Centennial

Timely baskets from guard Vanessa Collier, a fine all-around effort from forward Kelsey Erdman, and scrappy defensive play enabled the River Hill girls basketball team to come away with a 47-46 win over visiting Centennial in Howard County play last night. Collier scored a team-high 13 points -- including a three-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to give River Hill a 43-40 lead -- and Erdman added 10 points and 13 rebounds as the No. 15 Hawks were able to avenge an early-season loss to the Eagles.

"What have we been working on over the past few days?" teacher John Arnold asked the students in his Centennial High School ESOL class. "What kinds of words have we been learning?" There was a long pause as the three students - Gwan Young Moon, 15, Caylie Zhang, 14, and Steve Seo, 15 - groped for the answers. Finally, Seo, a native of Korea, spoke. "Nouns, verbs and adjectives," he said, speaking slowly. For the first time, Seo and about 25 other students who are not native English speakers can learn the language at Centennial, their neighborhood high school.

Simply putting the ball in play against Hammond sophomore Stephanie Speierman has been tough for every batter this season. Centennial senior right fielder Jennifer Hilchey did much more than that yesterday in the visiting No. 10 Eagles' 3-0 win over the previously undefeated No. 5 Bears. After hitting a homer to center, Hilchey finished off her day with a two-run double down the third base line in the sixth. The three RBIs were more than enough support for junior pitcher Katie Hobson, who struck out 17 and allowed just one hit. Centennial improves to 14-2 overall and 14-1 in Howard County, while Hammond (16-1)

Fun -- The Centennial Fun Run, a family-oriented, one-mile run through the Centennial neighborhood, will conclude its summer series with a Partners' Relay at 7 p.m. Tuesday, followed by an awards ceremony and party. Medals will be awarded to runners ages 5 or younger; trophies will be awarded to the top two males and females in other age categories. Runners should arrive by 6:45 p.m. to sign up and find a partner, if necessary. The cost is 50 cents. The run begins and ends at 10114 Colonial Drive, Ellicott City.

Kriti Gandhi, an 18-year-old graduate of Centennial High School, won her opening round of the Jeopardy! Summer Games Teen Tournament and has advanced to the semifinals. On the program that aired Wednesday, Gandhi defeated two contestants to earn $17,700. Her semifinal round will be televised today at 7 p.m. on WMAR (Channel 2) in Baltimore and at 7:30 p.m. on WJLA (Channel 7) in Washington. If Gandhi wins tonight, she advances to the finals, which will air tomorrow and Friday. "It's actually really surreal," said the McGill University-bound teenager.

CAPITOL HEIGHTS -- Central senior guard Alicia Clarke hadn't forgotten how her team's season ended a year ago at Centennial in the regional quarterfinals.So when the Eagles came to Central, where the Falcons have lost only twice in three seasons, for last night's Class 2A, South Region championship, Clarke was ready to return the favor.She did.Clarke went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and finished with 24 points to lead the Prince George's County school to a 66-54 victory and a trip to play Parkdside of Wicomico County in Friday's state tournament semifinal at UMBC.

Wilde Lake's perfect season continued yesterday at the Howard County Championships, with all three of its finalists winning and the Wildecats earning their first Tournament Cup trophy.Wilde Lake, which went 18-0 to earn its first regular-season title since 1985, edged perennial champion Centennial, 18-16. The final margin of victory came when Wilde Lake's Ari Zweig defeated Centennial's Charles Lin, 6-4, 6-2, in boys singles."After we won the regular season, we wanted to win the Cup to show we're a good team," said Zweig.

A seminar on the college athletic recruiting process will be held at 7 tonight in Centennial High School's auditorium. It is open to all students and parents.Centennial's Dave Greenberg and P. J. Kesmodel of Mount Hebron will coordinate the evening. Featured panelists are University of Maryland coaches Chris Weller and Dick Edell.Topics that will be covered include goals of the recruiting process, role of the NCAA and roles of the students and parents.

Francis Scott Key hadn't lost a game in 11 days. Unfortunately for North Caroline, the Eagles weren't about to start last night.Junior setter Carrie Ness dished 28 assists and junior middle hitter Samantha Stambaugh registered 12 kills as No. 5 Francis Scott Key overwhelmed the Bulldogs from Caroline County in straight sets, 15-6, 15-9, 15-4, in a Class 2A state semifinal at CCBC--Essex.The Eagles, who have won nine straight games and improved to 17-2, will meet top-ranked and defending Class 2A champ Centennial in the state championship match at noon, Saturday, at CCBC--Catonsville.

Glenelg senior Lauren Martin became Howard County's all-time leading scorer last night, but the fifth-ranked Gladiators' hopes of an undefeated season and outright county championship were thwarted by a Centennial team that would not be denied.The 16th-ranked Eagles took their first lead of the game on the last shot of the third quarter and never lost it en route to a 46-41 victory in front of a noisy, near-capacity crowd at Glenelg.Centennial (20-2 overall, 17-1 league) earned a share of the county title with the Gladiators (21-1, 17-1)

When Centennial coach Larry Schofield was asked whether he thought his No. 4 Eagles had something to prove Friday night, his answer was an emphatic "Yes." "We'd played lackluster in the Bulldog Tournament [which features many of the best teams in the area], and I've been pushing to get our intensity back," he said. "I think we got it back tonight." In a key Howard County league game, host Centennial (8-0 overall, 7-0 league) rallied from deficits in all three games to defeat neighborhood rival and second-ranked River Hill (7-1, 6-1)

3 Metro-area schools that won state titles last year (Broadneck, Class 4A; Centennial, Class 3A; Liberty, Class 2A). 5 State titles won by both No. 2 Broadneck and No. 1 Centennial this decade, more than any other school in Maryland. 6 Howard County schools in the preseason poll.

Each spring, a week or two after the boys lacrosse season ends, Mike Siegert sits down to reflect. He evaluates the previous couple of months, taking time to remember the moments that have kept him coming back as Centennial's coach for more than three decades. In recent years, those sit-downs have come to include deciding on whether he will return the following spring to do it all again. And this year, after 32 seasons leading the Eagles, Siegert has decided it's time to walk away. "When I sat down and finally let myself think about it in detail, I really felt like it was the right time," Siegert said.

BOYS LACROSSE Player of the Year Harrison Chaires Centennial Chaires was one of the most dangerous attackman in the area and was fearless going to the goal. He finished his senior season with 63 goals and 25 assists, and for the second consecutive year he was nominated for the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award, annually given to the state's best player. He helped lead the Eagles to the Class 3A-2A state final against Hereford by scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. He will attend Naval Academy Preparatory School in the fall.

Samantha Brostrom Centennial, volleyball The 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter was the go-to player all season for the No. 1 Eagles, and she helped them finish off an unbeaten season Nov. 17 with the Class 3A state championship. In the three-game title sweep of Towson, she had 12 kills, seven digs and three aces. She averaged 2.7 kills per game as Centennial (20-0) dropped only three games this fall. Brostrom, who has a 3.4 grade-point average, has played for the Columbia Volleyball Club since she was 10. ALSO CONSIDERED: : Kourtney Salvarola, Broadneck, volleyball Football and volleyball polls, PG 2

3 touchdowns Wilde Lake running back Jarrel Epps scored in the Wildecats' 21-14 win over Howard in a Class 3A East regional semifinal on Friday. 14 state championships in volleyball won by Centennial - a record. 57 kickoffs River Hill kicker Scott Trench had in seven games this season.

COLLEGE PARK - There was no time to be intimidated or awestruck when No. 4 Towson took the court in last night's Class 3A state championship against top-ranked Centennial, the most dominant volleyball program in the state. The Generals pushed the Eagles, but in the end, Centennial was too strong and pulled out a 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 victory to claim the title at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. It was the 14th time Centennial has reached the state final, and the Eagles have never lost in any of those matches.

COLLEGE PARK - Centennial and Northern of Calvert County both entered last night's Class 3A state semifinal undefeated. Both had dropped just two games during the season. Both knew something had to give and only one would be standing when the dust settled. The one turned out to be top-ranked Centennial. The Eagles (19-0) overcame a case of early nerves in the first game, then battled their way through two more to defeat Northern (17-1), 25-21, 25-15, 25-20, and advance. Centennial will play Towson, a 3-0 winner over Damascus of Montgomery County in the first semifinal, in the 3A state championship.

CROSS COUNTRY 3A East and 2A South Regional Meets WHEN: Today, 3 p.m. WHERE: Centennial OUTLOOK: A total of 28 boys and girls teams will assemble at Centennial's challenging course to compete in the two regional competitions. Al Dodds, who has been coaching Centennial's boys team for 20 years and is the coordinator of the 3A event, said the course is "a little longer than the usual 3.1 miles. Closer to 3.3, and there are a fair amount of hills." The top seven girls and boys teams in the 3A and 2A competition will advance to the state semifinals.

Last night, top-ranked Centennial dimmed Wilde Lake's hope for the Howard County volleyball title - figuratively and literally. The top-ranked and host Eagles settled down after a rough start and cruised to relatively easy wins in the final two games to defeat the 11th-ranked Wildecats, 26-24, 25-8, 25-19, and capture the Howard County championship. The match was interrupted every seven minutes by short power outages that often affected play. "It was definitely a distraction," Eagles senior Ashley Fan, who had eight digs, said of the power problems.