Xavier High SchoolSports14Fast start for track team

do our best at every meet and my individual goal is to finish in the top three at State,” Murtha said.

The girls’ team participated in the J-Hawk Relays at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, April 6. The team placed twelfth with a score of seven points but did not place in any events. “As a team, we need to keep a positive mental attitude about the rest of the season. As individuals, we need to know our personal goals and do whatever we can to achieve those goals,” senior Allison Pitz said.

The girls’ team returned to Kingston Stadium on Tuesday, April 9, as Cedar Rapids Washington hosted the meet. The boys were at Linn-Mar the same day and participated in the Lion Relays.

As the indoor track and field season came to a close last week, the Xavier girls’ and boys’ track and field teams started the outdoor season on Thursday, April 4, after weather-related cancellations earlier in the week.

On Thursday, April 4, senior Craig Murtha led Xavier to a third place finish overall with 88 points at the Iowa City West Relays. Murtha placed first in the shot put with a distance of 49.8 meters and also placed first in discus. “A pre-game ritual I do is I always clean my shoes before I enter the rink. I then always flip the discus in my hand three times and then throw,” Murtha said. The 4x100 relay team, consisting of junior Miles Sullivan, freshman Nick Stark, seniors Trey Sampson and Nick Steingreaber, won the 4x100 relay with a time of 43.7 seconds. The girls’ team did not place in the top three in any of the track and field events.

The Wilkinson Relays at Kingston Stadium on Friday, April 5 brought in many wins for the boys’ team. They placed sixth with a total of 68 points. Murtha won the discus and came in second place for the shot put. Steingreaber won the 100 Shuttle Hurdle Relay with a time of 11.27 seconds, sophomore Noah Clasen placed second in the 400 Hurdles with a time of 56.95 seconds. Senior Brandon Gradoville came in third for the 400 Shuttle Hurdle Relay with a time of 53.10 seconds and then came in second in the 800 Medley Relay. “The goal for this year as a team is to

Girls’ golf prepares despite bad weather

Tennis teams aiming high The Xavier boys’ and girls’

tennis teams started their seasons in matches against Iowa City High on April 2. The boys’ team started the season strong, beating City 8-1. The Saints beat City High in five of the six singles matches getting wins from seniors Bill Young, Grant Hunt, Mitch Steffensmeier, junior Kyle D’mello, and sophomore Ben Curley.

The girls’ team, however, were not able to find success in their meet at City High as they fell to the Little Hawks 1-8. The Saints’ lone win came from junior Devin Hayes. The girls then took on Waterloo Columbus April 4 looking to rebound from their opening loss.

The Saints fell just short, losing the match 5-4. Juniors Emma Deignan and Devin Hayes won their singles and doubles match.

The boys and girls were both in action on April 6 against conference foes. The boys’ team had matches in Dubuque against Dubuque Senior and Dubuque Wahlert. The Saints earned the sweep beating Senior 5-4 and Wahlert 6-3. Mitch Steffensmeier, Grant Hunt and senior Zach Schowalter won both of their singles matches to lead the Saints.

“We’ve done well so far this season and since we will compete in 1A this year, we think we have a good shot at state,” Hunt said. The girls’ team scored their first wins of the season defeating Dubuque Wahlert 6-3 and Dubuque Senior 7-2. Devin Hayes, Emma Deignan, and sophomore Claire Bouchard beat both of their opponents in singles play. Sophomores Allison Jasper and Jeanne Bouchard also picked up a win in singles. “Our goal this season is to make it to State, and I really think that this year’s team is capable of that,” junior Kylie DeWees said. Both teams competed against Cedar Rapids Washington on April 9. The teams have a meet on Saturday against Cedar Falls. The girls will be at Cedar Falls and the boys will be at Xavier.

Bill Young prepares to serve during a meet.Cassie Busch photo.

While the weather has not been cooperative for the Xavier golfers, the season is still getting off to a quick start. The team has been practicing indoors for the majority of the season thus far, working on putting and swing technique in the Xavier LMC. The spring weather that finally arrived last week allowed the team to get outdoors and start practicing on the public courses.

“We play nine holes every day at Twin Pines. We hope to practice hard now so we can hopefully make State as a team,” junior Madison Bertsch said.

The team has still been able to bond in spite of the bad weather affecting

them thus far. Strong senior leadership will prove to be beneficial, as all the members of the team are working towards the same goal.

“We all try to help each other out at practice and give each other tips. Varsity helps out JV. We also have a snack schedule because we play better when we are not hungry,” senior Hailey Sojka said.

The girls put their skills to the test for the first time on Monday April, 8 at Jones.

Jonathan Francois competes in 1600m at the Wilkinson Relays. Amanda Wymore photo.

Alex FoxSports Writer

Shannon MulcaheySports Writer

John RichardsonSports Editor