South River's Griffin excels past tragedy, triumphs for mother

For all the good and all the bad, Brooke Griffin will never forget this year.

A force in field hockey and lacrosse, Griffin excelled on both fields to lead South River deep into each postseason and work past her mother's premature death to push her teammates and become the Capital Gazette Communications' Female Athlete of the Year.

Six months after Jodi Griffin lost her two-year fight against breast cancer, Brooke began her season-long assault on goalkeepers and finished with 66 goals and 27 assists.

"That just pushed me to work hard, because I know she wouldn't want me to stop," said Griffin, whose...