By Catholic Philly staff • Posted February 3, 2023

For the second consecutive year, the Archbishop Wood Catholic High School/Our Lady of Confidence School of Special Education (OLC) team edged Archbishop John Carroll High School/Saint Katherine Day School on Thursday, Feb 2. to claim the Bovino Cup as a result of its 3-1 win (6-3, 3-10, 10-5, 8-3) during the Interscholastic Unified Sports (IUS) bocce match.

The award is named in honor of current Special Olympics Pennsylvania Senior Advisor, Mike Bovino, who was instrumental in helping the Archdiocese of Philadelphia launch IUS during the 2018-20919 academic year.

>>SEE RELATED: Special ed kids join high schoolers on new bocce team

IUS is a fully-inclusive co-ed after school high school sports program which provides opportunities for students with disabilities and without disabilities to participate in sports meaningfully and by engaging other students in the school community.

These two teams are currently the only Catholic Unified Bocce Ball Teams in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Regional Bocce Championships will be held in late-February, followed by an opportunity to advance to the 2023 PIAA State Championships, held in conjunction with the PIAA Basketball Championship events at the Giant Center in Hershey.

The IUS program is supported by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the Bureau of Special Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Previous Bovino Cup winners include Archbishop Wood/OLC in 2023, Archbishop Wood/OLC in 2022, and Archbishop Carroll/St. Katherine’s in 2019. The event was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.