Issue IV

Inside This Week's Issue The New SAT, Alex Talbot, Soccer, Student of the Week, and Golf

Volume 41, Issue IV

The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph's Prep

Edited by Joe Egler '16 and Ryan Naehr '16

October 9, 2015

Prep Golf on Par to Capture a Second State Championship

By Mike Grafenstine ‘17 As the school year was starting up again, so too was the Prep golf team. The team, regarded by many as the most elite at the Prep, was coming off of their best season to date. Last season, the team went on the win the PIAA Boys’ AAA State Championship, with a low round of 79 from then sophomore, Jack Mitchell ‘17. Prep Golf members Patrick Clearkin '16 and Luke Nichols '16 take swings in a match against Archbishop Ryan.

The team also went on to team is once again poised for who is now heading into his receive the Team of the Year Award from the school. The a successful season under tenth season as head coach .

Mr. Christian Patragnoni, The team started

their season strong with a 7-0 record, with wins including Father Judge, Archbishop Wood, and even rival La Salle. The team then went 1-3, but still managed to finish the season 15-6. The Prep had seven All Catholic players, including Alex Butler ‘16, Michael Burns ‘16, Jack Mitchell ‘17, Andrew Gallagher ‘18, Mike Leonard ‘17, Luke Nichols ‘16, and Pat Clearkin ‘16.

On Tuesday, the team Contined on page 2

Prep Soccer Looks to Reach Full Stride with Playoffs Looming

By Christopher Magiera '17 For the 4-7-1 Prep varsity soccer team, this season has been quite difficult, as the team has had its setbacks. It has struggled to gain momentum, but has put together a couple of wins.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, and we’re looking to end on a high note,” says goalkeeper Gavin Fox ‘17, describing the season in summary.

The statistics back up that statement as the most consecutive wins Prep has are just two, while the most consecutive losses this season

are three. Former captain Greg Bellwoar ‘15 said, “I think it is very important to establish consistency over the season.”

Unfortunately, the Prep has just been unable to do that. Coach Brendan Sullivan ‘92 believes the struggles have been largely due to the players that are not out on the pitch, completely altering their product every match.

“Because of injuries it is unknown, Griffin Fleming, Riley Herriman who was starter, and might be out for season and Connor Daly

Tony Deshayes '16 goes on the attack in a 2­1 overtime win against Archbishop Carroll.

possibly not coming back,” said Sullivan. However, he was able to find a pleasant surprise in this season’s campaign in Chris Ix ‘18.

“A goalie by trade, he has played forward because we need him and his athleticism that has helped

score two or three goals,” Sullivan stated about his surprise player this year.

As far as goal scoring threats are concerned, Andrew Bracken ‘17 has proven to be a rather consistent goalscorer, Continued on page 3

Golf (Cont'd) finished second in the PCL Championship, earning the Prep a spot in the District Playoffs, where they will look to make it back to the regional playoffs and eventually the state playoffs.

Leonard commented on the team’s success saying, “To this point, we’ve had a great season.

Besides a hiccup in PCLs, we’ve been 13-0 in the Catholic League.”

When asked about the team’s chances in the state playoffs, he said, “Prep golf will repeat in the state championship this year.”

Alex Talbot: The One Season, Two Sport Varsity Athlete

By Joe Pisacano ‘16 It is easy to recognize many of the football players at the Prep.

Most of them are very gargantuan and broad in stature as they should be, since they are football players. But, like on most football teams, their kickers have the sizes of average students. However, there is more to the Prep’s averagelooking placekicker than meets the eye.

Alex Talbot ‘16 is not only a vital member of the football team, but also the captain of the soccer

Alex Talbot '16 excels on both the soccer and football fields.

team at the Prep. Talbot has been a starting member of the varsity team since his sophomore year on teams that included quite a few Division I athletes, most notably Tolu Ibukinle ‘14 and Matt Shirey ‘14. He

plays the stopper position for soccer, meaning that he is the last line of defense before sweeper Griffin Fleming ‘16 and goalie Frankie Maniscalco ‘16.

While soccer is his

new SAT, there will be only four answer choices instead of the five that are on the current test. This improves your probability of guessing correctly on an answer that you are not sure of.

The only downfall of the new SAT is the elongation of time periods of test sections. Currently, there is a 25-minute essay, six 25minute sections which test mathematics, reading and writing, two 20-minute sections testing mathematics and critical reading, and a 10-minute multiple choice writing section. The total test time is 3 hours and 45 minutes, with three 5-minute breaks allotted. The new SAT begins with a 65 minute reading section, a break, then a 35 minute section language section. After that, a 25 minute math section,

minute math section. After that, a break is granted: students can either leave or stay to take the optional essay, which is 50 minutes, if they have signed up for it.

The first opportunity to take the new test is March 5th, 2016. Following that, there are only two other test dates offered for the new SAT this school year: May 7th, 2016 and June 4th, 2016.

However, the current SAT is not yet out of date. There are still three more test dates this school year for the currently administered SAT, being on November 7th, 2015, December 5th, 2015, and January 23rd, 2016. If you choose to take the SAT this school year, you have a wide range of options in your hand: the option of taking only the current SAT, taking only the new SAT, taking both, and taking each multiple times.

Continued on page 3

The Redesigned SAT: What Should Test Takers Know?

Moreover, on the followed by a break, then a 55

The new SAT will be scaled on a 1600 scale compared to the 2400 scale of the old SAT.

By Joe Console ‘17 The SAT is a standardized test, as most know, that tests your mathematical, reading, and writing skills. It is the more popular standardized test among the ACT and itself. It is graded on a scale of 6002400 points, and there are 800 points available for each section tested (mathematics, reading, and writing).

However, in March of 2016, the newly redesigned SAT will begin to be administered throughout the country.

The main difference between the new and current SATs is that the redesigned test presents the option of writing an essay at the beginning of the test. The test altogether is graded on a scale of 400-1600.

In contrast with the current SAT, the new one will not penalize you for guessing on answers that you either do not know or guess on in the struggle for time. In contrast, the current test penalizes the taker one-fourth of a point for each wrong guess.

Faculty Grid

By Kyllian Vong '17

Mr. Groch

Favorite food?

Chicken Pot Pie

Mrs. Hoffman Chocolate

Rigatoni with bolognese sauce and extra mozzarella

Favorite book?

Pillars of the Earth

Night

El Tunel

Favorite Movie?

Prince ofTides

Favorite thing about Autumn?

Trout Fishing

Soccer (Cont'd)

including scoring a brace in a famous victory over Archbishop Carroll on September 18th, as his two goals proved to be the difference in a 2-1 overtime thriller.

Another part of the season that does not exactly go according to the game plan is Alex Talbot ‘16 being used as the kicker for the Prep football team while playing for the soccer team—something, according to Sullivan, to which the Prep is not stranger.

“Prep soccer has a history of soccer players kicking, I did it, my brother did it. I actually encouraged Alex to do it.” Prior to Tuesday’s clash with La Salle, Sullivan again cited that his team has been “plagued by injuries,” in his explanation for the Prep not using a “La Salle-specific lineup.”

However, the the team did use the previous practices for

practicing set pieces against La Salle, including throw-ins and corners, according to Sullivan.

Many always regard the La Salle game as a special one for the fans and the players, but Fox refused to let that alter his and the team’s style of play.

Commenting on whether this game had something special, “No, not really we take the same approach. It’s as important as the others, we’ll just try to pick up three points.”

Former player Andrew Magiera ‘15 had other thoughts.

“A win is absolutely necessary,” he said.

However, a win was not the result, as the Prep fell to La Salle by a score of 3-0.

With the poor result against La Salle, some believe it is time to give up hope that this campaign can result in playoff success.

As former captain and 2014 All Catholic Soccer

Mr. Raffa

Little Miss Sunshine

Rebecca

Halloween

When the leaves change color and begin to fall, the crisp air, and of course: the sunshine

First Team Player, Mike Carr ‘15 said “It’ll be important for the younger guys to get experience closing out the season and learn from every game.” However, he did find it unlikely that the Prep would not make the playoffs, giving hope by saying, “Once you get there [the playoffs] it's really up for grabs.”

Looking to next season, though, there is a great deal of excitement surrounding the group that will be on the pitch for the Prep in the 2016 season. This is a core of younger players that Sullivan believes is “confident and excited, and a good core of guys when healthy.”

Mike Carr ‘15 said, “I think there’s definitely a solid, young group of players who can contend in these next few years.”

Talbot (Cont'd)

main sport, Talbot does not just waltz onto the football field and kick the football around for fun. He practiced all summer with the team. He has noticed a major difference between kicking a football and kicking a soccer ball.

“It is surprisingly a much different technique from kicking a soccer ball. In soccer, you have to think and feel where you want place the ball before you kick it whereas, with a football, you just line yourself up and blast it as hard as you can,” Talbot says.

In addition, he has encountered many of the burdensome demands of being a one-season, two-sport varsity athlete.

“It’s tough especially with all the other homework that I get from the Prep, but I’m really just enjoying the moment. It’s surreal, but I love every moment of it.”

By Aidan Donaher ‘16 This week's student of the week is senior Joe Pisacano ‘16. Pisacano excels in and out of the classroom, and is extremely hardworking. In the classroom, Pisacano carries a 3.9 GPA and plans on applying to Notre Dame, Loyola Marymount and Carnegie Mellon, among other schools.

Pisacano also is very active outside of the classroom as he works at a pool for underprivileged youths as a lifeguard and a

Student of the Week

Student of the Week Joseph Pisacano '16 is an outstanding runner as well as a determined student.

swim coach. He also is an integral member of WSJP the student broadcast club responsible for broadcasting Prep sports games. He plans on broadcasting many of the ice-hockey games this season.

He is the captain and lead runner of the cross country team at the Prep, and recently ran a 5k in a time of 16:25 in horrible conditions at the Paul Short invitational.

Although it is not his

Upcoming Games:

Next Week at the Prep:

Scoreboard and Events

By Joe Egler '16 Games Recap:

FOOTBALL: 21-33 Loss to Malvern Prep GOLF: Second in the PCL shooting 474 SOCCER: 3-0 Loss to La Salle 2-1 Win over Conwell Egan

CROSS COUNTRY: MONDAY, 10/12: Home meet Wednesday Columbus Day (No 10/14 @ 4:30 p.m. School; Offices Closed) “D” Day FOOTBALL: Home game Saturday TUESDAY, 10/13: 10/10 vs. St. Joseph’s Prep Community Life Regional (NJ) @ 2:00 Meeting p.m.

Technology Committee Meeting GOLF: “E” Day District 12 Championship Tuesday WEDNESDAY, 10/14: 10/13 No School Grade 12 PSATs Grades 9-11 SOCCER: Fathers’ Club Steering Away game Friday 10/9 Committee Meeting vs. Roman Catholic @ Mothers’ Club General 7:00 p.m.

Meeting Away game Tuesday “F” Day 10/13 vs. Father Judge @ 3:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, 10/15: Academic Council “A” Day

personal record, it is a great accomplishment considering the conditions. He expects the team to “make some unexpected noise in the PCL championship”.

He also runs both indoor and outdoor track and is a part of the Prep swimming team. He is also an avid surfer. Pisacano lists one of his Prep role models as Mr. Keisel, as he is very interested in a career in technology. Congratulations Joseph.

Hawkeye Staff Editors-in-Chief Joe Egler '16 Ryan Naehr '16 Staffwriters Johnathan Coppola '16 Aidan Donaher '16 Ryan Mannion '16 Chris Montie '16 Fintan O'Toole '16 Kevin Sampson '16 Joe Console '17 Mike Grafenstine '17 Aidan O'Connor '17 Christopher Magiera '17 Kyllian Vong '17 Matthew Phillips '18 Anthony Tigano '18 Moderator Mr. Leo Vaccaro '05 Special Thanks To: Mrs. Ree O'Neill Mr. Frank Raffa