As we wrap up the final week of school, we want to say thank you to our student-athletes, coaches, staff, parents, and community for making the 2022-2023 year a success at Annandale! We look forward to more exciting action in 2023-2024!!

Go Atoms!    

Year long Athletics recap!

Check out this weeks newsletter as we recap an exciting year in athletics at Annandale!

FALL SEASON

Cheerleading worked hard to shine each Friday night on our football sidelines. Outside of sideline cheer, this team came together to have an outstanding performance at the district cheer competition, qualifying for the Occoquan Region competition. They look to build on their success from 2022 as they’ve already hit the mat preparing for the upcoming fall season!

Boys and Girls Cross Country teams had large teams and competitive seasons with many personal best times being set by a majority of the team members. The boys team completed their season narrowly missing 4th place in districts by a couple points thanks in part to Terry Moreno-Valeriano 4th place individual finish. The girls set personal best across the board and have a bright future with many underclassmen returning to run in the 2023, led by returning runner Keira Dalrymple who is looking to be even stronger than her top 10 finish at districts.

Football team faced one of, if not the, toughest schedule in Northern Virginia with 5 of the 10 opponents making the region tournament. The freshman and JV teams improved every game and look to build this off-season as many of them will be gaining varsity reps in the fall.  The varsity team battled all season, finishing 4th in the district including big wins over Lewis, Cardoza, and a last second victory over rival Falls Church. The team loses multiple seniors who will play in college, led by 2nd team all region DB selection Pierro Vernazza Cortez but return an abundance of young talent led by 1st team All district OL/DL Rodolfo Duncan. 2023 will also mark the start of a new era in Annandale football as coach Mike Scott will be handing over the headset to new coach Chris Bagot. Thank you Coach Scott for your 14 years as head coach of Atoms football!

The Golf team started out with two golfers and grew to six by the end of week two. All six improved on their game throughout the season highlighted by Sophia Sewall shooting a 49 in a match vs Lewis. The team has a bright future as all six players were underclassmen.

Our freshman and JV volleyball teams show tremendous growth throughout the season, with JV winning multiple matches over Lewis and Park View. Varsity Volleyball had a challenging year with many competitive games that one or two bounces could have changed the outcome of many games. The team demonstrated their resiliency and determination to work together and challenge each other to be better. The team loses 2nd team all district selection Kennedy Beal but return a core of talent that looks to come back stronger in 2023.

Last but certainly not least is our Field Hockey teams. JV had many girls who were playing for the first time but showed determination to get better and it paid off with multiple victories. Varsity field hockey had one of their most successful seasons in some time, with big victories over Meridian and powerhouse South County in out of district play. The Atoms moved on to National District play where they went undefeated including a huge come from behind win in the last seconds over defending district champions Justice securing the Number 1 seed in district tournament. From there the Atoms took care of business, winning convincingly over Justice to win their first district championship since 2015! The Atoms lost a heartbreaker to Robinson in the region tournament. They lose multiple seniors who were all district selections, including Anna Peters, Sandy Karabelas, Sophia Williams, and goalie Isabella Vejcik but return the National District Player of the Year in freshman Callia Uviedo.

WINTER SEASON

Boys Basketball.. Freshman boys competed game in and game out progressively getting better and finishing with a few wins on their record. JV boys completed their season with a 12-4 record, including a 7 game winning streak as they prepare for varsity this upcoming season. Varsity boys had an exciting season highlighted by a few games that included a buzzer beating shot by senior Sam Dailey vs Lewis on Senior night! We can’t fail to mention two big wins over state qualifying teams Green Run and Edison, with that Edison win securing the 3 seed in the district tournament. The team fell to Lake Braddock in the last seconds of their regional tournament game. The team loses a great crop of seniors, led by first team all district selection Andrew Nields but return core players of JR Nelson and Slim Sanago to go along with the young JV talent.

Freshman and JV Girls Basketball had competitive seasons with a lot of growth and fun being had by all. Both teams completed their seasons with multiple wins on their record. Varsity girls worked hard throughout the season highlighted by big wins over TJ and Justice in district play to secure the 6 seed for the district tournament. They lose several seniors this year but return 2nd team all district selection in freshman Ava Sewall and HM selection Susan Aburish to a team that looks to build on their success.

Gymnastics was a learning experience for many of our gymnasts but they improved tremendously throughout the season with many setting personal best scores at multiple meets during the year. The team was young this year and return a great core led by all-around gymnast Kate Hanlen as they look to build on the progress made from this season.

Indoor Track had many athletes continue the trend of setting personal best at multiple meets. The girls team was young but had some highlights including the 2nd place finish by the 4x800 relay at the district meet. The team returns some impressive individual performers in Pamela Moura and Keira Dalrymple. The Boys team had some individual performances that shined above the rest. Building off his state championship season from a year ago, Miles Lanham continued his ways with a district championship in the 300m and triple jump, which also broke his school record from last year. An unfortunate injury kept Miles from defending his championship at the state meet. Noah Williams tagged along winning a district championship in the shot put and narrowly missing a state berth by a few inches. The teams loses a lot of senior leadership but the numbers for a return to form is there.

Swim and Dive had a large turnout this season and the future looks bright for this program! The girls team had drops in times throughout the season and return a great core of swimmers including freshman Melanie Decareau and diver Morgan Milman, who look to build on the 5th place finish at districts. The boys team had improvements during the season, highlighted by multiple district meet finishes including Nathan Tran finishing third at districts and narrowly missing the state meet by a few points, the second place finishes by the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, and Colin McGee, who won the district in the 100 breaststroke, finished 3rd at region, and qualified for the state meet. The team returns many swimmers and look to build on the 3rd place finish at districts.

Wrestling continued to see their numbers increase from the COVID years and it showed as the program continued to take strides in the right direction. The team competed in multiple tournaments including facing some state level teams in their trip to West Virginia. The team has a bright future with returning state qualifier Jordy Lopez Funes but lose two time district champion and two time state qualifier in Marcelo Pozo. The team returns a core of wrestlers who are hungry and have already started hitting the mat this off season.

SPRING SEASON

JV Baseball improved throughout the season and saw tremendous growth by the players. Varsity baseball had an up and down season but the ups were when it truly mattered. They won 6 of 7 games in the middle to get them back into the district race including defeating the eventual 2 seed Edison Eagles. The atoms went into the playoffs as the 6 seed but came through with a huge upset of Justice to secure a home region playoff game vs Alexandria City. The team loses a great group of seniors but return HM district pitchers Jace Colato and Zach Plank.

Softball showed resilience throughout the season on their way to securing the 4 seed in the district tournament and beating TJ to secure a home region game vs West Potomac. This season was a true team effort but the team had several individual highlights including 2nd team all district selections Shalini Vlcan at Utility and Teagan Scott-Daniels at pitcher. Teagan also surpassed the 100 strikeouts for the season, a feat that few pitchers in Northern Virginia do. The team loses two seniors and return 13 from this years team.

Boys Lacrosse went through some growing pains this year but their effort, attitude and perseverance should be applauded! JV boys had many new players for the first time and the growth of the team has this program looking up. The varsity team had a lot of youth this season but a long trip to the middle of Loudoun County saw the team bring back a win and an attitude that they could play. The program is young with only two seniors, they are poised to have a bounce back year in 2024.

Girls Lacrosse welcomed many new players to the program that progressively got better throughout the season. This was the largest turnout for the program in several years as he program loses several contributing seniors including first team selection at defense Adrianne Anez-Pinto but return a group of players that look to keep this program moving in the right direction in 2nd team all district selections Abbie Lee and Bridget Murray. Continued growth is the mindset for the 2024 season.

Girls Soccer had a tremendous season. The JV team battled all year coming away with several wins to close to the season while the varsity team showed up, completing one of their best seasons in over a decade. The team finished 12-5 with a 6-1 district record and a #2 seed heading into the district tournament. The girls battled every game and an unlucky bounce in the first golden goal OT kept the team from qualifying for the region semifinals. The team led the district in scoring and graduate a great group of seniors who helped this program, including National District Player of the Year, Olivia Cruz. However, the team returns some talent in first team selections Melanie Decareau, Erin Hanlen, goalkeeper Sara Nagle, and National District Coach of the Year Jake Vaughn as they look to build on this season's success.

Boys soccer gave some exciting moments this season as the JV team showed flashes of what the future looks like for this program. The varsity team lost a few heartbreakers throughout the season including the loss of 2nd team selection senior Tyler Foti to injury, but it provided them the opportunity to rally around an injured teammate and show the district what they were about. The team lost their first round district game but came back strong beating Fairfax 1-0 in the region play-in and followed it up with an exciting golden goal OT win over Falls Church to move on to the region quarterfinals. A strong senior class leaves, led by vocal leader and first team selection Danish Naveed but return a solid core, including first team selection Mohammed Kallon.

Boys Tennis had a large group of seniors that led to a lot of competition for the top 6 spots within a match. The teams challenged everyday to get into the top 6 and had a great showing at districts. A few atoms won their first round district matches, leading to some recognition form the district. Senay Gebremeskel and Tomm Tran earned 2nd honors. The teams had some youth this year that improved everyday and look forward to competing for a spot next year.

Girls Tennis had a huge turnout for the team this year with 29 freshman trying out. The girls played well during the season, winning a couple matches and hosting a region tennis match for the first time in some years. The play of some led to honors in senior kennedy beal and junior madison mum earning 2nd team all district. The team loses a dedicated group of seniors but with a young group of girls, the future looks bright for the program.

Outdoor Track & Field just built on the success of the indoor track season. Girls continued their improvement led by a 2nd place district finish in the discus by Juliette Andrez and 3rd place finish in the 800m by Keira Dalrymple. The boys once again had a strong showing. Maximo Krause finished 2nd in the district meet in the 300m Hurdles but won a district championship as a member of the 4x100 relay team. Miles Lanham in the triple jump and Noah Williams in shot put added Outdoor Track district Championships to go with their Indoor ones. Miles completed his high school career with a 3rd place finish in the VHSL state meet last weekend in Hampton!

All Athletes Celebration Recap

Check out the recap below of our first annual All Athletes Celebration!

Team Academic GPA Award Winners This award goes to a Boys and Girls team that achieved the highest percentage of student-athletes, with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Award Winners:  Girls Teams - Cross Country Boys Team - Swim & Dive

Sportsmanship Award Winners

The following award winners were selected by each programs coaching staff who feel those student-athletes represent the true meaning of sportsmanship.

3 Peat Athletes

This award was established over 20 years ago to recognize those student-athletes who participated in three different sports during the athletic year. Each of these recipients will receive an “Atoms Three Sport Athletes” t-shirt!

Check out the list of 3 Peat Athletes

2022-2023 3.5 Athletes

We celebrated all of our student-athletes who maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher for the 2022-2023 school year! Check out the list here 2022-2023 3.5 Student-Athletes

District Champions

We celebrated our National District Champions during our celebration. You can find a list of our champions below:

FALL

Field Hockey Team 

WINTER

Indoor Track - Miles Lanham: 300m & Triple Jump (School Record); Noah Williams: Shot Put

Swim & Dive - Colin McGee: 100m Breaststroke

Wrestling - Marcelo Pozo: 120lb weight class

SPRING

Outdoor Track - Miles Lanham: Triple Jump; Noah Williams: Shot Put; Miles Lanham, Rakan Alqadi, Liano Van Heerden, Evan Burita, Maximo Krause: Boys 4x100 Relay

Special Recognition Awards

During the celebration, we celebrated special achievements by a few of our Annandale Atoms.

* Callia Uviedo - Field Hockey, National District Player of the Year

* Olivia Cruz - Soccer, National District Player of the Year

* Jake Vaughn - Soccer, National District Coach of the Year

* Kathy Ayers - Retiring Athletic Trainer; 33 years as a teacher and athletic trainer at Annandale High School

* Mike Scott - Former Head Football Coach; 14 years as the head football coach at Annandale High School (not present at the celebration)

Atoms Inspiration Award This award goes to two senior student-athletes who have demonstrated leadership qualities that encourage teammates to never give up. A student-athlete who acts as a role model and demonstrates their leadership skills by example to their teammates, peers, and coaches. Award Recipients: David Sewall & Giselle Moquillaza (not                                                             pictured)

Atomic Atom Award This award goes to two senior student-athletes and is not just for the MVP of a team.  It is meant to recognize what we call an  Atomic Atom. An all around athlete that possesses the qualities. A student-athlete that may not have all the accolades but an individual that performs in the classroom, on the field, and in the community. An Atomic Atom is an exceptional person and so, too, are the recipients of this award. Award Recipients: Noah Williams & Anna Peters

Atoms Athlete of the Year

Two senior student-athletes whose athletic participation and accomplishments are evident throughout their high school career. These awards are for those who have set themselves apart from others with their accolades, leadership qualities, and performances during their four years at Annandale High School.

Award Recipients:

Miles Lanham & Olivia Cruz

Next Level Athletes

We celebrated our Annandale Atoms who have committed to play athletic at the next level!

Tayron Adu Gyamfi              Football                 Hampton University

Samuel Dailey                     Basketball             Shenandoah University

Ellie Davis                           Tennis                    Catholic University

Tyler Foti                             Soccer                   Saint Mary’s College

Senay Gebremeskel           Tennis                    Washington-Lee University

Tejh Hardin                         Track & Field          United States Merchant Marines

Miles Lanham                     Track & Field          University of Virginia

John Luseni                        Football                  Randolph-Macon College

Andrew Nields                    Basketball              Catholic University

Asia Pham                          Tennis                    Randolph College

Nathaniel Quisbert             Tennis                     Randolph College

Piero Vernazza-Cortez       Football                  Bluefield College

Noah Williams                    FB/T&F                   Concord University

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