September 6 - As part of the All-Time Northern Virginia Top 10 feature, the magazine will be releasing short recaps of the nominated teams, grouped by the decade they played in. Teams that won state championships were automatically nominated, with current and former coaches from the area nominating non-state champions, bringing the list of total nominees to 60 teams. Once recaps of each of the 60 teams have been posted this week, the nominees will be turned over to a selection committee of current and former coaches from the area, who will select and rank the All-Time Top 10. The rankings will be revealed beginning the first week in September, with one team featured each week. Here are recaps for the the nominees from the 1970s:
1978 Robinson (24-1) - The Rams were the first area team to go undefeated during the regular season, winning all 20 games and then sweeping to the Northern Region championship and Group AAA state final before falling to J.R. Tucker, 2-1. Coach Bob Menefee’s team featured three-sport standouts Mark Krynitsky, Winston Streeter and Todd Kirtley, who helped lead the school’s football, basketball and football teams to region titles before falling in the state tournament. Brian Rupe hit .465 to pace the offense, and pitchers Danny Cox and Mark DiGiovanni - who posted a 0.57 ERA - also played key roles for the Rams and Menefee, who skippered the program from 1972-89. Kirtley later pitched and also started at quarterback at Virginia, Rupe played at Virginia Tech and in the Minnesota Twins’ system, Krynitsky played at Virginia Tech and the Kansas City Royals’ system, DiGiovanni played at South Florida, Greg Schuler played at North Carolina and the Baltimore Orioles’ system and George Priftis played at Virginia and in the Seattle Mariners’ system. J.R. Tucker would go on to win four of the next five and six of the next nine state titles.
1976 Mount Vernon (18-7) - The Majors rode their pitching staff to the program’s lone Northern Region championship and the Group AAA state final, where they fell to Bayside, 3-0. Coach Mike Foglio’s staff was led by Bob Rock, an eighth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates that June, and Atlee Hammaker, who later pitched in the big leagues for 12 seasons with four teams. Jim McGuire was the third key member of a staff that compiled a combined 0.99 ERA for the season, posted eight shutouts and held opponents to one run or less 14 times. In the postseason, they allowed just five runs in five games and beat Chantilly and future big league pitcher Brian Snyder to win the region. The Majors were paced offensively by Joe Bolton, Tom Frye and Dave Freaney. Hammaker initially went to Middle Tennessee State to play basketball, but later switched to play baseball collegiately before becoming a first round pick of the Kansas City Royals. He compiled a 3.66 ERA in 249 appearances, making the National League All-Star Team in 1983 as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Rock pitched professionally for six years and reached as high as Double-A before retiring in 1981.
1972 Loudoun Valley (16-2) - The Vikings became the first team in any sport from Loudoun County to win a state championship, riding the arm of David Elmore to the Group AA state title. Elmore pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts in a 5-1 state semifinal win over Randolph-Henry, then three days later struck out five over three scoreless innings of relief in an 8-2 win over Tunstall in the final. Coach Lawrence ‘Bootsie’ Leonard’s team got four innings from starter John Sease in that championship game, and completed a four-year run in which the Vikings won four district titles and that year’s Region II crown while compiling a 130-32 record. Greg Edmondson had three hits and drove in two runs in the final, while Gary Cox added two hits and two RBI. Leonard also coached the school’s football team from 1962-71, and served as athletic director from 1965-2001.
1972 Washington-Lee (20-5) - After winning 10 straight district championships in the 1960s, the Generals won their first of the decade, then won the Northern Region championship before falling to Kempsville and future Kansas City Royals pitcher Bill Paschall, 5-3, in the Group AAA state final. Paschall struck out 12 in that game as Kempsville began their run of four state titles in six years. Coach Del Norwood’s team was led by two-way standout Jim Barbe - who would later star at James Madison University and advance to the Double-A level in the Texas Rangers’ system - as well as Larry Murray, Harry Thomas and Gary McInturff. Norwood led the Generals program from 1960-87, winning 420 games, 19 district titles and two regional championships.
1971 Madison (20-3) - The Warhawks were in the midst of a run in which the program won six straight district titles and three region titles in four years when they won their second state title in four seasons, beating George Wythe, 4-1, in the Group AAA final. Coach Tom Christie’s team was led by Jay Franklin, who would become the second overall pick of the Major League Baseball Draft that June by the San Diego Padres and made his big league debut that September. Franklin pitched all 14 innings in a 1-0 win over Jefferson in the region final in one of the area’s most-memorable games, allowing one hit and striking out a state record 29 batters in the game. The Warhawks scored their lone run on a sequence that included a single, wild pitch, sacrifice bunt and a squeeze bunt. The Colonials’ lone hit was a leadoff double in the first inning. Franklin, who finished his career 28-1 and with 363 strikeouts, was also on the mound for the win in the state final. The Warhawks were also led by a veteran infield that included Tom Embrey, Kenny Malone, Robbie Carter, Ronnie Riley and Tom Determan, and pitcher Roger Neighborgall, who would later play quarterback at Duke.
All-Time Northern Virginia Top 10 Nominees:
2010s (10) - 2016 Chantilly; 2015 Madison; 2015 Stone Bridge; 2014 Loudoun Valley; 2012 Lake Braddock; 2012 Paul VI Catholic; 2011 South County; 2010 West Springfield; 2010 Woodbridge; 2010 Potomac Falls
2000s (14) - 2009 Paul VI Catholic; 2009 West Springfield; 2008 Paul VI Catholic; 2007 Notre Dame Academy; 2007 Paul VI Catholic; 2006 Notre Dame Academy; 2005 Notre Dame Academy; 2004 Notre Dame Academy; 2004 Westfield; 2004 Paul VI Catholic; 2003 Madison; 2002 Madison; 2000 Oakton; 2000 Courtland
1990s (14) - 1998 West Springfield; 1998 Bishop O’Connell; 1997 St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes; 1996 Herndon; 1995 Courtland; 1995 Brentsville District; 1994 Paul VI Catholic; 1993 Lake Braddock; 1992 Gar-Field; 1992 West Springfield; 1991 West Springfield; 1991 Broad Run; 1991 Fairfax; 1990 W.T. Woodson
1980s (8) - 1989 W.T Woodson; 1988 Potomac; 1987 Marshall; 1984 Park View; 1983 Potomac; 1982 Bishop O’Connell; 1980 Robinson; 1980 George Mason
1970s (5) - 1978 Robinson; 1976 Mount Vernon; 1972 Loudoun Valley; 1972 Washington-Lee; 1971 Madison
1960s and earlier (9) - 1968 Madison; 1966 Washington-Lee; 1964 Bishop O’Connell; 1952 Mount Vernon; 1951 Washington-Lee; 1949 Washington-Lee; 1947 George Washington; 1939 Lee-Jackson; 1932 Alexandria
Pictured, clockwise from top left: The 1971 Madison team, Washington-Lee coach Del Norwood, Robinson coach Bob Menefee, Washington-Lee's Jim Barbe, Mount Vernon's Bob Rock and Madison coach Tom Christie.
