60th ACIT cancelled
MIKE BURKE
Allegany Radio Corporation Sports
CUMBERLAND — An unprecedented decision for an unprecedented time. Get used to it.
The 60th Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament was canceled on Thursday morning because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to tournament chairman Joe Carter.
“We made the best decision,” Carter said. “We made the only decision …
“With the way this thing has ramped up the past 24 hours … We met with (DeMatha head coach) Mike Jones, (Gonzaga head coach) Steve Turner and (St. Frances head coach) Nick Myles this morning and they all agreed.
“So … the 60th will be next year.”
The tournament, one of the longest running high school basketball tournaments of its kind, and one of the most prestigious in the country, annually brings together eight of the finest boys high school basketball teams in the country, and this was to be the first year in 60 that all eight teams would not be from Catholic high schools.
St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, of Alexandria, Virginia, was the first at-large non-Catholic school to be invited to the ACIT. Rock Creek Christian Academy, of Upper Marlboro, was the second one, having accepted an invitation last Monday as a replacement for Malvern (Pa.) Prep, which withdrew from the tournament Sunday evening due to a travel ban imposed by the school because of the coronavirus outbreak.
In announcing the Malvern-Rock Creek transition, Carter said on Monday, “In my 17 years (as ACIT chairman), this has been the most incredible 24 hours I can remember. It’s certainly unique. Hopefully, we can get through the day.”
Unfortunately, they couldn’t get through the week as the hours became more incredible in a way that nobody wished them to become.
“I felt bad for the coaches,” Carter said, “because the teams look forward to ending their seasons here. So it’s, uh … tough for them.
“DeMatha Mike Jones and Steve (Turner) are so professional in every way … They agreed (with the decision). If (the pandemic) would have ramped up this way this time last week, we’d have canceled it then.”
Along with St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes, whose coach is also named Mike Jones, and Rock Creek Christian Academy, the field for this year’s 60th ACIT included defending champion DeMatha, Hyattsville, Gonzaga College, Washington, D.C., host school Bishop Walsh, Cumberland, Paul VI, Fairfax, Virginia, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, and the Cathedral High School Gaels, who arrived in Cumberland on Wednesday from their hometown Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
On Thursday, the Cathedral Basketball Twitter feed posted, “Disappointing news, however, it is the right thing to do at this time. Cathedral supports the decision and thanks (the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament) for all of their hospitality in our short visit.”
The ACIT announced the cancellation of the tournament just after 10 a.m. via Twitter, shortly after St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes withdrew from the field.
“St. Stephen’s and Paul VI would not have been able to stay here if we had gone on with the tournament,” Carter said. “They would have traveled back and forth each day. But they were willing to do that, and I give them credit for that. I think it says a lot about us, too.”
The official tournament announcement read, “The 60th ACIT has been officially called off. After consultation with participating schools and coaches, as well as with an abundance of precaution, the decision was made in the best interest of the safety of fans, players, coaches and the community.
“We encourage everyone to stay positive during this challenging time and remember communities in special need of support. The Alhambra remains dedicated to supporting the developmentally disabled and is looking forward to coming back next year bigger than ever!”
Out of necessity, Carter’s attention turned to next year’s ACIT about one week sooner than he wanted it to, as next year’s ACIT will once more be the 60th ACIT.
“We’ll just save everything,” he said, “including the programs, the banners; everything we use, and we’ll use them next year … Sad … Very sad. But it was the right thing to do.
“It was the only thing to do.”
Mike Burke writes about sports for Allegany Radio and Pikewood Digital. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s County Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984. He was the sports editor of the Times-News for nearly 30 years. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @MikeBurkeMDT