Catholic Boys Take Tiger Classic Championship; Cotter Wins Fourth in Row

Senior Corey Cotter won the 1A-4A Division of the Tiger Classic Cross Country Meet at Auburn on Saturday, October 23 in 17:18. The Montgomery Catholic Boys won the overall team championship by placing five runners in the top seven of the 5 K race to win. Junior Nick Smith was third in 17:50, Sophomore Jarrett Mason fifth in 18:09, Freshman Matt Pouncey sixth in 18:10, and Sophomore Skip Martin finished seventh in 18:12. Multiple failures in the timing system prevented accurate times for the remaining racers in the Boys race, but Juniors Josh Stark and Phil Ozgul finished as the sixth and seventh runners for Catholic. Seventh grader Michael Twiford finished in the top 40. Senior Barr Younker, fresh off his two touchdown performance at TR Miller the night before, was 47th and Eighth grader Tucker Wilkinson was 48th.


In the Girls’ Race, Catholic finished third as Sophomore Katherine Terino and Freshman MacKenzie Colvin finished 13th and 14th. Senior Lizzie Terino was 22nd, Freshman Allie Micher ran her best race of the season to take 40th. Freshman Ann Marie Dean and Seventh Grader Macie Sommers rounded out the team scoring for the Lady Knights by finishing 44th and 47th.

Senior Asa Keating won the Junior Varsity race in a season best time of 20:47. Eighth grader Patrick Gregorius was second in 21:28 and fellow classmate Justin Cotter ran 24:21 to take tenth. Some members of the team will travel to Veteran’s Park in Hoover on Thursday to race in the Hoover Invitational. The rest of the team will prepare for the upcoming Sectional Meet on November 4th.

Montgomery Catholic Taps 11 New Members into National Junior Honor Society

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School recently inducted 11 new members into their chapter of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) during a recent ceremony.  More than just an honor society, these 11 eighth grade students have demonstrated outstanding performance in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. 

The newest members of Montgomery Catholic's National Junior Honor Society are Paige Barranco, Ann Faulkner, Jacob Hulcher, Mandy Jones, Derek Kelly, Ashley Kim, Mary Janet McLaughlin, Olivia Nobles, John Ozgul, Leo Petters, and Grace Selvaggi.  A reception for the NJHS inductees and their parents was held immediately following the ceremony.

Family Tradition Continues at Montgomery Catholic

On Friday, October 29, Montgomery Catholic recognized all of the members of the senior class who participated in Band, Cross Country, Volleyball, Cheerleading, and Football this fall during a special pre-game presentation before the last home football game.  Among the 28 seniors, John Talbot is a third generation Catholic student and football player whose father, grandfather, uncles, and great-uncle all played football for the Knights, dating back to the days when Montgomery Catholic was St. Mary of Loretto.  John was escorted by his parents Mike and Angel (Stanaland) Talbot, who are both members of the class of 1982.  Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is one of the oldest, continuous, non-public schools in the state which was founded 137-years ago in Montgomery by the Sisters of Loretto in October of 1873.

Montgomery Catholic fall sport senior athletes are Will Balchunas, son of Norm Balchunas and JoAnne Hodge Balchunas; Jake Clark, son of Jeff and Jill Clark, Chris Cochrane, son of Steve and Leah Cocharane; Kenny Davison, son of Kenny and Janis Davison; David DeVries, son of David and Catherine DeVries; Patrick Freeman, son of Patrick Freeman and Evette Freeman; Miles Jordan, son of the late Faloshada Jordan and grandson of Brady and Monica Jordan; J.L. Mullins, son of Chip '72 and Lorie Mullins; Brian Saunders, son of Dave and Debbie Saunders; John Talbot, son of Mike '82 and Angel '82 Talbot; James Tidmore, son of Jody and Angela Stough; Tahj Vaughans, son of the late Carlos Vaughans and Ericka Rodgers and the grandson of Willie and Carole Vaughans; William Whitt, son of John and Mary Kathryn O'Connor; Tommy Wujcik, son of Tom and Eileen Wujcik, and Barr Younker, son of Barr and Cappy Younker.


Sally Rose Kornosky, daugher of Kevin and Sarah Kornosky; Ben Petters, son of Brian and Vicki Petters; Shannon Guin, daughter of Kevin and Linda Guin; Lizzie Terino, daughter of John and Sue Terino; Jacob Burke, son of David and Katie Burke; Corey Cotter, son of Mark and Rhonda Cotter; John Preston Houston, son of John and Rita Houston; Asa Keating, son of John and Melynda Keating; Rhyan Duffey, daughter of Nathan Duffey and Leslie Gettys; Anna Kimbrough, daughter of David and Madonna Kimbrough; McKee Cronier, daughter of John Cronier and Cheri Jordan; and Jessica Mount, daughter of Bill Mount and Kathryn Mount.


Pictured:  Montgomery Catholic senior John Talbot with three generations of Catholic Knights football players, his father Mike Talbot '82, his uncles Mike Stanaland '79 and Bud Stanaland '78, his great uncle Gene Stanaland '52, and his grandfather Luke Stanaland '52.


Click on the link to view all of the photos from Montgomery Catholic's Fall Sports Senior Night.

Fourth Grade Elects Mayors at Montgomery Catholic

Students in Mrs. Riggles class at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School are building a city!  Students planned all of the functions of their city and campaigned for Mayor.  The students produced campaign posters and made speeches to their classmates, asking for their vote.  Zachary Schuette was elected as the Mayor of Fourth Grade and Ricky Treloar and Kate Koontz were elected as Vice Mayors.  Following the election, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange called and offered his congratulations to Fourth Grade Mayor Zachary Schuette.
Pictured:  Montgomery Catholic elected officials of fourth grade Vice Mayor Ricky Treloar, Mayor Zachary Schuette, and Vice Mayor Kate Koontz.

Montgomery Catholic Students Attend 37th Annual Red Mass

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s senior class as well as members of the Middle School Student Government Association joined the state of Alabama's Unified Judicial System officials in celebrating the 37th Annual Red Mass at St. Peter's Catholic Church in downtown Montgomery. The Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile, celebrated the Mass.

The tradition of the Red Mass goes back many centuries in Rome, Paris, and London. It is the Solemn Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated generally near the beginning of the Judicial Year and attended by judges, lawyers, and court officials of all faiths for the purpose of invoking God's blessing and guidance in the administration of justice.

Above, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's Middle School SGA officers spoke with Alabama Supreme Court Justice and 1970 Montgomery Catholic graduate Patty Mungenast Smith, at left, at the reception for the Red Mass.

Sekerak Awarded First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association Scholarship

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School fifth grade student Evan Sekerak has been awarded a tuition scholarship from the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association (FCSLA).  Evan is the son of Edward and Heather Sekerak.  The FCSLA is a fraternal benefit society that ranks among the top fraternal societies active in the United States today, with over 86,000 members, which offers scholarship programs for elementary through graduate studies and seminary or deacon programs.

Evan was awarded one of 28 tuition scholarships of $750.00 for his essay about what he likes best about his school.  In his essay Evan wrote, "What I like best about my school is going to weekly, Holy Day, and First Friday Adoration and Benediction.  This is special because it builds my relationship with God.  During Mass, I am in choir.  I do this because I feel comfortable singing in front of many people, especially when I cantor.  If I am not in choir, I am an altar server.  This school year, I was invested as an altar server after training and serving my first Mass.  I serve because it feels natural to be on the altar.  I feel closer to God when I am a server."

Evan's essay truly captures what Catholic education is all about: bringing students closer to God.  Congratulations to Evan and the Sekerak family for receiving the FCSLA scholarship.

Pictured:  Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School President Anne Ceasar accepts the First Catholic Slovak Ladies Association Scholarship check from award winner Evan Sekerak and his father Edward.