A number of local high-school teams recently warmed up for postseason track-and-field competition by participating in regional events.
Among them were the Bishop O’Connell Knights boys and girls units. Each had strong performances at the 43rd annual multi-team Draper Invitational at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria on May 1-2.
The boys finished second for the second year in a row, falling short by three points — 92 to 89 — to St. Paul VI Catholic School. The defending champion girls placed third.
“It was a strong performance by both teams,” O’Connell coach Jim Connor said. “We had boys place in 15 of the 17 events and the girls in 12 of 17. That shows pretty good depth.”
The O’Connell boys would have won had its 4×100 relay not been disqualified. The relay placed second in the race, but was later sanctioned for passing the baton out of the zone.
O’Connell had a number of strong individual performances, highlighted by two winners:
- Senior sprinter and University of Virginia commit Cameron Bowser was a double-winner in the boys 200-meter (21.77 seconds) and 400-meter (49.25 seconds) races
- Freshman distance runner Landon Brefczynski won the boys 1,600 meters (4:27.73)
Bowser also anchored the boys 4×400 relay to a runner-up finish. His three races during the May 2 finals came during a 90-minute stretch.
“Cam was great,” Connor told ARLnow.
Bowser is one of the top high-school sprinters in the country, with personal best-times of 21.5 in the 200 and 47.06 in the 400.
Relay mates Brefczynski, Johnny O’Donnell and David Joanel joined Bowser on the 4×400.
O’Donnell also ran on the fourth-place 4×200 relay and fifth-place 4×800. Will Loveland, Peter Fleenor, Jon Tyler and brothers Lance and Kyle Jayme also ran on relays.
Brefczynski also finished sixth in the 800 with his older brother Jayse third in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200. Jayse Brefczynski led the 1,600 the first couple of laps.
O’Connell’s Tim Robinson placed fifth in the 100 dash and sixth in the 200, and Rai Detten was sixth in the 300 hurdles and seventh in the 110 hurdles.
In boys field events for O’Connell, James Jackson leaped to fourth in the high jump and seventh in the long jump. Logan Rudolph was fourth in the discus, Anthony Pham sixth in the long jump, Caleb Neville seventh in the high jump and Zach Mitchell was 13th in the discus and 24th in the shot put.
The O’Connell boys are hoping to add to their high finishes in previous postseason meets earlier this school year.
Led by the Brefczynski and Jayme brothers during the fall, the boys won Division I and Catholic Virginia private-school cross-country championships. The boys then placed third in the winter’s Division I indoor state track-and-field competition.
Leading the O’Connell girls at the Draper Invitational was sprinter Isabelle Rodriguez, who ran a personal best 58.4 during her preliminary 400-meter race.
The junior then finished fourth in the 400 finals and anchored the winning 4×800 relay (10:14.59) that also included Caitlin Musolino, M.J. Selwood and Camila Soruco-Franco. Rodriguez also ran on the second-place 4×400 relay.
“I was happy to be here and had a lot of fun,” Rodriguez said.
O’Connell hurdler Sophia Lianos placed seventh in the 300 and eighth in the 100 races. Lena Sullivan was 10th in the 3,200 and 12th in the 1,600, Imani Hooks was seventh in the 200, Hannah Davis was seventh in the 100 and Moria Kinsella was 10th in the 300 hurdles.
Hooks and Davis were members of the winning 4×200 (1:47.67) relay along with Maddie Dombrowski and Lauren Smith. The 4×400 also included Dombrowski, Lianos and Musolino. Hooks, Dombrowski, Davis and Smith made up the fourth-place 4×100 relay.
In field events for the O’Connell girls, Ciara Bliven was third in the discus and eighth in the shot, Sofia Foreso was fifth in the shot, Lucy McBride was 11th in the long and triple jumps and Isabella Boehm tied for fourth in the high jump.
“The meet was a good two-day competition for the girls and boys teams and good warmups for what’s ahead,” Connor said. “We scored points in a lot of different events.”
