BEL AIR, Md.—After 12 sport seasons, Harford’s athletic teams finished the 2008-09 seasons with two Region XX titles, two MDJUCO regular-season titles, two Region XX runner-up finishes, two MDJUCO regular-season runner up finishes and a regional semifinalist finish while having 19 athletes named to MDJUCO All-Conference teams, 20 players to All-Region XX teams, six to Region XX All-Tournament teams and one NJCAA All-American award-winner.
The women’s tennis team boasted the best season for the Fighting Owls, completing a perfect 10-0 fall season, which culminated in a Region XX championship title as the team competed at the NJCAA Division I level for the first season. The team also claimed the MDJUCO regular-season title by virtue of its 6-0 conference record, while having seven players named to both the All-Conference and All-Region squads. The ladies wrapped up the 2008-09 season with a 26th place showing at the NJCAA National Championships in May.
The men’s tennis team, not to be outdone by its female counterparts, also claimed the Region XX title, during its spring season, with a narrow, 5-4, win over Montgomery College-Rockville in the regional championship. The Owls also saw major improvement during the regular season, improving from an 0-8 record in 2008 to over a .500 record (5-4) in 2009.
In terms of improvement, the men’s lacrosse team also shined, improving from a one-win season in 2008 to six wins overall in the spring of 2009. The Owls were led by attackman Chad Palmer (Fallston, Md./Fallston), who garnered National Player of the Week honors early in the season, finished the season in the top 15 in the country in two statistical categories, and was one of two Harford players named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams.
Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams made runs into the fall postseason with the men’s team winning or tying six straight games including the Region XX Play-In, before falling in the regional semifinals, while the women’s team saw both the regional semifinal and regional championship games decided by penalty kicks, with the Owls coming out the victor in the semis and falling in the championship. The men’s team added two more victories to its 2007 total of seven to improve to nine wins and over a .500 record, and also saw one player named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams as well as one representative on the All-Tournament team. The women’s team, which was led by Honorable Mention All-American Jessica Stumpf (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall), claimed two pieces of hardware as they posted a 9-6-2 record on the season to finish as the Region XX runner-up and the MDJUCO regular-season runner-up with four players named to both the All-Conference and All-Region teams and four named to the All-Tournament squad.
The spring golf team was the only other team to make a mark in postseason play, finishing as the Region XX runner-up and MDJUCO regular-season runner-up, while qualifying three athletes for the national championship, where they all finished in the top 100 in the country. The three athletes also represented Harford on the All-Region team.
The women’s volleyball team rounded out the fall sports with a tie for fourth place in the conference standings and posted its first-ever winning conference record with a 6-5 mark against MDJUCO teams while having one player each named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams, as well as the All-Tournament team.
The winter season saw the women’s basketball team add two wins from the 2007-08 total of five victories for seven in 2008-09, while two athletes garnered All-Conference honors, including Sarah Spalt (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) who was featured in The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Examiner after recording a triple-double in the Owls game against Philadelphia. The men’s team was plagued with injuries all season, but still managed to have three players finish the season in the top ten of the conference in three different statistical categories.
The baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse teams wrapped up the spring sports season as the Harford baseball team improved from 16 wins in 2008 to 22 in 2009, and was just two games shy of a .500 conference record (13-17), while Joe Harbach (Abingdon, Md./Edgewood) was the lone representative on the All-Conference and All-Region teams as well as the conference and region Gold Glove squads. The softball team also improved by adding one more win to its 2008 12-win season for 13 in 2009 and saw one athlete, Jourdan Harmon (Baltimore, Md./Catholic) named to the All-Conference and All-Region teams. The women’s lacrosse team struggled with a small, young roster but still managed to have two players finish the season in the conference top ten for each of two statistical categories.
Overall, the entire athletic program improved from 96 wins in 2007-08 to 108 in 2008-09 and claimed two Region XX titles, one MDJUCO regular-season title, two Region XX runner-up finishes and two MDJUCO regular-season runner-up finishes to the 2007-08 total of one MDJUCO regular-season title and four Region XX runner-up finishes and will look to improve even more in 2009-10.
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