The country club school, the city kids, the snobby preps. These are not references we at Mason tend to associate with our student population, but the other schools in the Bull Run District have coined these names and use them repeatedly to describe George Mason students.

I think I speak for most of the Mason population when I say my feelings are not hurt. I wasn’t planning on hanging out at the local Tasty Freeze with the Manassas Park cheerleaders anyway. However, when it comes time for the All District voting every sports season, it’s frustrating to watch Mason’s talented athletes and coaches get robbed of their well-earned nominations.

The coaches of boys Varsity basketball particularly angered me with the recent release of the All District nominations. I can’t say that I was surprised. As a former Lady Mustang, I have witnessed All District voting so absurd that my coaches actually walked out of the meeting. Nevertheless, I was disappointed.

I would first of all like to know how the Bull Run District Coach of theYear was decided. The recipient of this nomination, Brentsville’s Doug Poppy, did lead his team from sixth place last year to second in the regular season this year. But wait- Mason’s Chris Capannola coached our boys from fifth place last year to first this year.

I guess it’s possible that the coaches got together and decided that since Strasburg’s Bob Melson received it last year, going in alphabetical order, it was Poppy’s turn to receive it. Or maybe they realized that Poppy has been coaching for six years and his team has never made it out of district play, so they felt a Coach of they Year Plaque to hang on his wall would make him feel better about himself. Unfortunately, what most likely occurred is that the other coaches were resentful of Mason and of what they accomplished this year, so they gave away what Coach Capannola rightfully earned.

To the Bull Run District coaches credit, the players nominated to the All District Teams were all legitimate and although it would’ve been nice to see Ben Griffin or Jimmy Brock get some recognition, I can’t complain about the players that did. Madison’s Junior Greene and Clarke County’s Damien Hubbard had especially impressive seasons. But the question on everyone’s mind is why was Brentsville’s Chris Jenkins the Bull Run District Player of the Year?

Jenkins is a good athlete, definitely the best on his team, and he had his share of notable showings this year as did every other player that made First Team. But as a senior, he didn’t lead the District in a single statistical category, except for maybe biggest trash talking chump, and no coach in the district could deny that Mason’s Kenny Wilson could throw down a two-fisted jam while treating Jenkins to his shorts.

As a 5’9 junior, Wilson is the quickest player on the court, he’s got a 40-inch vertical, and no player he encountered all season could stop his drive to the hoop or his long range shots. But now, because of the Bull Run District voting, he was ineligible for Regional Player of the year. Instead, the coaches gave the award to Jenkins, who watched the Bull Run District Finals from the stands. Shouldn’t the best player in the district be able to lead his own team to victory? Apparently not, because Jenkins strolled onto the court after Mason’s big win and smiled for the camera while Mason was preparing to win Regionals and head to States.

I would wish the other teams in our district better luck for next year, but I know that Wilson will be back to embarrass them again.