The boys varsity teams at American Martyrs School in Manhattan Beach have been flexing their young muscles this school year while seeking a rare trifecta in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO).
After claiming the flag football championship in the fall, American Martyrs’ boys basketball team won a title during the winter sports season making it the first time in the school’s history that championships were won in both sports according to longtime administrators.
The boys volleyball team, which won the CYO championship in 2014, is hoping back-to-back titles will accomplish the extraordinary feat of winning championships in the three major boys sports.
Competition includes approximately 150 CYO team in the Los Angeles CYO region with roughly 60 teams qualifying for the playoffs.
Led by head coach Joe Cipari and assistant coaches Rob Lucenti and Bob Millea, American Martyrs’ flag football team posted an impressive 20-0 record beginning with a championship at the pre-season Holy Trinity Tournament.
After capturing the 12-team South Bay League championship and advancing through the playoffs, the second-seeded Mustangs squared off against defending champion St. Rita (Sierra Madre) at La Canada St. Francis High School.
A strong defense and effective offense gave American Martyrs a 42-16 lead at halftime. A touchdown on its first possession of the second half and another late in the third quarter sealed the 56-24 victory for the South Bay boys.
Since the 4th grade, the group of 8th grade boys had a cumulative record of 53-1.
“This was the biggest, most physical team we’ve had,” Lucenti said. “The boys ran Joe’s option offense to a T.”
Named to the CYO All-Conference team were Jack Austin, Alex Kulin, Bobby Millea and Will Campbell. Candidates for the All-CYO Team that will be announced at the end of the school year include Alex Blanco, Colin Livingston, Anthony Lucenti and Garrett Sekits.
Ten members of the football team carried their success from the fall into the winter season, making up the majority of the 12-player roster of American Martyrs’ basketball team that finished with a 22-1 record.
“Even though we are talking about 8th grade sports it is an incredible accomplishment for a school to win championship in both sports,” Lucenti said. “I know for a fact that no other school has accomplished this feat in the last 15 years.”
Coached by former Redondo Union High School basketball legends Andrew and Adam Zahn, the squad got off to a quick start winning the pre-season Don Bosco Tech Tournament.
The Mustang’s only loss of the season came at the hands of Our Lady of Fatima (Artesia) in the finals of the St. John Bosco Holiday Tournament but, after the second-place finish, American Martyrs ran the table winning the South Bay League before avenging its earlier loss with a 53-37 victory over Our Lady of Fatima in the CYO championship game.
“We have started a strong rivalry with Our Lady of Fatima particularly after they eliminated us from the playoffs in 2014,” said American Martyrs head coach Andrew Zahn, who has been with the team two years after coaching at Hermosa Valley School. “I feel so blessed to have had such a great group of kids. They all want to learn and five or six of the 8th graders have been playing together since 2nd grade.”
Selected to the CYO All-Conference team were Anthony Lucenti, Alex Blanco, Michael Lynch and Dylan Aubert.
The success the Zahn brothers achieved as players seems to be rubbing off on the next generation of hoop stars.
Andrew, a 2000 graduate of Redondo Union High School, was a four-year varsity player who was named first team All- CIF four times and twice named Redondo Athlete of the Year. A Nike All-American, Andrew was also voted Gatorade Player of the Year in California.
Andrew received a full scholarship to the University of Arizona and played professionally overseas after college.
Adam (RUHS Class of 2002), won three Bay League titles and two CIF championships as a Sea Hawk and also was a Nike All-American and the Gatorade Player of the Year.
After playing at the University of Oregon, he competed in the NBA “D” League and overseas for five years.
Along with mentoring boys at American Martyrs, the Zahn brothers coach 5th through 8th grade boys with South Bay Select.
“It’s so rewarding to see the look on the kid’s faces when they understand what we’re coaching and see it working,” Andrew said. “The American Martyrs organization is amazing. Along with outstanding facilities, the tremendous support of the parents has been overwhelming.”
American Martyrs is the defending CYO champion in boys volleyball and.a rematch of the 2014 CYO championship match between American Martyrs and Corpus Christi, of Pacific Palisades, is expected.
The Mustangs won their pre-season tournament and, at press time, stood undefeated in league play.
“We have some heavy hitters but the strength of team is its athleticism,” said Jodi Schwan who is her 13th season as head boys volleyball coach at American Martyrs. “This has been one of the hardest working teams I’ve ever had.”
Schwan noted that three of her players had not played volleyball before and the mix of club players and those without a volleyball background provides a big challenge.
“It’s unique as I tend to take chances on kids who don’t play volleyball,” Schwan said. “ But after all these years, I feel I have a good read on kids. As a P.E. teacher, I’ve had the boys in class but they see a different side of me as a head coach on the court.”
Having an extensive volleyball background, Will Campbell has emerged as a team leader for the Mustangs.
“Will has provided great leadership and has really matured the last couple of years,” said Schwan who has won nine CYO boys volleyball championships.
There is a strong possibility American Martyrs could add a fourth boys championship this school year. Led by head coach Bryan Courtney, the boys soccer team went undefeated to win the South Bay League and begins its playoff run against Our Lady of Talpa (Los Angeles) on Saturday, May 9 at Notre Dame High School.
“With American Martyrs’ strong tradition in athletics, all of our teams have bullseyes on their back,” Schwan said.
