Austin Weiss was facing a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the sixth inning of an early-season game against Archbishop Spalding. The Georgetown Prep junior could feel the nerves of the moment. But his catcher, Sam Weinstein, relaxed him with a simple message: “These kids can’t touch you.”
“I just tried to throw it right at his glove as hard as I could,” Weiss said. “That was a really huge moment for me. It was really special. I had never done that before.”
The Little Hoyas (3-1) received a strong start from returning All-Met first-team selection Aiden Dubetsky, but when he got into trouble, Coach Rob Begin made the call to bring in Weiss — who hit an RBI single earlier in the game — from the outfield.
The result was an emphatic shutting of the door. Knowing he had a solid defense behind him, Weiss wasn’t concerned about the Cavaliers (1-1) making contact, solely focusing on throwing strikes. His last pitch was a low-90s mph fastball high in the zone that generated a swing and miss. On the mound, the Maryland commit gave a spin and an emphatic fist pump.
“He came in and put the team on his back when we needed it most,” Begin said.
- Emmett Siegel
Lacrosse
Matt Miller remembers what went into the trio Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships he won as DeMatha’s goalie in the 2000s.
Miller was diagnosed with testicular cancer as a senior in 2008. When he was at his lowest, teammates urged him to keep practicing when it was the last thing he wanted to do. The season ended with his third conference title in his four years at the school.
Miller also knows how starved the Stags are to get back to that level. Their last WCAC title was in 2009.
Miller was named the Stags’ boys lacrosse’s head coach in the offseason after Dave Mitchell stepped down. Miller has seen what it takes to win in the difficult conference. He’s confident he can guide his alma mater back to the top.
Miller was originally part of the search committee to find Mitchell’s replacement. But after the group struggled to find the right person, he told the school he wanted the job himself.
“God’s timing is not always your timing,” Miller said. “You gotta take advantage of your opportunities and jump right in.”
DeMatha hasn’t been completely out of WCAC contention — the Stags went to last year’s conference tournament semifinals and fell to eventual champion St. John’s. But the domination they experienced two decades ago has eluded them.
To get DeMatha back to that level, Miller recalls the culture that had teammates dragging him out of bed in the mornings to train.
“I just think about how passionate and obsessed we were with winning,” he said. “That’s what I want to create.”
- Taylor Lyons
Soccer
The Osbourn Park Yellow Jackets have hit the ground running this season. The Prince William County program entered this campaign with high expectations after returning the entirety of its starting lineup from last year.
Coach Osmundo Giron, trusting his team’s experience and hoping to prepare it for the high-level competition of the Cedar Run District, scheduled Meridian and Forest Park as the first two nonconference games of the season. Both the Mustangs and the Bruins opened the season in The Post’s Top 10 rankings.
The Yellow Jackets, eager to improve on last year’s 9-4-4 campaign, took care of business in both games, beating Meridian, 1-0, and Forest Park, 3-1.
“This is a special group,” Giron said. “A lot of these guys have been in the program for years. So I knew we’d have talent coming back, but it’s also a group that understands the work that needs to be done to be successful.”
Osbourn Park favors a possession-based style, which is a good fit for a roster that knows each other well.
“We’ve all played off of each other for a long time, so the chemistry and connection is always there,” junior captain Zach Golanoski said. “We know the type of runs we like to make and we know how to build off each other…We know all of those specific, tiny details.”
- Michael Errigo
Track and field
Fox Larson doesn’t look like a typical 5k runner. The Broadneck senior is 6-foot-1 and has a muscular build. It draws attention at start lines.
“I don’t really fit in the crowd most of the time,” Larson said.
The unique build comes from his service family background. After both of his parents were injured in the line of duty, running became a therapeutic relief.
He ran a 17 minute 31.2 second 5k and a 1:58.16 in the 800 meter in the fall. The Broadneck relay team finished 15th in the 4x800 meter relay at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor in Philadelphia.
Usually, tall runners are limited to short heats, said Broadneck coach Josh Webster. But Larson’s versatility is valuable to the Bruins and any prospective college. Having “tree-trunk like” legs also benefits Larson in the 800m.
Webster described Larson as one of the team’s best leaders and someone he trusts with the team’s large underclassmen group.
“I trained to be a well-rounded individual in my athletics,” Larson said.
He is in conversations with University of Maryland at Baltimore County. He also received a congressional appointment to the Naval Academy.
- Sam Jane
