LATEST NEWS

Members of the Community Outreach Club continued a long-standing Kennedy Catholic tradition on March 6 in volunteering for the basketball skills competition of the Hudson Valley Region of the Special Olympics. Kennedy has hosted and helped the Special Olympics since 1978, when a group club as Serve did the good work of Community Outreach. For more on Saturday’s competition, read Brian J. Howard’s story in The Journal News.

Theater aficionado and writer extraordinaire Peter (a.k.a. Pedro) Kramer stopped by Mrs. Spahr-Toteda’s “Fiddler on the Roof” rehearsal March 1. We were graced the following day by photojournalist Mark Vergari. While we anxiously await Pedro’s story, check out Mark’s blog online at The Journal News for pictures.

Talk about back with a vengeance. Following an almost two-week layoff due to a wrist injury, Kennedy Catholic's Amanda Viteretti '10 returned to the Lady Gaels lineup to lead the girls to a victory over Westlake and a return trip to the County Center. Though the Lady Gaels' run was cut short by eventually Class B champion Irvington on Feb. 28, Viteretti was named to the Section 1 All-Tournament Team. See her listing in Josh Thomson's The Sixth Man Blog.

Jessica Kendzor ’10 has been invited to run in the Walt Disney World Invitational March 18-20 at the Wide World of Sports Track & Field Complex. Kendzor is one of a select few high school students invited to participate in this national event.

Varsity girls basketball coach Al Morales was named a “Master Strategist” by the Journal News today for his shutdown defense that has carried the Lady Gaels to Championship Week at the Westchester County Center in just his second year on the Kennedy bench.

“Kennedy Catholic freshman defenseman Steven Santini Jr. played a big role in Kennedy/Putnam Valley’s upset win over Lakeland/Panas on Friday (Feb. 5) at Brewster Ice Arena. Santini notched three goals and two assists, powering his squad to a 6-4 victory over the vaunted Rebels. As of press time, Santini had accumulated the fourth most points in Conference 1 with 19 goals and 10 assists.”

The girls’ varsity basketball team extended its playoff run on Feb. 17 with a hard-fought 37-32 win over Westlake that will send them to the Westchester County Center for a semifinal showdown. Alexa Mancuso led the way for the Lady Gaels with 9 points, while Amanda Viteretti enjoyed a triumphant return with 8. Viteretti, cleared to play just an hour before game time, had been out for 12 days with a wrist fracture. Lauren Tracy had 6 points with 11 rebounds, and Natalie Candarelli added another 6 on two killer threes.

The Kennedy Winter Track and Field stars were out in full force Sunday night in NYC at the Armory Track for the Sectional Championships as the JFK Catholic Girls Placed 5th in a 17 Team Field and the JFK Boys Finished 6th in an 18 team field.

Danielle Asaro tore up the resurfaced Armory Track with a 7.58 55 Meter Dash 1st place, Gold medal performance. She was also an integral part of the Silver medal, award-winning 4 x 400 Meter Relay team. Danielle is the Section 1, Class B, 55 Meter Champion.

Dylan Schuck jumped to 1st place Gold and Glory with a 19-8.25 Long Jump. Dylan is the Section 1, Class B, Long Jump Champion.

Jess Kendzor displayed her versatility as she ran 3:04.50 in the 1000 Meter for a Silver medal & finish 2nd to New York State XC Champion, Megan Young. Jessica ran faster as the night continued, sprinting 43.14 in the 300 Meter Dash to place 3rd for a Bronze medal in that event. In addition, several coaches clocked her at 59 seconds as anchor leg for the 4 x 400 M Relay team, which garnered a Silver medal. Jess, top point scorer for the JFK girls, left the Armory with 3 medals for the night.

Jesse Aprile ran and jumped to 3 medals for the Gaels in stunning fashion. Jesse sprinted to a 6.86 55 Meter Dash to decorate himself in Bronze. Between sprints, he jumped to a Bronze medal in the Long Jump at 19-3. With 2 medals in his pockets, he excelled in the Triple Jump with a 40-4.5 mark, to place a 3rd medal in his pockets. Jesse was top point scorer for the boys.

Breeda Mannion shaved 15 more seconds off her Westchester County Championship performance in her comeback bid as she captured Bronze in the highly competitive 1500 Meter run that included the aforementioned Young and Nicki Nesi (Journal News – Runner of the Year). Breeda led off the 4 x 400 Meter Relay team that was awarded a silver medal.

In the 4 x400 Meter Relay, the JFK girls team ran 4:15.20 to set a new JFK Indoor Track 4 x 400 Meter School Record. The record-setting team consists of Breeda Mannion, Katherine Kastberg, Danielle Asaro and Jess Kendzor.

Other notable performances were… Dylan Schuck (55 Meter Hurdles – 4th in a field of 20), Liam Perry (Triple Jump - 11th in a field of 30) Eric DiNome (1600 Meters - 13th in a field of 38), Alex Cecere (1000 Meters - 18th in a field of 50), the JFK Boys 4x400 Meter Relay team (Cecere, DiNome, Perry, and Schuck – 7th Place), and Katherine Kastberg (55 Meters - 20th in a field of 40)… in this meet of invited, qualified champions.

The New York Sportswriters Association has named our own Jessica Kendzor to its 2009-2010 All-State Cross-Country Second Team. She was the only Westchester harrier to receive such an honor. Congratulations Jess!

 

Friday was a good day for Kennedy Catholic basketball, as both the boys and the girls advanced to the second round the playoffs. The Lady Gaels were up first and got off to a fast start against Hastings, taking a 27-10 lead into the half. That proved enough to take the sting out of the Yellow Jackets, as Kennedy would go on to win 46-29. Alexa Mancuso and Molly Brennan led a balanced attack with 10 and nine points, respectively. Natalie Candarelli, Lauren Foti and Allison Santini each had eight points, while Lauren Tracy grabbed nine rebounds.

 

The boys then held up their end of the bargain, grounding the Eagles of Eastchester with a 60-50 victory behind the hot hand of Frankie Kelly. The junior guard finished with 18 points, all on three-pointers, to lead the Gaels. Conor Donohue added 12 points and was seven-for-eight from the free throw line, while Dan Healy rebounded well and Ryan Hickey added 10 points off the bench.

 

The likely matchups for next week are the Lady Gaels at home against Westlake on Tuesday, Feb. 16, with the boys traveling to Spring Valley on Wednesday.

Former Kennedy Catholic baseball standout Matt Maher ’05 signed a professional baseball contract on Jan. 12. Maher, who hit .339 in his final season at Fairleigh Dickinson University, was signed by the Evansville Otters (Indiana) of the Frontier League.  Maher reports to spring training May 21. 

Liam Perry won the Sophomore Boys 55 Meter Hurdles with a time of 9.20 to pace the Gaels.  For more highlights from the Fordham Grinch Games, visit the KCHS XC & Track Blog.

Though it wasn’t as easy as the tournament’s name suggests, the girls’ varsity basketball team beat Good Counsel 53-35 in the challenge game of the Slam Dunk Tournament at the County Center on Dec. 26, behind a balanced scoring attack and strong bench play. Read the complete staff report in The Journal News.