As the first signs of Spring begin to emerge, it also brings with it the closure of an exciting and successful Winter Season for St. Mary’s Athletics. Boys Basketball put the rest of the state on notice that St. Mary’s Basketball and our Bleacher Creatures are officially back in just the 2nd year of the Damin Lopez era. With strong senior leadership and a talented young nucleus, the Knights finished the season 14-2 after Christmas break, advancing to the State Quarterfinals, with its only two losses against the two 4A State Finalists. Keiren Brown was named 1st Team All-Region while Jose Sanchez and Deven Dahlke both earned 2nd Team honors. Girls basketball finished their season with a hard-fought 4-13 record. Gracie Brittain and Maria Brittain were each named to the All-Region 2ndTeam.
On the soccer field, both the boys and girls teams showed significant improvement under first year coaches. Girls Soccer, led by coaches Jerry Chavez (’90) and Lara Ross, finished the season with a 6-5-1 overall record. The Lady Knights finished strong, winning 5 of their last 6 games, 4-1 in Skyline Region play and were led by Alexia Ochoa and Hannah Sullivan who garnered All-Region honors. Boys Soccer, coached by GCU Soccer alumnus Andrew Petrucelli, finished the season 3-9 overall, but made great strides in skill level and competitive spirit, highlighted by strong individual performances by Hector Placencia and Pierce Vittone who earned 1st Team All-Region recognition and Alejandro Lopez, who was named to the 2nd Team.
The Winter Season proved that the Spirit of St. Mary’s is alive and well. Packed crowds helped carry the Knights to victories, especially near the end of the season, and provided energy and momentum for not only the Spring season sports, but also the entire St. Mary’s community, to build upon.
Go Knights!
