Successful Outing at ESCC Tourney
February 1, 2010

The Shamrock wrestling team had a decent showing at the East Suburban Catholic Conference meets this weekend. On Friday at Joliet Catholic the varsity wrestlers pounded their way to a third place finish in the tourney besting their fifth place seed and defeating Carmel and Marian Catholic, two teams that defeated the Shamrocks in dual meets. The positioning of four Shamrocks who had second place finishes helped the team to a fourth place finish in the ESCC. Reaching the runner-up spots were senior Alex Ortiz (171 pounds; St. Helen), junior Charlie Doyle (160; Dever), sophomore Stephen Kettner (103; Palmer) and freshman Steve Galiardo (112; Bridge). Seniors Anthony Tripoli (145; Gray) and John Mueller (140; St. Robert Bellarmine) took third and fourth, respectively. Junior Carlos Martinez (215; Taft Academic) and sophomore Anthony Ferraris (130; Oriole Park) added points with third place finishes.

The sophomore and freshmen teams competed for final conference standings at Marian Catholic on Saturday. Sophomores Josh Alioto (135; Dever) and Melvin Kurian (98; Garvy) helped their teammates finish third at the tourney. The freshmen won their second team title in four years after placing second in the tourney. Freshmen Joe Bailey (145; Immaculate Conception), Nick Sandowski (140; Giles) and Sean Thompson (189; Wildwood) all earned conference titles. The newcomers went 7-0 in dual meets without their top peers—Dominic Boggia (119; St. Vincent Ferrer), Joseph Cortese (152; Edison Park), John Doyle (125; Dever) and Galiardo—who each spent the entire season gaining experience at the varsity level. Head varsity coach Pat Duggan feels that the freshmen performances bode well for the team’s chance of bringing home more hardware in the years to come. “We have a lot of raw talent coming up in the ranks,” said Duggan. “If these guys focus and work together, they could be contenders for a varsity conference title, an achievement that has not been seen at St. Pat’s since the late 70’s.”

The varsity team will compete in the IHSA Lane Tech Regional this Sat., Feb. 6 at Lane Tech. The first session will begin at 9:00 a.m., and the second session will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Sports shorts
The bowling team finished 19 at the state tournament led by junior Joe Netzel’s (Canty) fifteenth place individual finish. Senior Jim Ulczak (St. Giles) also made it to the finals. Both bowlers rolled averages over 200 pins. The team’s finish represented the second highest among Catholic schools. The basketball team (13-6 overall; 7-2 ESCC) went 2-0 for the weekend defeating Carmel 61-42 on Friday and Joliet Catholic 68-41 on Saturday. The team will have a climactic jump in their schedule with two important games nearing tip-off. Friday they take on undefeated Benet to redeem themselves from a 41-27 loss to the Redwings earlier this season, and the following week the Stud Section will welcome them back to St. Pat’s for “Think Pink” night versus Notre Dame. Shamrock swimmers are warming up for their conference meet this coming Sat., Feb. 6. The swimmers will have just one more home meet next Mon., Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. against Notre Dame before sectionals later this month.

The hockey team will host “Skate with the Shamrocks” on Sun., Feb. 7 from 4:50 p.m. to 6:10 p.m. at the Edge Ice Arena (Main rink at 735 W. Jefferson, Bensenville). The skate is open to any eighth grade boy that tested at St. Pat’s and all boys in fifth through seventh grades. For more information, contact head hockey coach Eric Wollenschlager at (708) 828-1928.