Author: Dave Facinoli

Dave Facinoli grew up in Prince George’s County, Md. and attended Friendly High School. After attending Prince’s George Community College and James Madison University, where he covered sports on both college papers, he launched a local newspaper career that included roles as the sports editor of the Alexandria Gazette, the Arlington Sun Gazette and GazetteLeader, and other local papers.

Sports

Softball roundup: Yorktown’s bats get hot, O’Connell still undefeated

By Dave Facinoli
Wakefield's Lucy Strawn bats (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)

The bats were alive and the run-scoring plentiful for the Yorktown Patriots in most of their last seven girls softball games.

Yorktown (6-7) finished 4-3 in those high-school contests, scoring double-digit runs in four of the outings and plating 58 overall.

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Sports

Arlington Wrestling Club continues to grow, has some 50 members

By Dave Facinoli
Arlington Wrestling Club members (courtesy of the club)

An organization giving Arlington wrestlers wanting a place to compete outside the winter high-school season is gaining in popularity.

The Arlington Wrestling Club, for girls and boys, offers practice sessions and various competitions for the months following and leading up to the winter high-school campaign.

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Sports

Eagle Scout project provides needed upgrade to W-L’s shot-put pit

By Dave Facinoli
Thomas Lee standing in the completed W-L shot-put sector (courtesy of the Lee family)

An Eagle Scout project completed by a Washington-Liberty High School junior will support the school’s outdoor track-and-field program for years to come.

Thomas Lee planned, designed, organized, oversaw and helped build the landing area of the shot-put pit for the school’s girls and boys track-and-field teams. Lee is a member of the W-L boys squad as a triple-jumper and sprinter.

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Sports

Yorktown swim coach steps down, will start new year-round club

By Dave Facinoli
Torey Ortmayer (file photo by Deb Kolt)

Torey Ortmayer, who has led the Yorktown Patriots to numerous team championships, recently stepped down after eight seasons as the head coach of the high school’s swimming and diving teams.

Ortmayer is leaving to start a new year-round club swimming organization named Hydra Aquatics. It will be located at the Tuckahoe Recreation Club pool in McLean, and will open this fall.

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Sports

O’Connell, W-L athletes place at South Lakes track-and-field meet

By Dave Facinoli
O'Connell's Sadie Smith (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)

The Bishop O’Connell Knights and Washington-Liberty Generals had no individual winners but enjoyed some top finishes at the PR Northern Virginia Invitational track-and-field competition held at South Lakes High School.

The meet included many of the top girls and boys athletes throughout the area.

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Sports

Two Yorktown senior wrestlers earn Class 6 all-state honors

By Dave Facinoli
Yorktown's Basheer Hadi, third from left, was chosen all-state (courtesy of Yorktown wrestling)

Two Yorktown High School wrestlers recently were recognized with all-state selections for their standout performances during the winter season.

Seniors Cambyses Khani and Basheer Hadi were chosen to Virginia High School League Class 6 all-state teams as a result of top finishes in the state-championship meet.

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Sports

Arlington high-school sports schedule for April 18-24

By Dave Facinoli
Washington-Liberty soccer goalie Bryson Halberda (file photo by Deb Kolt)

Spring break is coming to an end for Arlington’s three public high schools, with the sports schedules back in full swing next week beginning with events Tuesday, April 22.

Some baseball and softball teams played tournament games over spring break, but many other teams, like lacrosse and soccer, did not play.

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News

Yorktown grad Torri Huske earns first individual victory at NCAAs

By Dave Facinoli
Torri Huske swims for Stanford (courtesy of Stanford athletics)

Add another type of gold medal to Torri Huske’s swimming accomplishments.

The Arlington resident and 2021 Yorktown High School graduate recently won her initial individual first-place medal in the NCAA women’s national championships in this year’s Division I meet.

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Sports

Chattanooga’s NIT men’s hoop crown has Arlington connection

By Dave Facinoli
The champion Chattanooga team (courtesy of Chattanooga athletics)

Once members of rival boys high-school basketball teams in Arlington, this past winter Alan Treakle and Liam Vitters played different roles for the same Division I men’s college squad that won a national championship.

Treakle, a Wakefield High School graduate, was the director of basketball operations, and Yorktown High grad Vitters was a walk-on freshman forward for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs, which won the National Invitational Tournament with a 5-0 record.

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Sports

Arlington resident helps Univ. of Connecticut basketball team win national crown

By Dave Facinoli
Azzi Fudd (courtesy of U.Conn athletics)

She once helped an Arlington youth team win a national flag-football championship. And now, Azzi Fudd has a college-level national basketball championship to her credit.

Last Sunday (April 6), the Arlington resident scored 24 points and grabbed five rebounds to help the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team win the Division I NCAA national championship with an 82-59 victory over the University of South Carolina in the 2025 title game.

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Sports

Barcroft Park has been G.W.’s baseball home for 32 years now

By Dave Facinoli
G.W. hosted VCU on April 6 (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)

Sometimes overlooked in the crush of Arlington springtime sports is George Washington University’s home baseball season at Barcroft Park.

In a long-standing agreement with Arlington, George Washington has been playing home games at the artificial-turf Tucker Field venue at Barcroft Park since 1993.

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Sports

Rain threat doesn’t dampen mood at Little League opening-day event

By Dave Facinoli
The Rangers play a makeshift game (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)

The potential for foul weather kept some of the crowd away, but otherwise the annual Arlington Little League opening-day ceremonies went as usual on Sunday (April 5).

The afternoon event began with the traditional parade of dozens of teams through a tunnel of players from varsity high-school baseball and girls softball teams in Arlington onto field No. 1 at Barcroft Park.

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