Lansdowne

Soaring temperatures can't keep Betty Cain out of the kitchen at Lansdowne United Methodist Church at 114 Laverne Ave. Two Wednesdays a month, she and her seasoned crew of prep chefs dish up tasty, free suppers that are open to the community from 5-6 p.m. Menus are based on what is seasonal, especially as summer vegetables ripen. And the church's dining hall is refreshingly cool. Walk in July 27 and Aug. 10 to savor the bounty. For more information, call Betty at 410-242-9156.

People were yelling at him to slow down, but Buck John Benny apparently didn't listen. The 16-year-old was driving home Wednesday night from swimming at Patapsco Valley State Park, behind the wheel of an old Plymouth Acclaim packed with friends and relatives, including a teenager crammed in the back seat holding her 3-year-old nephew on her lap. John Ward, a passenger, said the car was racing south on Ridge Road near the Elkridge Furnace Inn....

Jamie Izdebski Lansdowne Izdebski, a former player at Maryland, has developed one of the top programs in the area. She led the Vikings to their second Class2A state championship game in three years. Lansdowne finished the season 19-4 and outscored opponents 34-1 in regional playoff games. Lansdowne lost to defending champion Easton, 8-5, in the state title game. Izdebski has nurtured several players who became some of the top performers in the state. "We don't have many club players on our team, and I think that says a lot when you play against a team with a lot of club ball players and lose by three," Izdebski said of her team's performance against Easton.

Moments after Lansdowne's 4-0 loss to North Caroline in the Class 2A state championship game, Lansdowne principal Lyn Whitlock smiled as she walked off the field with the school's finalist trophy. "I think their being here shows they have such strength of character," she said. "We're very, very proud of them. Their performance this season and that of our softball team, which was also a finalist and our track team, which went to states, have provided us with a lot of excitement. And on top of their athletics, they're all very good students.

When a young Lansdowne softball team reached the state championship game two years ago, the Vikings admittedly were awe-struck by the spectacle of the event. It also didn't help that Lansdowne was facing one of the top pitchers in the state in McDonough's Melanie Mitchell , who struck out a record 19 batters that day. In Saturday's return trip against Easton, the Vikings played much more confidently, but a late rally fell just short in an 8-5 loss at the University of Maryland.

Lansdowne played with the confidence and poise of veterans in the Class 2A state championship game against Easton Saturday in College Park. A much more tentative and less confident Lansdowne (20-4) appeared in the final two years ago and was shutout by McDonough, 4-0. Unfortunately this time, the Vikings faced another powerhouse and lost 8-5 to Easton, winners of two straight championships and three in four years. "There aren't many of club players on our team," Lansdowne coach Jamie Izdebski said.

The national High School Challenge has named 13 Baltimore County Public Schools to its list of top U.S. high schools. The list, compiled and published by the Washington Post, is an annual project that ranks high schools based on academic rigor. From more than 27,000 high schools across the nation, the list spotlights more than 1,900 high schools that represent the top 7 percent of high schools in the nation, based on total student participation in rigorous coursework and exams.

Matt Kohel took over as Lansdowne baseball coach five years ago, inheriting a program that was literally threadbare. "When I got here we had nine baseballs and not enough uniforms to field a team," Kohel said. "The year before I came, the team went 2-14. There had been a lot of neglect, but when this senior class came in four years ago, I thought by their senior year they could possibly make a run. " Kohel's vision has become reality. On Saturday, Kohel will send his rebuilt squad into the 2A championship game, marking the Vikings' first finals appearance in 13 years.

Lansdowne High School's state champion team traveled far and came close in the recent National Personal Finance Challenge in St. Louis. The local squad returned home May 18 after finishing sixth out of 13 teams in the second annual event, which was presented by the Missouri Council on Economic Education, with funding from Wells Fargo Advisers. At the end of the five-hour competition, Mike Martin, who coached the team with Greg Karpes, said an official informed him afterward that the point differential between first and seventh was “tiny.” “We can hold our own with anybody,” said Martin of Lansdowne students Mike Delair, Mandela Jones, Jordan Thomas and Evan Richards.

Lansdowne coach Jamie Izdebski has seen junior Maude McCourry slowly grow as a leader since making the team as a freshman and playing a vital in the Vikings' run to the state finals. McCourry has continued to be a spark for Lansdowne all season, and she pitched a complete game and had four RBIs in the Vikings' 10-7 victory over McDonough in the Class 2A state semifinals Tuesday at Bachman Softball Park in Glen Burnie. Lansdowne will play Easton, which beat No. 5 North Carroll, 1-0, on Saturday at Maryland in search of its first title.