by DAVE FACINOLI
The 2025 fall season was one of the best the Bishop O'Connell Knights ever have enjoyed in boys cross country. The Knights ended this year's fall campaign by winning the VISAA Division I state championship for the first time since 2000.
Prior to that victory, O'Connell’s boys won the Virginia State Catholic Cross Country, finished third in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference meet, and first in the Arlington County meet. The Catholic and county crowns also were the team's first in a number of years.
All four races were run on different courses with varying degrees of difficulty, displaying the runners' multiple talents and stamina.
In an additional race, coming early in the regular season, O'Connell placed third in the Wolverine Classic in Purcellville. At the time, that was the team's highest finish of the season, giving the Knights confidence for much bigger results to follow.
"Everything came together this year," O'Connell coach Jim Connor said.
Connor was so confident in his boys team's potential he predicted the team had a strong chance to win two state titles and place high in the WCAC meet.
O'Connell's success this fall actually began last year with a fifth-place finish in the Division I state meet. The majority of the young runners in that race gained significant experience from the competition, as they returned for the 2025 season ready for much more success. Once the 2025 season began, notable achievements began early in the fall's opening two meets in late August and early September. Although the Knights finished back in the standings a bit, O'Connell brothers Jayce and Landon Brefczynski set the stages for the team's pending accomplishments by each placing high in those two races.
The brothers continued to lead the team with high individual finishes for the remainder of the season. Jayce, a junior, won the county meet with freshman Landon placing second. The two repeated as the Knights' top finishers in the two state meets and the conference championship.
Jayce led the way by finishing fifth in the Division I state meet.
"Jayce was injured much of last season, so we knew he had potential and would come back strong this season," Connor said. "We knew Landon would be a huge addition."
O'Connell, though, had more than just the Brefczynski brothers. Others developed to give the Knights five solid runners, necessary for cross country teams to do well in team scoring. Those other O'Connell top runners were seniors Lance Jayme, Chris Walters and Patrick Porter, junior Ian Bradley and sophomores Peter Fleenor, Ryan Street, Rai Detton and Kyle Jayme.
Lance Jayme and Fleenor took turns as O'Connell's third finisher in races. All of those athletes ran in the state meet, when four O'Connell runners placed in the top 20.
"Having four in the top 20 is why we won," Connor said. "With Landon this season to go with his brother was a big difference and boost for us."
Landon placed 12th in the state, Fleenor 16th, Lance Jayme 20th and Street 37th.
"This was quite a season,” Lance Jayme said. "Our goals were to win as many championships as we could. We really buckled and locked down and did that."
The O'Connell girls cross country team was very young and developing in 2025 for what Connor believes can evolve into future success. In the Division I girls state meet, the O'Connell team of freshmen and sophomores placed 13th. The Knights' top individual finisher was freshman Isabel McEvoy in 54th. Also, sophomore Eunnie Gray was 74th, freshman Madeleine Dombrowski 86th, sophomore Isabel Mallonee 89th and sophomore Lauren Smith 96th.
At the girls Catholic state meet, O’Connell placed sixth with McEvoy the top runner in 29th. At the Arlington County meet, McEvoy again was the team's top finisher in 35th, with Smith 48. And at the WCAC girls meet, sophomore Lindsey Casstevens led O'Connell in 35th with Gray 38th, Dombrowski 41st, Mallonee 43rd and Smith 45th, all in a tight pack.