Titles Abound for TJ Winter Squads
It was a historic winter sports season for Thomas Jefferson High School , featuring team and individual championships and accomplishments across several sports .
WRESTLING
The TJ wrestlers made history by capturing three WPIAL titles and the second PIAA individual crown in program history . Junior Maddox Shaw captured his first PIAA state championship in Hershey as he defeated Central Mountain ’ s Dalton Perry in overtime to claim the title at 139 lbs . The top seed at 139 , Shaw ( 43-3 ) and Perry were tied , 1-1 , heading into overtime and Shaw got a takedown to end the match .
Shaw becomes TJ ’ s second PIAA Champion in the past three years under Coach Michael Ladick . A two-time WPIAL Champion , he added to his school record victory total , which stands at 128 entering his senior season . In 2022 , TJ ’ s Brian Finnerty was the PIAA champ at 215 lbs . Finnerty was the Jaguars ’ previous careers wins leader , with 121 from 2019-22 .
Junior Bode Marlow captured third place at 160 lbs . in the PIAA Championships . The 2024 WPIAL Champion finished the season with a 39-7 mark . The Jaguars ’ third WPIAL champ , Shep Turk ( 285 lbs .) finished the season with a 34-9 mark . TJ finished 9th in the PIAA team standings . Ladick is just the second coach in PIAA history to direct state wrestling champions at three different schools , joining Dave Crowell .
At the WPIAL Championships , TJ was the only school that had multiple WPIAL 3A champions , doing so for the first time in program history .
BOYS BASKETBALL
The TJ boys basketball team went 10-0 in Section play to deliver its first Section title since the 2013-14 season , posting a 19-3 regular season mark . The Jaguars were the No . 4 seed in the WPIAL 5A playoffs and defeated Penn-Trafford and Kiski Area before dropping a heart-breaking 67-65 decision to top-seeded and eventual WPIAL champ Moon Area in the semifinals .
Led by Coach Dom DeCicco , the Jaguars advanced to the PIAA 5A Tournament for the first time since 2019-20 , dropping a 52-48 contest at York Suburban to finish a tremendous season at 21-6 .
Senior Evan Berger became TJ ’ s career basketball scoring leader among all boys and girls , finishing with 1,610 points .
HOCKEY The TJ hockey team completed a superlative 18-2 regular season , tying for first place in the PIHL Class AA standings . Coach by John Zeiler , the Jaguars opened the PIHL 2A Penguins Cup playoffs with a 5-3 victory over Hempfield . As of the magazine ’ s press run date , the 2022 Penguins Cup champion Jaguars had advanced to the championship game , meeting Penn-Trafford on March 18 .
By Jeff Nelson
GYMNASTICS
The TJ Gymnastics team captured the State Championship in the Silver Division at the PA Classic State Gymnastics Championships ! The squad members were Addison Arndt , the team ’ s lone senior , Riley Barna , Karlie Enick , Kelsey Kanotz and Nicole Parsons . The Jaguars captured their third PA Classic state title under Coach Jodi Cummings , also winning in 2018 and 2019 .
SWIMMING & DIVING
It was a historic WPIAL 2A Swimming Championships for the TJ girls and boys swimming and diving teams , breaking eight school records . Five individual marks were broken along with three relays . The TJ Girls finished 10th to earn their highest team finish in program history ; the squad was 11th last year .
The Jaguars , coached by Steve Larkin , had four podium finishes at
WPIALs , all of which were school records :
• Junior Genevieve Cody placed second in the 50 Free , fourth in the 100 Free and anchored the Girls 200 Free Relay , which placed fourth . Brooke McGrew , Shannon Chalfant , Nadia Casamassa and Cody comprised the 200 Free relay team .
• Senior Gage Derrick placed sixth in the Boys 200 Free . Genevieve Cody ( 50 & 100 Free ) and Gage Derrick ( 200 & 500 Free ) qualified for individual events at the PIAA Championships and the Girls 200 and 400 Free relays also qualified to compete at the state meet at Bucknell University in mid-March .
BOWLING
The Jaguars ’ boys bowling team posted a 10-0 regular season to earn its third consecutive WPIBL Section title under the guidance of first-year head coach Lou Scataglia . In January , sophomore Joey Nix rolled the first 300 game in program history , finishing with a 735 series in the victory over Norwin . Nix also qualified for the state tournament , held in mid-March .
UNIFIED BOCCE
In just its second year as a TJ varsity program , the Unified Bocce team qualified for the Three Rivers Region South Allegheny playoffs . The Jaguars ’ Team No . 1 earned a 5-3 regular season mark and advanced to play South Park No . 1 in the playoff semifinals under the direction of coaches Emily Leininger and Michael Rose .
Jeff Nelson is the WJHSD Public Relations Coordinator
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