2008 Detroit Catholic Central

Season

Last year’s academic team graduated six seniors who were all starters on the Varsity A team. This year’s team had only one senior and only one returning member from last year’s Varsity A team. The remainder of the team was players who had never played on a Varsity A team, in a state championship game, or attended a national tournament playoff game. This year’s team was one of the youngest and least experienced teams ever coached. Although this year could have been considered a rebuilding year, the Varsity A team finished with an impressive overall record of 151-26. The team participated in twenty tournaments in nine different states. They garnered nine tournament first place finishes. Individual team members who distinguished themselves by earning individual MVP awards include senior Joe Sheeran, juniors Brett Harrison, Jonathan Vargo, and Bryan Berend.

In April, the team won Michigan’s KMO State Championship at Michigan State University. They defeated Novi High School by a final score of 550-535 to bring home their tenth state championship in the last fourteen years. Junior captain Brett Harrison was named to the Michigan All-State Academic Team.

In June, the Varsity Academic team represented by senior Joe Sheeran, juniors Brett Harrison, Jonathan Vargo, Bryan Berend, Kayvon Rashidi, Sean Bridenbaugh, and sophomore Michael Yurko traveled to two national academic tournaments. The first was in Chicago, Illinois to compete in the NAQT National Tournament against a field of 176 different schools representing thirty-two states. Teams competing in this invitation-only tournament had distinguished themselves as the best teams from across the country. Catholic Central finished seventeenth overall, in the top ten percent of all teams in the nation. At the next tournament in Fairfax, Virginia, the team competed against the top 48 academic teams in the nation at the PACE National Academic Tournament. The team finished 13th overall, winning the consolation bracket by defeating Dorman High School from South Carolina.