Ashburn, Va. — As Briar Woods High School junior defender Katie Bjornsen lined up twelve yards from the goal for a second half penalty kick, the captain had one thought on her mind: trust her gut. That’s exactly what she did, finding the bottom of the left corner of the net. The 53’ goal gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead from which they’d never look back en route to a win over Potomac Falls High School in the Potomac District championship game on May 25 in Ashburn. [adrotate banner=”19″] “I picked my spot and trusted my gut,” Bjornsen said. “I…
Author: Owen Gotimer
Owen Gotimer
Owen Gotimer is an award-winning journalist and small business owner from Leesburg, Virginia. After graduating from Heritage High School, Owen spent his college years at Syracuse University, where he studied broadcast and digital journalism in the renowned Newhouse School of Public Communications, before earning a Masters degree in social media, culture, and society from the University of Westminster. Owen owns OG Media, a full-service marketing partner specializing in website design & development, content creation, and graphic design & print. Additionally, Owen is the president of of the Jeffrey C. Fowler Memorial Scholarship.
Purcellville, Va. — Tuscarora High School senior Emma Wolcott has made a commitment to continue her running career at the University of Virginia beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year. Wolcott will run distance events for both the cross country and track teams. “It feels great to be committed, and I’m so excited to be going to UVA,” the 5-foot-3 Wolcott said. “I’m ready to make the most of college.” [adrotate banner=”19″] In college, Wolcott will join the Division I Cavaliers cross country team, which finished seventh in the NCAA Southeast Regional in 2017. Since taking over the program in 2012,…
Purcellville, Va. — Loudoun Valley High School junior Sean Conway has made an early verbal commitment to continue his swimming career at the University of Virginia beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year. “It feels a little strange, but it’s great to have committed this early. It frees up time and energy during the night, not having to worry about calls or upcoming visits,” the 6-foot-6 Conway said. “There was a lot of stress involved in the recruiting process, so having that finished really helps me out as well. The extra time I have still goes into training and catching up…
Ashburn, Va. — Stone Bridge High School senior Brooke Matthias has made a commitment to continue her swimming career at Pennsylvania State University starting in the 2018-2019 school year. “The recruiting process was fun, and I was fortunate to have a lot of great options. It was just very hard figuring out which school would be the best fit for me,” the 5-foot-5 Matthias said. “Once I committed last August, I could just focus on swimming and school.” [adrotate banner=”18″] And focus she did. To cap off her 2018 season, Matthias placed second in both the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard…
Sterling, Va. — In order to be the best, you have to train with the best, and that’s just what Potomac Falls High School freshman Janika Perezous plans to do. Perezous has been selected to participate at USA Swimming’s National Diversity Select Camp in Colorado Springs from May 5-8. [adrotate banner=”18″] “The part of camp I am most excited about is meeting new people from around the country,” Perezous said. “Some of the attendees are from the same region as me, while others are from far away. It’s pretty cool that a bunch of people with not much in common…
Loudoun County, Va. — As high school basketball wraps up in Loudoun County, a few local teams stood out among the crowd this winter. In a two-district county, we wanted a way to put things into perspective. Enter: the LoCo Top 5. Of course, if you’re into hard numbers the full Potomac District and Dulles District standings are available here. [adrotate banner=”16″] 1. Freedom (13-1, 27-4) Wins in the Potomac District and VHSL Region 5C tournament championships proved just how good Freedom really was. Despite falling in a VHSL 5A State semifinal to Edison – who Freedom previously beat in…