St. Pius Boys Win State Cross County Title; Girls Second

St. Pius X captured its second AAA state championship of the 2013-14 school year last week and added a second-place trophy as well.  Football has advanced to the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.  Competition cheer will compete in the state meet this weekend, while wrestling will hit the mats for the first time this season.

The St. Pius X boys' cross country team raced to its fourth straight AAA state championship with a state record-breaking performance. The combined team score of 26 broke the previous mark of 27 set by Marist and would have been good enough to win all six classification races.

Austin Sprague captured his second straight individual crown, while Nik Calia and Stephen Martinez finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Joey Ferrugia completed the course in seventh and Andrew Anastasiades finished ninth.

In the girls' race, the Golden Lion harriers finished as AAA runners-up. Margaret Crawford finished in fourth as Rebecca Entrekin finished in sixth place. Rachel Pyden (11th), Lucey O'Brien (15th) and Emma Jayne Braxton (20th) were the other three runners that figured into the team point total.

Football completed the regular season with a 41-14 win over Decatur.  The Golden Lions (7-3, 4-2) used two touchdown passes, one from Joey Connors and one from Reed Egan to roll to the win.  Dalton Wilson added 160 yards rushing and a TD while Connors rushed for another score.  Thomas O'Leary booted field goals of 46 and 21-yards.  The scoring was capped by Garrett Gooden's interception return for a TD.  St. Pius X opens the playoffs on the road at No. 7 Hart County, the second-seed out of Region 8-AAA.

Competition cheerleading grabbed third place at the Region 6-AAA meet last weekend and will travel to Columbus to participate in the state meet on Friday and Saturday.

Wrestling will open its season with a match at Centennial on Saturday.