Following a short run in the playoffs last season, Mason baseball is ready to take it to the next level.

After tryouts last week, the team jumped right into practice. The team is working hard and preparing to fight for the top spot in the Bull Run district against some tough competition. The team only graduated three seniors at the end of the 2012 school year so the players are still closely knit and not much has changed.

“We know what to expect of each other this year and we are ready to take on the toughest competition,” said Lucas Cherry, senior.

With nine seniors on the team this year, the team has experience and a sense of unity that the team will take advantage of in order to top their opponents this season. The team is looking forward to playing and with the first scrimmage Saturday March, 2 at 1:00 p.m., baseball is back and ready to leave its mark.

National Honor Society (NHS) members are required to have at least 30 community service hours by the end of the school year.  Many of the junior and senior members choose to tutor fellow classmates or volunteer at a local homeless shelter; however, juniors Jack Stricker and Sarah Gompper took a unique approach to the task by volunteering to teach Falls Church youth the sport of wrestling.

Gompper and Stricker are both members of the varsity wrestling team here at Mason and first got involved in this volunteer experience over the summer when, “Coach Bryan Sulc created a wrestling camp for kids who might be interested in the sport, and the varsity team was asked to help out,” explained Stricker.

The camp was a success, and many of the participants signed up for the Falls Church Force wrestling program’s inaugural season, also headed by Bryan Sulc, which is where Gompper and Stricker racked up their service hours.

The youth program, which has participants ranging from the ages of five to twelve, meets three evenings a week at Mary Ellen Henderson and both Gompper and Stricker teach about two of the days per week, after their own practice had ended.

“They also have tournaments on the weekends [and this past weekend] they had their final tournament,” explained Gompper.

When asked why he chose to teach wrestling for service hours as opposed to other activities, Stricker said, “I like the sport of wrestling and think that it teaches great values. I can tell you for a fact that every one of the kids that came out has been affected by participating, both mentally, physically and emotionally.”

Similar to how the summer camp saw success, the Force program has seen much dedication and triumph, with most of the kids who showed up to the first few days of practice still showing up and having a great time.

“There's really a new funny moment each day because, even though wrestling is hard and demanding, spirits are never broken. I like that [dedication] a lot. These kids are doing something great and seem to like it a lot,” shared Stricker.

Especially touching to Gompper, one of only two girls on the Mason varsity team, was the bond she formed with the girls on the Force team.

“Although I care about all of the kids, I have spent a lot of time this season with the three girls [on the Force team] telling them how important it is that they stick with the sport. I was so proud to see them win matches; it’s almost like they’re an extension of myself,” shared Gompper.

Throughout the interview process, it was very striking just how devoted and proud of their students Stricker and Gompper were. It was evident that both were not just trying to push through the volunteer process to get the required hours, but they really enjoyed their time spent with the Force kids.

Their passion for the Mason team was also evident in their volunteer work.

“I was really excited to work with the slightly older kids because they’re going to make up the high school team soon enough. A few of them are planning to work out with the team next year, which is promising for the future of the sport at Mason,” explained Gompper.

As new NHS members, Gompper and Stricker well surpassed the first requirement of 10 service hours by the end of the first semester. Their altruistic service and love of wrestling should be inspiring to other NHS members and the entire community.

For the last two years, George Mason has sent multiple wrestlers to the State tournament.  This year, they kept the streak going.

Junior Grant Hagler and freshman Hunter Sulc competed in this year’s State tournament, which took place in Salem, Virginia.   The first day started off well for Sulc, who dominated both his matches which allowed him to move on to the next round.

“I had a great first day of wrestling.  I started off really strong,” said Sulc.

Grant Hagler had a tougher first day.  He won one match and lost two, thus being eliminated.

“It was disappointing that I was eliminated so early.  The football season and wrestling season have taken a toll on me and I was going on fumes the whole time,” said Hagler.

Sulc then lost all three of his matches on the second day.  He impressively placed sixth in the tournament.

Both Sulc and Hagler were optimistic for next year.

“We have a lot of junior wrestlers returning next year, so I think that we will be stronger.  I know all the guys are pumped for next year,” said Hagler.

“Overall this was a good tournament and good year of wrestling, and I’m pretty excited for next year,” added Sulc.

The George Mason girls varsity basketball team battled Clarke County for the district championship game Thursday night. The Mustangs pulled it out as they beat the Rams 62-43.

At the end of the game, they gave awards to the most valuable players of the season. Senior Stephanie Cheney and sophomore Katie Goodwin both won MVP for Mason.

The girls did not just win the district championship, but they also were first place in the regular season. Now the girls will move on to the regional tournament.

The Mustang wrestlers will be traveling to Strasburg High School on Friday the 8th and Saturday the 9th for the Region B Wrestling tournament after recently competing in the Bull Run District tournament.

“We all wrestled well in the District tournament, and were moving on to Regional’s,” said junior wrestler Grant Hagler.  “Regional’s will surely test us, but we’ll be up for the challenge.”

At the Bull Run District tournament, the junior class dominated. In the 150 lb weight class, Hagler and Jacob Wilson placed third and sixth respectively.  In the 140 lb weight class, sophomore Hunter Sulc placed third while junior Jack Stricker received sixth place.

Junior Sarah Gompper will be the lone female on the mats this weekend after getting fourth in her weight class.  Also, junior Connor Rhodes placed third in the 190 lb weight class and junior Jake Acosta was fifth in the 285 lb weight class.

“I’m getting pumped for the tournament,” said Stricker.  “States are the following week, so we got to prepare.  Everybody has a good shot at making it to states; we have a very talented group of guys.”

All wrestlers mentioned above will move onto the Regional tournament this weekend.

Winter break is a time for students to relax, travel and have fun.  However, some students weren’t so lucky and were forced to stay put for winter break and work out.  Winter sports such as wrestling, basketball and swimming require their team members to stay in Falls Church to practice and play over break.

“Wrestling had practice everyday, except on Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and on Sundays,” said Junior Connor Rhodes.  “It was disappointing not being able to travel, but it also was nice just hanging around and doing something that is fun.”

Junior Joseph Warren, also a wrestler, thought it was a fantastic winter break.  "I loved it actually.  Practicing everyday was fun and you also get to be with your friends, not much better than that.  We also participated in the Falls Church wrestling tournament and we performed well."

In addition to wrestling, Rhodes and fellow wrestler, Jack Stricker participated in a hockey tournament.

“It was fun, because I had the fitness to last the game.  All the hard work I’ve done has paid off,” said Stricker.

Junior basketball player Wesley Coupard also worked out during winter break.

“We did not practice during the break, but I wanted to keep my skills up so I did dribbling drills in my house and shooting drills on my own,” said Coupard.  “However, the basketball team did play in a tournament at Falls Church High School.  We learned a lot about ourselves as a team during the tournament and we all bonded really well.  Overall, this was a great winter break.”