Winters Mill

John Lowe Winters Mill John Lowe isn't ready to use the "D" word when he describes the wrestling program at Winters Mill. Other people, however, find it easier to call the Falcons a dynasty. For the third straight season, Lowe led Winters Mill to a Class 2A-1A state tournament title. He also led the Falcons to their second straight state dual meet championship. With his team performing at such a consistently high level, Lowe earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.

The Class 4A-3A boys lacrosse championship between defending champion South River and Westminster was suspended Wednesday night due to lightning at UMBC. The game was slated to pick up where it left off on Thursday, with the South River leading, 8-7, and just over a minute remaining in the first half. The first sight of lightning prompted an automatic 30-minute delay. Just as the players returned to the field and play was expected to continue, lightning was again seen in the area, forcing the suspension.

BOYS LACROSSE No. 14 Westminster (6-1) at Winters Mill (4-1) When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. Key players to watch Westminster: Eric Natale, Sr., G; Luke Thompson, Sr., A; Dylan Marks, Sr., D Winters Mill: Teddy Chase, So., M; Tyler Hutson, Sr., A; Evan Horn, Jr., M Keys to Victory The game features a contrast in style: The visiting Owls like to play in transition with a balanced attack led...

After Winters Mill's girls lacrosse team started the season 2-4, coach Courtney Vaughn told her players that if the seniors led and the youngsters followed they would "do good things down the road. " The road for the Falcons' five leaders ended Tuesday with a third state championship in four years after an 8-7 victory over Easton in the Class 2A-1A final at UMBC Stadium. The seniors - twin midfielders Shelby and Sydney Trentzsch and defenders Maddie Bodden, Emily Horn and Delaney Norris - led their younger teammates to a big finish, winning 13 of their last 14 games with the only loss a 12-10 setback to No. 2 Century on April 30. "I told them after that game, the only team that can beat you is yourselves," Vaughn said.

Monday may have been the final day of spring break for most students in Carroll County, but not for players on the Winters Mill lacrosse team. With a game against rival Westminster just a day away, coach Sal Picataggi kept his players in the classroom for 90 minutes, watching film and game-planning, and then took them outside for a two-and-a-half hour hour practice. On Tuesday, all the hard work paid off. The host Falcons held the No. 9 Owls scoreless for the final 19 minutes, 36 seconds, taking the lead for good on midfielder Jacques Mercer's goal with 1:08 to play in a 6-5 win. Picataggi said the extra preparation was critical against a high-powered foe that entered the night having won eight straight by an average of more than eight goals.

No. 6 Winters Mill scored on its first two shots in the opening minute and quickly removed any suspense from Friday's Class 2A-1A state semifinal against Patterson Mill at Broadneck, rolling to a 19-7 victory. The Falcons (17-1) advanced to the state final next week against the winner of today's semifinal between Queen Anne's and Loch Raven. This is Winters Mill's second trip to the state finals; the Falcons won the Class 3A-2A state crown two years ago. "We wanted to [play hard]

When Westminster boys lacrosse coach Steve DeFeo was talking about the qualities that has helped keep his Owls undefeated this season, he made sure to mention how much they enjoy playing together. It certainly showed Thursday night at cross-town rival Winters Mill. The No. 12 Owls shared the ball on attack and put up a strong collective front on defense - dominating the defending Carroll County champion Falcons in every facet to come away with an 18-5 win. Senior attackman Ryan Drenner was the offensive catalyst, finishing with six goals and four assists.

A two-way starter at quarterback and defensive back, Cook accounted for two touchdowns and had three interceptions in leading the Falcons (2-2) to their first win over South Carroll in four years, 28-14, Friday night. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior ran the ball 25 times for 80 yards and a touchdown and was 6-for-10 passing for 109 yards and a touchdown. On defense, he also had three tackles and a pass deflection. For the season, he has run for five touchdowns and thrown for three while gaining 559 yards of total offense.

The No. 5 team from the Baltimore metropolitan area beat the No. 1 team from the Washington metropolitan area. MacKenzie Cyr had four goals and two assists, and Winters Mill's girls lacrosse team defeated Our Lady of Good Counsel, 14-12, Thursday. The Washington Post ranked Good Counsel (8-1) No. 1. Winters Mill (2-0) led for most of the game and despite two ties, never lost the lead. "It was a battle throughout for ground balls, draw controls," Winters Mill assistant coach Jessica Wynne said.

Eric Atkins scored a game-high 19 points as the No. 3 Mount St. Joseph boys basketball team beat visiting Winters Mill, 84-26, on Wednesday. Mount St. Joseph led 18-2 after the first quarter and never looked back. Assistant coach Brett Davis credited tough man-to-man defense that limited the Falcons (0-2) to six points in the first half. Trey Clinton, the 6-foot-5 junior forward who is being recruited by Princeton, had 14 points, and Matt Miller added 13 for the Gaels (6-0)

Abby Culp never realized how much she loved running until she couldn't do it any more. After her freshman cross country season at Winters Mill, Culp's family moved to Florida for six months, and she had to take a break from running during a brief struggle with an eating disorder. Back in Carroll County at Manchester Valley, she got back into serious running as a junior. Last fall, she was an All-Metro second-team selection after finishing second in the Class 1A state cross country meet.

Princeton's Erin McMunn, a Winters Mill graduate, was named Ivy League Attacker of the Year and teammate Sarah Lloyd, a Severna Park graduate, made first team when the conference's postseason awards were announced Wednesday. McMunn was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year last season and is the first Ivy League women's lacrosse player to win one of the top position awards the year following her rookie selection. She is also only the second sophomore in conference history to win one of the major awards.

Kelly, Crane among finalists for Yeardley Love Unsung Hero Award North Carolina junior midfielder Frankie Kelly (Calvert Hall) and Loyola freshman defenseman Jason Crane (Chesapeake-Anne Arundel), North Carolina junior defender Zoe Skinner (Towson High) and Notre Dame junior defender Molly Shawhan , who lives in Fulton, are among the 10 finalists for the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award. Established in 2011 in honor of the late Virginia player, a Cockeysville native, the award recognizes the selfless acts of initiative and commitment by Division I lacrosse players.

When Westminster boys lacrosse coach Steve DeFeo was talking about the qualities that has helped keep his Owls undefeated this season, he made sure to mention how much they enjoy playing together. It certainly showed Thursday night at cross-town rival Winters Mill. The No. 12 Owls shared the ball on attack and put up a strong collective front on defense - dominating the defending Carroll County champion Falcons in every facet to come away with an 18-5 win. Senior attackman Ryan Drenner was the offensive catalyst, finishing with six goals and four assists.

Army Pvt. David Pack graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga. The 2012 graduate of Winters Mill High School is the son of James Pack, of Finksburg, and Mary Zufall, of Reisterstown. He is the grandson of Ethal Zufall, of Hampstead. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Boys lacrosse No. School   Record   Prev.   1.Boys' Latin  5-0  2  2. Gilman 3-0  3  3. Calvert Hall  1-2  1  4. St. Paul's  5-0  6  5. McDonogh  4-1  4  6. Loyola  2-2 5  7. St. Mary's 3-1  7  8. Hereford 0-1  8  9. Severn 3-1  9  ...

Home Turf: 560 Gorsuch Road, Westminster Head Coach: Ken Johnson (10th season) 2011 Record: 6-4 overall; 4-3 county The Falcons were oh-so-close in 2011. Despite having the county's youngest squad a year ago, Winters Mill fell just one win short of a Class 2A West Region playoff berth. The upstart Falcons surprised a lot of observers with early-season wins over two Frederick County teams in Oakdale and Frederick, but a late-season loss to Liberty sunk Winters Mill's playoff hopes.

At the end of Monday's regional lacrosse semifinal, the Winters Mill girls raced across the field to embrace goalie Katie Horn. While most of the game was a shooters' contest, Horn made two critical saves in the final five minutes to preserve a 13-12 victory over Carroll County rival Liberty. The No. 6 Falcons advance to meet the winner of Monday's Glenelg-North Carroll game for the Class 2A-1A regional title Wednesday at McDaniel. Horn stopped a free-position shot by Shelby Nemecek, who had already scored six goals, and then with 2:24 to go, she snagged a terrific shot from Amy Roguski, coming at her one-on-one in transition.

No. School Record 1. McDonogh 23-2 2. Winters Mill 25-2 3. John Carroll 29-1 4. Owings Mills 16-5 5. Archbishop Spalding 22-5 6. Glenelg 15-2 7. River Hill 25-4 8. Mount Hebron 20-7 9. South River 27-5 10. Reservoir 10-3 11. Hereford 20-3 12. Wilde Lake 21-9 13. Mount St. Joseph 8-6 14. Oakland Mills 20-5 15. Loyola 12-6 Other teams considered: Bel Air (24-4), Broadneck (13-3), Catonsville (11-4), Fallston (15-2), Manchester Valley (17-9)

John Lowe Winters Mill John Lowe isn't ready to use the "D" word when he describes the wrestling program at Winters Mill. Other people, however, find it easier to call the Falcons a dynasty. For the third straight season, Lowe led Winters Mill to a Class 2A-1A state tournament title. He also led the Falcons to their second straight state dual meet championship. With his team performing at such a consistently high level, Lowe earned Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.