Prep Grapplers Carry on Proud Tradition

The St. John's Prep wrestling team entered this season with modest goals. After all, the Prep was taking on perhaps the toughest schedule in the state and long-time coach Manny Costa returned only six wrestlers with varsity experience.

To say the Eagles have exceeded expectations would be to understate the case. Following last Saturday's quad-meet in which they defeated Pioneer Valley (21-6) and Milford (36-28) and tied Winchester (31-31), St. John's overall record stands at 25-5-1. The finished 4-0 in the Catholic Conference for their 13th straight league title, giving them 16 in the 18 years since the league began crowning a champion.

“Each season we have the CC as our priority. Six wrestlers had varsity experience and one was injured in December, missing part of the season, so this left eight new starters in our lineup. So I was not sure what to expect when you wrestle the toughest schedule in the state,” said Costa.

Tough? Make that brutal. St. John's wrestled eight of the pre-season Top 10 in Massachusetts, squared off against reigning New England champion Timberlane of Plaistow, N.H., took on Bacon Academy of Connecticut (the second-ranked squad in the Nutmeg State) and faced six 2010 Massachusetts Sectional champions and five runners-up.

“We've far exceeded anyone's expectations,” Costa asserted.

Last Saturday, 140-pounder TJ Crabtree and 160-pounder Jamie Morey were triple winners. Louis Bornstein (103), Jared Costa (125), Mike Mayo (130), Alex Kwmuntis (135), Doug Harding (145), Nick Drew (171) and Core Jean-Jacques (285) added two wins each.

Crabtree extended his record to a perfect 36-0 on the season and will be looking to improve upon his post-season performance of a year ago when he finished third in Massachusetts Division One and sixth in New England. The 130-pounder Mayo is now 36-3 and placed fifth in the state in his weight class last winter.

Three other Eagles – Kwmuntis (135, 31-6), Harding (145, 31-8) and Bornstein (103, 31-8) – have eclipsed the 30-win barrier while freshman Jared Costa is an impressive 27-8 at 125 pounds.

“I would like to see all our starters healthy and ready to wrestle Saturday in the Division One dual meet tournament. We should have as good a shot as others to win the North. Individually, we have some strong wrestlers that should do well in the Sectional and State meets,” said Costa.

Halpin shines at Coaches Meet

Ben Halpin ran the fourth fastest two-mile time (9:28.30) in school history and the second fastest indoors while finishing second at last Sunday's State Coaches Meet at Reggie Lewis. The time was announced at the meet as the fifth fastest in the United States this winter. The Eagles' Mike Galasso finished fifth in the 600 (1:23.81) and the 4x400 relay team of Galasso, Connor May, Jon Touchette and Fernando Galvez also ran fifth. The Eagles will compete at Saturday's McIntyre Elite Meet.

Hockey wins non-league clash

The Eagles handled Austin Prep of the Catholic Central Large last Saturday, 4-1, to improved to 7-4-1. Senior Colin Blackwell scored two goals while junior Sam Kurker and freshman Shane Eiserman added one apiece. The Eagles resume Catholic Conference action Saturday at noon against Xaverian at Ristuccia Arena. Tuesday's snowed-out game against Catholic Memorial will be made up at a later date.

Ski team remains undefeated

The Eagles (6-0) steamrolled North Andover, 112-6, Monday at the Bradford Ski Area. Bobby Holmes (22.50), Chris Simeone (22.69), Wes Groom (22.82), Brad Noyes (22.87) and Tom Rogers (22.88) were the Eagles' top five finishers. Wednesday's postponed races against Andover and Haverhill will be run on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Upcoming …

Boys basketball looks to rebound from its first loss of the season tonight at home against Xaverian (7). Tuesday's postponed game against Catholic Memorial will be played at Catholic Memorial on Sunday, Feb. 13 (2 p.m.) … The swim team will take part in the re-scheduled Catholic Conference Meet on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at Holy Cross … Fencing hits the road next week to take on Beaver Country Day on Tuesday and Buckingham, Browne & Nichols on Wednesday.