The first high school state championships of 2023-24 will take place this week, with a few other sports moving in that direction. Catholic high schools are still in contention for several of them.
Cross country and field hockey will have state champions by this time next week. Volleyball quarterfinals are on the schedule, and soccer is getting under way. Only football remains in the regular season, and it’s the last week for that.
If that’s not enough, winter sports practices begin Nov. 6.
As usual, check schedules to ensure that game days, times or locations are accurate. Tickets for all postseason events are available at https://gofan.co/app/school/DIAA. The cross country state championship will include a charge for parking.
Girls
Cross country
Saturday, Nov. 11
Archmere, Padua, Saint Mark’s and Ursuline at state championship, 11 a.m. at Brandywine Creek State Park. The Pandas will try to continue their reign in Division I, having won 10 straight titles since moving to the large-school division in 2013. Padua is coming off a win at the New Castle County championship. In Division II, Archmere took second last year, and Ursuline was third. St. Andrew’s is the defending Division II titlist.
Volleyball
Thursday, Nov. 9
No. 9 Tower Hill (16-1) at No. 1 Saint Mark’s (15-1), 6:30 p.m. in the DIAA quarterfinals. The Spartans and Hillers meet for the first time since last year’s state championship match, won by Tower Hill. The Spartans spread their attack across the front line that includes Ava Borcky, Lauren Mehelas, Blakely Stawicki and Aubrey Rosa, and they have a solid back line defense led by libero Taylor Holly. The Hillers’ attack is led by Molly Pietlock, Anna Schiltz, Lydia Spencer and Danielle Soleye. Libero Meghan Mumford patrols the back line with the best of them.
No. 5 Padua (10-6) at No. 4 Ursuline (13-3), 6:30 p.m. in the DIAA quarterfinals. The Raiders and Pandas meet for the third time this season, with Ursuline having taken the first two matches. For Padua, Aanya Yatavelli leads the front line, and one of the true keys for the game for the Pandas is setter Kaitlyn Leberstien, who also is the team’s best server. Ursuline’s attack is paced by hitters C.C. DeCaro and Caitlyn McGonigal, and the Raiders’ trademark defense includes a solid blocker in Juliette Cummings.
Boys
Soccer
Tuesday, Nov. 7
No. 11 Archmere (8-7) at No. 6 Saint Mark’s (9-5-1), 6:30 p.m. This Division II opening-round game pits teams that are not strangers. They met at Archmere on Oct. 18, with the Spartans earning a 3-0 shutout win. Jason Lotkowski leads an Auks attack that spreads the scoring around, with Ethan Beach and Mason Nowaczyk being other options, while Ryan Smith has been a mainstay in goal all season. For the Spartans, the offense is led by Nicholas Rocco, Kieran O’Connor and Dan Otlowski. Ryan Betts is the goalkeeper. Archmere is back in the tournament after a one-year absence, while the Spartans are trying to return to the state championship match for a second straight season.
Thursday, Nov. 9
No. 6 Milford (11-4) at No. 3 Salesianum (11-3-1), 6:30 p.m. Defending Division I champion Salesianum opens at home against the Buccaneers. Milford is coming of a comeback win over Delcastle, the second seed in Division I. The Bucs are led on offense by Freedly Napoleon and Emmanuel Joseph, while the Sals feature Gianluca Marroni and Sean Duffy, among others. Andrew Scott is the Sals’ goalkeeper. The teams have not met since the first round of the 2012 state tournament, when soccer had just one division, and the Sals won, 6-0.
Saturday, Nov. 11
Archmere-Saint Mark’s winner at No. 3 Caravel (9-5-1), 7:30 p.m. The Auks or Spartans will have to go through the defending state champion Buccaneers at Bob Peoples Stadium, where Caravel went 6-1-1 this year. The Bucs defeated Archmere way back in the season opener on Sept. 7 by a 2-1 score, but they fell to Saint Mark’s, 2-0, on the road on Oct. 12. Caravel allowed just six goals in its nine wins.
Cross country
Saturday, Nov. 11
Archmere, Saint Mark’s and Salesianum at state championship, 11 a.m. at Brandywine Creek State Park, Wilmington. Salesianum is looking for its third straight state crown and 46th overall at its home course. The last time the event was at Brandywine Creek, Salesianum students filled the course to cheer on their schoolmates on a cold, rainy, windy day. The Sals won the New Castle County championship this past weekend. Archmere was third in Division II last season, while Saint Mark’s took third.
Football
Friday, Nov. 10
Dickinson (3-6) vs. St. Elizabeth (4-5) at Abessinio Stadium, 7 p.m. The Vikings are in position to make the DIAA Class 1A tournament field no matter how they do against the Rams, but a win would make things a whole lot easier. The Vikings have done very well against teams against whom they are expected to, and Dickinson falls into that category. It’s senior night and likely the final home game for St. E’s this year.
Salesianum (8-1) at Saint Mark’s (4-5), 7 p.m. The archrivals meet on the gridiron for the first time since 2019. The series was stopped after that season, but a realignment moved Saint Mark’s to the same class and division as the Sals, so they’ll close out the regular season against one another. Salesianum has clinched its division and a top-two seed in the Class 3A tournament, while Saint Mark’s could use a win and some help from the outside to make the field.
Saturday, Nov. 11
Wilmington Friends (8-1) at Archmere (6-3), 11 a.m. The scenario is pretty simple. If the Auks win, they take their division and a top-three seed in the Class 2A tournament field. If Howard loses to Tower Hill, the Friends-Archmere winner takes the automatic bid. If Howard and Friends win, the division comes down to a three-way tiebreaker between the Auks, Quakers and Wildcats. Archmere has an advantage there, but a win makes all of this so much clearer. Pretty simple, huh?
For a clearer breakdown of all football postseason possibilities, see Sean Greene’s analysis.
