Woodson Student & Group Recognition

This webpage will be updated on a quarterly basis. We are so excited to highlight all of our student achievements in one place!

If you see that a student recognition is missed, please email Mrs. Pugnetti at [email protected] 

2024-2025

2nd Quarter Recognitions

Esports Rocket League Champions

Woodson's Esports Rocket League team not only won the Championship, but also did it with a perfect season. They went 44-0! Congrats to Connor Lane, Andrew Wong, Greysen Berg, and coaches Mike Kuykendall and Johnny Shu. 

 

Woodson Esports Rocket League players and coach pose with Championship trophy

Shot Put School Record

Congratulations to Barrett Pullen who broke the 41 year old school record for Shot Put! Not only did he break this record in his first meet, he then broke it again with a massive, nationally ranked throw. As of December 16, 2024, Barrett was ranked #1 in Virginia and #8 in the Nation. 

 

2024 Washington Commanders Fan of the Year

Congratulations to FCPS alumnus Dale McCord for being named the 2024 Washington Commanders Fan of the Year! Dale attended Mantua Elementary, Frost Middle School, and Woodson High School. He was part of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program and graduated in 2009. 

According to the team announcement about his award, “Dale McCord has had Washington season tickets in his family since his grandpa first purchased them in 1981. He loves nothing more than tailgating and sharing his passion for the team with others. As a member of the deaf community, he strives to provide a more inclusive environment for Washington's fan base. In 2017, Dale was inducted into the Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association, becoming the first deaf member. Through this organization, he works to promote fellowship with all fan bases and support charitable organizations, like facilitating the inclusion of deaf and hard-of-hearing children at the Kids Tailgate Party held during Hall of Fame weekend. Dale has also served as a fan captain for the Commanders, working to provide closed captioning in the stadium and sign language interpreting during the National Anthem for the deaf and hard-of-hearing fans. Dale constantly spreads his love of the Commanders and has proven to be a quiet leader in promoting camaraderie with opposing teams, always accepting everyone with open arms.” Way to go, Dale! He received tickets to the 2025 Super Bowl and now has a chance to be named the National Fan of the Year.

 

FCPS alumnus Dale McCord holds up a Washington Commanders shirt that says Fan of the Year next to a woman holding up a cardboard ceremonial Super Bowl ticket.

1st Quarter Recognitions

National Merit Awardees 2024-2025

Semi-Finalists
 

Morgan Altier
Chloe Choi
Sean Cranford
Elizabeth Doan
Laehun Kim
Stephen Labys

Commended Scholars

William Brenningmeyer
Royce Carroll
Rylan Cave
David Cheney
Emma Cummings-Sulmistras
Grace Degrandez-Mamani
Taraneh Doust
Lucas Ezana
Derek Fisher
Connor Geraghty
Sophia Harris
Richard He
Jackson Healy
Jibran Hutchins
Sarah Hymans
Jared Jessup
Avery Kane
Noah Kang
Andrew Kim
Isaac Kim
Lemuel Kuo
Parker Lau
Matthew Lee
Mia Monroe
Andrew Nguyen
Dylan Nguyen
Mia Richmond
Sonan Sahgal
Holt Schechtel
Preston Schmittou
Max Schulman
Samuel Schumer
Benjamin Scribner
Austin Song
Nicolas Tong
Joseph Tso
Sailee Varde
Jieming Zhang
Brian Zheng

 

Constituting America's 2024 We the Future Contest Winner

Congratulations to Woodson senior, Mia Ramos! She won the Best high School Short Film Award in Constituting America's 2024 We the Future Contest. 

TIME's 2024 Kid of the Year!

Congratulations to Woodson Sophomore Heman Bekele for being named TIME's 2024 Kid of the Year!!! 

Heman also had the opportunity to throw the first pitch at the Nationals baseball game!

 

Heman throwing the first pitch at the Nat's Baseball Game

Cav Kudos - September 6, 2024

First Cav Kudos of the 24-25 School year

Students receive the first Cav Kudos of the 2024-2025 school year! Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school:  Hiroko Rose, Samuel Umayam, Nolan Farris, Natalie Hancock, Anne Tembruell, Stephanie Luna, Arturo Munoz Ayala, Emmett Umila.

Faculty and Staff nominate students that have been seen doing an act of kindness, which is reflective of our school’s mission of creating a healthy environment of mutual respect, responsibility, equity, and inclusion.

DC Central Kitchen - Northernvirginiamag.com

Woodson Junior Noah Hedrick helps at DC Central Kitchen

 

Thank you to Woodson Junior Noah Hedrick for volunteering at DC Central Kitchen! What an incredible way to show your support and connect with the DMV community. 

Cav Kudos - September 20, 2024

students receive Cav Kudos for their kindess

Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Trevor Arganbright, Grace Brabble, Trinity Darden-Cropp, Jake Davila, Max Masick, Nicolas Mendoza Rosado, Connor O'Donnell, Emily Primrose, Duru Sert, Eleanor Warren

Cav Kudos - September 27, 2024

students receiving Cav Kudos award

Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Ben Wikes, Saad Alajmi, Greysen Berg, Nicholas Cook, Bryce Goltry, Ethan Truong, Keira Gwaltney, Sofie Ferrell, William Lunsford, Matthew Mikula, Brian Zheng, Nodirbek Sattarov, Molly Hawkins, Fabian Eid, William Jordan, Jackson Kuhlman, James Yap, Michelle Armstrong

 

Cav Kudos - October 11, 2024

Student Cav Kudos winners

Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: Abigail Kleinman, Sofia Davila Miranda, Hunter Dalton, Cole Hyer, Yazeed Mini, Alex Bean, Ashley Hoffman, Madeline Johnson, James Yap, Daniel Mogan, De'Andre Harris, Andrew Glenn, Rowan Kim, Ethan Nguyen, Santo Bongiolatti, Sophia Rogel Gudiel, Dylan Whitacre, and Ruby Johnston. 

2024 Homecoming Court!

Madeline Johnson
Aaron Roethlisberger
Sonan Saghal
Miya Kimura
Luke Sun
Leonardo Ha
Kyle Murray
Astrid Maslin
Declan Weide
Charlotte Wilmore
Caroline Avera
Elsa Curry
Bridget Kerr
Suah Choi
Yusef Kheder
Alex Murray
Sagan Krezel
Zara King
Clive Song
Faith Lee
Riley Saunders

Named Gold Distinction School by The College Board

The College Board announced that 17 FCPS high schools have been named to the Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll. Schools can earn bronze, silver, gold, or platinum distinction. 

Woodson has been named a Gold Distinction School!

 

Cav Kudos - November 8, 2024

Cav Kudos awardees for November 8th

Thank you to the following students for spreading kindness around our school: 

Nina Samani
Shane Camarao
Marcos Castro
Riley Deer
Ava Colon
Kathryn Austin
Rue Carter
Andrew Glenn
Sasha Lefko
Colin Kogon
Jaden Nicholson
Rowan Kim
Nicholas Cook

Faculty and Staff nominate students that have been seen doing an act of kindness, which is reflective of our school’s mission of creating a healthy environment of mutual respect, responsibility, equity, and inclusion.

Virginia Senior Honor Chorus

Five members of the choral program were selected to represent C.G. Woodson HS the Virginia Senior Honor Chorus. They are Sarah Hymans (Soprano 1), Charlotte Reymann (Alto 1), Serena Mancuso (Alto 2), Joaquin Najar (Tenor 2), and Brian Zheng (Bass 1). Congratulations also to Emily Hudders who was selected as first alternate for Soprano 2. Selected singers will travel to Norfolk, VA November 21 – 23 to participate with other selected singers across the state of Virginia under the direction of Grammy Award winning conductor, Dr. Jeffrey Redding. Congratulations singers!

National Honor Choir Ensembles

Three members of the Woodson Chorus were selected to National Honor Choir Ensembles. Auditions are submitted from across all fifty states, pre-screened by their directors, and evaluated by a panel of judges. Thousands of applications were submitted. Congratulations go to the following choristers: Allison MacDonald selected to the SSAA Grade 8-10 Chorus, Charlotte Reymann selected to the SATB 11-12 Grade Chorus, and Serena Mancuso selected to the SATB 11-12 Grade Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The singers will travel to Dallas, TX March 19 -22, 2025. 

All-District Volleyball Selections

Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athletes who have earned All District accolade's:

Sofie Ferrell - 1st Team

Livia Lee - 1st Team & Libero of the Year

Carleigh Orr - 2nd Team

Addi Guerra - Honorable Mention

All-Region Girls Cross Country Selections

All-Region Girls Cross Country Selections

 

  1. Keira Arenholz
  2. Monika Lukas
  3. Hadley Vanek
  4. Madeleine Devlin
  5. Eleanor Wolf
  6. Camille Lichtenstein
  7. Anna Strafford

Technica

Technica is the world’s largest hackathon for underrepresented genders, hosted annually by students at the University of Maryland.

Woodson student, Joelle Rice, had the opportunity to participate this year, along with over 800 other participants. She worked deligently for 48 hours to code a program called ModSpot from scratch. After giving a pitch, and being judged, she won Best Startup out of the entire competition! 

Way to go, Joelle!

Orchestra Recognitions

Virginia Senior Regional Orchestra Selections

Morgan Altier, bass
Audrey Kan, violin
Sahn Kim, violin
Kai McMurry, violin
James Ngo, violin
Maya Smith, viola

 

Virginia Senior District Orchestra Selections

Audrey Cochran, violin
Isaac Lee, violin
Rebecca Kim, violin
Siyona Kolelveetil, violin
Jacob Lee, viola
Nico Lee, violin
Kristina Lundblad, bass
Emily Pan, violin
Illia Shestiuk, violin
Mark Sunahara, viola
Clive Song, violin
Beth Williams, viola
Sunny Wang, cello

 

2024 Metropolitan Live Classical Music Festival Winner

Josh Gwon, violin, 1st Place in the Senior Division and Best Performer for strings

2023-2024

Woodson Chorus A Cappella Attends Carnegie Hall

At the start of spring break, some members of the Woodson Chorus A Cappella had the distinct honor of working with and performing at Carnegie Hall with Deke Sharon. Deke is most famously known as the composer of the vocal music for the Pitch Perfect movie franchise. Performers came from across the globe including the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Woodson Chorus was the only public high school represented. The students received the invitation to perform after the organizers heard us through our YouTube channel. 

Congratulations to the following students for representing Woodson on such a prestigious and global stage: Carson Fenner, Emma Fig, Theo Hanna, Jonah Hilbert, Sarah Hymans, Bailey Libby, Anya Malaveetil, Charlotte Reymann, Brandon Spratt, Brielle Steeves, and Claire Warden. 

Woodson A Cappella Attends Carnegie Hall

Summer Residential Governor's School

Congratulations to the following Woodson students that were accepted into the Residential Governor's Schools:

Visual and Performing Arts -

  • Aiden Brennan
  • Dariya Lukashuk 
  • James Ngo

Agriculture - 

  • Amy Cung
  • Nicolas Tong

Humanities -

  • Lily Eng
  • Bridget Bushman

Engineering -

  • Jared Jessup

Math, Science and Technology -

  • Austin Song
  • Mia Monroe

Woodson Student Wins 2024 National Merit Corporate-Sponsored Scholarship

Congratulations to Woodson student, Nathaniel Kurland! He was one of seven FCPS students to be awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students are part of a group of more than 770 National Merit finalists chosen to receive scholarships financed by corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. See the full list of student winners with their probable career fields.

 

 

Boys Tennis Singles and Doubles Champions

Congratulations to Ryan Battaglia and Marek Raynal Kosecky for clinching the Boys Tennis Doubles District Champion title! Ryan also took home the Singles Champion title!

Woodson Diver Heading to US Diving Olympic Team Trials

Congratulations to Woodson student and dive team member Nathaniel Grannis! Nathaniel received an invitation to compete at the US Diving Olympic Team Trials in the 3m synchro event. Best of luck, Nathaniel!

Region Affiliate Gold Award from NCWIT

Our students continue to excel and give back. This month, Rida Karim received the prestigious Region Affiliate Gold Award from NCWIT Aspirations in Computing.

Leading for Tomorrow's Innovation

Tiffany Park captivated a room full of business and educational leaders at the "Leading for Tomorrow’s Innovation" event. She was recognized for her presentation within FCPS Superintendent Dr. Reid's Sunday employee email round up for the week. Way to go, Tiffany, for making your mark!

Shark Tank Assistive Technology Challenge

Two of our students, Mayu Zuñiga and Logan Lee, were awarded 2nd place in the 2024 Technology Challenge Shark Tank for their accessibility mobile app, Odyssey. Odyssey helps individuals find venues with wheelchair-accessible entrances by providing comprehensive information about the accessibility of nearby locations.

Boys Dive

Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th.

Nathaniel Grannis wins 1st place at VHSL State Dive

 

Congratulations to Nathaniel Grannis for placing 1st in the Patriot District Dive Finals

2024 Boys Dive

OneAct "The Elephant Man"

Congratulations to Woodson OneAct. Out of the top four acting awards for VHSL States, Silas Blocker and Lucas Bickford took home two of them, and the team as a whole placed 3rd. Way to go!

Woodson OneAct takes 3rd place at VHSL States

------------------------------

Another title for Woodson Theatre OneAct and "The Elephant Man". Occoquan Region Champions!

OneAct Region Champs

-----------------------------

Mr. Rushing and his student cast took home the Patriot District One Act Champion title! The production was "The Elephant Man" and Woodson's Silas Blocker was selected as Best Actor.

one Act

Wrestling Patriot Districts

Congrats to the following Wrestlers for placing in the Patriot District finals.  On to Regionals!

  1. 113- Scott Cockrell- placed 6th
  2. 120- Royce Carroll- placed 4th 
  3. 126- Gavin Downer- placed 4th 
  4. 132- Carlos Ramirez- placed 4th 
  5. 138- Michael Mendoza- placed 4th 
  6. 144- Ochirdari Otgonbaatar- placed 6th 
  7. 157- Mateo Torres- placed 5th 
  8. 215- Rafael Pena- placed 2nd 
  9. HWT- Bryan Urrutia Romero- placed 3rd 

Science Olympiad

Congratulations Woodson Science Olympiad Teams and Sponsor Ellen Babcock! On Saturday Feb 3rd Woodson Science Olympiad competed in two separate tournaments. Team Europa attended the Princeton University Invitational and placed 8th.  Two Teams attended the Fairfax High School Invitational and Team Io placed 2nd and Team Callisto placed 11th

Science Olympiad is a competitive science program where teams of 15 students compete in 23 different events in all fields of science and engineering in a one day competition that is exciting, fun, grueling, challenging and immensely rewarding. 

***************************

UPDATE:

Congratulations to the Woodson Science Olympiad Team Europa for placing  1st out of 31 teams at their Regional Tournament on Saturday Feb 24th. We are also very proud of Team Io for placing 5th and Team Callisto for placing 9th! In total the team members earned 32 medals for individual team members, and the team as a whole earned one really big trophy for their coach! 

Next stop States on April 6th at UVA! Grind back on!!!

 

Science Olympiad competing at PrincetonScience Olympiad competing at Fairfax HS

Woodson Science and Engineering Fair

Woodson Science Fair winners 2024

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will advance to the Regional Science Fair in March.  Congratulations!

 

Behavioral and Social Science

Place

Student

Project

1

Annette Paik

Unhealthy Food Consumption is the driver of Non-Alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mortality in the United States

 

Macrobiology

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Quan Huynh, Marek Raynal

A Model of Risk for Cesarean Delivery Based On Maternal Comorbidities

2

Kieran Langer

The Effect of Biological Sex on the Efficacy of Unisex Knee Braces in the Reduction of Meniscal Tears

3

Bella Osborn

The Effect of Sucrose Solution Withdrawal on Dugesia tigrina

 

Microbiology

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Valerie Gutierrez, Khadija Suwid, Saffron Tonko

Optimizing Protein Production in Precision Fermentation for the Production of Animal-Free Dairy

1

Camille Jo

Lactobacillus acidophils Concentration Effectivity

3

Riya Gonzales, Abigail Daniel, Delaney Fleming

The Effect of School Surfaces on Bacterial Load present on Phone Cases

 

Computer Science

Place

Student

Project

1

Andrew Kim, Jamie Kim

Utilizing Remote Sensing and Deep Neural Networks to Predict Biochemical Oxygen Demand in the Chesapeake Bay

 

Chemistry

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Molly Hawkins

The Effect of Chemically Modified Spent Coffee Grounds on the Removal of Ionic Zinc from Water

HM

Asiyah Williamson

The Effect of Added Solutes On The Amount of Ice Melted

HM

Nadia Langer, Devin Nickerson, Audrey Cochran

The Effect of Simulated Acid Deposition on the Accelerated Corrosion of Different Types of Wood

 

Environmental Science

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Mia Ramos

The Effect of Aspergillus Oryzae on the Decomposition of Starch-Based Bioplastics

1

Joseph Tso

V-MODE: Virtualized Microgrids for Optimizing Distributed Energy

3

Maya Moses

The Effect of Different Species of Wood on the Effectiveness of Xylem Water Filters

3

Emma McRobbie

The Effectiveness of Retaining Wall Variations on Shoreline Preservation

HM

James Kim, Indra Ranjan, Catherine Han

Ruminal Methane Production in Holstein Dairy Cattle as a Result of Feed Composition

HM

Sarah Hymans, Elizabeth Kimura

The Effect of Passive Cooling Methods on Internal Building Temperature

HM

Sarah Matson

The Effect of Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Growth in Two Soil Conditions

HM

Khoa Nguyen, Mark Wentink

The Effect of Salt Concentration on Algae Growth

 

Engineering

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Matthew Lee, Benjamin Hall, Austin Cui

Designing an AI-guided Versatile Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aircraft for Wartime Humanitarian Aid

2

NJ Borders, Connor Geraghty

Deafblind Accessible Computers

2

Emma Cummings-Sulmistras

Translating Nervous Energy into Electricity

HM

Peter Bierma, Ben Torbert, Colton Mayes

The Effect of Pollutants on their Detection by Laser Beams

 

Physics

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Nate Vailikit

Image Noise and Sub-Frame Length in Astrophotography

2

Miles Nousain

The Effect of the Transformer Core on the Average Total Harmonic Distortion

2

Joelle Rice

The Effect Of Wind Speed On Tennis Ball Trajectory

 

Materials Science

Place

Student(s)

Project

1

Beatrice Kennedy

The Effect of Water on the Strength of Different Yarn Fibers

2

Stella Milam, Sophia Nguyen, Leah Lang

The Effect of Water Damage on the Strength of Woods of Different Densities

2

Wyatt Hadley

The Effect of Different Food Waste Products in a Biodegradable Plastic Alternative

HM

Victoria Andreuzzi

Making plastic out of food

Winter Athletic College Signing

Woodson held an Athletic College Signing on Thursday 2/8/24 - Congrats to Celia Dawson, Soliel Clifford, Will Collins, Colleen Read, Peter Phan, Aidan Dash, Jason Kim, Bryce Donovan, and Sean Donovan. Go Cavs!

Girls Dive

Congratulations to Taityn Speier for placing 5th at VHSL State Dive finals on Wednesday, February 14th!

Taityn Speier places 5th place at VHSL State Dive

All State Orchestra

We had 6 Orchestra students qualify for All State Orchestra! The concert will be held at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday, April 20th @ 11am. 

All State Participants: 

Violin: James Ngo, Nathan Kurland, Isaac Kim, Josh Gwon, Sahn Kim

Bass: Zoe Eng

Southern Region SATB Youth Honor Chorus

Congratulations to Sarea Manson, Carson Fenner, Kirsten Lunsford, and Serena Mancuso! Sarea and Carson will be representing Woodson in the Southern Region SATB Youth Honor Chorus. Kirsten and Serena will represent Woodson in the Southern Region SSAA Honor Chorus. Students were selected by audition from thousands of applicants across thirteen states. The honor choirs rehearse in Louisville, KY February 21-24 with a culminating performance at the end of the weekend. Congratulations to our singers!

All-VA Chorus

Congratulations to the Following All-VA Delegates from Woodson Chorus!

Sarah Hymans - Soprano 1 - SSAA Chorus

Brielle Steeves - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus

Allie MacDonald - Alto 1- SATB Chorus

Laiken Caldwell - Alto 1 - SSAA Chorus

Chiara Sale - Alto 2 - SSAA Chorus

Lucca Zamora-Soon - Alto 2 - SATB Chorus

Aiden Brennan - Tenor 1 - SATB Chorus

Joaquin Najar - Tenor 2 - SATB Chorus

 

Congratulations to the following Alternate Delegates!

Claire Pocock - Soprano 2 - 1st Alternate

Alex Winkler - Alto 2 - 2nd Alternate

Lance Howden - Tenor 1 - 1st Alternate

Carson Fenner - Tenor 1 - 2nd Alternate

James Hunter - Tenor 2 - 1st Alternate

Brian Zheng - Bass 1 - 1st Alternate

Brandon Spratt - Bass 1 - 2nd Alternate

Deaf Academic Bowl

Woodson's Deaf Academic Bowl Team placed 2nd at Regionals which qualifies them for the National competition in April at Gallaudet University. Way to go Ryan Chelline, Karine Jelalian, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Shan Pillai and Julie Clinch!

Woodson Deaf Academic Bowl Team

 

National Merit Finalists

The following Woodson Students have been named National Merit Finalist! 

Abbey Moran
Anahat Goraya
Benjamin Hall
Finnian Murphy
Gemin Kim
Joshua Park
Nathaniel Kurland
Seth Lifland
Stephen Wolf
William Ryman
Zara Ramakdawala
Zoe Eng

Robotics

Woodson Robotics competed at the First Robotics Competition in Ashland, VA. The Team ended the event ranked 15 of 29 Teams. The team was also selected for the Innovation in Control Award for their design of the Robot Drive System. 

“The Innovation in Control Award celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components - electrical, mechanical, or software - to provide unique machine functions. This team endeavored to simplify the lives of their drivers. Utilizing a robust custom drive train and employing LED’s to signal note possession, the drivers on this team effortlessly navigated the forge of the competition. Congratulations Team 8590!”

https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2024/VAASH/awards

Woodson Robotics

DECA Leadership Conference

Twenty Woodson Marketing students traveled to Virginia Beach on Friday, March 1 for a weekend filled with competitive events, networking, and professional development. The DECA State Leadership Conference provides students with the opportunity to compete against the top talent in the state in categories focused on a variety of industries, including Marketing, Management, Hospitality & Tourism, Finance, and Entrepreneurship. Examples of event categories are linked below.

Special recognition goes to the following students for their achievements at the conference: 

- An Duong and Brianna Nguyen, Buying and Merchandising Team Decision Making,  7th Place Overall  

- Matthew Hiu, Hospitality Services Team Decision Making, Top 10 exam score

- Grace Degrandez-Mamani, Principles of Hospitality and Tourism, Top 10 role play score

An and Brianna qualified for the 2024 International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California. This conference hosts over 20,000 DECA members, advisors, and business partners for four days at the end of April. 

For more information about how your child can be involved with DECA and Marketing and Entrepreneurship classes at Woodson, please contact Kelsey Treague at @email

Top Qualifiers at the DECA Leadership Conference

Regional Science Fair

The Regional Science Fair took place on Sunday, March 17th. We had three Grand Prize Nominees and one Grand Prize Winner!  Almost every Woodson project placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in its Category, which is amazing.  16 of our 33 students won a cash prize, and many others earned scholarships, certificates of merit, and other various honors.  Congratulations to these students on their outstanding achievements!

Student NameCategoryProject TitlePlaceGrand Prize
Isabella OsbornAnimal and Behavioral SciencesThe Effects of Sucrose Solution Withdrawal on Dugesia tigrina Distance Traveled2nd Place 
Annette PaikBiomedical and Health SciencesUnhealthy Food Consumption is a Driver of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Mortality in the U.S.3rd Place 
Quan Huynh, Marek RaynalBiomedical and Health SciencesA Model of Risk for Cesarean Delivery Based on Maternal Comorbidities1st Place 
Camille JoBiomedical and Health SciencesLactobacillus acidophilus Concentration Effectivity3rd Place 
Molly HawkinsChemistryThe Effect of Chemically Modified SCGs on the Removal of Zinc from Water1st Place 
Maya MosesEarth and Environmental SciencesWood Species and Water Purification: The Effect of Species of Wood on Xylem Water Filters1st PlaceGrand Prize Nominee
Jamie Kim, Andrew KimEarth and Environmental SciencesUtilizing Remote Sensing and Deep Neural Networks to Predict Biochemical Oxygen Demand in the Chesapeake Bay1st Place 
Emma McRobbieEarth and Environmental SciencesThe Effectiveness of Retaining Wall Variations on Shoreline Preservation2nd Place 
Joseph TsoEnergy: Sustainable Materials and DesignV-MODE: Virtualized Microgrids for Optimizing Distributed Energy1st PlaceGrand Prize Nominee
Emma Cummings-SulmistrasEnergy: Sustainable Materials and DesignTranslating Nervous Energy into Electricity3rd Place 
Austin Cui, Benjamin Hall, Matthew LeeEngineering TechnologyDesigning an AI-Guided Ultra Versatile Unmanned Aircraft for Wartime Humanitarian Aid1st PlaceGrand Prize Winner
NJ Borders, Connor GeraghtyEngineering TechnologyDeafblind Accessible Computers2nd Place 
Mia RamosEnvironmental EngineeringEffect of Aspergillus oryzae on Decomposition of Starch-Based Bioplastics2nd Place 
Wyatt HadleyMaterials ScienceThe Effect of Different Food Waste Products in a Biodegradable Plastic Alternative3rd Place 
Leah Lang, Stella Milam, Sophia NguyenMaterials ScienceThe Effect of Water Damage on the Strength of Different Species of Wood3rd Place 
Beatrice KennedyMaterials ScienceThe Effect of Water on the Strength of Different Yarn Fibers3rd Place 
Nathan VailikitPhysics and AstronomyImage Noise and Sub-Exposure Length in Astrophotography1st PlaceGrand Prize Nominee
Miles NousainPhysics and AstronomyThe Effect of the Transformer Core on the Average Total Harmonic Distortion3rd Place 
Joelle RicePhysics and AstronomyThe Effect Of Wind Speed On Tennis Ball TrajectoryHM 

Woodson Mock Trial Team

Congratulations to Woodson’s Mock Trial Team who competed last weekend in the Virginia State Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Our team of nine dedicated students utilized creativity, intelligence, and vigor to attack a complicated fact pattern, conflicting witness statements, complex evidentiary rules, and the challenges of courtroom procedures in four full mock trials against extremely talented competition. Based on the scoring of real attorneys and collegiate mock trial competitors, our team won two of four mock trials and was ranked as the 10th best team in Virginia. This is Woodson’s highest finish in the State Championships since 2019.  Well done!  Our Mock Trial Team: Taraneh Doust, Sarah Courtney, Chance Jones, Meredith Phipps, Josie Owens, Jazzy Singh, Franchesca Douchine, Ceyda Bayraktar, and Aritak Waisi.

Woodson Mock Trial Team

2023 District Leadership Conference

Congratulations to the following students who have qualified to represent Woodson at the State Leadership Conference in March 2024 at Virginia Beach.

 

StudentEvent CategoryPlacement
Patrick ConklinHuman Resource Management

1st Place Overall

1st Place Role Play

1st Place Test

David FreemanBusiness Services Marketing

1st Place Overall 

1st Place Role Play

Aadith KugarajahBusiness Finance Series

1st Place Overall 

1st Place Role Play 

1st Place Test

Valerie GutierrezBusiness Services Marketing

2nd Place Overall 

1st Place Test

Grace DegrandezPrinciples of Hospitality and Tourism3rd Place Overall 
Joseph BurvisHuman Resource Management

3rd Place Overall

3rd Place Role Play

3rd Place Test

Pierce Keo-YannEntrepreneurship Series

3rd Place Overall 

2nd Place Test

Gavin CokerAutomotive Services Marketing Series

3rd Place Overall

3rd Place Role Play

2nd Place Test

An DuongRetail Merchandising

4th Place Overall 

3rd Place Test

Maximillian McNuttBusiness Services Marketing

4th Place Overall

2nd Place Role Play

Madisen BlanchardRestaurant and Food Service Management4th Place Overall
Elsa CurryApparel & Accessories Marketing Series

4th Place Overall 
3rd Place Role Play 

3rd Place Test

Parnika UrsPrinciples of Marketing

1st Place Test

(non-qualifier)

 

Athletic National Signing Day

Athletic College Signing Day was 11/8 - Currently, 13 Woodson athletes have committed to playing sports at the next level. Congrats to Andrew Perks, Bryce Donovan, Sean Donovan, Ellie Vander Ploeg Fallon, Julia Oleyar, Reese Cuviello, Eva Lennon, Ella Mathias, Maddie Gaboury, Claire Warden, Taityn Speier, Maura Fay, and Nora Gilmer. Go Cavs!

Class 6 All-State Field Hockey Team

The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 all-state field hockey team. The all-state field hockey team consists of five forwards, five midfielders, five defenders, and one goalkeeper. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region. 

Congratulations to the following Woodson Field Hockey athletes who were selected: 

  • Julia Oleyar - Midfielder
  • Reese Cuviello - Defender
  • Kelby Lennen - Defender

Class 6 All-State Volleyball Team

The Virginia High School League announces its 2023 Class 6 All-State volleyball team. The all-state volleyball team consists of nine position players and one libero. Only those players selected to the all-region first-team are eligible for selection to the all-state team. The all-state selection committee comprises eight coaches, with two from each region.

Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for First Team:

  • Maura Fay 

Congratulations to the following Woodson Volleyball athlete who was selected for Second Team:

  • Emma Gardner

ACDA Southern Region Honors Choir

Congratulations to 4 Woodson students for their selection into the ACDA Southern Region Honors Choir. These students were chosen out of thousands of applications across the Southern Region. Congratulations to Sarea Manson and Carson Fenner for selection to the 7-9 SATB Choir and to Serena Mancuso and Kirsten Lunsford for their selection to the 10-12 SSAA Choir! They will be performing in February in Louisville, KY.

ESports VHSL State Champions!

Congratulations to our Rocket League Esports team for taking home the State title, again! Coach Kuykendall, Coach Shu and team members Greysen Berg, Andrew Wong, Connor Lane, and Chance Clayville.

Virginia Mathematics League

Students with a Perfect Score: 

  • Keira C. 
  • Kuber G. 
  • Thomas G. 
  • Enzo H
  • Quan H
  • Dan N.
  • Son T. 

High Scoring Students - Cumulative:

  • Kuber G. 
  • Thomas G. 
  • Son T. 
  • Enzo H. 
  • Quan H. 
  • Andre M.
  • Dan N.
  • Evan H.
  • Nicholas V. 

High Scoring Schools:

  1. McLean HS
  2. Woodson HS
  3. Longfellow MS

All-District Band

The Woodson Band had 43 students earn a spot All-District Band after a competitive audition, the most of any school in our district.  We even had seven students earn first place on their instrument, a huge accomplishment!  A huge congratulations to the following students:
 

Top Band
Natalie Jiang – 1st Flute
Kyle Fernandez – 2nd Flute
Yeeun Kwak – 7th Flute
Luke Sun – 1st Oboe
Maya Moses – 4th Oboe
Jack Day – 4th Bassoon
Andrei Sabula – 1st Clarinet
Joanna Chappell – 3rd Clarinet
Jordan Hershaft – 4th Clarinet
Jameson Kim – 11th Clarinet
Teresa Nguyen – 19th Clarinet
Marta Scully Bristol – 21st Clarinet
Logan Lee – 22nd Clarinet
Abbey Moran – 23rd Clarinet 
Natalie Cradler – 3rd Bass Clarinet
Grant Kahler – 1st Alto Saxophone
Levi Thompson-Guldseth – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Nate Vailikit – 1st Baritone Saxophone
Ian Ahn – 4th F Horn
Joseph Tso – 3rd Trombone
Jake Spector – 6th Trombone
Benjamin Fitch – 3rd Euphonium
Gabe Eib – 1st Tuba

Second Band
Julie MacDonald – 1st Piccolo
Patrick Lee – 4th Flute
Ein Lee – 10th Flute 
Lilian Cochran – 4th Oboe
Maya Pendleton – 2nd Bassoon
Kai Foster – 3rd Clarinet
Sophia Ho - 7th Clarinet
Hannah Fensterer – 15th Clarinet
Drew Green – 17th Clarinet
Andrew Liang – 2nd Bass Clarinet
Donovan Tran – 2nd Alto Saxophone
James Kahler – 3rd Alto Saxophone
Niko Francis – 2nd Tenor Saxophone
Mayu Zuniga – 10th Trumpet
Kaylee Bryson – 4th Horn
Ralph Morton – 8th Horn
Callum Keller – 1st Bass Trombone
Eamon Girard – 2nd Tuba
Noah Ran – 3rd Tuba
Autumn Silverman – 6th Tuba

Alternates
Scarlett Aubrey – 2nd Alternate Oboe
Isaiah Pereira – 2nd Alternate Bass Clarinet

Model UN - Outstanding Small Delegation Award

Woodson Model UN traveled to Yale University and brought home the Outstanding Small Delegation Award out of 200 schools from over 50 countries!

Julia Victor - Best Delegate
Ben Kralovec - Best Delegate
Rida Karim- Outstanding Delegate
Miranda Baxter - Outstanding Delegate
Cara King - Honorable Mention
Myra Jain - Honorable Mention
Sam Abbruzzese - Honorable Mention  

2024 USAS Virginia Air Rifle Junior Olympics State Champion

The 2024 USAS VIRGINIA AIR Rifle Junior Olympics State Competition (JOSC) kicked off on January 13th. Ben Hays once again demonstrated his mastery of accuracy and time. He scored 596 for 60 shots (56/60 shots were 10s) in standing position and won the 2024 gold medal. Congratulations Captain Ben!

Improv Team

Woodson’s Improv Team took first place from among 10 FCPS High Schools at Herndon on January 12th!

This is the second time Woodson has taken first out of the four competitions this year. Way to go!

Model Judiciary Club

Two of Woodson’s Model Judiciary Club’s competitive Mock Trial Teams competed in a regional competition last weekend against several schools. The mock trials were judged by attorneys, judges, or experienced national mock trial competitors. Each team conducted three separate trials against outstanding competitors. Based on the scoring of the judges, both teams finished in the top 10. Congratulations on a fantastic effort and performance!  Special kudos to Woodson’s Crimson Mock Trial Team that was ranked 2nd in the region and earned a bid to the State Championship in Richmond that will be conducted March 15-17.  

Girls Swim & Dive - Patriot District Champions

Congratulations to Girls Swim and Dive for placing 1st on Friday at the Patriot District Finals. 

Girls Swim & Dive wins first place at Patriot Districts

Senior Regional Orchestra Audition Results

These auditions combine three districts into a region and our region is the most competitive one in Virginia- this audition is often more difficult than the All-Virginia Auditions. Woodson is sending the second most number of students of any school in the region, which is made up of over 30 high schools. 

Congratulations to the following Woodson students:

Violin I | Josh Gwon, Kai McMurry
Violin II | Sahn Kim , Nathen Kurland , Isaac Kim, James Ngo, Ethen Lee, Cosette Jo
Bass | Zoe Eng
Piccolo (Flute 3) | Natalie Jiang
Oboe 2 | Maya Moses
1st Oboe Alternate | Luke Sun
Bassoon 3 (Contra) | Jack Day
Tenor Saxophone | Grant Kahler
2nd F Horn Alternate | Ian Ahn
Principal Percussion | Josh Park

2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge Winner

Woodson 9th Grade student, Heman Bekele, wins the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge with Skin Cancer Treating Soap. Congratulations, Heman!

https://www.fcps.edu/news/americas-top-young-scientist-heman-bekele-was-born-ethiopia-educated-fcps 

 

Heman Bekele

New Members to the Woodson Chapter of the National Honor Society

RuthAbebe
KalebAbeye
BinishaAdhikari
MustafaAkbary
CharlesAllen
DiyaAntony
KeiraArenholz
SophieAtiyeh
CarolineAvera
HaileyBacharach
CeydaBayraktar
NatalieBorders
TheoBurke
LaikenCaldwell
ClaireCampion
SarahChampagne
KaitlinChang
AidanCheon
MakaylaChilds
KateChiriboga
SuahChoi
AlexanderChoi
SophiaClark
IsabelConklin
DrewConnell
SebastianCora
SeanCranford
MillaCronin
EmmaCummings-Sulmistras
ElsaCurry
NiyatiDave
CeliaDawson
AnastasiaDeCarlo
GraceDegrandez
NilceDemir
MadeleineDevlin
DonovanEdwards
ZainElcock
SamanthaEldred
LilyEng
EzekielEstabillo
GraceEwalt
LucasEzana
HannahFabrycky
MayaFenner
EmmaFig
BenjaminFitch
MaeveFoglio
ClaireFrantz
EmmaFrantz
ConnorGeraghty
AddisonGuerra
DagGuessford
KatherineGuevara
ThomasGuo
LukeHan
BethanyHan
SaanviHanda
GraceHartley
MargaretHoehn
AlexanderHoward
CatherineHunter
JibranHutchins
AlexHuynh
ChristopherHwang
AudreyIndyk
LeahJames
AdriannaJarz
JaredJessup
CamilleJo
WilliamJohnson
AudreyKanesaka
DevonKe
AndrewKee
SamanthaKelly
MaiaKim
ElizabethKimura
KatherineKlein
AbigailKleinman
GarekKramer
AadithKugarajah
RiyaKumaran
ShambhaviKumaran
EinLee
NicoleLee
KeiraLee
JuheLee
VictoriaLennon
PhillipLevi
TylerLim
IsaacLima
KristinaLiu
HannahLloyd
MonikaLukas
KirstenLunsford
HannahLunsford
SerenaMancuso
MariaMankarious
BiancaMata
JohnMazur
MiaMonroe
DemiMontes
JohnMoreth
LaurenMoreth
ThomasMun
DylanNguyen
EviNguyen
IsabellaNguyen
LienNguyen
AnthonyNguyen
AndrewNguyen
EvaNguyen
MeganNguyen
DanielleNguyen-Vu
FarrisOusman
AndersonPardini
EmilyPark
RubyPersky
WynSonPhan
MasonPilch
TylerPlath
ClairePocock
EmilyPowers
AddisonPrichard
KevinRead
FelicityRedmond
KaraReuther
WilliamReynolds
RaymondRivera
SophiaRobertory
AnukiRodrigo
HirokoRose
KatherineSaladino
OziofuSanni
KendallSchottler
MaxSchulman
MartaScully-Bristol
SaraShahbazi
MaraSharp
JennaSharp
AlyxSheridan
GavynSmith
NicholasSmith
GhazalSoroori
FrancesSpar
JacobSpector
SeanStark
ChazStephens
AndrewSung
KhadijaSuwid
EmilyTao
WilliamTaylor
AbigailThompson
JadeThompson
LeviThompson-Guldseth
JennaTieu
SaffronTonko
CrystalTran
EllieTroth
NaranzulUuganbayar
VivianVu
ZiadWanna
CooperWhitestone
BethWilliams
EleanorWolf
VictoriaWood
CarissaYu
JiemingZhang

Coed & Girls Golf

Last week Han Lee participated in the Virginia State High School League golf championships in Harrisonburg, VA. Han posted a 75 (+5) and finished tied for 11th out of 60 golfers from across the state.

Emma Fleming and Aurora Yoo earned spots and played in the Women’s Zone Qualifier at Twin Lakes. Aurora finished with an 80 (+8) on the Lakes Course to tie for 7th place out of 68 golfers and earned a spot in next Tuesday’s Women’s state golf championship.

Congrats to Aurora Yoo who finished in 5th place at the Virginia High School League Women’s State Golf Championship held at Twin Lakes Golf Club. Aurora posted a 73 (+1) and finished in a three way tie for 5th place out of 38 golfers from across the state.

 

Girls Golf

Commended Scholars from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation

Avila Ang
Seth Blumenthal
Joseph Burvis
Laiken Caldwell
Rebecca Caswell
Joanna Chappell
Julianne Dee
Hien Do
Miriam Fabrycky
Mia Fanshaw
Sebastian Freemyer
Kevin Ge
Thomas Guo
Jordan Hershaft
Sophia Huh
Christopher Hwang
Samuel Indyk
Cosette Jo
Grant Kahler
Jonah Kan
Haley Kim
Joseph Kim
Patrick Lee
Kyle Lin
Oliver Lunn
Binit Maharjan
Andre Mao
 
Boram Min
Oscar Persky
Anh Phan
William Pierce
Sean Rade
Vedik Reddy
Andrei Sabula
Thomas Seely
Urav Tanna
Phillip Truong
Shira Underwood
Julia Victor
Jacob White
Maximilian Wu

Girls and Boys Cross Country

Girls Cross Country - District Results

Keira Arenholz - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship

Girl's Cross Country team won 1st place in the District Championship

Boys Cross Country - District Results

Jibran Hutchins - 2nd place finish in the 2023 Patriot District Championship

Boy's Cross Country team finished in 3rd place in the District Championship

Girls and Boys Cross Country

 

Girls Cross Country - Regional Results

The Girls Cross Country team took home 1st place in the Occoquan Region Championship! 1st time in Woodson school history! They will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Keira Arenholz - 3rd place in Occoquan Region Championship. 2nd fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Celia Dawson - 5th place in Occoquan Region Championship. 5th fastest time in Woodson history. Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th.

Congrats to the following girls cross country athletes who also placed in the Occoquan Region Championship - Sarah Hymans (7th place), Monika Lukas (11th place), Hadley Vanek (14th place), Anna Strafford (16th place)

Boys Cross Country - Regional Results

Jibran Hutchins- 5th place in the Occoquan Region Championship - Will compete at VHSL States on Saturday, November 11th. 

 

Girls Cross Country Win Occoquan Region Championship

Volleyball

Congratulations to the following Varsity Volleyball athletes for their All District Honors:

1st Team All District: Maura Fay, Emma Gardner, Nora Gilmer, Stella Gilligan

1st Team All District: Sofie Ferrell

All District Honorable Mentions: Jessie Lynch, Cat Quigley, Livia Lee

 

2023 REGION CHAMPS!

Woodson Deaf Academic Bowl Team

Woodson participated in a screening test with Gallaudet University last week to be eligible to compete in regionals. There are 4 regions and only 20 teams are accepted per region. The Woodson Academic Bowl team earned a spot in the South region and will be traveling to the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf on February 23, 2024. Congratulations to Ryan Chelline, Sonan Sahgal, Maggie Smallwood, Karine Jelalian, and to Coaches Julie Clinch and Shan Pillai!

 

Woodson Deaf Academic Bowl Team

Virginia War Memorial’s 2023 Veterans Day Essay Contest Winner

Woodson 11th Grader, Mia Ramos, wrote the winning essay for the Virginia War Memorial's 2023 Veterans Day Essay Contest. 

This contest was open to all Virginia middle and high school public, private or homeschooled students. She won a prize package through McDonalds of Richmond and Hampton Roads and will be reading her winning essay at the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony held on November 10th. Congrats Mia!

 

 

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist

Two hundred sixty four Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students from 15 high schools have been named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for 2024. 

All Semifinalists are eligible to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $28 million, to be awarded in spring 2024. Semifinalists advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements including a recommendation from a high school official.

Woodson High School 2024 National Merit Semifinalists are:

Zoe Eng, Anahat Goraya, Benjamin Hall, Gemin Kim, Nathaniel Kurland, Seth Lifland, Abbey Moran, Finnian Murphy, Joshua Park, Zahra Ramakdawala, William Jacob Ryman, Stephen Wolf

2023 Virginia Senior Honor Choir

Congratulations to the following singers selected to the 2023 VA Senior Honor Choir: Jordan Hershaft, Chiara Sale, Brielle Steeves, Alyce Visioli. These students were selected after a rigorous audition process to represent Woodson in this ensemble. They will travel to Richmond, VA November 16-18 to rehearse and perform with other seniors from across the state and the Virginia Music Educators Conference. 

Their choral teacher, Ms. Amy Moir, will also be performing at this event!

West Point Leadership and Ethics Conference

Congratulations to Stephen Wolf who was an essay winner for last years WPLEC (West Point Leadership & Ethics Conference). He has been invited to be part of their Classroom Facilitation Team for WPLEC 2024.