‘A’ League
Leestown, the top seed in the “A” league boys’ basketball tournament, defeated seventh-seeded Tates Creek 62-48 for the 2023 middle school championship. Leestown had eliminated Southern and Crawford en route to the finals and an undefeated season.
“I am extremely honored and proud of Leestown’s ‘A’ team players this year for their hard work, dedication, and willingness to buy into our coaching philosophy – ‘Defense wins games,’” said Coach Eddie Johnson. He credited “B” team coach Josh Gaines and sixth grade coach Shalen Alexander for helping guide the eighth graders.
The “A” squad included Anthony Beard, TraiMon Frazier, Kingston Gaines, Jordan Haskins, Jordan Holman, LaTodd “LJ” Holman, Raejion “JonJon” Lewis, Ben Marsh, Denzell Pulliam, LaRon Tanksley, and Shawn Taylor.
“While it was a stellar year on the court, these guys are also equally amazing in the halls and classrooms,” Johnson added. “They are true leaders and true champions.”
‘B’ League
Top-seeded and undefeated Southern Middle downed No. 2 Leestown 41-31 on March 9 in the “B” league tournament finals, led by AJ Slaughter with 19 points. Southern, which limited Leestown to 10 points in the second half, had knocked off Jessie Clark and Bryan Station in the earlier rounds.
“I’m so proud of how the boys stayed focused throughout the season,” said Coach Ish Thomas. “They took it game by game, week by week. The way each player sacrificed for the team and didn’t worry about individual stats and goals speaks to the high character of them as young men. What a team, what a family!”
Thomas singled out co-captains AJ Slaughter and Daveyon Walker, along with the handful of sixth graders who contributed. The squad included Miles Dabney, Eli Hammons, Grant Hatton, Tobey Howard, Gabe Johnson, Greg Mason-Bell, Brayden McCubbins, Blake Miller, Cooper Quaglio, AJ Slaughter, James Thomas, and Daveyon Walker.
Thomas’ assistant coaches were Mark Shearer and Ryan Ratliff.
Contact: Nick Runyon, athletics director for middle schools in FCPS
Posted March 16, 2023
