Brooklyn, Ohio - After all of the hours and weeks of training and practices, three of Saint Ignatius High School's spring sports teams will carry the tradition-rich blue and gold banner into this week's state-wide competition.
Coach Pat McManamon's varsity lacrosse team, Coach Brad Ganor's varsity baseball program and Coach Chuck Kyle's varsity track and field team have reached that point of the season every young competitor strives for.
Yes, for some it is expected, but for most it is both the fulfillment of dedication and a dream becoming a reality.
Starting Wednesday night at the College of Wooster, when Coach McManamon's Lax 'Cats face off with Dublin Jerome at 7:30 in a state semifinal, this week is the one all of the Wildcats' spring athletes point to while the snow is still falling.
Well, the sun is beaming now and so are the hopes of a strong and spirited contingent of "Men For Others" from Cleveland's Jesuit Preparatory School in Ohio City.
The corner presents its final Where The 'Cats Play for the 2012-13 school year.
LACROSSE: Coming off an intense and dramatic 11-10 elite eight victory at Hudson on Saturday, the Wildcats will be making their first state final four appearance since 1995, when Coach McManamon '96 was throwing his stick around. For a look at Mike Vitale's four-goal effort at Hudson and the many, many more highlights, see the corner's story that was posted on Saturday evening.
The Lax 'Cats (17-1) will take an 11-game winning streak into the College of Wooster against a Dublin Jerome program that stands 15-6. Saint Ignatius and Jerome are fourth and sixth, respectively, in the latest state computer ratings by laxpower.com. Upper Arlington remains in the top spot and Hudson, despite the loss to the Wildcats, is third.
However, as Hudson discovered on Saturday, you can throw out all of the ratings and rankings when it comes to this point of the season.
In its 9-2, elite-eight victory over Olentangy on Saturday, Dublin Jerome got a five-goal performance from All-Region junior midfielder Mikey Bano. The 2012 runner-up Celtics rode some tough defensive play by Lucas Brush to a 4-1 lead by halftime. Brush collected seven ground balls and Jerome goalie Austin Paalz made eight saves.
Olentangy bowed out at 18-2, with both of its losses coming to Jerome.
BASEBALL: Coach Brad Ganor's Wildcats are coming off one of the most complete and dominant performances in the program's rich history, a 14-0, run-rule triumph over Toledo St. Francis de Sales in Sunday's Division I regional final on Ron Mottl Field at Cuyahoga Community College-West. The fourth-ranked team in the state went home with just its third loss in 32 games (see the corner's story from Sunday evening).
Saint Ignatius (26-6), which has won 12 consecutive games and 21 of its past 22, will be making its 11th appearance in the state baseball final four and the fourth under Coach Ganor when it faces Gahanna Lincoln (22-9) on Friday night at 7 in a state semifinal match up at Huntington Park in Columbus. The Wildcats captured the big-school state championship in 2002 and were state runners-up in 2000 and 2008.
Now in his ninth season as the 'Cats' skipper, Coach Ganor (202 career victories) guided Saint Ignatius to a school record three consecutive state final fours in 2007, '08 and '09. Coach Ganor was an assistant on Brian Morgan's 2002 state championship team, 2000 state runner-up club and 2004 state semifinal team.
"Getting there is tough," Coach Ganor said of reaching the final four. 'We've been there four times in my tenure, but there were five times that we didn't get there with talented teams. It just shows that you have to be playing good baseball at the right time."
Coach Ganor is expected to send senior left-hander Tom Rolle (6-0) to the mound on Friday night and, if successful, turn to junior southpaw Nick Margevicius (9-0) for Saturday's 7 PM championship game. The other half of the Division I semifinals matches defending state champion Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (29-2) against Aurora (28-4). Moeller was ranked second in the final coaches' state poll, Saint Ignatius was 17th and Aurora was 19th. Gahanna Lincoln did not crack the poll.
Here is a look at Gahanna Lincoln, Archbishop Moeller and Aurora and how they earned their final four status.
Gahanna Lincoln: Making their fourth regional appearance since 2008, the Lions treated 22-year head coach Mike Shade to his first state final four by defeating Hilliard Darby, 8-1, in a regional final in Dublin. That's Ohio, not Ireland.
The story of the game was sophomore pitcher Mason Daniels, who fired a three-hitter and struck out four. And he had to do it over two days after the game was suspended by rain in the top of the fifth inning on Friday night. Daniels threw 55 pitches on Friday and 57 on Saturday.
Senior Alec Tuohy helped key the Lions' offense. Tuohy's two-run double, one of his three hits in five plate appearances, fueled a five-run fifth inning.
As was the case with Saint Ignatius on Sunday (again see the corner's story from Sunday), Gahanna Lincoln's seniors had to balance baseball and graduation on Saturday. The Lions graduated at 10 AM in Value City Arena and then rushed off to take batting practice.
The Lions and the Wildcats have some final four history, but obviously not in baseball. In the fall of 2009, Gahanna Lincoln defeated Saint Ignatius, 1-0 (shootout), in the Division I state championship soccer game.
Aurora: Senior catcher Frank Sivillo scored from first on a base hit down the right-field line by sophomore third baseman Nick Ely and the Greenmen earned their first final four berth in baseball by defeating Mentor, 2-1, in a regional final in Canton. The trip to Columbus comes under the direction of first-year head varsity coach Tim Deering.
Coach Deering got a gritty performance from 6-foot-4 senior right-hander Adam Berger (9-1). In going the distance, Berger scattered seven hits, walked two (one intentionally), struck out two and left nine Cardinals stranded. Senior left fielder Tyler Thomas accounted for Aurora's other run with an RBI single in the bottom of the first inning.
Archbishop Moeller: When you have a program that has produced former Major League greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin, you almost need no introduction.
The Fighting Crusaders, or the "Men from Moeller," if you will, captured their sixth state baseball championship by defeating Westlake, 9-6, in the 2012 title game. Moeller advanced to yet another final four by dominating its regional competition. The Fighting Crusaders, who have won 17 consecutive games, defeated Lakota East, 10-1, and Northmont, 11-3.
Junior right-hander Gus Ragland (6-0) gave Moeller a resilient performance during the regionals and when you talk 2013 Fighting Crusaders baseball, All-Ohio shortstop Riley Mahan has to be part of the discussion.
Should Moeller and Saint Ignatius advance to the championship game, it wouldn't be a match up of strangers. Since 2000, the Wildcats and the Fighting Crusaders have split four state-semifinal encounters.
TRACK AND FIELD: Coach Chuck Kyle will bring a talented and versatile contingent into the 106th Ohio Track and Field Championships. The Division I running preliminaries are scheduled to get under way at 4:45PM on Friday in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University.
The Division I field events are slated for noon and 3 PM on Saturday, and the Division I running finals are expected to begin at 4:30 on Saturday.
Representing Saint Ignatius and coming off outstanding efforts in the demanding and talent-rich Amherst regional will be the Wildcats' regional champion 4x100 meter relay team of junior Enzo Cannata, seniors Pat Jeffries and Dan Way and freshman James Norris; freshman Luke Wagner in the 1600 meter run; big-meet tested seniors Jack Miller and Joe Arquillo in the 3200 meter run and senior Kevin Kavalec in both the discus and the shot put. Kevin, a two-time All-Ohio defensive end and a Boston College football recruit, had a personal best discus throw of 182-10 at the Amherst regional.
The corner wishes all of the best to Coach Kyle and his team this weekend and to seniors Pat Jeffries, Dan Way, Jack Miller, Joe Arquillo and Kevin Kavalec, we wish you nothing but great things in the future. Gentlemen, it was a privilege to get to know you and report on your many accomplishments.