Washington College

After opening the season with back-to-back losses, Washington College has racked up six consecutive wins and moved to the top of the Centennial Conference with a 3-0 record. And some of the team's resurgence can be traced to an emerging defense. A unit that surrendered 10 goals per game last year has trimmed that average to 6.4 in eight contests this season. Coach Jeff Shirk said close defensemen Bryan Botti, Michael Pierandri and Jack Vermeil, short-stick defensive midfielders David Lundquist and Morgan Braendel, long-stick midfielder Stephen Pappas and goalkeeper Peter Stewart have gotten comfortable in their second year in the unit's schemes.

As a child, Kathryn Manion used to sit on her father's lap late into the evenings and read with him. That, said her father, Jim Manion, didn't last long. "She quickly began to read on her own," he said, adding jokingly, "I guess we weren't reading fast enough. " Not nearly. Tuesday night in New York City, Washington College senior and Clarksville native Kathryn Manion received Washington College's Sophie Kerr Prize for her body of short stories and other creative work. At more than $58,000 this year, it is considered the most lucrative undergraduate literary award in the country.

Washington College announced that Andrea Clarke was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society for outstanding academic achievement in her freshman year. The daughter of Catonsville residents Marty Clarke and Ann Daniells carries a double major in English and drama. Clarke writes and edits the college's newspaper besides belonging to the Christian Campus Fellowship, the Cross Country Club and the Presidential Fellow Program. She is also involved with Relay for Life and the drama department productions.

Paige Cook , of Parkton, recently participated in a Spring Break trip to Japan, as part of her "Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy" class at Washington College, Chestertown. Olivia A. Cypull , of Baldwin, a senior at Loch Raven High School is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist. Olivia has been awarded a National Merit James E. Casey Scholarship, through the UPS Foundation. The Scholars are selected from students who advance to the finalist level of the National Merit Scholarship competition and meet the criteria of a corporate sponsor.

Shiraz Maher went to the mosque in search of answers. Why, he wanted to know, had 15 young men from Saudi Arabia, the country where he spent most of his childhood, just crashed jetliners into prominent U.S. buildings? The men who gave him clarity wore fashionably tailored suits and spoke as easily of Shakespeare and Hegel as they did of the Quran. The 20-year-old Briton found these Muslims - as urbane as they were devout - completely alluring. By the time U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan three weeks later, Maher was a recruit of Hizb ut-Tahrir, or Party of Liberation, an organization devoted to creating a pan-Islamic state ruled by religious law. "America, in my mind, had gone to war with Islam," says Maher, now 30, from a sunny patio on the campus of Washington College.

Adam Poe scored 20 points and Edmund Hicks contributed 15, leading host Washington College past Ursinus, 69-66, last night.Ben Harris added 14 points and three assists for Washington (9-5). Jay Moran led all scorers with 24 points for Ursinus.* Franklin & Marshall 95, Western Maryland 60: Mike Mehaffey scored 23 points, leading Franklin & Marshall (14-0, 5-0) past host Western Maryland (5-9, 2-3) in a Centennial Conference game.Steve Dziengeleski and Pat Young each scored 14 to lead Western Maryland.

CHESTERTOWN -- Gray skies and a chilly breeze did not diminish the bright smiles and warm applause that ushered John Sampson Toll through his inauguration yesterday as the 25th president of Washington College.The 71-year-old Princeton-educated physicist and former University of Maryland chancellor, known for his vigor and tenacity, wasted no time in getting down to business.Starting with next fall's entering class, he announced, a new "Washington Scholars" program will provide $40,000 in financial aid over four years to each of 100 freshmen who are National Honor Society members in high school.

Washington College Parker, ex-star lacrosse goalie and noted school supporter, dies Washington College alumnus John R. Parker , a writer, storyteller and former advertising executive who retired to Chestertown so he could spend more time cheering on the Shoremen, died Saturday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. Parker was a part of coach Charley Clark's finest team. In 1954, the Shoremen shared the national championship with Syracuse University in the Laurie Cox Division and were ranked fifth among all colleges in the nation.

Saturday didn't begin well for No. 19 Washington, which absorbed a disheartening 17-5 loss to top-ranked Salisbury. But the day improved when the Shoremen learned that they had a chance to gain the top seed and homefield advantage in the Centennial Conference Tournament. That opportunity came about after McDaniel tagged league-leading Gettysburg with a 12-10 decision. The Bullets fell to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the conference and tie for first place with Washington (9-4, 6-1). “A bit shocked, to be honest with you,” coach Jeff Shirk said of his staff's reaction when they learned about Gettysburg's setback after returning to Chestertown late Saturday.

The Goucher men's lacrosse team has usually relied on Rory Averett to score goals and Connor Mishaw to prevent them. That formula again proved effective in Wednesday afternoon's NCAA Division III tournament first-round game at Washington College. The Gophers got four goals from Averett and 15 saves from Mishaw to outlast the Shoremen, 5-4, before an announced 850 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. Goucher, ranked 10th in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, improved to 18-1, extended its winning streak to 15 and will meet No. 1 seed Salisbury (19-0)

South River High School senior Caitlin Byrnes says her parents have been stressing the importance of college since she was young, and though she listened to the message, she didn't think it applied to her. The Crofton resident would consider the family hardships — her father struggling through a myriad of illnesses since his childhood, her mother never fulfilling her dreams of going to college because of a disability — and she didn't see how...

Kathryn Manion was "at a loss for words" Tuesday night — shortly after being honored for her way with them. At a private club in New York, Manion, 22, was named the 2012 winner of Washington College's Sophie Kerr Prize, which at more than $58,000 this year is considered the most lucrative undergraduate literary award in the country. The senior English major, a Clarksville native and graduate of Notre Dame Prep in Towson, said late Tuesday that her win was still sinking in, but that she was honored.

Colleges McDaniel, Salisbury survive in softball Caroline Brehm pitched 10 scoreless innings and catcher Tracy Davis homered with two outs in the 10th to keep McDaniel's softball season going with a 1-0 win over Messiah (35-10) in the first elimination game of the NCAA Division III regional in Newport News, Va. The Green Terror (28-13) will play the loser of the Ferrum-Christopher Newport game at 3 p.m today. Also in Newport News, Salisbury (36-6), ranked 18th in Division III, scored a combined 10 runs in the sixth and seventh innings to earn an 11-0 victory over Farmingdale State College (26-15)

The Goucher men's lacrosse team has usually relied on Rory Averett to score goals and Connor Mishaw to prevent them. That formula again proved effective in Wednesday afternoon's NCAA Division III tournament first-round game at Washington College. The Gophers got four goals from Averett and 15 saves from Mishaw to outlast the Shoremen, 5-4, before an announced 850 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. Goucher, ranked 10th in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, improved to 18-1, extended its winning streak to 15 and will meet No. 1 seed Salisbury (19-0)

A first-round game in the NCAA tournament pitting Goucher and Washington had a little spice added when the selection committee elected to award the latter team with the right to play host Wednesday afternoon. The Gophers, who are ranked No. 10 in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, are 17-1, have won 14 straight, and beat the Shoremen, 8-6, in Chestertown on Feb. 25. But No. 18 Washington (11-5) apparently got the edge for playing in the Centennial Conference, which also put league tournament champion Dickinson and Gettysburg in the field.

Saturday didn't begin well for No. 19 Washington, which absorbed a disheartening 17-5 loss to top-ranked Salisbury. But the day improved when the Shoremen learned that they had a chance to gain the top seed and homefield advantage in the Centennial Conference Tournament. That opportunity came about after McDaniel tagged league-leading Gettysburg with a 12-10 decision. The Bullets fell to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the conference and tie for first place with Washington (9-4, 6-1). “A bit shocked, to be honest with you,” coach Jeff Shirk said of his staff's reaction when they learned about Gettysburg's setback after returning to Chestertown late Saturday.

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Adam Poe scored 27 to pace Washington College (12-9, 6-9) to an 86-71 victory over Ursinus (6-14, 1-8) in Centennial Conference action last night.Washington College extended its four-point halftime advantage to 15 and outscored Ursinus 59-40 in the second half. Ben Harris added 22 for the Shoremen.Berne Rogers led Ursinus with 17.

Capitals Ovechkin says he's fine with reduced ice time The Washington Capitals entered the third period of Game 4 on Thursday night with a one-goal lead, and as the Boston Bruins pushed in an attempt to tie the NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal contest, coach Dale Hunter turned to his most defensively responsible forwards to carry the load down the stretch of the 2-1 victory. Star left wing Alex Ovechkin played only 1 minute, 58 seconds in the final period and just 15 seconds in the final 14 minutes of regulation.

Shiraz Maher went to the mosque in search of answers. Why, he wanted to know, had 15 young men from Saudi Arabia, the country where he spent most of his childhood, just crashed jetliners into prominent U.S. buildings? The men who gave him clarity wore fashionably tailored suits and spoke as easily of Shakespeare and Hegel as they did of the Quran. The 20-year-old Briton found these Muslims - as urbane as they were devout - completely alluring. By the time U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan three weeks later, Maher was a recruit of Hizb ut-Tahrir, or Party of Liberation, an organization devoted to creating a pan-Islamic state ruled by religious law. "America, in my mind, had gone to war with Islam," says Maher, now 30, from a sunny patio on the campus of Washington College.