Youth briefs: April 29
By Jason S. Rufner
Getting his driver's license
Liam Kenney, a 16-year-old from Sterling, has been selected to compete in the inaugural Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Series. He stands to win $100,000 if he is the champion of the nascent series, which features 30 top drivers from age 16 to 26 racing factory-prepared 2.0-liter Jetta TDIs.
Kenney, who is in his third full season of auto racing, has two fourth-place finishes to his credit in his young racing career. In the open-wheel Formula TR Pro 1600 Series in 2006, he visited the podium 12 times, winning once. He graduated to the 2000 Series in 2007, winning three times with another 12 podium visits.
"Doing well in this series could lead to any number of possibilities, so I’m very happy to go down this route this early in my career,” said Kenney in a press release.
The Jetta TDI Cup's six-month championship season, which started April 25 at Virginia International Raceway, consists of eight races around North America.
Karate kids
Eight students from the Ashburn branch of the Fairfax Shotokan Karate Club participated in their first tournament, taking home 14 medals including seven golds in the 2008 East Coast Shotokan Karate Association Regional Championships April 12-13 at The College of William & Mary.
Eleven-year-old Dana Alcantara took first in the white-belt division for both kata (form) and kumite (sparring), while Nica Vigilar accomplished the same feat among 15-year-old white belts. Eleven-year-old white belt Coco Vigilar finished runner-up to Alcantara in each category.
Two orange belts competed in the event. Nine-year-old Drake Schaffner scored first in kumite and third in kata, while Mai-Ly Ryan managed third in kumite.
The schools' three green belts, more experienced than orange belts who in turn have more experience than white belts, featured 13-year-old Jed Alcantara's first in kumite and third in kata. Ten-year-old Kathleen McClafferty was second in kumite, and 8-year-old Joshua Miller scored second in kata and first in kumite.
Reaching the apex
Leesburg-based APEX Gymnastics saw several of its athletes compete April 12-13 in the Region VII Championships in Allentown, Pa. The featured skill-level ranged from Level 7 to Level 10 and included gymnasts in the 10- to 15-year-old group.
Brielle Davis became the first Region VII champion from APEX, capturing gold for the floor exercise at Level 9. Davis, the first alternate on the girls' Junior Olympic National Championships, also achieved a sixth-place tie on the vault, earning 15th overall.
Aaron Meland, of Reston, and Benjamin Cluss, of Winchester, qualified for the boys' Junior Olympic National Championships to be held May 7-11 in Battle Creek, Mich. Meland placed third on the vault, sixth on the high bar and ninth all-around. Cluss managed 19th on the high bar. Both competed at Level 9.
At Level 7, Emerson Fennell finished sixth all-around on the strength of a tie for third on the pommel horse. Matthew Rubright took silver in the same event, earning a 12th overall place.
When Dove flies
Brian Dove, a track athlete from Leesburg with the Northern Virginia Athletic Club, took home the title at the Hannah Skym Invitational at Chantilly High School on April 13 in his 15-16 age group by winning the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. Dove followed that performance with a victory in the 100-meter dash April 19 at the Allen Johnson Invitational at Lake Braddock High School in Burke.
Edwin Mends, also from Leesburg, took second in both 100-meter dashes and the 200-meter dash in Chantilly. Andrew Hayden, of Ashburn, won the 1600-meter race for the boys' 13-14 age group in both invitationals, while Matt Panzica, also of Ashburn, finished second to Hayden in both, while winning the 800-meter run in Burke. Charlie Ann Krebs finished first in the girls' 13-14 age group for the 800-meter and 1600-meter races.