History of Athletics at Stone Bridge High School

Stone Bridge Bulldogs

Established	2000
Athletic Director	Dave Hembach
Location	Ashburn, Virginia
Athletic Conference	Liberty District Northern Region VHSL
Football Division	Division 5
Colors	Navy Blue Columbia Blue Silver
Homepage	[http://www.loudoun.k12.va.us/sbhs/ Official Site]

The Stone Bridge Bulldogs is the name used for all athletic teams at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. This page is used to be the primary page for information about specific teams at Stone Bridge due to the length of this section alone.

General History and Accomplishments

Stone Bridge's athletic program was established in 2000 when the high school opened. The school's mascot and colors were established in 1999 after over 1,100 students at Broad Run High School, Loudoun County High School, and Harper Park Middle School voted. Other mascots that were proposed were the Stone Bridge Knights, the Stone Bridge Sabers, and the Stone Bridge Thunderbirds. Other color combinations that were considered included Navy Blue and Orange; Purple and Gold; and Green and Silver.

Stone Bridge's athletic director is Dave Hembach, who has been at the position since 1999, one year before the school opened. He previously was the athletic director at Park View High School of Sterling.

tate Championships

Stone Bridge has won five state titles, which are:
*Three for cheerleading (AA champion in 2004; AAA champion in 2005 and 2006)
*One AA title for Girls Soccer in 2005
*One AAA title for football (Division 5) in 2007

The Bulldogs have been state runner-ups three times, which are:
*One in AA cheerleading in the 2002-2003 season
*One in AAA Division 5 football in 2005
*One in AAA softball in 2006

Stone Bridge has also won three awards for sportsmanship, which are:
*Two for the Wachovia Ethics and Integrity Award (2001–2002 and 2004–2005)
*One in AA Girls Volleyball in 2003–2004

The Bulldogs have also been recognized in the Wachovia Cup standings for their overall athletic performance in the following years:
*8th place for the AAA Wachovia Cup for Athletics in 2005–2006

Rivalries

Stone Bridge's primary rival school is Loudoun Valley, Robinson, and Madison High School. Though both schools are currently in different VHSL districts, they still regularly play against each other in most sports, except football, due to a power point system which rewards schools for playing opponents with larger enrollments. Stone Bridge also has enjoyed rivalries with other Loudoun County schools, such as Park View for football and Loudoun County for girls' basketball when it was a AA school.

Since joining the Liberty District and Northern Region, Stone Bridge began to enjoy a more intense rivalry against Loudoun Valley because both schools are the only AAA schools in Loudoun County and also play each other in every sport. The Bulldogs are also beginning to develop rivalries with Fairfax County schools, including Madison and Langley.

District and Region Affiliations

Interesting Facts About Stone Bridge football

*The Bulldogs have been undefeated in district play (both in AA and AAA) since a loss to Park View on October 20, 2002.
*In the regular season, the Bulldogs have been undefeated at home since the start of the 2001 season.
*Stone Bridge has never lost a first round playoff game in its history.
*Stone Bridge is the first Division 5 team in the AAA Northern Region to win the AAA Division 5 state championship since West Potomac High School won it in 1990, ending a 17 year drought for the region, while also restoring respect to Northern Region Division 5 schools which have been perceived as weak teams. In addition, Stone Bridge's appearance in the 2005 AAA Division 5 championship game was the first appearance by a Northern Region team since Langley in 1993.
*Coach Jason Treon won Loudoun County's Assistant Coach of the Year Award for Stone Bridge's impressive 2007 season and helped lead them to the Virginia State Championship.

oftball

The 2007 Stone Bridge softball team advanced to the AAA quarterfinals, losing to Osbourn. This was followed after a surprising 2006 AAA runner up finish to Hanover. The Bulldogs also qualified for the 2005 Region II tournament.

Baseball

The 2007 Bulldog Baseball team earned a third place finish in the Liberty District and advanced to the Northern Region Tournament, where they would fall to South County in the second round. The Bulldogs won the 2003, 2004, and 2005 Dulles District championships and have qualified for five straight regional tournament appearances from 2003-2007.

Girls Soccer

Stone Bridge has one of the strongest girls soccer teams in Virginia after winning the 2005 Virginia AA Championship over Courtland High School of Fredericksburg and with a 16-4-4 record overall. The 2006 and 2007 Bulldog teams won the Liberty District championship but were upset by Lake Braddock in the Northern Region tournament in both years. In 2007, Stone Bridge earned a #1 ranking in the Washington Post as the top girls soccer program in Northern Virginia.

Boys Soccer

The Boys Soccer Team earned its second Northern Region tournament berth and advanced to the quarterfinals where the Bulldogs lost to Westfield in 2007. The Bulldogs earned a 11-6-2 record overall. The 2005 and 2006 Bulldog teams also earned spots in the AA Region II and Northern Region tournaments respectively.

Girls Basketball

Stone Bridge has a competitive girls basketball program, which has made four consecutive Regional tournament berths which included two Region II berths for the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons, and two Northern Region berths in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. The Bulldogs have been very tough to play at home where they have had a winning record at home since the 2001-2002 season.

Boys Basketball

The 2006-2007 Bulldog team improved considerably to a 12-10 record from a 7-19 record the previous season, but failed to reach the Northern Region tournament. The Bulldogs made one regional appearance in the 2004-2005 AA Region II tournament.

Girls Lacrosse

Stone Bridge Girls Lacrosse has won District Championships in three of the past five years (2004, 2005 AA Dulles and 2008 AAA Liberty). They have advanced to the Region Tournament for six straight years.

Wrestling

Stone Bridge has a Varsity and Junior Varsity wrestling team. In 2006 the Bulldogs coach, Bill Bono, stepped down and was replaced by assistant coach Faul. The one time the Bulldogs got close to winning a District title was in the 2004-2005 season, the bulldogs last in AA. they were edged out by Wrestling rival Potomac Falls High School in the Dulles District Tournament. Since that time the Bulldogs, with a few notable exceptions, have struggled in post-season competition.

Boys Track

The Bulldogs Boys Track team, coached by Dr. Mandes, won its first District title in the spring of 2005. During 2006, its first season in AAA, Stone Bridge was unable to capitalize on the momentum it had built the previous year. With a good returning roster and a wealth of new talent the Bulldogs hope to make a run for the Liberty District title at the end of the 2007 spring season. So far in 2007 the Bulldogs have placed 1st at 2 1st team invitational meets and 2nd at another. This is to date their best in-season performance as a team. Many school records in individual and team events have been broken in 2007 as well.

Girls Track

The Bulldogs Girls Track team has had mixed success over the years. Winning District titles in their earlier years, the Bulldogs have recently fallen short of their District Title goals. Boasting spread out talent amongst the many events of Track and Field, the Bulldogs hope to be a viable contender in the spring of 2007.

Ice Hockey

Stone Bridge has a varsity ice hockey team, though hockey is not a VHSL sponsored activity. However, Stone Bridge is a member of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League and in the Liberty Division, which is not affiliated or to be confused with the Liberty District.

Stone Bridge has fielded a varsity team since its opening, and has been one of the top teams in the Washington Metropolitan Area, winning the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 NVSHL titles. The Bulldogs also were among the favorites to win the NVSHL title in the 2005-2006 school year, but lost 5-4 in the finals against Woodbridge High School.

References

Footnotes and citations

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