The head coaches of many high-school sports teams in Arlington have been in place for years. That is not the case, however, for the spring season in baseball and softball.
With the exception of two people, there have been a number of coaching changes in those positions recently.
Of Arlington’s eight varsity high-school basketball teams, the Bishop O’Connell Knights on the girls and boys sides received the highest final rankings in statewide polls compiled by MaxPreps.com.
The polls include public- and private-school teams and rank all of the teams in the commonwealth.
For the fourth time since an annual all-Arlington rivalry baseball game was re-established in 2019, the Yorktown Patriots defeated the Bishop O’Connell Knights.
The most recent win was by a 7-4 score at O’Connell on Wednesday (March 19) and was the Patriots’ second straight over the Knights.
The spring sports season is underway in full with regular-season action taking place for all of Arlington’s high-school teams.
Many days, with the exception of Sunday, have multiple contests for all of the teams in baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse and track-and-field.
Two young runners from the Bishop O’Connell High School boys indoor track-and-field team placed high in the mile at a late-season meet.
Jayse Brefczynski had one of his most successful races of the indoor season when the sophomore won the mile in 4:34.24, with his freshman teammate Peter Fleenor in sixth in 4:43.43.
Two former high-school teammates for the Bishop O’Connell Knights squared off on the basketball court during a recent men’s college game.
In the semifinals of the Coastal Athletic Association tournament, Christian May was a starting junior guard/forward for the Towson Tigers and junior guard Cavan Reilly started for the Delaware Blue Hens, which won 82-72.
The top two scorers for the Bishop O’Connell Knights boys high-school basketball team this season earned all-state honors for their performances.
Junior guard and leading scorer Darius Bivins was a first-team Division I private-school selection in Virginia. Senior guard Shane Lincoln, the Knights’ No. 2 scorer, made the second team.
A pressbox with accompanying box seats, all located behind home plate, are new additions to the Bishop O’Connell High School baseball field for the 2025 spring season.
The new look was completed in recent weeks, prior to the Knights’ March 7 home opener against the Potomac School Panthers, a 6-3 O’Connell win.
Talk about durability — Alyssa Hayashi was the definition of that word during her college career for the Swarthmore College women’s basketball team.
Over four seasons, the Bishop O’Connell High School graduate started 99 of the 101 games she played in for the Division III team.
The spring sports season is beginning in earnest starting this week and next for the majority of teams at all four high schools in Arlington.
A few teams have played regular-season events this week, while others are still participating in scrimmage events.
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.
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.
