Catonsville and Arbutus area schools enjoy memorable moments during the 2021-22 sports season

The Catonsville-Arbutus Times looks back at some of the memorable moments in athletics in the southwest area of Baltimore County from the 2021-22 school year.

Catonsville football dominates Dulaney

Catonsville’s undefeated start to the football season was highlighted by a dominant 50-0 victory over Dulaney in the second game.

“I did not expect that at all,” said Catonsville coach Jaren Maybin, whose Comets started the season with three consecutive shutout victories.

Senior Jayvon Brown, playing in his first varsity season, returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown and the rout was on.

The defense, led by two interceptions from senior Josh Williams, held the Lions to 35 total yards from scrimmage.

“This senior class were freshmen when I first got here and we’ve come a long way, but we’ve got so much more to do,” Maybin said. “I’m excited for what this team can actually do and seeing us put up 50 points definitely created a lot more confidence in our guys and that’s all that we can hope for because a confident team is all that we can hope for.”

Lansdowne boys soccer rolls over Owings Mills

Eight different Lansdowne Vikings scored goals and senior Gustavo Izaguire led the way with a hat trick in the Vikings’ 10-0 rout of visiting Owings Mills

It was the first divisional foe for the Vikings (2-3), who were 1-3 against Division I opponents.

Lansdowne outshot the Eagles 44-4 and held them without a shot in the first half.

Izaguire had just missed a shot from in close before he scored on a breakaway, getting free following a precision pass down the middle from Ben Kolarek (one goal, two assists) with 26:25 left in the first half.

Lansdowne was eliminated by Dundalk in the regional playoffs in overtime.

Catonsville boys soccer continues unbeaten season

Catonsville junior Bryan Barrientos had a goal and assist in the second half to help the No. 3 ranked Comets (7-0-1) remain unbeaten with a 3-1 victory over visiting Franklin.

The score was tied at 1 when he flicked a pass to sophomore reserve Musa Kholti Yamana for the go-ahead goal with 19:35 left in the second half.

Exactly eight minutes later, Barrientos added an insurance goal off an assist from goalie Brian Ruppel after a long punt.

“Every time he punts the ball I’ve always been there,” Barrientos said.

Ruppel said it was his first assist in soccer as a goalie.

The Comets unbeaten season ended in their next game, a 4-2 loss to Perry Hall.

Western Tech football stuns Lansdowne in double overtime

Western Tech only had 23 players on its roster, with several playing both ways, but the Wolverines proved they were in shape as they outlasted host Lansdowne, 36-28, in double overtime.

On the first possession of the second overtime period, Western Tech’s Tino Mangwende scored on a 5-yard run and then ran in the two-point conversion.

“They believe in each other,” Western Tech coach Damon Williams said. “We had a slow start the first two games, but they came together. They’ve still got some work to do, but they are getting better.”

Shepard wins cross country championship

Catonsville’s Hallie Shepard won the Baltimore County girls cross country title in her first varsity season.

The junior played varsity soccer at Carver as a freshman and transferred to Catonsville and played varsity soccer as a sophomore before switching to cross country this season.

Her winning time of 18:30.1 was 20 seconds faster than her previous best.

“I’m just excited that it all happened,” Shepard said. “I never expect to win anything. I’ve been coming in second a lot. I just kind of knew the pace I wanted to be at today. I knew where I wanted to be so I just kind of passed people.”

Catonsville coach Sandra Gallagher-Mohler didn’t expect Shepard to shave that much time off her personal best.

“My guess today was 18:50,” she said. “Honestly, she is fierce.”

Catonsville boys win regional soccer title

Catonsville boys soccer defeated Perry Hall, 3-0, to win the Comets first regional championship since 2000 when the team lost in the state semifinals.

Catonsville (11-4-1) won the Class 4A North Section I regional title over the top-seeded Gators (10-4), who had defeated them 4-0 during the regular season.

Junior Noah Gregory scored a goal on an assist from senior Nick Sirasky off a corner kick. Senior goalie Brian Ruppel assisted junior Bryan Barrientos for the second goal and junior Haines Milnor converted senior Harris Linsenmeyer’s cross for the final tally.

The Comets’ season ended with a 2-1 loss to Northwest in the state quarterfinals.

Dickey sisters have big night

On the night Catonsville honored former Comet star Jasmine Dickey, her younger sister Ashley Dickey scored a game-high 23 points, including 11 in the third quarter, to lead the Comets to a 37-31 victory over Mount de Sales.

With a victory in the final game of the Catonsville Challenge Cup, the Comets won the event for the first time since 2017.

Jasmine Dickey, a four-time All-Metro player and the second leading scorer in Maryland history with 2,091 career points, was the leading scorer for the Comets’ 2017 state championship team and 2018 team that lost in the state finals.

“No one will ever wear the No. 20 again because no one is deserving,” Catonsville coach Mike Mohler said

Dickey was joined by her family and University of Delaware teammates and coaches. She was the leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball, averaging 25.6 points a game, at the time.

Delaware coach Natasha Adair knew she had to be there for the special ceremony.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” she said. “For what Jasmine means to our program, to what she means to her teammates, just what she has done here at the university since she has been on campus, an hour ride to support her and show her how much we care about her, it was right for us to do it and I was honored to be able to be here.”

Dickey went on to lead the Blue Hens to the NCAA Tournament and win the CAA Player of the Year award for the second straight season. She is currently playing for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA.

Mount de Sales wins basketball thriller

Mount de Sales senior Emma Wallace drove down the middle of the lane and hit a 10-foot bank shot with four seconds left to give the Sailors a 58-57 victory over St. Mary’s.

It was not the first option for Mount de Sales, which came out of a timeout with 10.2 seconds remaining after Bailey Walden gave the Saints a 57-56 lead.

“We had intended for me to set a screen for another player, but because of what we were given on offense, I decided to take it to the middle,” Wallace said of her one-handed, running shot that sailed over the Saints’ tallest player. “I intended to finish over her head and I think because I was moving so fast, going for the bank I had a higher chance of it going in versus a swish.”

Wallace finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and her coach was glad to see her take the clutch shot.

Catonsville wrestlers celebrate on senior night

On the same night the Catonsville wrestling team celebrated senior night, the Comets enjoyed a 57-18 victory over Dundalk in the Class 4A North region duals.

Before the match, Catonsville seniors Brandon Bowers, Devin Boger, Josh Sampson, Chastino Robinson, Jesse Hanna, Tomas Grap, Eric Grap, Abdu Chandia, Rafael Zelidon, Sean O’Toole and Luke Pittman were recognized by new coach George Dunn.

Seven of the seniors took the mat, five of them victorious.

Sampson’s 16-14 overtime victory over Kaio Calisto at 138 pounds was perhaps the evening’s highlight. Sampson trailed 7-1 with 23 seconds left in the first period and was nearly pinned multiple times.

“It’s my senior night and you can’t lose on your senior night,” Sampson said. “I didn’t think I was going to go on my back at all.”

Maiden Choice hosts Catonsville in Allied bocce match

The sunlight beaming through the long windows in the gymnasium put the spotlight on Allied bocce athletes from Maiden Choice School and Catonsville High on Feb. 10, and they were feeling the love and support from the 60-70 fans in attendance.

The Maiden Choice School, located in Halethorpe, provides programs for children from age 3 to 21 who have significant cognitive disabilities for the entire school day. It hosted a high school team in a sporting event for the first time.

“This is their first interscholastic game so it’s pretty neat,” said Brad Kressman, who heads the Allied Sports programs for Baltimore County Athletics.

Catonsville’s James Carter enjoyed the spotlight and wasn’t affected by the glare on the players coming in from the sunlight.

“I wasn’t worried about them, it was just for our picture,” Carter said. “It was really fun.”

Catonsville lacrosse defeats Mount St. Joseph

Catonsville senior Frank Manalansan scored the game-winning goal with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter and the host Comets (10-0) held on for a 9-8 victory over Mount Saint Joseph (5-7).

It was the only goal of the game for Manalansan and it came off the third assist for Byron Newman, who also added a goal in the win between schools separated by less than 4 miles.

“Frank just has a knack for getting open near the crease,” Newman said. “Me and him have played together for countless years, so we’ve got a really good chemistry together and he has amazing hands and size and amazing finishing ability.

The win was Catonsville’s first-ever against Mount St. Joe in lacrosse

“This is incredible,” Catonsville goalie Brian Ruppel said. “There is nothing like it, this just shows you what a bunch of kids can do if you go to a public school. This just shows all the little kids out there that are always told you’ve got to go to the MIAA to play good games, come to Catonsville, we are building a legacy here and we are just getting started.”

Lansdowne boys lacrosse outlasts Patapsco

Lansdowne seniors Christian Bolt and Trevor Ellis had three goals apiece, but it was the play of sophomore Jake Howard, who had three goals, three assists and a timely blocked shot, that helped the Vikings preserve a late lead to beat Patapsco, 10-8.

Neither team led by more than a goal in the first half and it was tied at 4 at intermission, but Lansdowne scored the first four goals of the second half and held off a late rally.

Catonsville boys lacrosse wins Baltimore County championship

Catonsville senior Byron Newman scored the game-winning goal with 13.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the unbeaten Comets (15-0) an 8-7 victory over Hereford (10-3) in the Baltimore County championship game held at Catonsville.

Newman, who scored the Comets’ first three goals, came from behind the crease and took the shot while being double-teamed.

“I saw 15 on the clock and I thought I was going to get a step on him with my left hand because he’s a lefty defender and we had been battling it out all day, I was just like ‘I’ve got to take it to the rack.’” Newman said. “I kind of got collapsed on and I protected my stick and luckily I held onto it and sneaked it in.”

The Comets won a regional title and a state quarterfinal before their unbeaten season came to an end with a loss to Severna Park in the state semifinals.

Catonsville wins softball championship

Catonsville senior Maggie Kreis went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs, and she pitched a complete game with 11 strikeouts as the No. 9 Comets defeated No. 6 Carver A&T, 7-3, in the Baltimore County championship game at CCBC-Catonsville.

The Comets (13-2) built a 7-0 lead in the first four innings and Carver (9-2) rallied late with three runs in the final two innings.

Kreis allowed only one hit in the first five innings, twice striking out the side.

“She was lights out, absolutely amazing,” Catonsville coach Paul Harris said. “I’ve said it from the beginning of the season when Maggie is on her stuff, she is a very, very tough pitcher to beat and she was on her stuff today. You could hear it hitting the glove, it was just lightning. She had the Carver offense off-balanced for the whole game.”

Bielski’s big hit leads Comets to victory

Catonsville senior Grace Bielski spent the day before the Comets’ Class 4A state quarterfinal game against Urbana hitting the ball to the opposite field. Her work paid off in the bottom of the third inning of the game.

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Bielski belted a two-run double to give the host Comets a lead they would never relinquish in a 4-1 triumph over the Hawks (14-5).

The Comets (16-2) quest to defend their state championship ended with a loss to Sherwood in the state semifinals.

Western Tech wins second straight track title

For the second year in a row, the Wolverines won the Class 1A state title.

Western Tech finished with 81 points, leading second-place Largo (66) in the meet held Memorial Day weekend at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex.

Senior Laila Gaynor was the lone repeat individual state champion, winning the 400 meters. Her time of 57.11 seconds was .64 faster than last year.

Gaynor is committed to run at Alabama A&M University next season.

Senior Samara Jones produced the most points for the ladies juggernaut as she finished second in the 200 meters (25.8) and triple jump (36-9¼) and third in the 100 (12.57). She was a defending state champion in triple jump.