Most athletes at Briar Woods dream of playing on college teams, and some of the very talented alumni from BWHS have been given that chance. On top of talent, it takes complete dedication to balance college life and rigorous athletic preparation. The 2008 graduating class had a handful of athletes that went on to play at different colleges around the state. However, they never forgot where their success began.

Throughout high school, Brittany Butler improved and developed her running skills on the BWHS cross country team. Now as a freshman at UVA-Wise, she is a member of their cross country team, and her preparation has made her key to their team.

“During the summer I was going by a training schedule that my coach made for me,” explained Butler. “By the end of it, I was running about 55 to 60 miles per week.”

The entire Butler family is involved in running cross country. Her two younger brothers Christopher and Patrick are on the BWHS cross country team. “I give them advice on how they can run their races and other things like running form and what kind of shoes they should wear, then I tell them about my experiences,” said Butler.

Even though she is far from Ashburn, her former teammates are still close to her. “In my regards to my advice for my former teammates is to always give your best. You don’t know what you can do until you try. I would have never thought that I would be here a few years ago,” said Butler. Overall she has pushed hard, and met her own expectations on being a star runner on the UVA-Wise Cross Country team.

Another alumni, Melissa Mailey, played varsity soccer for all three years that she attended BWHS. Soccer has been a part of her life since she was eight years old, and now that she is in college, everything she has learned and achieved in the last ten years is being put to hard work. She was recruited by George Mason University to be their starting goalkeeper.

“I chose George Mason because I loved the atmosphere. I could play soccer, and it was close to home,” said Mailey, “it was perfect for me.” It takes a lot of work and

determination to play soccer due to the competitiveness of the sport. According to Mailey the pressure to win is “really intense, every girl wants to win and prove not only to the school but to the conference that the George Mason Patriots are a team to look out for.”

George Mason is only about 30 minutes from Ashburn, so Mailey keeps in touch with former teammates and coaches. “I miss the support that [Briar Woods] gave me during the soccer season,” she stated. With college having a far larger dynamic and population, not everyone on campus supports her team during a big game. “At Briar, there was a bigger sense of pride. You played for a school that cared and wanted to excel. I’m not saying GMU doesn’t want to excel too, I’m just saying that the feeling of playing is much different,” said Mailey.

While keeping focus during a game, Mailey has inspiration from her friends, family, and Briar Woods staff like Coach Vierkorn who all supported Mailey in her first college game. With soccer season just at the start, there is a vast amount of time for accomplishment, and Mailey knows exactly what she would like to achieve, “I want to post a shut-out against a conference rival, and want to win the CAA championship, but that’s all due in time, and I hope I can get there someday”.

“I am the smallest lineman on our team”, said 6’3, 285 pound UVA center John Maghamez. He was a star player on the BWHS Varsity football team, and also a leader in our school society. Maghamez was recruited as a walk-on and has to balance football and college life at the same time.

“I leave for practice around 1:30 and don’t get back until about 10 pm, after meetings, practice, athletic dinner and then study hall,” explains Maghamez. Study hall helps him manage his time because there is very little time during the week to do things he wants. There are 105 players on the UVA football team, comparing to 50-60 in high school, so practice is a lot different.

“I’m currently on the scout team and we face starters everyday and act as the team we are playing in the next game,” said Maghamez. The football skills that he has improved on, according to him, would be his strength and blocking skills. The strength training program is very intense and he has already translated a lot of body fat into muscle.

Maghamez is still in touch with his former coaches and teammates at Briar Woods, and when he can, he comes back to support his former team. He came to the pink game against Broad Run High School and before all the action, he gave a speech to the team.

“I told them just to soak in the Friday night lights,” said Maghamez. He still looks back on his high school playing days and remembers how fun they were and how much he loved playing at BWHS. Being a recruited walk-on gives him tons of inspiration every time he steps onto the field.

“I am against the odds as a recruited walk-on because I was given an athletic scholarship like many other players, which puts me at the bottom of the totem pole. But I like it like that, I like being considered an underdog and by the end of my career I hope to overcome the odds and earn a scholarship as well as be a huge contributor to the team,” said Maghamez.

This years’ graduating class also has talented athletes that have been recruited by numerous colleges. BWHS’ growing athletic department has helped many reach their goals in athletic success beyond high school.