Four new champions — two individuals and two teams — were crowned at this year’s Arlington County high-school cross-country meet, held Sept. 29 at Bluemont Park.
Among those was a rookie in the race: Molly Hardwick, a sophomore for the Yorktown Patriots, who helped her squad win the girls team crown. Hardwick was running the Bluemont Park course for the first time, briefly making a wrong turn, but still winning in 17:51.
A close but still disappointing runner-up finish in last year’s region golf tournament helped motivate the Washington-Liberty Generals to win this fall’s event.
The Generals captured the 36-hole 6D North Region tourney by carding a two-day score of 298-319–617 on the par-72 Bristow Manor Golf Club near Manassas.
The McLean area has seen enough of the Yorktown Patriots this season.
In games the past three Friday nights, Yorktown has defeated a trio of Liberty District public-school rivals from that area. In order, the Patriots downed the Langley Saxons and McLean Highlanders, then on Oct. 3 routed the host Marshall Statesmen — located on the McLean/Falls Church border — 42-14.
There may be no trophy awarded to the winner of the unofficial Arlington County high-school football championship, contested each year between the jurisdiction’s three public-school teams.
But the Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots compete hard for bragging rights each fall.
For the second straight year, the same two high-school golf teams from Arlington carded top finishes in the Liberty District tournament.
The county’s Washington-Liberty Generals successfully defended their title, with the first-round leader Yorktown Patriots placing second.
An atypical, and unplanned, winning formula has evolved for the Yorktown Patriots in the team’s past two football games.
Yorktown (3-2, 2-0) has won despite being outgained in total yards, but has countered with a takeaway and bend-but-don’t-break defense that sets up points for an offense that is running error-free.
The fourth game of the regular season became the biggest and most important so far for the Yorktown Patriots, as a home victory earned the high-school football team a share of first place in the Liberty District.
Yorktown (2-2, 1-0) held on to nip the Langley Saxons, 21-20, the night of Sept. 19. Yorktown, Langley (2-2, 1-1) and the defending champion and undefeated Washington-Liberty Generals (4-0, 1-0) are the favorites to contend for the 2025 league crown.
Yorktown High School will see an increased police presence today after a bomb threat was made against the school.
Arlington County police responded to the school around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, shortly after becoming aware of a threat being posted online, according to an ACPD spokesperson.
Missed opportunities and key mistakes contributed to the Yorktown Patriots falling to 1-2 as the high-school football season rolls on.
Yorktown was defeated in that game on the road by the Centreville Wildcats, 38-14, in non-district action the night of Sept. 12.
Molly Hardwick figured the odds of her finishing first in her initial high-school cross-country race were about as long as winning the billion-dollar Powerball lottery.
“A million to one, about zero chance,” the Yorktown Patriots‘ sophomore runner said of her victory expectations.
Points were abundant in blowout victories by Arlington’s three public-school teams in their second games of the 2025 high-school football season.
Two of the Sept. 5 wins were home, non-district blowouts for the Yorktown Patriots and Wakefield Warriors, now both 1-1, in public-school contests.
Strong performances by quarterbacks proved a major highlight for Arlington’s four high-school football teams during opening games of the 2025 fall season.
On the night of Aug. 28, the foursome combined to complete 53 passes for 772 yards and eight touchdowns, throwing just three interceptions. Their strong play could continue to be a big positive point for the remainder of the campaign.
