Catholic Memorial Winter Sports Update

The following is courtesy of Catholic Memorial.

After four weeks of play, Catholic Memorial's five winter sports programs are off to an impressive start. 

The varsity basketball team moved to 7-0 with a 65-60 win against Woburn on January 2, a stronger showing than that of the past several seasons. The team won the Catholic School Showcase at Holyoke Community College before Christmas and the Garden City Classic at Newton North on December 28. 

The varsity hockey team improved to 6-1 with a 6-2 win versus Xaverian on January 2. In its first seven games, the team has scored as many goals as it did in the entire 2011-12 season. Co-captain senior Liam Coughlin has led the offensive charge, scoring three hat-tricks in games against Xaverian, Marshfield, and Needham.

Twelve varsity wrestlers competed at the Lowell Holiday Tournament on December 28, with eight earning at least two wins. Five wrestlers made it to the second day, the most Catholic Memorial has sent to the second day of Lowell since 2005. Sophomore Mike Aquino took third place, losing only to the top seed in the final seconds, and winning by tech fall 18-3 in his final match at 106 lbs. Junior Mark Gutierrez, seeded 12th in perhaps the toughest weight of the tourney, placed 6th. Senior Paul Curtin and junior Brian Ferrara both came within one match of placing, while sophomore Pat Ferzoco also made the second day. As a team, CM finished 18th out of 61 teams.

The varsity swim team lost no time this season in earning postseason qualifications. Senior Alex Young (100-butterfly) and junior Chris Lee (200, 500 free) earned state quals in the team's opening meet against Brookline. And the varsity track team opened its season by defeating Malden Catholic. In its matchup against Xaverian before Christmas, senior Ryan Reid won the 1-mile and 2nd-place finishes came from Reid, junior Hanif Conrad, sophomore Matt Malone, and senior Andreis Dixon.