skip navigation

George DiCamillo is perfect once again! George decisions Max Byrd of Cincinnati LaSalle, 4-0, in the 120-pound state championship match and places himself among the all-time elite Wildcats. Saint Ignatius’ remarkable ice hockey season comes to an end.

By Eddie Dwyer, 03/03/12, 12:00AM EST

Share

IN THIS CORNER'S HUMBLE OPINION, GEORGE NOW TAKES HIS PLACE AS THE NO. 1 WRESTLER IN SAINT IGNATIUS HISTORY, BASED ON TWO INSPIRING YEARS OF PERFECTION. HE SHOULD ALSO BE A VERY STRONG CANDIDATE FOR WRESTLER OF THE YEAR IN OHIO AND CERTAINLY NORTHEAST OHIO.

THE HOCKEY STORY FOLLOWS THE TRIBUTE TO DICAMILLO.

BY EDDIE DWYER

George DiCamillo, one of the most accomplished athletes to ever walk the hallways of Saint Ignatius High School, ended one of the most successful careers in the history of Ohio wrestling on Saturday evening, as he defeated Max Byrd of Cincinnati LaSalle, 4-0, in the 120-pound championship final of the 75 th OHSAA State Wrestling Championships.

George, a Virginia University recruit, left no doubt as to his top ranking in the nation by overcoming every challenge he faced this season, including an eight-pound jump in weight. He finished his storied 2011-12 season at 37-0, was the only Division I state champion to go undefeated and placed himself on a special page in Saint Ignatius’ athletic record books.

When they raised his hand on Saturday night, George, by all accounts in Wildcats history, became the first two-time undefeated state wrestling champion at the Jesuit Preparatory School on Cleveland’s near West Side.

Along with the 120-pound crown, George also owns Ohio’s 2010-11 112-pound title, an effort that saw him go 35-0. DiCamillo entered this weekend’s state championships alongside Mike Buddie ’89 as an undefeated state champ at Saint Ignatius.

An Associate Athletic Director and Administrator at Wake Forest University, Mike is easily one of the top five, if not the best, all-around athletes (wrestling, football and baseball) ever to come out of Saint Ignatius. Mike, who went on to a major-league pitching career with the Yankees and Brewers, finished as the 39-0, 189-pound state champ his senior year and was 37-1 and the 171-pound Ohio champ in the Wildcats’ state-championship season of 1987-88, Mike’s junior year.

George, whose incredible resume also includes three championships at the prestigious Ironman tournament, four consecutive titles at the tradition-rich Brecksville Holiday Tournament and three Catholic Invitational Tournament championships, ended his brilliant career at Saint Ignatius with a school-record 152 all-time wins. That number included 74 consecutive victories, with the 152nd and 74th coming Saturday night against Byrd, who finished his standout season at 43-2.

As was his approach all winter, George smiled as wide about his teammates’ improvements and successes as he did his own eye-popping accomplishments.

Tommy Zeigler (113 pounds) and Jim Ferritto (106), who will be counted on to take over the leadership roles next winter, finished sixth and eighth in Ohio, respectively. They did a gritty job of wrestling back this weekend.

George, who feeds off the inspiration of his dad, Ralph, a former standout wrestler at Benedictine and an assistant coach for Saint Ignatius, can now look forward to competing in some prestigious postseason events and the endless future that awaits him at Virginia, academically and athletically.

From this corner to George, his family and Wildcats head coach Mark Sullivan, THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE TO REPORT ON SUCH A GREAT ATHLETE AND, EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, SUCH AN OUTSTANDING YOUNG MAN.

NOTE: COACH SULLIVAN, WHO IS DOING A FABULOUS JOB WITH THE WIDCATS' WRESTLING PROGRAM, HAS NOW PRODUCED FIVE INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONS SINCE 2009. THIS WEEKEND, COACH SULLY GUIDED HIS 'CATS TO A 12TH PLACE FINISH AMONG ALL OF OHIO'S DIVISION I PROGRAMS.

****HERE IS THE SAINT IGNATIUS-ST. EDWARD STATE-QUALIFYING GAME WRAPUP.

WILDCATS RALLY FROM A 2-0 DEFICIT TO TIE THE SCORE WITH 6:15 LEFT IN THE THIRD PERIOD, BUT THE EAGLES ANSWER QUICKLY BY SCORING THE GAME-WINNER WITH 5:29 REMAINING.

SAINT IGNATIUS' SENIORS END THEIR HIGH SCHOOL CAREERS AS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CLASS IN THE PROGRAM'S HISTORY.

BY EDDIE DWYER, COPYRIGHT MARCH 2012

Although he directed the media with the same class and straight-forward approach he displayed all season, it was obvious that Saint Ignatius head hockey coach Pat O’ Rourke ’90 was hurting inside.

Late Saturday afternoon, Saint Ignatius, the top-ranked team in Ohio and possessor of an all-time, state-best season, skated dejectedly off the ice in the John M. Coyne Recreation Center after losing to their staunch rival St. Edward, 3-2, in the Brooklyn District State-Qualifying game.

“I love those guys,” said Coach O’Rourke, after his Wildcats closed their outstanding and record-setting season at 39-1. “They’re demoralized right now because they care so much. When you shoot for glory, when your goal is the state championship, this is the risk you take of possibly getting crushed (emotionally). But we’ll gladly take our chances in the district championship game every year, whether it’s St. Eds, Padua or the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

St Edward (19-12-3), which was defeated by Saint Ignatius three times during the regular season, came out fast and aggressive in front of a crowd of 2,000-plus and took a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior forward Mick Bartholomew. Bartholomew’s net-finder came with 11 minutes and three seconds gone in the opening period.

The Wildcats, champions of the Baron Cup 1 and the rugged Red North Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, were called for a cross-checking penalty with 2 minutes and 57 seconds remaining in the first period.

Thirty seconds later, the Eagles took advantage of the power-play opportunity, as junior forward Gabriel Lampron lit the lamp courtesy of assists from junior forward Connor King and senior forward C.J. Hoy. Lampron scored off a heads-up rebound.

With St. Edward riding the momentum of a strong first 15 minutes, St. Ignatius began to display the credentials of a top-seeded team.

Ten seconds after killing off another power-play opportunity for the Eagles, the Wildcats cut the deficit to 2-1 on an authoritative shot by hockey savvy senior forward Mike Abood. It was Mike’s 36th goal of the season and came off assists from senior forward Liam Geither and senior center Paddy Spellacy .

The score stayed that way until Spellacy delivered his 43rd goal of the season with 6:15 left in the third period. Geither and Abood assisted on the game-tying shot. Geither, who finished his winter to remember with a school-record 56 goals and 52 assists, passed Saint Ignatius assistant coach Keith Abood for seventh place on the OHSAA all-time list for points in a season. Keith Abood, Mike’s dad, was an outstanding hockey player for Shaker Heights in the late 1970s.

As quickly as Spellacy’s goal gave the Wildcats the momentum, St. Edward took it back.

With 5:29 remaining, King found a back-door entrance to the net as a high-traffic flurry was going on in front of Saint Ignatius senior goalie Matt Kovesdy.

Lampron and Hoy, who were in the thick of the traffic, got credit for the helpers.

Although Geither just missed tying the score again, the Eagles’ defense did what it had to over the final five minutes, including icing the puck when it needed to and getting a huge glove save from senior goalie Logan Galati with 1:35 to go. Galati and Kovesdy each had 38 saves.

St. Edward will face University School (23-9-3) in next Saturday’s noon state-semifinal game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The Preppers won their two regular-season encounters with the Eagles.

"When we got the second goal, I thought we had something going,” said Coach O’Rourke. “But give St. Eds credit, they played a great game.

“I wish we had one more week together," Coach O’Rourke continued. “They go down as the greatest class in the program’s history.”

Saint Ignatius’ gifted senior class helped account for an amazing 100 victories over the past three seasons combined, a number that included the program’s second state championship in March 2010.

Thanks for the memorable ride gentlemen.