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OPENING UP: Michael Discovers Self Through Sports Medicine Program
DULLES SOPHOMORE RACHEL MICHAEL HAS LEARNED A LOT ABOUT HERSELF IN ALMOST TWO YEARS WITH THE VIKINGS’ SPORTS MEDICINE PROGRAM.
She’s no longer the shy, timid young lady who first walked onto campus.
“I’ve learned how to bond with people,” Michael said. “I can be myself more around our coaches and even the athletes. I feel super comfortable.”
She also may have found her career path.
“As an athletic training student aide, we do a lot with hydration management, taping, physical therapy and basic first aid,” Michael said. “I find that super cool.”
Michael had no idea what sports medicine was when she was in middle school. But her older sister Anna’s involvement with the Dulles program and her uncle, Dr. Michael Abdelfayed, working in physical rehabilitation, piqued her interest.
Michael’s favorite sports to work are football and soccer.
“Football is the most hands-on sport for us,” she said. “We do the most with the athletes. And soccer, in my opinion, is just the most interesting to watch. Growing up, my dad was a huge soccer fan.”
VYPE spoke more with Michael.
VYPE: What is something high school athletes should adhere to more that you see from your perspective as a student trainer?
MICHAEL: Hydration is super important. A lot of the time, throughout their normal day, they neglect to drink water. And when they get on the field, they pay the price with cramps and having to sit out. You’re supposed to drink half your body weight in ounces, per day. That’s what I’ve heard. I also think a lot of times when athletes get injured, they try and tough it out and take care of it themselves. They should just come talk to us, because we’ll be able to help and we’ll have them on the road to recovery faster.
VYPE: How is the dynamic for you and Anna (a junior) being sisters in the program?
MICHAEL: I feel like it has brought us closer together. At first, we didn’t work any games together. We were like, ‘No, that’s not happening.’ Then we started working soccer games together and we have all this time to talk and learn things about each other. Now we work most of our games together.
VYPE: What do you think she’s learned about you?
MICHAEL: I think she gets to see a different side of me. When we start working games together, she started seeing a happier me. She’s even told me she’s really happy to see me open up to other people and be open to meeting new people.
Dulles senior guard Peyton Overton scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds Tuesday to lead the Vikings to the regional tournament for the first time since 2008-2009.
Overton leads Dulles to 1st regional semifinal since ’09
KATY—Late during Tuesday’s Class 6A Region III quarterfinal against Tompkins, Dulles senior guard Peyton Overton addressed her teammates.
“We’ve been here before, y’all!” Overton bellowed. “We’ve been here before!”
The veteran team, with a roster of 10 seniors, certainly has. Adversity is no stranger to these Vikings. Trials are embraced as much as the triumphs.
And Tuesday was a definitive triumph.
Overton talked the talk and then strutted the walk, scoring six of her team-high 29 points in overtime to lead Dulles to a 64-59 win over Tompkins at the Merrell Center in a rematch of last year’s regional quarterfinal.
Peyton Overton triple. She\u2019s 3-5 from deep, has 11 points and seven rebounds already. #txhshoops @DullesGBB @DHS_Vikingspic.twitter.com/hRZzqOgaKI— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1645581387
The Falcons, which ended their year 35-4, won that round. But the Vikings exacted revenge, and in doing so punched their ticket to the regional tournament for the first time since 2008-2009.
Dulles (27-6) plays Summer Creek at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Merrell Center in the regional semifinal.
“Most of us are seniors, so this is our last ride,” said Overton, who added a game-high 15 rebounds. “We want it even more. It was a game that was an exact repeat from last year, and that hurt so bad. It was tough last year. We didn’t want to go down in the third round again. We made it happen.”
The game was a back-and-forth hurrah, with Overton pacing Dulles and junior guard Macy Spencer (33 points) leading Tompkins.
Both players showed off terrific shooting and scoring skills. Spencer made nine two-point baskets, all nine of her free throw attempts, and two 3-pointers. Overton made four two-point baskets, nine of 10 free throws, and four of seven 3-point attempts.
Peyton Overton is going off tonight. She\u2019s got 19 for @DullesGBB. #txhshoops @DHS_Vikingspic.twitter.com/iB2DmVYh3H— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1645582969
“I was just attacking the gaps and involving my teammates as well,” said Overton, who entered Tuesday averaging 10.3 points this season. “As a team, we were seeing where they were coming from and just finding the open man.”
With senior guard Dai Dai Powell, the team’s second-leading scorer, having a rare off game offensively with three points, Overton was huge for the Vikings.
“Any one of these girls can have a lights-out night,” coach Christina Jamerson said. “For Peyton, tonight was her night. It’s awesome to see her step up. We know when someone may be off, someone else will step up. That’s what I’m so proud of about these girls. I love the fact that they step up for each other.”
Tompkins’ Bella Riggan put the Falcons up, 46-45, on an offensive putback with 2:20 left in regulation. Overton hit one of two free throws with 1:57 left to tie it up.
With 15.3 seconds left, Spencer found senior guard Brooklynn Nash wide open for a layup to put Tompkins ahead, 48-46. After a timeout, Dulles went the length of the floor.
A broken play ended with senior guard Nya Threatt delivering a quick, heads-up pass to a diving Alima Diop for the game-tying lay-in as time expired.
Wow. Alia Diop! We\u2019re going to OT. Crazy game. 48-48. #txhshoops @DullesGBB @DHS_Vikings @FBISDAthleticspic.twitter.com/517E4Tc2gX— Dennis Silva II (@Dennis Silva II) 1645585091
“We had a totally different play in mind,” said Threatt, who had 17 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. “The play was to try and get it to Pey, but it didn’t work out that way. So, we kind of just scrambled at the end, and we were able to make it count. I was just trying to get it to the open person. I saw Ali wide open.”
Dulles held off an overtime rampage from Spencer, who scored nine of Tompkins’ 11 points in the extra session. The Vikings got scoring in overtime from four players, whereas the Falcons had two players score in the OT.
“It’s easy for us to play together,” Threatt said. “We’ve all been playing together a long time now. We do a good job of keeping our composure and we’re able to get it.”
Free-throw shooting proved crucial down the stretch for the Vikings, who hit 12 of 13 in the four-minute overtime.
“We got a chance to keep fighting and we got a chance to prove ourselves,” Overton said. “That’s what we did.”
Overall, Dulles made 31 of 40 free throws. Tompkins made 14 of 18.
“I told them all the same thing,” said Jamerson, in her first season at the helm of Dulles. “Play aggressive, play smart, play together, play hard, play together, and play to win. And have fun.”
The Vikings did. And the reward is going somewhere they have not been in 13 years as a program.
“We want it so bad and we’re going to keep fighting,” Overton said. “That’s all we know.”