Fall Team Successes Lead to All-Met Recognition for Five Bulldog Athletes

When teams are successful on the field, individual honors typically follow. With conference championships in soccer and cross-country and a DCSAA championship in soccer, 18 St. Albans athletes were named to All-IAC teams. The most celebrated high school recognition in the DMV is that of Washington Post All-Met. Five STA athletes were recognized in the 2021 Fall edition of the awards with Wayne Frederick ’22 and Rustin Khosravi ’22 earning first-team honors in soccer; Chase Williams ’22 and Luke Harmon ’22 earning offensive and defensive honorable mention respectively in football; and Pierre Attiogbe ’23 being named honorable mention in cross-country.

 

As a co-captain and as one of the top players in the area, opposing defenses marked Wayne closely, often double or triple-teamed and often with very physical play. Undeterred, Wayne fought through an early season injury to spark the STA offensive attack. Whenever and wherever Wayne touched the ball on the pitch, he was a threat to score or create scoring plays for his teammates. It was this threat that propelled the team to a win in the DCSAA semifinals as Wayne scored the game-winning goal in the closing minutes of the game. In addition to being named All-IAC and first-team Washington Post All-Met, Wayne was selected for the East team in the high school All-America game played in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday, December 10. Wayne will be attending Duke University next fall and playing on the Blue Devils’ men’s soccer team. Duke finished tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division this fall, was runner-up in the ACC Tournament, and was ranked 11th nationally in the final United Soccer Coaches poll. 

 

Rustin Khosravi ’22, First-Team Soccer
As a co-captain and top two-way player on the team, Rustin led the soccer program in myriad ways including starting every game this fall. Whatever a particular game or situation called for, Rustin delivered throughout the season. He created offense with dazzling ball skills, deft passing, and a deadly accurate shot with range. He was clutch under pressure, nailing game-winning or game-tying penalty kicks in three games. And when the Bulldogs needed to shut down an opponent’s best offensive player, the team turned to Rustin to mark him. In this role, he held All-Met Player of the Year to no goals in the run of open play in three games. In addition to his physical skills and on-field leadership, Rustin was the emotional leader of the team. A fiery competitor, Rustin willed his teammates to find an extra burst of energy in the most critical stages of games. It was that leadership that helped the team go 5-1 in one-goal games and go undefeated in overtime games with a 2-0-3 record. 

 

Luke Harmon did it all for St. Albans on the football field as the program enjoyed a resurgence coming out of the pandemic. With a 6-4 overall record the team had its first winning season since 2011 and won two IAC league games after not winning any in the previous five seasons. Luke played nearly every down of every game lining up at receiver, defensive back, and as a returner on punts and kickoffs. Luke was named IAC Defensive Player of the Year for his bone-jarring hits, sure tackling, coverage skills and ball skills. The numbers back this up as he was credited with 127 tackles including 22 in one game, 16 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, 2 fumbles caused, and 3 fumbles recovered. Offensively, he had 910 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns. Luke will play college football next fall at Amherst College where he will join his older brother Will ’20 and twin brother Miles ’22 on the Mammoths. 

 

Quarterback Chase Williams came to St. Albans his junior year in 2020 anticipating the opportunity to throw to four college-level receivers–Jaden Coffen ’21 (Temple), Jakson Portis-Escoto ’21 (Tulane), Jackson Namian ’21 (Dartmouth), and Luke Schramm ’21 (Bowdoin). When covid wiped out the fall 2020 athletic season, Chase did not get to fulfill that opportunity, although his teammates and coaches were able to see a glimpse of what might have been with one game played against Fork Union Military Academy last spring. Despite the uncertainty surrounding football throughout his junior year, Chase maintained his focus and drive by working out daily and always working to improve his game. Chase’s passion and enthusiasm for football inspired his teammates to put in more work than they ever had before during the spring and summer. The team arrived at its first practice in August resolved to make the 2021 season special and Chase was the team’s unquestioned leader. With Chase directing the offense and emerging as a dual threat runner and passer, STA put up gaudy offensive numbers through the first five non-league games with 147 points, an average of 29.4 points per game. The Bulldogs opened IAC league play with an impressive 20-7 win over Bullis and followed that up with a 14-10 win at Episcopal. On the season Chase accounted for 1,716 yards of total offense and 17 touchdowns including passing for 1,035 yards on 72 completions (14 yards/completion) and 10 touchdowns; and running for 681 yards on 124 attempts (5.5 yards per carry) and 7 touchdowns. Chase’s competitiveness set him apart in most games as he constantly put his body on the line to make a play. He was named first-team All-IAC for his efforts and helped usher in a new era of St. Albans football. 

 

Pierre Attiogbe had a breakout season as a junior, taking many in the area by surprise. But the one person Pierre did not surprise this fall was himself. That’s because he knew how much work he had put in, grinding out mileage day after day even through uncertain times during the pandemic when there was no guarantee that any meets would be run. Pierre’s times improved throughout the team’s practices in August and early September and he went into the first meet with confidence. All he did was win that meet with no other runners in sight when he crossed the finish line, then win six more of the team’s seven remaining races including the IAC championship and the DCSAA championship. In the final race of the local season at the DCSAA’s Pierre was in the midst of a three-runner battle for the first 2 miles. He broke free from the group in the last mile, eventually winning the race by 10 seconds over the second-place finisher and by 30 seconds over the third-place finisher. Pierre traveled to New York in late November to run in the prestigious Eastbay Northeast Regional where he placed 24th out of 237 runners in the top field and ran the best time of all DMV-area entrants. Pierre’s season at a glance is below:

First place, Landon Invitational 

First place, Spiked Shoe Invitational 

First place, Judges Classic 

4th place, Glory Days Grill Invitational 

First place, Skip Grant Invitational 

First place, IAC Championships 

First place, DCSAA Championships 

24th (and top area finisher) Northeast Eastbay Regional