The Brefczynski brothers — Jayse, a junior, and Landon, a freshman — posted breakout performances in high-school cross-country competition during an early-season fall meet.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights siblings and teammates finished second (Jayse in 15:37) and fourth (Landon in 15:42) at the boys Monroe Parker Invitational, run the morning of Sept. 6 on the 2.9-mile Burke Lake Park course.
“Each ran well today,” O’Connell coach Jim Connor said.
Jayse Brefczynski passed one runner on the closing downhill stretch, but could not catch winner Peter Leonard of West Potomac, who won in 15:32. Jayse was near the lead the entire race, with Landon closing strong in the final mile.
The cross-country meet was just the second the brothers ran together in high-school competition.
“This course had a lot of hills, so I was trying to hold my footing,” Jayse Brefczynski told ARLnow. “I took it kind of easy the first mile, then hit my stride. I just couldn’t catch that last runner going down to the finish.”
Landon Brefczynski held off a pack of five runners closing strong behind him to maintain fourth.
“It was good just to run strong like that,” said the younger Brefczynski, who was running the course for the first time.
Jayse Brefczynski placed 12th in 16:12 at last year’s Monroe Parker meet.
In the team scoring, the brothers helped O’Connell place 10th. Also for O’Connell, Peter Fleenor, a top runner for the team last season, placed 42nd in 16:49. The Knights were without Lance Jayme, another top runner from a year ago. He missed the meet with another commitment.
The Wakefield Warriors placed 13th and the Washington-Liberty Generals 15th in the Monroe Parker meet.
Wakefield was led by Daniel Herring in 55th (17:02) and Andrew Coe in 58th (17:08). For Washington-Liberty, Morgan Fritz was 41st (16:47) and Alessandro Piosa 56th (17:07).
NOTE: A week earlier, in the first high-school cross country meet the Brefczynski brothers ran together, Jayse finished eighth and Landon 18th on the 5K Morven Park course in Leesburg at the Trials of Miles event.
