Sports
Providence Celebrates Second-Place Finish in State
An hour after coming up short in the Class 4A state title game to Lyons, the Celtics were honored back at the school in New Lenox with a pep assembly.
There were plenty of hugs, a lot of Italian beef and pizza—and eventually smiles and laughter.
About an hour after Providence Catholic's historic baseball season came to an end with , the players, coaching staff, families and friends gathered in the cafeteria at the New Lenox high school to celebrate the team’s outstanding achievements.
The Celtics (37-4) fell short of a state title, but their second-place finish brought home a state baseball trophy for the first time since they won it all in 1982.
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“This is the first state trophy we’ve gone home with in 29 years,” Providence coach Mark Smith said. “It’s hard to believe it, because we have a heck of a program, but these kids have a lot to be proud of. They just don’t know it right now.”
Mingling with friends and family over a mix of catered comfort food gave the Celtics time to try to forget falling just short of their ultimate goal. The seniors presented Principal Donald Sebestyen the trophy and listened to their coach speak one final time.
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“I’m just really proud of your boys. What a heck of a year they had,” Smith said. “We all (are) proud of them and the way they represented the school. Parents, thank you for a heck of a year—the most enjoyable year I’ve had in 19 years of coaching—and again I couldn’t be more proud of the kids and the support from Fr. (Richard McGrath) and Don (Sebestyen) and Mr. Ternik, our AD. Their support was outstanding.
“It’s s a celebration. It’s going to sting for a while, but it’s a celebration, so let’s make the most of it people.”
The Celtics’ roster featured 14 seniors: Dan Wetzel, Sam Travis, Collin McEnery, Casey Papp, Dominic Quaranta, Dominic Olszta, Sean Carroll, Kevin DeFilippis, Mark Connolly, Brandon Magallones, Nick Gould, Dan Potempa, Joe Houlihan and Dan Cwiertniak. There were nine juniors: Zak Kutulis, Brien Garvey, Kenny King, Kevin Tully, Sam Tidaback, Branden Boggetto, Brady Wilkin, Cristian Ochoa and David Hearne.
“It’s been a great year and I’m going to miss these guys a lot,” Houlihan said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted, but I made friends here that I’ll have my entire life.”
