Top 10 sports stories of 2009

1.

Haymarket Senators win league title

Less than two years removed from possible contraction in 2007, the Haymarket Senators completed a remarkable run in the Valley Baseball League postseason to earn the organization's first league title.

With five games to go in the regular season, the Senators were two and a half games out of the playoff hunt before slipping into the No. 7 seed on the season's final day of play. The Senators went on to win seven of their eight playoff games, beating eighth seed Covington three games to one in the finals.

2.

Keith King leaves Woodbridge

Keith King resigned his position as Woodbridge's head football in October, citing "personal reasons" as the reason. King was placed on administrative leave Sept. 28.

King was 56-37 at Woodbridge, leading the program to five straight playoff appearances, including the Division 6 state final in 2007. He was replaced by offensive coordinator Kevin Smith for the remainder of the season. Woodbridge finished 10-1 overall.

3.

Battlefield football reaches state semifinals

The Bobcats won their third consecutive Cedar Run District crown and pushed their regular season win streak to 29 games before defeating Franklin County 33-7 in the Northwest Region, Division 6 semifinals for the school's first-ever playoff win. Battlefield had lost in the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons. After winning the regional title, the Bobcats lost 27-24 in overtime to Lake Braddock in the state semifinals.

4.

Local players taken in the NFL Draft

Clint Sintim (Gar-Field) and Deon Butler (Hylton) were selected in the second and third rounds of last April's NFL Draft. Sintim, a linebacker from the University of Virginia, and Prince William County's highest selection ever in the draft, was the No. 45 pick overall by the New York Giants. Butler, a record-setting wide receiver from Penn State, was the No. 91 pick overall by Seattle.

5.

Osbourn Park gymnastics wins again at states

In the team competition, the Yellow Jackets established school, county and region scoring records by edging Kellam for the third consecutive year, this time 150.9-150.8. They also became the first Prince William County team in any sport to capture three consecutive Group AAA state championships. Iowa State-bound Megan McDonald earned the highest all-around score of her career - 38.975 - to place second.

6.

Four players taken in MLB Draft

A record four former area high school baseball players were picked in June's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft: Forest Park graduate Ryan Woolley (sixth round, Atlanta), Hylton graduate Ryan Wood (11th, Kansas City), Osbourn graduate Brent Greer (14th, Arizona) and Osbourn Park graduate Jordan Flasher (22nd, Boston). Only Woolley did not sign, returning to Alabama-Birmingham.

7.

Ryan Williams' record-setting year at Va. Tech

A first-year starting running back for the Hokies, Stonewall Jackson High School graduate Ryan Williams had a breakout season. The red-shirt freshman earned all-ACC honors and was named the league's rookie of the year after rushing for 1,538 yards going into Friday's bowl game in Atlanta. That total was the most rushing yardage by a freshman in school and ACC history.

8.

Wright and Kizer light up the ACC

Forest Park graduate Monica Wright was selected as a preseason All-American and the leading candidate for ACC player of the year. The University of Virginia senior is closing in on the career scoring record currently held by Dawn Staley. Potomac graduate Lynetta Kizer was selected as the ACC freshman of the year after averaging 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Maryland. She was named a preseason third-team all-American.

9.

Potomac Nationals

Another chapter in the Potomac Nationals bid for a new stadium happened in mid December when it was reported that Comstock Partners LLC had submitted a pre-application to build a stadium for the team in Loudoun County. Potomac, which is the high Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, will spend 2010 at Pfitzner Stadium, its home since 1984.

10.

Benita Fitzgerald Mosley

The Gar-Field High School graduate and 1984 Olympic gold medalist was introduced as USA Track and Field's first chief of sport performance in May. Fitzgerald Mosley was president of the Women's Sports Foundation Board of Trustees in 1997-98 and remains a member of the board. She also has served as a director of the U.S. Olympic Committee's training centers. At the time she accepted her new position, Fitzgerald Mosley had been the president and CEO of Women in Cable Telecommunications.