Sports
15 IBA season comes to a close Joens’ 90s champions no longer February 7, 2013
The 2012-2013 IBA season will be one to remember. The competitiveness was top notch and there were many exciting games that came down to the wire. Starting from the draft to Monday night’s championship game, the buzz around Xavier was intramural basketball. Lead by senior Jake Harriott and junior Bryce Grimm, the Heat came into the season looking to be the favorites to win the championship. After being the only team to go undefeated in the regular season the Heat were confident going into the playoffs. They were given the number one seat in the tournament, but when the semi-final game came and they were missing one of their key players (Grimm), the opposing Thunder denied them the request to postpone the game to a later date and the Heat fell short. Perhaps the biggest disappointments of the season were the Hawks. With last year’s leading scorer Jordan Ratz out for the season with a finger injury, the pressure was put on juniors Adam Pick and Hunter Baldus. They could not respond to the loss of the captain, and a team that may have had a chance at the title went 0-5 on the season. “I was disappointed
that I could not be out there with my team to help them try to win. I take full responsibility for our defeated season, as a captain and as a player,” Ratz said. The biggest surprise of the season is said to be the Rockets. Led by all-state football player Seth Fahnle and future St. Ambrose University basketball player Alex Cunningham, the Rockets excelled to a 4-1 record losing their last game to the Grizzlies. They would bounce back in the playoffs however, and beat the Grizzlies in the semifinals putting them in Monday’s championship against the Thunder. Connor Collins Sports Editor
Just a handful of some of the senior IBA captains: (from left to right) Jordan Ratz, Alex Fox, Connor Collins, Nick Steingreaber, and Jake Harriott. John Richardson Photo
Bowling, competitive within Participating in sports through high school is a great way to make friends and increase skills. Many students have the opportunity to play both junior varsity and varsity, and the experience to shift between teams improves each player. This also gives the chance for players to get close to all the teammates. Juniors Sam Hart and Nick Terfler have been off and on between junior varsity and varsity bowling. Hart says he gets to have a fun involvement in junior varsity and appreciates the game but also enjoys the pressure of varsity. During practices, there are faceoffs between the junior varsity bowlers to see who will be able to earn the coveted open varsity spot “Varsity has a great competitive atmosphere and you need that once in a while,” Hart said. The boys’ team bowled against Linn-Mar at May City Bowl on Friday, January 18. Linn-Mar beat Xavier 30803012 after nearly losing the meet in the Baker round. The boys hosted Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday, January 25. Sophomore Caleb Miller led the team with a series of 427 but it was not enough to beat Jefferson, 31762983. Waterloo West hosted the boys’ team at Maple Lanes on
Friday, February 1 in an MVC match. Even though the boys bowled their highest match this season, they fell short to Waterloo West, losing 3143-3064. The girls’ team also has members who bounce between junior varsity and varsity, including junior Haley Jensen and sophomore Kayla Thompson. Both are positive contributors to the team. Thompson ended with a 285 series at the meet against Linn-Mar on Friday, January 18 and improved her game against Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Friday, January 25, with a series of 299. Xavier won against Linn-Mar, 2430-2347, but lost to Jefferson, 2767-2611, even with senior Tara Trcka’s series of 411. On Friday, February 1, at Maple Lanes in Waterloo, Jensen bowled a 363 series to help Xavier win 2827-2805 in an MVC match against Waterloo West. Both teams host Dubuque Wahlert at May City Bowl on Friday, February 8 at 3:45.
The fifth annual Xavier Alumni Basketball Tournament took place last Saturday in the Ron Thillen Gymnasium. Graduates from Regis, LaSalle, and Xavier High Schools ranging from the classes of the 1970s all the way up to the class of 2012 participated in the event. The teams were separated by decades. The 70s and 80s combined to make one team followed by the 90s, 2000s and the young 2010s. The first game was a battle between the 70-80s and the 90s. With the help of a handicap scoring system (70-80’s baskets count as twos and threes, 2010’s baskets counted as ones and twos) Brian “Magic” Donnelly, a 1979 graduate of Regis High School and the 70-80s team were up by ten points with little time to go in the second half. Then Brad Joens, head coach of the Xavier sophomore boys’ basketball team and a 1994 graduate of Regis took over and won the game giving his team a spot in the championship game. Then it was time to pick up the pace with the 2000s vs. the 2010s. The 2000s, led by 6’4, 328 lbs Jay Teply, won the game pretty handedly by a score of 67-55. The 2010s could not bounce back, losing to the 70-80s, a team 30 years older than them, by a score of 5748 on a handicap scoring system. It was championship time and Brad Joens and the 90s team were looking to win their fifth straight title. They had been the only winners since the tournament had started back in 2009. The 2000s
had a different plan and came out of the gate strong taking a 23-5 lead 11 minutes into the game. Trailing 32-14 at halftime Joens was asked what the plan was for the second half. “Win,” Joens said bluntly. Unfortunately for Joens and the four-time defending champion 90s team, they could not overcome the large deficit and lost 64-49 after 2009 graduate Kyle Jacoby hit multiple three-pointers in the second half. “I feel like a new era of Xavier alums has come into the game and that we are going to make a statement in the years to come. It felt good to finally beat those guys,” 2008 graduate Ryan Collins said. Connor Collins Sports Editor
The 2000s team (from left to right) Kevin Callanan (‘08) Ryan Collins (‘08) David Lukan (‘08) Kyle Jacoby (‘09) Jay Teply (‘07) Chris Cooling (‘07) Alex Johnson (‘04). Cassie Busch Photo
Richardson and Durin on to State
The Xavier boys’ swimmers performed well at the district meet on Saturday, February 2 at the Mercer Aquatic Center in Iowa City. Junior Nick Durin and senior John Richardson both qualified for State. This is the third time Durin and Richardson have qualified for State. Before districts, the Washington Warriors placed second in the MVC Swim Meet at Jefferson High School. Durin placed second in the 200 medley relay, third in the 100 breaststroke, and sixth in the 50 freestyle. Then Washington dominated the district, winning by 114 points. This was not a normal win for Washington; it was their 50th consecutive district championship. “It’s awesome to make history and be on the team that won the 50th district championship,” Durin Shannon Mulcahey said. The four events that Durin Sports Writer qualified for are the 200 medley relay, the 50 freestyle, the 100 breaststroke, and the 200 freestyle relay which he and his team won. The Kennedy Cougars placed
fifth in the MVC Swim Meet. Richardson placed fourth in both the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle relay. Then Kennedy participated in the district meet where they placed third. In Richardson’s last district meet, he qualified for State in three events: the 200 medley relay, the 100 backstroke, and the 400 free relay. “I am very excited to have the opportunity to swim in an individual event in State. It’s hard to believe that State will be my last meet, but I will leave everything in the water and be happy with whatever happens,” Richardson said. Richardson also has a few more goals he would like to accomplish before leaving Kennedy. “I hope to break the Kennedy record in the medley relay that we missed by .1 second at districts, and to place in all my events,” Richardson said. Both Durin and Richardson will compete in State in Marshalltown on Saturday, February 9. Kyle D’Mello Sports Writer