Athletics Newsletter

Nov. 17, 2017

VISAA XC Championship Results

The O'Connell Cross Country team traveled down to Woodberry Forest near Richmond for the VISAA Cross Country Championship last Friday. Going into the meet, the boys team was ranked 9th and the girls team was 6th. Despite these great rankings, the Knights wouldn't settle there. The boys placed 3rd overall, with standout junior Max Greczyn as the Individual Boys Champion and earned All-State honors! The boys team has only had three individual champions in DJO school history, with Max being the first since 1978! WOW!

The girl's team took 3rd as well, with freshman Tess Brinkmann

finishing in 2nd place with All-State Honors! We're excited for her future in cross country, to say the least. Senior Ryley Howard finished her career with a bang, placing 10th and earned All-State Honors also!

The coaches couldn't have asked for more out of these teams. "Both teams saved the best performance for the state meet. They did the absolute best they could have. And being ranked 6th and 9th and then taking 3rd place shows their determination and desire to truly "race the day." We are so proud of them!" commented Assistant Coach Christine Walls.

Check out the Championship Stats on MileStat.com. Photos courtesy of MileStat.com photographer Preston Ball.

A Unique Wrestling Week

Sometimes a change of scenery gets the competitive juices flowin'. This year's wrestling team has increased in numbers, making the inside wrestling room a tight, and very sweaty space. Head Wrestling Coach Alex Vergara planned a few practices outside this week, and invited Wilson High School to participate in a friendly competition on Wednesday. You can wrestle anywhere, any time!

Want to Learn More About Wrestling?

Come out to the Thanksgiving Wrestling Clinic on Nov. 24-25th!

Who: grades K-12, college students and adults are welcome, too

Where: O'Connell wrestling room (come in entrance #8)

Times: Session 1 @1-3 p.m

Break for 30 mins

Session 2 @ 3:30-5:30 p.m.

Cost: $30 for both days, $20 for one day

Contact Coach Vergara for group discounts and to register, walk-ins are also welcome!

Softball Pitcher Ranked in USA

FLOSoftball 2018 HOT 100 Ratings came out with O'Connell Senior Kathryn Sandercock ranked as #12 in the Nation! Read what FLOSoftball had to say about the stand-out FSU commit: "Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today First-Team All-American, MaxPreps Junior of the Year, and member of the USA Junior National Team are just a few of the accolades Sandercock added to her resume in the last year. At Bishop O'Connell High, she held a 0.09 ERA with 330 strikeouts in 151 innings pitched going 27-0 for the season. During the season, she tossed eight no-hitters and five one-hitters, allowing only 35 hits all season. At the plate, Sandercock hit .471 with eight home runs, 25 extra-base hits, 57 RBIs and a 1.023 slugging percentage. Bishop O'Connell, which won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament as well as the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association DI title, finished No. 3 in the national rankings. Sandercock has been clocked at 67 mph and is going to be dynamite under the tutelage of coach Lonni Alameda at Florida State."

Cheer On The Royalettes

Support your Royalette Dance Team at their first competition of the season at the UDA Fairfax Dance Championship this Saturday, Nov. 18 at Paul VI in Fairfax! Doors open at 8 a.m., with solo performances starting first. The Royalettes will be performing at 11:05 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. Let's go Lady Knights!

Good luck to Royalette Seniors: Erika Williams, Haley Breaux, and Katarina Visek who leave for New York City to represent O'Connell and perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Knights Hockey Corner

Nov. 6: Varsity Ice Hockey beat Mount St. Joseph, 2-1, in an extremely physical game. Goalie Jack MacKinnon held Mount St. Joseph's to 1 goal with 25 saves. Goals were scored by Alex Vouras and Jake Smith, who scored the game winning goal with 1:12 remaining in the game. Assists were made by Garrison O'Donnell, Victor Musoke, and Alex Vouras. #FlowtheO

Nov. 7: Varsity Ice Hockey took a 5-1 victory over Calvert Hall, making this the third win of the season. DJO took 40 shots on net with two goals scored by Victor Musoke, and one goal from Garrison O'Donnell, Alex Vouras, and Cooper Corbett. Our goalie Peter Sjoberg made 16 saves and assists were made by Victor Musoke (2), Alex Vouras (2), and Riley McGraw. #goKnights

Nov. 14: O'Connell takes the W again over Yorktown 6-3. Goals were scored by Victor Musoke (2), Ben Gibbons, Jake Smith, Ryan Lenaghan, and Garrison O'Donnell. Assists were made by Alex Vouras, Khameron Gray, and Victor Musoke. Jack MacKinnon was in the net with 15 saves recorded. This is the 4th straight win for the Knights!

A note from Head Coach Flip Collins: "The hockey team is off to a fast 4-0-1 start and are playing in three different leagues this year. We host our NVSHL arch-rival Stone Bridge High School this Friday Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. I would like to invite everyone to this game. If you have not seen a high school hockey game, this is the game to attend!"

FANS- The theme for the O-Zone is #USAOUT...Wear red, white, and blue. Come out to the rink for a great game, free pizza, and a T-Shirt giveaway with #FlowtheO to the first 175 DJO students in attendance!

Basketball Has Begun!

Try-outs are over and the rosters have been finalized- it's basketball season folks! Freshmen, JV, and Varsity boys have a scrimmage this Friday vs. Madison at home starting at 5:30 p.m! Freshmen, JV, and Varsity girls have a scrimmage vs. Marshall on Saturday. Good luck Knights!

Boy's Lax Skills Clinic Dec. 2

Want to improve your lacrosse skills? Come out to learn from DJO Head Coach Kevin Giblin at his lacrosse clinic!

When: Saturday, Dec. 2

Time: 9-11 a.m.

Who: Two age groups of 7-11 and 12-15

Cost: $50 and you get a lax penny!

Email DJOlacrosse to register and check out All Met Lacrosse for summer info.

Volleyball VISAA Honors

Senior volleyball player and middle hitter, Ingrid Bayer, earned VISAA Second Team. Congratulations Ingrid, way to end your high school volleyball career well!

Freshman Tennis Player Earns VISAA Honors

Congratulations to girl's tennis player Isabelle Chang for earning a spot on the VISAA All-State Second Team- as a freshman! We can't wait to see what next year entails!