2023 Hall of Fame Welcomes New Inductees

Isaiah Davis-Allen ’13

Football, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse

Isaiah Davis-Allen was considered an outstanding athlete throughout his high school career at SSSAS. A three-sport athlete, he made a substantial impact on the football, ice hockey, and boys lacrosse teams. When looking back on Isaiah’s time at the school, Upper School Athletics Director Bernard Joseph remarked, “There have been exceptional lacrosse players and exceptional ice hockey players at this school. It’s rare that we’ve had a single player who was amazing at both. In addition to these two sports, he was also a strong football player.” 

Isaiah’s successful college lacrosse and professional lacrosse careers are a testament to the foundations he built during his time as a Saint. His interest in lacrosse sprang from his awareness of his uncle’s time playing lacrosse in college and his mother’s deep-rooted passion for the sport. For all four years of high school, Isaiah was a varsity starter on the boys lacrosse team and in the top five in ground balls. He was a starting member of three VISAA State Championship teams (2010, 2012, and 2013) and a senior captain on the school’s first ever IAC Championship team his senior year, with a historic win over Landon. At the 2013 Athletic Awards Banquet, Coach Andy Taibl said of Isaiah, “He was one of a very small handful of players in my time here to ever start all four years. He finished his senior season fourth on the team in overall points…and was truly our do everything guy..Isaiah was one of the toughest competitors and finest young men I have ever had the pleasure to coach and work with.”

Isaiah displayed the same athleticism, leadership, and competitiveness during his four years playing ice hockey. He was a team captain, an SSSAS Outstanding Athlete, and an Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Athlete of the Year for ice hockey. Teammate Nick Cargas ’14 remembers Isaiah as a “leader and fierce competitor.” “I was learning how to play hockey and Isaiah took the time to help me understand the game,” Nick said. He also recalled Isaiah’s remarkable strength and stamina. “He would stay on the ice for nearly an entire 20-minute period when the average player’s shift lasts a minute or less. He simply wore people down—the opposing team would go through four different shifts of people while he remained on the ice,” Nick said. “I once saw Isaiah jump from the ice to a height where his skates cleared the boards in order to catch a puck. This is impossible to do on ice and yet he did it from a dead stop. People gasped.”

Isaiah also played on the school’s football team for two years, playing varsity during his sophomore year. Fellow teammate Darius Manora ’13 recalls, “Isaiah was obviously an outstanding lacrosse player, but also an incredibly gifted athlete on the football team as well. I’ll always remember him as a tough quarterback who wasn’t scared to get hit and an awesome leader who everyone on the team looked up to.”

HONORS & AWARDS

2000 SSSAS Outstanding Athlete in Field Hockey
2000 All-Met Field Hockey Honorable Mention
2001 SSSAS Outstanding Athlete in Field Hockey
2001 Alexandria Journal Field Hockey First Team
2001 All-ISL Lacrosse Team
2001 All-Met Field Hockey First Team
2001 All-Met Lacrosse Second Team
2002 SSSAS Outstanding Athlete in Field Hockey
2002 Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Athlete of the Year for Field Hockey
2002 Alexandria Journal Field Hockey Player of the Year, First Team
2002 All-ISL Field Hockey
2002 All-ISL Lacrosse
2002 All-Met Field Hockey Player of the Year
2002 All-Met Lacrosse Second Team
2002 Heather Leigh Albert Award for best high school player in the country
2003 All-Met Lacrosse First Team
2003 SSSAS Outstanding Athlete in Lacrosse
2003 Alexandria Sportsman’s Club Athlete of the Year for Field Hockey
3-Time High School Girls Lacrosse All-American
2003 US U19 Women’s Lacrosse National team,
MVP of the World Cup Championship Game

Madia Willis ’00

Volleyball, Basketball, Track & Field

Madia Willis was a well-rounded student who was very active in the school community. She took advanced placement courses, served on the Student Government Association, and was a member of several school singing groups. She was also a three-sport athlete who threw herself wholeheartedly into every practice and game. Looking back on her time on the varsity girls basketball team, Coach Bernie Kozlowski (“Coach K”) recalls, “Madia had the combination of athleticism, leadership, and toughness that made her truly special. She also had a sense of joy for life that helped her keep things in perspective and her positive presence had such a wonderful impact on team chemistry. It’s no surprise what she has gone on to accomplish on a professional level.”

Regarding her volleyball career, 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee Coach Betsey Rice recalls that Madia was a dominating player as a middle hitter, power jump server, and passer. She led the school in kills and aces playing on the varsity team for four years, serving as co-captain during her junior and senior years. According to Coach Rice, “Madia was feared by many opponents because she hit the ball so hard (50-60 MPH). During a match one day, her teammates started counting how many opponents she knocked over. By the end of the season, the final count was 23 opponent knock overs!” 

She tallied 270 kills one year and was an All ISL First Team volleyball player for two years. Virginia State Independent School Volleyball Association named her All-State Team two years and Player of the Year her senior year. The Alexandria Sportsmen’s Club selected her Volleyball Player of the Year two times and she was selected All-Met First Team by the Washington Post. Madia went on to play college volleyball at Columbia University. Former teammate Jessica Bigby ’00 recalls, “When I think back to our volleyball days, I remember Madia always smiling and dancing in the pre-game warmups. No matter our record, she always had fun! She was a force on the court, whether it be bringing her teammates together or “killing it” against our opponents. It was a pleasure to be her teammate.”

Madia continued to distinguish herself when she joined the school’s spring track & field team. In a Washington Post spotlight article Madia said “My track coach has used a lot of analogies with volleyball. She says to explode [when I throw] just like I hit a ball.” During her second season on the track & field team,  Madia set an Interstate Scholastic League record in winning the discus (120 feet 4 inches) at the 1999 Draper Track & Field Invitational and set a shot put record of 36’5.00”. She continued to push herself to excel with every practice and every meet; she truly exemplifies what it means to be an exceptional athlete.

1991-1992 SSSAS Wrestling Team

The 1991-1992 Varsity Wrestling team is widely considered the best wrestling team in the history of the school. The team roster was virtually unchanged from the previous season—the final one before St. Stephen’s School merged with St. Agnes School—due to only one senior graduating at the end of the 1990-1991 school year. That previous season was already considered to be an outstanding one as the entire team improved steadily across each match and peaked during the February tournaments, which saw 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee Khalil Abdul-Malik ’92, Joe Shabelski ’92, Erich Langsdorf ’92, and Andrew Maoury ’93 become IAC champions. The 1991-1992 team maintained this momentum and helped set a high standard for athletic excellence in the newly merged school’s first year.

The 1992 yearbook summarizes their amazing accomplishments: “This year’s varsity wrestling team had a dream season this year. They were able to accomplish feats even though they were out of reach. The Saints won the IAC Tournament and the Virginia Independent Schools Tournament. The team placed second in the prestigious St. Alban’s Tournament, the Northern Region Classic, and the St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes Holiday Classic. The Saints also placed seventh out of 97 teams at the National Prep Tournament. In all of these tournaments, the Saints had the Outstanding Wrestler on their team with the title being earned by three different wrestlers.”

An Alexandria Gazette article about the February 8, 1992 IAC Tournament describes the team as a better tournament contender than a dual-meet squad, an assessment that was proven right as the Saints claimed first place against St. Albans. The article quotes Coach David Hooper as saying, “We had 12 place-winners out of 13, we had seven finalists and five champions, and still we were fighting for our lives to win it.” Those five champions were Brendan Noonan ’93, Brian Simonson ’93, Khalil, Erich, and Andrew; the other two finalists were Joe and John Novogratz ’92. According to the spring 1992 issue of the school magazine, “Erich—who along with Brendan notched his 100th career victory this season—ended his high school career with a 102-36 record. Brendan, Joe, and John all won State titles.”

1956-1957 St. Stephen’s Varsity Football Team

The 1956 St. Stephen’s football team was the school’s third 11-man team, but the first undefeated 11-man team in the history of the school. During the previous school year, the team ended the season with six wins in a row. Led by 1997 Hall of Fame inductee Coach Albert “Sleepy” Thompson, Assistant Coach Colin Campbell, and student managers Clyde Lamond ’59 and David Maynard ’57, the phenomenal 1956 football team continued that impressive winning streak with 10 straight wins for a cumulative record of 16-0. This lightning in a bottle season was the result of the right group of people coming together at the right time and giving their all.

Leading the team were senior Co-Captains Don Uthus ’57 (240 pounds, 6′ 2”) and Don Young ’57 (180 pounds, 6′ 2”). According to the school yearbook, although Don was “hampered by a knee injury he was a big factor in the Saints undefeated season…hard to move…great blocker…agile despite size.” Don Young was a three-year football player described in the yearbook as a “good faker and excellent passer…completed 18 of 30 passes…did the punting chores for the Big Red.” Additionally, standout players such as halfback Rhett Clarkson ’57, halfback Buck Hunnicutt ’58, lineman Chuck Bowman ’57, and halfback Ralph Price ’58 (a 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee) were profiled in local newspaper articles for their extraordinary contributions to the team’s remarkable season. 

The 1956 team’s winning streak generated a great deal of excitement in both the school and Alexandria. A Washington Evening Star article reprinted in the 1957 Scroll on the season’s second game reported that the 1956 team was extending the previous year’s winning streak from six to eight wins. A sportswriter approached Coach Thompson after the following game to compliment the team on their victory against St. Christopher’s, saying they played the most thrilling game of high school football he’d ever seen. Regarding the season’s homecoming game, Coach Thompson is quoted in another local newspaper article as saying, “It was our finest game, especially by the line…Our blocking was terrific throughout the entire game and we played like we had to in order to defeat Christchurch.” 

The final game of the season was played in near-flood conditions on a field covered by four inches of water. Nevertheless, the team persevered against George Mason and claimed an 18-0 victory. At the end of the season, the 1956 football team was described by the St. Stephen’s School newspaper, The Deacon, as “our victorious squad and our truly successful coach” who “completed a beautiful, undefeated season.” Their unprecedented season was commemorated by the Alexandria Sportsman’s Club and a special trophy of remembrance that is preserved in the school archives to this day.

Coach David Hooper

History Teacher, Wrestling Coach

25 years of service (1982-2007)
SSS Varsity Wrestling Coach (9 years)
SSSAS Varsity Wrestling Coach (16 years)

David Hooper was a beloved mentor, educator, and coach with a lifetime love of athletics. In 1968, he became a AAA state wrestling champion while attending Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va. According to a tribute article in the fall 2007 school magazine, “Friends of his from back then recall his self-discipline, toughness, and his signature outside takedown move.” He attended Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa., then returned to Virginia to begin his career as a history teacher and wrestling coach. 

David joined the faculty at St. Stephen’s School in 1982 teaching European history. He immediately made an impact on the wrestling team by following the motto “Stay With Tradition.” 

In addition to coaching the teams who became Virginia Independent School State Champions in 1984, 1991, and 1992 and IAC Champions in 2004, David helped coach 28 different SSSAS wrestlers to state titles, including 2015 Hall of Fame Inductee John Freeman ’70 (National Prep Champion 1983 and 1984) and 2011 Hall of Fame Inductee Khalil Abdul-Malik ’92 (National Prep Champion 1991 and 1992). By the time of his death in September 2007, his 25-year Saints coaching record was 176-100; his overall 31-year coaching record was an impressive 233-131. Mark Prince ’83, captain of the 1983 SSS wrestling team and former SSS wrestling coach, wrote at the time of his passing, “I remember feeling lucky that I was going to be coached by a AAA Virginia State Champ…He was and is an inspiration to me and probably a major reason why I make time to be the head wrestling coach at a high school in Florida.” 

David will always be remembered for the valuable lessons he taught his players. Former Head of School Joan Holden wrote, “David Hooper gave 100 percent at all times to his role as a coach. He was organized, focused, intense, and knowledgeable. The standards he set for himself he also set for his players. I always believed he knew the training he provided for his players was also training for life lessons. A wrestler is vulnerable as they are on that mat by themselves; David gave them the confidence to compete, lose or win.” 

According to his dedication page in the 2008 yearbook, Coach David Hooper “…shall be remembered as the consummate teacher/coach who left lifelong impressions on the minds, thoughts, and hearts of countless students and colleagues.” Now, more than a decade after his passing, those lifelong impressions have inspired his former students and colleagues to honor him alongside the finest coaches in the history of the school. 

HONORS & AWARDS

1996 Traditions Dedication
2001 Alexandria Education Partnership’s Excellence in Education Award
2016 SSSAS Moss Field Press Box dedicated in his honor

ATHLETIC POSITIONS

SSS JV Soccer Coach (1 year)
SSS Varsity Soccer Coach (2 years)
SSS JV Baseball Coach (4 years)
SSS Varsity Baseball Coach (3 years)
SSS Freshman Football Coach (10 years)
SSS JV Football Coach (3 years)
SSS Wrestling Coach (2 years)
SSS Athletic Director (2 years)
SSSAS Varsity Baseball Coach (5 years)
SSSAS Varsity Football Coach (8 years)
SSSAS JV Softball Coach (1 year)
SSSAS Varsity Softball Coach (4 years)
SSSAS Director of Specialty Summer Sports Camps (12 years)
SSSAS Acting Athletic Director for Boys (1 year)

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE HALL OF FAME

September 29, 2023

(Click the first photo to open the gallery and see the captions.)