Athletes Worth Watching | Annapolis | May 2009
By Pat O’Malley
Liz Adam
Severn School
Field Hockey and Lacrosse
Adam is the third and final sister to attend and play lacrosse at Severn. The Admiral senior says, “My sisters have been great role models for me and I look up to them.” Older sister Jessica is a red-shirt senior at Duke while Anastasia is a junior at Vanderbilt. Following in her older sisters footsteps, Adam has also received a scholarship to play lacrosse at the next level. She will attend Stanford University in the fall because after visiting the West coast school, she “fell in love with it. They’re ranked in the top 20 and they have a new coach who used to be at George Mason where she did well. It’s going to be different on the West coast.” Adam is a defender and has played some offense for the Admirals this season, but will definitely play defense for the Cardinal. “Stanford is graduating a bunch of defenders this year and that was a definite plus for me committing there,” says Adam. A very good student with a 3.8 grade-point-average, a senior prefect, and peer counselor, Adam is undecided on a major, but is considering sports marketing or possibly pursuing teaching and coaching. “Severn has been like a family to me because I was kind of a part of Severn before I started going there, because of my sisters,” says Adam. “I started hanging around Severn since fourth grade and I live close to the school in Linstead. I feel like Severn will always be a part of my life.” She is the daughter of Brian and Harriet Adam.
Tyler Drinkard
North East High School
Baseball
Drinkard is playing his fourth varsity season for the Eagles and was named pre-season first baseman by the state baseball coaches after batting .355 as a junior for the Anne Arundel County champs. The 6’6”, 225-pound right-hander is headed to UMBC on a baseball scholarship. “For me it was like the perfect fit,” says Drinkard of his decision to commit to UMBC and coach John Jancuska. “I really like coach Jancuska and their first baseman is a senior this year, so there is a good chance of me playing as a freshman. And it’s close to home.” Drinkard, who is ranked 40th in his senior class of 260 with a 3.60 grade-point-average and 1,400 score on his SAT, is trying “to be more of a leader this season as a senior on a team that is more athletic” than last year’s county champion, whose record was 18-5 overall. His goal is to play all four years with the Retrievers, graduate and ultimately play professional baseball. “To do well in college, I have to hit the better pitching,” says Drinkard. “I know in Division-I college, the pitching is going to be better; better breaking pitches and hitting their spots more. My fielding is good.” But before he gets to UMBC, Drinkard hopes to lead the Eagles of Coach Adam Bolling to county and state championships. “I honestly think we can do it.” Drinkard, who plans to pursue business in college, is the son of Gene Drinkard and Jackie Semmont.
Emily Gehrdes
Annapolis High School
Field Hockey, Indoor Track, and Lacrosse
A three-sport standout, Gehrdes prefers lacrosse and will continue playing the sport at Division-II Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusettes. She was the Panthers’ MVP in field hockey and All-County honorable mention in lacrosse last spring. “Stonehill is known for its education program and I want to get into elementary school teaching,” says Gehrdes, whose mother Mary teaches at Severn School. “I think I would like to teach second or third grade. And they are graduating defenders and hopefully I can get some playing time. I need to improve my footwork.” Academically, Gehrdes, a member of the National Honor Society, has a 3.8 grade point-average, 1,670 on her SAT and ranked 53 in her senior class of 323. She and her brother, Brian, also a three-sporter at Annapolis now playing lacrosse at Ursinus as a freshman, have no doubt been influenced by their father, Dave who is the athletic director and head girls’ lacrosse coach at Annapolis. “I love having him there and I think he is a really good coach and he doesn’t treat me any differently,” says Gehrdes, a team co-captain with goalie Brittany Pastrana. “Having him as my coach and athletic director motivates me to work harder because I want him to see me do well and don’t want people to think that I’m on the team because I’m his daughter. I’m proud of my father. Both my parents give me a lot of support. They’re always there for me.” Gehrdes is optimistic that the Panthers can make a run in the Class 3A state playoffs this May. “We are all really good friends and mesh really well on the field and we have a lot of talented players,” says Gehrdes.
Sam Jones
Severna Park High School
Football, Basketball and Lacrosse
Not only is Jones a three-sport standout, but a three-sport leader with Navy in his blood. Jones was the Falcons quarterback in football, point-guard in basketball and attack/captain in lacrosse who led the team in scoring last spring with 67 points as an All-County junior. Jones is following in the foot-steps of his grandfather, Jack Jones, and his father Dave Jones. He too is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy. Jones, a native of Texas, will attend Navy Prep School in Massachusettes for one year, and then return to Annapolis. His grandfather was an All-American goalie at Navy while his father was captain of the 1982 Mids’ lacrosse team. “When I was about six years old, my family came up [from Texas] to visit my grandparents up here and my grandfather took me to the Naval Academy and walked me around,” says Jones, who came to Severna Park in third grade. “Pretty much since then, my dream has been to come to the Naval Academy. The beginning of my junior year at Severna Park, it became a reality and hopefully it works out.” Jones, who has 3.0 grade-point-average and scored 1,790 on his SAT, hopes to eventually become a U.S. Marine and then, a history teacher and coach. He is a player who has the savvy to follow up on his intentions. His contagious winner’s attitude motivates his teammates. He and his senior mate, Sean Price have been playing football and lacrosse together since elementary school and will continue together at Navy Prep. But before they begin that chapter, they want to finish their Falcon careers with another state title they last won as sophomores. “That’s definitely the goal,” said Jones, who is the son of Dave and deceased mother, Connie.
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