From Northwest to Team USA: Kendra Meredith & Week 5 Results From Around MCPS

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From Northwest to Team USA: Kendra Meredith

Three years ago, Kendra Meredith picked up flag football as a way to stay competitive after her college basketball and track days. This past August, she was wearing a Team USA jersey in Germany, playing for a world title.

Meredith's athletic roots run through two college programs. She played basketball and ran track and field in her freshman and sophomore years at Southern Connecticut State University before transferring to Gettysburg College. She continued playing both sports at Gettysburg her final two years of college and graduated in 2018.

Flag football did not enter the picture until the summer of 2023. It started as a social outlet, a way to stay active and competitive with friends. It did not stay casual for long. Meredith's passion for the game grew quickly, and she began competing in international tournaments, testing herself against some of the best players in the world. She loves the community aspect of flag, as she has met so many different people through the sport.

“It’s definitely a sport where you meet so many different people from all over (...) It just really brings everybody together, and it’s amazing to talk to people of different walks of life and just connect with everybody in that way,” Meredith said.

Meredith joined the national team in March as a rusher before transitioning to play defensive back when a teammate got injured. At the end of the season, she traveled to Germany in August for the World Championship. Team USA fought their way to the gold medal game, where they fell to Canada and took home silver. For a player who had been in the sport for about three years, it was a remarkable stage to reach. For Meredith, it doubled as fuel to improve and win gold.

The 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles will be the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport, and Meredith is highly motivated to compete for a roster spot and finish one position better than this past World Championship. She never thought flag football would be put onto the world’s biggest stage, but is grateful for the chance to represent Team USA as the sport grows faster than she ever imagined possible.

"I never in a million years would've thought that I would be in this position, able to try out for the team in 2028 and get the opportunity to become an Olympian," Meredith said.

The chance to represent the U.S. on its home turf, she said, "means everything."

While her playing career took off, Meredith was also learning the game from the sideline. She started coaching three years ago as an assistant under Anthony Nguyen, then coached varsity under Katie Rim, who shared praise for Meredith. 

“She is a true athlete and has worked so hard to be where she is now. We're all friends too so each day is so much fun. She is not only a good coach in the game, but great with logistics and communication,” Rim said.

Away from the field, Meredith's career has moved just as fast. She spent nearly four years as a police officer in Montgomery County before deciding she wanted more flexibility. In addition to her position as the Northwest JV head coach, she now works as a healthcare fraud investigator for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a job she enjoys because there is always something new to learn.

As an officer and an investigator, she dug into laws and standard operating procedures until she knew them cold. On the field, she brings that same approach to studying tactics and defensive coverages. She enjoys memorizing things and it helps her be successful in her endeavours.

“I just have a go-getter mentality,” Meredith said. “If I know I like whatever I’m doing, I know that I can be successful as long as I’m putting my mind to it and giving my best 100%.”

Meredith credits much of the sport's rapid growth to a surge of interest from young girls, and she knows her players are watching. Seeing their coach compete at the highest level shows them how far the game can take them, and Meredith finds deep fulfillment in being that role model.

“I never thought I’d be a role model for anyone, and the fact that I’m able to play at such a high level and be a role model means everything to me,” Meredith said.

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Week five of the fall sports season is in the books. Let’s take a look around Montgomery County and see how the week unfolded.

FOOTBALL

Quince Orchard made some history this week, as they were named to the High School Football America Top 300 list for the first time in program history. Sitting at number 300, the Cougars were placed there due to their five Maryland State Championships since 2018 and their extremely strong start to 2026.

The Cougars continued to dominate in week five, handing Winston Churchill their first loss of the season in dominant fashion, 41-0. The Cougars have still allowed just six total points on the season; it was against Stone Bridge, a non-conference opponent that the Cougars still beat. Sitting at just four points away from 200 on the season offensively, they’ll have to do it against their toughest opponent yet: Sherwood. That game is easily one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. Be sure to tune in! The game will take place at Sherwood on Friday October 9th at 6:30PM.

Speaking of Sherwood, they defeated Clarksburg 31-6 this past week to stay undefeated. While they haven’t been as dominant in 2026 as the Cougars, the Warriors provide tough competition for Quince Orchard and could pull off an upset.

Damascus remained undefeated against MCPS opponents, the final of three to fall into that category. Coming off a 62-0 blowout win over Rockville, they have their second non-conference game this week. They will go on the road to face Westminster Senior High School of Carroll County. The Swarmin’ Hornets are 0-1 in non-conference games this season, as they fell to Oakdale 30-3 a few weeks back.

Some other notable results from this past week include Paint Branch’s narrow 15-8 win over Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Blake’s 34-12 victory over Blair. For Blake, it was a special win as they had a few special guests in attendance. Baltimore Ravens defenders Roquan Smith, Trenton Simpson and Mike Green were all in attendance for the Bengals’ homecoming victory along with Ravens mascot Poe and the Ravens cheerleading squad.

A couple of intriguing matchups for week six include both of Blake and Blair’s respective upcoming games. Blake goes on the road to take on Magruder, while Blair will host Walt Whitman.

GIRLS GOLF

It was districts week for girls golf in MCPS! Sophomore Freya Stilp of Winston Churchill came out on top, shooting a 74. Damascus swept both second and third as junior Sy Shafie and sophomore Holland Musser finished with 76 and 77 strokes respectively.

FLAG FOOTBALL

MCPS flag football is turning into quite the battle at the top with not too many games remaining in the regular season. Five of the top six teams are still undefeated and the sixth, Richard Montgomery, has six wins of their own.

Poolesville beat Watkins Mill 25-12 before taking down Einstein 33-13. They play just their third home game of the season on the evening of October 5th as they take on Clarksburg before having a week with no games scheduled.

Clarksburg shutout Seneca Valley 43-0 in their lone matchup of the past week. Following their tilt with the Falcons, they will host Damascus later in this upcoming week.

Walter Johnson beat Bethesda-Chevy Chase 26-7 and Winston Churchill 20-18 this past week. They also play Damascus this week, but travel to the Hornets’ nest to do so.

Blake shut out Magruder 45-0 and will travel to Sherwood on October 5th before also traveling to Wheaton later on.

Richard Montgomery won both of their matchups this past week against Rockville and Northwood and will take on Magruder on Tuesday.

Sherwood went 2-0 this past week, defeating both Springbrook and Damascus and will play Blake and Wootton this week.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Richard Montgomery volleyball has been the place to be for milestones as of late. Following Ana Djordjevic’s dig milestone a couple of weeks ago, three other Rockets have also reached impressive marks. Senior outside hitter Sasha Dhote reached 100 career digs, junior setter Ellyn Kim reached 200 career digs and 600 assists, and junior outside hitter Katie Mitchell reached 700 kills, 300 digs, and 100 aces. It was a historic week for the Rockets, who have still lost just three sets all season long. Their next challenges are Rockville and Springbrook.

Sherwood and Wootton are also still undefeated and are strong contenders as well. They will face off in two weeks time on October 12th, but each have two games to play this week. Assuming both win their matchups this week, October 12th could be a deciding game. Both the Warriors and Patriots each have a game remaining against Richard Montgomery, however, which is another chance to prove themselves.

Clarksburg and Winston Churchill aren’t too far behind, but will need to be all but flawless the rest of the way to catch the top three.

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BOYS SOCCER

The top teams have separated themselves. Winston Churchill, Paint Branch and Clarksburg each have six wins on the season, while Sherwood, Gaithersburg and Richard Montgomery all have five. Churchill will host Paint Branch this week in a game that could prove to be the difference in the final standings. For Paint Branch, they will face Clarksburg in their subsequent matchup. The top three teams all have tough challenges ahead.

Northwest lost their first two games of the season, which set them back a little to start the fall, but have turned on the jets since. They have rattled off four straight wins to get right back into the battle. Games against Clarksburg and Blair this week are must wins for them to remain in the picture.

GIRLS SOCCER

Each of the top four teams: Poolesville, Blair, Sherwood and Churchill are in a tight battle for the top spot. Poolesville faces Kennedy this week before taking on Richard Montgomery in an intriguing top five matchup. Blair will also face Kennedy before a matchup against Northwest this week. Sherwood has Quince Orchard and Wheaton on the docket, while Churchill faces Damascus and Paint Branch.

The top two squads will not face each other in the regular season so it will be interesting to see what the final standings will look like. The only question is can both stay undefeated in conference play?

Damascus completed an upset victory over Gaithersburg this past week, which was a huge blow for the Trojans who otherwise would have been tied with two teams at 5-2, but instead fell to 4-3.

FIELD HOCKEY

Winston Churchill is the lone undefeated team left. However, they have only played four conference games and have six the rest of the way. It could either vault them up to the top of the standings or eliminate them from being at the top of the standings.

The team currently on top, Walt Whitman, has just four games remaining. They lost their first MCPS game of the season this past week in a 2-1 loss to that Bulldogs squad trying to work their way up. They have another tough matchup this week vs. Bethesda-Chevy Chase.

The Barons have a second matchup this week. They will play host to Springbrook on Thursday as they look to take a top spot in the tournament.

Sherwood dominated Northwest and Blake this past week and don’t have any games this week.

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