Athletic News
It's hard to stand out in a year where Cathedral Football wins El Paso's first 11 man Football state Championship, Cross Country wins its second title in three years, and Coach Harper wins his 1,000th victory on the Basketball court.
Enter Jack White and the indomitable force that is the Irish Swim Team.
On Saturday the Irish competed in San Antonio to defend their State Championship title- 30 straight to be exact, dating back to 1987. A legacy spanning decades and including hundreds of swimmers, college athletes, Olympians and Olympic qualifiers was on the line.
Challenge Accepted.
The Irish won six of the twelve events on Saturday led in large part through the efforts of Connor White, son of Coach Jack White. Connor was phenomenal, finishing with four gold medals: 500 yard freestyle, 100 yard backstroke, and both the 200 yard and 400 yard medley relay.
At meet's conclusion the Irish were recognized as Champions, a familiar label but just as sweet as when the Irish were first crowned in 1987.
The Irish's athletic success this year has been unparalleled and well deserved but we extend a sincere congratulations and thanks to the Irish Swim Team and especially to Coach Jack White who was one of the first to make Cathedral a winner and Home of Champions.
Congratulations on 31 straight, Coach White. This is the house you built and it'll go down in history.
Football
The Cathedral Football season started with our team ranked #30 in the city; it culminates with a TAPPS State Championship. The Cathedral football team beat Houston Village, 37-14, on Saturday night to claim the Texas Association Parochial and Private Schools, Division 5 title. The game was played in Brownwood, Texas. Cathedral finished the season with an 8-3 record, while Houston Village finished 7-4. Cathedral beat TMI Episcopal of San Antonio, 30-18, in last week's semifinal game. The Fighting Irish went 6-3 during the regular season. Among the team's top wins this season were against Anthony, Fabens and Santa Teresa. "It was a great feeling to win the state title," longtime area coach Hampton Hurt said. "We started the season 6-0 and had some really good wins. We had some injury issues that we had to overcome and the kids did a great job of bouncing back. We have great leadership on the team. Added offensive lineman Jaime Perales: "We talked about winning a championship all season long, We wanted to make a statement, we wanted to do well for El Paso. We really played well in every phase of the game. Our offense was great and we had a lot of big plays. It just feels good to see all the hard work pay off. We had some injuries earlier in the season, but we got healthy and finished strong."
Among the major contributors for the team this year were tight end Chris Frazier, quarterback Christopher Lightbourn, receiver Miguel Lopez and running back Alejandro Mandujano.Lightbourn passed for 193 yards in the semifinal win vs. TMI Episcopal and for 301 yards against Houston Village in the title game. "Our offense really clicked in the past two games," Lightbourn said. "The coaches called a great game and we executed well. Our defense did great for us as well. This win means so much for us because we made history. We worked hard for this title. Hopefully, this will help set the tone for the future and I hope future teams have great success as well."
Cross Country
What began with 6 A.M. runs in the summer has concluded with a State Championship for the Irish Cross Country Team. Led by All State runners Brandon Seagreaves (1st overall) and Pedro Espinoza (10th) overall, the Irish capture their second title in three years.
Led by Cathedral alum and former collegiate runner Isaac Montoya, the Irish defeated its closest competitor in the TAPPS State Championship meet by 14 points and had its top four runners finish in the top 20 (Brandon Seagreaves -Sophomore -1st, Pedro Espinoza-Junior -10th, Stephen Stresow-Sophomore-14th, and Ronaldo Lopez-Senior-15th)