Spartans Named Gameday's Program of the Year
It's not often that a program can claim 6 district titles in one athletic season, but Broad Run did just that in the spring of 2007. To top things off, the Lady Spartan softball team won the Group AA state championship and finished the year 29-0 ranked in the top 5 in the United States.
The Spartans also had a district championship girls' basketball team, a top 3 finish in the state cheerleading competition, and a football team that finished in the top 3 in the Dulles District this past fall.
It wasn't long ago that this program was restoring its proud tradition of winning in several of its sports. But at the conclusion of the 2006/2007 athletic year, the restoration project was finished.
The fresh start in football for first year head coach Michael Burnett and crew seemed to bring excitement back to the Spartan fan base. The team went 5-5 on the year, but played for a share of the Dulles District championship in the final week of the season against Park View, something that hadn't been done in years. From 1-9 to 5-5, Broad Run made a jump back into the scene of respectability, and the future looks even brighter this coming season.
The girls' basketball team once again scorched through the Dulles District, winning the regular season championship, and advancing deep in the playoffs. Head Coach Mike O'Hara continues to put out championship teams year after year, and his young Spartan team should be even better next winter.
If there was any doubt who would be our Group AA Gameday Program of the Year heading into the spring, it was quickly dispelled by the Spartans, who won Dulles District titles in baseball, softball, girls' soccer, girls' and boys' lacrosse, and boy's track and field. In addition, the softball team won a state title, and the girls' soccer team won a regional championship. For athletic director Jack Kirby, the 2007 spring season has been a special one to say the least.
"Last spring we won 5 district titles, and I thought that was awesome," Kirby said. "But to win 6 this spring and a state title is amazing. It's been great to watch all of our teams compete at the highest level."
Stability has been the key for the revival of the Spartan program according to Kirby, who at one point saw many of Broad Run's finest athletes venture to new schools. The days of watching the likes of Potomac Falls, Stone Bridge, and then Freedom snag Broad Run's young and talented athletic classes are over. Finally, the Spartan athletics program is stable again, and that is why Kirby believes they are back to winning in every sport.
"It really is about stability. We lost so many good athletes to those schools when they opened, but we now have classes of athletes playing all four years together," Kirby said. "That has really helped our coaches to build stronger and better programs each year."
Kirby also noted that the Spartans are lucky to have some of the best veteran coaches in the region. Boys' lacrosse coach Phil Truiett and basketball coach Larry Boomer have been staple points of the program for years, as has softball coach Ed Steele. Steele was named the Washington Post's Morgan Wooten award winner for the job he did with his nationally ranked and state champion softball team in 2007. Girls' soccer coach Claire Collins has put her teams deep in the post-season year after year, and 2007 was no different. The Lady Spartans fell 4-3 in penalty kicks in the state quarterfinals, but the soccer program is building respect as a perennial state title contender every season.
With success comes expectations, but Kirby is quick to point out that those expectations have been there all along.
"We expect teams to try to be the best they can be, that's all we can ask," Kirby said. "We know the expectations will be there when you win, but we just want to strive to keep getting better."
With the start of the 2007/2008 athletic year only two months away, the Broad Run Spartans should once again be a contender in every sport. The Spartans return several of the area's best athletes again next year, like Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Caitlyn Delahaba, and Dulles District Girls' Basketball Player of the Year Alexis Campbell. Cole Shain and Chris Jessop will anchor the Spartans football and baseball teams again, and several new faces should emerge onto the scene as well. The future is once again bright in Ashburn, and that has Kirby extremely proud.
"I'm extremely proud of all of our teams, not just the district title champions, but all of them. It has been a great year!"
