Feb. 3rd - 16th Issue: #19
Weekly Recap
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Varsity Basketball
HS / MS Hockey
Weekly Sports Highlights
JV Basketball
HS Indoor Track
Athlete of the Week
Freshmen Basketball
HS / MS Squash
Devon Prep Athletics Core Values
MS Basketball
HS / MS Swimming
What's on Deck!
HS /MS Bowling
HS /MS Wrestling
Come Out and Support Your Tide! The Winter season is in full swing. Come out and support your favorite Tide Winter sports! as they compete in all of their respective sports!
Basketball
What an end to the Philadelphia Catholic League season. The Tide advanced to the PCL semi-finals for the first time in school history. They played at the storied Palestra on Wednesday night in from of 10,000 people. Unfortunately the result was not what anyone wanted but there are so many more things than wins and losses. This game will be remember by everyone who played, coached and attended. It was a historic event for Devon Prep. The game wrapped up an unbelievable PCL season for the Tide who finished 11-2 in PCL play. The team also had three members who made all league. Mason Thear was third team, Reece Craft was second team and Zane Conlon was first team. Last night was the last PCL game for this senior class: Mike Pergolis ‘25, Shane Doyle ’25, Calvin Smith ‘25, Reece Craft ’25, Mason Thear ‘25 and Zane Conlon’25. Those seniors have done so much for the basketball program and the school. They have truly set the bar incredibly high for all of those who follow. While their PCL season is over, the team now advancing to the district championship on Thursday night. The game is at Cardinal O’Hara at 7:00 vs Dobbins. After this game the team will play in the state tournament starting on March 7th. Roll Tide!
Bowling The Tide traveled out to Warminster to take on La Salle. The match was neck and neck the whole way but the squad was defeated 3-1. Highlights: Cole Wingerd '25: 205 game Wyatt Theissen '25: 191 game Gavin Ola '25: 198 game Bradley Hart '26: 193 and 192 games Giorgio Cipolloni '26: 243 and 232 games The Tide was defeated 4-0 by PCL foe Father Judge. The team looks to bounce back next week in their final matches of the regular season. Highlights: Bradley Hart '26: 216 game Gavin Ola '26: 203 and 244 games Giorgio Cipolloni '26: 239,207,202 games. 648 series The Tide traveled to Roman Catholic for the final stretch of the regular season. The squad came away with a 3-1 victory. Highlights: Cole Wingerd '25: 197 and 210 games Gavin Ola '25: 224 game The Tide wrapped up the regular season with a 4-0 victory over Archbishop Carroll. This match secured the 4 seed in the playoffs for the Tide. The team will host Roman Catholic in the first round of PCL playoffs on Thursday 2/20. Highlights: Bradley Hart '26: 217 game Giorgio Cipolloni '26: 224 and 215 games Gavin Ola '25: 255 game The Tide took on Roman Catholic in the PCL Quarterfinal at Devon Lanes on Thursday, February 20th. The squad started slow losing game 1 by 116 pins. However, they bounced back in a big way winning game 2 by 297 pins and never looked back! The Tide set two school records in the process with a Team High Game: 1162 and Team High Series: 2991. Devon moves on to play the PCL semifinals! Highlights: Cole Wingerd ‘25: 201 and 224 games Wyatt Theissen ‘25: 254 game Gavin Ola ‘25: 213 game Bradley Hart ‘26: 214 game Giorgio Cipolloni ‘26: 258, 257, 210 games. 725 series Team: 1162 game and 2991 series
Hockey
It was a historic week for Devon Prep Ice Hockey as the team skated to three more wins against tough competition. By far, the highlight of the week was a dominating 6-2 victory over St Joes Prep, which was bookended by lopsided scores against Springford (8-2) and Bishop Shanahan (11-1). The Frozen Tide outscored the competition by an aggregate score of 25-5 on the week. Anyone that is a senior now was in high school before Devon had its own hockey team. Previously, if you played hockey and attended Devon Prep, you wore a Bishop Shanahan jersey. Times change, and now the school combines with Coatesville. So there was a special connection when Devon took the ice against Shanahan on Monday night. The final score of the game was 11-1. Logan Reaney ‘26 paced the scoring for the Tide scoring four goals and added an assist. Kieran Crossan ’25 had four points (1G, 3A) in the victory, and Brian Ward ‘28 (2G, 1A), James Gabriele ‘25 (0G, 3A), and Danny Donegan ‘28 (1G, 2A) had three points each as Grant Gale ‘26 and Aidan Wright ’27 split goaltending duties. The following day, Devon Prep drove up Rt 422 to take on #3 ranked St. Joes Prep at the wondrous location of Spring Mountain in Schwenksville, PA. The game, touted as Devon's Winter Classic lived up to, and far exceeded all expectations as the Frozen Tide rode a Jan Bach hattrick en route to a surprisingly 6-2 final score over a tremendously talented St Joes team. Kieran Crossan (1G, 2A), Tristan Apalucci ‘26, and Braydon Russo ‘27 contributed goals as well. Logan Reaney and Danny Dowling ‘26 contributed 3 assists each and former St. Joes student Johnny Eves ‘27 had 2 assists against his former teammates in the win. Grant Gale stopped 31 of 33 shots in the magical outdoor arena. The win flips the hockey world upside down as Devon Prep moves to 3-1-0 against competition from the APAC, the state's top league. On Friday the 7th, the team was fighting illness as much as they were fighting their opponent, Spring-Ford. Missing SIX players, a shortened roster took to the ice against Spring-Ford, and despite a 2-2 tie score early in the 2nd period, the Frozen Tide pulled away with the game's final 6 goals en route to their 8th consecutive victory. Aidan Wright had 48 saves in the win. Kieran Crossan did the bulk of the goal scoring, netting 4 of the team's 8 goals. Logan Reaney had 2 goals (and an assist). Tristan Apalucci scored a goal in his third straight game, and captain James Gabriele rounded out the goal scoring. Jan Bach ‘26 added 2 more assists to his total and Danny Dowling, returning from an ankle injury this past week, added 2 assists himself, giving him SEVEN assists for the week in his first three games back from injury. On Thursday the 13th, the Tide beat Boyertown 6-2. The win extends the Frozen Tide’s win streak and is their first ever win against Boyertown, a perennial hockey powerhouse. In the game, Grant Gale stopped 32 of 34 shots as the Frozen Tide rolled to victory. Kieran Crossan (1G, 4A) led the way, scoring on 5 of the 6 goals while Braydon Russo chipped in two goals himself. Logan Reaney (1G, 1A) and Danny Donegan (2A) chipped in 2 points each, and Jan Bach (1G), James Gabriele (1G) and Brendan Bachman (1A) rounded out the scoring.
Indoor Track
The Devon Prep Indoor Track and Field team wrapped up their season this weekend at the PCL Indoor Championships at Lehigh University. Sophomore, Lucian Pfeiffer ‘27 ran the 200m in 26.22, while senior, Jack Bonner ‘25 finished the 400m in 60.00. Senior, Sam Kleiner ‘25 competed in both the 800m (2:23) and the mile (5:08), placing 13th overall in the mile. Freshman Logan Dunkle ‘28 threw 22-01 in the shot put, securing 13th place, and freshman, AJ Adams ‘28 placed 12th in the triple jump with a 30-11 mark. Senior, Carter Shaak ‘25 earned a silver medal in the long jump with a 21-08.5 leap, earning PCL First Team All-Catholic honors. It was a strong season for the team, and they are looking forward to the spring season ahead.
Swimming In the final dual meet of the swim season, The Tide swimmers recognized Senior Captain Gio Notaro ’25 at our senior meet with Archbishop Carroll. As always, Notaro was an integral part of the team’s success, anchoring the 200 Medley Relay, leading the team to a first place finish in the 200 Freestyle Relay, and delivering a solid performance in the 50 Freestyle with a time of 26.69. The 50 Free quickly took the spotlight as one of the most exciting races of the meet, with a nail-biter of a finish and three Tide swimmers logging personal bests: Will Sutton ’27 finished first place in an astonishing 25.40. John Bailer ’28 crushed his previous personal best, plowing through the 30-second mark for the first time in his Devon swimming career and finishing in 29.70. And Joe McGuinn ’26 tackled a last-chance opportunity to break the sub-30 milestone by stepping up to the blocks as the sole athlete in a bonus event at the conclusion of the meet. His finish in 29.32 brought the house down as the place erupted with cheers and high fives from all three of the teams (Devon, AB Carroll, and SHA) that our athletes have spent so much time in collaboration and friendship with this season. It was a truly memorable way to wrap up a great dual-meet season as we prepare to tackle District Championships at LaSalle University this coming weekend.
The Tide swimmers cruised onto the deck of LaSalle University’s Kirk Pool this past Saturday and Sunday to cap off their season with two full marathon-days worth of competition in both the PCL and District-12 Championship meets. This team of athletes continued to break personal records, fine-tune race strategies, challenge themselves both physically and mentally, and bond as a team as they logged a whopping combined total of 11 season-best times, and finished out the weekend with an incredible overall tie for third place in the District 12 Championships. A small sampling of the many achievements worthy of recognition include Andrew Rockich’s ’27 performance in the 100 yard freestyle, with a personal best finish of 1:00.18. John Bailer ’28 also showed up strong for the team both in spirit and with his incredible finish and personal best of 29.09 in the 50 Free. Michael Formica ’28 and Joe McGuinn ‘26 not only logged more personal bests in the 100 Free and 50 Free, respectively, but were also an important part of the team’s relays, stepping up as alternates when the need arose and helping The Tide deliver more outstanding races. Oliver VanderSlice ’27 delivered a solid performance in the 50 Free, and Luca Calzaretta’s ’28 athleticism and dedication to the team was undeniable as he helped The Tide deliver exceptional finishes in all three District 12 relays. Will Sutton ‘27 solidified his place among some of the District’s top swimmers by crushing several of his previous personal bests, placing third in the 100 Free with a time of 54.34, fifth in the 100 Fly, dropping an unbelievable four seconds to finish in 1:02.36, and leading two of the team’s relays to record times as well. And Senior Giovanni Notaro ’25 finished out his final season with Devon Prep, logging a personal best of 1:01.61 in the 100 Free with his lead-off leg of the 400 Freestyle Relay. Notaro not only delivered a strong performance in the water in his individual events and also as an integral member of the team’s relays, but he also treated the crowd to a first-rate instrumental version of the National Anthem on electric guitar, sharing his gift of music with an eager crowd as the entire facility erupted into a monstrous roar of applause. And to top off this incredibly successful run of events, all three of the Tide’s Relays showed up in epic fashion at the District 12 Championships. The 200 Medley Relay took fifth place, with Formica leading off with the backstroke leg, Bailer swimming breaststroke, Calzaretta on Fly, and Notaro bringing it home with the freestyle leg. The Tide’s 200 Free Relay took fourth place with Sutton leading off, followed by Rockich, Calzaretta, and Notaro as the anchor. And finally, the team’s 400 yard Freestyle Relay captured third place in an exciting finish with the last race of the meet. Congratulations to Notaro, Rockich, Calzaretta, and Sutton on the well deserved bronze medal. This entire team’s combined display of teamwork, athletic achievement, dedication, and leadership offered the perfect way to cap off an exciting season!
Squash The Devon Prep Squash team faced a tough challenge against the La Salle Explorers, ultimately falling 9-0. Despite the score, the young squad showcased impressive determination, with six of the seven players being middle schoolers competing against experienced high school athletes. Their resilience and effort bode well for the team's future development as they gain valuable experience from this match. The following students competed in this match: Co-captain, Nate Weir ‘26, Trevor Heebner-Elliot ’29, Evan Martin ‘29, Riley Brennan ’29, Nolan Minbiole ‘31, Max DiBona ’29, Nathan Quinn ‘29. The Tide was turning for the Devon Prep Squash Team as our middle school team faced off the Shipley Gators on Monday, February 10th at for home match at the Philadelphia Country Club. Leading the middle school as captain, Trevor HeeberElliot introduced his teammates according to rank: Evan Martin, Nolan Minbiole, Riley Brennan, Max DiBona, and Nathan Quinn. Unlike las week's match against all high school players from La Salle, this time our boys met their match perfectly. Here are the individual scores for each match: #1 Trevor Heeber-Elliot: 1-11, 8-11, 4-11 (3-1 DP loss) #2 Evan Martin: 9-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 (3-2 DP WIN!) #3 Nolan Minbiole: 5-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 (3-2 DP WIN!) #4 Riley Brennan: 12-10, 15-13, 8-11, 11-9 (3-1 DP loss) #5 Max DiBona: 11-13, 14-12, 3-11, 11-8, 11-9 (3-2 DP loss) #6 Nathan Quinn: 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (3-1 DP WIN!) Our players fought each individual game hard and fiercely showed up for each serve, each return, each game point. Such collective effort earned us a tie 3-3 against the Shipley Gators.
Wrestling
On Monday the 3rd, the Tide wrestling team traveled to Bucks County to take on New Hope-Solebury in their final dual match of the regular season. The Tide defeated the Lions 48-23 to close out their dual season! Forfeit victories were received by Drew Buzbee ‘27 (114), Salvatore Albert ‘27 (121), and Xavier Smith ‘28 (127). The Tide also capitalized on a handful of pin victories from Christian Leckman ‘27 (133), Charlier Kleiner ‘28 (139, Ben Veith ‘28 (145), John Curran ‘25 (189), and Grant Napoletano ‘27 (215). Jason Bushra ‘27 (172) also wrestled an extremely tough match at 172 and helped the team come away with a well deserved team victory! The Tide will now prepare for the PCL Championships that take place on February 15th at La Salle College High School, where they plan to have more hands raised victoriously. On Saturday the 15th, the Tide wrestling team traveled to La Salle College High School to wrestle in the PCL Championships. This is where the entire league meets up under one roof to compete to be the best of the best in the PCL! The Tide showed up ready to go knowing that they would be tested both physically and mentally. The Tide had ten wrestlers participate in the tournament and they fought hard to attempt to make it on the medal podium. The Tide wrestlers who wrestled well but unfortunately had their days end early included Drew Buzbee ‘27 (114, 0-2), Xavier Smith ‘28 (127, 0-2), Charlie Kleiner ‘28 (139 0-2), Ben Veith ‘28 (145, 0-2, and Jason Bushra ‘27 (189, 0-2. The Tide also had a few wrestlers who pushed for a chance to medal but also came up short as they wrestled their way back in the consolation rounds. These wrestlers included Salvatore Albert ‘27 (121, 1-2) and Grant Napoletano ‘27 (215, 1-2). To round out the day, not to be unexpected but the Tide finished the day with their two seniors leading the way. Unfortunately, both Captain, Shane Dugan ‘25 (160) and John Curran ‘25 (172) came up short by one match from the medal round with finishing the day 2-2. Overall, it was a great day for the young Tide wrestling the team as they have a week to prepare for next weekends District XII Championships!
Athlete of the Week
Will Sutton ‘27 Will Sutton ‘27 is recognized as Athlete of the Week as he solidified his place among some of the District’s top swimmers at this past weekend’s District 12 Championship Meet. Sutton crushed several of his previous personal best times, capturing a bronze medal with his third place finish of 54.34 in the 100 yard Freestyle. He also dropped an unbelievable four seconds from his previous personal best in the 100 yard Butterfly to secure a fifth place finishing time of 1:02.36. With two incredible individual swims under his belt, Sutton wasn’t finished. He logged another personal record time of 24.78 in the 50 Free as he launched off the blocks for the leading leg of the team’s fourthplace finishing 200 yard Freestyle Relay. And to top off an amazingly successful run of events, Sutton anchored the Tide’s 400 Freestyle Relay in the last race of the meet. It was an exciting finish as he and his teammates captured third place, earning another well-deserved bronze in an incredible display of teamwork and athleticism. We are looking forward to watching Will Sutton’s growth not only as an exceptional athlete in the pool, but also as the strong team leader that it seems he is destined to become.
Roll Tide!
On Deck This Week Varsity Basketball February 19th vs. PCL Seminfinals vs. Roman Catholic @ The Palestra February 23rd vs. PCL Finals @ The Palestra
Bowling February 20th vs. PCL Quarterfinals February 23rd @ CAIT Tournament
Ice Hockey February 21st vs. Father Judge
Wrestling February 22nd @ District 12 Championships - Northeast HS