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

Baseball roundup: County teams enjoyed spring-break success

By Dave Facinoli
Drew Markey pitches for O'Connell (staff photo by Dave Facinoli)

With varying degrees of success, the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots participated in different spring-break baseball tournaments in recent days.

Yorktown (7-5) had the best record of the three high-school teams, finishing 3-2 in the competition at Patriot Park in Fairfax.

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Sports

O’Connell soccer player chosen to U.S. development select team

By Dave Facinoli
Campbell Knisely (courtesy of U.S. Soccer)

Campbell Knisely, a sophomore on the Bishop O’Connell High School boys soccer team this past fall, recently was chosen a member of the under-17 U.S. Olympic Development Program National Select Team.

The squad of 18 players is training and participating in matches against top European Youth Academies this month in Italy. The selection process included progressing through district, state and regional training camps.

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Sports

Wakefield boys lacrosse team enjoying best start in its history

By Dave Facinoli
Wakefield celebrates after defeating Marshall (courtesy of Wakefield lacrosse)

The Wakefield Warriors are outperforming expectations in boys lacrosse action, hitting a high-water mark in the team’s final pre-spring-break contest.

The rescheduled Liberty District high-school game was against the host Marshall Statesmen on a rainy Friday night the weekend before spring break.

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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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