Bracket Week: Wendell Byrd Era Ends
South Lakes' Wendell Byrd
One of the most successful coaching careers in the history of the Northern Region ended on Monday night, when South Lakes boys basketball coach Wendell Byrd's 23-year tenure at the Reston school ended with a 55-49 loss to Westfield in the first round of the regional tournament.
Byrd, who led the Seahawks to a 441-153 (.742) record, 12 district championships, six regional titles and appearances in the Group AAA state final in 1999 and 2003, retired from teaching last year and said last fall that this would be his last campaign at South Lakes, which finished the season 16-7 overall.
The Seahawks won league tiles in the Great Falls, Concorde and Liberty districts since Byrd became the program's third head coach prior to the 1984-85 season, enjoying much of that success in the late-1980s and early-1990s behind McDonald's All-Americans Grant Hill and Joey Beard. Under Byrd, South Lakes won 21 of 41 meetings against cross-town rival Herndon, including a double-overtime victory in the 2003 region final that will go down as one of the most memorable contests in the rivalry's history.
Byrd, an all-region selection as a football and basketball player in the early 1970s at George Mason High in Falls Church, was named the state's coach of the year by the Associated Press following the 1989-90 season, when he led the Seahawks to their first region title. And from 1992-94, South Lakes became the only team to ever win three consecutive Northern Region crowns.
Notes: In other Northern Region boys first round games, Herndon defeated Madison, 67-63, Wakefield defeated Lake Braddock, 80-78, West Springfield upset Edison, 68-57, Robinson shocked Liberty District champion W.T. Woodson, 61-60, T.C. Williams handled Mount Vernon, 92-69, Chantilly knocked off Langley, 74-61 and West Potomac outlasted National District champion Yorktown, 53-51, in triple overtime.
In Tuesday's quarterfinal games, Wakefield (21-4) travels to Concorde District champion Herndon (22-2), Robinson (12-11) is at West Springfield (19-6), Westfield (18-7) is at Patriot District champion T.C. Williams (22-3) and West Potomac (11-13) is at Chantilly (14-10).
The semifinals are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at George Mason University's Patriot Center on Friday, with the final set for Saturday at 8 p.m. at the same venue.
