(Members of the varsity seven and head coach Patrick Dormer with fourth place plaque. Photo is taken from ny.milesplit.com)
This Week in Sports
The cross-country team was a divided, yet successful, unit this past Saturday. The varsity seven traveled upstate to Bowdin Park to compete in the New York Federation Championships, a selective meet that takes only the best teams in each section. Despite two runners suffering injuries early on in the race, the Xavier Knights took fourth place in a stacked field, which was Xavier’s best result in history. John Rice ’15, varsity standout who has committed to the University of Texas to run next fall, was at the head of the pack for the entire race, and his sixth place performance and time of 15:46 for the 5K course improves upon his record from last year. And impressively, finishing the race with only one shoe, Christian Raslowsky ’16 ran the third best time in Xavier history. The rest of the runners, including Garrison Schwer ’15, Louis Vasquez ’15, Giancarlo Cipri ’17, Dominic Ronan ’16, and Raphael Oetll ’18 also put on quite a show. Xavier was only three points behind the third-place team and only 19 behind the second-place team. Had injuries not been a factor, the team would have stood a good chance of taking second place. Nevertheless, fourth place in the state is a great honor, and the seven runners should be immensely proud of their accomplishments.
The majority of the team ventured to Van Cortlandt Park at the crack of dawn to race at the Jesuit Championships this past Saturday, a meet held among fellow Jesuit schools scattered throughout the country. Though times were tempered slightly by the chilly weather, all runners had a great time in their last meet of the cross-country season. Among the frosh highlights include a PR set by Sean Gurl ’18. In the J.V. race, Neil McEnerney ’16 broke 15 minutes by milliseconds, with Pat Sullivan ’16 trailing close behind. In the varsity race, Ben Karam ’15 became the eighth Knight this year to break 14 minutes for the course.
While most of the runners are gearing up for the indoor track-and-field season, a select few will finish the cross-country season at the Nike Cross-Country National qualifiers on November 29.
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Varsity Footall Exits Playoffs with Heads Held High, J.V. Advances to CHSFL Finals
The varsity football team entered Saturday’s CHSFL AA semifinal game against St. John the Baptist with a positive attitude and hopeful expectations. The Knights had just come off a win against Kellenberg and were excited to put in another strong effort, en route to advancing to the CHSFL finals. Unfortunately, despite leading for most of the game, the results did not end in Xavier’s favor, as the team lost to St. John the Baptist 21-14. Xavier maintained a 14-10 lead until late in the third quarter. Mike Chiarovano ’16 rushed for 86 yards and scored one touchdown, and Mike D’Onofrio ‘16 scored off of a pass from Zach Cilmi ’16. On special teams, James Tweedy ’15 punted well. According to head coach Chris Stevens ’83, “We won a tough game against Kellenberg, and we lost a tough game against St. John the Baptist. Though we lost, we knew we played hard, and we left with our heads held high.”
For Ryan Fitzpatrick ’15, the loss against St. John the Baptist marked yet another end to the regular season. Having played four years of Xavier football, he concluded his tenure as captain of the varsity football team. With only one more game left in the season, the perennial Turkey Bowl classic against Fordham Prep, Ryan found it fitting to reflect on four years of Xavier football - four long years spent with a group of inseparable brothers. Ryan said, “It’s been a privilege to play for Xavier. We’ve spent so much time together, and we’ve faced so much adversity and tough challenges that I feel truly proud of overcoming. We’ve all grown so much over the past few years, and I look forward to finishing our time strong with a victory at the Turkey Bowl.”
J.V. football edged out Holy Cross 8-6 in the semifinals of the CHSFL AA playoffs. Both teams played a strong defensive game. Late in the third quarter, Holy Cross made the first score of the game off of a Xavier fumble. The Holy Cross Knights were unable to convert the extra point attempt, however, as Mario Cimino ’17 blocked the kick attempt. Late in the fourth quarter, Joe Morelli ’17 rushed to give Xavier its first touchdown, and with the score tied at six, the 16th Street Knights needed to convert the extra point for the lead. They successfully went for the two-point conversion, and Xavier took an 8-6 lead. At the end of the game, Rory Kinsella ’17 made a particularly clutch play - he blocked a Holy Cross pass that would have likely resulted in a score.
Xavier will play against Kellenberg on Saturday for the league championship. Matthew Anticev ’17 is looking forward to the finals of the AA playoffs. He said the team has been working hard all season and is peaking at just the right moment. “Our head coach, Mr. Jose Aquino ’07, always said that we have to play a full four quarters on offense, defense and special teams. I know we can do that.”
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Frosh Swmiming Concludes Regular Season
The freshman swim team concluded its season at the league championships this past week, a final in which the team came in third place behind Fordham Prep and Chaminade. Timothy McPartlin ’18, James Fiechter ’18, and Sebastian Diaz ’18 turned in strong performances. Ten freshman swimmers will move up to varsity, with their season beginning this Saturday against Archbishop Molloy. Head coach Dennis Murphy was pleased with the team’s successes and improvements this season. Mr. Murphy said, “This group gives me confidence that the varsity swimming program will be strong for years to come.”
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Varsity & J.V. Hockey Continue Preseason Scrimmages
Varsity hockey lost to the Harvey School 8-2 on Monday night, but according to head coach Al DiMauro, “the team did its best to hold off a strong offensive attack by the Cavaliers.” Thomas Rogers ’17 and Nick Pisano ’18 scored for the Knights, and goalies Dario Marinzulich ’16 and Joe Pisano ’18 stood their ground against 42 shots on goal.
J.V. hockey coasted to an 8-2 win over Monsignor Farrell on Saturday, November 15th. Hudson Abel ’18 scored twice, Nick Pisano scored once and tallied three assists, Chance Waxman ’17 scored twice and assisted once, Matt O’Malley ’17 scored twice, and Zach Struthers ’17 scored once. Their scoring flurry aided the play of Joe Pisano '18, who earned his first Xavier victory in the net.
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Bowlers Take Advantage of Blind Match
Due to an odd number of teams in the CHSAA, varsity and J.V. bowling competed in a blind match this past week, which meant that they bowled against themselves. And In order to secure a win from a blind match, the team must bowl within 40 points of the team average. Both varsity and J.V. went 3-0 in their respective blind matches. The Varsity Knights are the top team in the league, with the highest team average and highest total number of points. Mike Martell ’15 continues to lead the league with the highest individual average. The rest of the team has improved since the beginning of the season, especially Kyle Leahy ’17 and Connor Mulvena ‘16.
The J.V. ranks have also picked up the pace since the beginning of the season. They are ranked 6th out of 12 teams with an upward trajectory. Michael Spencer ’17 has led the way with his high individual average and Clark Sevcik ’18 has stepped it up. Both varsity and J.V. have seven meets remaining this season.
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Tom Giovatto '93, Head Coach of St. Francis Men's Soccer, Leads Team to NCAA Tournament
Xavier alumnus Tom Giovatto ’93 is the head coach of the St. Francis College Men’s Soccer Team. In his eight seasons as head coach, Tom has received many accolades, including being named the 2013 North Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. This year, St. Francis College won the NEC Championship and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations and best of luck to Tom and the St. Francis College Men's Soccer Team team as look to make a successful championship run.
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As always, visit Xavier Athletics for the most complete, up-to-date information, and stay tuned for the next edition of This Week in Sports.
Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, 11/22: J.V. Football v. Kellenberg Memorial – 12:00pm @ Marine Park [CHSFL AA Championship]
J.V. Hockey v. St Francis Prep – 10:00am @ Bayonne HS
Var. Swimming v. Molloy – 7:00pm @ St. Francis College
Monday, 11/24: Var. & J.V. Bowling v. Monsignor Scanlan – 4:00pm @ Homefield Bowl
Var. Hockey v. Harvey School – 5:30pm @ Bayonne HS
Var. Swimming v. Holy Trinity – 6:00pm @ Chaminade
Tuesday, 11/25: Var. Swimming @ Relay Carnival – 6:00pm @ Chaminade