Maybe the word “traveling” should be added as part of the nickname for the Bishop O’Connell Knights boys basketball team.
Over many years, the varsity high-school squad often has traveled to far-flung tournaments as part of its regular-season schedule.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights certainly have been consistent with their finishes in postseason swimming and diving meets this winter.
Most recently, the high school girls and boys teams each placed third in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championships in Laurel, Md.
Some high-school postseason competitions for winter sports teams are on the schedule over the coming week.
Liberty District swimming and diving, girls gymnastics and track-and-field championships involving the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots all are on the calendar.
After falling just short last year, the Bishop O’Connell Knights had the necessary added incentive to win this season’s Northern Virginia Catholic swimming and diving team championships.
O’Connell won both the girls and boys high-school titles Saturday (Jan. 18) at the 15th annual event, held at Freedom Center in Manassas. The girls won with 400 points and the boys with 404.
Some high-school postseason action for winter sports teams are set to begin, with the Liberty District swimming and diving and track-and-field championships for the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots.
The coming week also includes plenty of regular-season basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, ice hockey and track-and-field action for Arlington teams.
Home losses in consecutive conference basketball contests over a four-day stretch snapped a six-game winning streak for the Bishop O’Connell Knights boys team.
O’Connell (13-5, 3-2) shot poorly in both outings as it lost to the Bishop McNamara Mustangs, 59-39, then to the Gonzaga Eagles, 56-47, Friday (Jan. 17) in high-school action.
A victory by one diver and a second by another helped the Bishop O’Connell Knights girls and boys teams enjoy top-10 finishes at the National Catholic Swim & Dive Championships.
O’Connell freshman Raito Detten won the boys diving competition with a 253.46 point total, as the Knights finished seventh in the high-school meet. O’Connell’s Isabel Smith was second in girls diving, helping her team place fifth.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights girls and boys swim and dive teams will be in action in at the Northern Virginia Catholic Championships in an event that will highlights a busy sports schedule for varsity high-school teams in Arlington.
The meet is set for Saturday, Jan. 18.
In recent private-school boys basketball games, the Bishop O’Connell Knights (12-3) routed Evergreen Christian, 77-44, and Potomac School, 99-30, in two non-conference high-school contests.
The victories upped the Knights’ winning streak to six.
The standout fall season enjoyed by multiple Bishop O’Connell High School sports teams was highlighted when four different head coaches for the private-school Knights athletic program received Coach of the Year accolades.
Earning Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors were Megan Sullivan for girls field hockey, Chris Jennings for boys soccer and Alerto Starace for girls soccer. Mehdi El Alaoui was the Division I state Coach of the Year for girls volleyball.
Although some events were postponed because of the recent snowstorm, the sports schedule for varsity high-school teams in Arlington is back in full force for the coming week, weather-permitting.
The action begins Friday (Jan. 10) with a full slate of basketball games and swim and dive meets, continues Jan. 11 with a variety of sports, then every day next week is scheduled to be full of games and events.
The longstanding Beach Ball Classic holiday high-school basketball tournament in Myrtle Beach is one of the most well-known in the country.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights of Arlington added to the lore of that competition in recent days by winning the top-division (Traditional Bracket) of the boys tournament for the third time.
