What an amazing weekend at PMEA Region Choir, hosted by Venango Catholic School and Oil City High School, in Oil City, PA! Under the direction of Dr. Thomas Octave of Pittsburgh, Chris Reitz ’25, Alex Junkin ’24, and Bella Speros ’26 auditioned, practiced, and performed this past weekend. Some of their favorite pieces were "Baba Yetu" by Christopher Tin, "Five Hebrew Love Songs" by Eric Whitacre, and "Elijah Rock" by Moses Hogan. The concert was truly inspiring! Special brava to Bella and Chris for placing in the top 10! #Prep #RegionChoir 🎶
Cathedral Prep Weekend Athletics Roundup:
• Girls basketball advanced to the second round of the PIAA playoffs with their 53-29 victory over Trinity. Jayden McBride led all scorers with 18 points. Addie Biel had 17, while Lena Walz finished with 12. The Ramblers surrendered only 11 second half points. Next up is Northern York THIS WEDNESDAY, March 13, at Norwin High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tickets can only be purchased at https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=mobileNav. 🏀
• Boys basketball’s season came to a close in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. The Ramblers fell to Fox Chapel, 57-52. Amaree Pickens had 25 points in his last career game for the orange and black. 🏀
• In his second-round consolation match in Hershey, Keagan Oler (127) fell to Waynesburg Central’s Ky Szewczyk, 4-1, by decision. 🤼♂️
• Ava Hensler finished 44th out of 70 bowlers at the Western PA Regionals competition in Pittsburgh. She rolled a 744 over five games, with a high game of 176. 🎳
Legacy Gala 2024: "Igniting Excellence” is NEXT SATURDAY! Visit www.cathedralprep.com/legacygala to secure your ticket to an evening of celebrating, dancing, and spirited bidding... one you won't want to miss! We want to send a very special thank you to our Blaze sponsors: Allburn Florist, Frontier General Contracting, Printing Concepts, and Welders Supply. We also want to thank our Fire sponsors: Carrara Steel, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield / AHN Saint Vincent Hospital, and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). Thank you for your support! #LegacyGala2024 🔥
Happy International Women’s Day! This year’s theme is #InspireInclusion. Together we can forge women's equality. Today, and every day, we celebrate the women in our lives and the differences they make in the world. #InternationalWomensDay 💙🧡🤍
Cathedral Prep Athletics Roundup for Thursday, March 7:
• The PIAA AAA Individual wrestling championships are taking place in Hershey. Keagan Oler (127) fell in his first-round match to Lower Dauphin’s Cael Rossi by decision, 7-3 SV. He would bounce back in the consolation round and pick up a major decision over Boiling Springs’ Luke Magnani. 🤼♂️
Last week, Ms. Kabasinski’s physics classes were tasked with creating an apparatus that would allow an egg to fall from a substantial height without breaking. They had to use their knowledge of impulse, momentum, and energy transfer to do so. After the drop, they had to defend their success or rationalize their failure using our current units of study. #Prep #Physics 🥚
In September, six students auditioned to be in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Region Honors Choirs. After submitting audio auditions to ACDA Eastern, three students were selected, and they have been preparing for ever since with Prep’s Choir Director Mr. Alesso. This past week, these three students worked on a challenging and engaging folder of music at the eastern regional convention in Providence, Rhode Island. Chris Reitz ’25 was in the SATB choir under the music direction of Dr. Felicia Barber, who teaches at Yale University. Lauren Proper ’26 and Tia Taylor ’25 were in the SSAA choir under the music direction of Dr. A. Jan Taylor, who teaches at Prairie View A&M University. This conference was themed around underrepresented composers, conductors, and musicians, especially highlighting women in music and the African American musical traditions and experiences. Our students learned great music with text and/or music by women, Spirituals, music by women of color, and meeting other singers from the 11 New England states in the ACDA Eastern Regional conference, and the eastern United States in the process. We are grateful for the support for these high-end experiences and endeavors for our music students! #Prep #HonorsChoir 🎶
Yesterday, juniors from Prep joined other junior students from the area at the annual Rotary Club of Erie Ethics Symposium hosted at Mercyhurst University. Students participated in open mic discussions on ethical scenarios. They also heard from several speakers on ethical issues, participated in breakout group discussions with students from other area high schools, and delved into ethical dilemmas faced by teenagers. #Prep #Ethics
Several students attended Junior Achievement of Western PA’s inaugural Empower Her Summit Northwest Presented by PSN Labs last Friday at Gannon University. The summit was an interactive and impactful leadership and life development workshop developed exclusively for high school girls that introduced participants to northwestern PA's diverse economy with emerging job opportunities in education, medicine, manufacturing, tourism, and more. #Prep
Last Friday was the inaugural induction ceremony for Cathedral Prep’s chapter of the NHSDA. The National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA) is a program of the National Dance Education Organization, created to recognize outstanding artistic merit, leadership, and academic achievement in students studying dance in high school and college/university. These dancers not only maintained the necessary GPA for the honors society, but also achieved artistic merit and leadership to meet the requirements for the NHSDA induction process. Cathedral Prep is the ONLY Erie high school with a dance honorary chapter with the NHSDA. Congratulations to all! #Prep #NHSDA 💃🩰
Last week closed out Black History Month. Erie County Councilman André Horton visited our campus and MTA. He toured our campuses and met with teachers and students. Also, the Cathedral Prep student body, in conjunction with the Diversity Club, had a dress down and raised funds for two local agencies in honor of Black History Month. Shantel Hilliard ’92, CEO of the Booker T. Washington Center, and James Sherrod ’81, CEO of the Martin Luther King Center, stopped by campus for a check presentation and tour. #Prep #Community
Student Council recently completed their annual Cereal Drive for the Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA. This year, our school community donated a total of 523 boxes of cereal for those in need. This is just one of many ways our Ramblers serve our community! #Prep #Community 🥣
On Friday, National Art Honor Society (NAHS) held their “Pies & Picasso” event in the Salata Technology & Innovation Center! Madeline Huber ’24 and Nhu Tran ’25 led the participants in the creation of a beautiful landscape painting. Nearly 60 people attended, and the NAHS raised close to $1500, which will help the club pay for their field trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Some outstanding paintings were created, and a good time was had by all! #Prep #PiesandPicasso 🎨🥧
Cathedral Prep Weekend Athletics Roundup:
• Congratulations to the Girls Swimming & Diving team!! They captured their ninth straight D-10 title and are headed to Lewisburg for states! The medley relay of Maria Costa, Jaslene Cage, Ellie Natemeier and Josie Dufala took first. Costa took first in the individual medley. Ellie Brugger took third, while Brianne Ryan took fifth. Dufala won the 50 free, with Cage and Kendal Johnston taking third and fourth, respectively. Natemeier took fourth in the 100 fly. The 200 free relay of Costa, Johnston, Dufala, and Cage took first. Johnston took first in the 100 free. Dufala took fifth, while Chloe Borrero finished seventh. Natemeier took fourth in the 500 free. Costa took the 100 back, while Borrero finished second. Cage won the 100 breastroke. Brugger took second, while Ryan finished fourth. The 400 free relay of Johnston, Brugger, Borrero and Natemeier took second. Also, Maria Costa was named Outstanding Swimmer of the meet for Girls AA, an award presented by the Erie County Aquatics Hall of Fame. 🏊♀️ 🏆
• Congratulations to the Boys Swimming & Diving team! They made it a sweep at Spire Institute and claimed their 22nd straight D-10 title! The medley relay of Jack Raimy, Matthew Hinman, Evan Calvert and Colin Troutman took first. Callum Snider-Mills took fourth in the 200 free, while Owen Carson finished fifth. Raimy won the individual medley. Drew Brown finished second, while Ben Camera and Adam Clark finished third and fourth, respectively. Troutman took second in the 50 free. Hinman finished sixth. Calvert took finished sixth in the 100 fly. The 200 free relay of Hinman, Brown, Calvert and Carson placed second. Troutman took third in the 100 free. Snider-Mills took seventh. Carson took second in the 500 free, while Calvert took sixth. Leighton Leeds finished eighth. Raimy won the 100 back, while Jackman Callaway took fourth. In the 100 breaststroke, Brown took first. Hinman took second, while Camera tied for fifth and Clark finished eighth. The 400 free relay of Raimy, Snider-Mills, Carson, and Troutman took second. 🏊♂️ 🏆
• Girls basketball picked up a 61-33 win over Obama Academy in their subregional matchup. Addie Biel scored 16 points to lead the Ramblers. Jayden McBride and Natalie Spano each had 14 points. McKenna Valone added 10. They are set to play Trinity in the first round of the PIAA playoffs this Saturday, March 9, at 6:00 p.m. at the Hagerty Family Events Center. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=hellobar. 🏀
• Boys basketball also picked up a subregional victory over Obama Academy, 62-45. Michael Thompson had 19 points to lead the way, while Nando Mirarchi had 14. They are set to host Fox Chapel this Friday, March 8, in the first round of the PIAA Playoffs. Tip-off is schedule for 7:00 p.m. at the Hagerty Family Events Center. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=hellobar. 🏀
Cheryl Hufnagel, program outreach coordinator for the Felician Sisters of North America, visited campus yesterday and talked about the Seeds of Hope Young Women’s Leadership Experience. She explained how the program would allow them to grow spiritually and expand their leadership abilities through meeting new people, serving others, and having prayer opportunities throughout the week. #Prep #EmpoweringYouth
Legacy Gala 2024: Igniting Excellence is just TWO WEEKS away! Do you have your ticket yet? Visit www.cathedralprep.com/legacygala to register and learn more about our honorees, auction items, and more! We also want to send a very special thank you to our sponsors and donors. Thank you for your support! #LegacyGala2024 🔥
TOMORROW is a big day for our Ramblers on the court and in the pool! See below for ticket and location information. ROLL RAMBLERS! #Prep 🟠🔵⚪
🏀 Girls basketball heads to Pittsburgh to take on Obama Academy in a PIAA subregional matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Obama Academy. Directions can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//515+N+Highland+Ave,+Pittsburgh,+PA+15206/@40.4668781,-80.0055189,12z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x8834f27764e1c6e9:0xe2d5c17cbe04690b!2m2!1d-79.9231365!2d40.4668771?hl=en&entry=ttu. Tickets will be available at the door.
🏀 Boys basketball looks for another PIAA subregional win. They take on Obama Academy at the Hagerty Family Events Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at https://piaadistrict10.hometownticketing.com/embed/all.
🏊♀️🏊♂️The boys and girls District 10 swimming championships begin at Spire Institute. The two-day event kicks off at 2:00 p.m. on Friday. Day two begins at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are available online at https://piaadistrict10.hometownticketing.com/embed/all.
(Photos courtesy of Erie County Sports Photos - Rich Wise & Kim Gates)
Several students participated in the Woman’s Club of Erie’s annual art show last weekend. Some even came away with awards! Amazing work by all! #Prep #Art 🎨
🥇First Place:
• Mia Shaughnessy ’24 – “Honey Pot” (3D Art)
• Ava Hensler ’25 – “A Tabby’s Touch” (2D Art)
🥈Second Place:
• Madeline Huber ’24 – “Natural” (Digital Art)
• Regina Torrance ’24 – “US Brig Niagara” (3D Art)
• Adrienne Catrabone ’25 – “Koi Pond Reflection”
🥉Third Place:
• Sofia Giacomelli ’26 – “Dotty the Whale Shark” (3D Art)
Other pieces of art:
• Adrienne Catrabone ’25 – “Donut Eat the Artwork”
• Mia Shaughnessy ’24 – “Springfield”
• Angeline Terrizzi ’25 – “Fireside”
• Nhu Tran ’25 – “Neptune”
Calling all prospective members of the Class of 2028 interested in dance! Cathedral Prep awards several yearly, non-renewable Dance Scholarships of $500 each based on the criteria listed on the application form found on www.cathedralprep.com/scholarships. Applicants will need to have essay submitted by THIS FRIDAY, March 1, 2024, and auditions will be held NEXT THURSDAY, March 7, 2024, from 4:30 – 6:30p.m. in the Cathedral Prep Dance Studio. We hope to see you there! #Prep #Dance 💃🕺
Mike McCoy '66 returned home to Cathedral Prep on Monday to speak to our students. McCoy's "Mike McCoy Ministries" reaches students in Catholic schools with the message of faith, hope, and encouragement; enabling them to make better decisions in their lives. McCoy is a member of Prep's Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as Erie Hall of Fame and Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. He played his college career at Notre Dame and was the second overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft by Green Bay. Mike went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL for the Packers, Raiders and Giants. He shared stories about his football career and life, including the struggles he faced. He spoke on perseverance and gave students examples on how to maneuver through obstacles in life. Thank you, Mike! #Prep #EmpoweringYouth #Faith
