Athletics Newsletter

Feb 23, 2018

Freshman Wins Gold in Indoor Rowing

Last weekend, the World Indoor Rowing Championships were held in Washington D.C hosted by the T.C. Williams High School rowing team.

Congratulations to freshman Sean Madden, who competed in the U15 2000-meter row bringing home a gold medal from the event. For much of the race, Sean was in second place, pacing off a rower from Rock Ridge High in Loudoun County. Thanks to a carefully planned race and coaching from Freshman Coach Hill, Sean sprinted into first place in the last 500 meters of the race. Sean won his race by 2 seconds over second place, setting the record at the event.

The crew team is poised to have one of its best season on record and will return to the water March 5th.

Ice Hockey's Not Done Yet!

The Ice Hockey team has been busy in the playoffs of their multiple league season! Check out the results of the exciting WCAC tournament was last week:

On Feb. 13, DJO defeated St. Mary's Ryken, 5-0, in the WCAC quarter-final. Goalie Jack MacKinnon had a shutout with 19 saves. Victor Musoke scored a hat trick (3), followed by David Wuslich (1) and Daniel Koester (1). Vincent Marra, Alex Vouras, Jake Smith, Kyle Leverone, Brendan Fielman, and Garrison O'Donnell each had one assist. #GoKnights
On Feb. 14, DJO scored a sweet Valentine, defeating Gonzaga (4-3) in an intense WCAC semi-final game which required overtime, followed by a shootout. Goals during regulation play were scored by Alex Vouras (2) and Ben Gibbons. Victor Musoke scored the tie-breaking goal during the shootout leading the team to victory! Assists were provided by Khameron Gray, Victor Musoke, and Alex Vouras. Goalie Jack MacKinnon had 33 saves and was named "Player of the Game" by Monumental Sports Network.
On Feb. 15, DJO fell to DeMatha, 3-1, in the hard-fought WCAC championship game. Alex Vouras's goal was assisted by Victor Musoke as the score was tied, 1-1, most of the game. Goalie Jack MacKinnon had 33 saves.

On Feb. 20, O'Connell faced DeMatha once again in the Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League Playoffs and unfortunately fell to the Stags, 0-4.

The Knights are ranked #7 in The Washington Post (click to read story) and will challenge rivals Broad Run and Briar Woods in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League playoffs starting Monday, Feb. 26.

GO KNIGHTS!

Royalettes Sweep The Competition at Sweetheart Invitational

Dancers across the United States wore orange ribbons in memory of Jaime Guttenberg, a dancer who was one of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS shooting in Florida. #OrangeRibbonsForJaime

Congratulations to the Royalette Dance Team who wrapped up their season taking home 1st Place in all three of their team categories (pom, lyrical and variety) at the GFHS Sweetheart Invitational. "I could not have asked for a better way to close out our season. These girls have been together since our tryouts in April. Their dedication and motivation to be not THE best, but THEIR best is inspiring. We have such great senior class, and the legacy they are leaving will not be forgotten. They deserve this so much," Head Coach Chrissy Salvador said of the the team. Check out RDT's 1st place pom performance. As Coach Kelsey was absent for her first regional competition with her dance studio, a special thanks to alum and former RDT Captain, Shanna Bishop '13 who helped manage the team's performances.

Congratulations to the following for outstanding performances:

Soloists: Erika Williams '18- 2nd Place, Haley Breaux '18- 6th Place, Leyla Berdut '20- 8th Place
Duets: Erika Williams/Haley Breaux -2nd Place, Gaby Dominguez/Julia Stievater- 3rd Place, Angelina Lucchetti/Sophia Maceo- 4th Place

The Royalettes will be holding a technique clinic THIS Sunday from 1-3 p.m. in the main gym! Details here.

Wrestlers Headed to National Preps

Last weekend DJO Wrestling competed at the VISAA State Championship meet at Woodberry Forest. The guys finished 8th overall out of 27 teams and showed much improvement, as last year they finished in 19th place. Head Coach Alex Vergara commented, "This strong finish was the result of a collective effort from our young line-up that was lead by our outstanding trip of senior captains."

Since the addition of our new coaching staff in 2016, the wrestling program seems to be producing results and heading to the top! At the VISAA meet in 2016, O'Connell scored 25 team points; in 2017 team points nearly doubled with 49, and in 2018 DJO scored a whopping 103 team points!

The following wrestlers qualified for the National Prep Championship meet at Lehigh University this upcoming weekend:

Chris St. George (126 lbs) - 2nd place

Marcus Lewis (138 lbs) - 4th place

Brian Sweet (160 lbs) - 4th

Bishan Shourie (170 lbs) - 4th

Wish these four guys good luck at National Preps this weekend!

Personal Records Galore at VISAA Indoor Track Championship!

Last weekend, O'Connell had seven athletes compete at the VISAA Indoor Track championships at St. Christopher's School in Richmond. The team did an outstanding job, with four athletes setting personal records! Congratulations Knights and we can't wait to see what the outdoor season brings! Here are the highlights:

Ryley Howard - 5th in the 1600 in 5:35.82 (this is a tremendous PR as her previous best was 5:47)

Lauren Collins - 8th in the Girls Shot Put with a throw of 28'4" (her PR)

Max Greczyn- 2nd in the 1600 in 4:26.02 (a PR- this time qualifies as an "Elite Performance"); 2nd in the 3200 in 9:53.40 (also a PR)

Matt Tillson - boys 1600 in 5:09

Nicholas Slovak - boys 1600 in 5:11; boys 1000 in 3:07

John DeCelle - boys 500 in 1:19 (PR )

Joseph Frankino - boys 3200 in 11:37

VISAA State Swim and Dive Championship Results

The swim and dive team competed at the VISAA State Championship meet this past weekend. The girls team finished in 5th overall and the boys placed 10th. O'Connell was the only team from Northern Virginia to have both teams finish in the Top 10! Our divers (pictured left) were able to add points to the team total as well! Claire earned 6th place, Riley 8th place, Grace Marinaro 12th and Abby earned 13th place...Way to go Knights!

A special congratulations to Maddie Donohoe for breaking the VISAA Record in the Girls 500 Free with a time of 4:44.27! She was also named Female Swimmer of the Meet in the process- is she part fish?! In addition, Maddie verbally committed to UVA for swimming earlier this week. Check out the story here.

WCAC Basketball Tournament Info

The varsity boys and girls basketball teams are headed into the WCAC Playoffs! Tickets to all WCAC Playoff games are $10. Below are the details of the tournament:

Boys

Quarter-Final vs. Archbishop Carroll Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5:15 p.m. @ Gallaudet University
Semi-Final Saturday, Feb. 25 either at 4:30 p.m or 5:15 p.m. @ American University
Finals Monday Feb. 26 at 8:00 p.m. @ American University

Girls

Quarter-Final vs. Bishop Ireton Saturday, Feb. 24 at 12:00 p.m. @ DeMatha High School
Semi-Final Saturday, Feb. 25 either at 1:00 p.m or 2:45 p.m. @ American University
Finals Monday, Feb. 26 at 6:00 p.m. @ American University

The O'Connell Basketball Club wishes the varsity teams luck at this weekend!

#JB22 we're in it for you!

DJO 5K & Family Fun Run

Registration now OPEN! Register by March 15 to guarantee your preferred t-shirt size. Special rate for current DJO students and special family four-pack discount! Race day is April 14 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

*Volunteers of all abilities are welcome!

Football Summer Camp Info

You can now sign up for Coach Disch's football summer camps! Click here for more information about the different session and to register.

Turn in Winter Sports Uniforms!

Just a reminder for all Freshmen and JV winter sports teams- please turn in your uniforms to Mr. Demers in the coaches office! If he is not in the office, please leave it on the table with your name attached.