Thursday, January 29, 2015

Montgomery Catholic Wrestling Brings Home First from St. Clair County

The Montgomery Catholic Wrestling Team finished 15-18 with only 7 wrestlers the weekend of January 16-17 at the Jeremy Ragsdale Invitational in St. Clair County. Zachary Van Alst won 1st at 122 lbs and Gabe Keating was able to beat one of the top rank wrestlers at 154 lbs. Zachary Van Alst is ranked 1st at 122 lbs in the Class 1-5A Wrestling Division, and Gabe Keating received Honorable Mention at 154 lbs in the Class1-5A Wrestling Division. Congratulations to our Wrestling Knights!

Gabe Keating a junior at Montgomery Catholic received Honorable Mention at 154 lbs in the Class1-5A Wrestling Division.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC’S HOLY SPIRIT CAMPUS GETS CREATIVE WHILE STUDYING THE LETTER “O”.

Montgomery Catholic's Holy Spirit Elementary Campus focused on the letter O for the month of January. Mrs. Mary Walker introduced the letter O to her K4 students by making oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid that has properties of both liquids and solids. You can slowly dip your hand into it like a liquid, but if you squeeze the oobleck or punch it, it will feel solid. Josiah Monson and Parker Dunlap enjoy playing with oobleck while their creative teacher, Mrs. Walker looks on. 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

MONTGOMERY CATHOLIC’S ST. BEDE CAMPUS CELEBRATES THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL IN CREATIVE WAYS.


Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School celebrated the 100th day of school on January 21. The students at the St. Bede campus celebrated the milestone in creative ways, including Mrs. Tina Rutland’s first grade students making 100th day crowns. Pictured are clockwise from top: Aidan Fleet, Kallie Hampton, Anderson Byrd and Ashton Wentworth.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Montgomery Catholic Cheerleaders Invited to Cheer at Auburn University


Montgomery Catholic's Varsity Cheerleaders were invited to Auburn University on Saturday, December 20, 2014 to perform at half-time during the Tigers basketball game against Xavier. The Auburn Athletic Department requested a performance at halftime from Montgomery Catholic after the team attended and performed so well at the university's NCA cheer camp over the summer. The  Knights were the only performance at halftime, with a minute and a half performance consisting of various stunts, tumbling and dance. The stadium was completely sold out. This is the first time a Cheer team for Montgomery Catholic has performed solely at a collegiate halftime. The Knights were excited to be invited and look forward to future opportunities at Auburn.

Pictured are the Montgomery Catholic 2014-2015 Varsity Cheerleaders with their coach, Miss Samantha Rose at Auburn University. Front Row:Audrey Kim,Brianna Foley (CAPTAIN)Courtney Cool, Ashley Kim (CAPTAIN)
Middle Row: Victoria Barranco, Katie Reeves, Madison Gaston, Katie SlearMadison Bednarz, Maggie Ward
Top Row: Elizabeth Overton, Kathleen Beesley (CO-CAPTAIN), Eryka Ellington, Maegan CobbLauren Smith

Catholic Wrestlers Take First & Second at Julian McPhillips Invitational

Varsity Wrestlers with Julian McPhillips and Coach Hunter. 

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's Wrestling Team participated in the Julian McPhillips Invitational Wrestling Tournament hosted by St. James School January 9-10. Catholic sophomore Zachary Van Alst took first place in the 122-lb weight class and junior Gabe Keating took second in the 154-lb weight class. The Knights finished eleventh in the tournament, with only six wrestlers participating. The Knights are coached by Coy Hunter. Congratulations Knights!

Van Alst's Championship match win.

Keating receives his second place medal from Julian McPhillips.



Monday, January 12, 2015

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Names Aubrey Blackwell as Head Football Coach

Montgomery Catholic has named Aubrey Blackwell as head football coach. Blackwell joins Catholic after two seasons as the Assistant Head Football Coach and Offensive Coordinator at St. James School in Montgomery.

 "We are extremely excited for Coach Blackwell and his family to join our community at Montgomery Catholic. We feel very fortunate to have a man of such high character, faith, and vision leading our student athletes. I look forward to seeing the impact Coach Blackwell will be able to have on our athletes and overall community for many years to come," said Athletic Director Daniel Veres.

On joining Montgomery Catholic Blackwell said, "My family and I are honored and blessed to have this opportunity to lead this program. I am very thankful to Mrs. Ceasar, Mr. Barwick, and Coach Veres for their confidence and faith in me. I am eager and ready to begin working the process of guiding and developing these young men, not just in football, but in life as well. I have been very impressed and encouraged by the leadership and the vision of the administration and their supporters. I am excited to have the challenge of making some facility improvements and improving on the atmosphere here that is God centered and goal driven. I look forward to building relationships and pride in the students and players here at Catholic and will be actively engaged in their futures!"

Blackwell began his football coaching career at St. Paul's Episcopal School in Mobile.  His roles included passing game coordinator and co-offensive coordinator. He also has 6 years experience as a college Assistant Baseball coach; three years at Campbell University and three years at Montevallo. On leaving his position at St. James School, Coach Blackwell said, "I am very thankful to Saint James, Jimmy Perry, Melba Richardson, and Jerry Browning for allowing me to be a part of their school and to the players for all of their hard work and dedication. I will miss them greatly and I am very grateful for the relationships and friendships my family and I were able to have there."

Blackwell grew up in Montgomery and graduated from Lee High School. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology and a Master's degree in Education from the University of Montevallo. He and his wife, Brandi, have been married for nine years and are the proud parents of a son and daughter, Will and Kayla.

Coach Blackwell begins his new position at Catholic in mid-January.
"I will work diligently with my staff to develop a plan offensively and defensively that allows for the best success for our players. We will work extremely hard on building character, respect, discipline, and toughness on and off the field for our program, each other, and our opponents. Our training and preparation will be key in creating a foundation for success in the future. There will be a process and goal for every drill, lift, rep, and meeting that takes place. I am excited to begin meeting with the families and players to begin building our own 'Family' in football." said Blackwell.

 "We welcome Coach Blackwell and his family to Montgomery Catholic. I am excited about his vision for our football program and look forward to a long relationship in which Coach will build our program while mentoring our young men." said President Anne Ceasar.

On Wednesday, February 11, Montgomery Catholic will host a reception in the Middle/High School campus Library to welcome Coach Blackwell and his family to the school.

Monday, January 05, 2015

First Catholic Basketball Showcase Hosted at Montgomery Catholic January 3

Montgomery Catholic hosted four basketball games in the first Alabama Catholic Basketball Showcase on Saturday, January 3, 2015.  The Showcase matched up two schools from the Archdiocese of Mobile (Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School and Mobile's McGill Toolen High School) and two schools from the Diocese of Birmingham (Huntsville's Saint John Paul II High School and Birmingham's John Carroll High School).  The Archdiocese/Diocese that won three of the four games would bring home the Bishops Cup Trophy. The Archdiocese of Mobile had a clean sweep winning all four games. Phillip Murphy, Head Coach of the McGill Toolen Boys Varsity Basketball team will present the Bishop's cup trophy to Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi this week in Mobile.

At the end of each game there were two people selected for the Showcase All-star team and one person was named MVP of the game.

Game 1: Varsity Girls from Montgomery Catholic faced Saint John Paul II, and won with a 57-38 victory.
Montgomery Catholic
's Iyana Tate named to All-Star team scored 21
 points, and Catholic's Regime Parker was named MVP with 20 points.  Saint John Paul II
's Caitlin Potts was named to the All-Star team and had 12
 points, her team mate Alesandra Lee was close behind scoring 11
 points.

Game 2:
  Varsity Boys from Montgomery Catholic faced Saint John Paul II, Final Score 69-54, Catholic.
Montgomery Catholic was led by Showcase MVP Reggie Gee with 20 points and 8 rebounds,
All-Star team member Jacob Winston with 18 points and 5 assists, and Reggie Jackson with 11 points 10 rebounds. Saint John Paul II  was led by All-Star team member Tyler Maze with 14 points and Jarrett Thompson with 11 points.

Game 3:  Varsity Girls from McGill Toolen faced John Carroll, and won 65
-37.
McGill Toolen's Shelby Hall was named a Showcase MVP with 25 points, and Raquel Waller was named to the All-Star team with 10 points. John Carroll
's Ronnie Richardson scored 16 points and was named to the All-star Team and Kelseyville Hobbs had 10 points.

Game 4:
 Varsity Boys from McGill Toolen faced John Carroll and won 72-32
.
McGill Toolen 's Larry Rember with 12 points was named Showcase MVP and Ben Robinette had 12 points and was named to the All-Star team. John Carroll 
Jackson Hughes has 20 Points and was named to the All-star Team.

The Showcase was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, who provided the Bishop Cup Trophy, medals for the all-star team members and the MVP of each game, T-shirts for all athletes and cooked the food for the hospitality room for all the team players, refs and coaches.




Presnetation of the Bishop Cup.  McGill sealed the sweep for the Archdiocese of Mobile with the win over John Carroll.

Picture of All-star team and MVP's for first two games from left to right: Saint John Paul II- Tyler Maze Showcase All-star Team, Montgomery Catholic - Jacob Winston Showcase All-star team, Montgomery Catholic- Iyana Tate Showcase All-star team, Montgomery Catholic - Regime Parker Showcase MVP, Saint John Paul II- Caitlin Pott Showcase All-star team, Montgomery Catholic- Reggie Gee Showcase MVP.

From left to right: McGill Toolen Ben Robinette Showcase All-star team; John Carroll Jackson Hughes Showcase All-star team; McGill Toolen Larry Rember Showcase MVP