Richard Montgomery’s fall sports teams had successful postseasons, filled with record breaking achievements and numerous state qualifiers.
Boys Cross Country
The boys cross country team went into the regional meet missing several key runners. “Some of us were sick, some of us were injured, and that really set us back from where we could’ve been at regionals,” senior captain Tillman Peters said.
The team placed seventh in the regional competition with a score of 178 — one place away from qualifying for states. “I think how many injuries our team had…was a big impact on how we thought we would be able to race,” junior captain Kylen Tow said.
With three seniors leaving this year, the team hopes its varsity juniors and sophomore can improve and be healthy for a run to states next season. “From the start of the season we were definitely on track to get to states and then just everyone got injured and sick,” junior captain Adam Dubelman said.
Girls Cross Country
After a rough county meet, with several runners facing injuries or illnesses, the girls cross country team began to prepare for the 4A West region race. “We started our taper, we weren’t running as hard, we were sleeping a lot more, just kind of, locking in for the last two weeks of the season,” senior captain Grace Finnegan said.
The team placed fourth in the race, securing their spot in the state meet. At states Finnegan led RM to a fifth place finish with 119 points. Four runners placed in the top 30. “We just had a really really strong season and I’m super proud of everybody,” Finnegan said.
Field Hockey
Field hockey competed against Whitman HS in round one of the playoffs, and lost 6-0 to a strong team that played on until the state semifinals. Going into the game, Varsity Coach Samantha Griffin said the team’s strategy focused on “doing our best to make the easy pass to keep possession.”
The team will retain 17 of their 19 players, and is looking to win more games in their competitive division, according to Coach Griffin.
Football
In a repeat of the homecoming game the football team faced Winston Churchill HS in round one of the playoffs. Senior quarterback Anthony Dixon Jr. threw two touchdowns — one to senior wide receiver Kyle Morrison, and the other to junior wide receiver Khalil Wilson, but the Rockets eventually fell to the Bulldogs 41-12.
Golf
The golf team started off their post season with a second-place finish and a score of 298 in the district competition. This allowed the four member team to qualify for states, where they placed sixth, and were joined by individual qualifier senior Joelle Lee. “We did pretty well this year in terms of scoring and where we finished and it was great to see the team kind of come together,” senior golf captain Cabell Faulkner said.
Faulkner shot 149 over both the state semifinal and final rounds. His teammates Caroline Zhou shot 162, Carrington Faulkner 164, and Charlie Finnegan 174, resulting in a combined team score of 649. “I think we’ll leave it in a great spot for next year,” Faulkner said.
Boys Soccer
RM’s boys soccer team lost to the 4A North II region’s first-seeded Paint Branch 1-0 in the region finals. Previously in the region semifinals, the team defeated the second-ranked Wheaton 4-0.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team ended their playoff run with a loss to Wheaton HS 2-0 in the region finals. RM defeated Wheaton 3-1 in the regular season. “[This game] was a lot more intense because it was win or go home. Unfortunately, we went home. We went in really hard but we could have gone harder,” senior captain Maddie Walsh said.
During the playoff season the girls soccer team also won their division. “I’m really proud of how everything went down. We had a really good record, a winning record,” Walsh said.
Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball team went all the way, bringing the 4A title home after a 3-1 victory over the first-seeded Leonardtown HS. Volleyball also defeated Paint Branch HS 3-0 to capture the region title — their first since 2011.
