By Thomas Gamba ’26
Over the last three plus months, each Chaminade Flyer fall sports athlete has been working tirelessly in order to help out his team and be at his best when gametime comes. During this season, we have seen this hard work pay-off through wins and championships.
Crew
In the fall season, the crew team focused on improvement and conditioning in preparation for the spring when championships take place. Our crew team is split into a Varsity/JV team and a Freshman team. The Varsity/JV team is made up of 63 rowers who competed in seven regattas up and down the East Coast from Boston to Philadelphia. The team raced against some of the top scholastic and club teams in the country. The most significant successes were the Riverfront Regatta where the Varsity Eight was the fastest high school team at the regatta and the season ending Braxton Memorial Regatta where the 1st and 2nd Varsity Flyer Eights finished in 1st and 2nd place in the B Final with the fourth fastest time of the regatta in the Varsity Eight event. Racing in the Varsity Eight were: Max Jones, Jackson Stollmack, Tanner Martinez-Schultz, Joe Fitzgerald, James Casamassima, John Prosceo, Alex Priolo, Mel Farrell and John Hakes. The Freshman team was made up of 28 students who, in most cases, were new to the sport. The Freshman competed in many of the same regattas as the Varsity team. The first Freshman eight finished in the top 10 places at all of the races that they competed in and ended the season with strong finishes at the Frostbite Regatta where they posted two 2nd place finishes against the top teams in the Mid-Atlantic. The Freshman team was coached by first year head coach Thomas Patton ‘06. Varsity head coach Larry Muri said that he thought both teams had an exceptional season and that they will be ready for the spring season championships. These rowers showed great improvement over the last couple of months and they are bound to be a major force during the spring.
Cross Country
Chaminade’s Cross Country team had some excitement going into the season due to the tremendous amount of talent. This excitement and hope that the Flyers had wasn’t in vain. The team accumulated many accolades throughout the season. The Freshman team was crowned NSCHSAA Dual Meet Champions, NSCHSAA 2nd place, and CHSAA 3rd place. The Sophomore team were Manhattan College Invite Sophomore Champions, NSCHSAA Sophomore Champions, and CHSAA Sophomore Champions. The JV team took the NSCHSAA Dual Meet 2nd place, NSCHSAA 2nd place, and CHSAA 3rd place. The Varsity team was NSCHSAA Dual Meet 2nd place, CHSAA 3rd place, and NSCHSAA 2nd place (out of 30 teams) which was Chaminade’s most important result according to head coach Kevin Beirne ‘00. There were many great runners that helped to lead all of the cross country teams to all of these accolades including Reef Kirchner, Martin Morgan, Jack LaMania, Eamon Sack, Sean Loggie, Dan Hilton, Brian Guiheen, and Blake Weaver. This team was very interesting because of the fact that the Varsity team’s top seven consisted of three sophomores and a freshman. This just proves the incredible amount of potential the Flyers have.
Coach Beirne said “This was a very successful season in my opinion. We are young and our younger runners are not running well for just their age, they are running like quality senior Varsity runners, as sophomores and freshmen. Our goal is to win the CHSAA next year, be among the top teams in the state in Cross Country next year, and have most guys returning the following year when we have a legitimate shot at a state championship win.” This season has given the Cross Country team even more reason for excitement for next year as they look to use this momentum to strive for the Championship.
Varsity Football:
Coming into the season, the Varsity Football team had high hopes. The team was coming off of a six win season the previous year and with Senior Starting Quarterback Tyler Granito they believed they had a great season in their future. Unfortunately, the Flyers weren’t able to have the season that they planned, finishing with a 1-8 record. Even though the record didn’t show it, the Flyers had many bright spots throughout the year. Head coach Kevin Dolan ‘85 said that “the character of these young men was exemplary. I’ve been through disappointing years before, many of them were a long drag to the end. This group didn’t want the season to end and expected to win every weekend. I am very proud of them; they are the definition of resilience.” The Flyers showed the ability to stick together and keep working. Their only win was a great one in which they defeated Kellenberg 35-7 at Mitchell Field. Coach Dolan also highlighted some great leaders of the team including Jack Tully, Seamus Miller, Nick Rinaldi, John Marshall, Eamonn Welch, Tyler Granito, Lucas Catoggio, and Dean Schmitt. The Flyers didn’t necessarily have the season that they wanted but they can definitely look forward to the future with the resilience that they showed this year.
JV-A Football
The JV-A football team demonstrated some great talent on the football field and had good success throughout the season. They finished with a record of 3-6 and accumulated some great wins including a 21-7 win against Kellenberg in rainy weather conditions on the Flyers’ home field. Chaminade had some outstanding leaders that stood out on and off the field throughout the season including Luca Smith, Ben Bekiers, Liam Trainor, James Marshall, Matty Constable, and Brady Murray. The Flyers showed their ability to move the ball on offense and stop other teams on defense. The offense was led by freshman quarterback Sean Carnevale who showed real promise throughout the season.
The defense had many effective players that excelled at stopping the opposing team in place including Christian Atwell, Colin Mark, and Freshman Michael Genovese. The Flyers entered the playoffs as the fifth seed and ended up losing in the quarterfinals to St. Anthony’s 28-27 in double overtime. Despite the loss, JV-A head coach Thomas Elder ‘10 thought the season had been successful in many ways saying “The guys played hard and grew up a ton over the course of the year. They started to learn what it takes to be successful, and we saw them hit their stride toward the end of the year.” The JV-A team has a lot to look forward to in the future as the talent that they have showed out this season will continue to grow as the years go on.
JV-B Football
IThe JV-B Flyers got their first taste of high school football action The Flyers showed the ability to move the ball at a high level and play some great defense. The Flyers had great leadership from quarterback Hugh Lynn and running back Anthony Trapani. . Head JV-B Coach Gregory Gerner ‘10 said that Lynn “… really improved throughout the whole season. I am looking forward to him leading the JV team next year.” He described Trapani as “the leader of the team.” The JV-B team was able to make big chunk plays on offense especially when they pulled their trick plays out of their sleeve. The defenses showed some great talent and made some great plays throughout the season. The JV-B Flyers’ overall record was 3-5. When I asked Gerner about how he thought the season went he said “The season went well and there is a lot of talent on the Freshman team. If the student athletes stay with the team and hit the weight room, becoming bigger, faster and stronger, there is a promising future for the program. I look forward to seeing their progression over the next three years.”
Freshman Swimming
Freshman Flyers swimmers came in ready to work and go for the championship. Each swimmer worked tirelessly in order to complete his goals each and every day. Throughout the season, Chaminade racked up a 4-0 record, dominating the competition right through to the championship. In the championship, the Flyers proved a formidable force as they beat the second place team, Fordham Prep, by almost 200 points. The Flyers were led by swimmers Tobe Nwosu, Eddie McCoyd, and Beckham Fisher. Coach Angelo Pellicone was pleased with the season, saying, “Overall I was happy with the effort the freshman put forth each day. The result is satisfying. Chaminade had a great season this year and this has given them a lot more excitement for the future as we have seen what these freshman swimmers can do.”
Varsity Soccer
The Varsity soccer team, led by Coach Michael Gallagher had a 15-5 overall record and a 12-2 league record this season. The Flyers were led by many talented players including Chris Tuohy, Patrick Tuohy, Peter Leavy, Luca Giannola, Antonio Ruffo, and Brady Reis. The Tuohy brothers were both strong and influential leaders who were named captains of the team and both received honors from the league. The Flyers gained many individual honors including All-State and All-League honors received by many players.
Chaminade had many great wins throughout the season including Boston College High of Massachusetts, Bishop McNamara of Maryland, Massapequa, and St. Anthony’s. The Flyers made the Championship game of the league but fell short of the title as St. Anthony’s defeated them 1-0 in double overtime. Commenting on the season, Coach Gallagher said “I was happy with the overall season, we had some exciting non-league wins against quality opponents. Disappointed in the way it ended. A 1-0 overtime loss was a difficult pill to swallow. In my opinion, we did enough to win the game, but it is a game of inches and thin margins. We came out on the short end of it.” The Varsity soccer team showed their talent throughout the season and had some great success even though they didn’t win the championship. Their talent that they have will continue to grow and they will continue to shoot for the Championship in future years.
JV-A Soccer
When the JV-A soccer team started their season in September, Coach Matthew Chicavich ‘98 said they were “robots.” Before the last game of the season, Chicavich said they played with “freedom and beauty.” Throughout the season, the Flyers improved mightily especially in their midfield as their midfield trio of Sophomores Jack Dorsey, Diego Abrego, and Balmore Banos led the Flyers to a 12-1-3 record across the season. Chicavich said his midfield trio was so great that he thought they could “read each other’s thoughts.” Even though Chaminade’s midfield led them, the rest of the team was very strong as well. Chicavich highlighted the Flyers’ lone striker, Gianluca Falanga, who led the team in goals and was a key component to Chaminade’s offensive attack. Chaminade also had some great defenseman who could always lock down the other team’s offense in Wyatt Keys and Anthony Ferrante. To go along with all of these components of Chaminade’s team, they also had a deep roster that would be improving every day. Chicavich highlighted Michael Stratakis and Gianluca Paletta who he said “were the most improved guys that I have seen this season.” One more key aspect of Chaminade’s stellar squad was their goalie, Athanasios Pasakiolis, who Chaminade could rely on in the biggest spots especially in the Championship game against St.Anthony’s. During that Championship game, the Flyers showed their resilience when they came back twice while being down a goal. They ended up winning the game 3-2 in penalty kicks as Massimo Bruno had the game winning penalty kick to give Chaminade the hardware. Coach Chicavich wrapped up the season saying “The season was a success, but not only because we won the finals. We showed great resilience throughout the season especially in a loss to St.Benedicts in which we showed our ability to impose our style of play, and in a win against St.Francis Prep in which we played terrible soccer in tough conditions but still found a way to win.”
JV-B Soccer
The JV-B soccer team experienced their first action as Chaminade Soccer players. Even though these freshmen weren’t experienced in playing high school soccer, they had a marvelous season in which they had 10 wins, 5 losses, and 2 ties. The Flyers were led by a multitude of players including Michael Price, Hudson Keefer, Matt Kucharnik, Anthony Giannola, Nick McConaghy, and Orazio Bencivenni. The Flyers had a slow start to the season but they ended the year with a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games with some great wins over great teams including Christian Brothers Academy and St. Benedict’s, which are two of the top teams in New Jersey. In the playoffs, the Flyers defeated Kellenberg 6-0 in the semifinals and St. John the Baptist 6-0 in the championship game when they took home the crown in the league. When asked about how he thought the season went, JV-B soccer Head Coach Brian Anselmo ‘89 responded “It was an excellent season where we started off a little slow and then took off in the middle of the season. The team made great improvements over the course of the season and the future is bright for the class of 2027.” Throughout the season, Chaminade showed the talent that they have on the pitch and are destined to continue to improve as the years go on. These Freshmen have given Chaminade a lot to be proud of and much to be excited for in the future.
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