Bullis School student Quincy Wilson, who won an Olympic gold medal this summer as the youngest male member ever of the U.S. men’s track team, was the star attraction at Sunday’s Washington Nationals game against the Chicago Cubs at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Wilson, a junior at the Potomac private school, wore a white Nationals jersey as he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to start the 1:30 p.m. game. He then participated in the traditional Presidents Race held at every home game, waving to the crowd.

The team celebrated the teen’s appearance on social media, calling him “the FASTEST KID ALIVE.”

Wilson’s appearance proved to be Nationals fans’ only opportunity for a celebration as the Cubs trounced the home team 14-1.

In addition to being the youngest U.S. male track Olympian, Wilson took home a gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay from the 2024 Olympics Games held in Paris this summer.

Wilson watched from the stands as his teammates brought home the gold—the third straight Olympic gold medal for the U.S. team in the relay.

Wilson earned the medal by running the opening leg for the U.S. team in the first round of the race, putting the team in seventh place when he handed off the baton. His teammates–Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey–made up ground to finish in third place, sending the team to the relay final.

With his appearance, Wilson made history as he became the youngest man to compete in track for the United States at the Olympics.

In June, Wilson fell short by tenths of a second to become the youngest male member to compete as an individual with the team at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

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Editor’s note: This article, originally published at 8:44 p.m. on Aug. 11, 2024, was updated at 6:48 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2024, to add statements from MCPS, Bethesda Elementary School and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.

Montgomery County police are investigating the spray-painting of antisemitic phrases on the parking lot at Bethesda Elementary School and at a nearby building in downtown Bethesda over the weekend.

Officers responded at about 7:15 a.m. Sunday for a report of vandalism, police said Sunday afternoon in a statement.

“During the overnight hours, unknown suspects spray painted anti-Semitic phrases over the parking lot area of the school and a nearby building in the 4900 block of Del Ray Ave.,” police said in the statement.

The school is at 7600 Arlington Road and is home to a farmers market on Sunday mornings.

On Sunday, Bethesda Elementary School Principal Lisa Seymour sent a letter to families about the school being “defaced with politically charged statements.”

“Unfortunately, many people were attending the farmer’s market (in the school parking lot), and our neighbors saw the graffiti. As we are only two weeks away from the start of the school year, it is imperative that we recognize the emotional harm actions like this have on everyone,” Seymour wrote.

When the school was made aware of the graffiti, police were contacted and maintenance was “deployed” to help remove the graffiti, Seymour said.

On Monday, police said the incident has been classified as a bias-related crime. “Officers are canvassing the area and reviewing surveillance footage from the neighborhood in an effort to identify those responsible,” police said.

The department said it takes such incidents “very seriously” and is “working closely with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to ensure the safety and security of the community.”

The graffiti was removed by Bethesda Urban Partnership, MCPS, and volunteers, police said.

MCPS spokesperson Liliana Lopez said in a statement Monday that the district was thankful for the community members who helped clean up the graffiti at the school.

“Their actions reflect the behavior we model for our students as we strive to build a community of life, not hate,” Lopez wrote.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington condemned the incident in a Monday statement regarding the vandalism at the school.

“The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington is appalled by the discovery of antisemitic graffiti at Bethesda Elementary School this weekend,” the statement said. “As children and families were trying to enjoy a farmers market, they were instead witnesses to abhorrent antisemitic messages. Ahead of the new school year, it is critical that we make clear that this type of hate speech has no place here.”

The federation said it appreciated “the work of the Montgomery County Police Department and local community members and leaders in quickly cleaning up the graffiti.” It encouraged community members to continue reaching out to local police and the federation’s security division to report incidents.

In a Sunday statement Guila Franklin Siegel, the chief operating officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, called the graffiti “appalling.”

“These messages, like the recent arson attack on the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore, are a stark reminder that antisemitism as an ideology is still pervasive and not easily erased,” Siegel said. “We hope the perpetrators of this outrageous desecration of school property are apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Police do not have descriptions of possible suspects, the statement said.

–Elia Griffin contributed to this report.

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In addition to being the youngest U.S. male track Olympian, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson will take home a gold medal from the 2024 Olympics Games even though he did not run in the men’s 4×400 relay final Saturday in Paris.

Wilson, a rising junior at Potomac’s Bullis School, watched from the stands as his teammates brought home the gold—the third straight Olympic gold medal for the U.S. team in the 4×400-meter relay.

Wilson earned the medal by running the opening leg for the U.S. team in the first round of the race, putting the team in seventh place when he handed off the baton. His teammates–Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Chris Bailey–made up ground to finish in third place, sending the team to the relay final.

With his appearance, Wilson made history as he became the youngest man to compete in track for the United States at the Olympics. Wlson claimed the title from Arthur Newton, a 17-year-old who ran the steeplechase in 1900, according to The Washington Post.

According to ESPN, Wilson said he wasn’t himself on Friday but would use the race as motivation.

“They got me around the track,” Wilson said, referring to his teammates, according to ESPN. “My grit and determination got me around the track.”

In June, Wilson fell short by tenths of a second to become the youngest male member to compete as an individual with the U.S. Olympic track team at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

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Potomac’s Masai Russell won the women’s 100-meter hurdle final Saturday by the tiniest of margins—.01 seconds—earning a gold medal as she crossed the line just ahead of her competitors during the 2024 Olympic Summer Games.

Russell and her fellow hurdlers had to wait before finding out who would take home the gold medal. “Look how anxiously they’re looking up at the screen,” an NBC announcer said as the runners stared upward. “They’re waiting for confirmation.

Within seconds, Russell leaped into the air as she realized she had won.

“The Olympic debutante is an Olympic champion,” the NBC announcer yelled.

Russell, a 24-year-old graduate of the private Bullis School in Potomac, claimed a spot Friday to compete in the final.

She grabbed the final qualifying spot in her heat after placing second in the semi-finals with a time of 12.42 seconds, according to the Olympics results. In the same heat, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, 27, of Puerto Rico, the defending champion from the Tokyo games, crossed the finish line first with a time of 12.35 seconds.

Russell was joined in the race by U.S. teammates Grace Stark and Alaysha Johnson on either side.

Russell is a 2018 graduate of Potomac’s Bullis School, which is also where Quincy Wilson, 16, the youngest male U.S. track and field Olympian in history, attends school. Wilson, a rising junior at Bullis, will compete in the U.S. men’s 4×400 relay final, scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Russel claimed a spot in the semi-finals after winning her first-ever Olympic race with a time of 12.52 seconds, On3 reported.

Russell earned her spot on the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team in June after finishing in first place and setting an Olympic trials record at 12.25 seconds at the trials in Eugene, Oregon. Her time broke a 24-year-old meet record that had been held by Gail Devers (12.33 seconds).

After the trials race, Russell spoke to NBC’s Lewis Johnson about securing her spot to compete in the Paris Olympics.

“I have so many emotions because this has been the hardest season of my life. People were doubting me. Talking about ever since I signed with Nike I’ve been trash,” Russell said. “Just saying all these things about me. But I just stayed true to myself, my work and my craft and this is all God.”

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Sixteen-year-old Quincy Wilson, a student at Potomac’s Bullis School, is scheduled to run for the U.S. men’s team in the preliminary heats of the 4×400 meter relay Friday morning at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, according to published reports.

The teen announced the news on his Instagram page, posting “Tune in Friday Morning @ 5:05am” Eastern Standard Time.

Bullis also posted the news on its website and Instagram:

“Quincy, we are ecstatic for you and cannot wait to watch you run! 🏃‍♂️ This is your moment—embrace every second and remember, the entire Bullis community is behind you, cheering you on with encouragement and positive energy. 💙💛 Go get ’em, Quincy! You’ve got this!”

A rising junior, Wilson became the youngest male U.S. track and field Olympian ever when he was selected to be part of the 4×400-meter relay pool. Bullis announced the news on the school’s website July 1.

In June, Wilson fell short by mere tenths of a second in his bid to become the youngest male member ever to compete as an individual with the U.S. Olympic track team at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Wilson’s time of 44.94 left him in sixth place in a field of eight runners in the 400-meter men’s final.

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Bethesda native and superstar swimmer Katie Ledecky left the competition in her wake as she easily won the gold medal Wednesday in the 1,500-meter freestyle race during the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris.

Ledecky took the lead from the start and gained water on her competitors with each stroke, until she was alone at the end of the pool when she touched the wall for the final time. She set an Olympic record with a time of 15:30.02, more than 10 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, France’s Anastasia Kirpichnikova.

Ledecky’s win marks her eighth gold medal and 12th overall in her illustrious career since she burst into a global spotlight after winning a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 London games when she was just 15.

The race was Ledecky’s to win–she hasn’t lost a 1,500-meter race in 14 years, according to sports officials.

She is now tied for the most medals by any female U.S Olympian. “I just wanted to swim a time that I’m really happy with,” she told NBC after the race.

With several hundred meters to go, NBC announcer Dan Hicks said the race was “playing out like another Ledecky coronation.”

Ledecky is one of three graduates of Bethesda’s Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart who are members of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. Ledecky, 27, graduated in 2015, while Phoebe Bacon, 21, followed in 2020 and the 19-year-old Erin Gemmell in 2023.

The summer games mark the fourth Olympics for Ledecky. On July 27, she won her first medal of the 2024 games, taking the bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle final.

Ledecky ‘s third-place finish in the race won by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, 23, marked her 11th Olympic medal. Canadian Summer McIntosh, 17, took the silver medal.

Once dominant in the race, Ledecky, 27, was considered the underdog to Titmus, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Though Ledecky trailed Titmus throughout Saturday’s race, her third-place win marks her third medal in the event.

The 1500-meter freestyle was the second of Ledecky’s events. She’ll also compete in the 800- -meter freestyle event and is poised to become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time.

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The body of a 6-year-old non-verbal autistic boy who went missing Saturday was found Sunday afternoon in a pond at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County police announced.

Fawzan Hassan, who was autistic and non-verbal, was last seen at the park at 506 S. Frederick Ave. at about 3 p.m. Saturday, according to police.

Police said a body surfaced Sunday afternoon at a pond about 50 yards from a playground where the boy was last seen. People in the park saw the body and then notified an officer nearby. The boy’s family had come to the park to enjoy a community event on Saturday and notified police after he went missing from the playground.

Police and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews had searched the ponds at the park Saturday night. Search teams continued throughout the night to search for the boy and “deployed drones with the assistance of Maryland National Capital Police – Montgomery County,” police said.

Although the ponds were searched Saturday, police said the terrain of the ponds could make it difficult to find someone.

On Sunday, as search teams continued to look for the boy, authorities had urged residents in the area of the park to “check around their property, including under porches and decks, swimming pools, outbuildings, unlocked cars, and nearby playgrounds,” police said Sunday in a statement. Police also asked residents to review home surveillance videos.

After the boy’s body was found, police thanked officers from the Maryland National Capital Police, Gaithersburg and state police departments; MCFRS; Mid-Atlantic DOGS Search and Rescue; and the many volunteers and community members who had assisted in the search.

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Bethesda native and swimming superstar Katie Ledecky won her first medal of the 2024 Olympics, taking the bronze medal in the 400-meter freestyle final Saturday at the summer games in Paris.

Ledecky ‘s third-place finish in the race won by Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, 23, marked her 11th Olympic medal. Canadian Summer McIntosh, 17, took the silver medal.

Once dominant in the race, Ledecky, 27, was considered the underdog to Titmus, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Though Ledecky trailed Titmus throughout Saturday’s race, her third-place win marks her third medal in the event.

The summer games mark the fourth Olympics for Ledecky, who burst into a global spotlight after winning a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 London games when she was just 15.

The 400-meter freestyle was the first of four events for Ledecky during the Paris games. She’ll also compete in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle events, and is poised to become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time.

Joining Ledecky on the U.S. Olympic swimming team are fellow graduates of the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda: Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell.  

The Paris Olympics will be Gemmell’s first time competing on the world stage, while Bacon competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Ledecky previously won 10 medals while competing in three Olympic games.  

“I am extremely excited to be headed to Paris with Erin and Katie,” Bacon, a Chevy Chase resident, said in June. “I think it is just such a special thing to have three of us from the same area and the same high school all on one Olympic team together, competing with each other and cheering each other on—this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity.”

More than 800 Stone Ridge community members attended a pep rally Thursday afternoon at the private Catholic girls school to cheer on the alums. Friends and family made signs, put on Olympics-themed temporary tattoos or showed their support with giant cutouts of the athletes’ heads.  

The three Olympians gave a shout-out to their former school in several videos that played during the pep rally.  

“I’m a Stone Ridge girl,” Ledecky said in the video filmed in the school’s aquatic center. “I’ve spent so many hours in this pool, training, competing for the Gators, having so much fun with my teammates and classmates. And I hope that all of you are having that same fun.” 

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A Bethesda man realized he had been swindled out of $860,000 in a so-called gold bar scam after seeing a news story about another victim of the common financial fraud scheme, according to Montgomery County police.

The 74-year-old resident contacted the department’s Financial Crimes Section on Wednesday to report that “he believed he had been scammed after seeing a local news report of a woman losing nearly $1 million dollars in a gold bar scam,” police said Thursday in a statement.

Police then conducted an undercover operation that led to the arrest Wednesday of Vipul J. Thakkar, 52, of Owings Mills, who was charged with “multiple counts of theft” in connection with “government-imposter related gold bar scams, the statement said. Thakkar is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville. No attorney information for Thakkar was available in court records.

Montgomery County residents and people across the country have been defrauded of millions of dollars in such financial fraud scams, according to authorities. Earlier this month, a 19-year-old man from Brooklyn, New York, was charged with theft in connection with a so-called gold bar scam that swindled an 82-year-old Silver Spring woman out of more than $900,000, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office.

In January, the FBI released a public service announcement warning people to be aware of scammers who may ask them to liquidate their assets into cash or gold and then send a courier to pick up the money or precious metals.

As of April, about a dozen county residents had lost more than a total of $5 million to the gold bar scam, police Detective Sean Petty, a member of the department’s Financial Crimes Division, told MoCo360. Petty has been outspoken about the importance of people protecting themselves from that scam and other financial fraud schemes.

“The key here is prevention because scamming is never going to stop,” Petty said. “We can definitely make it harder for the scammers by not indulging them and sending them gold.”

The alleged scam involving the Bethesda resident began when he received an email saying a suspicious deposit had been made into his bank account, police said. An “unknown suspect” then instructed him to protect his assets by converting them into gold.

Starting in March, the man purchased a total of $1.1 million in gold bars on 10 separate occasions and arranged to have the bars picked up by Thakkar’s associates, police said.

The man saw the news report about the woman who was victimized and contact police after he had made a final purchase of more than $240,000 dollars in gold bars.

The scam ended after a county detective communicated with Thakkar and arranged a pick-up at the Bethesda man’s home, according to police. Posing as the man, a detective “handed a package” to Thakkar, “who then got into a car and drove away.” Officers then stopped Thakkar and arrested him.

Detectives continue to investigate the case and are asking anyone who may be a victim of such a scam to come forward, county police spokesperson Lauren Ivey said Friday in an email to MoCo360. No information was provided about whether any of the Bethesda resident’s money was recovered.

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Ala, a restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine with a modern twist, will close its locations in Bethesda and Washington, D.C., for four days next week to upgrade its menu, the eatery’s owners announced Friday afternoon.

The locations at 4948 Fairmont Ave. in Bethesda and 1320 19th St. NW in the District will close Monday and reopen on July 26, according to the eatery’s Instagram post and website.

“We will be closed from July 22 to July 25 for some exciting changes! We’re upgrading our menu and training our staff to bring you an even better dining experience,” the post said. “Stay tuned for new flavors and dishes that you won’t want to miss! We can’t wait to welcome you back on July 26th!”

Owners Deniz and Celal Gulluoglu of Cabin John opened their second location in downtown Bethesda in the spring. The eatery offered a similar menu to the couple’s original D.C. location, which opened in 2021.

“We have always wanted to open a second restaurant closer to our home, in our community,” Deniz Gulluoglu said in a release in February announcing the restaurant’s impending opening. “Bethesda restaurants offer an array of culinary flavors, and we are thrilled to offer the community ala Bethesda, an exceptional Levantine dining experience, in the heart of Bethesda.”

The restaurant is located in the former home of Positano’s and features classic Mediterranean dishes, such as hummus, falafel and kebabs, plus less well-known fare.

Bethesda Magazine restaurant critic David Hagedorn described ala Bethesda as a mixed bag with service that was “earnest but not polished” in a review published in the magazine’s July/August issue.

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