In the prestigious WCAC wrestling championships, held Feb. 2 in northwest DC at Gonzaga, Bishop Ireton placed third overall with 144 points. “It was a huge accomplishment to finish third overall behind very quality teams such as DeMatha and O’Connell” said Ireton assistant head coach Kevin Spivey.
DeMatha and O’Connell finished “one-two” with 235 and 159.5 points, respectively.
In the nine-team tournament the Cardinals finished with one gold medalist, one silver medalist, four bronze medalists and four fourth-place finishers.
Spearheading the “Cardinal and Gold” was Chris Boucher (152 pounds). The senior recorded three consecutive pins en route to the title. In the championship match, Boucher put Robbie Clay of O’Connell on his back in a brisk 38 seconds. “I just went out there very focused,” Boucher said. “I knew what I wanted to do and I caught him in a cradle.”
Capturing second-place for the Cardinals was Brian O’Donnell (189). The senior pinned his first two opponents and then dropped an 18-3 “tech fall” to DeMatha’s Mike Aguggia.
O’Donnell, also a standout football player, said afterwards, “I can’t really be satisfied with second but all things considered it is good to be a finalist. I was very happy with how the whole team did overall.”
Third-place for Ireton included: Ian Mondragon (119), Ethan Axenfeld (125), Mark Rodriguez (160) and Pat Ryan (275) – also a top football player for first-year Ireton head coach Tony Verducci.
Fourth-place for the Cardinals included: Elliot Mondragon (103), D.J. Phillips (135), T.J. McLaughlin (145) and Pat Weingart (171).
“We were very pleased with the results,” Spivey said. “We had 10 of 14 wrestlers place fourth or better.”
On the season, the Cardinals finished 5-3 in WCAC dual match competition and 19-5 overall. Some of the key dual match wins included O’Connell, Episcopal and St.Stephens/St. Agnes.
This weekend, the Cardinals, as well as the Episcopal Maroon and the St. Stephens/St. Agnes Saints, will participate in the prestigious “St. Albans Invitational” in northwest D.C, featuring some of the top private schools from the mid-Atlantic Region.
More Titan Trivia
Last week’s question asked “which three opponents did the T.C. Williams varsity football team defeat in their three State Championship appearances: fall 1971, fall ’84 and fall ’87?
*** The correct answers are Andrew Lewis (Roanoke) – 1971; Hampton – 1984 and Hampton as well – in 1987.
This week’s question: Do you know any of the above three scores [or all of the above three scores] in which the Titans defeated Lewis, Hampton and Hampton?
**The first mailing to P.O. Box 151 Alexandria, Va. 22314, with all three correct scores will receive $5 via the mail. Please include your complete mailing address.
Alexandria Sportsman’s Club
The Alexandria Sporstman’s Club will hold its monthly meeting Feb. 17 at the Old Dominion Boat Club (on the river.
A City high school Athlete of the Month will be selected and a relevant topic in the realm of sports will be discussed and/or presented.
The social hour will commence at 7 pm; the actual program will commence at 7:45 pm. For more information, please call Dave at 703-385-4726.
On a sad note
Former Ireton assistant boys basketball coach Jim Hatch recently passed away. Hatch, age 76, coached with head coach Kevin Clancy in the early ’90’s and coached with head coach Mike Hutton in the mid-90’s.
Hatch was also an assistant coach at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington as recently as the 2006-2007 school year.
Two of Hatch’s sons played at Ireton – Austin (class of ’92) and Pat
(class of ’95). “Jim was a friend, a real gentleman and a mentor. He will be missed,” Hutton said.
Ireton girls triumph
The Ireton girls basketball team defeated arch-rival O’Connell for the second time in nine days.
On Feb. 3, the Lady Cardinals knocked off the homestanding Knights 46-36. In the road win, Ireton blistered O’Connell 31-12 in the second half. Cardinal top scorers included: Mary Kate Curry and Rachel Martin (12 points each), Nadia Cathan (eight), Joelle Daguilh (six), Lindsey Baumann (three) and cousins Alexis Thurmond and Alana Thurmond (three and two respectively).
Stated the aforementioned Mike Hutton (current girls head coach/former boys head coach/former Cardinal tennis coach) – “In the second half, we forced some turnovers and we got our shots to drop.” Hutton (fourth season) led the Lady Cardinals to the ’04/’05 and ’06/’07 VIS State Runners-ups Trophy.
This year, the Cardinals playing in the very difficult WCAC weigh-in at
7-14 overall (3-7 WCAC).
TC boys lock horns in Richmond
The T.C. Williams boys team traveled to Richmond on Feb. 2 and “locked horns” with private school powerhouse Benedictine.
The homestanding Cadets dealt the Titans a very rare loss.
Benedictine outscored the “Red, White and Blue” 69-61.
TCW trailed 32-29 at halftime and were subsequently outscored 37-32 over the games final 16 minutes.
The Titans, coached by Ivan Thomas (fourth season) were paced by: Travis Berry (20 points), Edward Jenkins (11), Joshua Jordan (eight), Anthony Winbush (seven), Ryan Yates (six), Ricky Colbert (four), Javonta Campbell (three) and Gavin Peterson (two).TCW, defending Patriot District Champions and undefeated in the Patriot District this season, weigh in with an overall record this season of 15-3.
TC Williams was scheduled to play at West Springfield on Feb. 5 as well as at South County Feb. 8.
