Atholton

Hall of fame -- The 11th Howard County Women's Athletics Hall of Fame game and induction ceremony will be held Saturday at Atholton High School in Columbia. Inductees are Tierney Clark Ahearn, Sylvia Groomes, Kisha Jett and Genny O'Donnell Kozusko. The event, which is sponsored by Patuxent Publishing, will be held between the alumnae basketball game, which starts at 5 p.m., and the Centennial vs. Atholton girls varsity basketball game, which starts at 7 p.m. There is a charge for admission; proceeds will go to the Women's Giving Circle.

The Centennial girls basketball team has gotten plenty of mileage from its resources in the first half of the season. The Eagles, who went 12-12 last season, had only eight players try out for varsity at the start of this season, but coach Rob Slopek has been able to get the most from each in an impressive 9-2 start. Sophomore guard Molly Speicher (17.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds) has consistently been the team's leading scorer, with her fellow starters stepping up at different times to help bring home wins.

Performer of the Year Graham Bazell Atholton After being overshadowed by teammate Andrew Revelle last year, Bazell made a name for himself this winter. The sophomore turned in some outstanding performances, especially in the 3,200, where his time of 9 minutes, 13.65 seconds at the Montgomery Invitational on Jan. 13 was the nation's best at that point (at season's end, it was ninth-best). He later won the 1,600 and 3,200 at the county and Class 3A-2A West regional meets. After that, Bazell finished second in the 1,600 at the state meet but won the 3,200 in record-breaking style.

Going into yesterday's Class 2A state semifinal game, the Atholton girls basketball team didn't look at itself as being decisively smaller than Walkersville, the West region champion. Just decisively quicker. The No. 9 Raiders hassled their previously unbeaten Frederick County opponent with a relentless press and made a determined effort to get to the basket on offense, also leaning on last year's state semifinal loss as experience. Junior guard Brittany Coughlan led four starters in double figures with 17 points, and the united front on defense caused 27 turnovers, sending Atholton to its first state championship game with a convincing 68-56 win over the Lions at UMBC's RAC Arena.

THE ISSUE: -- Four Howard County high schools have decided to prohibit fans attending athletic contests from bringing their own beverages. Should this attempt to curb underage drinking be a school system policy? Bravo to schools for their actions We should be applauding the high schools that prohibit beverages from entering athletic events. The administration at all four schools should be commended for their strong stance. It is up to each of us to do all that we can to ensure that alcohol and drug use is not tolerated.

Brian Clavelle isn't considered one of the bigger names on an Oakland Mills team featuring more than a dozen wrestlers from last year's Howard County runners-up. In fact, this season has been a struggle at times for the 135-pound sophomore.Yesterday against host Atholton, however, Clavelle came through with one of the biggest wins in the county this year, overcoming a 7-0, third-period deficit to pin the Raiders' Jeff Anderson and help Oakland Mills to a pivotal 37-25 victory.The pin was one of five on the day for the Scorpions, but the timing couldn't have been better.

Glenelg settled some old scores with Atholton yesterday and rang up some season highs in the process of winning, 80-65.The Gladiators (15-4 overall, 11-4 league) also kept alive their slim hope for a Howard County championship. They trail league-leading Oakland Mills by three games in the loss column, and the Scorpions have four games left to play. Glenelg now has three games left.The 80 points was a season high for Glenelg, which shot a sizzling 70 percent (30-for-43) from the floor.Atholton (10-7, 9-6)

Woodlawn at HowardWhen: 7: 30 tonightDundalk at Mount HebronWhen: 2 p.m. tomorrowOutlook: The Owls are a veteran team led by senior QB Melvin Curry and senior RBs Esker Mance and Rodney Evans. Mount Hebron graduated only one defensive starter but needs to develop offensive consistency under new QB Jim Watson. Dundalk defeated the Vikings last season, 22-7.Cardinal Gibbons at Long ReachWhen: 1: 30 p.m. tomorrowOutlook: Gibbons returns 13 starters and has added speedy RB Mitchell Brown, a transfer from Sparrows Point, where he was twice MVP. Junior QB Craig King has a good arm. This could be the best Crusaders team in years.

Long Reach (3-3) at No. 6 Howard (6-0)When: 7: 30 tonightOutlook: A big crowd is expected for this neighborhood rivalry, which has lost a little of its luster because Long Reach unexpectedly has struggled this season. When these teams meet, however, the records can be discarded. Howard is 0-3 against Long Reach, losing last season, 37-14, and is especially hungry for its first victory over the Lightning. The Lions are averaging 28.5 points a game, many created off big plays, especially by the defense; the Lions have a 26-4 turnover ratio.

This is the Atholton way, said right fielder Tiffany Mathis."We don't think we're better than anybody else," said Mathis, a junior transfer from Louisville. "We just come out and do our thing and see how it goes."So far, it's going very well.Ten games. Ten wins."That team is for real," said Wilde Lake coach Sal Milio, whose Wildecats (9-1) dropped a 4-0 decision against 12th-ranked Atholton. "They play with all kinds of confidence. You can see it in those kids."The Raiders were 2-16 in the county two years ago and last season finished 0-18 after forfeiting six wins because of an ineligible player.

Atholton surprised River Hill in the first half of Friday night's battle between the two unbeaten Howard County teams. The Hawks allowed only 37 points in their first eight games, but Atholton quarterback Kalvin Seamonson threw touchdown passes of 90 and 80 yards to Matt Robinson as the Raiders took a seven-point halftime lead. Everything changed in the second half. No. 3 River Hill scored all 28 points of the final two quarters - 21 of which came in the third period - and locked up its seventh straight Howard County title with a 35-14 victory over No. 14 Atholton.

Colleges Perry Hall grad Saunders of UMBC named Rookie of Week For the second consecutive week, UMBC freshman goalkeeper Phil Saunders (Perry Hall) was named Monday the America East Men's Soccer Rookie of the Week. The Retrievers (9-0-0) have the best record in the nation and are ranked 18th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll released Tuesday. Saunders has recorded four consecutive shutouts and five overall. With five shutouts, he is tied with Boston University's Hrafn Davidsson for the league lead.

GIRLS SOCCER No. 1 Archbishop Spalding at No. 2 McDonogh WHEN: : Friday, 4 p.m. OUTLOOK: : The area's top two teams go at it in a rematch of last year's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship, won by Spalding, 2-0. With first place in the IAAM on the line, both teams went into the week with undefeated records. FOOTBALL No. 11 Patterson at No. 14 Poly WHEN: : Friday, 7 p.m. OUTLOOK: : After upsetting Dunbar two weeks ago, the Clippers face their second big opponent in what is emerging as a five-team Baltimore City Division I race.

Ryan Raines opened and closed the scoring for the Atholton football team as they beat visiting Centennial, 35-14, on Friday. Raines returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:53 left in the fourth quarter for the final score. He also made eight tackles at linebacker. The second special teams touchdown came with three minutes left in the first half, when Andrew King had a 52-yard punt return for a 21-14 Raiders lead. "We played well on special teams, and that was the difference, " Atholton coach Kyle Schmitt said.

A group of students at Atholton High School thinks a healthier spin on a spicy restaurant favorite will get their classmates excited about school lunch. The six students in Liela Razik's culinary classes won the right to have their recipe for a spicy buffalo chicken wrap served in cafeterias throughout the Howard County school system this fall. "We realized we can make something that tastes great," said Mary Geiser, an 18-year-old senior member of the winning team. Geiser and her teammates served the meal to 150 students and received rave reviews before submitting the recipe for the competition.

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association sent an advisory to its member schools this week suggesting that teams avoid shaking hands after games during the swine flu outbreak that led to the closing of five state schools this week, including Milford Mill. "They're suggesting we bump elbows or shoulders or something else," said Calvert Hall coach Lou Eckerl, whose team reclaimed the No. 1 position in The Baltimore Sun's baseball poll Tuesday. "I'm not wild about it. It's a little overdramatic.

Slayton House Conservatory Camp, to be held at Slayton House in the Wilde Lake Village Green, has announced the appointment of Nathan Rosen, a teacher at Atholton High School, as its new director. Rosen has been teaching and directing plays and musicals at Atholton since 1997. He is a graduate of St. John's College in Annapolis and holds a master's degree in theater arts from the University of Maryland, College Park. The Conservatory Camp is open to experienced drama students in grades eight through 12 by audition.

BASEBALL No. 14 Atholton: at Centennial: WHEN:: Monday OUTLOOK:: Atholton is ranked second in the county with an 8-2 record (9-2 overall), while Centennial is seventh among the 12 teams. But the Eagles, 4-5, 4-6, have a couple of upsets on their resume, having beaten Wilde Lake, 13-2, and most recently No. 13 Marriotts Ridge, 8-0. The Mustangs have been in a season-long battle with Hammond and Atholton for county leadership. Centennial followed its shutout of Marriotts Ridge with an 11-0 shutout of Howard and could be rounding into playoff form as it meets Atholton, which is on its own hot streak with wins in eight of its past nine games.

Before she took over as principal of Atholton High School four years ago, Marcy Leonard knew Caryn Lasser's reputation as a hardworking, dedicated parent. Since that time, Lasser, a second-year PTSA president at the school, has exceeded that reputation. "She is the epitome of creating a parent organization that supports the mission of the school," Leonard said. Now others are recognizing Lasser's contributions as well. On April 16, Lasser received the Friends of Education Award, awarded annually by the county school board.

Hammond third baseman Travis Clark stepped up to the plate in the first inning with two men on and thought Atholton pitcher Wes Hand was going to try to strike him out on curveballs. "The guys in front of me were all getting curveballs," Clark said. "But he threw me a fastball right down the middle and I adjusted to it. It was right in the wheelhouse." Clark hit a three-run home run, and the 10-0 rout of No. 14 Atholton was on. The Golden Bears scored four more runs in the fourth and added two in the bottom of the fifth.