A Look at Local Sports this Week in Years Past

With spring high school sports seasons on indefinite hiatus, The Dispatch thought it might be interesting and fun to take a look back at what was making local sports headlines this same week in years past. Many of the players went on to do great things in college both athletically and academically and some now even have kids of their own in local youth sports programs. The following is a look back at the last five, 10 and 20 years.

The following is a brief glimpse of what was making headlines on the sports pages of The Dispatch this week five years ago:

• Worcester Prep handed out its spring sports awards this week. For the boys’ varsity lacrosse team, Wade Walter was named MVP, Wyatt Richins earned the Coach’s Award and Michael Brittingham was

varsityboys awards

This week five years ago, Worcester Prep honored its spring sports standouts. Pictured, from row, from left: Quinn Lukas, tennis, MVP; Erik Zorn, tennis, Most Improved; Wyatt Richins, lacrosse, Coach’s Award; Wade Walter, lacrosse, MVP. Pictured back row, from left: Kyle Chandler, tennis, Coach’s Award; and Michael Brittingham; varsity lacrosse, Most Improved.

named Most Improved. For the boys’ varsity tennis team, Quinn Lukas was named MVP, Kyle Chandler earned the Coach’s Award and Erik Zorn was named Most Improved. For the girls’ varsity lacrosse team, Sophie Brennan was the MVP, Molly Soule earned the Coach’s Award and Olivia Bescak was named Most Improved. For the girls’ varsity tennis team, Tatiana Kondraschow was the MVP, Natalie Twilley earned the Coach’s Award and Fiona Reid was named Most Improved.

• Worcester Prep’s varsity tennis teams swept their season schedules this year, going undefeated and repeating as Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference champions.

wps girls awards


This week five years ago, Worcester Prep girls were honored for excellence during the spring season. Pictured, first row, from left: Caroline Pasquariello, JV Girls’ Lacrosse, MVP; Olivia Bescak, Most Improved, varsity lacrosse; Fiona Reid, girls’ tennis, Most Improved; Natalie Twilley, girls’ tennis, Coach’s Award. Pictured back row, from left: Kaylee Dickerson, JV lacrosse, Most Improved; Mia Meacci, JV’ Lacrosse, Coach’s Award; Molly Soule, varsity lacrosse, Coach’s Award; Sophie Brennan, varsity lacrosse, MVP; and Tatjana Kondraschow, tennis, Most Valuable Player.
Submitted photo

The Worcester girls went unbeaten this year and won the ESIAC title for the 10th straight year, which is the length of the history of the conference. The Worcester boys also went undefeated and won their ESIAC championship. Quinn Lukas won the men’s singles championship, while Tatjana Kondraschow won the women’s singles title. The team of Mattie Maull and Isabel Carulli won the women’s doubles championship, while Erik Zorn and Kyle Chandler won the men’s doubles championship.

• Fresh off a strong performance in the state 3A-South regionals, a handful of Stephen Decatur varsity track athletes this week competed in the state championship meet in Baltimore with solid results.

The Seahawks were strongest in the pole vault at regionals, just as they have been for years. In the regional meet on the girls’ side, Katie Hofman won the regional championship and Hannah Wilson was second. On the boys’ side, Decatur’s Brett Kim was the regional champion, while Hyun Chun was second and Evan Haas was third.

At the state championship meet last weekend, the Decatur pole vaulters were solid again with Kim taking seventh, Chun taking 10th and Haas taking 11th. On the girls’ side, Hofman was 11th and Wilson was 12th. In the boys’ 110 hurdles, Decatur’s Sean Velasquez-Alvino finished 10th overall in the state meet. Parker Harrington finished 15th in the 800 in the state championship meet, while Bethany Williams finished 16th overall in the long jump.

The following are some of the highlights of The Dispatch sports pages from this week 10 years ago:

• Two days after winning the state 3A-2A region championship, Stephen Decatur’s girls’ varsity lacrosse team’s dread of a possible state championship ended with a 12-9 loss to North Harford in the state semifinals. The Seahawks cruised to the regional championship, beating Patuxent, 14-3, to earn a trip to the state’s final four.

Decatur got off to a fast start against North Harford in the semifinal game and led 5-1 just five minutes into the contest. North Harford regrouped, however, and reeled off nine straight goals to take a 10-5 lead at the half. Decatur rallied again, cutting the lead to 11-9 with over 10 minutes left in the contest, but North Harford added a late goal to close out the game at 12-9. The loss did little to tarnish what was another remarkable season for the Decatur girls, who finished with a 14-4 record and won the Bayside South championship before earning the top seed in the state 3A-2A tournament.

• Stephen Decatur’s varsity softball team fell to Howard, 4-1, this week in the state 3A-East region championship. The Seahawks entered the post-season as the second seed in the 3A-East region and cruised through the early rounds, beating Bayside South rival Bennett and then River Hill to reach the region championship game against Howard.

Maddie Justice was her usual dominating self against River Hill, allowing just one hit and two runs while striking out 11. Kylie Nottingham provided the offensive spark with a home run and three RBIs, while Jessica Iacona collected two hits and scored twice.

The win over River Hill propelled Decatur into the regional championship game against Howard with a trip to the final four and a possible state championship on the line, but the Seahawks fell to Howard, 4-1. Decatur finished with an impressive 17-3 mark on the season including a 14-2 record in the Bayside South.

• Decatur’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team fell to old nemesis Kent Island, 14-2, in the state 3A-East region semifinals. The Seahawk were in a rebuilding mode in 2010 and finished the regular season with an even 7-7 mark. Decatur earned the six-seed in the 3A-East region tournament and breezed by Bayside South rival Wicomico, 17-1, in the post-season opener to advance.

Looming in the second round, however, was Bayside Conference champion Kent Island, which had Decatur’s number in recent years. Kent Island jumped all over the Seahawks early and led 5-0 after one quarter and 8-0 at the half. The Buccaneers led 11-0 late in the third before Decatur finally got on the board with a goal by Brandon Terlizzi. Kent Island added a couple of late goals and cruised to the 14-2 win. Decatur entered the season with modest expectations after losing the core of its senior leadership the year before, but with a roster loaded with underclassmen, the future looks bright for the Seahawks in the years to come.

• Decatur’s varsity baseball team fell to Atholton, 7-1, in the state 3A-East region semifinals, closing out what was otherwise a remarkable season for the Seahawks. Decatur finished the regular season with a 15-3 record and entered the region tournament as the number-two seed. In its post-season opener, Decatur rolled past Northeast behind a dominating pitching performance by Troy Bennett, who struck out nine. Brad Stiles provided much of the Decatur offense in one swing with a three-run homer while Marshall Betts also hit the long ball. In the region semifinals, Decatur ran into a buzz saw in a form of the Atholton starting pitcher, who allowed just one run and five hits through seven innings.

The following is a little snippet of the top sports stories in The Dispatch this week 20 years ago:

Ocean City’s offshore fishing season got off to a fast start when angler A.J. Thomas hauled in a whopping 245-pound mako shark, the earliest ever in the resort area at the time. Thomas’ big early mako touched off a frenzy early in the offshore season in Ocean City with several boats reporting double-digit shark catches. For example, the Crazy Horse with Captain Brett Reitz caught six blue sharks in the 110-200-pound range, while Captain Keith Richardson and the R&R crew caught seven blue sharks in the 200-pound range in a single day.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Alternative Text

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.