Northern's Eileen Horsmon and Katie Gitlin recently signed to continue their athletic careers at UNC-Greensboro and UMBC, repectively.
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By Andy States
SMAC Content Manager

As freshmen, both Katie Gitlin and Eileen Horsmon came into programs at Northern High looking to reestablish themselves at the top of the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and beyond.

They were successful on both counts, as Gitlin was part of a Patriots soccer team that won back-to-back regional championships the past two falls, while Horsmon was a vital piece of Northern's 3A state-championship softball team last spring. Their respective athletic efforts were rewarded, as both recently inked letters-of-intent to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. Horsmon, the first baseman on the Patriots' softball team, will play at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, while Gitlin will join the soccer team at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

"First of all it's a really pretty campus," Horsmon said of her collegiate choice. "And when I met the coach she was really easy to talk to, and I just clicked with her the most and it made it an easy choice."

For Gitlin, comfort with the academic situation coupled with the athletic opportunity made UMBC the place to be.

"I like the academics first," she said. "They have a great biology and science program and I plan to study biology and then go on to medical school.

"Athletically, I loved the girls and the coach. The coach stresses academics more than athletics. She'd rather have us getting As and Bs in the classroom than winning the conference."

On the fields at Northern, Horsmon helped the Patriots back to the top of the state's softball landscape. One of, if not the, state softball powers a decade ago, Northern had struggled to make it back to the top of the softball mountain since its 3A championship in 2001 while county rivals Huntingtown and Calvert combined for five state championships over that span.

But after struggling early in the 2008 season, the Patriots built up momentum as the regular season wound into the regional playoffs. Northern topped then-three-time-defending state champion Huntingtown in the regional semifinals and never looked back. The Patriots went on to claim the program's fifth state championship with a 7-0 win over Atholton in last year's 3A state final.

While Horsmon lists the state championship as one of the clear highlights of her high school career, she still has her senior season and defending the program's position to look ahead to.

"Winning the state championship was really great, but the pressure's on being a senior," she said. "You have to be a leader, and we're really excited for the season."

Longtime local softball figure Mike Kriner, who coached Horsmon for three summers with the Bayside Blues, called the Northern senior one of the top players he's had the opportunity to coach.

"She probably has the fastest bat speed in a kid that I've ever coached," he said. "That's saying a lot because I've been doing this since '88. I've coached a whole bunch of them.

"She's probably worked harder than any other kid I know, also. She gets in the gym, has worked on her flexibility and running. It's made her that much faster where she's actually just as fast as some of the fast kids. I saw the improvement during the summer in her fielding bunts. She can get there as fast as anyone can."

Gitlin will remain closer to home, but that was not a factor in the decision.

"I didn't really care where I was going to go. I would have been happy going to Hawaii," she said. "It was just a really good school and they have a lot of good opportunities after graduation, so that was a plus."

Gitlin helped to lead the Northern girls soccer program back to the state level. Without a state semifinal appearance since 2000, the Patriots were about a .500 team when Gitlin was a freshman. The team continued to improve and won the 3A South championship each of the past two seasons to make a pair of trips to the state semifinals.

"Definitely beating Huntingtown in the regional championship," Gitlin listed as a highlight. "We beat them my junior year and senior year. We made it to states and that was an awesome opportunity. I'm going to miss the girls and all the fond memories of practice and just the chemistry and hanging out with them on the weekends.

"My freshman year we started out like 7-7. We improved each year. It was good to be part of a team that was consistently winning and known for winning."