Anxiety gave way to confidence as the Yorktown Patriots realized they would win a third straight girls state swimming-and-diving championship.
Yorktown finished first with 288 points Wednesday (March 5) at the Virginia High School League Class 6 state meet, with their rival Battlefield Bobcats second with 252 at the Jeff Rouse Swim & Sport Center in Stafford.
Having successfully hosted the girls and boys 6D North Region tournament-championship basketball games on Feb. 28, Wakefield High School is eager to do the same next season.
The title contests were at 6 p.m. for the girls between the Langley Saxons and Oakton Cougars, followed by the 8 p.m. boys tilt, with the South Lakes Seahawks and Westfield Bulldogs facing off.
As the fourth seed, the Bishop O’Connell Knights made a big impact by playing three tight games and finishing a close second in the Division I private-school boys state basketball tournament.
The Knights (23-10) lost in overtime to the No. 2 seed Highland School Hawks of Warrenton, 56-51, in the Saturday (March 1) championship game at Benedictine College Prep in Richmond.
A quest for a third straight conference-tournament championship ended with a disappointing overtime loss in the title game for the Marymount University Saints men’s basketball team.
Second-seeded Marymount (17-10) lost that road contest in the Atlantic East Conference final to the host and top seed Neumann University Knights, 83-77, to end the Saints’ season.
The 2024-25 boys high school basketball season ended with three longtime head coaches of Arlington teams having a combined lifetime victory total of 1,304 games.
Of the three, Joe Wootten of the Bishop O’Connell Knights has the most career wins with 558. Those are the most victories by any O’Connell boys basketball coach in program history.
They had hoped to accomplish more during the playoffs, leaving some of the Yorktown Patriots disappointed.
But in reality, there was much for the squad to celebrate.
Considering its vast past success over many years, lofty expectations are the case every season for the Bishop O’Connell Knights girls softball team.
Nothing will be different this spring, with the high-school squad coming off a perfect 23-0 season, owning a three-season 54-game winning streak and having won a combined 15 straight conference and private-school state-tournament championships.
Yorktown High School junior Anya Clemmer was the lone gymnast from Arlington to participate in the recent Virginia High School League Class 6 state competition.
The junior team captain competed in three individual events, finishing among the top 30 in each at Lake Braddock Secondary School.
It’s hard to beat an ice-hockey team that doesn’t allow any goals.
Opponents of the Washington-Liberty Generals found that out in the Capital Scholastic Hockey League playoffs. W-L went 3-0, with three shutouts, to win the crown.
Led by five first-place relays and individuals winning six races, the Marymount University Saints won a third straight Atlantic East Conference men’s swimming championship.
The Division III team was first with 917 points, nearly 100 more than runner-up St. Mary’s College of Virginia.
Fourth-place finishes were the highest recorded by Arlington athletes at the Virginia High School League Class 6 girls and boys state track-and-field championship meets, held March 3-4 in Virginia Beach.
The fourths were achieved by the Wakefield Warriors’ Travon Buckner in the boys triple jump (44-10.75) and the Yorktown Patriots’ Reid Dalley in the boys 1,600-meter run (4:20.74).
Basheer Hadi turned in the top performance from an Arlington school at the state wrestling tournament, when the Yorktown High School senior placed second at the 285 heavyweight division.
Hadi lost by a 7-2 score in the title match at the Virginia High School League Class 6 state competition in Virginia Beach.
