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Catholic high school teams begin DIAA wrestling tournament, while swimming and basketball wind down

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Saint Mark's hosted Appoquinimink in wrestling earlier this season. The Spartans are back in the DIAA dual-meet tournament for the first time in 10 years. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

We’ll lead off with wrestling, which has reached the postseason and kicks off Wednesday with eight matches, four each in Division I and II. Saint Mark’s and Salesianum are hosting. Each has received the fourth seed in their respective divisions.

Swimming has reached the end of the regular season, with just Salesianum and Ursuline in competition this week before the preliminary round of the state tournament next week

This is the final full week of the high school basketball season, and a few of the contests on the slate may be worth a trip to a local gymnasium. There are plenty of questions to be answered ahead of the state committee meetings on Feb. 24, at which the state tournament fields will be determined.

Boys

Wrestling

Wednesday

No. 5 Laurel (8-4) at No. 4 Saint Mark’s (9-2), 7 p.m. The Spartans host the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the DIAA Division II dual-team state tournament. The Spartans are back in the dual-meet tournament for the first time since 2013, when they competed in Division I and reached the semifinals.

No. 5 William Penn (13-3) at No. 4 Salesianum (8-3), 7 p.m. The Sals and Colonials met during the regular season, and they’ll get together again in the DIAA Division I dual-team quarterfinals. The Sals defeated Penn on Feb. 1, a result they hope to repeat. Sallies’ schedule included the top seeds in both divisions, Sussex Central and Caravel, along with four of the other five teams in the Divison I field and the No. 2 seed in Division II, Delaware Military Academy.

Saturday

Winner of Laurel-Saint Mark’s vs. winner of No. 8 McKean at No. 1 Caravel, DIAA Division II semifinals, 2 p.m. at Smyrna High School. The finals are scheduled at 6 p.m.

Winner of William Penn-Salesianum vs. winner of No. 8 Wilmington Charter at No. 1 Sussex Central, DIAA Division I semifinals, 4 p.m. at Smyrna High School. The finals are scheduled at 6 p.m.

 

Basketball

Monday

McKean (2-15) at Archmere (10-6), 6:15 p.m.

Tuesday

Ss. Peter and Paul (9-6) at Cristo Rey Jesuit, 4 p.m.

Wednesday

Conrad (13-5) at Archmere, 6:15 p.m. This contest will be a contrast in styles. The Red Wolves love to push the pace and get up and down the floor, while Archmere relies on ball control and defense. Conrad enters this one with no losses in the Diamond State Athletic Conference, while the Auks and St. Elizabeth have one each.

Salesianum (11-7) at St. Elizabeth (12-6), 7:30 p.m.

Thursday

Wilmington Christian (2-14) at Saint Mark’s (8-9), 7:15 p.m.

Friday

Salesianum at Howard (12-3), 4:45 p.m. The Sals close out the regular season with a battle at Howard. This game could include lots of offensive fireworks, with the Wildcats and Sals loaded with scoring options, none of whom are afraid to shoot. Howard has a limited attendance policy, so if you plan on watching this one in person, early action might be necessary.

Park at Ss. Peter and Paul, 5:30 p.m.

A.I. duPont (13-5) at Archmere, 6:15 p.m.

 

Girls

Basketball

Tuesday

Padua (6-12) at Archmere (14-3), 6:15 p.m.

Wednesday

Gunston at Ss. Peter and Paul (13-2), 5 p.m. in an ESIAC semifinal. The winner advances to the championship game, which will be played Friday at the higher seed.

St. Elizabeth (8-9) at Ursuline (17-1), 6:15 p.m.

Thursday

Archmere at Conrad (8-9), 5:15 p.m. Archmere enters this game undefeated in the Diamond State Athletic Conference, while Conrad was also unbeaten in DSAC play heading into a game Tuesday at First State Military. The winner of this game between the Auks and Red Wolves is the likely conference champion. The Wolves’ Den is never an easy environment for opponents.

First State Military (1-15) at St. Elizabeth, 6 p.m.

Saint Mark’s (13-4) at Padua, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday

Ursuline at Saint Mark’s, 7:15 p.m.

 

Swimming (co-ed except where noted)

Tuesday

Salesianum (12-1)/Ursuline (10-0) at Cape Henlopen (13-0 boys, 11-2), 3:30 p.m. at the Sussex YMCA. With the state swimming and diving championships just around the bend, the Sals and Raiders face a stiff challenge to end the regular season.