Panther Basketball and Wrestling Earn Accolades
Amid the intense competition of winter sports, and the ups and downs of games and scores, both our basketball and wrestling programs have given Panther fans several shining moments since the start of the year.
In varsity basketball, the girls’ team has been making steady gains, with more wins than losses to their season so far and solid prospects in the upcoming District competition. The boys’ varsity team has had more mixed results but produced two outstanding accomplishments in recent weeks:
- At a high-energy, high-audience-participation game in mid-January, team member Joe Colliatie put away the ball to attain 1,000 points in his high-school career. Even more impressive, Colliatie is the first junior in Principia history to reach this landmark achievement; the handful of others earning a 1,000-point ball did so as seniors. To add to the night’s success, the team triumphed over Priory 63–41.
- Panther center Justin Ball is the current “Athlete of the Week,” as named on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s online site. He earned the honor for turning in outstanding performances in two recent games against Lutheran St. Charles and Brentwood. (Teammate Colliatie was named Athlete of the Week over the December holiday period.) Ball, who also played forward on Principia’s District-champion soccer team in the fall, is averaging nearly 15 points and 10 rebounds a game. (Read the full story here.)
Meanwhile, on the mat, our wrestling team has scored some outstanding wins against several schools fielding much larger teams. Time and again, both varsity and JV team members have wrestled above their weight classes and come away victorious—sometimes even winning over heavier opponents by pins. On Saturday, the team competed in the Metro League Conference Tournament, finishing in fourth place overall, beating John Burroughs and Lutheran South. Two seniors on the team finished with league honors:
- Matt Ross was the champion in the 126 lb. weight class and earned 1st Team All-League.
- Gabe Stringer earned 2nd Team All-League in the 132 lb. weight class.
Article compiled from reporting by School sports writer Christine Fleer.