Bishop Ireton High School | Archive | April, 2010

Plenty of fight left in these Cardinals

Posted on 30 April 2010 by .

When Flint Hill junior Jess Fellows and teammates hit the Cardinals with a 6-0 run midway through the second half to grab a 12-8 lead, Ireton responded with its most determined effort of the season enroute to a 15-12 win in Alexandria on Senior Day.

The Huskies, fresh off an inspired 15-12 near miss a day earlier against powerhouse St Stephens/St Agnes, traded goals with their hosts and stayed close at 6-4 at the intermission.  They continued to trade goals,with Fellows, bound for the US Naval Academy in 2011, and Police keeping the Oakton school within striking distance. With Ireton up 8-6, Fellows put the Huskies on her back and scored three straight goals to give Flint Hill their first lead at 9-8. Police added a tally as the blue and green clan visitors controlled the draws repeatedly and the lead ballooned to 12-8.

Senior Maddy Connor finally ended the Cardinal scoring drought at 11:01 to play with an unassisted goal, then sophomore Maddy Zeigler found Maddy Irwin 16 seconds later to pull Ireton quickly to 12-10. With just 30 more seconds elapsed, UConn-bound senior Janet Tela got Ireton within one, and junior Sarah Rupp knotted the score at 12 with 9:07 remaining.

Tela put Ireton back in front for good with 6:58 to play, and the “Maddy connection” struck again when UMBC-bound Maddy Irwin scooped up a groundball beyond midfield and raced in to score an unassisted tally with just over 6 minutes to play.  Tela, from behind the net, found sophomore Ellie Marrin open for the game’s final goal with 5:32 to play.

After a save by junior keeper, Maggie Covert, the Cardinals moved the ball quickly into the offensive zone and promptly spread the field. Ireton controlled the field with a masterful delay game of ball control for the game’s final 3:30 to preserve the win.

“This was a great character win for our team,” praised coach Steve Tela in remarks to his squad on a hot final day in April. “It was hot, Flint Hill is an extremely athletic and fast team.  To hold the ball without a turnover for more than 3 minutes at the end of the game was huge. And, it was an inspired effort to ‘get up off the mat’ when Flint Hill hit us with a 6-0 run to go up 4 in the second half. You have to like that going into tournament time.” 

Ireton,with a 5-game win streak, advances to 12-6 overall to close the regular season, 6-1 and a second place finish behind Good Counsel for the third straight year in the WCAC. The Cardinals host PVI on Monday, May 3 at Fannon Field in a quarterfinal WCAC matchup. Winner advances to a Wednesday semifinal in hopes of gaining a date in the conference championship on Friday May 7th at University of Maryland’s Ludwig Field, gametime is tentatively set for 5pm.   

The JV season ended abruptly and unceremoniously when the Huskies disclosed they had terminated their JV girls’ season earlier in the campaign, unknown to the Alexandria school until 24 hours before game time.  Attempts by the athletic department to find another opponent were unsuccessful. The girls ended their successful spring campaign with an 8-5 season.

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Runners Eye Draper Relays

Posted on 28 April 2010 by .


On Friday and Saturday of this week, the Bishop Ireton track team will compete in one of their favorite meets of the year, the Draper relays.  Each year St. Stephens host this  meet, which serves as the final tune-up for states and the WCAC championships.   The Cardinals enter the meet with one of the strongest and largest teams in quite some time.   This past weekend BI athletes competed in two different meets, which saw of number of performances equal the best efforts of the year. 


 


Penn Relays


 


Many Ireton sprinters and middle distance runners competed in the prestigious Penn Relays.  This year’s meet was highlighted by the performance of Usain Bolt, who ran on Saturday before a record crowd of 54,000 spectators.   The crowd was largely made up of Jamaican spectators who enjoyed seeing the worlds fastest man perform on the local  stage.  He did not disappoint.  Neither did the Cardinals’ boys and girls.  

Over three days, BI competed in the women’s 4×100 and 4×400 relays, as well as the men’s 4×100 and 4×400.  The girls teams consisted of Marin Nolan, Shannon Gordon, Jesse McFadden, Sarah Hershey, Nicole Bond, and Katarina Axenfeld.   Shannon Gordon who is now the area leader in both the 100 and 300 hurdles, was the anchor for both relay teams which ran personal best.  Both Nicole and Sarah are freshman who show tremendous potential.  On the boys side, newcomers Doug Vines and Moses Webb, combined with Sam Ferrara and anchor Mark Holmes finished in 44.77 just missing a school record.   In the 4×400, BJ Townley, Sam, Mark, and newcomer Chris Levy also ran a personal best to finish 5th and their event.


 


XB Cassalls (Chantilly)


 


BI also had a strong contingent of runners competing in Chantilly on Saturday afternoon.   While the majority of our sprinters were in Philadelphia, the core of our distance team competed locally.   At the meet a number of personal best were recorded, highlighted by another freshman, Catherine Babiec, who finished third in the freshman 1600 with a time of 5:48.10.   Other personal best times were recorded by Murphy Costigan(1600), in his best time of 4:38.75, finishing 8thoverall.  Liam O’Connor ran a personal best in the 3200 of 10:25.14.  Nicole Bond returned from Philadelphia to make the finals in both the 100 and 200, running a personal best of 27.88

The Draper Relays open at 1pm on Friday and continue all day on Saturday on the campus of St Stephens/St Agnes School, 1000 St Stephens Road, Alexandria. Weather promises to be perfect for track and field, admission is free. 

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Off and running at Franklin Field

Posted on 23 April 2010 by .

The 2010 edition of Cardinal track and field team is running their fastest times of the season in competition at the historic Penn Relays at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvannia in downtown Philadelphia.

Ireton’s girls trimmed six seconds off their season best time in the 4X400 relay on Thursday,  with Nicole Bond, Sarah Hershey, Shannon Gordon, and Marin Nolan carrying the baton for the Cardinals in a time of 4:22.54.  The girls 4×100 relay team toured the oval in a time of :53.66 with Katarina Axenfeld, Jesse McFadden, Shannon Gordon, and freshman Nicole Bond delivering a season best time.

The boys 4×100 relay team grabbed a second place in their heat, with a time of :44.77, only .08 seconds off the school record in the event. Seniors Doug Vines, Mark Holmes, and sophomore Marcus Webb, and junior Sam Ferrara ran the event for the Cardinals. 

Cardinals don’t take any time off with the Cassels XBC Relays at Chantilly High School up for the team on Saturday, April 24th in Chantilly.

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Stags over Cardinals 14-6

Posted on 23 April 2010 by .

The Cardinals grabbed an early 2-0 lead on highly regarded DeMatha Tuesday before the Stags regrouped in the second period to pull away to a 14-6 win in Alexandria.

Coach Joey Kestermann commented in his postgame remarks that the Cardinals played well, played smart, and used their heads in the contest. He pointed out sophomore Max Becker, with three goals, had his finest game as a Cardinal.  Dom Puglise scored for Ireton as well and senior goalkeeper Tommy Kestermann played another strong game between the pipes.

Ireton’s JV squad provided the most excitement of the season, coming back from a three goal deficit in the final four minutes, including a thrilling tying goal with :01.2 seconds remaining in regulation! The lads took care of business quickly in overtime to win one of the year’s most exciting games 10-9. 

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Robinson Rams toppled in Alexandria, 15-7

Posted on 23 April 2010 by .

Steve Tela’s girls lacrosse team spotted the Robinson Rams a 1-0 lead and the Rams hung with Bishop Ireton for much of the first half before the Cardinals pulled away to a 10-3 lead at intermission enroute to a 15-7 win in Alexandria Thursday.  The win improved the Cards to 9-7 on the season, 5-1 in the WCAC, second to Good Counsel.

Senior Janet Tela recorded four goals in the contest to give her the all-time Bishop Ireton goal scoring record with 188 in her four-year career with three games remaining in the regular season. The day belonged to sophomore Ellie Marrin, however, according to Cardinal skipper, Steve Tela. “Ellie played her best game of the year, I thought. The team executed our game plan as well as we have all year. Robinson is a very good team, I was very happy with the team’s performance today.”

Another bright spot for Ireton was the continued strong play in the goal of keeper Maggie Covert. “She a very athletic player, it is just remarkable how quickly and consistently she has achieved such a high level of performance for us,” commented the Ireton head man. 

The Cardinals head  into the home stretch with rival Bishop O’Connell visiting Fannon Field on Saturday for LAX DAY VI, the annual girls festival of lacrosse with a number of local youth programs playing at Ireton throughout the day with the varsity game the featured event at noon.  Tuesday the girls are the nightcap in a rare WCAC varsity doubleheader at Fannon Field, the boys will host their “senior day” at 4pm, and the girls wrap up the regular season on Friday when ISL rival, Flint Hill School serves as the girls’ “senior day” opponent at Fannon.  WCAC post season play begins May 3, with VISLA action slated the following week. 

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Howell, Smolak heriocs stun PVI, 4-3

Posted on 19 April 2010 by .

 After a trying season last year, where Ireton endured a winless regular season, Monday’s exciting 4-3 win is another example of the improvement in Cardinal softball in one year’s time.  After battling the Panthers even for 6 1/2 innings, freshman Sarah Howell drilled a triple in the bottom of the 7th and senior Julie Smolak lined a single to give Ireton the win. 

With the win the Cardinals notched their sixth win of the campaign, their 4th in the WCAC.  Sophomore Micki Crouch notched her 107th strikeout of the season for Ireton.  “A lot of hard work is being rewarded” said an elated head coach, Kathy Gutmann.  “It’s great to get a win over a diocesan rival and there aren’t any easy ones in the WCAC.” No rest for the Cardinals as they take on Bishop O’Connell Tuesday.

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Cardinal tighten grip on second spot in WCAC

Posted on 19 April 2010 by .

 Bishop Ireton continues is rampage through the WCAC after their opening loss to Good Counsel with three straight one-sided wins over PVI 18-8, St Mary Ryken 19-4, and Monday Elizabeth Seton 15-3.  The Cardinals moved to 4-1 in the league, 8-7 overall.   Ireton went 3-1 on their extended road trip, defeating Cape Henry Collegiate, St Catherine’s of Richmond, and PVI. St Anne Belfield trimmed Ireton in Charlottesville 10-8 and the Potomac School handled the Cardinals 16-7 last Saturday.

Janet Tela and Sarah Rupp led the offense where the goal scoring was spread thoughout the squad, and stellar goalkeeping by junior Maggie Covert again overwhelmed the Roadrunners as the red and gold jumped out to a 10-0 halftime lead and the Bladensburg visitors never threatened the host Cards. 

Ireton will host Robinson High School Thursday and rival Bishop O’Connell Saturday as part of the 6th annual LAX DAY featuring youth teams from Springfield, Alexadria, Ft Hunt, and Annandale. The regular season concludes with a varsity doubleheader with St Johns on Fannon Field and the season finale, senior day against the ISL’s Flint Hill School.

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Cardinals win a pair on the road

Posted on 10 April 2010 by .

Road trips are hard in sports. Riding buses, sleeping in motels, changed routines. Add in the spring, with the pollen like snow throughout Virginia and it is downright hard to play well against a skilled opponent on their home field.  Ireton’s girls struggled in their first two outings of a 4-game road trip, but used strong second half performances to stop Camp Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach 14-5 and St Catherines of Richmond 13-8 during the Easter recess.

The Cardinals labored in the first half against Cape Henry to a 4-4 stalemate. Unforced errors, mental mistakes and an unseasonably warm day took its toll early. It was a different team the second half, however, as Coach Steve Tela’s charges outscored their hosts 10-1 to pull away for the win. Sophomores Ellie Marrin and Eva Irwin paced the Alexandrians in the contest and goalkeeper Maggie Covert enjoyed stronger defensive play in the second period to shut down the home squad.

After a Wednesday visit to William and Mary, a trip to Busch Gardens and a Thursday bus ride to the University of Richmond, the Cardinals rolled into the sports complex of the Saints of St Catherines.  Although the Ireton squad steamrolled the Saints in Alexandria last year, the home team came out to grab a 2-0 lead early. After the redbirds tied it at 2, the Saints again raced out to a 4-2 advantage. The Cardinals fought back to take a 5-4 advantage in the halftime, but St Catherine’s promptly tied the game at 5 to open the second half.

Senior Janet Tela’s 4th goal of the contest gave Ireton a momentary 6-5 lead, she would end the contest with a team high 5 tallies, but a Saints goal from a free position tied the score yet again. Time out Ireton.  The Cardinals, desparate to win a draw or ground ball in the contest, apparently received the appropriate inspiration during the timeout. Whatever it was, the Cards came out on fire and scored three unanswered goals to take a 10-7 lead with 14:25 to play.

The Saints would not get on the board again until 7:33 remained to pull to within 11-8.  Maddy Connor, battling wisdom tooth extractions and pollen, found her touch and the draws started to go Ireton’s way at the critical stage of the game.  Sarah Rupp scored at 2:20 to go to give Ireton a 13-8 lead, with Connor winning three of the final 4 critical draws and Ireton controlled the ball to run out the clock.

Sophomore Maddy Ziegler recorded five assists and a goal in the contest, while Maddy Irwin collected 5 ground balls, Katherine Simmons three for the Cardinals. Ireton was outshot in the contest 28-23, but the steady improvement of junior Maggie Covert continues as she recorded 16 saves for Ireton.  The Cardinals, 5-4 on the season, head to Charlottesville to face an opponent they have never beaten, St Anne Bellfield at 2pm on Saturday before winding up the road trip Monday at Paul VI for a 6:15pm  WCAC matchup.

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Ireton races past Cadets, 18-4

Posted on 10 April 2010 by .

Coach Kathy Gutmann’s Cardinals put together all the components they have focused their early spring efforts upon in a one sided 18-4 pummelling of St Johns at Hensley Field on Friday.  The redbirds opened the first inning with 8 runs to rock the Cadets early and had a double digit lead in scoring in every inning of the shortened contest.

“We have focused on fundementals this spring, on defense and especially on hitting,” commented Gutmann.  “Today the girls played defense well, we ran the bases well, and we hit as well as we have all season.  We have two league wins in a row and some momentum now going into the Hayfield games Saturday.” 

Julie Smolak was among the leaders hitting the ball, on a day where every starter notched a base hit. Her second hit in the first inning was a base- clearing double, and Katie Kiesner added a two-run home run to center for Ireton. Third baseman Mandy Imbriglia chipped in a single and triple for the Cards who face Thomas Jefferson and Herndon on Saturday.  On Friday, everything went Ireton’s way.  Sarah Howell, a freshman starter had her best day at the plate and Emily Quinn scored twice while Caroline Boddie and Micki Crouch crossed the plate on three occassions for the Cardinals.

Crouch, back from season-ending ACL surgery in the first scrimmage of the 2009 season, was sharp on the mound for Ireton, striking out nine Cadets in 5 2/3 innings. Katie Kiesner made her first WCAC appearance of the season in the 4th inning and was touched up for four runs before Crouch returned to the circle to qwell the Cadets’ uprising.

Ireton improves to 2-3 in the WCAC and heads to St Mary Ryken and Bishop O’Connell in the week ahead after their visit to Hayfield Saturday.

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