The Yorktown Patriots warmed up for the state gymnastics tournament with convincing victories at the Liberty District and 6D North Region championships.
The Patriots won the district championship on Feb. 2 with a 146.150 team score, then finished first in the region Feb. 11 with a 143.650 total. Both meets were at Washington-Liberty High School.
Highlighted by a couple of rivalry games, the regular season ended the night of Friday the 13th for Arlington’s public high school varsity basketball teams.
Next up for those six girls and boys squads are this week’s Liberty District tournaments, beginning with quarterfinal action the night of Tuesday, Feb. 17.
With two of three postseason swimming-and-diving championship meets now complete, the perennial power Yorktown Patriots girls team has one title and a runner-up finish to its credit.
Yorktown won the Liberty District meet for the ninth straight season. A week later, the four-time defending champions placed second in the 6D North Region tournament.
In a close, seesaw showdown for first place in the Liberty District, the Yorktown Patriots fell short to the host Marshall Statesmen in recent boys basketball action.
Thanks to a 9-0 run, Marshall rallied from a 46-43 deficit in the final three minutes to win the Feb. 5 high-school game, 55-50. Yorktown missed four shots from the floor and one free throw during Marshall’s 9-0 stretch.
With strong performances in running and field events, the Yorktown Patriots and Wakefield Warriors, respectively, won the girls and boys team championships at this season’s annual Arlington County indoor track-and-field meet.
Each high-school team won by tight margins at the Thomas Jefferson Community & Fitness Center — the Yorktown girls by just two points with 65 over the Washington-Liberty Generals, and the Wakefield boys by six points with 72 over W-L.
The Yorktown Patriots boys varsity squad (14-4, 7-1) routed the visiting Herndon Hornets, 74-33, on Jan. 30 for its fourth straight win.
The Patriots remain tied for the Liberty District lead with the Marshall Statesmen.
Arlington public-school basketball teams had the opportunity to square off against one another in action over the past week.
As the regular season passed the halfway mark and playoffs began to loom on the horizon, Liberty District games involving the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots were played over a three-day stretch.
The basketball battle for first place in the Liberty District, with three Arlington boys varsity teams included in the chase, is getting interesting.
Heading into Jan. 20 action, the McLean Highlanders were atop the standings with a 5-0 league mark, and Arlington’s Yorktown Patriots were tied for second at 4-1 and 11-4 overall.
Despite days of preparation under their new head coach, the Washington-Liberty Generals came away unsatisfied in a recent match against a perennial Liberty District girls basketball power.
The visiting Generals led the Langley Saxons by five points early in the third quarter, but lost 49-41 to the defending district and 6D North Region tournament champions in the Jan. 5 high-school contest.
The solid 9-1 start enjoyed by the Washington-Liberty Generals this season is the best in at least 35 years for the girls high-school basketball team.
After a season-opening 10-point road loss to the Oakton Cougars, the W-L squad has run the table with nine straight victories.
Of the two Arlington squads that played in the annual eight-team George Long Holiday Hoops Tournament, the host Wakefield Warriors placed highest.
The boys high-school basketball team (8-2 overall) ended up in fifth place with a 2-1 record, playing in three close games in the popular 23-year-old holiday event, the only one of its kind in the county.
Grant Siebert didn’t realize at the time that learning to play center in youth flag football would pave the way for significant achievements as a high-school senior.
The Washington-Liberty Generals’ captain recently was chosen to the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 first-team on offense as the lone center. He is the first W-L offensive lineman chosen first-team all-state at any position in Josh Shapiro’s 19 seasons as the Generals’ head coach.
