Local grappler makes junior league foes pay on the mat

Catonsville resident Quinn Devaney, 10, continues to blossom on the mat and prove he is well beyond his first-year jitters.

He captured five tournaments this season with the Montgomery Generals Junior League wrestling team, including the Division III Maryland State Wrestling Association championship at 65 pounds.

Devaney, who lost his first 12 matches in his inaugural season of wrestling, also captured the MSWA title in 2006 (55 pounds).

His most recent championship came in the Ceasar Rodney tournament in Delaware on March 1.

Other tournament championship victories came in the Williamsport Wildcat, Blazer Mat Club and Larry Bartlett Memorial.

Salisbury distance dandy stays on record-setting pace

Salisbury State senior Eric Graves was first in the 5,000 meter run (15:38.64) and second in the mile (4:20.86) at the Mason Dixon Conference indoor championships held at Christopher Newport University.

Graves, a 2004 Catonsville High graduate, helped the Sea Gulls finish second (114.5 points) and set new school records in both events.

Former Crusader helps St. Mary's to first NCAA tourney

Alex Franz (Catonsville, Md./Cardinal Gibbons) scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but St. Mary's College (19-12) lost 82-73 in the NCAA Division III sweet 16 to Millsaps.

Franz had 10 points in St. Mary's 82-72 victory at second-seeded University of Mary Washington in the 2008 Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Men's Basketball Championship title game.

It was their second Capital Athletic Conference tournament crown in the 18-year history of the conference and earned the league's automatic bid to the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament.

In their first-ever NCAA appearance, the Seahawks faced Guilford Friday, March 7 and won 89-77. They followed that with a 83-74 victory over Widener and a trip to the sweet 16.

Franz, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard, led the Seahawks in steals (60) and was second in assists per game (3.5) while averaging 8.0 points.

Against Widener, Franz had 11 points and four steals after scoring 10 points and pilfering five steals against Guilford.