Mount Vernon High School (Alexandria, Virginia) - School Sports

School Sports

School athletic programs feature fall, winter and spring sports, including cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, swimming, wrestling, baseball, crew, lacrosse, softball, soccer, tennis, track and intramural sports.

Mount Vernon High School’s Director of Student Activities is Bob Maxey.

VARSITY BASEBALL enjoys a long tradition at MV, having been around since the school opened in 1940. MV had existed previously as Lee-Jackson High, which won the state title in 1932. MV's 1st coach, Al Omohundro, had filled the same capacity at Lee-Jackson and would lead the team to a district title in his only year at MV. He was followed by Bob Marshall in 1941, a year that also saw the team crowned champions. Interestingly enough, both of these men would only coach at MV for 1 season . . . because BOTH left to join the war effort (WWII). Amazing. Although clearly in good hands from the start, it would be the next era that would be the program's finest hour. Under legendary coach Harry Lee, the Majors would win 154 games and 4 district titles in his 10 seasons at the helm. Among these seasons was 1948's 22-6-1 (most wins in school history). Lee would also serve as athletic director at the school for a time and was succeeded by another legend Syd Thrift (Major League Baseball scout/general manager). Thrift's 1956 team captured the title going 14-2, producing the best single-season winning percentage (.875) in school history. Tommy Lyles would bridge the gap from Thrift to John Yednock, who skippered the Majors for the next 16 years. Yednock's teams would win back-to-back titles in 1968-69. His longevity had helped point the program toward a return to greatness. Due to health reasons, Mike Foglio would take over for Coach Yednock. It would be that team in 1976 that would make it further than any MV team before or since. Led by two of the finest pitchers in program history, Bob Rock and Atlee Hammaker, the Majors would win the Region for the only time and advanced to the state final before losing 3-0 to Bayside on a no-hitter. Foglio's teams would win 4 district titles, the last coming in 1984. The next 16 years would be highly competitive but frustrating as the district title would elude the team each time. Then in 2001, under 1st year coach Jimmy Linza, the team would finally break through. That team would go on to win the title, while posting a tremendous 20-4 record—MV's best in over 50 years! Leading the Majors were standouts John Sable on the mound (9-2 record in 65 1/3 innings) and slugger Shawn Adcock behind the plate, hitting .565 with 12 doubles, 5 triples, 5 HR's, and 32 RBI's. The 2003 team would match the dominance of the 01 team, but through weather-related scheduling changes found themselves the 3 seed in the district tournament. Daniel Gulino would lead the team, both offensively (team high .431 average, 16 steals) and on the mound (8-2 with 1.48 ERA, 82 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings), striking out the final batter to seal a 6-4 title game victory over Yorktown. The 2004 team would make it 3 titles in 4 years for the first time in school history, upsetting a Yorktown team that was 13-0 in the district to that point. A tremendous upset led by the pitching of Joey Sable and Blake Henry, key HR's from Sable and Jimmy Manolas, inspired baserunning by Tyler Martin who would score on a steal of 2nd, and the leadership of sophomore catcher Alex Swenson backstopping his 2nd championship team. The 2005 team would tie for the top spot in a 17-3 regular season, but would fall short of the title this time. Chad Eagerton's 10 win season was noteworthy and Coach Linza would be named District and Regional Coach of the Year for the 1st time. This great era would end in 05, having produced 3 titles in 5 years along with an 82-30 record, 4 Spring Break tournament titles, 3 no-hitters, and the biggest win in school history (28-0 @ Bethlehem Baptist of Fairfax). Note also that the JV team would go 62-4 and win all or part of the 5 titles during this era under Coaches Bob Branco, John Sable, Ron Martin, Chico Ramos, John Reina, Jeff Earley, and Bill Dempkowski. Former MV star Luke Sable would guide the team back to prominence, including his team's Alexandria City tournament title in 2010. For more info on MV and Northern Region baseball history, please visit the following link (http://hawksathletics.org/index.cfm?action=main.teamfiles&ID=3845&seasonid=56283).