The U.S. team may have flopped at the Ryder Cup, but the junior team, which included Churchill senior Zoe Cusack, did not.

They won the title last month, beating the European team in the prestigious biennial competition. Now Cusack is aiming to help her high school team do the same at the state championship next week.

Cusack is the defending individual winner, while Churchill is the reigning team champion. The first round of the tournament is on Monday, followed by the finals on Wednesday.

“I’m really excited,” Cusack said. “It’ll be my last states, so that’s sad, but also it’ll just be a really special experience.

“Hopefully, I’ll cap it off nicely.”

Cusack earned her spot on the U.S. team for the Junior Ryder Cup after finishing second at the Junior PGA Championships last summer. She said the coolest part of the experience was being treated like a professional. The Junior Ryder Cup team trained at the Bethpage Black Course prior to the event, where they got to meet Keegan Bradley, the senior team’s captain.

The competition was split into four rounds: singles, mixed four-ball, foursomes and mixed foursomes. Cusack won three of her four matches, falling only in the foursomes round.

“Going into it knowing it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience really made me take it all in and appreciate it,” she said.

“It was really fun representing the U.S. because you are playing for something bigger than yourself. In a normal tournament, if you win, it’s like great, but you’re not representing your country. So I think winning for the red, white and blue was just really cool.”

Cusack trains at Congressional Country Club in Potomac, where she practices for up to eight hours a day during the summer and until dark during the school year. Despite the rigorous schedule and travel that comes with being an elite golfer, Cusack said she never considered not competing for her high school team because she would experience “too much FOMO” not getting to play with her classmates.

Now she’ll take the course one more time with them before she heads off to the University of Virginia next fall.

“I feel really grateful to have opportunities like the Junior Ryder Cup,” she said. “It’s just given me more experience dealing with nerve-racking situations, pressure situations. I’m just lucky to be able to learn from all of those and improve for future tournaments.”

Washington Wizards: Free tickets for government employees impacted by the shutdown

The Washington Wizards home opener is 6 p.m. Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets, and federal employees affected by the shutdown will be able to attend for free. The Wizards are making 500 tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once those are claimed, additional tickets will be available for $10 for government employees.

The Wizards, who lost their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, are coming off an 18-64 season. The expectations for this season couldn’t be any lower, but it will be interesting to see how their young talent develops, including 20-year-old Alex Sarr, the second overall pick of the 2024 draft.

Ice dancing: Cup of China

Michael Parsons and Caroline Green, an ice dancing team from Rockville and Wheaton, will continue their journey toward qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics this weekend at the Cup of China. The competition will be broadcast at 3 p.m. Saturday on NBC.

It’s the second international competition of the season for Parsons and Green, who finished third at the 2025 Nepela Memorial last month. Parsons and Green started their careers at Wheaton Ice Skating Academy and were alternates on the 2022 Olympic team. They moved to the Detroit area in 2022 to train at Michigan Ice Dance Academy.

The 2026 Olympic team will be named in January.

Soccer: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Silver Spring native Nyanya Touray, who graduated from Northwood High School and now plays for Florida State, will continue international action at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. The U.S. team, which has already qualified to the round of 16, will play Norway on Friday in the final game of group play.

Touray, a midfielder, scored three goals in the first two games of the tournament.

High school football: Blake at Paint Branch

The high school football regular season is coming to an end in two weeks, and Blake (5-2) is facing a tough road test against Paint Branch (6-1) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

Since losing its first game of the season to Quince Orchard 35-0, Paint Branch has won six in a row by a combined score of 285-21 and shut out opponents three weeks in a row. They are led on offense by running back Alijah Bah, who averages 123.3 rushing yards per game.

Blake is coming off a 28-13 loss to Bethesda-Chevy Chase last week. Their only other loss came against Sherwood in Week 4.

Have a game, athlete or story you think we should write about? Send me an email at danielle.allentuck@thebanner.com.