Titus Ivory ’96 The Catch. For most athletes, a single moment of that magnitude would be enough. Not for Titus Ivory. One of only two postgraduates to make this illustrious list, Ivory earned his stripes in just a single year at Andover, starring in football, basketball and track. Leading the Football team to its first New England Championship of the 90’s, Ivory dominated from his receiver position. His season peaked with the famed play in the waning moments of the Exeter game, grabbing a ball in the back of the endzone to topple the Big Red, a play still viewed as one of the greatest in Academy history. In the winter, Ivory laced up his high tops and took flight leading the Big Blue Basketball team to within three points of the championship. Ivory went on to play Division One basketball at Penn State, eventually leading his Nittany Lion squad to the Sweet Sixteen. Ivory ran the track team to a title that spring. As Coach Leon Modeste put it, “They say that a great athlete makes all those around him better. Titus did that, but more importantly, he took our whole school and made it better, on the field and off the field. He raised the bar on Andover athletics.” Chris Gurry ’66 To put it bluntly, Christopher Gurry was the best hockey player ever to play at Andover. Gurry, a defenseman, played varsity hockey at PA and continued to play three years at Harvard, eventually captaining the team as a senior. Gurry skated his way to legend status at Andover, and not a single star caliber defenseman has been able to walk the halls of Andover without drawing direct comparison to Gurry. Gurry led his Harvard team twice to second overall national rankings in his time on the ice for the Crimson. At Harvard, Gurry set the record for goals and assists for defensemen, totaling 32 points in a single season. The year Gurry graduated from Harvard he was drafted both into the army and the NHL. Though this ended Gurry’s celebrated hockey career his time around the ice was far from over. After serving his country, Gurry returned to Andover Hill to teach history and coach hockey. James McLane ’49 During his four years at Andover, James McLane lit up the pool with blazing times never before seen at PA. The summer before his senior year of high school, McLane competed in the 1948 London Olympics. Competing in the Olympics is an extraordinary feat in itself, but McLane did more than just compete. He came back to Andover with two gold medals in the 800 and 1,500 meter freestyle events. McLane returned to PA in the fall of 1948 to captain the Andover squad in his senior year. Because the 800 and 1,500 are not offered in high school swimming, McLane swam the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle for the Blue. In 1949, McLane matriculated to Yale University. McLane helped the team win the Division I NCAA Championships his sophomore and senior years. During his years at Yale, McLane made yet another trip to the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. At the 1952 Olympics, McLane defended his 800 meter freestyle title, winning the event for the second time in a row. McLane also won 21 AAU National championships and three gold medals in the 1955 Pan American Games. McLane celebrated an amazing swimming career and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1970. Becky Dowling ’94 Simply put, Becky Dowling knew how to put the ball in the basket. “She probably is the top scorer, male or female, at our school,” said Coach Karen Kennedy, “I don’t know anybody who has broken her record.” Dowling scored more than 1100 points during her four years playing for the Lady Blue. An amazing four-sport star, Dowling put her mark on the Basketball court, first and foremost, but also in track, softball, and soccer. In her senior year, Dowling captained soccer, basketball, and Dowling led her hoops team to four New England championships, a feat nearly unfathomable. Dowling went onto Navy where she was a basketball standout. In her freshman season, she was selected as Navy Rookie Athlete of the Year and was a second team Navy All-league selection. Dowling, who graduated from Navy in 1998, was also named to the Patriot League’s All-Decade Women’s Basketball team. Hugh Quattlebaum ’96 Hugh Quattlebaum was Andover Baseball in the mid-90s. After graduating from Andover, Quattlebaum matriculated to Amherst College where he played basketball and baseball, eventually captaining both teams as a senior. Quattlebaum played three years of varsity baseball at Andover, and during those three years, the team owned a jaw dropping record of 41-11. In his upper year, Quattlebaum starred at second base and hit .404. That year Quattlebaum earned All-League accolades and led Andover to its first Central New England Prep School League Championship. In his 122 at bats in his final two years, Quattlebaum plated 25 runs. Quattlebaum also led the soccer and basketball teams in scoring. After graduating from Amherst, the Detroit Tigers were so impressed by Quattlebaum’s skills that they tabbed him in the MLB draft. Quite a journey for the Andover baseball star. Randy Wood ’83 NHL players can come out of Andover. Hailing from Princeton, New Jersey, Randy “Woody” Wood was a four year member of the PA Varsity Hockey team, captaining the team as a senior. Wood went on to play three years of Varsity hockey at Yale University. Playing at center, Wood tallied 127 points during his three year tenure playing for the Bulldogs. Wood began his professional hockey career playing for the Springfield Indians, a minor league team. After a short one year stint playing for the Indians, Wood entered the NHL by way of the New York Islanders. Wood continued to play in the NHL for thirteen years, playing in 741 games and tallying an impressive career total of 334 points. During his NHL career, Wood also played for the Buffalo Sabres, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Dallas Stars. Sarah Mleczko ’76 Mleczko entered Andover as a new lower in 1973, the first year of co-education. Unfazed by the male dominated athletic scene, Mleczko won nine varsity letters during her three years at PA. At Andover, Mleczko played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse. In her first varsity game, Mleczko tallied two goals in PA’s 4-0 victory en route to a 5-2-2 season. In her lower basketball season, Mleczko scored an average of 15.8 points a game. Her season was highlighted by her performance at Andover-Exeter, scoring 22 points. Mleczko continued to dominate Andover athletics, as the star of the Girls Lacrosse team. In eight games, Mleczko scored 44 goals, 12 of them in Andover’s victory over Exeter. As a lower, Mleczko was named Female Athlete of the Year, an award never given to underclassmen. Upper year Mleczko took up squash, in the first year that Girls Squash was offered as a varsity sport. By the end of the season, Mleczko was playing at the number one spot on the ladder. Her senior season, she led the team to an undefeated season. In Mleczko’s final season playing for the Blue, she scored 61 goals, in a 7-1 year for the Lady Blue. Mleczko ended her career by earning the Female Athlete of the Year accolade for the third year in a row. At Harvard, Mleczko scored 32 goals in her Crimson field hockey career, setting the record for all-time goals. In 1996, Mleczko became the first woman to be inducted into the Crimson’s All-Around Varsity Club Hall Fame. Carter Marsh ’93 Nicknamed Ice at the free throw line because she never missed, Carter Marsh, a soccer, basketball, and lacrosse legend at Andover, rarely lost. Upon graduating, Marsh went onto play at Princeton University. During her four-year stint playing for the Tiger’s lacrosse team, Marsh was a three-time college All-American (1995, 1996, 1997). Marsh was named to Princeton’s all-decade Womens Lacrosse team. In her senior year, Marsh was the Ivy Player of the Year. Marsh is now coaching at Episcopal High School in Virginia. The Turco Family: Jack ’66, Mark ’95, Scott ’96 Never before has a family been so dominant in Andover athletics. Jack Turco began the era in the 1960s, as a hockey standout. The elder Turco went onto play hockey at Harvard with fellow top ten athlete, Chris Gurry ’66. Harvard’s hockey website cited Jack as one of the standouts and team leaders of the late sixties. Jack’s two sons dominated Andover athletics in the mid-90s. Both Mark and Scott played soccer, hockey, and baseball. Scott was a premiere soccer goalie and celebrated an amazing high school career. In his four years (two at Hanover High and two at Andover), Scott never lost a soccer game that he started in. Scott also hit .450 in baseball as a senior. Incidentally, baseball was Scott’s weakest sport. Scott led Andover to NE Championships in baseball and soccer in the 1995-1996 school year, the best year in Andover athletics history. The two brothers followed in their father’s footsteps to play hockey for the Crimson. Mario Watts ’93 Mario Watts was fast. Really, really fast. The post graduate left a mark on the PA track record books that may never be forgotten. Watts owns the outdoor 400m dash (47.75), the indoor 300yds (32.1), the indoor 50yd hurdles (6.2), as well as running a leg on the record breaking 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Watts’ greatness did not end at Andover, as he went on to earn All-American status at Amherst and then again at Baylor. At Andover, Watts powered the Andover track team to an Indoor Track championship, the last of five straight titles the Boys track team won in a row.
