March 23, 2006 Issue                                               

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Sports

Chestnut Hill Academy hosts track tune-up
by TOM UTESCHER

Kashif Smith of Penn Charter leads CHA’s Phil Thomas in the 100-meter dash. Smith won that event, while Thomas placed first in the high jump. (Photo by Lene White)

Chestnut Hill Academy and Penn Charter got together for their annual St. Patty’s Day scrimmage Friday, and Valley Forge Military Academy arrived at CHA with a few athletes, as well.

The PC Quakers, a close runner-up to 2005 Inter-Ac League champion Malvern Prep, are favored to step up to the title this spring, owing to a wealth of sprinters and solid, across-the-board talent. Malvern, with a host of distance runners and one premium sprinter, should also be in the running, as should CHA, which finished fourth last spring, but returns a talented contingent in the field events.

Germantown Academy and Episcopal Academy each has a few proven performers, and it remains to be seen if they can develop the depth of talent to become contenders.

Inter-Ac standouts participated in the Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, Md., on March 11 and 12. All-State shotputter Wayne Crawford, a CHA junior, placed 10th in the national gathering with a 55’3” toss, and Blue Devil senior Tom Samph recorded a time of 8.86 seconds in the 60-meter high hurdles to finish 41st in the field.

Mount eights look sharp in first Flicks
by TOM UTESCHER

The Mount St. Joseph Academy crew posted one-two finishes in both the varsity eight and second eight races as the annual Manny Flick series got underway on the Schuylkill on Sunday.

Mount St. Joseph’s lacrosse has gaps to fill
by TOM UTESCHER

If the Mount St. Joseph Academy lacrosse team is to make its way back to the championship game in the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies, the Magic will have to undergo a successful makeover.

CHA Devils launch with victory
by Andrew Lazor

Chestnut Hill Academy’s Anthony Cafagna was the starting pitcher at last Friday’s game against the Catholic League’s Neumann-Goretti Saints.

Precise pitching and a fifth-inning scoring outburst helped Chestnut Hill Academy’s Blue Devils (3-0) top the Catholic League’s Neumann-Goretti Saints, 9-1, on Friday. The game served as a hometown warm-up for the teams. Soon, both squads will travel to Florida to scrimmage opponents from around the country.

Last year, the Devils went 23-10 and tallied a 4-6 record in the Inter-Ac League. Head coach Stan Parker stressed a singular goal for this season. “Our biggest expectation is to compete for the [league] title,” he said. “I think it’s wide open this year. I’ve got four seniors who have been playing with me since they were freshmen. This is their year, so hopefully we’re ready for that.”

CHA crew gets early start on the Schuylkill
by TOM UTESCHER

The Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School crews usually skip the first of the five races in the Manny Flick series that launches the spring rowing season.

Read ‘March Madness’ if you can’t be there in person
by JIMMY J. PACK JR

March Madness is upon us, and anyone who drives out towards the Main Line can see it — giant blue V’s for Villanova painted on white sheets and hung out of dorm windows, plastic banners strewn across the fronts of factories that face Interstate 76 proudly booster, “Go Nova!”

But for those who were unable to obtain tickets to any of the division tournaments and are anxious to experience the madness first-hand, head to your local bookstore or log onto Amazon.com and order yourself March Madness: An Insider’s Look at the Final Four, co-authored by C. Jones (the athletic director of Central Connecticut State University) and Tom Hazuka (associate professor at CCSU and author of The Road to the Island and The City of the Disappeared).