By Thomas Gamba ’26
Throughout this winter season, Chaminade High School’s athletics program brought home some hardware. All of the athletes put in tremendous effort, and they were greatly rewarded.
Varsity Basketball:
Coming off state and league championships last year, the varsity basketball team had big expectations for this season. With Kyle Dillon ’26 and Ricky Gunther ’25 leading the charge, it looked like Chaminade was set up to be a top league contender. They played great competition including Long Island Lutheran High School, one of the top high school teams in the country. Additionally, they played Holy Trinity High School at UBS Arena—marking the first high school basketball game ever played at the venue. They even traveled up to Albany, NY and Springfield, MA to face competition. To end their season, the Flyers played Kellenberg Memorial High School in the quarterfinals of the league playoffs.
JVA Basketball:
The sophomore Flyers won a league title last year at the freshman level and looked to do the same this year. Mr. Thomas O’Connell ’15, in his third year as JV head coach, was also looking for his first championship. The team was led by Jake Ellwood ’27, Nick Collura ’27, Nick Sweeney ’27 and Jonathan Walsh ’27. The Flyers ended the regular season with a 20-3 record, defeating St. Anthony’s High School to win the league championship.
JVB Basketball:
After winning a championship last season, Michael Ferrara embarked on his third season as head coach. Chaminade’s attack was spearheaded by Lucas Dillon ’28, brother of Kyle Dillon ’26, who was a dynamic guard for Chaminade this year. Just like the JVA team, the JVB team went 20-3 in the regular season, and they defeated St. Anthony’s in the championship.
Varsity Bowling:
The varsity bowling team was looking for redemption after last year’s championship loss to St. Anthony’s. They started off strong with ten straight wins, but then lost two straight going into the playoffs. In the playoffs, they ran the table and won the league championship over St. Anthony’s by 61 pins. In the individual tournament, Michael Cohen ’26 won high game with a 242, and Alex Fiorillo ’25 won overall with a 631 series. Fiorillo then moved on to the state tournament, where he came in third place.
Varsity Ice Hockey:
The varsity ice hockey team, much like bowling, was looking for redemption as they lost in the league semifinals last season. They went on a four-game winning streak to end the season, defeated Monsignor Farrell High School in the first round of playoffs, and ended their season against Iona Preparatory School in the semifinals.
JV Hockey:
The JV hockey team dominated throughout the season. The Flyers went undefeated throughout the winter with a 20-0-1 record. Cole Lombardo ’27 led the way for Chaminade, and the Flyers took down Iona Prep in the final to bring home the title.
Riflery:
The riflery team was led by Head Coach Dr. Yunchiahn Sena and captains Michael Munz ’26 and Nicholas Mavrovitis ’25. They ended the season with a 7-6 record, winning their last two matchups against Cambridge High School and Xavier High School.
Swimming and Diving:
Swimming and diving won its fifth-consecutive CHSAA State and City Championship this year. The team went 7-2 in the regular season, while also securing a victory against New Jersey’s Delbarton School for its first-ever out-of-state competition. Key contributors this season were swimmers James Bertrand ’25, who was voted the Most Valuable Swimmer and also represented Chaminade in the 100 Backstroke at the New York State Championship Meet, Johnny Dragan ’25, Jake Stachowicz ’25, Matt Franklin ’26, Tae Halloran ’26, Jide Nwosu ’26, Tobenna Nwosu ’27, Andrew Padin ’27 (awarded Most Improved Swimmer), Callen Carney ’28, and Nick DeAngelis ’28, as well as divers Colton Driggers ’25 and Elijiah Banas ’26. In total, Chaminade had nine individual athletes and all three relays achieve NYS qualifying times.
Track and Field:
The track and field team placed second at the NSCHSAA Championships. A standout athlete was shot-putter Johnathan Szymanski ’26, who broke countless records throughout the year. Other key contributors were Dan Egan ’26, Brian Giuheen ’26, and Ethan Jones ’25.
Wrestling:
The wrestling team had a strong season, with a 14-7 varsity record and 6-1 JV record. One of their stars, Finnegan O’Brien ’28 was the MVP and took home third place in the NYS Public States. O’Brien, Jake Nieto ’27, Louie Kennedy ’28, Brendon Katimbang ’26, Lucas Griffin ’25, and Chris Ferranti ’26 led the squad throughout the season.
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