The year 2015 included the end of a playoff drought, a program turnaround and a few individual titles for Reston/Herndon high school sports.
Two South Lakes teams that had struggled in recent seasons showed improvement, while a Herndon gymnast out-performed her peers.
The following is a look at some of the top moments in Reston/Herndon sports from the year 2015.
South Lakes Baseball Ends Regional Drought
The South Lakes baseball team defeated Washington-Lee 3-1 in the Conference 6 tournament quarterfinals on May 15, earning the Seahawks their first region tournament berth since 2003.
While snapping a regional drought of more than a decade was reason enough to celebrate, the Seahawks would add to their memorable 2015 postseason.
South Lakes entered the 6A North region tournament as the No. 4 seed from Conference 6 and upset Conference 7 champion Lake Braddock 5-0 in the opening round on May 29.
One reason for South Lakes’ success was the play of Matt Wojciechowski, who earned second-team all-state honors at second base and also pitched for the Seahawks. Wojciechowski earned the win on the mound against W-L, allowing one run on four hits while striking out 11.
South Lakes Football Finds Success
Prior to 2015, the South Lakes football program compiled a record of 11-30 in the previous four seasons, including 2-8 during head coach Trey Taylor’s first campaign with the program in 2014.
With a sophomore quarterback leading the offense and an improved defense limiting opponents, South Lakes turned things around in 2015, finishing the regular season with a record of 8-2 --- the program’s best regular season mark in more than 15 years, according to vhsl-reference.com.
In the opening round of the 6A North region playoffs, the Seahawks overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Oakton 35-28. Sophomore quarterback Devin Miles completed 17 of 28 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Marvin Grunshie had seven receptions for 114 yards and two scores.
In the quarterfinals, South Lakes challenged eventual state champion Westfield before falling to the Bulldogs 24-13.
South Lakes ended the year with a 9-3 record and finished second in the Conference 6 standings behind Madison.
Herndon’s Keys, Meilus Win State Championships
Herndon sophomore pole vaulter Jessica Keys and sophomore swimmer Emily Meilus each won individual state titles during the winter season.
Keys won the pole vault title during indoor track season with a clearance of 9 feet, 9 inches. Meilus repeated as 100 backstroke champion with a time of 55.08 seconds.
Herndon’s Bradley Wins Conference 5 Gymnastics Title
Herndon gymnast Alexa Bradley won the 2015 Conference 5 all-around championship on Feb. 5 at Centreville High School, beating her nearest competitor by more than two points.
Then a sophomore, Bradley produced a score of 36.175. Robinson’s Caroline Burda was second with a score of 34.05.
Bradley finished first on floor (9.575), bars (9) and beam (8.5), and placed third on vault (9.1).
Bradley’s performance helped Herndon finish second as a team and earn one of the conference’s two regional berths.
Bradley would go on to compete as an individual at the state meet. Her best event was bars, on which she placed 15th with a score of 8.975.