Sports

The West Springfield Spartans have again claimed a significant swimming and diving team championship, despite winning few, if any, events.

The latest title won by the high school boys’ squad was the 6C North Region Occoquan competition, where they amassed 367 points on Friday, Feb. 7. The Lake Braddock Bruins finished second in the region with 310 points.


Countywide

Local superstar Ilia Malinin and other figure skaters will convene in D.C. next month to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s airplane and helicopter crash near Reagan National Airport.

Set for Sunday, March 2, at Capital One Arena, the “Legacy on Ice” benefit will raise funds to support the families and loved ones of the 67 people killed in the Jan. 29 crash, while serving as a showcase for the American figure skating community, which lost 28 members.


Countywide

Virginia lawmakers are moving forward with a bill to crack down on the misuse of the “homeless” designation by school officials to recruit student athletes. House Bill 1656, introduced by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, also prohibits officials from accepting money or gifts intended to influence a student’s decision to transfer schools for athletic purposes.

The legislation narrowly advanced to the full House on an 11-10 party-line vote in the House Education Committee. No lawmakers spoke on the bill ahead of the vote.


News

Allegations of player recruiting irregularities have engulfed another Fairfax County high school sports team.

Tre Ford, the head coach for Edison High School’s varsity boys’ basketball team, has been suspended after administrators learned that several athletes who played for the school in a tournament last summer weren’t enrolled as students at Edison, principal Mandy Burke said in a message to the community on Tuesday (Jan. 14).


Around Town

It won’t be long before pickleballers are dinking and volleying at a new indoor facility in Chantilly.

Owners of the forthcoming Dill Dinkers space are hoping to open doors this spring — a minor delay after they previously anticipated a winter opening.


News

The exclusive rights to bring an indoor ski resort to Lorton will soon expire for one developer, but the project isn’t going away.

Alpine-X, which is looking to build a 450,000-square-foot complex on a closed section of the I-95 landfill, will continue to pursue the “Fairfax Peak” project after the rights end on Dec. 31.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid outlined a timeline on Thursday (Dec. 19) for revising policies related to student athletics following a controversy over alleged football-recruiting irregularities at Hayfield Secondary School.

Engaged in ongoing damage control, the superintendent told the Fairfax County School Board at its last meeting of the year that “clear, bright-line rules and regulations” will be rolled out in coming months.


News

Federal prosecutors have charged a travel agent accused of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme and ultimately defrauding the George Mason University men’s basketball team earlier this year.

Maurice Eugene Smith, 44, of Atlanta is believed to have used the nearly $160,000 paid by the school to cover his personal expenses instead of booking the team’s anticipated trip to the Bahamas, according to court records.


Countywide

Fairfax County School Board members and Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid took formal steps last week to address the alleged athletic recruiting irregularities at Hayfield Secondary School that have roiled the entire community.

At the school board meeting on Thursday (Dec. 5), Reid offered her first public mea culpa for the crisis of confidence in Fairfax County Public Schools leadership sparked by its handling of the controversy around Hayfield’s football program.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Dec. 3) honored students and teams from the county’s public high schools for state-championship performances this fall.

“We have a long list of champions, which is fantastic,” Board Chairman Jeff McKay said during a presentation that helped kick off the body’s final meeting of 2024.


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