<b>Yorktown Men’s Crew Wins 3V State Title</b>
The Yorktown freshman, novice and lower varsity crews traveled down to the Occoquan on May 1 for the traditional Ted Phoenix Lower Boat Championship. Conditions were superb for racing, mild to warm temperatures and little wind.
The Yorktown men's third eight came into the May 1 state championship regatta seeded No. 1 over crews from Robinson and TJ. The highly motivated crew from Yorktown blasted off the starting platform with a blistering first 20 that put them almost a length up on the field of three other crews. Stroke man and sophomore Adrian Blust pushed the crew down the course at 34-plus strokes per minute and left all but the crew from Washington-Lee lengths of open water back. Coming into the last 250 meters W-L made its final move, but it was not enough and the Patriot 3V crossed the finish line 5.9 seconds up on the Generals.
It was a great moment for all five seniors and it was the first time YHS had claimed the 3V title since 1994.
Next event for YHS was the final of the men’s freshman eight. In a spectacular finish, a tough and talented crew from TC Williams edged out No. 1-ranked St. Albans for the title, TJ was third, followed by Robinson, McLean and Yorktown in a tight pack. YHS medaled for the first time ever in the frosh eight event last year, did not even field a frosh eight in 2008 and was fifth in 2007. The freshmen of 2007 are this year's seniors and members of this class have medaled at the varsity every year at States since 2007. Also, members of last year's silver medal-winning frosh eight are stroking all three varsity eights this season.
<b>Yorktown Girls Lax Breezes through District</b>
The Yorktown girls lacrosse team concluded National District play with a 13-8 win over newcomer Hayfield on April 29, giving the Patriots a 7-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the district tournament. Olivia Shipley led Yorktown with five goals and Hope Barrazotto added four.
After losing to Chantilly 15-5 on March 24, Yorktown won its next 11 games and entered its May 4 regular season finale against Fairfax with a 12-1 overall record. Results of the Fairfax game were not available prior to deadline.
<b>O’Connell Softball Beats Yorktown</b>
The Bishop O’Connell softball team defeated Yorktown 7-3 at Greenbrier Park on May 1, giving the Knights 20 victories for the 18th consecutive season.
O’Connell’s Jessica Burk hit a two-run home run in the fifth and finished with five RBIs. Jilly Falle struck out 13 and earned her 19th victory.
The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Tournament begins May 6 for O’Connell. Yorktown hosts Loudoun on May 5.
<b>Yorktown Athletes Compete at TC Invite</b>
Several members of the Yorktown boys and girls track teams competed at the T.C. Williams Invitational on May 1, with junior Kelsey Coia leading the way with a second-place finish in the 800 meters.
Coia, who battled recurring ankle sprains early in the season, finished in 2 minutes, 25.2 seconds, 1.51 seconds behind event winner Shannon Hall from North Point.
"I think I ran very solidly, pretty consistent," Coia said. "We’ve been doing speed work in practice, which I think has been helping a lot."
Yorktown’s Ashley Rock finished fifth in the discus with a toss of 84 feet, 3 inches, and seventh in the shot put (29-10). Khalil Doles was fifth in the boys shotput (43-5).
The Yorktown girls placed tied for 11th with 10 points and the boys were 16th with two points.
<b>Yorktown Boys Tennis 10-2 in District</b>
The Yorktown boys tennis team holds a 10-2 record in National District play this season, on the heels of recent wins over Edison, Falls Church, Hayfield and Mount Vernon. The Patriots’ overall record improved to 11-2 with a non-district win over George Mason.
With the National District Tournament set to start May 10, the Patriots have defeated every district team except Stuart. Yorktown’s victories have been boosted by consistently strong match play in both singles and doubles by the top six: No. 1 Matt Karvelas, No. 2 Sky Leyden, No. 3 Aidan Papavizas, No. 4 Ben Martindale, No. 5 Dan Yeatman and No. 6 Eamonn Delacy.
Top-notch performances by those players enabled the Patriots to defeat Hayfield 9-0, Edison 8-1, Mount Vernon 9-0 and Falls Church 9-0 in recent matches.