Friday’s loaded slate of sports ended in the same way it began: heartbreak. On the school’s biggest sports day of the year, we saw more crushing defeats than we did victories. 

We’ll start at the beginning. 

The first main event of the day was the State swim meet. Westminster had four qualifiers for championship heats. The first to swim was Margo O’Meara, fresh off of a diving state championship, in the 50 free. She swam surprisingly well in the loaded heat, finishing third. This event would be the Wildcats’ best of the day. 

Freshman Samantha Lee followed a little later with a seventh place performance in the 500 free, then quickly it was go time. 

The 200 free relay had swam the fastest time in the meet on Thursday, and had prime position in lane four as they set their eyes on a state championship. The relay order was O’Meara, Lauren Zone, Grace Skiljan, then Camryn McMurry. 

The race was tight. The girls had competition from lane three on their right as well as from lane six to the left. By the time McMurry was in the home stretch, it was impossible to tell who was in the lead. As all three front runners hit the wall, the scoreboard displayed the times. Our girls had finished in second place to Villa Duchesne by a brutal 0.03 seconds with a time of 1.41.04. 

However, an inquiry and some video review led to the disqualification of the team in lane four: Westminster. It was determined that Margo O’Meara flinched on the block before the start of the race. If this was any sign of things to come, it was going to be a long day. 

The 400 freestyle relay finished in seventh place in the final event of the day. The girls finished 11th in the team competition. If they’d not been disqualified, they would’ve finished third overall. 

Later in the afternoon, junior Brett St. John fell in the second round of wrestlebacks by a score of 3-0, bringing his season to an end.

With two of the four big events at the start of the day going poorly, the outlook of the evening was grim. The next event of the evening was the Town and Country Cup. 

Following the senior night celebrations for boys basketball, dance, and cheer, the Town and Country Cup tipped off. 

The Wildcats did not trail much during this game. A Cliff DeGroot-esque three pointer from Casen Lawrence put the Wildcats up 15-11 at the end of quarter one. At the half, it was 21-17 Westminster.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats broke the game wide open. They hit three pointers on three consecutive possessions, and Priory could do nothing except yell in the faces of their opponents as they watched the gap get wider and wider. It was 40-24 headed to the fourth.

The fourth quarter was a tense one for Westminster fans. It started with a fast break and-one for Priory, and the lead was quickly down to single digits. Priory hung around all game long, and the Wildcats struggled to hit free throws. As soon as the Wildcats stretched the lead out to ten, it was back down to five. However, the Rebels just couldn’t climb all the way back.

At the final buzzer, it was 59-55, Westminster. The Town and Country Cup would remain on the south side of Interstate 64 at 800 Maryville Centre Drive. 

The next and final event of the day was the Wickenheiser Cup semifinal game against Oakville. Part of the pregame analysis of the game was correct; this game was mean and physical from the start. 

However, Oakville was having no trouble finding the back of the net despite averaging just 1.5 goals per game. By the middle of the second period, Oakville led 5-2. The Tigers were just getting too many good looks.

The third period was a different story. There was no score for the first half, but the Wildcats managed a goal to close the gap to one with around eight minutes to play. 

By this time, Jack Bystrom had been kicked out of the game for fighting. Things were getting tense.

The Wildcats then scored on a power play with less than two minutes to play. Aidan Penberthy found the goal for the Wildcats and had the white-clad Westminster student section on its feet. The team would have less than two minutes to tie it up headed into next week.

Thirty seconds later, Aiden Penberthy was sent to the penalty box and the Cats on Ice just about had to say goodbye to their comeback. They went 5-on-5 with an empty net, and Oakville scored to make it 6-4. 

Some punches were exchanged at the final buzzer, and the game was over. 

Although the results were mixed, one fact remained true: it was a great day to be a Westminster sports fan. We retained our hold on the Town and Country Cup and earned third place in a State event.

In other events, we were fortunate just to have the chance to participate. The hockey season is not over, either. They’ll play next Friday with their season on the line.

Although this was a big day and our swim and wrestling seasons came to an end, there will be plenty of more great days in Westminster sports to come. Both basketball teams will participate in Districts, and our hockey team may just get a chance to play at the Enterprise Center. Roll Cats.