October 11, 2012 Sports 15

Congratulations Coach of the Year!Boys’ golf coach Tim O’Brien

Q: What most attributed to the success this season? A: The great start to the season was due to the preparation by the players on their own during the offseason prior to the summer tournaments and competing in the summer tournament play.Q: What was the team attitude like this year?A: Great chemistry, especially on the varsity squad. They were there for one another the whole season, and enjoyed each other’s company.Q: How did the state tournament go?A: We played well on day one; we were 10 strokes out, and really needed one more score to be right at the top. We went in 10th and came out eighth, with all the teams in the field.Q: What was the best experience of the season?A: Qualifying as a team for state, which was the ultimate goal. I am proud of the Saints continuing to be known as a golf school.

Q: How long have you been coaching golf at Xavier?A: I have been coaching for six years.

Boys’ golf reaches state for first time in class 4AFor the second time in Xavier boys’ golf

history, and the first time in class 4A, the team has made it to state. The team hosted the district meet this year at Elmcrest Country Club, and they finished 3rd overall.

“The result feels really rewarding and I’m very happy for the players. I know that they have worked really hard to advance to the state tournament,” Coach Tim O’Brien said. The boys started out slow in their meet, but they remained positive and advanced to state. Matt Junge led the way for the Saints shooting a 76.

The 4A state golf meet was held at the Tournament Club of Iowa located in Polk City. It was a two-day event where 12 teams participated. After the first day, the team was

tied for 6th place, and they finished 8th overall. Xavier was hoping to place in the top four, but they enjoyed this state experience.

“The players will remember this tournament forever,” Coach O’Brien said. The Saints were led by Junge who tied for 10th place shooting 153 over two days. John Ingwersen who shot 155 tied for 16th, out of a total of 75 players. Both Junge and Ingwersen shot 75 after day one and were tied for 6th place.

Next year the team will return four varsity players, and they hope to keep improving. “I had a great season this year. It was fun and I think our team was successful. I hope that we can just keep improving and advance to state next year,” Junge said.

Junge, Robbie Thinnes, and Ben Sagers all finished this year as 1st team All Conference golfers for the Valley division. Ingwersen, Jordan Even, and John Drahozal all received 2nd team All Conference honors. To top it all off, Coach O’Brien won the Valley division Coach of the Year, and Ben Sagers was named the Player of the Year for the division.

The boys also received recognition in the metro area. Junge and Sagers were 1st team All Metro unanimous selections, Thinnes and Ingwersen were selected to the 2nd team All Metro squad, and Drahozal and Evan were honorable mentions. Coach O’Brien was also voted as the All-Metro Coach of the Year.

Football continues season excellence Volleyball prepares for MVC tournament

Kyle D’MelloSports Writer

Connor CollinsSports Writer

Lizzy McWhinnySports Writer

With the most points scored and the least points let up in the Mississippi Valley Conference, after seven games Cedar Rapids Xavier is one of only three teams (Cedar Falls and Iowa City West are the other two) to be undefeated in the regular season.

As the Saints broke through their banner to take the field last Friday night against Waterloo West the entire student section brought new meaning to a white-out theme by having each student throw white powder up in the air simultaneously “The powder was awesome to see as we took the field, it put into perspective how close our Xavier student body is and how much they support and believe in this team,” senior running back Nick Steingreaber said.

Steingreaber came into Friday night’s game with 30 yards rushing on 4 carries and 1 touchdown. He also caught a 50 yard pass in the previous week against Washington that turned the game around for the Saints who were only up by one point at the time. Last Friday night Steingreaber made his biggest contribution.

After Waterloo West scored first on a 23-yard touchdown pass

from Alex Young to Michael Price, Steingreaber returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards to tie the game 7-7. “The other ten guys did a great job creating a lane including Ryan Flaherty and Eric Schemmel who made key blocks. It was all those guys,” Steingreaber said.

Steingreaber also went in for injured junior running back Brendan Miller and galloped for 107 yards and two touchdowns. “The line and receivers were making great blocks all night long and Matt Thorsteinson did a fantastic job stepping in at fullback, huge holes the whole game,” Steingreaber said.

Senior Matt Thorsteinson, who converted from defensive end to fullback this week to help fill in for injured backs Daniel Vega and Logan Jones, got the first touchdown of his high school career on a 3-yard scamper to put the icing on the cake for the Saints. “I was a little nervous but also excited to take on a different role. I just wanted to help out my team as much as I could,” Thorsteinson said.

Xavier takes on undefeated, fifth ranked, Cedar Falls (7-0) tomorrow night at the UNI Dome.

The Saints have continued their strong run while nearing the end of regular season.

On Tuesday, September 25, the Saints competed against the Washington Warriors at Washington High School. They swept the Warriors in straight matches with scores of 25-18, 25-17, and 25-23. Tuesday, October 2, the Saints defeated class 5A Waterloo West in their Dig Pink Night in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. They beat the Wahawks 25-9, 25-23, and 25-15.

Senior captain Sarah Homan collected 27 assists and 7 digs along with junior Kasey Vanden Bosch gathering 12 kills.

“We have great team chemistry which helps when it comes to competing because we are confident in each other and able to pick each other up when we make mistakes,” senior captain Shelby Christiansen said.

The Saints participated in the Westside Invitational at Jefferson High School on Saturday, October 6. They went 3-0 in pool play beating West Liberty, Waterloo

West, and Williamsburg. The Saints were able to advance to the semi-finals and played against the ninth ranked team in class 4A, West Delaware.

West Delaware ended the Saints winning streak of the day after beating them 25-18 and 25-19.

“At this point, our main thing we are striving to improve on is consistently playing at our level through the end of the regular season,” Christiansen said.

On Tuesday, October 9, the Saints took on the Prairie Hawks at Prairie High School.

“We have high hopes for the rest of the season and would like to make it past our game with Wahlert and ultimately qualify for state,” senior captain Audrey Richards said.

The Saints play next in the MVC Tournament at Kennedy on October 13.

John Richardson Assistant Sports-Editor

Junior Ben Sagers sticks it close at Elmcrest Country Club on October 1 at the District meet. Haylee Schiltz Photo

Voted All-Metro and Valley Division Coach

of the Year