Montgomery Catholic Dedicates New Field House to Pope John Paul II & McPhillips Wrestling Room

With the excitement of the new school year, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School recently dedicated their new field house in honor of Pope John Paul II and the new McPhillips Wrestling Room in honor of the McPhillips family, thanks to the generosity of Julian and Leslie McPhillips. The new 5,000 square foot facility will house locker rooms for the middle, junior varsity, and varsity boys programs as well as a practice facility for the new varsity wrestling team, which will be added to the Montgomery Catholic Athletic Program this winter for grades 7-12. The wrestling program will be coached by Mr. Tyler Countryman. Parents, students, faculty, alumni, and friends celebrated the dedication with a blessing of the building by Monsignor Charles Troncale, Episcopal Vicar and pastor of Church of the Holy Spirit. After the dedication, everyone enjoyed tours of the building and the annual “Back to School Pep Rally” with the fall sports teams in the football stadium.

To view pictures from the event, click here: http://family.webshots.com/album/560365075XaopDo

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic Athletic Director Jim Tolbert presents the first Montgomery Catholic Wrestling shirts to benefactors Leslie and Julian McPhillips at the Pope John Paul II Field House dedication. Below, Montgomery Catholic Wrestling Coach Tyler Countryman shakes the hand of Mr. Julian McPhillips at the dedication ceremony.

Montgomery Catholic Soccer Program hosts Marshall Soccer School this summer

The Montgomery Catholic Varsity Boys Soccer program hosted the “Marshall Soccer School” directed by the Marshall University Head Coach Bob Gray this summer on the St. Bede Campus soccer fields. Forty-one young men participated in the five day camp. Groups were determined by age and ability in order to create the best environment for learning, development, and skill set. Coach Gray’s philosophy of hard work combined with the importance of having fun provided the participants with a wealth of knowledge and improved skills throughout the week. Catholic Varsity Coach Tim McCormack said, “It was a pleasure working with Coach Gray and bringing a program of this magnitude to our area. I know these young men learned so much from Bob and his staff throughout the camp. We hope to bring Coach Gray and the Marshall Soccer School back again next summer.”

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic participants in the Marshall Soccer School Program.

Varsity Squad Top Team at NCA Camp

The Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Varsity Cheerleaders recently returned from the National Cheerleading Association’s summer camp at Auburn University. As part of the four day event, NCA selects award winners for individual and team accomplishments. Montgomery Catholic’s squad received numerous awards including The “Herkie” Team Award for spirit, Leadership Award, and the Teamwork Award. The girls also received Superior ribbons for their cheers and chants, the Technical Excellence Award for motions, Game Day Top Team Award, and a bid to compete at the National Championship Competition. In addition, the girls won the “Spirit Stick” every night and were awarded a spirit stick to add to the school trophy case.

Several Montgomery Catholic cheerleaders were nominated as “All-American” including Rachel Castanza, Hannah Been, Cecily McAlpine, Emily Madore, Haley Scanlan, Sarah Krause, Molly McLaughlin, and Jessica Barranco. The participants are judged on motion technique, jumps, tumbling, spirit, enthusiasm, voice projection, and overall crowd appeal. Two Montgomery Catholic cheerleaders were named to the All-American Team, senior Rachel Castanza and sophomore Jessica Barranco.

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School Varsity Cheerleaders, row 1: Jessica Barranco, Haley Scanlan, Jessica Heymann, Sarah Krause, and Rachel Castanza. row 2: Cecily McAlpine, Emily Madore, Hannah Been, and Molly McLaughlin. row 3: Autumn Guillot, Sarah Armstrong, Lora Burke, Kaitlyn Roberts, and Kelly Berher.