Li, Robbins get winter All-Met nods
March 28, 2023
Senior Anna Li and Junior Olivia Robbins have earned All-Met honors from The Washington Post for the 2022-2023 winter season.
Li, a four-time state champion swimmer this season (200 and 400 freestyle relay, 100 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley), led the Falcons to a 4-2 dual meet record and a team state finalist finish. Robbins is a junior forward with the Upper Montgomery Lightning (a composite team comprised of players from Poolesville, Damascus, Clarksburg, Seneca Valley, Watkins Mill, and Gaithersburg) who notched six goals along with five assists on the season.
Stempler takes region wrestling title
February 25, 2023
Senior Sam Stempler captured the Class 2A/1A West Region title at 145 pounds with a 5-2 decision over Boonsboro’s Trevor Bowers today at Manchester Valley. Sam now moves on to the state championship on March 3 at the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro where he will face La Plata’s David Webster in the opening round.
Bodmer’s run earns county title
January 25, 2023
Senior distance runner Anna Bodmer took the top spot in the 3200-meter run (11:38.40) at today’s Montgomery County Indoor Track and Field championships at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex ahead of B-CC’s Ani Bailin (11:42.58) and Blake’s Emilie Creighton (12:00.02) becoming PHS’ first indoor track county champion.
Six earn Washington Post honors
December 21, 2022
Two Falcon coaches and four student-athletes were selected to the fall Washington Post All-Met teams.
Coach Presad Gerard was named Cross Country Coach of the Year after his boy’s team won MCPS county, and repeated as Maryland Class 2A regional and state champions, while the girl’s team were state finalists. Distance runners Daisy Dastrup was a second-team pick while her brother Caleb earned an honorable mention nod.
Coach Michelle Hunsicker-Blair is the Golf Coach of the Year after the Falcons repeated as both the District and Class 2A-1A State champs. When Michelle wasn’t on the course coaching, she was organizing the Montgomery County Ladies’ tournaments every Wednesday throughout the season. Her efforts to promote and advance girls’ golf in Maryland helped produce a record number of 40 girls competing in districts, half of whom qualified for the state tournament, including All-Met first-team selection, junior Olivia Cong who captured a second straight individual 2A/1A state title.
Running back Evan Taylor earned an honorable mention after leading the Falcon football team to a 7-3 record and a Class 2A West playoff berth. Taylor was also named Co-Player of the Year of the Coaches All-County 3A/2A team.
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 Hunsicker-Blair |
 Cong |
 D. Dastrup |
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Seven Falcons earn All-County honors
December 8, 2022
Running back Evan Taylor led a group of six other Falcons who were named to the 2022 MCPS Coaches 3A/2A All-County Football Team.
Taylor, a 5’9”, 195 lb. senior shared the Offensive Co-Player of the Year Award with Rockville’s Macky Langsam, and is joined by first-team picks senior offensive linemen Luke Pappano and Seth LeMarr, along with senior defensive lineman Jack Feys, and senior defensive back Mason Hopkins. Honorable Mentions went to defensive lineman Stefan Rich and linebacker Connor Folk.
Boys cross country repeats as state champions, girls are finalists
November 12, 2022
Seniors Aaron Longbrake (17:09.82) and Caleb Dastrup (17:12.17) finished third and fourth for the Falcons won a second consecutive Class 2A State title 47-62 over second place Century at the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) state championships at Hereford High School. Others finishing in the top 25 were Connor Kohne (12th), Billy Beane (15th), and Kevin Hsu (19th).
The girls placed second as a team behind Century by a 34-66 score. Junior Daisy Dastrup (19:42.77) was top finisher or the Falcons in third place, followed by senior Anna Bodmer (21:03.26) in eighth place. Other in the top 25 were Roma Diak (12th) and Roma Diak (18th).
Falcons roll on with a pair of region titles
November 3, 2022
Both boys and girls cross country teams continued picking up hardware today, this time the Class 2A West region title. Seniors Caleb Dastrup (17:00) and Billy Beane (17:14) placed third and fourth respectively in the three-mile run with an overall team score of 36 to 74 over second-place Liberty and Century. Connor Kohne and Aaron Longbrake finished in ninth and tenth place for PHS. For the girls, Daisy Dastrup (second place, 20:04) and Anna Bodmer (third place, 20:41) paced the Falcons to a 36 to 59 win over second-place Century.
Golfers swing a second title, twice!
October 26, 2022
Olivia Cong repeated as the Class 2A/1A champ with a two-day score of 1-under 141, five strokes ahead of South Carroll’s Megan Fitzpatrick. The Falcon Five of Cong, Kinley Stokes, Andrew Jauch, Noah Naing, and Ethan Huang also picked up PHS’ 2nd straight team title with a combined score of 636, three strokes ahead of runner-up South Carroll.
Harriers crowned county champions
October 22, 2022
Senior Caleb Dastrup led the boy’s cross country team to their first-ever MCPS title with a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter run at the MCPS Championships at Gaithersburg High School with a time of 16:16. Other top finishers for PHS were seniors Aaron Longbrake (ninth place at 16:38) and Billy Beane (14th at 17:00), along with sophomore Connor Kohne (16th at 17:06).
Junior Daisy Dastrup, with a third-place finish (18:50), and Anna Bodmer (14th place at 20:28), were top finishers in the 5,000 meters for the Falcon girls who placed sixth as a team… read more
Golfers take the district title
October 12, 2022
Junior Olivia Cong (center) carded a 70, finishing in second place, to lead the Falcon coed golf team to the MPSSAA District 2, Class 2A/1A title today at the Poolesville Golf Course with a combined score of 324. Pictured with Olivia are teammates Kinley Stokes, Andrew Jauch, Noah Naing, and Ethan Huang.
A tribute to coach Kevin Dorsey
September 20, 2022
The PHS community mourns the passing of former wrestling coach, Kevin Dorsey, who passed away from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on September 6.
Inducted into the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 as head coach of our wrestling program from 2006 to 2014, Kevin mentored countless Falcon wrestlers including Washington Post All-Met selections Xavier Kresslein, Alex Carbonell, and Kyle Wilkins where his teams captured MCPS division titles in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
As a steadfast supporter of everything PHS athletics, Kevin was everywhere when it came to supporting not just the wrestling program, but the entire athletic department. Whether it was renovating the concession stand, field maintenance, or attending our annual mulch sale, if it was something important to PHS athletics, you could bet that Kevin was involved in some capacity.
In a 2015 Washington Post article, “Where other people see problems, Dorsey sees solutions, usually made of dirt, sod, and concrete. According to (then) booster club President, Jeff Oyer’s estimations, Dorsey has donated at least $50,000 in time and labor renovating athletic facilities on his own.”
Also in 2015, the Dorsey Duals was born – a longtime dream of Kevin’s to bring a top-notch wrestling tournament to Poolesville each year that has garnered rave reviews from coaches, parents, and participants alike.
“Kevin was a person who inspires everyone around him to pursue their life endeavors with his Be Proud of Your Work and Never Quit Until the Job is a Finished perspective,” said former PHS athletic director, Ed Ross.
Current PHS athletic specialist, Gina Grubb said, “One of my favorite quotes regarding coaching is by John Wooden; A Good Coach Can Change a Game, A Great Coach Can CHANGE A LIFE. Kevin is the epitome of this.
He built trust, respect, and a good work ethic in everyone that came through his program. He understood the importance of building positive relationships and how these relationships helped with the continued success of the program and the students’ lives after high school. He supported the entire athletic program in everything that he did. I cannot thank him enough for all that he did for PHS.”
Thank you from the entire PHS family, Kevin … Our Coach, Mentor, and Friend.
Boys take Brunswick invitational title
September 3, 2022
The Falcons boys cross country team, led by a third-place finish by senior Caleb Dastrup (16:56.72) in the 5,000 meters were winners of today’s 39th Annual Brunswick Zumbach Invitational besting second-place Liberty 49-72 in a field of 16 teams. Others who placed in the top 10 were the trio of Billy Beane (17:34.28), Aaron Longbrake (17:38.49), and Connor Kohne (17:39.06).
Tennis captures Class 2A state title
May 28, 2022
History was made today as the PHS Tennis Team captured three individual state titles en route to winning the first team state title in PHS history! Poolesville finished with 58 points overall, 10 more than runner-up C. Milton Wright’s 48. Information regarding the regional and state tournaments can be found here. The completed state brackets can be found here.
Girls’ Singles – Championship Match
Ruhika Bhat played outstanding tennis from the start and knocked off last year’s state 3A runner-up 6-2, 6-1.
Boys’ Singles – Championship Match
Rohan Bhat, in a dazzling display of tennis, dominated the two-time defending state champion 6-1,6-0.
Girls’ Doubles – Championship Match
After splitting the first two games of the match Angie Zhao and Suzy Xu kicked it into high gear by winning 11 of the last 12 games to complete a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
Mixed Doubles – Championship Match
Kyra McGlinchey and Varun Das played extremely well against the defending 2A Mixed Doubles champions but came up short in a very challenging 3-6, 1-6 loss.
All individual champions (gold) and finalists (silver) received individual medals for their performances. In addition, all individuals who competed throughout the region & state tournament received individual medals (gold) for winning the team championship. Finally, the team received a state championship plaque for winning the team title.
Congratulations to all!
Antonishik, Simons earn scholarship awards
May 26, 2022
Each year the Poolesville High School Booster Club awards $1,000.00 scholarships to two deserving student-athletes in memory of PHS alumnus and Booster Club president, Jake Perkins. Recipients are chosen based on their community involvement, school commitment, athletic involvement, and scholarship. Congratulations to this year’s Jake Perkins Memorial Scholarship recipients, Abby Antonishik and Caroline Simons.
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Caroline Simons |
Falcons netters take region titles
May 19-20, 2022
On Thursday, the girl’s doubles team of Angelina Zhao and Suzanne Xu posted a 6-0 record over three matches today at the Class 2A West Regional at Middletown High School.
On Friday, both the boy’s and the girl’s teams claimed region titles led by senior Rohan Bhat and sister Ruhika, with a championship final singles win, along with Kyra McGlinchey and Varun Das in mixed doubles to advance to the state quarterfinals and semifinals on May 26, 9:00 am at the Wilde Lake Tennis Center.
Baseball honors
May 19, 2022
Five Falcons earned post-season honors including Sam D’Amelio and Matthew Griffith who were named to the Montgomery County Seniors All-Star Team, and Luke Pearre as Montgomery County Class 3A/2A Most Valuable Pitcher. All-Division nods went to Andrew Brill and D’Amelio (1st Team), as well as Griffith and Danny Butler (2nd Team).
Eight named to boys lacrosse All-Division team
May 19, 2022
Congratulations to the following Falcons for being selected to the 2022 Montgomery County Lacrosse Coaches West All-Division Team including Adam Barkdoll and Cole Johnson (Attack), Austin Little (Midfield), Mason Bean (Face-off), Jack Feys, Logan Marsh, Michael Sofelkanik (Defense), and Lukas Bocek (Goalie).
Playing at the next level
May 16, 2022
Twelve student-athletes who will be playing in college during the 2022-23 season were honored during a signing ceremony held today in the Media Center that included Jonah Valmonte – Robert Morris University (Soccer), Nico Carillo – Clark University (Soccer), Austin Little – Alderson Broaddus University (Lacrosse), Rohan Bhat – Case Western Reserve University (Tennis), Sam D’Amelio – Anne Arundel Community College (Baseball), Anna Stanoyevitch – Montgomery College-Rockville (Volleyball), Maia Lee – University of Maryland-College Park (Gymnastics), Harriet Gaughan – University of Delaware (Rowing), Sophie Elliot – Carnegie Mellon (Swimming), Maxwell Chen – California Institute of Technology (Swimming), Orluke Borjigin – Washington University, St. Louis (Swimming), and Cody Werner – Regis College (Swimming).
Sam Stempler is state wrestling finalist
March 5, 2022
Junior Sam Stempler (37-6 on the season) closed out the season as the runner-up in the 138-pound weight class at today’s MPSSAA State Championships at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro in a 13-5 loss to Northern Garrett’s Jacob Brenneman (46-0 on the season). Senior Jackson Barney (31-10 overall record) placed fifth beating Cambridge-South Dorchester’s Anthony Weiss by fall, 9-2, and senior Chloe Maher placed sixth in the girl’s 115-pound class.”
Boys swimming & diving claim 10th straight state title; girls are finalists
February 26, 2022
The Falcon boys repeated as Maryland Class 3A/2A/1A state champions for the 10th straight time today with a 372-235 score over second-place Rockville at the Eppley Recreation Center at the University of Maryland, while the girls were runner-up to Damascus by a score of 283-267.
Top finishers for PHS were Andrei Hancu, Ben Nachod, Maxwell Chen, Konnor Chen (200 Yard Medley Relay), Maxwell Chen (100-yard Butterfly), Gordon Leeroy, Ben Nachod, Pacawat Luu, Orluke Borjigin (200 Yard Freestyle Relay), Gordon Leeroy, Maxwell Chen, Konnor Chen, Orluke Borjigin (400 Yard Freestyle Relay), and Anna Li (200 Yard Individual Medley).
Two take region wrestling titles
February 26, 2022
A pair of Falcons grapplers took the top spots at today’s Maryland Class 2A West Region tournament at Manchester Valley. Sam Stempler at 138-pounds won with a 9-4 decision over Glenelg’s Jaegon Hibbitts, and Mila Briznik was the winner at 135-pounds and will advance to next week’s state championships on March 4-5 at Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro.
Others headed to States are runner-ups Joey Geehreng (160 pounds) and Jackson Barney (170 pounds), as well as Chloe Maher, a third-place finisher at 115 pounds. Kevin Fultz, who placed third at 145 pounds, will be an alternate.
Fultz crowned county wrestling champ
February 19, 2022
Senior Kevin Fultz added to his 100-plus career win total this weekend defeating Blair’s Junior Kim with a 7-2 decision in the 145-pound weight class at the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Championships at Gaithersburg.
Kevin was joined by five other Falcons who placed at the event including Jackson Barney (2nd place at 170 pounds), Sam Stempler (2nd place at 138 pounds), Joey Geehreng (3rd place at 160 pounds), Diesel Anderson (5th place at 132 pounds), and Zach Ransom (6th place at 152 pounds).
Bocce repeats as division champions
January 29, 2022
In just their second year of competition, Coach Tom Lang’s Falcons (7-2) swept through the MCPS Division IV tournament with wins over Damascus, 2-1, Watkins Mill 2-0, and Quince Orchard 2-0 to move on the county championship tournament on February 5, 10:00 am at Paint Branch.
Aronow named the new JV baseball coach
January 27, 2022
Poolesville High School Athletics is excited to welcome Alec Aronow as our new junior varsity baseball coach. Mr. Aronow graduated from Sherwood High School where he played baseball and football. After high school, Alec played football at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He coached baseball and football at Wheaton High School and football at Montgomery College.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position, he stated, “I am excited for the opportunity to coach baseball at PHS. It is a wonderful, proud community that I am honored to have a small part of being able to help with. Go Falcons!!”
Kenneweg named new boy’s volleyball coach
December 10, 2021
Athletic Specialist, Gina Grubb is excited to welcome Sarah Kenneweg as our new boy’s varsity volleyball coach. Ms. Kenneweg is a 2014 PHS graduate where she played four years on the varsity team for coach Fran Duvall. She was named Washington Post All-Met 1st Team, 1st Team All-County Montgomery Gazette, and holds multiple PHS volleyball records. She went on to play at the Division I level at Seton Hall and has been involved in coaching club teams for multiple years.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position, she stated, “I’m excited to firstly, spread the love and joy that comes with volleyball. Volleyball is a team-centered sport that does not get enough credit in the work of boys’ athletics. I am excited about bringing knowledge about the game and fundamental skills that are beneficial to becoming a competitive team. I was a student-athlete at PHS and looking forward to coming back to my alma mater to share the love I have for volleyball.”
Davis named varsity baseball coach
December 9, 2021
PHS Athletics is excited to welcome Scott Davis as our new Varsity Baseball Coach. Mr. Davis brings experience and knowledge to continue the success of the program, and to help our student-athletes grow and improve on and off the field.
Mr. Davis played baseball at Good Counsel High School and continued his career at Clemson University. He teaches mathematics at John Poole Middle School and has many years of baseball coaching experience.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position, he stated, “I am looking forward to continuing Coach Orsini’s legacy at PHS, working with the community to promote strong student-athletes here in Poolesville, and using my experiences as a player and coach to help develop young players into champions on and off the field.”
Hunsicker-Blair named Coach of the Year
December 8, 2021
Golf coach Michelle Hunsicker-Blair has been selected as the 2020-2021 Maryland Boys Golf Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Blair was nominated by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). This honor was based on coaching performance, lifetime community involvement, school involvement, and a philosophy of coaching.
In 2021, Blair led PHS to a 17-0 MCPS Division record, the District Class 2A/1A title, and the Class 2A/1A state championship.
Boys take team, Dastrup earns individual state titles
November 13, 2021
After taking region titles last week, the Falcon boys and sophomore Daisy Dastrup took the top spots at the Class 2A Cross Country State Championships at Hereford.
The boys easily distanced the field, 39-102 over second-place Liberty, with four Falcons placing in the top 10 including Billie Beane (3rd place), Caleb Dastrup (5th), Dylan Derewonko (7th), and Aaron Longbrake (10th) for their first state crown since 1966.
Dastrup’s first-place time of 19:40.1 was six seconds better than Hereford’s Estelle Snider, followed by a tenacious Anna Bodmer (11th), Caroline Simmons (22nd), and Ava Wagner (27th) for the girls who finished third as a team.
The Falcons also picked up the state Sportsmanship Award.
Dastrup earns 2A West title; boys take team championship
November 4, 2021
Sophomore Daisy Dastrup took the top spot with a time of 20:11.72 at today’s Class 2A West Cross Country regional at Liberty High School. Junior Anna Bodmer finished fourth. The girls finished fourth as a team.
For the boys, junior Caleb Dastrup finished third (17:11.67) along with Billie Beane (fifth place), Dylan Derewonko (sixth place), and Aaron Longbrake (8th place) leading to Falcons to a 38-106 win over second-place Liberty.
Both boys and girls teams move on to the Maryland state championships on November 13.
Golfers win individual and team state titles
October 27, 2021
The Falcon golf team of sophomore Olivia Cong, freshman Noah Naing, and seniors Charlie Helfert and Robert Xu captured the Maryland Class 2A/1A state team title shooting a final round 339 and a two-day total of 669, 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Boonsboro. Individually,
Cong picked up the girl’s individual title finishing at 144 – four strokes better than La Plata’s Shelby Herbert, while Falcon sophomore Kinley Stokes finished fifth overall at 168.
PHS mourns the passing of Fred Swick
July 1, 2021
Fred Allen Swick, a beloved PHS teacher, coach, and athletic director passed away at the age of 70 on June 29, 2021, after a courageous seven-year battle with multiple myeloma.
In 1983, he became the head boy’s basketball coach at PHS. By the time he accepted the Athletic Director position in 2006, he was already the all-time winningest coach in both boy’s and girl’s basketball history at the school. He had similar success coaching baseball for 13 years, football for ten years, and softball for four years.
After retiring as the school’s Athletic Director, Fred returned to coaching in 2010. His girl’s basketball teams went 20-4 in 2015-16, 21-4 in 2016-17, 27-0 in 2017-18, 19-5 in 2018-19, and 20-5 in 2019-20. His undefeated team in 2017-18 would give him and Poolesville High School a long-awaited State Championship with a 63-23 win over Queen Anne.
Thanks, Fred for all you did, not just for PHS, but the entire Poolesville community. You will be missed.
New coaches named for the 2021-2022 season
June 23, 2021
PHS Athletics is excited to welcome Kamron Azizi as the new boy’s varsity soccer coach, Debi Haba as the new JV field hockey coach, Steven Lostoski as the girl’s varsity volleyball coach, Christian Hellwig, the boy’s JV soccer coach, and Sophia Giarratano as varsity cheerleading coach.
Mr. Azizi is a 2008 graduate of Poolesville High School where he was in the global ecology program, as well as a member of the Falcons 2005 region champion and 2007 Maryland state finalist teams.
Azizi began his coaching career over eight years ago and is a USSF-licensed grassroots coach working towards his USSF-D license. His experience includes local soccer academies, personal and team skills training, as well as the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association during his time at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
When asked to say a few words about being hired for this position he stated, “I am excited for my return to PHS to share my passion for the game with the next generation of student-athletes and continue the success of the boy’s varsity soccer program.”
Ms. Haba is a graduate of Rockville High School and the University of Maryland where she played field hockey. She has worked in law enforcement for over 30 years and is now a certified NASM trainer and nutrition coach. She loves dogs, Crossfit, everything health and fitness, muscle cars, and friends and family. She also volunteers with the french bulldog, Spider, at the National Therapy Dog Association.
When asked to say a few words about being hired, she stated, “I am super excited to become a part of the PHS family!”
Mr. Lostoski graduated from Churchill High School. He has played volleyball for over 30 years and is certified through USA Volleyball. He has spent the past three years coaching club volleyball with Montgomery Village Sports Association (MVSA). Two of Steve’s children and three nieces/nephews graduated from PHS, so he is familiar with the school.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position he stated, “I have always been impressed with the positive attitude Poolesville students bring to everything they do and the support they receive from the community. I look forward to being a part of the Falcon community and doing my best to make the volleyball program as successful as possible.”
Christian Hellwig is our new JV soccer coach. Mr. Hellwig is a 2009 PHS graduate where he participated in track and field and soccer all four years. He was a member of the 2007 state finalist soccer team. After high school, Christian played soccer at Shepherd University while studying Parks and Recreation with Facilities Management.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position he stated, “I am extremely excited to be joining the Poolesville Falcons Athletics program again after so many years.”
Sophia Giarratano is our new varsity cheerleading coach. Mrs. Giarratano is a 2005 graduate of Poolesville High School. She cheered for Poolesville Athletic Association (PAA) and PHS all four years. She is a licensed cosmetologist and works as a hairstylist in Poolesville and currently resides in Beallsville with her husband, Chris, and their two dogs.
When asked to say a few words about getting hired for this position she stated, “I cannot wait to get back to coaching so I can continue to help the student-athletes achieve their goals.”
