Kenwood

The spring sports season at Boys' Latin High usually means focusing primarily on the nationally acclaimed lacrosse program, and with the unbeaten and top-ranked Lakers looking to add to their storied tradition, this year is no different. There is, however, at least one other sport presently thriving on the Boys' Latin campus, as the Lakers' baseball team is enjoying one of its best campaigns ever. The Lakers are dominating the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference, having clinched a playoff berth for the second straight year.

For Brittany Benson, the trip to the ball ended not at midnight but when the clock struck 8:30 p.m. At that moment, the dance was over for the 17-year-old Kenwood High School student - before it had even begun. Like some other schools in the area, Kenwood limits the time that students can get into a dance. When Benson arrived minutes after the advertised cut-off for her junior prom on a recent Friday night, she and her boyfriend were turned away. The rule is meant to discourage students from drinking or engaging in other misconduct before a dance, and school administrators say it works.

7 Extra-base hits, including three home runs, by both teams in Perry Hall's 15-13 softball victory over Kenwood. 18 Faceoffs out of 21 that were won by St. Paul's midfielders Austin Boykin and Blair Berger in last week's 12-6 victory at Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference rival St. Mary's. Boykin also scored three times for the Crusaders, who outscored the Saints 5-0 in the fourth quarter.

Casey Wheat, Kenwood SPORT SOFTBALL GIRLS STATS -- A team captain, Wheat plays second base and bats .625 with eight RBIs for the Bluebirds (5-0). The senior also played soccer and won a bronze medal in shot put at the county indoor track championships. SIDELINES -- A National Honor Society member, Wheat carries a 3.35 grade point average. Enrolled in Kenwood's Sports Science Academy, she plans to be a physical education teacher and softball coach. She interns at Norwood Elementary School and works with a softball clinic and as a soccer referee.

It's the knowing smile before a lover's embrace. It's the musicians' warm-up notes before an orchestra's performance. This time of year, on the streets of Bethesda's Kenwood neighborhood, most of the pink buds on the cherry trees are still closed. Tree branches from both sides of the streets arch so far, they meet in the middle, but there's no burst of color, no fragrance. Yet. But some people can't wait. Anticipating that the blossoms will be in full bloom by this weekend, they've come out days in advance, beating the throng of cars and the crowds on foot that will soon descend on this ever-less-secret alternative to the more famous cherry trees on Washington's Tidal Basin.

It was a scene right out of the NCAA basketball tournament: A team of competitors banded together on the sideline in a packed gym, linking arms and holding hands as if to will the team to a win. Except this time, rather than pulling for someone else to sink a free throw, it was the Kenwood cheerleaders kneeling on the Perry Hall basketball court last Saturday rooting for themselves to win an unofficial state championship. And when the results came in and the title had been awarded to Northeast, Kaitlin Wayson and her teammates rose from the floor and shook off the disappointment.

Senior Ryne Bridges scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including his team's final six points, as Winters Mill rallied from an early 11-point deficit to earn a 49-46 win over host Century last night in Carroll County boys basketball. Winters Mill (12-1 overall, 3-0 county), which last month used a 30-1 run to rout the Knights in a tournament, this time had considerably more trouble, starting the game five-for-33 from the field and at one point going more than a full quarter without a point.

A Baltimore County contest featuring two unbeaten teams didn't disappoint the home crowd as host Kenwood knocked off Parkville, 63-59, yesterday in boys basketball. The Bluebirds (5-0) were led by stellar defense by Clayton Henson (12 points), as well as two big three-pointers from Harrison Kennedy (11 points). Irvin Johnson led the Knights (4-1) with 21 points. No. 13 Old Mill 80, Meade 61 -- Rodney Stokes had 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks to lead the host Patriots (4-1) over the Mustangs.

Donald William Bricker, who taught in Baltimore County public schools for three decades, died of kidney cancer Dec. 6 at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 65 and lived in Perry Hall. Mr. Bricker was born and raised in Plainfield, Pa., and earned a bachelor's degree in 1962 from what is now Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, Pa. In 1968, he earned a master's degree in education from Loyola College. He moved to Baltimore in 1962 when he began his career teaching business education at Kenwood High School.