Monday, June 02, 2014

Montgomery Catholic Varsity Sports Banquet Held in Downtown Montgomery

Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School honored their varsity athletes for the 2014-2014 year at their annual Varsity Athletic Banquet held at the RSA Activity Center, Wednesday May 7, 2014. Montgomery Catholic fields 17 varsity team sports throughout the year. Mr. Chad Barwick, High School Principal, recognized the four nominees for the Jimmy Hitchcock Award. They were Alex Castanza, Saraelizabeth Parker, James Sherman and Kirstin Wood. Also recognized were Montgomery Catholic's ninth grade nominees, Audrey Kim, James Sadie, Lauren Smith and Zachary Van Alst.


Montgomery Catholic has four awards which honor individual team members 
for their hard work and dedication to their sport. Three of these distinguished awards honor individuals who had tremendous influence on our athletic program: Father Patrick Delahunty, Mr. Joe Fields, and Coach Jack Kresek.


The Father Pat Delahunty Sportsmanship Award, named for the founder of our athletic program, honors the athlete who demonstrates outstanding sportsmanship. The Fr. Delahunty Sportsmanship Award winners were Eryka Ellington and Maegan Cobb (cheer), Alex Castanza (football), Ashley Barranco and Abby Rohde (volleyball), Annabel Starrett and Angel Padill(cross country and indoor track & field), Ali Harper and Brandon Barker (basketball), Gus Hodges (wrestling), Tess von Gal and Dylan Martin (soccer), Carrie Woodling (tennis), Agnes Armstrong (softball), Chase Stewart (baseball), Sarah Beth Littrell and Grant Walker (outdoor track & field).


The Coach Jack Kresek Coaches Award, named for a much-beloved football coach who led the Knights (then the "Saints") from 1956 until 1961, recognizes the athlete who exhibits strong determination, team effort, dependability, and a winning attitude. The Jack Kresek Coaches Award winners were  Maggie Ward and Courtney Cool (cheer), Jared Steele (football), Emily Barranco (volleyball), Emily Theurer and Grant Walker(cross country), Regine Parker and Miles Rice (basketball), Gabe Keating (wrestling), Claire Mills and Jonathan Lozano (soccer), Audrey Kim (tennis), Jessie Clark (softball), Jared Steele (baseball), Emily Theurer and Jarrett Chesnutt (indoor track & field), Katelyn Stark and Angel Padilla(outdoor track & field).


The Joe Fields Leadership Award, named for an outstanding student-athlete from the 1970s who displayed outstanding leadership while attending Montgomery Catholic, honors the athlete who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills to their teammates. The Joe Fields Leadership Award winners were Kathleen Beesley and Samantha Kocan(cheer), James Sherman (football), Kirstin Wood (volleyball), Mackenzie Colvin and Patrick Gregorious(cross country), Kirstin Wood and Kyle Berher (basketball), Alex Castanza (wrestling), Saraelizabeth Parker and Alex Castanza(soccer), Ashley Karst (tennis), Hadley Taylor (softball), Brett Foxworth (baseball), Katelyn Stark and Patrick Gregorious(indoor track & field), Paige Barranco and Jarrett Chesnutt(outdoor track & field).


Each varsity sport names one Most Valuable Player. Montgomery Catholic's MVPs were Ashley Kim and Brianna Foley(cheer), Brett Foxworth (football), Kayanna McKenzie (volleyball), Katelyn Stark and Dylan Martin(cross country), Iyana Tate, Kirstin Wood and Anthony Thomas (basketball), Zachary Van Alst (wrestling), Carlye Schmidt and Ryan Norris(soccer), Ashley Kim(tennis), Sydney O'Connor and Kirstin Wood (softball), Bryan Rodopoulos (baseball), Emily Tolar and Winston Wright (indoor track & field), Emily Theurer and Winston Wright (outdoor track & field).
Iyana Tate was the first Montgomery Catholic student to receive the
Caitlyn Marianne Wiggins '08 Memorial Scholarship presented by
Caitlyn's family: uncle, James Hause '02; grandfather, William Hause;
parents, Jim and Lisa Wiggins; and aunt, Andrea Hause Durbin '98.
Photo by: The Studio @ Eastchase.

Montgomery Catholic awarded two scholarships for school tuition. The first was the Coach Ralph Furlong Scholarship, established in 1998. Initiated by a member of his 1946 football team, the intent of this scholarship is to honor one of Catholic's greatest coaches, whose record of 24 straight wins from 1947-1949 remains a school record. The Furlong scholarship is a partial tuition scholarship of $1,000, given to a high school student who demonstrates a commitment to both extra-curriculars and his or her studies. The 2014 receipient of the Coach Ralph Furlong Scholarship was freshman Emily Rayborn. The second scholarship given was the Caitlyn Marianne Wiggins '08 Memorial Scholarship, established in December of 2013. A $3,500 partial tuition scholarship awarded annually in Caitlyn’s honor, a 2008 MCPS graduate and varsity athlete who was killed in an automobile accident in 2013. The scholarship is given for one school year to a female student athlete at Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School’s (MCPS) High School Campus.  Caitlyn’s family and friends endowed this scholarship to give another child the opportunity to achieve the type of success that Caitlyn enjoyed in life. Iyana Tate was the first Montgomery Catholic student to receive the Caitlyn Marianne Wiggins '08 Memorial Scholarship presented by Caitlyn's family: parents, Lisa and Jim Wiggins; grandfather, William Hause; aunt, Andrea Hause Durbin '98 and uncle, James Hause '02 .

 Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School's
Knights of the Round Table Athletes of the Year
Kirstin Wood and Kyle Berher. 
Photo by: The Studio @ Eastchase

The top athletes from each sport are nominated for the Knights of the Round Table Award, which recognizes the top male and female athlete of the year. The Knights of the Round Table nominees were Kyle Berher, Alex Castanza, Mackenzie Colvin, Brett Foxworth, John Haynes, Samantha Kocan, Sydney O'Connor, James Sherman, Hadley Taylor and Kirstin WoodThe Montgomery Catholic Knights of the Round Table Winners are Kyle Berher and Kirstin Wood.

To close the banquet, Rev. Patrick Driscoll, Pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church led the parents and guests in a final blessing for all of the senior athletes.