North Carroll

Senior forward Warren Gordon scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an upset of Westminster last week. Gordon, 6 feet 3, averages four points, 5.5 rebounds and one assist a game while blocking a team-leading seven shots this season for the Panthers (9-6). His coach, Lloyd Ford, said the most impressive thing about Gordon is, "he just plays like he's having a good time." Talk about your performance in North Carroll's win over Westminster. I just stayed focused and stepped up for that game.

HAMPSTEAD ROTARY Club has played Santa Claus to the North Carroll library branch for the second time this year, with a $500 present to be formally accepted tomorrow evening by Lisa Peeling, branch manager.Materials have been purchased to add to the collection available from the library's new Book Babies Corner. The corner, designed by Peeling for children younger than age 3, was funded by the Rotary Club.Since opening Sept. 24, the corner, with its toddler-friendly furniture and colorful board books, has seen steady and heavy use. Peeling estimates about 800 items circulate each month.

The Westminster Owls already had things under control yesterday afternoon at North Carroll when their ninth hitter, Christine Hartle, laid down a perfect bunt in the sixth.Melanie Koltko, who opened the inning with a single, didn't consider stopping at second. After Hartle beat the throw from North Carroll catcher Becky Bosley by half a step, first baseman Jen Bromwell threw to third to try and get Koltko. The throw got away and the Owls had another run.An inning later, the No. 12 Owls -- 12-1 winners over the No. 15 Panthers -- had their first county title since 1993.

A strong wrestling statement was made by Francis Scott Key last season.The Eagles proved they belonged in the same class with perennial champion North Carroll.They nearly upset the Panthers in a duel for supremacy in Carroll County before 1,300 fans at North Carroll, and then surprised the Panthers in the 1A-2A regionals at Boonsboro with a first-place finish.But the big question now is whether Key can sustain that success a second straight season and finally overcome the Panthers.The question weighs on coach Bill Hyson and the Eagles because they've lost the four top weight wrestlers in their lineup to graduation.

No. 7 North Carroll ran away with the McDonogh tournament crown, but Gilman's John Kim walked off with the outstanding wrestler award after handing the Panthers' Tom Dell his first loss.Kim scored a takedown 25 seconds into the first sudden-death overtime period to win the 135-pound match Saturday, improving his record to 11-0. The loss dropped two-time state runner-up Dell to 9-1 with seven pins.Kim overcame a 4-3, second-period deficit with two escapes, the second coming with 45 seconds left in regulation to gain a 5-4 lead.

Take a ride on a "Carousel."The North Carroll High School drama club will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" as its annual spring musical at 7 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.For $3 each, audience members will be treated to the touching story of "diamond-in-the-rough" Billy and his wife, Julie."It's a really heartbreaking story," said North Carroll's drama teacher and the play's director, Roberta Rooney. "It has beautiful music.""It's a classic," said Becca Raub, who plays Julie.

GLEN BURNIE -- The North Carroll Panthers' bid for a third consecutive state title came to an end yesterday evening, but not without a fight.The Panthers gave top-seeded and unbeaten Damascus of Montgomery County all it could handle and more before falling, 3-1, in the Class 2A state semifinal at Randazzo Park (formerly known as Upton Park) in Anne Arundel County.Damascus (17-0) entered the game with a perfect record, largely due to the pitching of Marci Whitehead, who has thrown 10 perfect games and 30 no-hitters in her high school career.

One thing clearly separates North Carroll and the rest of Carroll County's high school softball teams this season -- pitching.Junior Kandi Lippy grew up watching her father's fast-pitch team and her two older brothers who played the game. She began playing slow-pitch in the second grade and started pitching fast-pitch in the seventh.After a sophomore season in which she improved with every game to help lead the Panthers to a state playoff appearance, Lippy is now the foundation of an 11-6 team that is making a run at the region playoffs.

The Western Maryland College softball team has improved every seasonunder coach George Dix, now in his fourth season.This year, a pair of North Carroll graduates -- graduate student Betty Anne List andfreshman Sandy Johnson -- have done their share to help make the Green Terrors one of the best small-college teams in the area.Entering today's game against Messiah (Pa.) College, Western Maryland is 15-3 overall -- including a team record 15-game win streak --and 5-1 in Middle Atlantic Conference play.