Giants Honor San Miguel Rowers

The San Miguel Rowing Program received the Local Latino Achievement Award and a check for $25,000 from the New York Giants at Sunday’s Giants-Baltimore Ravens football game at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Ann Mara Cacase represented the Mara family and the Giants in making the presentation to the San Miguel Rowing Program, which was represented by 20 rowers and coaches.

The rowing program, dating back to 2010, competed for the first time in 2022 in regional and national meets. The boys U15 quad four boat won the USRowing Northeast Youth Championships in Lowell, Mass., and placed 11th at the USRowing National Youth Championships in Sarasota, Fla.

“The New York Giants organization has always stood for integrity and hard work,” said Father Mark Connell, executive director of the school and rowing coach. “San Miguel Academy rowers are especially proud that the Giants have singled them out for Latino Achievement.  Our rowers work hard 6 days a week, both in the classroom and in the boat. We are all grateful that our student-athletes have been recognized by the New York Giants and the NFL.”

San Miguel Academy of Newburgh was founded in 2006 for inner-city middle-school students.

PHOTO: San Miguel rowers and coaches have a photo taken with Ann Mara Cacase and former Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAN MIGUEL ACADEMY

Giants Honoring San Miguel Rowers

The San Miguel Academy rowing program will be honored with the Local Latino Achievement Award at Sunday’s New York Giants game against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Twenty rowers from the school in Newburgh will be at MetLife for the award presentation as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The program’s under-15 boys quad boat won its division at the USRowing Northeast Youth Championships in Lowell, Mass., and qualified for the USRowing National Youth Championships in Sarasota, Fla., where it placed 11^th.

San Miguel Academy, a Catholic co-educational middle school for inner-city children in Newburgh, was founded in 2006, and the rowing program was started in 2010. Sixty-four students are enrolled in the school with more than half participating in the rowing program.

“It is such an honor to be nominated by the Giants for Hispanic History Month,” said Caitlin Giampaolo, humanities teacher and rowing coach at San Miguel Academy. “With so many of our students having diverse cultures and coming from different backgrounds, it is such an incredible opportunity to be recognized by a great organization such as the NFL. All of our rowers work extremely hard, every day, to hone their craft.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF USROWING

San Miguel Places 11th at Nationals

The San Miguel Academy boys quad boat with coxswain finished 11th in the U15 division at the USRowing Youth National Championships in Sarasota, Fla., on June 11.

The boat placed fifth in its semifinal heat to earn the 11th-place finish, completing the 2,000-meter course at Nathan Benderson Park in 8 minutes, 11.91 seconds. The San Miguel boat featured eighth-grade captain Joseph Cordova and seventh-graders Gustavo Laureano (coxswain), Daniel Conde, Ismael Chihuahua and Ayden Garcia.

San Miguel qualified for its first national meet by placing first in the U15 quad division at the USRowing Northeast Youth Championships in Lowell, Mass.

San Miguel was using a boat by Patrick Donnelly in memory of his brother, Thomas. 

This was the first time the San Miguel rowing program competed at a regional and national meet since it was established in 2010.

Click here to read a Catholic New York story featuring the San Miguel rowing program.

San Miguel Boat Heading to Nationals

The San Miguel Academy boys under-15 quad boat with coxswain qualified for nationals after taking first place at the US Rowing Northeast Youth Championships on the 2,000-meter Merrimack River course in Lowell, Mass.

The San Miguel boat consisted of coxswain Gustavo Laureano, and rowers Joseph Cordova, Daniel Conde, Ayden Garcia and Ismael Chihuahua.

This is the first time a boat from San Miguel competed at a regional with hopes of qualifying for nationals.

The USRowing Youth National Championships will be held June 9 in Sarasota, Fla.

Click here to read a feature on the academy’s rowing program from the May 5 issue of Catholic New York.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAN MIGUEL ACADEMY

San Miguel Rowers Off to Regional

Rowers from San Miguel Academy in Newburgh will be competing at a regional this weekend with hopes of qualifying for nationals.

This is the first time in program history that it will be represented at regionals.

Click here to read the story from the current issue of Catholic New York.

PHOTO BY CHRIS SHERIDAN

CHSFL Results, Playoff Schedule

Iona Prep, Chaminade and Holy Trinity all picked up top seeds for the upcoming Catholic High School Football League playoffs.

All three received byes and will compete in the semifinals on the weekend of Nov. 12-14. The quaterfinals will be played this weekend.

Here are the results from the final week of the regular season and the playoff schedule.

Week 8 Results

Xaverian 13, Cardinal Spellman 0

Kellenberg 35, Moore Catholic 13

Iona Prep 51, Chaminade 14

Msgr. Farrell 35, St. Peter’s 6

Holy Trinith 42, Kennedy Catholic 0

Cardinal Hayes 49, Archbishop Stepinac 48

Mount St. Michael 30, Nazareth 6

St. Anthony’s 44, St. Francis Prep 7

St. Joseph by-the-Sea 30, Christ the King 15

St. John the Baptist 17, Holy Cross 14

AAA Quarterfinals

No. 1 Iona Prep bye

Friday, Nov. 5–No. 5 Cardinal Hayes at No. 4 St. Anthony’s, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 6–No. 7 Christ the King at No. 2 Msgr. Farrell, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 7–No. 6 Kellenberg at No. 3 Archbishop Stepinac, 1:30 p.m.

AA-1 Quarterfinals

No. 1 Chaminade bye

Friday, Nov. 5–No. 5 St. Peter’s at No. 4 Fordham Prep, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 7–No. 7 Xavier at No. 2 Moore Catholic, 1 p.m.

No. 6 St. Francis Prep at No. 3 St. Joseph by-the-Sea, TBA

AA-2 Quarterfinals

No. 1 Holy Trinity bye

Friday, Nov. 5–No. 6 Xaverian at No. 3 Kennedy Catholic, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 6–No. 7 Cardinal Spellman at No. 2 St. John the Baptist, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 7–No. 5 Mount St. Michael at No. 4 Holy Cross, 1 p.m.

Bowl Game

Saturday, Nov. 6–St. Dominic’s at Nazareth, 7 p.m.

CHSFL Results/Schedule

Week 3 Football Results

Archbishop Stepinac 55, Moore Catholic 14

St. Anthony’s 48, Cardinal Hayes 14

St. Joseph by-the-Sea 22, Msgr. Farrell 6

Holy Trinity 54, St. Dominic’s 0

JFK Catholic 32, Cardinal Spellman 22

St. John the Baptist 48, Mount St. Michael 14

Holy Cross 28, Xaverian 12

Iona Prep 63, Christ the King 20

Chaminade 45, St. Peter’s 14

Kellenberg 38, Fordham Prep 0

St. Francis Prep 18, Xavier 10

Week 4 Football Schedule

Friday, Oct. 1

Holy Cross at JFK Catholic, 7 p.m.

Cardinal Hayes at Msgr. Farrell, 7 p.m.

Fordham Prep at St. Joseph by-the-Sea, 7 p.m.

Christ the King at St. Francis Prep, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 2

Cardinal Spellman at Nazareth, 2 p.m.

Xaverian at Mount St. Michael, 3 p.m.

Archbishop Stepinac at Iona Prep, 4 p.m.

Moore Catholic at Xavier, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 3

St. Anthony’s at St. Peter’s, 1 p.m.

Holy Trinity at St. John the Baptist, 1:30 p.m.

Kellenberg at Chaminade, 1:30 p.m.

Stepinac Graduate Malcolm Koonce Earns Job with Las Vegas Raiders

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Malcolm Koonce earned a spot on the 53-man roster with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Koonce was a third-round pick, 79th overall, of the Raiders in this year’s NFL Draft out of Buffalo.

At Buffalo, Koonce was a two-time, first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection. In six games as a  senior, the defensive end had 30 tackles and a team-high 6.5 tackles for a loss and five sacks. As a junior, he led the MAC with nine sacks.

At Archbishop Stepinac, Koonce had 58 tackles as a senior to earn second-team all-state honors and helped the Crusaders to an undefeated season and the 2015 Catholic school state championship.

Stepinac Graduate Trill Williams Earns Roster Spot with Dolphins

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate Trill Williams earned a spot out of preseason on the Miami Dolphins 53-man roster.

The Dolphins open the 2021 season with the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Mass.,  Sept. 12.

In three preseason games with the Dolphins, Williams had six total tackles.

In three seasons at Syracuse University, the defensive back had 93 total tackles, 65 being solo; four interceptions, two coming against Clemson; three forced fumbles; and one fumble recovery. He scored three touchdowns, one each coming on an interception return, a punt return, and one off a blocked punt.

Williams, who was undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, joined the Dolphins on May 17 after being waived by the New Orleans Saints.

Siegrist Preparing for Next Season

Maddy Siegrist is spending her summer improving a part of her game to give opposing defenses additional concerns when she steps on the floor with the Villanova University women’s basketball team during the 2021-2022 season.

“This summer I’m really focusing on my midrange game,” she told CNY during a lunch break at the Maddy Siegrist Girls Basketball Clinic at Poughkeepsie Day School in the Town of Poughkeepsie Aug. 16.

“I’m comfortable inside, I’m comfortable shooting the ball from three and getting those shots off. Just having the ball in my hands to create different shots is what I’m focused on.”

The Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduate, who also played in the St. Martin de Porres CYO program in Poughkeepsie, already has been a handful for Villanova opponents.

Read the rest of this story in this week’s Catholic New York or at www.cny.org

Photo by Chris Sheridan