The second annual Braylon Meade Basketball Classic has been expanded to include more varsity high-school teams, both girls and boys.
This year, eight teams will participate in four non-district contests played at Washington-Liberty High School on Saturday, Dec. 14. The W-L and Yorktown High girls and boys teams are among those competing.
The Washington-Liberty boys are scheduled to play the final game of the day at 6:30 p.m. against Woodgrove High School from Purcellville.
The event is held in memory of Meade. He was a 17-year-old student at Washington-Liberty and member of the boys varsity basketball team when the senior died in November 2022 after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a drunk driver.
The first game of the classic tips off at 12:30 p.m. between the West Springfield and Colonial Forge boys teams. At 2 p.m., Yorktown plays South County in a girls contest. The Yorktown boys face South County at 3:30 p.m., followed by the Washington-Liberty girls against Tuscarora at 5 p.m.
The schedule is listed on the tournament’s Website at www.braylon22.org, where those interested can sign up as sponsors of Team 22. Team 22 is a special way to honor both Meade and former Washington-Liberty student Nick Rados, who also died in a traffic accident in October.
Rados was a boys lacrosse player at W-L. He and Meade both wore uniform numbers 22 for the W-L teams. After Meade’s death, Rados asked his lacrosse coach if he could wear No. 22 in his friend’s honor.
Contributions made by Team 22 members will be distributed between the Meade scholarship fund as well as a fund honoring Rados through the Arlington Community Foundation. There have been seven recipients so far of the Meade scholarship.
