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SPORTS
Higb schools
GCL South rules Ohio sports Has won 5 of last 6 'Big 3' championships after Moeller's baseball title By Tom Groeschen The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Greater Catholic League South continued its dominance of Ohio Division I prep sports Saturday with Moeller's state baseball title, capping a strong two-year run in the major boys' sports. The GCI.S has won five of the last six Ohio big-school championships in the so-called "Big 3" sports of football, basketball and baseball. In the 2002-03 school year, Elder (football), Moeller (basketball) and St. Xavier (baseball) won state titles. For 2003-04, Elder repeated as football champion and Moeller won the baseball title. The only nonGCL winner in that span was Hamilton, a Greater Miami Conference school which won the 2003-04 basketball championship. "I think the incredible competition we have to face. week in and
"We (GCL schools) like to beat each other, but we pull f-or each other too." Moeller at!Htic di"ector BillY Bonnan week out, is something that really helps you prepare for the postseason," Moeller athletic director Barry Borman said. The GCI.S this season also saw St. Xavier win its sixth consecutive state swimming title, and the Bombers' cross country team win its third state championship in six years. The GCI.S' fourth member, La Salle, also has had a big year. The Lancers' football program earned its first postseason berth since 1985, and the basketball team was ranked No.1 in the state for a
month. Other leagues tire of hearing about how strong the GCL is, but the state titles speak for themselves. It starts with intense intra-league competition that includes matchups with the smaller-school GCL North, which in the 2002-03 school year saw Dayton Chaminade-Julienne win the Division II state football title and Purcell Marian the Division II baseball crown. 'There is an eXpectation of excellence among the players and coaches in the league, and it really drives everyone," Borman said. "It permeates every school." Elder athletic director Dave Dabbelt also mentioned the schools' strong parental support and coaches. Many GCL coaching staffs having stayed virtually intact for many years. "I know the discinline within our
schools carries over to sports," Dabbelt said. 'The kids have to be willing to sacrifice personal stats for the good of the team. And certainly it's not just us ... you also see that in the public schools, like Colerain with football and Hamilton in basketball." The GCL schools are hypercompetitive, but there also is a camaraderie among them. For example, last spring when the St. Xavier and Purcell Marian baseball teams, driving home from Columbus after winning the Division I and II state baseball titles, happened to meet in a restaurant parking lot, the teams staged an impromptu pep rally, celebrating as GCL brethren. "We like to beat each other, but we pull for each other too," Borman said. "When a GCL team wins a state title, we all feel some pride." R-mail turnl!.~r.htmJii!tmnuirl!r. r.nm