The state’s returning Gatorade Runner of the Year, the 5-foot-10, 135-pound senior repeated as Virginia Independent School Division 2 state champion this past season breaking the tape with a time of 15:11.7—40 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor—and leading the Bishops to a first-place finish as a team. O’Brien took fifth at the Foot Locker South Regional championships and he captured seventh at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships to earn All-American status for the second year in a row. He did not lose to an in-state runner all season.
O’Brien has maintained an A average in the classroom. He has made a verbal commitment to attend Princeton University, where he will run for the cross country and track teams, beginning this fall.
O’Brien has volunteered as his dorm’s residential assistant, and he has donated his time on behalf of multiple community service initiatives through his church.
