Athletics
Gonzaga College High School Eagles are the athletic teams representing Gonzaga College High School. Gonzaga currently fields seventeen different varsity teams, most of which compete in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.
Gonzaga's 2007-2008 varsity basketball season was most successful in the school's history. The team, which the Washington Post said had no stars, won the D.C. Classic, the WCAC Championship, the D.C. City Title, and the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament, finishing with a 34-1 record. Climbing the national rankings throughout the season, the Purple Eagles closed the season ranked 4th in the nation by ESPN and 10th in the nation by USA Today. The team also developed a massive following during the season, peaking with a cheering section made up of an estimated 500-600 students of the total 930 for the WCAC Championship game at American University vs. O'Connell.
Also in the 2007-2008 school year, Gonzaga's Athletic Program was ranked #18 in the country according to Sports Illustrated's "Top 25 High School Athletic Programs for 2007-2008".
During the 14-year run of the City Championship Football series (1948–1962), Gonzaga appeared 4 times: 1948 - lost to Central 26-6; 1949 - defeated Wilson 12-7; 1955 - tied Cardozo 6-6; 1959 - defeated Eastern 7-6.
Gonzaga Hockey won the state championship 3 years repeated from 2005 to 2007, and again in 2010
An Eastern Motors TV commercial with Clinton Portis and others was filmed at Gonzaga's athletic fields. You can notice the school to the left of the field and the Gonzaga purple flag in the background.
The Gonzaga Soccer team won 4 consecutive WCAC championships from 2007–2010 and is consistently one of the best teams in the Washington area.
Gonzaga Rugby has won 12 consecutive Potomac Rugby Union Championships and finished the 2010 season ranked #2 in the nation. In the middle of the 2011 season, Gonzaga beat the #1 ranked team in the nation and rival, Xavier, and became the #1 team in the nation. During the 2011 National Championship in Salt Lake City, Utah, Gonzaga finished 3rd.
In 2009, Gonzaga Crew's Senior Eight captured the silver medal at the prestigious Stotesbury Cup Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. This was the second time the boat qualified for the grand final (the first being in 2003) and the first medal in the Senior Eight division in team history. At the same regatta, the Freshmen Eight qualified for its second grand final and medaled for the first time in team history capturing the bronze medal. The next week, Gonzaga's Senior Eight made history again by advancing to and winning in the grand final at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America (SRAA) Nationals at Mercer Lake, New Jersey. This was the first National Championship won by a Gonzaga team in school history.
In 2009, Gonzaga was named the best athletic program in the District of Columbia by Sports Illustrated.
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