Scholastic Notes

Delmarva region

MARYLAND

WHAT A WAY TO END FOR MITCHELL

Lindsay Mitchell could not have scripted a better end to her high school field hockey career. The senior for Annapolis Broadneck (Md.) decided that she would play as much field hockey for her teammates before leaving them for the rest of her senior year at the North American Hockey Academy, a program where she will prepare for what is expected to be an NCAA Division I career in ice hockey.

In her final match, she scored 45 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 2-1 win over Severna Park (Md.).

"It's really sad that I'm leaving because we have such an amazing group of girls on this team," Mitchell tells The Maryland Gazette. "I can't imagine going out like this."

But the Bruins have now a ton of incentive to carry on Mitchell's legacy; Broadneck was chosen as the site of the 2007 state finals, since the University of Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex will be quite the center of activity that week, hosting the NCAA Final Four and is the odds-on host for one of the four regionals.

DELAWARE

VAN SICKLE LEADING TOWER HILL'S UNDEFEATED CAMPAIGN

One does not win a dozen and a half state championships without great talent.

The latest rising star for Wilmington Tower Hill (Del.) is Caitlin Van Sickle, who was the state's outstanding player in 2006.

But in an 8-0 win over Newark William Penn (Del.), Van Sickle showed all of the tools: vision, elimination, passing, scoring. It's why she committed to the University of North Carolina.

"She is a great, all-around player," Tower Hill coach Robin Adair tells The Wilmington News-Journal. "She's strong. She's fit. She's fast. She's smart. She reads the field well. She has good skills. She is a complete player."

For last year's notes from this region, click here.