This past weekend, the Bishop O’Connell Men’s Varsity 4+ brought home the national title from the 2015 Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) National Championship Regatta in Camden, N.J. This is the first championship for the O’Connell rowing program.

Team members on the winning boat included, Tyler Dittmer, Collin Snyder, Jeff Dixon, Jason Pazirandeh and Tony Marrero. The regatta started off on Friday with a relatively light heat for this boat, resulting in the second fasted overall time of the day and a ticket to the next round on Saturday morning. In the semifinal race, O’Connell took a very close second to Canisius (Buffalo, N.Y.), qualifying them for the Grand Final later that day.

When asked why the Men's Varsity 4+ did not sprint, Tony Marrero remarked, "Now we know what they can do. We were able to watch their move, and now we know how to react.” 

The Men’s Varsity 4+ Grand Final race had a bit of a delay due to geese on the course, but the Knights did not let that faze them. The men were quickly up off of the starting blocks, and over the course of 1,500 meters, only extended their lead. The Episcopal School, the Stotesbury champions from the week before, laid down a desperate sprint in the last minute of the race, but the O’Connell men were able to hold them off. The Varsity Men's 4+ posted a national title winning time that was 1.7 seconds faster than the second place team.

The Women's Varsity 4+ (Ryan Brideau, Kristina Colevas, Emma Morris, Julia Bailey, Maggie McLellan) also qualified for the semifinals on Saturday morning after placing second in their preliminary heat and beating the Stotesbury champion from the weekend before in a last-minute sprint to the line. In the semifinal race, O’Connell’s women’s team was just barely edged out of second place, resulting in their placement into the Petite Final later in the afternoon, where they finished second overall, placing them 8^th in the national standings.

Stotesbury Regatta – One week earlier, the O’Connell crew teams competed in Philadelphia in the largest youth rowing regatta on the planet. The Knights sent a total of five crews to the regatta. The system for Stotesbury is a time trial with all teams in the event, resulting in the top 12-18 teams (depending on the number of teams in the event) moving on to seeded semifinal races. From the semifinal, the top two teams in each event move to the Grand Finals.

The Men’s Varsity 4+ earned O’Connell’s first-ever Stotesbury medal with a third place finish in the Grand Final, where they were edged out by the Episcopal School (Philadelphia) and St. Joseph's Prep. The top three boats in that final were all within two seconds of each other, with the fourth place team finishing six seconds behind.

Also qualifying for semifinal races at Stotesbury were the Women’s 1^st Varsity 8+ (Ryan Brideau, Kristina Colevas, Emma Morris, Julia Bailey, Maggie McLellan, Claudia Reing, Abby Clukey, Sarah Kelley, Devin Christensen) and the Women’s 2nd Varsity 8+ (Selene Swanson, Riley McGovern, Sam Venkatesh, Sarah Pachon, Erin Stuver, Allie Celemente, Geri D'Archengelo, Claire Stemberger, Carly Swason). Both raced competitively, but did not qualify for the finals.

The Men's Varsity 8+ (Libby Scully, Alex Damjanovic, Alejandro DiNapoli, Josh Gardiner, Mikey Roche, Nick Morales, Jack Beecy, Lucas Gaitan, Cristian Marrero), after a strong race in their first heat, did not move to the next round.

Rowing earlier in the day, the Men's Junior 4+ (Liam O'Brien, Austin Berry, Harrison McBride, Holden Snyder, Jack McCormick) went up against a very tough field, and did not advance out of the heats.

“The success in the past three weeks was definitely a team effort,” said Coach Greg Smith. “Each day they would push each other to achieve more, and support each other through just about anything. As for a gold at the national championship, it still feels surreal. It was special to watch this team grow from December until now. Having a national title under our belts has created a new attitude for the team, that I am confident will lead to further success in the future.” 

Read about the earlier Washington Metro Championships.

Bishop O’Connell High School has named Sarah Cohen Burrowbridge as the new head coach for the girls lacrosse program. Originally from New Jersey, Coach Burrowbridge received her bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, where she was a midfielder/defender for the lacrosse team. She earned her master’s in education from American University.

Coach Burrowbridge began her high school coaching career at Holy Cross High School in New Jersey where the team competed for the state title. More recently, she has coached locally at Wilson High School in D.C. and Hayfield Secondary in Alexandria, where she built a successful program.  She also co-runs CRASH lacrosse club.

Burrowbridge is an elementary school teacher. She and her husband, Adam, have three boys and are looking forward to joining the Bishop O’Connell lacrosse family.

“Coach Burrowbridge brings a wealth of experience both as a player and a coach,” said Athletic Director Joe Wootten.  “Her passion for the sport and for working with young people is contagious, and we are confident she will lead our program to new heights!"

There will be an opportunity to meet Coach Burrowbridge at an interest meeting on Tuesday, June 2 at 6 p.m. in the school library.  Parents and players are encouraged to attend.

Congratulation to O'Connell graduate, Emma Morris, who was recently profiled in Arlington Magazine, recognized as one of their 2015 Extraordinary Teens.

Emma's accomplishments are numerous, both inside and outside of the classroom. She was a transfer student who joined the school's learn-to-row program not long after she arrived. She became an important part of the girls crew team; most recently, her boat took 8th place in the 2015 SRAA national championship.

Emma will be attending Stanford University in the fall, where she hopes to study Human Biology. She spent last summer interning in an oncology radiology lab at Georgetown University. She has also volunteered with an adaptive rowing program in Anacostia, and worked with special needs children through local weekend retreats (through Jill’s House) and previously at a special needs camp in California.

Read more in the July/August issue of Arlington Magazine.

Your can also read more about Emma in our 2015 Senior Spotlight series.

The 2015-2016 Royalette Dance Team from Bishop O'Connell High School brought home top honors from the Universal Dance Association Camp held at the University of Maryland Baltimore County earlier this month.

This O'Connell squad finished in first place with their home routine, receiving a blue ribbon evaluation and qualifying for the National Dance Team Championship in February in Orlando, Fla., which is televised by ESPN.

The team also received a Superior trophy as one of the top averaging teams based on individual team member evaluations. Each girl performed three routines and they were awarded a total of 45 blue ribbons and three red ribbons.

Each day during the camp, members of the team participated in a Drill Down competition, where campers are given drill commands and are eliminated as they make mistakes. On the last day, the drill continues until only one camper is left standing. Out of the 270 campers, the Royalettes had five left in the top 20, three left in the top ten and two in the top five. In the end, Margaret O’Connor ’17 took home the Drill Down championship, and Madison Rubley ’16 was the runner-up. This is the seventh year in a row that a Royalette member has won this competition.

All-Americans recognition was awarded to Bridget Heppes ’16, Sam Neizgoda ’16, Annie Nguyen ’16, Maris Ratliff ’16, Madison Rubley ’16 and Erika Williams ’18. These members were invited to perform in the New Year's Day Parade in London, England.

Officers of the team were invited to perform at the Varsity Christmas Spectacular, and the entire team has also been invited to perform at the 2016 Citrus Bowl pre-game show.

“I always look forward to camp,” said Coach Chrissy Salvador ’95. “I enjoy seeing our new team come together, working hard and supporting each other.”

For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, the Royalettes attended camp with the Paul VI dance team from Fairfax. “The girls attended Mass together,” said Coach Salvador. “Throughout the weekend the two teams work side-by-side and help each other out with their routines.”

For more information on the Royalette Dance Team, visit their web page at www.bishopoconnell.org/dance.

Pictured below: Members of the Royalette Dance Team and the Paul VI High School dance team take a moment out of their camp day for a joint photo.

Even before the official first day of school, students return to Bishop O'Connell to begin fall sports practices. Two photographers from the Arlington Catholic Herald stopped by on a warm day in August to snap some photos of our teams already in action.

See the feature on the Arlington Catholic Herald webpage.

It's a new year for Knights football. Colin Disch is in his first year as the team's head coach, and a new crop of underclassmen joins the group of returning seniors who are determined to leave their mark on the football landscape of the WCAC and the region.

O'Connell is hoping to build on their early-season non-conference loss to Maryland powerhouse, McDonogh. Read more about things to come in the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Bishop O'Connell High School has named Kathryn Scott head coach for the Knights' swim and dive team.

Coach Scott graduated from Marymount University, where she competed on the university swim team for four years. Originally from New Jersey, where she swam for the Jersey Wahoos through their senior national level. Her specialty was distance freestyle and the 400IM.

She has recently become involved in open water swimming, winning the 12.5 mile swim around Key West, Fla. in 2012 and 2013, placing second in the first-ever swim around Cape May, N.J. (15.1 miles), and finishing second in the Tampa Bay Marathon swim (24 miles).

"We are excited to have Katie Scott lead the swim and dive program," said Athletic Director Joe Wootten. "She has collegiate experience as both an athlete and as a coach. We are confident she will lead our program to great heights."

The 2015 Spirit Week and Homecoming has come and gone...but we still have the memories. It was a great week to be a Knight!

Read about this year's Alumni Achievement Award recipients and the Athletic Hall of Fame inductees and enjoy photos below from the awards dinner and alumni homecoming events on Saturday.

Congratulations to the O’Connell girls cross country team, who won their ninth straight WCAC championship last week at Lake Fairfax in Reston, Va. Their winning score of 32 points, beat out second place Good Counsel by 18 points.

Isabell Baltimore, a junior at O’Connell, crossed the finish line first, with a time of 20:41. Not far behind was her sister, senior Gabriella Baltimore (4^th place), along with Bri Broccoli (7^th place), Allison Boboltz (9^th place) and Maddie Fleenor (11^th place), all of whom were named to the All-WCAC team.

“It was a fabulous team effort,” said coach Cindy Walls. “The girls have been working and training for this goal all season. They were well prepared both mentally and physically, and I am so proud of all of them.”

The O’Connell boys team finished in third place. They were led by senior Kevin Dannaher, who earned All Conference honors with a 5^th place finish and a time of 17:09.

“Collectively, our boys ran the fastest times in several years,” added Walls. “This team continues to raise the bar for the O'Connell boys program.”

Read more in the Washington Post.

Congratulations to the nine Bishop O’Connell student-athletes who participated in our fall senior signing ceremony today, in the presence of their families, coaches, school administrators, teammates and friends:

Ako Adams (Basketball) – Rice University
Janiya Clemmons (Basketball) – Columbia University
Randall Gaskins (Basketball) – St. Francis University
Olivia Giaquinto (Softball) – Harvard University
Alicia Gonzales (Basketball) – Case Western Reserve University
Austin Kunde (Baseball) – Virginia Military Institute
Patrick Ryan (Baseball) – College of William & Mary
Jasmine Taylor (Basketball) – Boston College
Raffi Vazquez (Baseball) – Coastal Carolina University

Visit www.bishopoconnell.org/commit for more photos.

Seniors Hanna DeMeester and Daniel Catalfamo were recognized at the 5th Annual Courage Award Reception of Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC), held at Marymount University in Arlington.

DeMeester is parishioner at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Potomac Falls, Va. She is a member of the Bishop O'Connell volleyball team, and is active in the school's FIAT club, which is a young women's organization for students looking to deepen their relationship with Christ. When she is not at Bishop O'Connell, DeMeester serves as a trained Emergency Medical Technician with the Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad, giving 24 hours of her time each week to this effort.

Catlafamo is a parishioner at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, Va. He on the varsity soccer team, and this year also served as a kicker/punter for the varsity football team. Catalfamo is a member of the School of Community at Bishop O'Connell moderated by teacher Father Michele Benetti intended to seek connections between faith and all aspects of life. With the club, he has provided manual labor in support of the Missionaries of Charities in Washington, D.C. He has also participated in four work camps, where he has served communities in New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. In his spare time, he works as a physical therapist technician at a practice near his home two days a week.

O'Connell chaplain, Rev. Gregory Thompson, was on hand at the awards ceremony as these students were honored along with student-athletes from other diocesan high schools.

Catholic Athletes for Christ serves Catholic athletes in the practice of their faith and shares the Gospel in and through sports. The organization work with athletes at all levels of sport in an effort to promote a Catholic sports culture. CAC was formed in response to Pope John Paul II's call to evangelize the world of sports and his establishment of the Vatican's Office of Sports.

Pictured below (l to r): O'Connell chaplain, Rev. Gregory Thompson; Hanna DeMeester, Daniel Catalfamo and Head of School, Dr. Joseph Vorbach.

The Bishop O'Connell boys varsity basketball team spent a Sunday afternoon giving a free clinic to the youth of Howard County at Long Reach High School in Columbia, Md. Head Coach Joe Wootten and his players and coaching staff led basketball players from ages five and up in the fundamentals of the game.

Each varsity player worked specifically with a group of eight to ten boys and girls. Coach Wootten described and demonstrated, with the help of some of the best high school basketball players in the area--like seniors Ako Adams and Randall Gaskins--different finishing moves from the simple lay-up to the more advanced euro-step (something that has become so popular across all levels of basketball). With the goal of giving players of all ages and abilities the foundation and blueprint for on-court success, the group also taught the finer and sometimes overlooked points of dribble moves such as the crossover and hesitation dribbles. These are moves that young girls and boys look to perfect through hours of practice and repetition.

The coaches not only looked to teach the skills of the game of basketball, but also the necessary level of hard work and determination the game demands. The presence of the varsity players gave the kids someone to look up to as a testament of what grit and determination can help you achieve. In fact, at the end of the clinic, a young participant asked one of the coaches if the O'Connell Knights were the best team in the country.

Go Knights!

Congratulations to the latest group of Bishop O'Connell student-athletes who have committed to play at the colleges of their choice:

Grace Boras (Soccer) - Catholic University
Myles Hudzick (Football) - Duke University
Brandon Magee (Football) - Robert Morris University
JayJay McCargo (Football) - University of North Carolina
Landan Word (Football) - University of Virginia

They join the following O'Connell seniors who signed their letters of intent late last fall:

Ako Adams (Basketball) – Rice University
Janiya Clemmons (Basketball) – Columbia University
Randall Gaskins (Basketball) – St. Francis University
Olivia Giaquinto (Softball) – Harvard University
Alicia Gonzales (Basketball) – Case Western Reserve University
Austin Kunde (Baseball) – Virginia Military Institute
Patrick Ryan (Baseball) – College of William & Mary
Jasmine Taylor (Basketball) – Boston College
Raffi Vazquez (Baseball) – Coastal Carolina University

See photos from both ceremonies at www.bishopoconnell.org/commit.

On Wednesday, Feb. 17, the best players in the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League (NVSHL) will square off for the annual All-Star Game. Among these All-Stars are three O'Connell players:

Defenseman Robert Burnham (2016)
Goalie Zach Hale (2016)
Defenseman Jimmy Zinter (2017)

For Hale and Bernham, this is their second year as NVSHL All-Stars.

"We are proud of all three of these players," said head coach Flip Collins. "They personify the strong work ethic that has made the Knights hockey program successful in so many areas."

CLICK HERE for more information on the All-Star Game.

Dust off your running shoes and grab your friends, neighbors and family members! Join us on Saturday, April 9 for the first-ever Bishop O'Connell 5K and Kids' Fun Run! Registration is now open at www.bishopoconnell.org/5K.

Register before Mar. 20 to guarantee your preferred T-shirt size.

Check out the preview of the course, register to run, or simply offer your support as an armchair participant if you are out of town or unable to train. Be a part of a new O'Connell tradition! Questions? Email lfriel@bishopoconnell.org.