Gaels

Mount St. Joseph's could have lost its composure in the fourth inning Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park, but the Gaels withstood a six-run Gilman barrage and roared back to win the second annual President's Cup final, 12-11. It was the second year the two teams met in the tournament's championship game. No. 2 Gilman won last year, but this time Mount St. Joseph would not be denied. "When Gilman got that lead, we knew we needed to step up our game," said senior catcher Nick Payne, who had two doubles, a single, walked twice and scored twice.

Mount St. Joseph tennis coach Tom Hughes knew he had something special the first day his team stepped onto the court for its first practice in early March. Most of the players had already spent much of the year improving their skills, so they were already in mid-season form by the first drill. The Gaels then went undefeated through the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association regular season and knocked off defending champion McDonogh in the playoffs, dropping just one game in that entire stretch.

Three years ago, Mount St. Joseph's tennis team finished 0-10, but if the Gaels' early-season exploits are any indication, they just might be headed for the best tennis season in school history. They opened with their first-ever win over McDonogh, the two-time defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion and one of two teams with a chokehold on the conference title for 14 years. McDonogh and Gilman have won every title during that stretch except in 2001, when Calvert Hall took it. The Gaels are hoping this will be their year.

Tuesday's regular-season finale for the Loyola lacrosse team was special for a number of reasons. A win against visiting Mount St. Joseph on Senior Day would clinch the second seed in the coming Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs, providing a bye for the No. 2 Dons in Friday's quarterfinal round. A win also would mean it would be the final varsity lacrosse game played at storied Hargaden Field in its present form. Artificial turf will be installed this summer.

The No. 3 Mount St. Joseph soccer team scratched and clawed and defended with everything it had in Monday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship against No. 1 and two-time defending league champion McDonogh. All the hard work - 100 scoreless minutes' worth - got the Gaels to a familiar place, penalty kicks. And once again, senior forward David Arnold - tall, athletic and with a knack for guessing right - turned temporary goalie and ended up the hero.

The Mount St. Joseph boys soccer team is the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference champion, thanks in part to gutsy defense, poise and a key decision by coach Mike St. Martin that enabled the No. 3 Gaels to get past No. 1 McDonogh on penalty kicks Monday. St. Martin watched senior goalie Brad Benzing make eight saves - a number of them brilliant - during 100 minutes of scoreless play. But when it came to who would be in goal for the deciding shootout, St. Martin went to his unconventional source, David Arnold . With Benzing sidelined in the semifinals against Calvert Hall, St. Martin had turned to Arnold - 6 feet 5 with uncanny athleticism - during the shootout, and he responded with three saves despite not having played in goal since he was 11 years old. With Benzing back and playing well Monday, the decision was much tougher.

The bottom of Gilman's lineup helped the Greyhounds reach the top of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference on Thursday. Gilman's No. 2 doubles team of Jay Barrett and Will Faison rallied to win a tiebreaker that let the Greyhounds tie host Mount St. Joseph in the conference's title match. The only match left was at No. 3 singles where Galen Rende of Gilman was finishing off his 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Tristan Boustany. That completed Gilman's come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Gaels in the A Conference championship.

Ryley Beaumont had a game-high 21 points as top-ranked Mount St. Joseph routed visiting John Carroll, 70-30, in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference tournament semifinal Friday. The Gaels (28-2) advance to Sunday's championship game at UMBC at 5:30 p.m. where they will face No. 2 St. Frances, a 63-51 winner over No. 3 Calvert Hall. Mount St. Joseph has won two of three meetings with the Panthers this season, the last one a 69-68 Mount St. Joseph victory Jan. 31. Against the Patriots, Mount St. Joseph led 27-11 at the half before going on a 19-6 run in the third quarter.

Gilman is the last Maryland team to have beaten Mount St. Joseph in wrestling -- a 29-28 victory in 1988.And after last night's 44-18 loss at top-ranked Mount St. Joseph, the No. 11 Greyhounds (11-4, 8-1) will have to wait another year for their next shot.Seth St. Vincent (160) got his 20th victory in the first period as the homestanding Gaels (8-0 league and overall) put the match mathematically out of reach, 32-12, all but securing their 19th Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference crown -- their sixth in seven seasons under coach Paul Triplett.

Reggie Boyce returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown with 52 seconds left to give No. 14 Loyola (1-2, 1-0) an 18-13 win over host Mount St. Joseph (0-4, 0-1) yesterday in a Maryland Scholastic Association Armstrong A Conference game.The Dons struck first with a 10-play scoring drive that was capped by Brian Oates' 3-yard touchdown run. Kevin Kaiser's extra-point attempt went wide left.The Gaels answered with an 11-play drive that was capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by senior Julius Weems.

Mount St. Joseph's could have lost its composure in the fourth inning Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park, but the Gaels withstood a six-run Gilman barrage and roared back to win the second annual President's Cup final, 12-11. It was the second year the two teams met in the tournament's championship game. No. 2 Gilman won last year, but this time Mount St. Joseph would not be denied. "When Gilman got that lead, we knew we needed to step up our game," said senior catcher Nick Payne, who had two doubles, a single, walked twice and scored twice.

Players for both Gilman and Mount St. Joseph will be trying to control their emotions Saturday when they meet in a rematch of the inaugural President's Cup final Saturday at Camden Yards. The two long-time Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference rivals will be trying to take in the scene and dwell on the moment at the second-annual event. But the teams will be approaching the game differently. A year ago, Gilman won the President's Cup title but turned around a week later and lost to the Gaels in an MIAA A Conference game.

Helping in sprints, hurdles, field events and relays, Miles is a big reason the Gaels nearly won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association title. Miles won MIAA titles in the 55-meter hurdles, the 300 and the long jump. He also ran on the victorious 800 relay team that didn't lose a race all season. In total, he helped score 40 of the Gaels' 151 points in the MIAA meet, as they fell a point shy of Gilman. Miles can also run the 55-meter dash, but he showed his versatility when Mount St. Joseph coach Jack Peach switched him from that event to the long jump in the middle of the season.

Things weren't looking good for the Mount St. Joseph basketball team in Sunday's 41st Baltimore Catholic League title game. Against defending champion John Carroll, a poor first half had the Gaels frustrated and down by nine points. Standout junior guard Kameron Williams already had three fouls at the break and the Patriots' zone defense had the Gaels shooting 33 percent from the field and getting to the foul line just once. Already disappointed with the way the team played in losing to the Patriots in last weekend's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title game, Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey opened up his bag of tricks at the halftime break.

Sophomore guard Phil Booth scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the third quarter and added a last-minute blocked shot as No. 5 Mount St. Joseph fended off Archbishop Spalding, 54-49, in the Baltimore Catholic League semfinals at Stevenson University. Junior guard Kameron Williams added 13 points and Phil Lawrence provided 12 as the Gaels' balance offset a 29-point effort from Spalding senior guard Greg Brown. Mount St. Joseph improved to 26-6 on the season and will seek the program's fourth BCL championship Sunday.

When Mount St. Joseph guard Kameron Williams let go of a desperation, midcourt shot with two seconds left in Sunday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game, all that was left for the John Carroll players was to see if, this time, they had done enough. In the two regular-season meetings, it was Mount St. Joseph that came up with answers down the stretch both times - the last game a three-point decision not decided until overtime. This time it was John Carroll that made the big stops late, took care of the basketball and showed poise at the free-throw line.

Mount St. Joseph needed only one victory yesterday to win two titles. The top-ranked Gaels (25-2) defeated Towson Catholic, 71-62, to clinch the regular-season basketball titles for the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference and Baltimore Catholic League. Eric Atkins paced Mount St. Joseph with 22 points. The fifth-ranked Owls were led by Brandon Greene's game-high 25 points. Greene got the better of his matchup with the Gaels' Henry Sims, a Georgetown recruit, who scored nine points and was in foul trouble for most of the game.

Mount St. Joseph coach Drew Bowden can live with the physical mistakes and he'll even tolerate the mental ones, as long as they are committed at full speed."

MIAA A Conference championship No. 2 Mount St. Joseph (24-5) vs. No. 5 John Carroll (35-6) When: Sunday, 5:30 p.m. Where: RAC Arena, UMBC Coaches: Pat Clatchey, Mount St. Joseph; Tony Martin, John Carroll PLAYERS TO WATCH Mount St. Joseph: Kameron Williams, Jr., G; Phil Booth, So., G; Lavon Long, Jr., F; Phil Lawrence, Sr., F. John Carroll: Jarred Jones, Sr., F; Rodney...