September 27, 2000
by Jason Feirman and Elana Graber

This summer, 29 JDS athletes traveled to the Maccabi Games in Cincinnati, Ohio and Staten Island, New York. The games offer the opportunity for young Jewish athletes nationwide to come together and compete in their favorite sports.

Cincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati games, held Aug. 13-18, featured 24 of the JDS athletes, who played for the Northern Virginia, Baltimore and Greater Washington delegations.

Sophomores Sara Brook, Jessi Brooks, Molly Ellenberg and Joanne Silberg, and juniors Heather Brooks and Ilana Jacobs, were all members of the Northern Virginia girls soccer team that won three games and tied one before being defeated by Long Beach, California in the semi-final game, 2-1.

The bronze medal consolation game was rained out, so both Northern Virginia and Los Angeles received bronze medals.

The Greater Washington team, with seniors Rachel Feuer, Elana Graber, Bita Azhdam, and junior Heather Brooks, won their first five games but left the Staten Island Maccabi games without a medal.

Sophomores Jon Stahl, Jesse Dymond, and Jon Lerner, together with junior Ari Cohen, played on Northern Virginia’s boys basketball team. After going 2-1, the boys were upset by Greater Washington, which included juniors Gaby Dymond and David Ochs, in the first round of the playoffs.

The JDS athletes who participated on the Greater Washington delegation played boys basketball, and both girls and boys soccer.

The boys basketball team lost to Upper West Side New York City after upsetting Northern Virginia, and finished with a 1-4 record.

Freshmen Gina Minerbi and Jana Kersner, and sophomore Erica Levine played on the Greater Washington girls soccer team.

The team won two games and tied one before they lost to Long Beach in the first round of the playoffs.

The boys soccer team included by junior Yossi May, freshmen Jake Lusting, Josh Goldstone and Max Ostrov, and eighth graders Clifford Goldkind and Meir Lewin.

The team defeated Long Beach in the first round of the tournament, 4-1, and defeated Cincinnati in the second round after Lewin scored the game winning goal in double overtime.

The team lost to Los Angeles, 4-1, in the semi-finals, and after the bronze medal game against was rained out, both teams received bronze medals.

Three JDS athletes participated in the games as part of the Baltimore delegation. Junior Jason Feirman played baseball and senior Dodie Goldstein and her sister Shira, a sophomore, played volleyball.

The Baltimore baseball team finished eighth in the ten team tournament after losing in the second round to the champions, Los Angeles.

The Goldstein sisters helped the team win three of their first four games to earn a bye for the first round of the playoffs. After losing to Cincinnati in the second round, the girls beat the Canton, Ohio team to win the bronze medal.

Staten Island, New York

Five JDS athletes participated in the Staten Island Maccabi games, held from Aug. 20-25, all of whom played with the Greater Washington delegation.

The girls basketball team, which featured seniors Rachel Feuer, Bita Azhdam, and Elana Graber, and junior Heather Brooks, won each of its first 5 games by over 20 points.

After having beaten the Australian team 52-53 the previous day, Greater Washington went into the semifinal game against Australia fully expecting a win.

However, injuries before and during the games kept the team from reaching the championship. Mikki Newman, a Churchill High School sophomore missed the game due to dehydration and Brooks and Wooton High School senior Jennifer Simos were injured during the game and sat out the rest of the tournament.

With only six healthy players to start the bronze medal game against Pittsburgh, Stephanie Bradbard, a junior at Wooton High school, was tripped by the opposing team and injured her elbow.

Left without any substitutions, the team ran out of energy and ended up going home without any medals to show for their effort.

Freshman Jordan Zarin participated in the swimming competition, winning 13 medals - 11 golds and two silvers - finishing first among girls in her age group.

In addition to her medals Zarin set three personal records. She swam the 50 meter freestyle in 26.19 seconds, the 50 meter backstroke in 29.15 seconds and in the 50 meter butterfly in 28.76 seconds.

Even though she only felt pressure from two other swimmers during the events she took part in, Zarin did not regret attending the games, because of the people she met.

“I knew people who were going to the Maccabi games with the swimming team. I got to know other people on the team better. It was also really fun meeting people from other countries,” she said.