For the second straight year, the same two high-school golf teams from Arlington carded top finishes in the Liberty District tournament.
The county’s Washington-Liberty Generals successfully defended their title, with the first-round leader Yorktown Patriots placing second.
Washington-Liberty’s winning two-day, 36-hole score was 297-301–598 on the par-71 Herndon Centennial Golf Course. Yorktown shot 296-314–610 to nip the third-place McLean Highlanders by one shot.
“Hats off to Washington-Liberty. They did what they had to the second day,” Yorktown coach Chris Williams told ARLnow.
W-L’s winning 598 score was its same total as in the 2024 championship.
Each of the three teams now advance to the 36-hole 6D North Region tournament, played at Bristow Manor Golf Club near Nokesville. The Generals finished second in the region last year, then fifth in the state.
Washington-Liberty was led by individual champion Emmett Spence. The junior shot 69-70–139 to win by a stroke over defending champion Finn Watson, also of W-L, who shot 72-68–140.
Also for the Generals, junior Colin Hanley shot 74-85–159, junior Tyler Hong 82-82–164, senior Bennett Schadrack 83-85–168 and junior Dominic Tamburro 87-81–168.
“The goal was to repeat as champions, and our players came through and came up big today in the second round,” W-L coach Michael Wilkis said. “The whole team played well.”
Last year’s district title was Washington-Liberty’s first Liberty crown.
Spence, who only started playing golf in seventh grade, has vastly improved his game in a short time.
As a freshman, he finished well back in the pack, shooting 87-89–176 in the district tournament. He improved to third last fall, then was sixth in the region.
“I have grinded and worked a ton and my tail off to improve and get better,” Spence said. “I really have to work hard to chase and keep up with Finn. He’s a big inspiration. I really wanted our team to win this again and I wanted to win individually.”
Watson will play college golf at James Madison University. He has been a top high-school golfer throughout his career, placing high in district, region and state tournaments. His second-round 68 at the district tourney this season was the lowest 18-hole score of the event.
“I hit the ball much better and played better the second round,” said Watson, who made five birdies over that 18.
Watson struggled to hit fairways and greens in regulation in the first round. “I didn’t play well,” he said.
For Yorktown at the Liberty tournament, sophomore Ethan Newfield had the lowest score with a 72-73–145 to finish fourth individually. Junior Grey Luongo shot 76-78–154, senior Ryan Pericak 70-86–156, senior Peter Fliakas 78-82–160, junior Ginger Beall 82-81–163 and senior Hugh Channer 78-92–170.
For Pericak, the first-round 70 was his best high-school 18-hole score, as was the 72 for Newfield. Beall missed most of the regular season with some wrist issues.
“We were excited about our six players entering the tournament,” Williams said.
Sophomore Ben Niehaus is another top Yorktown player.
“I think we surprised some with our first-round scoring,” Williams said. “The players were pretty loose and relaxed before the round and I knew they were capable. They put it together in that round. Maybe they put too much pressure on themselves in the second round to duplicate that.”
Yorktown finished tied for third in last year’s district tournament.
Arlington’s Wakefield Warriors finished fifth in the 2025 district competition with a 320-319–639 team score.
“We played two consistent rounds,” Wakefield coach Dave Knorr said.
For Wakefield, senior Ari Liebman shot a 36-hole score of 77-75–152, junior Tommy Zwicker 80-81–161, sophomore Eliana Procida 82-81–163 and junior Miles Maravilla 83-82–165.
Philip Verghese, a sophomore, shot a second-round 73, but did not play in the first round because he was attending another competition. Wyatt Thomas, a senior, shot a first-round 81, but did not play in the second round.
Liebman and Zwicker qualified individually to play in the region tournament. Verghese did not because he only played one round.
Earlier in the season, Washington-Liberty defeated Yorktown and Wakefield to win the Arlington County championship tournament.
