Montgomery Catholic Runners Make a Splash at Oak Mountain Invitational

Heardmont Park, Birmingham--Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's Cross Country team posted some hot times on a challenging course at the 2011 Oak Mountain Invitational Meet. The Racing Knights lined up against some of the best teams in Alabama and produced some great individual performances. Catholic did not compete for team honors because the runners were distributed across the Varsity and Middle School divisions. The course was full of hills, a rocky trail, and required every runner to negotiate fording a creek at least once.
In the Girls Varsity 5000m race, junior Katherine Terino led all Montgomery area athletes and all small school participants by finishing seventh in 21:57. Sophomore MacKenzie Colvin was 41st in 23:46 and senior Kenslie McOmber finished in 29:47.

In the Boys Varsity, junior Jarrett Mason finished 18th in a sparkling 18:12. He also led all small school and Montgomery area runners with his performance. Sophomore Matt Pouncey was right behind in 18:29 and garnered 22nd place. Freshman Tucker Wilkinson finished in 22:40.

The Middle School races witnessed the debut of many new athletes for the Racing Knights. Eight grader Patrick Gregorius, in his second season of cross country, used his experience to his benefit and led all the MS Knights by finishing 47th in 13:37 for the 3200m course. Seventh graders James Sadie and Josh Davis, competing for the first time in the Blue and Gold, completed the circuit in 13:52 and 14:45, respectively.

For the Middle School Girls, seventh grader Katie Lawrence in her first race ran 18:47 for the almost two mile long race.

The Racing Knights compete twice in the next week. On Thursday, they will be at Montgomery Academy for the Capital City Conference Kick-Off Meet and then they will travel to the University of Montevallo for the Early Bird Classic on Saturday.

Pictured: Montgomery Catholic Cross Country runner Matt Pouncey splashes through the course at Oak Mountain Invitational.

Montgomery Catholic Students Raise Funds & Awareness for Children's Hospital

Montgomery Catholic students Ashleigh Little and Jasmine Rush recently participated in a fundraising event for Children's Hospital.  The event was held at participating Dairy Queen restaurants where $1 from each Blizzard sold at Dairy Queen was given to Children's Hospital. Ashleigh and Jasmine helped collect cash donations from customers from 11am  until 1 pm.  Ashleigh, a seventh grader, was a patient at Children's Hospital in Birmingham following a back surgery this summer and Jasmine, a sophomore, is an active member member of Catholic's Key Club.  Children's Hospital of Alabama is celebrating 100 years of caring for children.

Pictured:  Montgomery Catholic students Ashleigh Little and Jasmine Rush pose with a child of Children's at a recent event at Dairy Queen's Montgomery location for Children's Hospital of Alabama.

11th Annual Partners In Catholic Education Golf Tournament tees off September 30

Partners In Catholic Education (PICE) will host its 11th annual charity golf tournament on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in Prattville on September 30, 2011.

Sponsorship packages are available from $250 to $5,000. These packages offer great promotional opportunities for businesses in the form of pre- and post-event publicity, event banners, golf tee signage, golf cart logos, as well as players in the tournament.

The registration fee is $150 per player. Entry fee is $600 per foursome. Registration and lunch will begin at 11:00 a.m. and the shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. on both the Senator and Legislative courses. Format will be best ball. The registration fee includes lunch, green fees, cart, range balls, gift bags for each player, golf shirt, refreshments on the course, post-tournament food and beverages, and many door prizes. Additionally, all par-three holes will have a prize, plus four Hole-In-Ones consisting of a new Hyundai Sonata or $30,000 cash prize for a car. There will be a $5,000 putting contest between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The top three net and gross teams will receive superb prizes.

For more information about sponsorships or playing, contact Liz Sutton at 334-260-2488, ext 1311, Mary Kelley at 334-272-7221, ext 32, or Jerry Lopez at 334-224-6607. Information can also be found by visiting http://www.montgomerycatholic.org/.

Mark your calendar for this premier event that will be a great day of fun while benefiting Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School.

Church of the Holy Spirit and Montgomery Catholic Break Ground on New Educational Complex

Church of the Holy Spirit in Montgomery broke ground on a new Educational Complex on Saturday, July 16, at their Vaughn Road location.  Most Reverend Thomas Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile, officially blessed the ground and turned the dirt with several members of the church and community.  As part of the ceremony, Archbishop Rodi, the project architect Rory McKean, Billy Williams from JESCO, and Monsignor Charles Troncale signed all of the official documents for construction to begin.

Phase One of the Master Site Plan will include a 26,000 square foot two-story building equipped with 16 classrooms, administrative office spaces, as well as the infrastructure for the necessary roadways, parking, landscaping, and the foundational pad for a future gymnasium.  Construction has already begun on the project.

"On behalf of all of those who will benefit from our new facilities, I express my sincere thanks to all who have made this possible," said Monsignor Charles Troncale, pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit.

In addition to providing the much needed Religious Education classroom space for the church, the new facility will also allow Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School to open a "Holy Spirit Campus" serving Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade students.  The new campus will open for the 2012-2013 school year.  For more information about the school, contact Mary Kelley at (334) 272-7221, extension 32.

To see photos from the ground breaking ceremony, click here.
To watch a video from the event created by Holy Spirit parishioner and Montgomery Catholic class of 1999 graduate Kristen Ryan, click here.

Pictured:  Archbishop Thomas Rodi, center, smiles with officials from Church of the Holy Spirit following the contract signing at the new Educational Complex ground breaking ceremony.  Pictured from left to right: seated architect Rory McKean, Archbishop Thomas Rodi, Billy Williams from JESCO. standing: Options Committee Chairman Nap Barranco, Building in the Spirit Committee Chairwoman Barb Rosser, Holy Spirit Deacon Steve Hellman, future pastor Father Patrick Driscoll, current pastor Monsignor Charles Troncale, Finance Council Chairman Paul McTear, Holy Spirit Deacon Gene Wadas, Pastoral Council Chairman Mark Schultz, and past Pastoral Council Chairman John Jacobs.

Catholic's Stinson Claims Victory at SGJT Wylakes Classic

Montgomery Catholic golfer Jacob Stinson finished atop the leader board at the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour (SJGT) Wynlakes Classic this weekend in Montgomery. The victory qualifies Stinson for an event on the national level (AJGO tour) this season.

Stinson beat 76 of the best golfers from around the Southeast by shooting a 3-under 69 on Saturday. He followed that with a 1-over par 73 on Sunday to claim the title by two strokes.

Montgomery Catholic Names Anna Lee Ingalls as Director of Development

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School has named Anna Lee Ingalls as the school’s new Director of Development effective August 15. Ingalls will oversee all fundraising and advancement activities of the K-12 school.

“The search committee was grateful for our strong pool of applicants. After prayerful consideration, we felt that Anna Lee was the right person for the task,” said Anne Ceasar, president of Montgomery Catholic. “Ms. Ingalls is a faith-filled woman who brings a wealth of experience to this job. I believe that she will lead our school’s development program while furthering the mission of Montgomery Catholic.

“We have a tremendous history beginning in 1873 with the founding of our school by the Sisters of Loretto in downtown Montgomery. Anna Lee will be key to helping us tell our story while leading us into the future,” said Ceasar.

Ingalls joins Montgomery Catholic from the Family Sunshine Center where she has served as the Development Director for the past nine years.

“It is an exciting opportunity and a great honor to come on board with Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School. Catholic education has a long and rich history of excellence so I could not be more pleased to be a part of that Christ-centered tradition here in Montgomery. I cannot wait to get to work with the Montgomery Catholic team in developing great things for the future,” said Ingalls.

Ingalls is an active member of Church of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Montgomery.