Plastered on the welcome sign outside AHS is the school’s motto: a tradition of excellence. The athletic side of this excellence has shone through over the past weeks, with the basketball team, wrestling team, indoor track team and swim and dive team all achieving success in their respective postseason events.
Arguably the most impressive feat was senior Karl Ziegler winning Patriot District Player of the Year for boys basketball. After missing the first four games of the season, Ziegler came back to lead the Atoms in scoring with 18.1 points per game.
“I lost a lot of jumping ability and speed with the injury, but I was able to pick that back up in the second half of the season,” Ziegler said. “[It felt good to win because] my work in the offseason really paid off for me. Coming into the season, winning player of the year wasn’t my goal. It was to win a district championship and hopefully a regional one as well.”
Ziegler narrowly won the award over fellow senior D’Angelo Boyce. Boyce averaged 18.0 points per game for the Atoms and was nominated to be a McDonald’s All-American; a prestigious honor for any high school basketball player.
“At the coach’s meeting, it was a tight call between him and D’Angelo,” Head Coach Anthony Harper said. “It came down to one or two votes but Karl is very deserving because he was really able to pick up where he left off last year. Especially in games down the stretch against Lake Braddock, South County and T.C. [Williams], his leadership really showed in games as far as rebounding and getting buckets for us.”
The postseason athletic success began, however, for the Atoms on Feb. 5 at the indoor track meet. Entering the meet, the boys team had high expectations for the competition. They did not disappoint, as they took home the Patriot District Championship for the second time in three years.
“It felt awesome winning districts,” senior Nathan Seeto said. “It really prepared us for what we’re up against come regionals in a couple weeks.”
Seeto, along with junior Ahmed Bile, sophomore Austin Chavez and senior Roland Andoh took home the district championship in the 4×400 meter relay. Bile also placed 1st in the mile run and the 1000m run. Senior Josh Jean-Jacques placed 1st in the high jump and the 55m dash and senior JP Jenkins won the district in the 300m dash and the 55m hurdles. Senior Joel Hoisington was the final district champion for the Atoms, earning the title in the shotput.
The success continued on Feb. 12 with the varsity wrestling team competing in the Northern Region Championships at Fairfax HS. As a team, the Atoms placed 4th, the team’s best finish in over five years. Individually, the Atoms will send four wrestlers to the state meet next week.
In the 125 lb weight class, junior Dane Harlowe placed 2nd in the region, while fellow junior John McCollom placed 2nd in the 189 lb weight class. Senior Jon Le took 3rd in the 112 lb division and junior Ali Ali Musa took 3rd in the 215 lb division. All four wrestlers are expected to make an impact at the state meet, as the Northern Region is often considered one of the best in the state.
“I’ll be ready for states,” Le said. “I’m aiming for a state title [so I need to be at my best].”
Finally, the swim and dive team competed in regionals from Feb. 1-5. Though the team did not qualify, many individuals were there representing AHS. Senior Kyle Tyrrell had the most success, qualifying for states in three events. He placed 2nd and set a school record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.91 seconds. He also placed 8th in the 100-yard butterfly and was the anchor of the 4x50yd freestyle relay team that narrowly qualified for states. Senior Ryan Keck and juniors Willie Labarca and Adam Wattenbarger filled out the state-qualifying relay team.
“The first night of regionals our relay came really close to the state cut time and we didn’t even all go our best times,” Keck said. “We came into the region finals focused and when we finished the race and saw the time board it was such a great feeling.”
Junior Patrick McCann was the final state-qualifier for the Atoms, as he placed 5th in the dive competition.
The Atoms hope to continue their success as all the teams progress deeper into the postseason. State wrestling finals will take place on Feb. 19 at Robinson HS, regional track will take place Feb. 19 at George Mason and state swim and dive will take place from Feb. 18-19 in Virginia Beach.
