2016 Varsity Team of the Year: Chantilly High School

January 1 - Chantilly High School has been named the magazine’s 2016 Varsity Team of the Year as part of our year-end feature honoring Northern Virginia’s top teams.

The Chargers, coached by Kevin Ford, went on a 19-game winning streak to end a season that included a second 6A North Region championship in three years and the first state championship in program history. Chantilly finished the season 25-2 and ranked No. 1 in our Northern Virginia Top 10 after senior Jared Enders’ walk off base hit capped a comeback victory over Battlefield in the state final, the Chargers’ third straight appearance in the final.

Chantilly was led by a core group of seniors that were key players during a three-year run that also included consecutive Conference 5 titles under Ford, who was named our NOVA Nine Coach of the Year. Senior Jared DiCesare was a member of our NOVA Nine Team as well as a first-team all-state selection and All-Met pick by The Washington Post. Enders was also a first-team all-state selection, senior shortstop Brett Norwood was a first-team all-region choice, and two other seniors - catcher Matt Padeway and left-handed pitcher Forrest Wagner - along with junior second baseman Chris Pitura joined DiCesare, Enders and Norwood as first-team all-conference selections.

“This team always found a way to win,” Ford said. [We] got meaningful contributions throughout the year from starters and non-starters to help us complete the best season in Chantilly baseball history.”

Other Nominees:

Battlefield High School: Coached by Jay Burkhart, the Bobcats set a school-record for victories while going 23-5 and advancing to the 6A North Region and state championship games before falling to Chantilly. The team won the Conference 8 championship and finished No. 2 in our Northern Virginia Top 10 behind dominant senior left-hander Jake Agnos, the NOVA Nine, All-Met and state Player of the Year who went 11-0 with a 0.54 ERA with 136 strikeouts to 24 walks in 65 innings, while junior outfielder Brent Boggs earned first-team all-state and all-region honors and junior catcher Tyler Solomon was a second-team all-region selection. Battlefield allowed just two runs in its three region games before an 8-3 loss to Chantilly in the final, then took a 2-0 lead on the Chargers into the seventh inning of the state final before falling, 3-2.

Brentsville District High School: Coached by Ryan Smith, the Tigers went 17-7 and advanced to the 3A Conference 28 championship game and East Region semifinals. The team more than doubled its win total from 2015 behind the likes of senior Kyle Darmstead and juniors Dillon Cooperrider and Tyler Bryce, each of whom was a second-team all-conference selection. Brentsville District beat Spotsylvania, 11-0, in the first round of regionals before falling to eventual region champion and state runner-up Poquoson.

Colonial Forge High School: Coached by Jake Norman, the Eagles went 17-4 and won the 6A Conference 4 championship before having their season end in the South Region quarterfinals with a 3-2 loss to Cosby. Led by three all-state players - first-team second baseman Logan Barker and second-team pitcher Matt Nickles and outfielder Eric Zimmerman - the team went undefeated in district play during the regular season. “A senior heavy group that worked hard for four years to achieve what they set out to do from the start and that is to win the conference,” Norman said.

C.D. Hylton High School: Coach by Jason Ritenour, the Bulldogs went 19-7 and finished No. 5 in our Northern Virginia Top 10 after winning the 6A South Region championship and advancing to the state semifinals before falling to Battlefield. Led by NOVA Nine Team member Fox Semones, second-team all-region outfielder Colin Verberg and all-conference pitchers Trey Shepard and Ryan Billy, the team posted consecutive road shutouts in the first two rounds of regionals, then beat host Cosby, 7-3, in the final. The Bulldogs’ run ended with a 2-1 loss to nemesis Jake Agnos and Battlefield in the state semifinals.

Highland School: Coached by Micah Higgins, the Hawks finished 22-4 and won their second Delaney Athletic Conference championship in three years before making their first Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state tournament in the program’s nine-year history. Junior Josh Pittman was named the DAC Player of the Year after hitting .437 and striking out 60 batters in 35.1 innings, and was joined as all-state selections by first-team pick Timmy Stephan and second-team selection Noah Lerman. Highland School defeated VISAA Division I state champion Collegiate School and also beat two of the state’s top private school programs in Covenant and Norfolk Christian during the regular season.

Kettle Run High School: Coached by Ty Thorpe, the Cougars finished 20-3 and ranked No. 3 in our Northern Virginia Top 10 after winning the 4A Conference 22 championship, then advancing to the West Region final and state semifinals. Senior Brenton Doyle was named the conference and region Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection, and senior Sam Ewald was a second-team all-state pick. Kettle Run ran off 17 consecutive victories before its 4-3 loss to Liberty Christian Academy in the region final. The season marked the first time in program history that the Cougars had reached the 20-win plateau.

Mountain View High School: Coached by Craig Lopez, the Wildcats went 21-5 and finished No. 4 in our Northern Virginia Top 10 after claiming 5A Conference 15 and North Region titles and advance to the state championship game. Behind NOVA Nine Team member Alex Smith, the region’s Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection, the team had five of its six postseason wins come by one run before losing to Nansemond River, 5-3, in the state final. Smith hit .382 with a .604 on-base average, had seven doubles, five home runs, 26 RBI and had three walk-off hits, including in the conference championship game against Potomac.

Paul VI Catholic High School: Coached by Jeff Nolan, the Panthers went 24-8 and advanced to the best-of-three semifinal round of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament and the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I state final. Led by WCAC Player of the Year Jack Cunningham and five other players who are now playing collegiately, the team won the Southeastern Baseball Classic in South Carolina over Spring Break. After dispatching of DeMatha Catholic in the WCAC quarterfinals, Paul VI pushed eventual conference champion St. John’s to the brink in their semifinal series before falling, 5-3, in Game 3. In the state tournament, they posted shutouts over Potomac School and Benedictine before falling, 5-1, to Collegiate School. The Panthers finished the season ranked No. 9 in our Northern Virginia Top 10.

Potomac High School: Coached by Mike Covington, the Panthers finished 20-8 and advanced to both the 5A Conference 15 and North Region championship games - falling both time by one run to Mountain View - and made its first state tournament appearance since 2016. The team would finish ranked No. 8 in our Northern Virginia Top 10, and had two players, senior outfielder Alex Burke and junior shortstop Evan Antonellis, recognized as first-team all-state selections.

Note: Teams that qualified for their state tournament were automatically nominated. Non-state qualifiers needed to be nominated by their coaches.

Photo by Phil Dolinger

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