Chesapeake

Vandals spray-painted racist graffiti on a building and road at the Chesapeake High School complex earlier this week, county police said.The letters "KKK," two swastikas and other graffiti were sprayed in red paint on a building and road near the football field of the school, in the 4700 block of Mountain Road.School administrators think the incident occurred Tuesday or Wednesday. It was reported to police shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday.Police spokesman Officer Randy Bell said investigators do not think the incident is related to recent acts of racist vandalism in the southern part of the county and that juveniles might be responsible.

Winston Churchill is on a serious run, literally.Seeking a third straight state 4A championship, the Bulldogs from Montgomery County ran past No. 8 Chesapeake, 4-1, in a state 4A semifinal at Arundel High last night.Churchill, winner of 47 of its past 48 games including a 16-0 mark last fall, will defend its crown 7 p.m. Saturday at Old Mill against Dulaney.All season long on the way to winning Anne Arundel County and region titles, Chesapeake (14-3-1) simply outran its opponents. The Cougars kept pace with the Bulldogs (15-1)

Pitchers love insurance runs and Chesapeake's Jeremy Pellegrini made sure he got one yesterday as the No. 15 Cougars (10-7 overall) edged Glen Burnie, 3-2, in Lake Shore.After giving up a second run, Pellegrini escaped further damage and a bases-loaded jam in the last inning. It was his sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth that gave Chesapeake a 3-1 lead and that run proved to be the winner, keeping his team's 4A East Region playoff hopes alive.Arundel (15-1) and Old Mill (13-3) have all but sewed up the top two seeds and meet at 3:45 today at Old Mill.

It had to be close. That much, everyone knew.But which team would come out the winner between No. 4 Severna Park and No. 9 Chesapeake was a more difficult call.When they first met Oct. 6, Severna Park's J.T. Carhart scored on a second-half header for a 1-0 victory.Yesterday, with the county championship on the line, the heroes were plentiful, but a winner didn't emerge.Senior Jim Himes scored twice in the second half, enabling the Falcons to tie Chesapeake, 3-3, at North BOYS SOCCERCounty.

It wasn't supposed to happen this way, though no one in Pasadena is complaining.They may be a bit mystified by it all, but they're not complaining.When you subtract an All-County defender, a couple of quality midfielders and a center-forward who possesses your single-season and career-scoring records, logic says you aren't supposed to improve.Apparently, logic isn't a good judge of field hockey talent.Chesapeake coach Jerry Raab said before the season began that this could be a rebuilding year for her Cougars, who lost to Queen Anne's in the region semifinals last year -- then lost 10 players to graduation.

HARVESTING THE CHESAPEAKE: Tools & Traditions. By Larry S. Chowning. Tidewater. 284 pages. Illustrated. $28.95. THIS IS surely the definitive book about the tools and equipment that have been used to haul shellfish and other fauna out of the Chesapeake Bay since Europeans took it away from the Indians.Larry Chowning, a Virginian, the author, is a descendant of generations of bay watermen and has interviewed many watermen and written extensively about their work from the halls of Chestertown to the shores of Newport News.

For the longest time, it appeared that the state's softball record book would slam shut on No. 1 Chesapeake.That is, until the eighth inning, when senior Stacey Necessary scored on a throwing error, and Chesapeake became the first 4A school to win four straight state titles with a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Northern of Calvert County at Randazzo Park in Severn.Necessary reached with one out when she singled to the left side of the infield. She stole second, and Michelle Manner popped out.With catcher Natalie Black batting, Necessary broke for third.

When Chesapeake played Glen Burnie last month in Pasadena, a seventh-inning rally fell short and the Gophers escaped with a narrow win.Yesterday's game had a little drama, some strong pitching, plenty of defensive gems and the same result. But minus the rally.Samantha Miller tossed a four-hitter, and the No. 2 Gophers posted their second win over No. 3 Chesapeake, 4-0, before a large crowd at Glen Burnie.Miller (8-0) allowed a single to Tami Barrington in the first inning, an infield hit by Maggie Dziuban in the fourth, a triple by Angie Zittle in the fifth and an infield hit by Jen Fowlkes in the sixth.

Hospice is a godsend for anyone caring for a terminally ill loved one. This is especially true when the organization is Hospice of the Chesapeake, an agency dedicated to inexpensive, high-quality care for its clients.Hospice of the Chesapeake volunteers and supporters gathered Saturday morning in Linthicum to celebrate the groundbreaking of Chesapeake Hospice House. The old Friendship Area Health Association building was given to the hospice this year and will be turned into a residence for terminally ill patients by the end of December.

Annapolis' wrestling team downed homestanding Chesapeake, 41-15, Friday night, but let's fast forward to the best match of the night.That came at 140 pounds, where the Cougars' Doug Horton (20-3, 14 pins), who is fifth-ranked at 130 pounds, dropped an exciting 12-8 decision to Tom Sfakiyanudas (21-3, nine pins), sixth-ranked at 135-pounds.Sfakiyanudas scored the first takedown, but Horton nailed a five-point reversal and nearly flattened Sfakiyanudas for his 12th first-period pin. Sfakiyanudas escaped, however, and tied the bout at 5-5 with a takedown heading into the second period.