During a weekend in which we honor and remember the late Martin Luther King Jr., Saint Ignatius' winter sports teams will be traveling throughout the area and the state.
Coach Pat O'Rourke's varsity hockey team, which continues to hold down the top spot in the coaches' state poll, will look to bring home another championship at the annual Meadville (Pa.) Tournament.
The Ice Cats, who stand 16-4-3 and are in first place in the highly competitive Red West Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, face Bethel City during Friday night's opening round at Meadville. The puck will drop at 6:45.
Saint Ignatius returns to the ice on Saturday morning to play Meadville at 7:15 and at 2:45 on Saturday afternoon, the Ice Cats will face off with Erie Cathedral Prep.
Sunday morning's semifinals are scheduled for 8 and 10, and the finals are slated for 3 P.M.
The Wildcats' swimming team is traveling to Erie Prep on Saturday. Congratulations to senior All-American and North Carolina State bound Derek Hren, who put together another record performance during last weekend's Northeast Classic. For his efforts, Derek was selected as The Plain Dealer's Swimmer of the Week.
Coach Mark Sullivan's varsity wrestling team, which is coming off a solid victory at St. Vincent-St. Mary, will be competing in the annual Catholic Invitational Tournament at Olentangy Liberty High School. Action gets underway on Saturday and Sunday at 10 A.M.
Under the direction of Coach John Kastanis, Saint Ignatius' bowling team will be seeking an eighth consecutive area victory when the Alley Cats match up against the Longhorns of Lutheran West on Saturday at Buckeye Lanes.
In what has become a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tradition, Saint Ignatius' freshman and junior varsity teams will be in action at Sullivan Gymnasium on Monday.
The freshman Blue and Gold teams will play the 9th grade teams from Toledo St. John's Jesuit at 11 A.M. and 12:15, respectively. Coach Larry Arthur's jayvee team, which has won nine of its first 10 games, will tip off against the St. John's Titans' jayvees at 1:30.
NOTE: AS WE REPORTED ON MONDAY EVENING, SATURDAY NIGHT'S VARSITY AND JUNIOR VARSITY GAMES AGAINST RIVAL ST. EDWARD IN SULLIVAN GYM ARE SOLD OUT. FOR A PREVIEW ON THE ST. EDWARD VARSITY GAME AND A LOOK AT SUNDAY'S OPPONENT IN THE FLYIN' TO THE HOOP INVITATIONAL IN KETTERING, OHIO - OUR SAVIOR NEW AMERICAN SCHOOL - SEE THE CORNER'S STORY FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT.