In case you missed it, here are the recaps from the CYO New York basketball and cheerleading championships from Catholic New York.
Click here for the basketball roundup.
Click here for the cheerleading roundup.
Month March 2019
Final State Basketball Polls
The New York State Sportswriters Association released its final high school state basketball polls for the 2018-2019 season.
Here is how schools in the archdiocese fared:
BOYS BASKETBALL
Class AA: 9-Stepinac, 10-Cardinal Hayes, 16-St. Raymond, 27-Mount St. Michael
Class A: 7-Msgr. Farrell, 13-Fordham Prep
Class B: 14-Regis
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class AA: 7-Ursuline, 8-Msgr. Scanlan
Class A: 6-Cardinal Spellman, 13-Msgr. McClancy
Ulster CYO’s Spring Programs
CYO Ulster has announced its spring programs.
— The CYO Four-Fun Program will offer a different activity each day on April 15-18 at the Catholic Charities Community Center Gymnasium in Kingston. The program for children in grades three through eight will have indoor soccer, April 15; wiffleball, April 16; flag football, April 17; and kickball, April 18. Cost is $35 per child.
— Recreational volleyball for children in grades three through 12 will be offered on Wednesdays from May 1 through June 19 at the Catholic Charities Community Center Gymasium. Children will learn and play volleyball in a fun, non-competitive way. Cost is $35 per child.
— Boys and girls instructional lacrosse for children in kindergarten through fifth grade will be held on June 7, 14, 21 and 28 at the Catholic Charities Community Center Gymnasium in Kingston and John A. Coleman High School in Hurley. No previous lacrosse experience is necessary. Cost is $35 per child.
Click here or call 845-340-9170, ext. 107, to learn more and register for these programs.
CYO Cheerleading Champions
Varsity Overall Cheer: Our Lady Star of the Sea
Debs Overall Cheer: St. Clare
Biddy Overall Cheer: St. Charles
Varsity: St. Joseph-St. Thomas and St. John Neumann
Debs Large: St. Clare
Debs Small: St. Patrick
Itty Bitty: Our Lady Star of the Sea
Biddy Small: Blessed Sacrament
Biddy Large: Our Lady Star of the Sea
PHOTO BY MARY DIBIASE BLAICH
Spellman Falls in Federation Semifinal
The Cardinal Spellman High School girls basketball team suffered a 70-60 loss to Staten Island Academy in a Class A state federation semifinal at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls on Friday.
Jada Rogers scored 18 points for the Pilots, the CHSAA champions who finish their season at 22-7 overall. In 2019, Cardinal Spellman won its first CHSAA state title in 20 years and fourth overall.
Staten Island Academy, the AISAA champion, will play NYSPHSAA champion Pittsford Mendon at 4:45 p.m. Saturday for the state federation title.
Why follow Virginia in the NCAAs?
The answer is simple: Ty Jerome.
Jerome, an Iona Prep graduate, is a 6-foot-5 junior point guard who can help take the Cavaliers far in this year’s NCAA tournament.
Virginia, a No. 1 seed and the top seed for the recent ACC tournament, plays No. 16 Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at 3:10 p.m. Friday.
The second-team All-ACC performer has team highs with 166 assists and 51 steals. He’s third on the team with his 13 points per game and fourth with four rebounds per game. He has season highs of 25 points, nine rebounds, 14 assists and five steals.
Jerome earned third-team All-ACC honors in 2017-2018 and was the ACC Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 31 points against Boston College on Dec. 30, 2017.
Iona Preparing for “Opportunity”
Iona College is off to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, to play top seed North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament’s Midwest Region at 9:20 p.m. Friday.
The Gaels will look to join the 2018 UMBC team as the only 16 seeds to beat a No. 1 seed.
“It’s a great opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the country,” said Iona coach Tim Cluess on ICGaels.com after learning his team drew North Carolina.
“We’re going to go out and play the best basketball, the hardest basketball that Iona can play. Whatever the results are … You gotta believe you have a chance when it’s March.”
Iona became the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program to win four consecutive conference men’s basketball tournaments when it defeated Monmouth, 81-60, in Albany March 11.
E.J. Crawford and Rickey McGill average 17.9 and 15.5 points per game, respectively, to lead the Gaels (17-15 overall), winners of 10 consecutive games.
Gazivoda Heading to Trinity
John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s Alyssa Gazivoda signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Trinity College in Hartford.
Gazivoda is a senior catcher for Kennedy Catholic.
Trinity College, an NCAA Division III program, started the 2019 season at 3-3 overall.
Three JFK Soccer Players Commit to Competing at Collegiate Level
Three members of John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s CHSAA boys soccer championship team signed with their respective colleges.
Luke Ferrari and Luke Rossiter both signed with Siena College, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference that finished 5-10-3 in 2018.
Brendan Lebitsch is off to Ithaca College, which finished 14-2-4 in 2018.
Esposito Off to Sacred Heart
John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s Cole Esposito signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at Sacred Heart.
Esposito helped Kennedy Catholic reach the Catholic High School Football League’s A Division final.
Sacred Heart compiled a 2018 overall record of 7-4 and was 5-1 in the Northeast Conference.
Catholic Sports Scene 