Hot Topic teams sweep season finale
Alexandria’s Hot Topic All Stars competitive cheerleading teams finished their regular season with a sweep of first place finishes at the Grand National at the Sea competition March 13-14 in Virginia Beach.
Competing against teams from across the country, the Shooting Stars team (8 years old and under) took first place in the Mini Level 1 Division, the Rising Stars (11 years old and under) won first place in the Youth Level 1 Division and the Lightning Stars (14 years old and under) won first place in the Junior Level 2 Division.
The Rising Stars were also named Level 1 champions and the Lightning Stars Level 2 champions for receiving the highest scores in their respective levels.
All of the teams will go on to compete next month in the U.S. Finals in Orlando. The newly formed Hot Topic Blazin’ Stars (a merge of the mini and youth cheerleaders) will compete in the U.S. Finals in Virginia Beach in May.
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March Madness continues for Episcopal alum, ends for T.C. grad
Save for one former Alexandria high school standout, the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball championships have not been kind to city alums and maybe the trick is staying off of the court.
Former Episcopal player Arinze Onuaku, No. 1 Syracuse’s starting center, sat out his team’s first two tournament wins with a leg injury. The Orange, winners by more than 20 against Vermont and Gonzaga, face Butler today in the Sweet 16 round of the men’s competition.
In the women’s version of the Big Dance, former T.C. Williams star Tierra Ruffin-Pratt and her North Carolina team bowed out Saturday after their 82-76 loss to Gonzaga. Ruffin-Pratt started and finished with two points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss. Playing for No. 15 Hampton, Episcopal grad Breanna Jones notched 10 minutes of action and two points in her team’s loss Saturday.
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Lacrosse season hits stride
The city’s high school lacrosse landscape is dotted with peaks and valleys through the first two weeks of the season.
At St. Stephen’s, the boys and girls squads are unbeaten. The boys, 3-0, picked up big wins Friday (Potomac) and Saturday (Boys Latin) and the Saints girls moved to 2-0 with their win Friday against St. Paul’s before heading to Florida for a slate of games down south.
The story is entirely different at Bishop Ireton, where the girls are 0-3 after losing 16-10 Friday to Collegiate and 16-4 Tuesday against Good Counsel. The boys, 0-4, lost by a goal Friday against Flint Hill and dropped their most recent game Monday 18-4 at Good Counsel.
On the up and up, the Episcopal girls are 3-0 going into Friday’s home game against St. Anne’s Belfield and the Maroon boys are 1-0 after thumping Bishop O’Connell 25-9 on Saturday.
The T.C. Williams boys and girls teams are both 1-3 after each side lost to West Springfield on Monday night.
