Magruder volleyball coach Scott Zanni was the first to arrive at the Rockville public school Saturday morning, making preparations for the annual Magruder Invitational. Fourteen hours later, he was the last to leave. In between, his school accomplished an extraordinary feat, winning tournament titles in four sports — boys soccer, girls soccer, volleyball, and field hockey.
Three of the tournaments were played at the school. In all, 18 teams and approximately 300 athletes converged on Magruder. It’s been that way on “Tournament Saturday” for several years.
“We want to do that. We schedule all the tournaments the same day every year,” said Magruder athletic director Karl Heimbach. “We try to make it a big, community event.”
This year, it was a victory parade. Here’s what happened:
» Volleyball. The Colonels won their 10-year-old tournament for the first time since 2000, sweeping all six of its best-of-three matches in two games. In the final, Magruder (9-0) defeated Damascus behind tournament MVP Kim Musser (outside hitter) and all-tournament team selections Cindy Goon (setter) and Kelly George (libero).
» Boys soccer. Magruder (4-0) won the Doug Abel Memorial as Draymond Washington scored two goals in the championship match, a 3-1 defeat of four-time defending Class 3A state champion River Hill.
The game, which began at 6 p.m. was completed in near darkness. Due to poor conditions on the school’s football field, the final was shifted to the school’s unlit upper field.
» Field hockey. Coach Kathleen Mulholland’s squad won its fourth tournament title in five years, defeating backyard rival Sherwood, 5-1, as senior Allison Kimball notched a hat trick. In the semifinals, Magruder (2-3) needed a penalty stroke in overtime from senior Kristie Blumer to edge Holy Cross, 1-0.
» Girls soccer. Playing for the first time in the Worcester Prep Tournament, Magruder made a weekend of it, staying Friday night in Ocean City at the vacation home of one of the Colonels players.
On Saturday, junior Becca Adams was the hero as she scored a goal in injury time to give the Colonels a 3-2 victory over Sandy Spring in the semifinals. In the championship game, Adams added two goals in a 4-1 victory over the host school. Sophomore Tessa Jones excelled in goal and sophomores Dina Salameh and Elena Chestnut each scored a goal in both games as coach Yvonne Gwinnell’s squad improved to 2-2.
Busy day at magruder
» The 10-team volleyball tournament was held in two gymnasiums and ran from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.
» The boys soccer tournament semifinals were held in the morning. The championship game began at 6 p.m.
» Magruder’s two field hockey games started at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
