Woodbridge’s Josh Mancia, a Virginia wrestling state champion, wanted to know how he stacked up on a higher level, and last weekend’s Beast of the East tournament in Newark, Del., gave him an opportunity to find out. After falling to the No. 1 seed in the 285-pound weight class, the seventh-seeded Mancia faced the Northeast region’s No. 2 seed, Noah Tustin of Waynesburg (Pa.).
Mancia beat Tustin, 4-1, and then won another match to claim third place, in the process becoming the first wrestler in school history to achieve all-American status — which is granted to finishers in the top eight of national-level tournaments.
“It’s my passion now,” Mancia said of wrestling. “It was good to see how far someone can go with the sport.”
“He set the bar for the rest of our program,” Coach Ty Knepp said.
Most of the Vikings were at the Panther Holiday Classic in Cresson, Pa., last weekend, including 189-pounder Jadon Stephens. When Mancia picked up his phone and saw a flurry of congratulatory messages, one of the first responses he sent was to Stephens.
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“We have more national tournaments in the future, and I want you to be on this podium with me,” Mancia told Stephens. “Let’s make it a team thing next time, not a one kid thing.”
— Shane Connuck
Swimming
Jamie Grimes, the coach at Walter Johnson, spoke of high hopes and a rejuvenated squad this week — as many coaches do at the dawn of the season. He also observed a team that cheered especially loudly during the first two meets of the season, both of which the Wildcats won.
That only seemed natural, given that his athletes didn’t have anything that resembled a normal 2020-21 season. Virtual meetings with sports psychologists, nutritionists and mental health experts were the closest the students got to competing last year.
“They missed being around each other,” Grimes said. “The upperclassmen have stepped into the role of leading the team, leading the cheers. ... The kids have really missed that. They need that kind of relationship building.”
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But in the past week, as the D.C. area’s coronavirus cases have surged, teams are preparing for their excitement to be short-lived. In the past week, the Wildcats and other Montgomery County schools announced they would suspend athletics from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.
Other leagues are still determining the next steps. Graham Westerberg, who recently stepped down as the coach at Holton-Arms to become its athletic director, said mandates in the Independent School League come from the ADs, who will meet again this week to assess protocols.
— Spencer Nusbaum
Indoor track
After a sweep of the D.C. State Athletic Association outdoor track championships in the spring, St. John’s is hoping to maintain momentum, and that means maintaining a rigorous practice schedule during the holiday break.
“So to make it a little bit fun, we sometimes have some Christmas music on our runs,” junior Sophie Mattheus said. “We’ve been trying to keep it consistent so that at the end of Christmas break we’re still at the top of our game.”
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Mattheus, who runs the 800 and 1,600 meters, said she has been practicing up to six times per week in preparation for a competitive indoor season.
The Cadets also took last year’s indoor track titles, and Mattheus credits their success in part to maintaining positive mental health at home. For Mattheus, that means keeping up with ballet, going on walks with her dog and practicing meditation. And when it comes down to a close 800-meter sprint, that little bit of extra calm before the race can make a difference.
“The biggest struggle would probably be having to be mentally tough, just pushing through those moments that you don’t feel so great at the end of a run,” Mattheus said. “… You’re working really hard to find balance to that, where you can take time out and just be a little bit more still.”
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The Cadets’ next scheduled meet is Dec. 30 at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex.
— Aaron Credeur
Hockey
Growing up, Lucy Thiessen always wanted to play hockey like her older brother, Max. She learned to skate at 2 and picked up a stick for the first time a year later. Despite a four-year age difference, they played for the Washington Little Caps, an elite club, at the same time.
They are now in very different situations — Max is a freshman at Amherst College, and Lucy is in her first full season of high school girls’ hockey — but the similarities endure for the defensemen. Wearing No. 10 — Max’s new number, too — Lucy last week helped Georgetown Visitation to its first win against Stone Ridge in six years, an 11-9 victory.
“We’re glad that she’s here; she’s definitely a dominant player,” Visitation Coach Conrad Rehill said. “We’ve got another two years hopefully with her, so it’s good.”
The game was high-scoring, but Thiessen did her part to offset Stone Ridge star Katherine Khramtsov. The Princeton commit scored two of her seven goals while Thiessen was in the penalty box. But Thiessen, in her first shift back, neutralized the damage by scoring two goals of her own. She finished with five goals and an assist.
— Hayley Salvatore
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