Two From O'Hara to Play in MO-KAN ALL STAR BASKETBALL GAME

Seniors Alex Smith and Hailey Houser, who played on the O'Hara girls Third Place Team in State basketball, were selected on the Missouri squad for the MO-KAN ALL-STAR game scheduled for April 4th at the Independence Events Center at 2 PM. _____ Smith was a guard on the Celtics' team and was one of the team's top scorers and especially accurate with three-point shots. _____ Houser averaged over 13 points per game, had over 10 rebounds per game, and had an average of 3.5 blocks per game. She shot 63% from the filed and 78% for free throws.

SCORES FROM WEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE BOWL

Archbishop O'Hara won the Championship in the West Central Conference Academic Knowledge Bowl on March 26th by winning all three round robin games. ______ First to fall was Saint Pius by a 180-140 score. _____Warrensburg was next scoring 200 points to the Celtics' 230 points. _____ In the final round O'Hara topped Smith-Cotton 220-150. _____ Clinton and Center did not field teams. ______ Warrensburg came in second defeating Smith-Cotton 300-120 and Saint Pius by a close 210-200 score. _____ Saint Pius was third winning over Smith-Cotton 250-60. _____ Mike Berney from O'Hara was the individual leader in the tournament with a total of 310 for an average of 10.33 per game. _____ The next two individuals were Antony Cherion from Saint Pius with 250 points with an average of 8.33 per game and Sean Reed from Warrensburg with 150 points averaging 5 points per game. _____ Mike Berney was the only senior on the Championship Team; the others on the team were juniors Josh Bonello and Andy Meyer and sophomore Kierra Jackson.

Celtics Win Twice to Open Baseball Season

In a five inning game with Cullen Rowland pitching the first three innings and Austin Pearcy finishing off a no-hitter, the O'Hara Celtics won the first game of their 2010 season 14-0 against Van Horn. _____ Rowland provided much of the offense with six RBI's on three hits and Alex Gaul-Pearson contributed two RBI's. _____ Raytown also fell to the Celtics in a 15-5 contest with Jake Solcum pitching a three hitter. He struck out eight batters. _____ With bases loaded, Aaron Mitchell homered. Sam Janet had three hits in the game and Logan Halil had two.

O'HARA WINS ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP

Archbishop O'Hara High School won the West Central Conference Academic Knowledge Bowl varsity championship on March 26th and took second place in the junior varsity division. _____ O'Hara had won the Conference Championship in 2005 and 2008; last year Saint Pius had won it. _____ None of the other teams fielded a freshman team to oppose the Celtics on that level so three O'Hara ninth graders were moved up to the junior varsity team. ____ Mike Berney, Andy Meyer, Josh Bonello, and Kierra Jackson each won varsity medals for winning the First Place plaque. _____ Sophomores Jake Fortin and Jeff Best were joined by freshmen Tony Darling, Claire Banderas, and Alex Coutree to make up a five-person JV squad. ______ Freshmen Maddie Champion, James Campo, and James Bradish who have been on the O'Hara Academic Bowl roster since January did not compete. _____ On Friday on the varsity level, the Celtics were 3-0 in round robin play with Saint Pius, Warrensburg, and the host team Smith-Cotton. _____ O'Hara's closest win of the evening was 230-200 against Warrensburg which went down to the final questions. _____ This year Saint Pius won the junior varsity division. _____ Center and Clinton declined to field any teams this year. ______ Next year's competition is scheduled for Warrensburg.

Newest Twist on Academic Knowledge Bowl

On March 22nd, word was received that the competition for the West Central Academic Knowledge Bowl will not start until 6:00 PM on March 26th. _____ It will take place at the Smith-Cotton Junior High with parking on Massachusetts Street in Sedala. _____ Competition is expected to go all the way to 9:00 which will return the O'Hara participants to Kansas City as late as 10:30 PM. _____ O'Hara has a varsity team plus a team that can either compete as a junior varsity team or as a freshman team since all the members are from the 9th grade. _____ It will be the first time the event is scheduled for a Friday instead of a Saturday, and the first time it will not be in the morning. _____ The Conference is supposed to have competition on the varsity level, junior varsity level, and freshman level, but last year at Saint Pius, there were no junior varsity nor freshman games. _____ For the past eleven years when Brother Richard replaced Lanus Setzer as the moderator, O'Hara has fielded all three teams even when the other schools failed to. _____ Prior to Brother Richard's time, there were three levels of competition as well.

O'Hara Wrestlers Honored

On March 21st, the 2010 Archbishop O'Hara High School wrestling team were honored at a ceremony in the school's Commons. _____ In addition to the top honors for Travis Peter for making Second in State in the 125 lb weight class, nine other wrestlers received recognition. Peter holds two school records, the most wins in a season and the most career wins. _____ Louis Golden, a senior who went to State by taking fourth in the District, was awarded the Most Valuable Wrestler Award. _____ Danijo Adams, the lone junior on the team, received a plaque for Most Improved. _____ The Rookie of the Year Award was presented to freshman Peyton Franklin and the Mat Rat Award was won by sophomore Jake Fortin. _____ Coach Greg Northern in presenting the awards spoke of perseverence. attitude, improvement, hope, skills, understanding, challenge, confidence, and getting experience.

TOP 4-A GIRLS BASKETBALL 2010

Webb City (30-1 and State Champs) and O'Hara (24-7 and Third in State) are the the only two 4-A girls Missouri teams to end their seasons with a win. Notre Dame Cape Girardeau (26-5) came in Second Place losing to Webb City and Saint Dominic (25-5) was Fourth losing to O'Hara 40-37.

WEST CENTRAL KNOWLEDGE BOWL MOVED FROM MARCH 13 TO MARCH 26

Without an explanation provided, the date and time of the annual West Central Conference Knowledge Bowl was moved from the morning of Saturday March 13 to the evening of March 26. _____ Every year the Bowl had been scheduled for the morning of the second Saturday of March to minimize the possibilities of conflicts with winter and spring sports programs. _____ The Archbishop O'Hara High School teams were ready with three four-person teams for varsity, junior varsity, and freshman competition when the news arrived about the moving of dates. _____ As a result of the switch in dates, two O'Hara players had to opt out. _____ As a result, the school is able to field only a varsity team and a junior varsity or freshman team. _____ Last year, O'Hara was second in varsity and first in junior varsity and freshman competition. _____ The students that are making up the two teams are Mike Berney, Andy Meyer, Josh Bonello, Kierra Jackson, Jake Fortin, Jeff Best, James Campo, Claire Banderas, Maddie Champion, Alex Countee, and Tony Darling. _____ The competition this year is scheduled for Sedalia Smith-Cotton. _____ The following three years are at Warrensburg, Center, and Clinton.

Lady Celtics Win Third Place in State on Saturday

After giving the top ranked Webb City Cardinals a competitive game in the Class 4 State semifinals, the O'Hara Celtics lost 55-42 on March 13 to play the Saint Dominic Crusaders for third place the following day. In a close game, the Lady Celtics won 40-37. _____ The Celtics surprised the Cardinals by jumping off to a five point advantage early in the semifinal game at 11-6, but by halftime, two points separated the two talented squads 21-19 with the Cardinals ahead. _____ The Cardinals were held to five second quarter points when O'Hara scored four baskets to Webb City's two. _____ However O'Hara couldn't keep pace in the second half when Webb City's press effectively provided quick buckets and Celtic turnovers. _____ There was a lot of scoring in the fourth quarter and O'Hara got as close as five points at 38-43 when time was running out and the Cardinals made good use of free throw opportunities. _____ In their loss, the Celtics' scoring leaders were Hailey Houser, Alex Smith, and Cameron Randle who reached double figures. ____ In the game for third place, the Celtics found themseles down by four at the half 20-16. Tori Hurtt and Alex Smith had scored six points each up to that time. _____ In the third quarter, twice a three-point shot by Alex Smith tied the score at 25-25 and 28-28, but the Crusaders obtained three additional points to maintain the lead into the final quarter. _____ Following two Crusader free throws for a 33-28 five point advantage, the O'Hara defense perked up, and the Celtics scored nine unanswered points to take the lead for the first time in the second half . _____ Hailey Houser scored eight points in the final quarter along with three from Alex Smith as O'Hara had twelve to Saint Dominics' six. _____ The O'Hara duo of Houser and Smith led the Celtic team with 17 and 12 total points apiece in the low scoring game. _____ With just under twenty seconds remaining in the game, O'Hara led by only two points 39-37. _____ Finally with the last four seconds left in the game, Cameron Randle cashed in on a free throw and the Crusaders couldn't come close to tying with a very long three point attempt.

NINE CELTICS HONORED IN ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

It was quite expected that the two undefeated teams in the West Central Conference would have multiple All-Conference Team positions. _____ For the Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics in the girls competition, Ashley Clark, Hailey Houser and Alex Smith made the First Team while Cameron Randle and Tori Hurtt made the Second Team. _____ The girls' squad went on to the State final four. _____ Only Josh Rupprecht made the boys First Team even though the balanced team defeated each of their Conference teams twice during the season. _____ D. J. Jackson and Ronnie Miller made the Second Team, and JeVon Lyle landed an Honorable Mention. _____ The boys team got as far as the quarterfinals of District.

Lady Celtics Reach Final Four with 60-58 Overtime Win

On March 6th, the Archbishop O'Hara High School girls basketball team defeated the Staley Falcons in their State Quarterfinal game played in Warrensburg by a score of 60-58. _____ O'Hara hadn't reached the final four since 1989. _____ Behind by four points with less than 40 seconds in regulation time, Hailey Houser put in two baskets to tie the score at 46-46. _____ In the overtime period Brynn Williamson twice hit three-pointers for the Falcons, but the Celtics responded mostly with free throws, six by Cameron Randle, three by Alex Smith, and one by Ashley Clark. _____ O'Hara cashed in on 23 free throws altogether in the game. _____ Earlier in the game, the Celtics had a ten point lead at 16-6 and the Falcons had a six point lead at 36-30. _____ The O'Hara defense was excellent, however the Falcons used the long ball to stay with the Celtic squad. They had ten successful three-point shots in the contest, two in each of the first three quarters, one in the fourth, and three in overtime! But even that wasn't enoughto win. _____ Cameron Randle and Alex Smith led in the Celtic scoring with 17 points and 16 points respectively. Hailey Houser and Ashley Clark were also in double figures. _____ The only quarter in which the Falcons outpointed the Celtics was the third quarter when they put up 14 to O'Hara's 5, but the Celtics rallied from that setback. _____ After the initial first two Falcon free throws of the game, Staley never took the lead until well into the third quarter. Then it was nip and tuck the rest of the way. _____ Next on the 23-6 Celtics' schedule is Webb City in the State Semifinals on March 12.

Sectional Girls Basketball O'HARA 30 PLEASANT HILL 23

On March 3, discipline and patience paid off for the Archbishop O'Hara High School Lady Celtics in their Sectional Basketball game with Pleasant Hill, winning by seven points 30-23. _____ Having lost to O'Hara in the Grain Valley Tournament by 16 points on January 29th, Pleasant Hill decided at the outset to "hold the ball" and keep the high-scoring Celtics at a snails' pace. _____ As a result, the score was only 5-4 after the initial quarter. _____ The game opened up after that with some meaningful shots by Alex Smith and O'Hara went on to the victory. She became the game's top scorer with 10 points, six of which were three-pointers. _____ Ashley Clark and Lindsey Hanaway also hit treys in the low scoring contest. _____ Pleasant Hill ended up with a better win-loss record with 24-4 to O'Hara's 22-6, but two of Pleasant Hill's losses were to the Celtics. _____ By going into the quarterfinals on Saturday against Staley at Warrenburg, it became O'Hara's first time since 2003 to go that far in the playoffs. _____ Staley had won by four points beating Saint Joseph Benton 48-44 to face the Celtics. O'Hara will test its defense against Staley's top scoring duo Brynn Williamson and Bree Fowler.

WEST CENTRAL CONFERENCE ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE BOWL MOVED TO MARCH 26

In a surpise move, the competition for the West Central Conference Academic Knowledge Bowl that was scheduled for March 13th has been moved to March 26th. In the past eleven years, the date for the competition has been postponed only one time. In that instance, Clinton, the host team was unprepared and Harrisonville, then a member of the Conference, stepped in to host the event albeit one month later. March 26 is a Friday, another first, and will necessitate a late afternoon adjustment. The original date of March 13th had been established because it had a good chance of NOT interfering with sporting events and students who were athletes would not be inconvenienced nor forced into a conflict. It is yet undetermined what effect this switching of dates for the Academic Bowl will have.

Celtics Make All-District Basketball Teams

Five members of the O'Hara District Champion girls basketball team were selected for All District Teams and four of the O'Hara boys basketball team who made it to the semifinals made it too. _____ Making the First Team All District girls were seniors Hailey Houser, Alex Smith, AshleyClark, and junior Victoria Hurtt. Senior Cameron Randle was named the All District Second Team. _____ Three juniors were on the boys First Team All District. They were Josh Rupprecht, JeVon Lyle, and D. J. Jackson. _____ Senior Dominique Fields made the Second Team All District. ______ Mark Braden, who played for O'Hara his first three high school years but playing for Center High on the District Champion team, was also chosen for First Team honors.