Inside This Week's Issue Wrestling,Operation Santa Claus, Faculty Grid,
Edited by Joe Egler '16 and Ryan Naehr '16
The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph's Prep
December 11, 2015
Student of the Week, and Sudoku
Volume 41, Issue XII
Prep Basketball Shoots for Triumph in 2015-16 Season
By Michael Haley ‘17 As fall turns to winter and Christmas break slowly approaches, Prep basketball’s 2015-2016 season is well underway. Philadelphia coaching legend William “Speedy” Morris returns for his fifteenth season with the Hawks, following a 17-5 (.773) season, ending with a 37-33 loss in the Catholic League playoffs at the hands of archrival La Salle. With last season’s leading scorer and Catholic
League MVP Chris Clover ‘15 now suiting up for the Hawks of Saint Joseph’s University, the team—led by senior captains Pete Gayhardt ‘16 and Chris
Montie ‘16—will look for others to fill the void. “Obviously, Chris was a really special player here, and no one guy is going to come in and replace him,”
says Montie. “It's up to us to come together and fill the void he left. We are going to have to play more as a team. We have to stick together even when things get tough. It's always hard when you lose as many guys as we did from last year's team, but we're confident we have the right guys in place to build on last year's success. The most important thing for us is to grow with each other. We have a few first-time varsity Continued on page 3.
Annual Blood Drive Sees Improved Numbers
By Aidan O’Connor ‘17 News about the American Red Cross Blood Drive held at the Prep Monday, December 7, spread quickly. After a recent trend of lower participation (from 206 donations in 2011 to just 78 last year), the Prep student body responded strongly this year. The total was 127 units donated, a 63% increase from last year. In fact, so many students were willing to donate that 120 students had to be turned away because the Red Cross was not ready to accommodate
Mike Maransky '17 was among the many Prep students who donated blood this past Monday. such numbers. volunteer. Then they spread The success of this the word among the student year’s blood drive was, in body and gathered volunteers large part, due to the from students over 16 years conscientious work of student of age. council. These students Hopefully, the Prep worked to plan the drive can build on this success next alongside a Red Cross year. Donated blood is stored
by the Red Cross and sent out to hospitals, where it is used to save lives. As the drive is such a noble cause, student council wants to ensure that every student who wishes to be part of it can be. “We would like to accommodate those people [turned away] and make sure they can donate. We’ll be working with the Red Cross to make sure that students and teachers can move in and out as efficiently as possible”, said student body president Andrew Oliver ’16.
Wrestling Seeks Another Successful Season
By Joe Pisacano ‘16 The Prep wrestling team is among the lesser known at the Prep. However, even though it is not praised as much as the football or lacrosse teams are, its members work and compete just as hard. Sean Lyons ‘16 is a captain on this year’s team, coached by Mr. Scott Mullen '99, and has been an integral member since he was a freshman, competing at the 106 lb. weight class. However, since then, Lyons has grown, and will now be competing in the 132 lb. weight class for the first time in his career. Lyons has
compiled 86 career wins since his freshman year and plans to surpass 100 this year. Fifty-eight of those 86 wins have come as pins. Earning 100 wins is a huge accomplishment among wrestlers, and was most recently attained by Bobby Endy ‘15 of Port Richmond, Philadelphia. Endy competed in the State Tournament last year. Lyons was an alternate, as he placed fifth at Regionals. This year, Endy wrestles at Ursinus College and has moved up a weight class since his senior year at the Prep. He now wrestles at 157 lb., instead of 152 lb. The team also lost John Pires ’15, now at Penn State. “We've had a great offseason of training and have done a good job of
The Prep's Kelly Fieldhouse hosted the Jesuit Duals on Saturday, December 5.
getting more wrestlers in the room,” says Lyons. This year, the team’s biggest competitions will come in the dual meets against Father Judge and La Salle. They finished behind these two schools last year, earning third place in the
Catholic and District Championships. However, those duals are still not for some time. “Now, we're just focusing on getting better each day by pushing each other as hard as possible,” says Lyons.
Operation Santa Claus Spreads Christmas Cheer the children. Next, students
By Jack Yocom ‘17 Around the world, many children’s favorite day of the year is Christmas. The prospect of running down the stairs and seeing a tree stocked with presents makes every child too excited to sleep. Despite the joy felt by many people around the world, the sad reality is that many cannot afford to have the perfect Christmas. That is where Operation Santa Claus steps in. Operation Santa Claus was started about 40 years ago by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This service gave gifts to thousands of
Members ofthe Prep community are encouraged to make financial donations on the school's website. less fortunate families across much more reduced, but a lot the city. But eventually, the of things were taken from it,” office running the operation says Deitch. was shut down. Since then, About 80 families the Prep has run Operation enlist in the program, which Santa Claus independently, complements the Mothers’ catering to the Christmas Club program that caters to needs of people in the about 30. The procedure of neighborhood of the Prep. the Prep’s Operation Santa Mr. Samuel Deitch helped out Claus is simple. Through the with the Archdiocese program beginning of December, from 1998 until 2001. people can donate money that “Our program is goes towards buying toys for
go out and buy the gifts that the children ask to receive, and those gifts are wrapped. Then, the week after the presents have been bought, the Prep hosts a Christmas party for every family that is a part of the service. While the children are playing inside the Prep, parents and students deliver the presents to the houses of the families in need. “It’s really something that connects our entire community: alumni, parents, students, faculty, and
Continued on page 3.
By Marcello Garber '17
Faculty Grid
Mrs. Teresa Mr. William Mrs. Joanne Chen Mr. Paul Kania Hoffman Conners '80 Favorite thing Family coming Spending time in Definitely about winter back from school the Big Apple and Christmas for sure. Christmas. break? and gathering for DC. the holidays. Favorite Prep Delivering food to The German The pep rally, with memory of 2015? the families in the Teaching the Class exchange when I the kids decking of 2017 after neighborhood led Prep students in each other on the reading Jensen’s during the Germany for two bouncy soccer Thanksgiving food The Teenage Brain. weeks. balls. drive. Do you think a Yes, because it is In the round!! No because it's just No because it’s a hotdog (in a bun) between two sides hotdog. no. is a sandwich? of bread.
Student of the Week
By Aidan Donaher ‘16 This week’s student of the week is Jack McTiernan ‘16. McTiernan carries a 3.81 GPA and is considering schools such as Boston College, Fordham, and University of Southern California. He is impressive in and out of the classroom, as he is the captain of the
varsity ice hockey team. His teammates call him the “Flying Hawk.” “The team has came a long way this season. We have bonded both on and off the ice, competing with each other in more than just ice hockey,” says McTiernan. McTiernan also is
the vice president of the school, and some compare his presence to that of Dick Cheney. Jack also serves on the lacrosse team and also on the swim team as the diving captain. He plans to carry the diving team to a PCL championship. Congratulations, McT!
community,” says Mr. Deitch, summing up the feelings of many well. staff. It allows all of us to Participating in remember the meaning of the Operation Santa Claus is holidays and what it means to fulfilling, and it is a very be a member of the Prep
worthy cause. Giving the joy of Christmas to those in need makes one appreciate what one has and how lucky one is. So, if one is looking to do a great deed for the
neighborhood surrounding the Prep, or one is in need of service hours, being a part of Operation Santa Claus is highly recommended.
post, Montie and Gayhardt look to clean the glass and the year will be a learning Griffin ‘17, who look to man shut down the paint. On the the backcourt, alongside John wing, Temi Aiyegbusi ‘16, process.” New varsity players Kueny ‘16. Down in the Keith Williams ‘16, Evan
Wall ‘16, and Anto Keshgegian ‘16 look to provide leadership and spark to the offense. Continued on page 4.
Operation (Cont'd)
Basketball include Kyle Thompson ‘18, (Cont'd) players, so the beginning of Darius Kinnel ‘18, and Brian
Hawkeye Sudoku The first person who
correctly completes the puzzle and returns it to Joe Egler '16 or Ryan Naehr '16 will receive a free lunch pass.
Basketball (Cont'd)
The team is working hard to improve defensively in order to contain the highoctane attacks of the Catholic League. With many new faces, this team has time to
the January 29 game vs. Roman Catholic, and the January 31 vs. Father Judge as a part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer event. On February 7, the La Salle Explorers will come to the Kelly Fieldhouse in a rematch of last year’s PCL Quarterfinal. Although that result was not favorable, Montie and the Hawks hope that the result of this year’s edition in the storied rivalry will be different.
BOWLING: Home game Tuesday 12/15 vs. Cardinal O’Hara @ 3:30 p.m.
Faculty Meeting “E” Bells - 1:54 Dismissal “F” Day
INDOOR TRACK: Away meet Saturday 12/12 @ 8:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, 12/15: Kairos 147 Starts “A” Day
SWIMMING: Away meet today vs. Archbishop Carroll, Little Flower @ 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, 12/16: “B” Day THURSDAY, 12/17: “C” Day
WRESTLING Home meet Wednesday 12/16 @ 7:00 p.m.
FRIDAY, 12/18: Kairos 147 Ends “D” Day
Moderator Mr. Leo Vaccaro ‘05
Scoreboard & Events
BOWLING: 4-0 Win over Archbishop Wood WRESTLING: Win over Fordham Prep, Scranton Prep, and Xavier High School in Jesuits Duals Upcoming Games BASKETBALL: Away game today vs. Malvern Prep @ 4:00 p.m.
Joe Egler ‘16 Ryan Naehr ‘16
StaffWriters Aidan Donaher ‘16 Augie Lorei ‘16 Ryan Mannion ‘16 Fintan O’Toole ‘16 Joe Pisacano ‘16 Stas Postowski ‘16 Kevin Sampson ‘16 Joe Schade ‘16 Conor Battin ‘17 Joe Console ‘17 Marcello Garber ‘17 Mike Grafenstine ‘17 Michael Haley ‘17 Von Hobe ‘17 Christopher Magiera ‘17 Tristan Mordan ‘17 Aidan O’Connor ‘17 Mike O’Neill ‘17 Mac Riga ‘17 Kyllian Vong ‘17 Jack Yocom ‘17 Ronan Egan ‘18 David Haddad ‘18 Matthew Phillips ‘18 Anthony Tigano ‘18 Joe Scott ‘19
mesh as a unit, as Catholic League play begins on December 22 against Cardinal O’Hara. Other notable games on this year’s schedule include today’s game at Malvern Prep, the January 24 game vs. Neumann Goretti,
By Joe Egler '16
Game Recaps BASKETBALL: 59-52 Win over Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences
Hawkeye Staff Editors-in-Chief
Next Week at the Prep MONDAY, 12/14:
Special Thanks To Ms. Ree O’Neill Mr. Frank Raffa