St John’s Tracks Down Catholic Conference Crown

Undeterred by the miserable weather that has dogged the region throughout the week, the track team ran away from B.C. High in Dorchester Tuesday afternoon, 77-59, to claim its second straight Catholic Conference championship.

St. John’s only recorded seven first-place finishes but the Eagles’ superior depth carried the day. Their throwers outscored B.C. High, 23-4, highlighted by Scott Sheehan’s winning effort of 150-0 in the javelin.

“The conditions were horrible, but he beat a pretty good kid by a foot,” said coach Ray Carey. Sean Enos added wins in both the shot put (53-9) and discus (150-6) while Morgan Johnson was second in the discus (127-0) and third in the shot (44-0). Sophomore David Roy completed a sweep of the shot put with a second-place throw of 47-8, bettering his personal best by three feet, 11 inches.

The race of the day occurred in the two-mile. Less than three seconds separated the top three finishers, as St. John’s Jarret Harrigan (1st, 9:50) and Ben Halpin (3rd, 9:52.7) sandwiched B.C. High's Drew Calgano (9:52.5).

Bryan Browne prevailed in the 200 (22.3) and ran the anchor leg on the victorious 4x100 relay team that included San Quezada, Nick Pesaturo and Joey Dumas. Pesaturo added a win in the long jump (21-1). Second-place finishers included Taewook Ha in both the high jump and high hurdles and Patrick Murphy in the 800. Luis Soto contributed thirds in both the long jump and 100.

St. John’s also turned in a strong showing at last Saturday’s MSTCA Invitational at Durfee High School, paced by Enos with a third in the discus (160-1) and a fourth in the shot put (50-6.5). Other Top 10 finishers were Sheehan in the javelin (4th, 168-1), Browne in the 200 (7th, 22.96), Mike Galasso in the 400 (7th, 51.05), Murphy in the mile (8th, 4:33.57) and Pesaturo in the long jump (8th, 19-10,5).

RUGBY added another line to its impressive resume, capping another undefeated season by winning the Division 1 State Championship at the Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization (MYRO) State Tournament last Saturday at Joe Moakley Park in South Boston. The Eagles shut out Belmont in the semifinals, 10-0, then edged rival B.C. High in the title game, 12-10.

BASEBALL managed only three hits, but the No. 6 Eagles made them count in last Saturday’s against Catholic Central League leader Bishop Fenwick. Two of those hits came with two outs in the first inning as Dillon Gonzalez stroked a run-scoring single and Sean Patrikas delivered a two-run basehit. Brandon Bingel pitched five innings for the win and Pat Connaughton worked the final two for the save.

SAILING completed the season with an eighth-place finish in the New England Schools Sailing Association championship regatta on Mendum Lake in Durham, N.H. The Eagles lost each of their seven races in the event. First-place Hotchkiss finished undefeated to claim the Mark Trophy.

VOLLEYBALL dropped its regular-season finale to Central Catholic, 3-1, to finish 12-4. The Eagles are seeded No. 4 in the first round of the Division One North Sectional and take on Acton-Boxboro tonight at Memorial Gymnasium (7 p.m.).

LACROSSE split two games, defeating Lincoln-Sudbury last Saturday, 15-9, but losing to Billerica Wednesday, 13-6.

TENNIS defeated Andover in a rain-shortened match Monday, 3-0, to improve to 13-1.

Danvers High School

The Falcons’ GIRLS’ LACROSSE team now stands at 11-5 overall. Danvers defeated Newburyport in OT last Saturday, 9-8, and handled Swampscott Wednesday, 16-9, before dropping a 12-10 decision to Ipswich Thursday.

Danvers’ focus in the final week is on securing the NEC South title and honing its overall game in preparation for the upcoming Sectional Tournament. Danvers advanced to the Division Two North semifinals last year and holds higher aspirations this year.

“Our goal as a program is always to improve on what we did the previous year, and since our inaugural year we have achieved that. This year our goals are set very high, but the girls have worked hard all year, so that we can surpass our goals,” said third-year coach Julie Bevad.

In GIRLS’ TRACK, Xanthi Pantazelos placed fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 27.15 at last Saturday’s Mass. State Track Coaches Association (MSTCA) Invitational at Durfee High School. The Falcons dropped a 76.5-59.5 decision to Peabody on Tuesday, finishing their dual meet season with a 4-3 record. They will compete in the NEC Meet Saturday at Manning Field in Lynn (9:30 a.m.).

BASEBALL lost to Bishop Fenwick Sunday, 2-1, as the Crusaders pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. Fenwick improved to 12-5 overall while Danvers, first in the NEC South and ranked No. 10 in Eastern Mass., dropped to 13-3 overall.

SOFTBALL scored three runs in the second inning and went on to defeat Catholic Central League leader St. Mary’s of Lynn, 3-1, last Friday in a non-league meeting of regional powers. The Falcons defeated Swampscott Thursday, 8-2, in a rain-shortened game called after five innings to improve to 10-4 overall (9-4 NEC).

BOYS’ TRACK proved no match for Peabody, falling 118-15. The Falcons finished 0-7 in the NEC and will participate in Saturday’s League Meet in Lynn.

BOYS’ LACROSSE rallied from six goals down at halftime to topple Marblehead in overtime Thursday, 12-11.

GIRLS’ TENNIS dropped a 3-2 decision to Beverly Monday and BOYS’ TENNIS fell by the same score to Swampscott Wednesday.