For the third straight season a Bishop O’Connell High School track and field team won a championship at the annual Draper Invitational meet.
The O’Connell girls won this spring’s outdoor meet, hosted by St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes of Alexandria, as the Knights scored 76.5 points. Both girls and boys squads won last spring’s crowns, with the boys starting the streak with a title in 2022.
This spring, the O’Connell girls were led by double-race-winner Molly Weithman. She won the 1,600 (5:05.93) and 3,200 (10:39.02) races and was third in the 800 (2:23.66). As a result, Weithman was awarded the girls Athlete of the Meet, which goes to the individual scoring the most team points. She accounted for 26 points.
Weithman’s time in the 3,200 broke her own school record and also was a new meet mark.
“It was a great day for the girls, with a lot of people contributing. What Molly continues to do this [school] year is amazing,” O’Connell coach Jim Connor said.
Weithman has set multiple school records in different races during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, and won big meets during the fall’s cross country campaign, including a state championship.
O’Connell’s 4x200 relay of Mariel Irish-Maldonado, Audrey McKeen, Erica Romualdez and Selah Parker was the team’s other winner.
Individually, Parker finished second in the long jump and seventh in the 200 meters. Eva Woodcock was fourth in the high jump, sixth in the triple jump and 13th in the long jump. Ciara Bliven was fourth in the discus and 10th in the shot put, Sadie Smith fifth in the 3,200 and 11th in the 1,600, McKeen was seventh in the 100, Raya Cobb eighth in the high jump and Romuladez eighth in the 400 and Irish-Maldonado ninth in the 400.
In other relays, the 4x400 was third, the 4x100 fifth and the 4x800 eighth.
In the boys meet, O’Connell finished 10th, led by third-place finishers Jayse Brefczynski in the 1,600 and shot putter Jay Thompson. Avery Mosley was seventh in the 100, Michael Swingle seventh in the 800, Caleb Neville ninth in the high jump and 10th were Austin Coleman in the discus and Douglas O’Donnell in the long jump.
O’Connell’s boys 4x800 and 4x400 relays were third and the 4x200 fifth. Mosley, Swingle, Cam Bowser, Matthew Harnisch, Luke Collin, Kevin Colevas, Emmet Hand and Reid Klanderman ran on those thre-place relays.
Upcoming competitions for the O’Connell teams are the Catholic state championships and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference meet.
