A couple of defending district-champion Arlington high-school teams are in the midst of beginning their 2021 falls sports seasons.
In girls field hockey, the Washington-Liberty Generals began the campaign as the defending Liberty District winners, who then went on to finish second in the 6D North Region tournament. The season was the best for W-L in program history.
The Generals compiled a 10-3 record, which included a nine-match winning streak, and they had seven shutouts.
With a number of top returning players, Washington-Liberty was scheduled to open its season Aug. 24 against the Oakton Cougars in non-district action. Then the team will participate in the South County Invitational, Aug. 26-27.
With numerous sophomores off that 10-3 team returning for the current season, the Generals are expected to be district contenders again under 15-year W-L head coach Beth Prange.
Earlier this summer, Prange was chosen as the Better Sports Club of Arlington’s high-school Coach of the Year for the 2020-21 seasons.
Some of Washington-Liberty’s top returning players are Ashley Kennedy, Melina Axelrad, Mary Superata, Clara Grimmelbein, Janny McCormick and Fiona Williams.
The Generals’ second-place finish in the region tournament was the second by an Arlington team in as many seasons. The Yorktown Patriots were second in 2019 to the eventual state-champion Langley Saxons. The Generals fell to eventual state champ Madison in the previous region final.
* In boys cross country, the Yorktown Patriots are the defending Liberty District champions, and return a number of top runners from that squad. The Patriots also finished second in the region meet during the previous campaign.
Yorktown is slated to participate in three big weekend meets to open its season in September – the Great Meadow Invitational, the Oaktlands meet and the Carlisle Invitational in Pennsylvania.