Arlington was well-represented, with players from the county’s three public-school teams among those chosen to the 2024 all-Liberty District high-school football teams.
Making first-team on offense were quarterback Matthew Abramson (Washington-Liberty), wide receivers Jon Malatesta (Washington-Liberty) and Finn Luca (Yorktown), tight end Brady Owens (Yorktown), and offensive linemen Sam Bekele (Washington-Liberty) and Aidan Vroom (Yorktown).
Molly Weithman made a strong and quick adjustment from high school to collegiate cross-country this fall as a freshman for the College of William and Mary women’s team.
The Bishop O’Connell High School graduate and standout runner wound up as the top-finishing freshman for William and Mary at the recent NCAA Division I Southeast Regional meet. She placed 89th in 22:20.5 in the 6K event, and was the team’s third finisher.
Arlington high schools have a full week of sports action starting Friday (Dec. 6) as the winter season is underway following conclusion of fall campaigns.
There are basketball games, a big wrestling tournament, swim-and-dive meets, girls gymnastics action, ice-hockey matches and more coming up.
It’s not unusual for individuals from a team that won a state championship to receive significant postseason accolades.
So it went for the Bishop O’Connell Knights girls high-school volleyball team, which won this fall’s Division I private-school state crown. Five players from that squad recently were chosen to all-state teams.
The 2024 high-school football season was plenty memorable, in multiple ways, for Arlington’s four varsity teams.
Two things from the season stood out as the most likely to be remembered in coming years:
Through six matches, the Washington-Liberty Generals club ice-hockey team has had ups and downs — mostly ups.
To date, the high-school squad has compiled a 4-1-1 record. Two of the wins are shutouts by 5-0 and 4-0 scores. The Generals also have a 7-2 blowout victory, have tied a match at 4, have a close 4-2 win and lost by a tight 5-4 margin.
Even though their team lost in the region final, Liberty District offensive football standouts Jon Malatesta and Matthew Abramson amassed big numbers in the game, as the seniors often did for the Washington-Liberty Generals during the 2024 high-school season.
At wide receiver, Malatesta had one last hurrah by catching nine passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in W-L’s 48-21 loss to the Madison Warhawks in the 6D North Region championship game Nov. 30.
In front of a big home crowd, the Marymount University Saints women’s volleyball team recently won a third- straight Atlantic East Conference tournament championship.
The top-seeded Saints were 2-0 in the tourney, defeating Gwynedd Mercy University in the semifinals, then Neuman University in the title match, each by 3-0 scores.
The stingy play of the Washington-Liberty Generals defense was a big reason for the football team’s success during the fall season.
A top player and a leader in tackles was senior lineman Ben Hughes. For his regular-season performance, the 6-foot-1, 240-pound Hughes was chosen as a Defensive Player of the Year in the Liberty District, as well as a first-team lineman.
Its best football season in decades ended for the Washington-Liberty Generals Saturday afternoon (Nov. 30) with a loss in the championship game of the 6D North Region tournament.
The second-seeded and previously undefeated high-school team fell to the host and top seed Madison Warhawks, 48-21, in Vienna. Also undefeated entering the game, Madison improved to 13-0 and won its fifth straight region crown.
The second annual Braylon Meade Basketball Classic has been expanded to include more varsity high-school teams, both girls and boys.
This year, eight teams will participate in four non-district contests played at Washington-Liberty High School on Saturday, Dec. 14. The W-L and Yorktown High girls and boys teams are among those competing.
The Marymount University Saints made history recently by winning the Atlantic East Conference women’s cross-country championship for the first time.
The Saints won with 35 points, with Marywood University second at 56.
