St. Pius Weekly Sports Recap

The regular season for the winter sports has concluded and most teams are entering region or state tournaments this week. The spring sport season has begun for two teams, with others beginning the regular season this week. Girls’ basketball moved one spot in both polls as it occupies the No. 4 spot in the latest Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) AAA poll and No. 2 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.

The Golden Lion girls’ basketball team won both games last week to sweep the sub-region for the second year in a row with a 12-0 record for the first back-to-back undefeated region season in at least 20 years. Emma Ucinski led (22-3) with 16 points in a 60-18 win over Grady last Tuesday. Asia Durr added nine points and eight rebounds while Anna O’Donnell and Laura Redmond each chipped in eight points apiece. Friday night, the Golden Lions defeated Druid Hills behind 10 points from Durr and eight points from O’Donnell. The Golden Lions have not lost a regular season game to an AAA school since Jan. 22, 2010 – a span of 34 games. The Golden Lions begin Region 5-AAA tournament play Thursday night at home at 7pm against the winner of North Springs and Arabia Mountain. The region tournament will then shift to Columbia High School on Friday and Saturday with the semifinals and finals respectively.  Should St. Pius win Thursday night, it would play on Friday at 4pm.

Boys’ basketball dropped both games last week and will enter the Region 5-AAA tournament as the fifth-seed from sub-region A. The Golden Lions (10-14, 4-8) will take on the fourth-seeded Woodward War Eagles at 4:30pm on Monday afternoon at home. Nick Harris recorded a double-double last Tuesday with 11 points and 12 rebounds in a 45-31 loss to Grady. Collin McKay dropped in 15 points in the 55-42 loss to Druid Hills on Friday. If the Golden Lions advance they will host Grady at 8:30pm on Thursday night. The region tournament will then move to Columbia on Friday and Saturday of this week.

Wrestling competed in the state sectionals over the weekend at Riverwood. Three wrestlers placed and advanced to the state tournament this weekend at the Gwinnett Arena. Robbie Martin placed second in the 138-pound weight class while Quinn Peragine finished third in the 113-pound weight class. Harris Woodward placed seventh in the 132-pound weight class.

Boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving finished seventh and third, respectively, at the state championships at Georgia Tech. Mary Elizabeth King took first place in the 100-yard butterfly and Haley Durmer took first in the 200-yard individual medley.

Boys’ and girls’ tennis took on Brookwood in the opening match of the 2012 season. The boys lost to the defending AAAAA state champions 5-0 and the girls lost a tight 3-2 contest.