Glenelg

FIELD HOCKEY River Hill @ Glenelg WHEN -- Tomorrow, 3:30 p.m. OUTLOOK -- The county title appears to be up for grabs, with a handful of teams capable of bringing home a plaque. Defending county champion Glenelg, with a talented front line led by senior Amy Thompson, won't surrender without a fight. The Gladiators' first county test will come against the Hawks, who are banking on a largely new nucleus after graduating 13 players from last year's 11-6 team. GIRLS SOCCER No. 5 River Hill @ No. 10 Centennial WHEN -- Tomorrow, 5:30 p.m. OUTLOOK -- River Hill, the county and Class 3A state champion last season, saw its 22-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-0 loss to Severna Park on Sept.

The Marriotts Ridge boys soccer team learned a lot from its first varsity season last year. And that knowledge is being put to good use this fall. The Mustangs have been the surprise team of the county and metro area, taking a 7-0-2 mark into the week and working their way up to No. 9 in The Sun's poll. "Last year, we played very defensive to just kind of survive in games," coach Kevin Flynn said. "And from that, we learned a lot about how to defend and what it took to play at the varsity level.

Here are the 2007 Cappies of Baltimore winners: Rising critic -- Tom McQuaid, Centennial. Sound -- Erika Olney, Glenelg Country, Just So. Lighting -- Christine Wirth, Hammond, Arsenic and Old Lace. Sets -- 10th- and 12th-grade Stagecraft, Beth Tfiloh, Cats. Costumes -- Steph Parks, Hannah Morgan, Abby Urbanis, Hereford, The Secret Garden. Makeup --Design Team, Beth Tfiloh, Cats. Props and effects -- Kimby Josephson, Wilde Lake, Beauty and the Beast. Stage crew -- Amy Norton, Wilde Lake, Beauty and the Beast.

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.

Juanita B. "Mac" McIntosh, former owner of a Howard County accounting firm, died of complications from diabetes May 3 at Hillside Assisted Living in Clarksville. The Lisbon resident was 95. Juanita Bierau was born in Baltimore and raised in Chicago. She attended Northwestern University and moved to Howard County's Simpsonville in the 1940s. In 1946, she established McIntosh Accounting in Lisbon and operated the business until retiring in 2000. Other business interests included Dunlop's, a North Howard Street oyster bar that she owned and operated during the late 1940s and 1950s with her former husband, Leslie J. McIntosh.

Jon Selfridge had visions of glory while sleeping Tuesday night. "I dreamed I'd come up big right at the end," the Glenelg junior goalie said. "Then I'd throw both arms in the air, look into the cheering crowd, and they'd be screaming that we're the new state champs." Selfridge made his dream a reality yesterday at UMBC Stadium, making 10 of his 15 saves in the fourth quarter of a 6-3 victory over 11th-ranked Fallston (18-2) in the Class 3A-2A final. Coach Josh Hatmaker also credited defenders Andy Curley, Nick Lawson, Mike McCabe and Ryan Dougherty for "taking away the skip-shot Fallston does so well."

10 -- Minutes remaining in last year's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title game when Archbishop Spalding's Molly Schaeffer scored to lift the Cavaliers to a 1-0 win over St. Vincent Pallotti. It was Spalding's first league crown. 12 -- Baltimore City championships won by Western in the past 15 years. The Doves enter this season as four-time defending champions. 19 -- River Hill players who registered at least one goal or an assist in last season's 20-0 campaign.

Karri Ellen Johnson scored twice in the first half off corners to power fifth-ranked Broadneck past ninth-ranked North Carroll, 5-2, in field hockey yesterday. "Our offense was moving the ball really well," Broadneck coach Jen Parks said. "We did a good job of maintaining tempo because North Carroll is a really tough team." Lindsay Jackson gave Broadneck a 1-0 lead 1:50 into the game. The Bruins (1-0) went up 2-0 before trading goals with the Panthers (2-1) before the half. Each team had 15 shots and Broadneck had 11 corners to North Carroll's seven.

Glenelg senior Matt Nelson walked onto the mat last night to face Hammond's Matt Campbell much as he routinely does - dragging his left foot behind him. "Matt was born with a mild club foot, but it's never held him back," said Nelson's father, Greg, whose son earned the nickname "Crazy Foot" from lacrosse teammates. "I was sitting here nervous, but Matt was determined and unfazed by the pressure." A first-year starter, Nelson wrestled like a veteran, building a five-point lead before decking Campbell in 4:29 of their 152-pound bout in a come-from-behind, 33-32 victory that dethroned No. 11 Hammond (16-12, 9-2)

Glenelg senior pitcher Becky Schmidt was crossing home plate, getting high-fives from teammates after hitting a home run against Mount Hebron earlier this season as her younger sister watched. Freshman first baseman Casey Schmidt, was up next. She didn't want to be outdone. "I went up thinking, `Man, if I could only get one good pitch right down the middle, then I could measure up.' The very next pitch just happened to be right down the middle and I cranked it," Casey said. "Everyone thought it was cool that I hit one right after my sister, and she called me a copycat."

Archbishop Spalding junior forward Maggie Morrison scored two goals and added an assist as the No. 1 Cavaliers got off to a fast start at Glenelg, coming away with a 3-1 win Monday. Senior forward Courtney Hoyes opened the scoring in the game's 12th minute when she finished off a chance from Morrison, who scored her first goal in the 18th minute and later gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the second half. Morrison now has 10 goals this season with Hoyes adding nine as the other catalyst for the Cavaliers, who improved their record to 13-0-1.

Senior forward Katie Chase proved plenty opportunistic in the first half and Glenelg's defense was sturdy throughout, leading the No. 6 Gladiators to a comfortable 3-0 win over No. 9 Reservoir in Howard County girls soccer Monday. Chase opened the scoring midway through the first half and scored a second goal minutes later, providing plenty of cushion for a defense that gave the visiting Gators little space to work with. Glenelg improves to 3-0 this season and 1-0 in the county while Reservoir (1-1-1)

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.

SOFTBALL Player of the Year Stephanie Speierman Hammond The four-time All-Metro first-team selection and three-time county Player of the Year closed out the most prolific career in county history with the same dominating play that epitomized her four years. In leading the Golden Bears to the county championship, Speierman went 15-3 with 300 strikeouts in 120 innings and batted .400 for the season. Headed to Michigan, Speierman leaves as the state's all-time strikeout leader with 1,363 and finished her career with a 71-13 record that included one state title.

A year ago, Curtis Adams was a junior on Glenelg's state championship lacrosse team. This season, he is the lone senior starter on an 8-2 team (7-1 in Howard County) and, according to his coach, Josh Hatmaker, providing the core leadership the Gladiators need to return to the state playoffs and, perhaps, another title. "He has taken on a larger role, but he stays within himself," Hatmaker said. "He's got the most experience, having started on varsity for three years. He's played with some really great kids in the past who helped make him better, and now he's making these kids better.

Emily Schultheis never imagined that her love of tomatoes would translate into success in science. But that's what happened when her parents challenged her to explore a way to make it easier to pick her favorite fruit. "Ever since I was little, I liked to eat tomatoes," the 15-year-old sophomore at Glenelg High School said. "It was more fun to eat them than to pick them." Two years ago, Schultheis began working on a way to pick tomatoes using robotics. Her research has evolved into the award-winning project with a tongue-twister of a title: "Optical Feedback Improves the Accuracy of an Autonomous Robotic Arm That Will Pick Ripe Tomatoes."

6 One-goal games won by two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion Loyola last season, including a 12-11 win over Gilman in the title game. 7 Consecutive Anne Arundel championships won by Severna Park. Last year, the Falcons came away with a 10-7 win over South River in the title game. 9 Starters lost to graduation by defending Class 2A-1A state champion Glenelg, which went 18-0 last season. Senior midfielder Curtis Adams is the only returning starter.

Boys basketball: Towson Catholic @ John Carroll: When: Next Sunday, 3:30 p.m. Outlook: The Owls peresent a tough early-season test for the Patriots. John Carroll finished fourth in the MIAA A Conference last year, right behind Towson Catholic. The Patriots will need a big game from senior F/C Isaiah Philmore, among others. They had five players score in double figures in their season-opening rout of Glenelg Country School last week. Balanced scoring like that and tough defense will be the keys in this game.

Before this season, freshman goalie Brooke Carey only knew of the rich girls soccer tradition at Glenelg. Last night, she became part of it. After Glenelg and Sparrows Point played 100 minutes of scoreless soccer in the Class 1A state title game at UMBC Stadium, Carey turned back two Pointers penalty kicks and the Gladiators showed poise in finishing off four chances to come away with a 4-3 decision in the shootout that gave the program its third straight...

GIRLS CLASS 1A Sparrows Point (11-5) vs. Glenelg (9-7-1) When, where: 7:30 p.m., UMBC Outlook: The Gladiators have won five state titles and two straight, capturing the Class 2A crown in 2006 before beating Sparrows Point, 2-0, last season in 1A. The Pointers have reached the title game in four of the past five years but have yet to bring home the elusive crown. Experience is on the Pointers' side this time, with a senior-laden team led by four-year varsity players Lauren Miller and Gabby Antalffy.