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All-Met High School Sports Show
With Jon DeNunzio
Washington Post High School Sports Editor
Tuesday, April 8, 2003; 7 p.m. ET
The Washington Post publishes the Winter All-Met section of the 2003 school year in Wednesday's paper. The section honors the top high school athletes in basketball, indoor track and field, ice hockey, swimming and diving, wrestling and volleyball.
Washington Post High School Sports Editor Jon DeNunzio was online to give a preview of The Post's All-Met section and take questions and comments on high school sports. DeNunzio and his staff will discuss the selection process works, what kind of athletes generally make All-Met and how the athletes are honored.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Jon DeNunzio : Hello and welcome to the chat. The All-Met section publishes tomorrow (it'll be section H in your Post), but I'll give you a sneak preview tonight by releasing the names of athletes who made first team. I'll also be glad to talk about any high school sports-related questions you might have ...
Ok, let's get to it ...
Alexandria, Va.:
Please explain the All Met selection process.
Do private school athletes have the same chance of being honored as All Met as public school athletes?
Thank you.
Jon DeNunzio : Here's how the process works: we solicit nominations from the coaches at the more than 250 schools we cover in the greater D.C. area. Those coaches are asked to nominate their own players and players from other teams (and we tell coaches the nominations that mention players from other teams are the ones we take most seriously).
For most of the teams, the reporter who has covered that sport throughout the season selects the team, based on the nominations, his or her observations and conversations with coaches. For the football and basketball teams, we have so many reporters covering the sport that we convene a meeting to discuss the picks. The selections are a representation of the opinions expressed there, adding in coaches' nominatiopns/comments, etc.
Private school athletes have the same chance to make All-Met as public school athletes. We try to be pretty even-handed ...
Jon DeNunzio : It's time to release a team or two ... let's start with basketball:
GIRLS
Coach Marvin Vann, Gwynn Park
Koffie Harrison, Walkersville
Alisha Battle, Fairmont Heights
Alena Koshansky, Chantilly
Alis Freeman, Churchill
Kyle DeHaven, Herndon
Wanisha Smith, Riverdale Baptist
Kalika France, Bishop McNamara
Antelia Parrish, Bishop McNamara
Denesha Kenion, Oxon Hill
Janielle Dodds, West Springfield
BOYS
Coach Wendell Byrd, South Lakes
Lorenzo Miles, Gonzaga
Tre Kelley, Dunbar
Trevan Jackson, Friendly
Folarin Campbell, Springbrook
Sheray Thomas, Riverdale Baptist
Jerome Habel, Whitman
Linas Kleiza, Montrose Christian
Sam Young, Friendly
Ricky Lucas, Herndon
T.J. Carter, Chopticon
Vienna, Va.:
Who does the actual selecting of the teams? Is it area coaches, Post staffers, or you exclusively?
Jon DeNunzio : Sorry -- got pulled away from my desk. I'm back now ...
I think I answered this question above. The Post staff (reporters and editors) does the selecting.
Centreville, Va.:
How many All-Met picks actually receive scholarships to play sports at the collegiate level?
Jon DeNunzio : We've never done the math on that, actually. Good question. There are many who do ... but not every one. If I had to put a rough number on this, I'd say "better than 50 percent." Maybe better than 60.
Jon DeNunzio : Here's the wrestling and volleyball teams:
WRESTLING
Coach Alex Leiderman, Bullis; Danny April, Churchill; Mark Nakasone, Centennial; Brandon Shapiro, Churchill; Dave Nakasone, Centennial.
Mike Rowe, DeMatha; Derek McDermott, McDonough; Charles Jenkins, Fauquier; Ed Asbill, Walkersville; Mark Tsikerdonas, Frederick.
Chris Goings, Westfield; Adam Fassnacht, Robinson; Sam Alveranga, Edison; Scott Fisher, Colonial Forge; Gary Stewart, DeMatha.
Rudy Rueda, DeMatha; Bode Ogunwole, Georgetown Prep; Greg Cohen, Damascus;
Eric Zakrzewski, Herndon; Randy Robinson, Lackey; Dan Scanlan, Loudoun County; Eli Black, Chopticon; Scott Church, Richard Montgomery; Chad Nkang, Northwestern; Sonny Nucci, Bethesda-Chevy Chase; Cam Watkins, DeMatha.
VOLLEYBALL
Coach Matt Poteet, Patuxent; Hannah Porterfield, O’Connell; Junel Jeffries, Northern; Tara Stradling, Glenelg; Lacey White, Westfield; Christi Moot, Centreville.
Erin Maldo, Thomas Johnson; Marisa Gross, Forest Park; Nana Meriwether, Sidwell Friends.
Fort Washington:
Generally what is the criteria used in the selection of the All Met coach of the year?
Is it wins and losses, difficulty of schedule or conference affiliation?
Jon DeNunzio : Good question. We're looking for a coach who has done a great job motivating kids and helping them succeed. Getting the most out of the available talent is another way to put it. Most every coach who spends time helping young athletes should be commended, so it's always hard to pick just one per sport.
That reminds me ... starting this year, we'll pick an annual "Coach of the Year," encompassing all sports. The award will be named after legendary DeMatha Coach Morgan Wootten, who will also be the first recipient ...
Gaithersburg, Md.:
1. Do you and your staff actually see all of the players or do you simply rely on coaches recommendations.
2. How important are stats in your evaluation.
Jon DeNunzio : We see a lot of players, but when you cover 250-plus high schools, you'd need a pretty big staff to see every candidate.
Stats are important, but they don't mean everything. They're a tool, just like a coach's recommendation. We try to use our tools well.
Farifax, Va.:
Do you look at each region mvps when making selections -- lets say in volleyball -- or is it more how far a team went?
Jon DeNunzio : We do look at the all-district, all-region and all-state teams coaches vote on ... but again, these are tools. They are part of the decision-making mix.
A team's success does factor in, too ... I like to say that All-Met athletes exhibit a superior mix of talent and acheivement. "Acheivement" can be defined, in part, as how a player helps a team win ...
Jon DeNunzio : More teams to release:
BOYS INDOOR TRACK
Coach Carl Rose, C.H. Flowers; Anthony Wiseman, DeMatha; Darryl Young, C.H. Flowers; Craig Gallimore, Lake Braddock; Awit Yohannes, Magruder.
Marco Aguilar, Wilson; Robert Duru, Suitland; Derrick Brinkley, Carroll; Jeff Day, West Springfield; Steve Huntzinger, Robinson; Keith Bechtol, Jefferson.
Not pictured: Jerome Miller, Colonial Forge, and Joe Robinson, Potomac (Va.).
GIRLS INDOOR TRACK
Toni Aluko, Paint Branch; Andria Smallwood, Ballou; Sirdonea Davis, Largo; Huma Husain, West Springfield; Sarah Bowman, Fauquier.
Elizabeth Jackson, Suitland; Tiandra Ponteen, Eleanor Roosevelt; Crystal Anyanwu, Eleanor Roosevelt; Lindsay Grigoriev, Atholton; Coach Larry Colbert, Eleanor Roosevelt; Tiffany Evans, Gar-Field; Tiffany Nesfield, C.H. Flowers; Afua Amponsah, Gar-Field.
ICE HOCKEY
Coach Ray Donohue, Sherwood; Cathy Petroski, O’Connelll; Michael Gardner, Sherwood; Matt Fairchild, Stone Bridge; Clayton Adams, St. Albans.
Bobby Plant, DeMatha; Colin Brumsted, Atholton; Kyle Keller, Georgetown Prep; Peter Lamade, Landon.
Stevensville, Md.:
For Ice Hockey do you consider whether the player was playing in Tier I or Tier II?
Jon DeNunzio : Level of competition is definitely a factor in all the All-Met picks. But that doesn't mean you can't find a great player playing in a league/division that is not the best ...
Burke, Va.:
Are there All-Met selection for women's gymnastics for 2003?
Jon DeNunzio : We'll have an All-Met gymnastics team in the spring section ... should publish on May 28. That allows us to include Maryland girls who compete in the spring.
Gaithersburg, Md:
If an individual leads their team to championship, does this help their chances in anyway? I was wondering about Poolesville girls indoor track team and the fact that the won the meet by the largest margin ever in state history. Thanks
Jon DeNunzio : As I said before, leading your team to victory helps. In track, however, I'd say it counts less. Why? Well, because the performance of track and field athletes is quantified in their times or distances. Running the 55-meter hurdles in 7.9 seconds pretty much means the same thing no matter what league you did it in. Scoring 20 points per game in basketball doesn't translate the same way.
So, since it's easier to pinpoint who had the best year in track and field, we don't have to look to see how they helped their team to get an idea of their talent. Does that make sense?
Seat Pleasant, Md.:
I have to say how impressed I am by the McNamara girl's basketball team. Here you have a school that went coed only a few years ago and is now distinguishing itself in girls athletics, finishing number 1 this year. How would you account for this remarkable success story?
Jon DeNunzio : I agree that they had an amazing year. You have to give them credit for attracting some of the best talent in the area (private schools like McNamara can recruit, and some do so quite well), and then taking that talent and winning a lot of games ... not sure the transition from all-boys school to coed held them back much. Kids today don't know/rememeber that it was an all-boys school at one point ...
Fairfax, Va.:
How are women's basketball players chosen for all-met? Is it based on points put on the board or athletic ability?
Jon DeNunzio : Hmmm ... I'd say neither, and both. We're looking for a talented player who performed well, put up good numbers and helped her team win. It all factors in ...
Jon DeNunzio : The last teams:
BOYS SWIMMING
Coach Tracey Blaine, Robinson; Kenny Jenkins, Walter Johnson; Brett MacLennan, Gar-Field; Scott Hudson, Lake Braddock.
Mike Ott, Oakton; Chris Dufek, Landon; Chris Soniak, Bishop Ireton; Chris Meleski, South Lakes; Ryan McCabe, Gonzaga; Kevin Mukri, DeMatha; Chris Tappis, Sherwood
GIRLS SWIMMING
Coach Dave Crocker, Good Counsel; Liz Kemp, Good Counsel; Kate Ziegler, O’Connell; Yeng Lan Beller, Westfield; Jenny Basel, Jefferson; Colleen Law, Holton-Arms.
Emily Verdin, Jefferson; Michelle DeMond, Churchill; Mary Yarrison, Lee; LeeAnn Chang, Whitman; Kassy Kugler, Sherwood.
Arlington, Va.:
How much hate mail do you get after the All-Met is published? I can only imagine there is a lot of angry parents/teachers/coaches/friends no matter who you pick.
Jon DeNunzio : Ahh, this is too true. I don't get that much hate mail/angry calls/upset emailers, but there are some. I often tell them that there are a LOT of really great high school athletes in the Washington area, so the competition is stiffer than many people realize.
I also admit we miss some sometimes. There have been kids from this area who have gone on to college and pro stardom who didn't make All-Met. It's a subjective process, and imperfect.
Washington, D.C.:
This is about wrestling -- why didn't Sidwell Friends seniors Reid Ravin and Gabe Cohen get first team All-Met? Another wrestler took 2nd at St. Alban's and 2nd at Preps yet got first team. They both won St. Albans and took 2nd at Preps.
Jon DeNunzio : It's a tough call, and both those guys made second team. I have explained a lot about criteria tonight, so that stands for the wrestling selections.
Of course, making second team means that, in our opinion, they were two of the top 50 wrestlers in the Washington, D.C. area this year. You could reasonable estimate that 220 area schools have wrestling programs, and at 14 starters per team, that's more than 3,000 wrestlers. Ravin and Cohen were in the top 1.6 percent ...
Falls Church, Va.:
Two part question: How do you expect The Bullis School (Potomac, Md.) varsity basketball team to do next year IF Coach Hibbs leaves to accept the DeMatha job?
How will they do if he stays?
Jon DeNunzio : I think Bullis will do well with or without Coach Hibbs, but obviously he has brought a lot to the program. Their top scorer this year was Travis Lay, who I think is a junior. So that will help keep them winning.
Falls Church, Va.:
Who will be the top seniors in the WMAC and IAC boys basketball leagues to watch next year? That is, top juniors this year?
Jon DeNunzio : Hmmm ... in the WCAC (I assume that's the league you're talking about--we don't cover a "WMAC"), you have to like O'Connell's Brian Johnson. In the IAC (I'm asking ace reporter Tarik El-Bashir for help here) try Travis Lay (Bullis), Roy Hibbert and Davis Nwankwo (G'town Prep).
Jon DeNunzio : Ok folks, looks like it's time to wrap up. Thanks for the good questions!
Olney, Md.:
As you said earlier you have many reporters covering different sports. What Indoor Track meets are on the list to cover? Are only State meets looked at? What about high caliber Invitationals?
Jon DeNunzio : Bonus answers!
We covered several regular season meets as well as the states, and all of that gets considered. Winning in a state meet means more--it's like winning a gold in the Olympics vs. winning a lower-profile meet some other year ...
Washington, D.C.:
Are these all the players who made All Met or is this just some of them?
Jon DeNunzio : These are all the players who made first-team All-Met. Second team and honorable mention selections will be available in the paper tomorrow (and online in our sports pages) ...
Jon DeNunzio : I think that should really wrap it up now. Thanks again!
washingtonpost.com:
Washington Post Winter All-Met 2002-03 section
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