The goals of the IC's athletic program are to build the self-esteem of our student-athletes, foster a spirit of cooperation outside the classroom, and teach our students to compete as Christian athletes.
The hallmark of our sports program is our inclusiveness. We do our best to break down any barriers that might dissuade a student from participating in our program, regardless of ability or other commitments. This year over 50 percent of IC's students in grades 6-8 were members of our cross country team, and over 70 percent of our students in grades 5-8 participated in our basketball program.
The cross country team includes many students that have never run before, as well as some experienced runners. The team is led by Head Coach Dale Eckert and Assistant Coach Meagan King. These coaches provide our students with a combination of training and enthusiasm that enable our students to develop and appreciate the sport of running. The team practices and runs its regular season meets at Maudslay State Park. The season culminates each year with the North Shore Catholic League Meet followed by the prestigious Jim Munn Invitational race in Gloucester. The boys team has won the North Shore Catholic League Championship for the past two years. The 2016 boys were led by Captain Carlos Jones who finished in 4th place overall followed by Harris Fremont-Smith (9th), James Hayes (10th), Captain Christopher Thoreson (11th) and Tyler DeClercq (19th). Olivia D'Ambrosio finished in 10th place to medal for the girls. The 2016 boys also finished 4th (out of 27 teams) place at the prestigious Jim Munn Memorial race, where Jones finished in 10th place overall out of a field of 468 runners.
The basketball program begins with our grade 1-3 program, which teaches the basics of the game to our students. The grades 4-8 grade teams compete in two different basketball leagues, the Merrimack Valley Catholic Basketball League (MVCBA) and the North Shore Catholic Elementary School Basketball League (NSCESBL). In 2016-2017, the Boys and Girls Grade 6 teams each captured NSCESBL titles, while the Grade 7 Boys captured the MVCBA title. The basketball season concludes each year with the exciting Immaculate Conception School March Madness tournament. In 2017, the Girls 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th Grade teams all captured March Madness titles! Maria Mataac was the 2016-2017 Player of the Year for the Girls Varsity. Daniel Strazzulla and Christopher Thoreson shared Player of the Year honors for the Boys Varsity team.
The 2017-2018 Boys Varsity team will be long time coach Coach Buck Woo, assisted by Jim Bowers, Larry Thoreson, Matt Vetree, and Kirsten Dumaresq. The girls will be led by Coach Scott Signore, assisted by Kerry Chomic, Tim Pearce, and Matt Tracy.
The IC also has a Sunday Night Hoops program that allows our students in grades 5-8 to play basketball every Sunday night throughout the school year.