On the women’s soccer team, junior Nicole Wojcik had an incredible season this year scoring hat tricks in two separate games as a defender and midfielder. The women, however, lost to Spalding  0-2 in their semi-final game for the fourth consecutive year.

The men’s soccer team started off their season 6-0-1, but quickly fell behind after a 10 game losing streak. The season ended completely when Gilman dashed their hopes of continuing further into the playoffs, beating them 1-0.

The football team also had a winning season. The Homecoming football game against St. Mary’s was the most intense game of the season, going into one dramatic period of overtime. The men are currently heading into the playoffs on Nov. 11 against the team that previously blew them away, Annapolis Area Christian.

The field hockey season unfortunately ended earlier this year because of the team’s 2-0 loss to Glen Elg in the playoffs. The team, while focusing on playing field hockey, also made their season worthwhile by raising money for cancer research.

The cross country teams continues to fly under the radar of the attention to sports, despite exceptional performances from several of the runners. Senior Holly Cook finished first in the ‘A’ Conference and second all-around in the IAAM championship meet. Overall, the women’s team finished fourth, in front of McDonough, their self-proclaimed rival. The men made JC history by placing third in their championship race.

After a shortened season, the women’s tennis team still managed to pull out a winning 3-1-1 season. The loss of the head coach affected the team marginally, but new coach Ed Miller helped the women to make the most out of their season, with one singles player and three doubles teams reaching the semifinals.

Women’s volleyball joined the ranks of McDonogh and Mount de Sales by winning their third consecutive IAAM ‘B’ conference title (shocker). The team dominated in their season ending up with a 13-4 record.

Men’s volleyball was not as successful. Winning on game in the season, the team ended up far from a conference title. However, the men do not seem to take the season too personally. Watching the men play, it is clear that they have fun playing the game with Julian Maliszewski as the coach (see page 14 of issue 1 from Oct. 2011). There is always next year!

Miranda Ripken is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com

This was a typical day for Horn, who decided to be on the varsity swim team and indoor track and field during the winter season.

“I found out I was allowed to do both [sports] one day freshman year when I jokingly asked Mr. Torres if I could run at the [track] meets and swim on the team, and he said I could. After a while of trying to decide which sport I wanted to do, I decided to do both,” Horn said.

The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) permits boys to participate in two sports in the same season. According to Athletic Director Larry Dukes, boys at JC are only allowed to do so if the two coaches agree and work out a practice schedule with the player.

“In many instances, this started and continues with the football team borrowing a soccer player for a kicker. Most sports would not allow an athlete to participate in two [sports] because of the training schedule and need to be at practice. This is especially true with team sports,” Dukes said.

The Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM), however, doesn’t permit girls to participate in two sports in the same season. The IAAM is a separate organization from the MIAA, but both are private school conferences.

Girls are not allowed to participate in two sports at once because all girls are held to the rules of the IAAM, whereas the boys can play because they follow the rules of the MIAA.

“In my six years as the Executive Director of the IAAM, this topic, policy has never been challenged,” IAAM Executive Director Susan Thompson said.

Junior Ally Kozel participates in varsity indoor track during the winter season, but does varsity lacrosse in the spring. Kozel says she would like to be able to do both outdoor track and lacrosse in the spring.

“I want to be a contribution to both the lacrosse team and the track team. I love indoor track and I would love to run outdoor as well, but I like lacrosse too much to give it up. I’m trying to play lacrosse in college so it wouldn’t make sense to give it up for outdoor track,” Kozel said.

“The thinking, when the organization [IAAM] was created 12 years ago, was to ensure that students were not over-extending themselves and able to provide full commitment to one sport, one team per season,” Thompson said.

At JC, track and field or cross country are often sports that get doubled up on.

“If a kid is doing two sports at once, they need to know what they’re doing in both,” track and field and cross country coach Rob Torres said. “The throwers need to get the technique down, so guys who played rugby get a good cardio workout during rugby days, then I want them working technique when they’re with track.”

Torres participated in both swimming and indoor track and field at the same time while he was in high school.

“I think it is unfair that boys are allowed to play two sports and girls are not. There should be one rule for everyone,” Kozel said.

Emily Clarke is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.

The Miami Heat was the second seed in the Eastern Conference, behind the Chicago Bulls and ahead of the Boston Celtics. The Heat came to prominence this summer when they signed superstars LeBron James and Chris Bosh, as well as resigning star shooting guard Dwayne Wade. The combination of these three players took a while to unite, but eventually found their stride at the right time, finishing the regular season at 58-24.

The Dallas Mavericks were much more under the radar for the entire season. The Mavericks are a cast of support characters, all designed to play a team-oriented style revolving around talismanic power forward Dirk Nowitzki. They came into the playoffs as the third seed, with a record of 57-25.

The Heat beat the Philadelphia 76er’s in the first round, Boston Celtics in the second round, and the Chicago Bulls in the Conference Finals, all by a score of 4-1. They have yet to lose a game at home in the playoffs.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, took six games to top the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round. They then proceeded to sweep the defending champion LA Lakers. This sweep showed the Mavericks ability to top high-caliber teams reliant on a few players. In the Conference Finals, the Mavericks contained Oklahoma City Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook en route to a five game thrashing.

The Mavericks swept the season series between the two teams. They have not played since December 20, though, and the Heat significantly improved as a team since then.

This series is a matchup between two different kinds of teams. The Heat is based on individual performances, while the Mavericks were second in the league in assists and work as a team. There is no doubt that Miami has a much more talented starting five, but the Mavericks’ bench is much stronger, with players such as J.J. Barea and Peja Stojakovic providing significant contributions to the team.

This series will come down to the offense of Miami versus the defense of Dallas. The Heat has three dynamic scorers in Chris Bosh, Wade, and James. It is impossible to stop all three options, but if Dallas can contain two, they will be halfway to the win. The Mavericks work well as a team defense, but are not designed to shut down three stars.

Dallas has been proving people wrong all post-season long, but it’s expected that Miami’s star power will overwhelm Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki in six.

Henry Shepard is a reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com

Now is one of the few times of the year when all sports are relevant. Baseball is entering its second month, where the true contenders are shown. Basketball and hockey are in the midst of their playoffs, while the NFL Draft has just passed, leaving every fan wondering what will be and what could have been.

The Orioles have begun to rebound following their eight game losing skid, and came out of the month of April just below .500, 12-13. Considering the aforementioned losing skid, that isn’t too bad. Zach Britton has proven himself to be the great player that many people expected him to be. The hitting is getting back on track, and the Orioles as a whole have been somewhat impressive compared to previous seasons.

In the NHL, the Capitals flew into the second round with a five game romp over the New York Rangers.  Second year goal tender Michael Neuvirth has played far beyond his years, and led all major goalkeeping statistics in the first round.

Unfortunately, the Caps have suffered a letdown on a massive scale, and are trailing divisional rivals Tampa Bay in the Conference Semifinals, 3-0. The stars will have to shine if they want their coach back next year. There is no way Bruce Boudreau will survive the offseason if the Caps lose in the second round again.

While the NBA is not too high on my list of sports to watch, the playoffs do bring one thing to basketball: defense. During the regular season, I have never seen so little effort exerted on the defensive side of the court. But, in the playoffs, players elevate their defensive intensity, and the level of basketball is elevated as well.

Most importantly for most people, the NFL draft has come and gone amidst the drama of the lockout. The Ravens drafted cornerback Jimmy Smith in the first round, who is no doubt talented, but has a checkered past. This doesn’t bother me, considering the amount of players who are there to take Smith under their wing and lead him in the right direction. The Ravens also got local star Torrey Smith from Maryland, the big play receiver that the Ravens needed so badly last year. In the end, Ozzie Newsome led the Ravens to another impressive draft class.

On a local note, the spring sports teams have continued their impressive run. The men’s track team conquered the B conference with a variety of new school records. The men’s lacrosse team faces off against Archbishop Curley, while the girl’s lacrosse team lost to NDP, 16-15, to end their season.

In retrospect, it’s been a good sports season for all. Hopefully, JC will be able to continue their hot streak next year.

Henry Shepard is a reporter for ”The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com  

Move over Lebron James, because Derrick Rose is ESPN’s new golden boy.  ESPN has done everything but hand Rose the MVP award, while completely ignoring James.  James was ESPN’s most watched player last year, until he joined the Miami Heat.  The Heat was ESPN’s golden team until Rose stole the show.

Rose now gets at least one segment of coverage on every SportsCenter. That’s not to say that Rose isn’t a good player, but there is more than one player in the NBA.  ESPN needs a little more variety, other than just talking about what Rose is currently doing.

Cam Newton overrated by ESPN

ESPN’s other new favorite athlete is Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Cam Newton.  Newton is widely acknowledged by ESPN as the best thing to happen to football ever.  That is, until he makes it to the NFL and flops.

There is no doubting Newton’s record, besides a little speculation as to whether or not he took money to accept a scholarship to Auburn.  Newton won the BCS National Championship game at Auburn, which is impressive, but the offense surrounding him was excellent.  There is also the fact that National Championship-winning quarterbacks of the past have had poor records in the NFL.  Newton may break the curse, but when he goes to one of the worst teams in the league, he will most likely fail.

Millionaires vs. Billionaires: The battle of the NFL Lockout

Basically, the players think they aren’t being paid enough, while the owners think that they are being paid too much.  Both sides are refusing to compromise, while federal money is wasted to keep them talking to each other.  It is clear that both sides are in the wrong.

The players make millions of dollars a year to play a sport, but the owners are even worse.  They make billions of dollars off of player merchandise and ticket sales, but they are too selfish to send a few million more the players’ way.  It is a fight of greedy vs. greedier.  My prediction is that the players will cave in two weeks before the season starts.

Orioles Give Fans Reason to Believe

Orioles fans had a taste of victory this season when the team opened up with a 6-1 record.  Then, as usual, the real Orioles started playing again, leading to an eight-game losing streak.  The excitement from the beginning of the season is completely gone, and the Orioles have been up and down since.

It’s unfortunate that they are losing, because they are not a bad team.  If they ever figure out how to hit the ball away from the other team’s players, the Orioles’ hitters could do some serious damage.  The Orioles are currently 13-15, and I predict that they will stay around the .500 mark for the remainder of the season.

Karma Bites Tiger Back

Karma can be a real pain sometimes. Just ask Tiger Woods.

Most people don’t watch golf, but turning on ESPN will occasionally show the hosts talking about what’s wrong with Tiger.  He hasn’t won a major tournament since it was discovered that he was cheating on his wife.  Do you think the problem is his swing, or the swing his wife took at him when she found out?

Clearly, Tiger is getting a nice taste of karma, whether he fires his swinging coach or not.  Personally, I hope he never wins another tournament.  It just goes to show you that cheetahs never win.

Brian Reid is a reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com

For the unknowing bystander, this does not seem like that big of a deal. But, for a long period, the girl’s sports teams have been dominant. The women’s national championship in 2008 for the women’s lacrosse team confirmed this dominance, but this gap between the two sexes seems to be shrinking.

In baseball, JC topped previous MIAA favorites Calvert Hall and Gilman, who were ranked first and second in the metro at the time. The power hitting of seniors Brendan Butler, who is heading to Towson, and Maryland-bound KJ Hockaday has led the Patriots in the offense, with a combination of six home runs throughout the first four conference games.

University of North Carolina Asheville committed Trent Shaw and Chestnut Hill University committed Nick Naumann have also chipped into the hitting, while seniors Ryan Kirby and Dave McGee have led a solid pitching staff.

On the other hand, the traditionally strong women’s lacrosse team has struggled to build chemistry following the graduation of a few of their best players. In their second game of the season, they lost to perennial powerhouse McDonough, 23-12. This loss dropped them from third in the metro all the way down to ninth. The team will probably rebound as they usually do, but this season still has not gotten off to a great start like it usually does.

In an ideal world, JC would be dominant at all sports. But, unfortunately, consistency isn’t always present. Teams will dominate for a few years, and then fall back to the middle of the pack. Hopefully, the sports teams with success this year will continue, and the teams with off years will make a comeback.

It is always good to see something new, but more importantly men’s sports naturally get more attention, which could bring in more athletes and continue the cycle of good sports. Many potential students first look at sports, so this success could also help the school grow in size.

Henry Shepard is a reporter for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.

With only one game remaining in the regular season, the Maryland men’s basketball team is struggling to replace the scoring touch of Vasquez and the shooting ability of Eric Hayes. Freshmen Terrell Stoglin and Pe’Shon Howard are trying to fill the two guard positions, but their lack of experience has cost Maryland many close games this year.

At 7-8 in the ACC, Maryland will struggle to get in the NCAA Tournament. The ACC has only two ranked teams at this moment in Duke and North Carolina, decreasing chances for the “signature win” usually required to be invited to the Big Dance.

The only real chance Maryland has to get in the NCAA tournament is the ACC tournament, as well as the automatic bid that goes along with it. If Maryland is to have any chance at winning the tournament, the stellar playing of Stoglin must continue.

With Jordan Williams filling the headlines and drawing double teams often, this freshman from Tucson, Arizona has stepped up his game. Of the two freshman guards, Stoglin has matured more rapidly, and will probably be able to take over the shooting guard position next year.

Despite the struggles this season, Maryland is still a young team. Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker, and Dino Gregory are all role players who can be replaced with the solid underclassman that Maryland is bringing in. Former JC standout Nick Faust is sure to give Maryland a shooter which the Terrapins have needed this year. In the game against NC State, Maryland attempted only one three-pointer, and still won the game.

Even with all of the pieces in line, the key to Maryland’s game is still Jordan Williams. Many believe that he will forgo his final two years of eligibility and enter the NBA draft. Maryland fans can only hope that he decides to stay.

Henry Shepard is a reporter for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com

For some reason, winter sports are much more successful against the top competition than fall or spring sports. In the fall, only women’s volleyball was able to win a title. Last spring, only men’s lacrosse was able to win a title. But this winter, three teams have a chance to win championships, and women’s swimming already placed second at the IAAM ‘B’ Conference Championship.

The disparity between winter sports and the other two seasons are relatively consistent. Ever since Keith Watson became coach of the wrestling team, they have consistently climbed the MIAA ladder. Head basketball coach Tony Martin has led the men’s basketball team on a meteoric rise over the past five years. Mike Blizzard has taken the women’s basketball team from nothing two years ago to an IAAM Championship this year.

The common denominator between the three dominant winter sports is the coaches. Watson and Blizzard were brought from outside the school and have successfully brought their teams to life. Additionally, Martin was brought into the JC community from Spalding.

It’s hard to deny the impact coaches have on a team. Coaches like Mike Krzyzewski take different players each year to the top, while lower level coaches cannot take advantage of the talent afforded to them.

I’m not saying all the coaches from JC are bad. Quite the contrary, actually. Many of the coaches at JC have a passion for the game. But, after a prolonged spell of unsuccessful seasons, teams need a change in leadership. Often, a new coach provides new energy to the team. In the end, it’s all about finding the coach that is able to provide that energy.

Henry Shepard is a reporter for “The Patriot” and jcpatriot.com.

This is the first time that a losing team has made the playoffs in a 16-game season.  The only other time that this has happened was in 1982, when a players’ strike interrupted the season.  Sixteen teams made the playoffs that year, including two teams that were 4-5.

The 7-9 Seattle Seahawks made the NFC playoffs by winning their division, the NFC West.  According to NFL rules, the fourth seeded Seahawks will host the 5th seeded New Orleans Saints, a wildcard team.  The Saints’s record is 11-5, and they are the defending Super Bowl Champions.  The Saints are favored to win the game by ten and a half points.

In the teams’ only meeting this year, the Saints won a resounding 34-19 victory in New Orleans.  Now, they will travel to play in Seattle, a team that is not even .500. This poses the question, “Why are losing teams are allowed in the playoffs?”  Is it merely because every other team in their division was even worse?

Despite this, the Seahawks were able to pull off a 41-36 win.  The home crowd played a large factor in the game, forcing three false starts.  The crowd noise also caused Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees to call two timeouts.  If the game had been in New Orleans, the outcome probably would have been different.

Seattle took a playoff spot from the New York Giants, who were 10-6 overall.  The NFL needs to take the top six teams from each conference and place them in the playoffs.  This would be fairer to teams who do not make the playoffs because a losing team happened to be a division winner.

Also, most of this year’s wildcard teams are traveling to play a team with a worse record than them.  The only exception is the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, who have identical 10-6 records.  In week one, the wildcard Packers won the head-to-head meeting, 27-20 in Philadelphia.  The Packers won in the playoffs too, 21-16.

The Baltimore Ravens (12-4) had to travel to play the Kansas City Chiefs (10-6) because they didn’t win their division.  The Ravens destroyed the Chiefs, 30-7.  Too much emphasis is being placed on winning the division, rather than a team’s overall record.  Teams like the Ravens and Saints are wildcard teams just because another team in their division was a little bit better.

If the playoffs were organized by the teams’ record instead of basing it mainly on division victories, the NFL playoffs would be more enjoyable for teams and fans.  It is unfair for better teams to travel to another stadium to play in the playoffs.  It isn’t called a home field advantage for nothing.

Even if division winners still made the playoffs, the seeding should be organized by record.  Hopefully, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement will include changes to the seeding for the playoffs.

Money cannot buy you championships. Maybe a lot of regular season wins can, but not when it gets down to crunch time.

Every year, you see teams shell out millions of dollars looking for that magical formula of players, just to see those millions come up short.

In every sport without a salary cap, there are teams that spend unbelievable amounts of money, while others spend much less. The sport that exemplifies this disparity is baseball, especially the New York Yankees.

Easily the biggest name in the sport and maybe the world, the Yankees never fail to amaze me with their ability to spend money.

In 2010, their payroll was over 200 million dollars, with the average player making over eight million dollars a year. Year in and year out, they lead these categories throughout the MLB easily. It seems like every summer they shell out ridiculous amounts of money for starting pitchers.

In 2008, they spent more than 400 million dollars for the services of 1st baseman Mark Teixeira, and starting pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. This offseason, they’ll try to lure Cliff Lee away from Texas with a contract no one can match.

Even with all this spending, they still don’t win the World Series every year. True, they are the most winning franchise in the history of the MLB, but it is shocking they don’t win every year. In the ALCS this year, they lost to the Texas Rangers, whose team payroll is only 27 percent of the Yankees.

And people wonder why others love to see the Yankees lose.

What if Goliath beat David? That’s no fun. Watching the Yankees struggle is the only thing that is tolerable about baseball. Especially with the Orioles as the hometown team.

But this trend can be seen throughout the sporting world. For all those soccer fans out there, look at Manchester City. Ever since they were bought by Middle Eastern Oil Moguls, they spend millions during the transfer window, just to see their hopes of winning the league crown crushed by perennial powerhouses Chelsea and their cross town rivals, Manchester United.

After this summer, the NBA also has a team that shelled out the cash in order to make an all star team. The Miami Heat acquired LeBron James and Chris Bosh from Cleveland and Toronto, respectively. They also resigned Dwayne Wade, forming a trio of all stars designed to dethrone the LA Lakers.

If other sports have any bearing on basketball though, the Heat could struggle. In a team sport, chemistry is just as important as the quality of players. Three super stars who want the ball mean that something has to change in their heads, or the team will flop.  I hope they flop, just to prove that money isn’t everything in the world of sports

Henry Shepard can be reached for comment at hshepard@jcpatriot.com.