the boys and girls sides last season. While the boys side lost distance runners Andrew McGreal and Scott Teribury from last year’s squad, they return Andre Washington (300, 500, 55 hurdles) Goose Osorio (300, 500, 55 hurdles), Isaiah Simmons (shot), John Wolf (55 hurdles, 300, 500) and RaMon Mathis (300). The girls side returns one of the best distance runners in the county in Michelle Britto, as well as Erin Rolaf (3,200 and 1,600), Tiffany Jones (55 hurdles) and J’Quiana McGhee (55).
2007-2008 Prince William Key Losses:
Boys — Joshuah Turner, Potomac; Brice Mathews, Potomac; Wesley Jones, Potomac; Eric Gyamfi, Potomac; Eric Hoepker, Battlefield; Philip Lecky, Gar-Field; Tyler Simmons, Osbourn Park; Zack Williams, Forest Park; Risti Hagos, C.D. Hylton; Michell Clark, Gar-Field; Jeffery Poindexter, Potomac; Keith Link, Woodbridge; Cameron Shaver, Forest Park; John Thomas, Potomac; Melvin Villalta, Osbourn; Austin Soderquist, Freedom; Aryan Mazloum, Battlefield; Rex Parker, Battlefield. Girls — Kim Blaylock, Battlefield; Bethany Hyter, Osbourn Park; Brittany Hyter, Osbourn Park; Aubree Washington, Gar-Field; Elizabeth Walls, Battlefield; Michelle Ferguson, Osbourn Park; Peyton Alson, Osbourn Park; Erin Jones, C.D. Hylton; Janae Williams, Freedom;
2008-2009 Prince William Key Returning Athletes:
Boys — Damien Thigpen, Sr., Stonewall Jackson; Dayne Mullins, Sr., C.D. Hylton; Kelvin Lewis, Woodbridge; RaMon Mathis, Jr., Woodbridge; Sebastian Panaigua, Jr., Battlefield; Paul DeVito, Sr., Osbourn Park; Josh Chirstovich, Sr., Woodbridge; Stuart Shotwell, Sr., Forest Park; Isaiah Simmons, Soph., Woodbridge; Derrick Knight, Sr., Gar-Field; Clinton Burrell, Sr., Gar-Field; Andre Washington, Sr., Woodbridge; John Wolf, Soph. Woodbridge; Andre Poindexter, Potomac. Girls — Yvonne Amegashie, Sr., Potomac; Genevieve Johnson, Jr., Battlefield; Jasmin Peterson Hassan, Sr., Osbourn Park; Shondel Archer, Sr., Woodbridge; Cristin Gonzales, Sr., Osbourn Park; Breiana White, Sr., C.D. Hylton; Courtney Clay, Sr., Osbourn Park; Kayla Tyrrell, Soph., Osbourn Park; Ariel Karabinus, Jr., Osbourn Park; Lindsi Arrington, Jr., Gar-Field; Debra Baner, Soph., Potomac; Michelle Britto, Sr., Woodbridge; Pearl Bickersteth, Sr., Potomac; Erin Porter, Soph., Potomac; Drema Khraibani, Freedom; Tialei Waikiki, Sr., Osbourn Park; Amanda Nocera, Jr., Osobourn Park; Hope Flomo, Soph., Stonewall Jackson; Priscilla Asare, Jr., Potomac; Celina Vanegas-Morataya, Sr., Gar-Field; Francesca McClaude, Sr., Gar-Field; Erin Rolaf, Jr., Woodbridge; Tiffany Jones, Jr., Woodbridge; Ashely Gailliard, Sr., Woodbridge.
2007-2008 Cedar Run District Indoor Track — Girls Team Top Ten
1. Osbourn Park, 172
2. Battlefield, 114
3. Fauquier, 59
4. Liberty, 46
5. Culpeper County, 34
6. Stonewall Jackson, 13
7. Osbourn, 10
2007-2008 Cedar Run District Indoor Track — Boys Team Top Ten
1. Battlefield, 181.50
2. Fauquier, 81
3. Liberty, 52.50
4. Osbourn Park, 48
5. Stonewall Jackson, 40
6. Osbourn, 27
7. Culpeper County, 11
2007-2008 Cardinal District Indoor Track — Girls Team Top Ten
1. Gar-Field, 116
2. Potomac, 107
3. Woodbridge, 105
4. C.D. Hylton, 63.50
5. Forest Park, 39.50
6. Freedom, 30
2007-2008 Cardinal District Indoor Track — Boys Team Top Ten
1. Woodbridge, 131
2. Potomac, 123
3. Gar-Field, 97
4. Forest Park, 61
5. Freedom, 25
6. C.D. Hylton, 24
2007-2008 Northwest Region Indoor Track — Girls Team Top Ten
1. Osbourn Park, 123
2. Potomac, 51.50
3. Battlefield, 43
4. Woodbridge, 37
5. Franklin County, 35.50
6. Gar-Field, 30
7. E.C. Glass, 29
7. Brooke Point, 29
9. Fauquier, 26
10. Colonial Forge, 25
2007-2008 Northwest Region Indoor Track — Boys Team Top Ten
1. Potomac, 82
2. Mountain View, 74
3. G.W.-Danville, 46
4. Albemarle, 44
5. Battlefield, 35
5. Woodbridge, 35
7. E.C. Glass, 32.50
8. North Stafford, 29
9. Gar-Field, 24
9. Riverbend, 24
Processing your request, Please wait....
