Friday, May 22, 2015
By Cristian Edwards Online Sports Editor He seems to be everywhere. You can find him breaking tackles on the football field or blowing past other sprinters on the track. Senior Marquette Lewis has had the goal of being one of the top sprinters on the extremely talented CHS track team since the beginning of his career. “All four years there has been that elite group of sprinters making finals for all the big meets,” Lewis said. “I remember saying in the back of my mind, ‘I want to catch them and pass them,’ and now I’m in that elite group.” Lewis’ mindset has propelled him to be the best in every aspect on both the track and football field. Lewis has been on varsity outdoor track since his freshman year and indoor track since his sophomore year. Track coach David Warren speaks very highly of Lewis, and has seen Lewis grow as an athlete and as a person over the years. “I have been with him for four years,” Warren said. “He shows up every day, works hard and makes kids around him better. He has really grown into a fine young man off the
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track. On the track he is a fantastic competitor and a great teammate.” To go along with Lewis’ high aspirations as a sprinter, Warren believes that he is one of the best sprinters in the state and can achieve any goal he puts his mind to. According to Lewis, his main goal for the outdoor track season was to break the 1979 school record in the 4x100 and 4x200, along with seniors Noah Jankel, Jabari Butler and Oda Assamaiduo. Battling a hamstring injury in the beginning of the outdoor season, nothing stopped Lewis from leaving a lasting mark on CHS track. Although his goal is right in front of him, the hamstring injury still lingers, and the chance of breaking the record is becoming a little more improbable. Nonetheless, Lewis will still work and compete to remain one of the best sprinters in the state. Football was Lewis’ first sport, dating back to flag football when he was in the fifth grade, but he knew that he always loved running track. His favorite parts of track are the competitions, and the friendships he made with his teammates. However, along with the social aspect of the sports, he never lost sight of his goal to break personal and school records.
“My favorite part of track is the relays, working hard with my teammates and perfecting my hand-offs,” Lewis said. “Working together is key in an attempt to break our school record, which we are close to.” This past indoor track season, Lewis finished seventh in the state for the 300-meter sprint, and is ranked sixth in counties for the 200-meter dash in the outdoor season. Lewis broke his own personal record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22 seconds. In the future, Lewis hopes to compete on the track team at the University of Maryland in the 2016 spring semester. Lewis is optimistic he will make the team, but if he doesn’t, then he will try to join the UMD rugby team. With every obstacle Lewis has faced including a devastating hamstring injury before the outdoor season began, his mind is still set on the present, with the 1979 4x100 and 4x200 records fueling his drive. “This record is the legacy I hope to leave, the legacy of our relay team breaking the 1979 record,” Lewis said.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MARQUETTE LEWIS.
Lewis used his speed and agility to benefit him on the football field and on the track as he scored touchdowns and beat times for CHS.
D.C. rising reaches its climax in playoffs By Nathan Gertler Online Sports Editor
Generally speaking, teams with better regular seasons are more successful in the playoffs. The Wizards, however, a team that had an above-average regular season at best, and the Capitals, a team that didn’t even win their own division, made amazing runs in the postseason. Resiliency, momentum, offensive firepower and defensive stability were key components that allowed these two teams to thrive. The Wizards and the Capitals have been D.C.’s finest in terms of displaying their abilities in the postseason. The Wizards may have been ranked 19th in offensive efficiency during the regular season, but they averaged over 100 points per game in their first round sweep over the higher-
seeded Toronto Raptors. The Capitals scored two or more goals in each of their first round wins against the New York Islanders. The NHL’s leading scorer Alexander Ovechkin led Washington with eight points in the playoffs after 13 games and was determined to carry his team past the second round for the first time in his career. Even though both teams clicked offensively, their defensive aptitude was the key to their success. According to ESPN, the Wizards ranked fifth in defensive efficiency during the regular season, and the Capitals only allowed three or more goals twice in the first 11 playoff games this year. Resiliency: few teams have it, but it is a key necessity for a deep playoff run. The Wizards suffered from injuries throughout the first and second rounds of the playoffs
PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS.
Wizards power forward Nenê makes a pass in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
but still put up a big fight in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. John Wall and Bradley Beal, the two main playmakers for the Wizards, were both injured while playing the Atlanta Hawks in the second round, but Paul Pierce and the Wizards put up a good fight against the one-seeded Hawks in an exhilarating six game series. The Capitals, on the other hand, managed to get through the treacherous regular season for the most part unscathed, the only injuries being to Eric Fehr and Tom Wilson, who both returned to the lineups for the postseason. Even with the Wizards’ mediocre finish to the regular season, going 24-27 after the All-Star break, and the second place divisional finish for the Capitals, both teams used momentum from earlier rounds of the playoffs to propel them forward. Starting out a series with a
win, especially on the road, which the Wizards did in the first round against the Toronto Raptors, and the second round against the Atlanta Hawks, gave the team an extra boost of confidence. The Capitals used their defensive toughness, size, timely scoring from star players and shot blocking abilities to surpass the Islanders and battle against the Rangers in a seven game series nail-biter. The 2014–15 postseason in Washington D.C. has been just the third time since 1988 that both the Capitals and Wizards have made the playoffs in the same year. While the Wizards and Capitals both experienced early round losses in the playoffs and disappointment in previous years, this year seems different. The incredible talent of both these teams from the nation’s capital gave D.C. fans hope when watching their teams’ p u r s u i t o f the championship.