Prep athletes shine in Commonwealth District

There was plenty of action on the hardwood for the Commonwealth District. Many local boys and girls hoops teams were in action over the weekend. However, there were also happenings in the pool. Here is a rundown of the latest big stories in high school athletics.

Boys Basketball
It was a busy weekend for a number of clubs, and it was a successful one for North Stafford. The Wolverines won two games in as many days to boost their record to 15-3 overall and 11-2 within the league. On Friday, T.J. Jones scored 28 points and was responsible for both of North Stafford’s three-pointers in a 62-50 triumph over Massaponax. Lyndon White was superb on the defensive end, blocking seven shots and collecting six steals. One day later, it was the Wolverines taking down an out-of-district foe – Woodbridge. Led again by Jones (16 points) and White (11 points), North Stafford was on the winning side of a much tighter contest, 50-47.

The Stafford Indians were unable to duplicate their cross-town rival’s feat. Visiting Riverbend on Friday evening resulted in a narrow 49-47 defeat – a game in which Tre’Von Walton and Elijah Brown each totaled 11 points. The Bears overcame a six-point deficit at halftime to edge the Indians by three. Gar-Field proved to be a much tougher opponent. The fourth-ranked team in Virginia pulled away in the second half to garner a 63-49 victory over Stafford. Jacolby Hawkins led the Indians with 15 points.

Friday saw Mountain View score 21 points in the final period to take down visiting Orange, 59-48, and give the Wildcats their ninth win in Commonwealth play to just three defeats. Mason Stutler had 13 points on the night – seven of which came in the fourth quarter. He also poured in three treys.

Girls Basketball
The closest and most exciting game over the weekend came courtesy of North Stafford and Massaponax. The Wolverines outscored the Panthers 24-10 in the fourth quarter to extend the contest to an overtime period. There, North Stafford had just enough to squeeze out a 54-43 win on the road and get them one game closer to the .500 mark in the Commonwealth (6-7). Meanwhile, Massaponax is now 7-6 in league play and 9-10 overall. The Wolverines were led by seven three-pointers Chelsea Terry’s 30 points.

It was a much easier time for Colonial Forge against Brooke Point. The Eagles were down 21-14 after one quarter, but that’s when things changed. They held the Black Hawks to just 21 points for the remainder of the match. In addition, Forge had 23 in the second quarter alone to take this one, 69-42. Nichole Collins had a game-best 21 points to help the district’s best club stay in the race.

Swimming
Mountain View and Riverbend matched up this weekend in the pool, and the bigger splash was created by the Wildcats, who won in both the boys and girls sides. Michael Sell and Michael Slattery started things off by leading Mountain View to victory in the 200-meter medley relay. From there on, the two would combine on five more event victories. Katie Sell was just as dominant. She won the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle, was part of the 200-meter freestyle relay team, and helped give Mountain View top prize in the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Brian Wright is a contributing writer for the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.