Hereford

The sirens blared and lights danced as a line of fire trucks rolled up a brief stretch of Interstate 83 before taking Mount Carmel Road on the way to Hereford High School. School buses and cars followed close behind to form a lengthy caravan that made a ruckus. Horns honked, arms flailed out bus windows, and there was hooting and hollering and ear-to-ear grins. It may have stirred the tiny town of Parkton, but there was no need for alarm. On that night last May, the Hereford boys lacrosse team won yet another state championship.

Josh Asper is hungry; most wrestlers are. But Asper's appetite leans less toward pizza than perfection on the mat. The Maryland senior craves an NCAA title this week, and his drive to win has awed his teammates. During workouts, they shy away from pairing off with Asper, a Hereford alum who is ranked No. 2 in the country at 174 pounds. "Nobody likes to drill with him because he goes 110 percent," said the Terps ' Jimmy Sheptock, twice an Atlantic Coast Conference champ.

1 Team to repeat as Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champions since the league's first title game in 1996. Loyola is the only program to win back-to-back championships (2007 and 2008). No. 1 Calvert Hall will try to become the second this season. 8 State championships won overall by five-time defending champion Hereford, which ties the Bulls with Dulaney for the most among public schools in state history. Hereford also established a new mark for consecutive titles with its 13-8 win over Glenelg in the Class 3A-2A title game last season.

With mostly young players, Hereford's girls basketball team finished its season 15-7 and its Monday-night finale certainly pointed to good things for the future. The Bulls stayed close before falling 57-49 to No. 4 and Baltimore County champion Milford Mill in the Class 3A North regional quarterfinals. Sometimes playing without a senior on the floor, they showed a vast improvement over their first meeting with the Millers led by a stellar performance from junior Nicole Viscuso. Viscuso, a 5-foot-11 junior forward-center who had 22 points in the regular-season 61-40 loss, scored a game-high 31 points and pulled down 19 rebounds Monday.

- Hereford coach Brad Duvall said early in Tuesday night's state indoor track and field championship that he truly spread out his lineup in an attempt to gain points. That strategy paid off as Sarah Ashwood and several others helped the No. 3 Hereford girls team win its second consecutive Class 3A state title at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. The Bulls finished with 66.67 points, beating out Thomas Stone (52), even though the Bulls won just one of the 13 events.

Memo to pro scouts watching Saturday's NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles: As for Adam Yates, what you see is what you get. There's not much video of the strong-legged kicker from Sparks. Yates, 22, will strut his stuff in a game that features lesser-known prospects for April's NFL draft. He fits the bill, having kicked field goals for just two years - as a senior in both college and high school. Each time, he shined. In the fall, Yates helped South Carolina to a No. 8 national ranking after earning an athletic scholarship in his final season.

Jockey Rosie Napravnik (Hereford) closed out a career-best season Dec. 31, securing the highest spot ever for a female jockey on the North American leader board. Finishing the year with $12,451,713 in purse earnings and 193 wins with 191 seconds and 167 thirds in 1,200 starts, Napravnik finished eighth among the top jockeys in the nation in the year-end standings. Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone set the record in 1988 when she finished the year with a ninth-place finish. She finished ninth again in 1992, and the record stood for the past 20 years.

The varsity field hockey coaches in Baltimore County have voted on All-County teams and sportsmanship awards. They are presented here. SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS: Division 1 -- Hereford; Division 2 -- Owings Mills. OVERALL ALL-COUNTY TEAM Goalie: Meg Horan, Towson, junior Defense: Caitlin Abbott, Hereford, senior; Emily Edington, Dulaney, senior; Maggie Whelley, Catonsville, senior; Maggie Coccagna, Towson, senior Midfield: Allison Kennelly, Dulaney, senior; Shannon Martello, Hereford, senior; Sara Beach, Towson, senior; Rachel Saks, Catonsville, senior; Lacey Aghazarian, Hereford, senior Attack: Mary Claire Abbott, Hereford, senior; Suzy Banister, Dulaney, senior; Brittani LaFollette, Sparrows Point, senior; Maddie Tribbe, Towson, junior; Brooke Stevens, Catonsville, junior DIVISION I FIRST TEAM Goalie: Meg Horan, Towson, junior Defense: Caitlin Abbott, Hereford, senior; Emily Edington, Dulaney, senior; Maggie Whelley, Catonsville, senior; Maggie Coccagna, Towson, senior Midfield: Allison Kennelly, Dulaney, senior; Shannon Martello, Hereford, senior; Sara Beach, Towson, senior; Rachel Saks, Catonsville, senior; Lacy Aghazarian, Hereford, senior Attack: Mary Claire Abbott, Hereford, senior; Suzy Banister, Dulaney, senior; Maddie Tribbe, Towson, junior; Brooke Stevens, Catonsville, junior DIVISION I SECOND TEAM Goalie: Rebecca Chase, Franklin, junior Defense: Steph...

The Hereford boys once again showed the importance of talent, depth and running effectively in a pack. No. 2 Hereford was too much for everyone else in Class 3A, cruising to a 63-point win en route to a third consecutive state title Saturday afternoon at its home course. The Bulls also completed a third straight postseason sweep of the Baltimore County, Class 3A North region and state titles, finishing the job with little trouble. The pack strategy also served the top-ranked Severna Park boys and No. 3 Reservoir girls, both of which won their first state title.