The Bishop O’Connell Knights had middle-of-the-pack finishes at conference cross-country championship meets, but saw positive signs in the performance of ninth-grade runners.
The girls placed sixth and the boys eighth at the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference races, run Saturday (Oct. 26) on the 5,000-meter Kenilworth Park course in D.C.
The Washington-Liberty Generals prevailed as the champions of the Liberty District cheerleading competition, the squad’s first district title since 2013.
“This is huge,” Washington-Liberty coach Ghita Haronni said.
It’s now four straight Liberty District field-hockey tournaments the Yorktown Patriots have won, pretty much all in dominating fashion.
The top-seed Patriots (13-3) won the 2024 high-school championship on their home field with a 3-0 victory over the third-seed Arlington rival Washington-Liberty Generals (12-6) on Friday (Oct. 25).
A state-champion Bishop O’Connell Knights football team from the past was recognized during halftime at the high-school homecoming game on Saturday (Oct. 26).
A number of members from the 1983 O’Connell squad were present. They gathered at midfield for a photo as the teammates stood behind a banner noting the squad’s Virginia State Catholic championship won during that 1983 campaign.
Leading in the second half, there was a chance the Bishop O’Connell Knights might have ended their nagging, three-season-long losing streak against conference football rivals.
But it didn’t happen. The host Knights (1-7, 0-2) lost to the Carroll Lions, 34-17, Oct. 26 in a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Metro Division high-school game, its ninth straight league setback.
With another blowout victory, the Washington-Liberty Generals remained undefeated at 8-0 with two games remaining in the 2024 high-school football regular season.
The host, Liberty District leading and defending champion Generals defeated the McLean Highlanders, 47-8, Friday night (Oct. 26) in a league contest to remain atop the standings with a 4-o mark.
With a top runner missing from each team, the Bishop O’Connell Knights didn’t finish as high in the team standings as hoped.
The O’Connell boys placed fourth and the girls sixth at the Virginia Catholic State Championships held Oct. 22 on the 5,000-meter cross-country course at Occoquan Regional Park on a hot afternoon.
Bye weeks are designed to provide calming and healing times for high-school football teams. That wasn’t entirely the case for the Washington-Liberty Generals.
The Liberty District leading and undefeated Generals (7-0, 3-0) resume play tonight, Oct. 25 with a 7 p.m. league home game against the McLean Highlanders (3-4, 0-3), who have lost three straight contests.
Familiar Arlington rivals will face off in this season’s Liberty District girls field-hockey tournament-championship match.
In that Friday (Oct. 25) high-school final, the top seed and three-time defending champion Yorktown Patriots (12-3) will host the No. 3 seed Washington-Liberty Generals (13-4) at 7 p.m.
Arlington high schools have a full week of sports ahead, including many playoff events.
There will be just one high-school football game Friday night (Oct. 25) involving an Arlington team, because the Wakefield Warriors and Yorktown Patriots have byes this week.
Talk about a full and complete season.
When Malia Perry participates in next week’s Virginia High School League Girls State Open golf tournament, the Washington-Liberty Generals’ senior will have played in every postseason tournament possible this fall — five in total.
In a string of strong postseason performances, the Meridian Mustangs saved their best for last.
With a season-best 18-hole team score of 297, the high-school golfers won their first state championship. It was an unexpected turn of events, given how the season began, but the team ultimately hit its stride and never looked back.
