The Bishop Ireton boys turned in an excellent cross country season. The Cardinals, coached by Rich McCoppin (first season), finished third in the prestigious WCAC Cross Country Championships held Nov. 8, finishing behind only Good Counsel and Gonzaga.

Spearheading the Ireton effort were junior Matt Gordon (second place overall), sophomore Rob Sagar (ninth), sophomore Matt Sagar (12th) and senior co-captain Mike Bruce (14th).

Sophomore Conor Owens, senior co-captain Ryan Raftery and sophomore Matt Pease - also stepped up, though none finished in the "top 20."

Ireton had one of the youngest teams in the 10 team conference.

"Matt (Gordon) did a great job all season. He really wanted to win this year. He trained hard all summer and worked very hard all season. He pushed himself and pushed the whole team," said McCoppin.

"Rob is going to be a heck of a runner these next couple of years. Matt (Sagar) mentally peaked at the right time this season [late in the season]. Mike was hindered by injuries and illness during a lot of the season. His dedication and organization was impressive," said the first-year coach.

"Conor improved a lot as the season went on. Ryan gave it every thing he had every time he raced. Matt (Pease) put down the effort every single time out." Ireton also finished second in the Virginia State Catholic Meet Nov. 5 behind only behind Peninsula Catholic and seventh in the very prestigious Virginia Independent Schools Cross Country State Championships Oct. 31.

In other words, Ireton finished ahead of O'Connell and Paul VI in all three of the season’s premier races.

Gordon (fourth at state Catholic, 23rd Virginia Independent), Matt Sagar(seventh and 21st), Rob Sagar (ninth and 47th) and Mike Bruce (11th and 32nd) stepped up for Ireton.

The boy’s team also finished second in the four team Alexandria City meet held earlier in the season.

Ireton Girls Also Finish Third

The Ireton girls also turned in an excellent season. The girls were coached by both Rich McCoppin and Anne Sawkiw (first season each). The Cardinals finished third at the prestigious WCAC meet Nov. 8.

Only Good Counsel and O'Connell turned in better results than did the "Cardinal and Gold."

Not only did the Ireton boys have a young team, but so did their female counterparts.

Junior Lee Karlsson finished fourth overall at WCAC. Freshman Laura Resetar (16th), junior Kristen Casey (20th), junior Megan Miller (25th), sophomore Alyssa Krauss (28th) and senior captain Caitlyn Conron (31st) spearheaded the "Cardinal and Gold" effort.

"It was a little bit of a rebuilding year. We had some injuries - actually sophomore Katie Raftery (Ryan's sister) was one of our top two or three runners midway through the season, but she got hurt late in the year. All things considered, it was a successful year for the girls. Given how young they are, things look good for the future," said McCoppin.

O’Connell Falls to DeMatha

The Bishop O'Connell Knights put forth a valiant effort, but dropped a 31-7 decision to powerhouse DeMatha in the WCAC semi-finals Nov. 14. The game was played in Prince George's County.

The "Royal Blue and Silver" took an early 7-0 lead, courtesy of a Bush Hamdan to Jeremy Trimble eight-yard scoring strike. Trimble also added the extra point.

"Our offensive game plan was to isolate Jeremy [as a slot receiver] on one side and put three receivers on the other side. We were pretty successful in that regard," said first-year head coach Steve Trimble.

The Knights, playing in their first post-season contest since the 2000 season trailed 13-7 at half and 16-7 late in the third quarter.

"It was a close game, even late in the third quarter," said Trimble. A DeMatha interception return for a touchdown, however, closed out the third quarter with the Knights on the short end of a 24-7 score.

"The kids played well and gave it all they had. This DeMatha game was very competitive," said Trimble.

"We came out strong and we played a complete game versus DeMatha. We did what we needed to do to qualify for the playoffs this season," said Knights junior wide receiver Andrew Stockel. O'Connell knocked off St. John’s in week nine and Paul VI in week 10 to qualify for playoffs].

Stockel will be one of the top returning players in the entire WCAC during the 2004 season.

For the season, Hamdan threw for nearly 2,100 yards and 19 TD. Trimble caught 52 passes for 960 yards and 13 TDs. He also ran 82 times for 383 yards and six TDs. Senior tight end Ernie Lomax caught 35 passes for 430 yards and one TD. Stockel caught 25 passes for 535 yards and six TDs.

"I'm going to remember the coaches [Coach Snyder and Coach Trimble], all of the players, all of the competition and all of the people involved with O'Connell football as I look back over the last few years. We played this year as a team and not as a bunch of individuals" said senior lineman Jeff Vandenberghe, a three-year starter and second-team All-WCAC in 2003.

O'Connell’s junior varsity finished just shy of .500; The O'Connell freshman

team "ran the table," finishing undefeated with a 9-0 record. Coach Trimble will return 25 varsity players for next season, including Stockel, Brandon Adams, Mike Ireland, Tim Sadler, Mike Brown, Kyle Eisenman and Brian Schoenberger.