Alexandria's Ashley Wagner Takes Bronze at U.S. Figure Skating Trials

Photo by Leah Adams, courtesy of Ashley Wagner Ashley Wagner, 18, whograduated from West Potomac High School in June 2009, placed third overall at the National Championships.

Spokane, WA. - Alexandria native Ashley Wagner turned in a valiant performance at Saturday's Olympic Ice Skating trials in Spokane, Wash., but came up just short in her quest for a spot on the Olympic team.

Wagner, 18, who graduated from West Potomac High School in June 2009, placed third overall. But unfortunately, the Olympic team is comprised only of the top two skaters.  Her sublime performance led to the most agonizing of finishes at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The performance was good enough for a bronze medal,  but it was one place short of the 2010 Olympic team, the Kitsap Sun reported.

Photo by Leah Adams, courtesy of Ashley Wagner Wagner holds up her Bronze at the 2008 Nationals.

Wagner had the misfortune to finish third in a down year for U.S. women’s skating. For just the second time since 1924, the U.S. qualified only two spots for the Olympic team instead of the usual three. Those berths went to Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu, who finished 1-2 after Saturday night’s free skate. Two-time Olympian Sasha Cohen, 25, skating in her first Olympic-style competition since 2006, fell on a triple flip to tumble to fourth.

Was it a bitter pill to swallow? “A little bit, obviously,” Wagner told the paper. As Olympic alternate, Wagner will get to attend the Games only if someone gets hurt or sick.  Wagner acknowledged how far she had come in a season of upheaval — she changed coaches and moved out of her home in Alexandria, to live with coach Priscilla Hill, Hill’s mother, husband and five dogs.  

“The fact that I made it to this nationals and put out what I did, I’m just so happy with that,” she told the Kitsap Sun, with a hitch in her voice. Sitting in the audience, Hill teared up.

“It’s been an incredibly stressful year,” Wagner said. “Third place isn’t really so bad considering I’m OK.”  Wagner, who said she prepped for the final by watching the movie “Titanic,” entered Saturday’s free skate in fourth place, about seven points behind the lead group of Nagasu, Cohen and Flatt, bunched within one point of one another.

But Wagner, the only one of the four to fall in the short program, was certain she could move up. Not long after the short, she said to her coach, Priscilla Hill, “Seven points! I can do that.”  So she did. Wagner’s free skate was scored second-best of the night, behind only Flatt’s seven-triple festival, and was less than two points off her career best. She scored 184.70 points overall.

When it was over, an ecstatic Wagner punched the air with first one arm, then another, then hugged herself.  Then, came the stomach-churning wait as first Cohen, then Flatt, then Nagasu skated. Things looked promising when Cohen fell, but then Flatt laid down a career-best score — 200.11.

Photo by Leah Adams, courtesy of Ashley Wagner Wagner waits for her scores.

Wagner is thinking college, but said she wants to continue skating for another shot at the 2014 Olympics.  “I do, I definitely do,” she said, “because I got to go out there and I got to have fun with it. For the past couple of years I haven’t been able to do that. So it really is addicting just to enjoy skating and to finish and have that crowd just roaring.

“So I will be here. I loved it. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Source: Kitsap Sun, used with permission  Read more coverage here

Alexandria Sports In Brief, by David Steinbacher:

In recent contests amongst a variety of local teams, Ireton (Alexandria City) dropped a 74-50 contest to WCAC power Gonzaga. The Cardinals dropped to 5-11 overall/0-8 WCAC with the league loss. Ireton was paced by: Patrick Hanifin (17 points), Marcus Hayes (16) and Thomas Gallinaro and Antonio Rouse (four apiece) - top four scorers.

The Cardinal and Gold will go from the proverbial frying pan to the fire when they square off with nationally ranked DeMatha on January 26th - too late for this edition. The Cardinal football team finished 7-3 this past autumn. The jury is out as to whether or not the basketball team will equal or exceed those seven victories posted by head football coach Tony Verducci.

Episcopal defeated IAC rival Bullis 52-38 to improve to 9-3 overall/2-2 Interstate Athletic Conference. The Maroon, coached by veteran Jimmy Fitzpatrick, narrowly led their Maryland rival 24-20 at intermission.

In the games final 16 minutes however, the Maroon thumped Bullis 28-18 to claim the victory. Episcopal was paced by: Arnaud Adala-Moto (19), David Kagulu-Kalema (14) and Sadiq Abubakar - top three. Whereas Kagulu-Kalema lists his hometown as Burke, Va. - Adala-Moto hails from Cameroon and Abubakar hails from Nigeria.

Photo by Leah Adams, courtesy of Ashley Wagner Wagner's fan club shows their admiration.

St. Stephens/St. Agnes (Alexandria City) defeated IAC rival St. Albans 68-50 to improve to 8-6 overall/2-2 IAC. The Saints, coached by veteran Kevin McLinton (son of former Washington Redskin linebacker Kevin McLinton), led the Bulldogs 33-19 at intermission.

The Red, White and Green then proceeded to outscore St. Albans (N.W. D.C.) 35-31 over the games final 16 minutes to prevail. The Saints were paced by: Dexter Lindsey (20), Jalen Williams (13), Justin Goldsborough (12) and Jack Hamilton (nine) - top four.

Unfortunately, information regarding the **T.C. Williams boys team most recent game was not able to be obtained. However, on January 19th, the lone public school in the City of Alexandria defeated West Potomac 62-52.

The Red, White and Blue Titans improved to 10-2 overall/7-0 Patriot with that victory. T.C. merely led the Wolverines 29-28 at intermission, before outscoring their Patriot District rivals 33-24 in the second half. The Titans were paced by: Billy Rowland (19), Ryan Yates (12) and Daquan Kerman (eight) - top three. As of January 26th, T.C. is ranked #11 in the entire metro area by the Washington Post.

Hayfield defeated South-Alexandria area rival Edison 59-46 to improve to 15-0 overall/8-0 National. The Hawks (currently ranked #3 in the entire area by the Washington Post) merely led their National District rivals 20-19 at intermission. The Orange and White Hawks proceeded to outscore the Eagles 39-27 over the games final 16 minutes to claim the victory.

Head coach Ron Palmers squad was paced by: Reggie Tate (20), Brandon Winbush (19) and Chad Canady (nine) - top three. Hayfield advanced to the State Quarterfinal Round one season ago and may fare even better this season - "TBD". The Eagles of Edison dropped to 7-9 overall/2-6 National.

West Potomac defeated R.E. Lee 64-62 to improve to 8-6 overall/4-3 Patriot. The Wolverines led 29-21 at intermission. Despite being outscored 41-35 over the games final 16 minutes, West Potomac hung on for the pivotal victory when Shawn Lee knocked down two free throws with two seconds remaining in the contest to break a 62-62 score.

Mount Vernon improved to an impressive 12-3 overall/7-1 National when they pounded Washington-Lee 81-58 in a District contest. The Majors (who advanced to the Northern Region semi-finals one season ago) led 42-24 at intermission, before outscoring the Generals 39-34 in the second half. With the loss, Washington-Lee dropped to 5-11 overall/3-5 National.

Wakefield defeated Arlington rival/National District rival Yorktown 61-57 to improve to 7-8 overall/5-3 National. The Warriors actually trailed the Patriots 26-24 at intermission as well as 40-35 at the conclusion of the third quarter. Wakefield put the pedal to the metal in the fourth quarter and outscored Yorktown 26-17 in the final eight-minute frame.

The Warriors of South Arlington were paced by Thomas Taylor (15) and Corey Aldrich (13). The Patriots of North Arlington were paced by Mike Veith (22). Yorktown, coached by Rich Avila - who played high school football at T.C. Williams a couple of decades ago, dropped to 7-9 overall/3-5 National.

Annandale defeated Patriot District rival South County 70-55 to improve to 8-4 overall/5-3 Patriot. The Atoms led 31-27 at intermission, before outscoring the Stallions 39-28 in the second half. D'Angelo Boyce (21), Karl Ziegler (19) and Melvin Robinson (12) paced Annandale.

O'Connell defeated WCAC rival McNamara 59-58 (OT) to improve to 8-9 overall/4-5 WCAC. The Knights trailed 31-25 at intermission before outscoring the Mustangs 25-19 in the second half to force overtime with the contest tied at 50. Obviously, by doing the math, O'Connell outscored McNamara 9-8 in the overtime session. Kendall Marshall (21) paced the Knights.

Jefferson did not fare quite so well. The Colonials dropped a 69-59 contest to Stone Bridge (Ashburn) and in the process dropped to 5-10 overall/2-5 Liberty. Both teams scored 36 points each in the second half, but Jefferson dug themselves a first half hole and trailed 33-23 at intermission. The Colonials were paced by: Richard Kuzma (18), Daniel Barnes (16) and Karl Sofinowski (10) - top three.

NFL Notes

Eric Barton (Edison '95) and the Cleveland Browns did not qualify for the recent NFL Playoffs.

On the other hand, Tim Hightower (Episcopal '04) and the Arizona Cardinals did qualify for the playoffs. Arizona defeated Green Bay 51-45 (OT) in the first weekend of the playoffs (NFC quarter-final round) and then were pounded 45-14 by the New Orleans Saints in the NFC semi-final round.

Hightower (6'1" - 225 pound running back) ripped off a 70-yard TD run early in the New Orleans game and finished that contest with 87 yards on six carries. He also hauled in three receptions for 27 yards in the loss.

Hightower, was coached in high school by veteran Mark Gowin, and was a member of the Cardinal squad that lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2009 Super Bowl.

In addition, T.C. Williams alumnus Dean Muhtadi ('04) - who played collegiately at the University of Maryland, was recently signed by the Arizona Cardinals to a contract. Muhtadi did not make the Green Bay roster this past August and will attempt to stick with Arizona in the fall of '10.

In the book "Basketball for Dummies" (second edition) - written by Digger Phelps, John Walters and Tim Bourret (published in 2000) - it states the following on page 218 - "What Coaches Can Do: A high school coach can become the most unforgettable and instrumental figure in a young persons life. Or he/she can just punch the clock. Teenage kids, no matter how they may strut, are still very malleable people. The values you impart and the skills you teach can last a lifetime.

Dedicate yourself to improving your kids as people first and winning second. Improve their skills; improve their self-discipline and even their character. A high school coach has the ability to do all that. Why do you think it's such a great job?

Contact the writer at dgsusa@juno.com