Sports
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Xavier High School
Captain Armstrong and Saints take State “Being able to get to State was such an accomplishment itself for our team,” senior captain Sarah Dickes said. In the State quarterfinal game held on Wednesday, February 27 at the Wells Fargo Arena, the Saints competed against Council Bluffs Lewis Central. Along with scoring 13 points, Dickes made four important free throws in the last 19 seconds leading the team to a victory of 50-45. On Thursday, February 28, the Xavier Saints faced the number one ranked team in the state, Bishop Heelan, in the 4A State semifinal game. Senior captain Kayla Armstrong had a career high with 22 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. She led the team to a win of 68-57 for the Saints and a spot in the 4A State Championship. The 5th ranked Saints
played the 8th ranked team, Harlan, in the championship game that was held on Saturday, March 2 in the Wells Fargo Arena. Morgan Breitbach made two key free throws that put the Saints in the lead with 48 seconds left in the game. Armstrong finished the game with 23 points, setting another career high, with the last basket being the game winning shot. After an extremely close match, the Saints came out of the game as the 4A State Champions after winning 53-52. “The feeling was absolutely amazing. All of our hard work all season long paid off and it was great to experience that with this team,” Dickes said. Senior Ashley Stulken had a good showing as well, scoring 13 points. Stulken and Armstrong were both named to the Class 4A All-Tournament Team. Armstrong was named
captain of the team. The Xavier girls’ basketball team was honored and congratulated in a ceremony on Monday morning that was held in the Ron Thillen Gymnasium at Xavier. Coach Tom Lilly now ranks third all-time among Iowa head girls’ basektball coaches with four State Championships. Coach Lilly celebrated by dancing, leading cheers, and almost shaving his notorious mustache off in front of the whole student body during Monday’s assembly. Xavier High School’s theme this year is “Like Mary, We Say Yes to the Impossible,” and on Saturday night, the girls’ basketball team did just that. “The most difficult thing with sitting here and ending this season is having this group disassemble. Only five teams come out champions and everyone
else loses their last game. For seniors, it’s the last for everything: last practice, last game, last banquet, and in the process you forget about all the “lasts” they have. You just hope they realize all of those “lasts” and hope life isn’t just passing them by,” Coach Lilly said.
Lizzy McWhinney Sports Writer
Above: Xavier student section after the State Championship victory. Principal Keating Photo Top Right: Coach Lilly and his team captains celebrate. Amanda Wymore Photos
Strong return expected Xavier alumna, back to her roots The boys’ basketball team played in the SubState semifinal on Friday, February 22 at Dubuque Senior High School. Dubuque Senior is ranked fourth in class 4A, and they were undefeated heading into the game versus Xavier. The Saints matched Senior very closely in the last meeting, and they had the Sub-State final in mind. Though the Saints fought hard, they still fell short. Xavier was winning the game at halftime by three points, but Senior ended up winning the game by the score of 55 to 39. Senior Trey Sampson knocked down three 3-point field goals and led the Saints with 11 points. Even though the loss might have been disappointing, the team was still happy with the season. “I had a great time this basketball season even though it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. We had a great group of guys that went out and competed everyday. I had a blast,” Sampson said.
First-year coach Ryan Luehrsmann and the team ended the season with an 11-12 record. The Saints are looking forward to next year, and they will many key players will return. “I am confident about the team next year. “We have a great group of guys and athletes that like to compete every day at practice and at games,” junior Matt Nelson said. Nelson will be one of those key players after a great season this year. Nelson earned first team MVC honors this year, while Sampson was placed on second team MVC, and sophomore Adam McDermott earned honorable mention All-Conference. The team ended with one more win than last year; they hope to continue improving for next year. “Next year we want to win the conference, be above .500, and make it to State,” Nelson said.
A question and answer with new Xavier Varsity girls’ soccer coach and former Xavier State champion, Bailey Dorrington. What year did you graduate from Xavier? 2007
Xavier Varsity girl’s head soccer coach, Bailey Dorrington. Photo Submitted
Did you play any other sports at Xavier? Yes, I did basketball and track for a couple of years. I was on the varsity basketball team my sophomore, junior, and senior year. My sophomore and senior year we won State under Coach Lilly’s guidance. Were you on the soccer team at Xavier for any of the Championship wins? We won State my freshman year, sophomore year, and senior year. My junior year we were second place at State.
Since you graduated, how have you stayed connected with Xavier’s Soccer program? When I wasn’t coaching the girls’ soccer team, I would always try to attend games as often as I could. I would also follow them via the sports section of the newspaper. I was excited at the thought of coaching for Xavier, especially for the soccer program, which has such a successful history.
Do you have any goals for yourself as a coach or for the team? For the team, at the top of our list is to bring home a State Championship this year. But there are some other important things we will be focusing on this season as well such as team unity, volunteering, and making sure to enjoy the season. There has been a lot of pressure on the girls the last few years with the seven consecutive wins- I would like to bring them back to reality, reminding them that they can have fun, enjoy the Kyle D’mello time with their teammates, and compete at the highest level possible on the field all at Sports Writer the same time.
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