Catoctin’s Athletic Highlights of the Year

Mia Ferraro
CHS Class of 2022

(6/2020) On May 1st, the lights in the Catoctin High School football stadium were lit with honor to pay tribute to the graduating Class of 2020 and the senior spring student athletes whose last season of their high school experience was cut short. The scoreboard displayed "Cougars 20 - Guest 19" to show that even during school/company closures and quarantine guidelines, we will not stay discouraged during COVID-19. Rather than grieving over time lost, we should all celebrate the moments that made this year special to us.

By the end of the football season, the Cougars’ hard work and support from the community led them to a victory that earned them the coveted Class 1A Championship title. The victory over the play-offs game in November against the Fort Hill Sentinels was a brilliant triumph in its own, since they defeated the Cougars in 2018, contributing to the Sentinel’s season that won them the States title. This victory took the team to the State championships against the ten state title winning champs Dunbar Poets. By half-time, CHS was already leading with the winning score of 31-8. Ten years after their first state championship title, the team ended the year the way they began by bringing home the trophy to a community of overwhelming pride and support.

The Cougars started off the season with a five-game winning streak, totaling 228 points. With only one defeat of the season (of only 3 points), the team’s defense was continuously improving this year. Their defense allowed 36 points in their first game, and surrendered only eight points in their last game of the season. When competing against Catoctin, 10 of their 14 opposing teams scored no higher than 15 points. The team has seniors Jake Baker and Jacob McIlvaine to thank for their many defensive plays at the State Championship game. After the victory, sports announcer/analyst and former Ravens player Wally Williams praised Baker and McIlvaine, saying, "That was their show in the second half with defense; they pretty much took Dunbar out of the game."

Baker started off his senior year by breaking the CHS record for boys’ power-cleaning in November during a strength training class by lifting 295 pounds. At the start of 2020, he was selected to Frederick’s All-County 1st Team Defense. He was also selected for the All-MPSSAA 2nd Team Defense. In addition to these awards, Baker was also honored as a Scholar Athlete at the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame at their awards dinner on March 4th. He has announced that he will continue his football career on the Golden Eagles football team at the college of his choice, Clarion University.

McIlvaine was invited to tryout to compete in the 63rd annual Big 33 game, presented by the US Marine Corps, and was selected to play. The game was unfortunately cancelled due to closures, but a contest remains. Mcvilaine was selected in the Big 33 Fan Favorite Contest at GreatAmericanRivalry.com. By May 15 (according to Great American Rivalry’s twitter update), he had already been running in the lead with 6,142 votes, and ahead of the competition by 4,819 votes. Voting was continued all throughout May. The winner will receive a donation to their school’s athletic department. McIlvaine has committed to continuing his football career at Frostburg State University on the Bobcats football team.

Plenty of individuals on the CHS Indoor Track team have been awarded incredible titles this season as well - and most of them are seniors. McIlvaine was selected to the Frederick News-Post’s All-County 1st Team. Seniors Owen Bubczyk, Tyler Hauk, and Cole Torres took honorable mention in the Frederick News-Post’s All-County team, as well as sophomores Jenna Zentz, Brenna Williams, and freshman Alex Contreras. At the state championships, Bubczyk took 5th place in the 3200 meter run with a time of 10:42.70, and 6th place in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:52.61. In shot put, McIlvaine placed in 2nd with a distance of 45-10, Hauk placed in 3rd with a distance of 43-5.5, and senior Tristen Rice placed in 5th with a distance of 42-5.5. The boys team placed in 4th overall with 35 points, and the girls placed in 7th with 30 points. Along with McIlvaine, senior Emma Strickland was also selected to the Frederick News-Post’s All-County 1st Team. At the Frederick County championships, she won 3rd in the 300 and 800. Strickland was titled State Champion for the third consecutive year in 1A 800, with a time of 2:24. She came in third place in 500 and ran anchor leg for state runner-up in the 4x800 relay. In addition to these titles throughout the season, she also set a school record in the 1000m with a time of 3:16:78 at the last competition of the regular season. Strickland has been involved in running since the fourth grade, and clearly her work has paid off.

The Catoctin community is incredibly proud of the CHS Girls and Boys Basketball teams, as both teams accomplished the title of regional champions this year. The boys team finished off the season with an overall score of 16-9. Senior David Parker was selected as a member of the Frederick News-Post’s All-County 1st Team. Seniors Eli Frei and Ethan Pawlus received honorable mention in the News-Post’s All-County Team. The girls team finished off the season with a score of 19-6. The victory over the regional championship title was an especially triumphant win for the team, as the last time they received this title was ten years ago. The regional game was held on March 4th. By the end of the first half, Catoctin was already winning by 35-12. Their strong defense pulled them through to a final score of 48-33 by the end. This advanced them to the state quarterfinals against Coppin Academy on March 14th. The competition was very tight, as they lost by only 2 points during overtime. Shortly after the season had been completed, plenty of individuals were honored in All-Conference Teams. As reported in last month’s edition, sophomore Emma Wivell and junior Courtney Eyler were chosen for CMC Gambrill 1st Team, while sophomore Emily Williams was chosen for 2nd Team, and junior Chaney Barnhart and senior Madi Tobery were included for honorable mention. Recently, Williams, Tobery, Barnhart, and sophomore Lily Gadra were all honored in the Frederick News-Post’s All-County Teams. Wivell was also honored as a member of the All-County 1st Team, and Eyler was honored in the 2nd Team. In addition to the titles above, Wivell was selected to the 3rd Team for the Maryland Basketball Coaches Association All-State Team for 1A-2A schools.

Finally, the remaining titles from the Frederick News-Post’s All-County teams gives recognition to the CHS wrestlers. Sophomore Colby Keilholtz was honored as a member of the All-County 1st Team. Freshmen Braden Bell and Emma Taylor were honored in the All-County 2nd Team.

Catoctin High School empathizes with our seniors and spring student athletes and wishes to spread the support around the community. On May 22nd, seniors were able to drive through the CHS parking lot to pick up their cap, gown, yearbook, fundraiser items, etc. based on their scheduled pick-up times. While this difficult time has forced us to celebrate in our own homes, we are celebrating the Class of 2020 nonetheless.