Although he typically boasts one of the strongest teams in the state, McLean Coach Mikhail Zubarev didn’t have enough freshmen to replace last year’s departing seniors. He opted at the start of the season to join forces with Chantilly.

“[Chantilly] didn’t have a coach for the season, they didn’t have a goalie, and they were looking for partners,” Zubarev said. “We were low on numbers, but we had goalies and we were thinking maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to combine the two teams.”

Zubarev and sophomore left wing Calvin Wood said the mixed squad injected new life into each school’s team. With McLean players donning red jerseys and Chantilly players in purple, they nevertheless worked together to dominate most of their games. Their lone loss came Feb. 9, a 5-3 defeat against NVSHL defending champion Langley.

Despite playing — and beating — many of its bigger rivals, Chantilly/McLean is barred from competing against single-school squads in the postseason. Instead, the top two combined teams go straight to a championship matchup.

Wood said he’s enjoying the chance to play alongside new players from a different school, but he’s eager for McLean to build its roster so it can have a shot at the NVSHL title next year.

“In my freshman year, we made the playoffs, but I was sick for our playoff game and we ended up losing that one,” Wood said. “So I really want to get a playoff win with McLean. … We have our [provisional] championship game, but I want to actually be able to play in the playoffs, to hopefully make it to the quarterfinals, semifinals, finals. Just doing the best that we can in the regular playoffs.”

For now, the Highlanders and Chargers are gearing up to join forces for the final time this season after a three-week break. Their game Friday will take place before the NVSHL title game at Ashburn Ice House.

Archbishop Spalding has a knack for saving its best for state and national tournaments at the end of the season. This year, five Cavaliers earned all-American honors by placing at the National Prep wrestling championships Saturday at Lehigh University — the most of any team in The Post’s coverage area. Among local teams, only St. Mary’s Ryken, which finished eighth, had a better team score than ninth-place Spalding.

“I’ve said this for years: We train so that, by the end of the season, we’re peaking,” Spalding Coach Michael Laidley said. “Our kids have always done well at Preps and states. I know some teams kind of falter late, but I don’t know what it is — maybe it’s just our focus.”

Sean Garretson (126 pounds) and Vincent Paolucci (132), each of whom finished fifth in his weight class, are repeat all-Americans, and Spalding also had three first-time placers. Delmar White placed third in the 285-pound bracket, Zane Leitzel placed seventh among 138-pounders, and Taina Fernandez finished atop the 126-pound girls’ division.

Fernandez was exceptional this season, particularly for a 14-year-old freshman. She won three college opens, taking down wrestlers a decade her senior who have competed for world championships. In the future, Laidley said, Fernandez may have to wrestle boys at National Prep to find fair matchups.

Laidley is excited about the direction of his program, which is more than understandable considering all but two of Spalding’s nine National Prep qualifiers are set to return next season. That’s not to mention the rapport he shares with his assistants.

“My wife wonders when I’m going to retire, then she realizes I’m having too much fun,” Laidley said. “I love being around these guys.”

Redistricting will cause Old Mill to lose nearly half of its track and field team next year to Severn Run, which will open in the fall, so the Patriots wanted to make this last indoor season together memorable.

They traveled to early meets in Virginia Beach and New York and took a larger group than usual. They hoped that preparation would pay off down the stretch.

It did with an Anne Arundel County boys’ championship in January. Then, in last week’s Maryland Class 4A track and field state championships in Landover, two Patriots earned state titles.

Tsedeke Jakovics broke the 800-meter 4A record in 1 minute 54.82 seconds. He was second in the 1,600 and scored 18 of Old Mill’s 28 team points.

“He ran a 1:55 in January in the 800, and just seeing how he executed his race, I knew he had at least 1:54 in his tank,” Coach Justin Murdock said.

Senior Chancellor DeRosier earned the rest of the Old Mill boys’ points; he claimed the state title in the 55-meter hurdles (7.54 seconds).

The Patriots will close the season by taking 10 athletes to Nike Indoor Nationals next month in New York before getting one last shot at a state title during the outdoor season this spring.

“They understand that this is our last year,” Murdock said. “We’re kind of all on the same page on how we want to end it.”

Rian Graham is ready to compete at the University of Louisville. The Cardinals have a rich history of swimmers competing in the butterfly, Graham’s specialty. But the Herndon senior’s times are already college-ready.

At the Virginia Class 6 championship in Hampton on Feb. 16, Graham’s 47.76-second time in the 100-yard butterfly qualified him as an all-American. He finished first in the 200 freestyle (1:39.27) as well, which surprised him. It allowed him to boast to his friend, Lake Braddock’s Josh Howat, the top freestyler in the 2024 class.

Graham insists this summer will be the most important of his life. He plans to practice every day while preparing for the Olympic trials in June.

When he gets to Louisville, Graham will be paired with another fly specialist, Indiana native Gregg Enoch. The two have already connected about the competition ahead.

“My goal is to come in there and compete immediately, but I know there are a couple guys that are faster than me right now,” Graham said. “I got to get faster than them if I want to be their top butterfly guy.”

When Emily Wilde graduated from Holton-Arms in 2009, D.C.-area girls’ hockey was in a much different place. Her experience skating for the Panthers came exclusively in a club setting, playing games as far north as New Jersey just to build a schedule.

Now, in her sixth year as coach and ninth overall on staff at her alma mater, Wilde led Holton-Arms to its first varsity championship in school history and is determined to continue growing the game.

The most apparent change for Wilde since her coaching tenure started has been the growth of interest in the sport.

“Looking back to when I played, we probably had 12 kids total,” she said. “But since I’ve started [coaching], I think the number of kids in the program has doubled or tripled. This year, we have 45 kids.”

Wilde credits her experience playing at Holton-Arms as a way to connect with the girls she coaches.

“I think it’s the relatability,” she said. “They have so much going on, as so many teenagers do nowadays. It’s also kind of helped our team culture. We don’t take [this opportunity] for granted.”

Everything Wilde built culminated Feb. 11, when the Panthers took down Bishop O’Connell, 4-3, in overtime to win the Mid-Atlantic Girls Hockey League A division for the first varsity hockey championship in school history.

“It’s what I’ve been hoping for and aiming for since I’ve been back to coach,” she said. “It’s nice to … pass down all the things I loved about playing Holton hockey.”