Evening star., 1938-02-22
ST. JOHNS HEADS
AMBITIOUS FIELD
D. c. Public Schools Face
Formidable Competition
for First Time.

naments in the history Of the game
in Washington was predicted today
by high school coaches with the
naming of teams to play in the annual
Metropolitan District interscholastic
championships sponsored by The Star.
The battles will be fought at Tech
on March 3, 4 and and another date
yet to be determined A re-arrange-
ment of Community Center assign
ments at burdened Tech gym will be
necessary to fit The Star tournament
finals into the schedule Of the school
week in March.
Boy teams from eight schools Of
Washington, Maryland and Virginia
and girl teams from four institutions
will compete.
With the best record OF any school,
boy quint in the metropolitan WASH
ington area, but by no maens conceded
ultimate superiority, st. Johns COL
lege heads the boys field. The Cadets
have lost only one game this season
and that to team out of their class
the Georgetown freshmen.
The champion of the District public
high school series automatically gains
a place in the tournament and this
time the apparent winner Of the city
series is Eastern, which won The
Star tournament in 1884, 1885 and
1886.
Western Invited Back.
Western, the 1887 victor, has been
invited to defend the title.
From Maryland come two veteran
standard bearers in The Star tourna-
ment of the Old Line State-Bethesda-
Chevy Chase Of Montgomery County
and Mount Rainier of Prince Georges.
Virginia will be represented by
Washington-Lee and Fredericksburg
in the boys division and by George
Washington in the girls, pending an
acceptance by the latter.
For the first time, the strictly pri-
vate schools will be represented by
Georgetown Prep.
The bloomered contestants will be
Bethesda Chevy Chase, defending
champion; Mount Rainier, little Sher-
wood High of Montgomery, and prob
ably George Washington of Alexandra.
For the first time in the history Of
the tournament. inaugurated in 1888,
the outcome Of the boys section is
unpredictable. Heretofore, the win
ner of the public high school series
has been a near sure thing. Central,
Eastern and Western have bagged all
the titles. None had serious compe-
tition until st. Johns, the first nom
public school invited to the party,
last year went to the final, where it
was beaten by Western.
Looks TO Be . Scramble.
This time there will be at least
four formidable contenders for the
pionship-the two selections from
the public high series and St. Johns
and Bethesda Chevy Chase. At any
rate, these are the teams which, it
appears now, will be seeded. Before
the pairings are drawn, however, a
meeting Of the coaches will be held
and that matter gone into thoroughly.
The eight teams represent q va
riety of schoolboy basket ball interests
of the metropolitan Washington sec
tor, with two teams from Southern
Maryland, two from Northern Vr-
ginia, two from Washington public
schools and two from the prep" realm.
And, as Coach Mike Kelley OF East
ern put it today: The team that
wins The Star tournament this year
will have something to be proud Of in
big way"
Bethesda Chevy Chase occupies a
unique standing in the, tournament.
1t is the only school which has COM
peted every year since The Star event
! came into existence.
Hargaden and Fenlon in Picture.
The acceptances OF Georgetown
Prep and Fredericksburg bring into
the 1888 picture two former idols Of
Washington sport fans. Ed Hargaden,
Georgetown Prep coach, was q great
basket ball player at Georgetown Uni
versity and John Fenlon, Fredericks-
burg coach, one of the best backs that
ever played football at George WASH
ington
The tournament will be played In
double headers, with the girls con-
tests mixed with the boys. All games
will be played at night excepting a
pair on Saturday afternoon, March s.
The schedules will be drawn at meet
ings of the coaches.
The usual admission fee of rs cents
will be levied, with all proceeds above
expenses to be presented to the Com
munity Center Department.
Trophies will be awarded for first
and second places in the boy and girl
divisions and the winners and runners
up will receive individual medals.
Trophies will 60 to the best and SEC
ond best boy suburban teams, these
to be selected by .well-known basket
ball authorities ON tournament show
ings.