Alumni Association

Forever True

January, 2023

Dates to Remember

Teutonia Mannerchor Alumni Luncheon

The Alumni Christmas party was held on Tuesday, December 13^th in the Dining Hall of the Second Floor of the Teutonia Club. There was a good turnout as over 85 alums, spouses, and guests enjoyed the food and spirit of the season. Rick Weber ('64) was Santa and had photos taken with numerous alums and spouses. Jim Eberz ('64) once again did a great job coordinating the event. Check out the photos below.

REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE NO LUNCHEONS IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY.

Members of the class of 1966 celebrate at the Christmas Luncheon. Left to right-front: Tom Maier and Ed Thaner-back Bob Gierl and Denny McCarthy. A very interesting fact: McCarthy, Thaner and Maier all share the same birthday, September 13th, 1948.

Don Graham Classic

The Don Graham Classic will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2023, at North Catholic High School. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. The game schedule is as follows:



11am - Boys Freshman Basketball vs Central Catholic

12:30pm - JV Boys vs Central Catholic

2:00pm - V Boys vs Central Catholic

3:30pm - V Girls vs Oakland Catholic

5:30pm - JV Girls vs Oakland Catholic

Alumni Spotlight

Semester Test

How Many Teachers do You Remember?

It's our annual semester teacher exam. These people were on staff from the 50's through the 2020's. How many can you name? Send your answers/guesses to us here.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

Flashback Photo

Last Month's Flashback

This is a picture from the 2002 yearbook. The picture is of 7 freshmen who have siblings who are seniors at North. The Freshmen are first row (l-r): Pete Gaertner and Matt Musial; back row (l-r): Meghan Shellem, Hayley O'Hare, Jesse Wells, Daniel McCauley, and Mike Gaertner. The picture under the flashback is one with their older siblings.

While we don't have an exact count, we know that 30 freshmen (class of 2026) have older siblings at school.

We got a few responses on this photo. Haley O'Hare Ziegler ('05) said, "Easy peasy. This photo was taken because we were Freshman who had Senior siblings! 

Meghan Shellem, Hayley O’Hare, Jesse Wells, Dan McCauley, Mike and Pete Gaertner and Matt Musial. Thanks for the flashback!" Hugh Mulvey ('05) added, "I'm cheating answering this one because I have that yearbook in my office. All in the photo had older siblings in school with us in 2001-2002." Katie Munsch Costa ('04) sent us this, "This picture is from my sophomore year yearbook and I actually remember it! I recognize everyone in the picture except for the person third from the left in the dark shirt. The others are Meghan (Shellem) Russell, Hayley (O'Hare) Ziegler, Pete Gaertner, Dan McCauley, Matt Musial, and Mike Gaertner. If I remember correctly, the reason they were all photographed together is because they were all freshmen who had siblings who were seniors." And finally, Sue Keller McCauley ('78) said, "They all had siblings that were seniors at NC.

My son, Dan McCauley, is in the center of the picture. His sister, Leah, was a senior. His friends Matt Musial, Mike and Pete Gaertner had brothers that were seniors, and Hailey had a sister who was a senior."

This Month's Flashback

These are two pictures that can be viewed as one. Can you tell us who they are and why the pictures can be viewed as one. Actually any information on the photos would be great. So we start 2023 with a tough one.

Send your guesses to us here.

Class Notes

The display case just inside the entrance to the school houses memorabilia from the school's history. There is also North Catholic apparel available.

You can check out the NC gear in the spirit shop by clicking here.

Class of 1956

That's Kirk Vogeley with his brother Jim ('64) attending the debut of Kirk's grandson, Jon Robbins, as a professional Lacrosse player

Class of 1964

Chuck Struhar is in the middle of some Steeler fans before a recent game.

Class of 1965

Wayne Byerly sends this note, "On Veteran Day, I received the Quilt of Honor from the quilting ladies in our park (Golden Sun RV Park) for my service in the Air Force. It's given a few times a year to Veterans who served in the Military. With me is my wife Kathy."

Class of 1966

Jeff Witherel and his wife Linda pose for a photo at a Christmas party in Washington DC.

Jack Perkowski came back to North to speak to students. Jack, the founder and chairman of JFP Holdings Ltd., shared his story and life experiences and how his North Catholic education helped to pave a promising future for him.

Standing in front of the Bell after Jack's presentation to the students are NC President Joe Wilson ('91), Jim Beran, Jack Perkowski and Tom Maier.

Class of 1972

The class of '72 held their 50th class reunion in December. They began their reunion with a tour of the Cranberry campus. This was followed by dinner at Bravo and an evening of stories of their days walking the halls of Troy. The event was organized by Paul Laquatra and Don Feitl. Click here for more photos taken by Carl Deutsch.

Class of 1973

It's been awhile since we have seen Winford Craig, but he's looking good as his class gets ready for a fiftieth reunion.

Class of 1977

Rich Lane honors the late Franco Harris with this posting from a summer golf outing.

Dave Marx and all of his grandchildren are on a ride with Santa

Class of 1979

It's a Kline family celebration. That's Ellen Matschner Kline to the right of the baby and her son Alex ('10) in the front.

Class of 1983

It's another great picture of Amy Larkin Palmer and her husband.

Martin Caridi is all smiles as he holds his latest grandchild.

Class of 1986

Bernie Dlugonski tunes his bass guitar.

Class of 1989

Patty Suchma (rear middle) celebrates the arrival of Christmas break with fellow 4th grade teachers.

Class of 1990

Dorothy Malone and her son pose for this Christmas Eve photo.

Class of 1993

Sandy Kozlowski and her sons are ready for Christmas break.

Class of 1994

Jamie Pagone celebrates his birthday with his sister Tara ('02).

Class of 1995

Julie Lenzner is on the plane as she leaves her home in Holland to celebrate Christmas in the Burgh.

It's not the Elf on the Shelf, but the Superintendent on the school sign. Ryan McLane goes from school to school in the days before Christmas break and sits with the school principal waving to students as they arrive for school.

Class of 1996

Here's a Christmas photo from Jamie Leonardo Ranieri and family.

Class of 1999

It's a battle of the Christmas sweaters in Katy Delaney Yates' house.

Kim Jacob spreads holiday cheer in this outfit.

Cody Walters gets ready for the holiday rush.

Class of 2001

Gus Just and his boys send this beach picture to help us warm up

Class of 2002

Meet the newlyweds: Mr and Mrs Tony Grego

Adam Schmidt and his family are ready for Christmas.

Bonnie Wissner Vatovec and her family celebrate the holidays.

It was a mini reunion of sorts at Mad Mex during the week after Christmas. From left to right: Annie Claffey, Phil Lamperski, Ron Dunn, Andrew Luciana, Greg Traymar

Michelle Novak and her family are ready for Christmas.

Class of 2003

Todd Deloplaine and his wife take a selfie during a night out.

As Allison Conway Mercer demonstrates that even in Rome, no matter how you spell it, it's still the terrible towel.

Class of 2004

It's Katie Sweeney Dugas and her family in this photo before winter arrived.

Class of 2005

This is Erik Hood and family in this Christmas card photo.

Rachel Frederick Zimmer and her family are out looking for the perfect tree.

Class of 2008

Mary Kate McLaughlin Rivas and family are dressed for a special occassion

Kelsey DiSanti Sweeney, husband Kerrigan and the kids get ready to bake up a big batch of Christmas cookies for Santa.

Class of 2010

Aaron Krueger and his wife know that Christmas is more joyful with a newborn.

Class of 2011

Clare Lamperski and her family head off to mass

Class of 2012

Megan Prybyl is the proud godmother in this photo with her niece.

Carly Dittrich Hartzell and her little one await Santa's arrival.

It's a Gefert Christmas picture: Collin, Nicole (Matschner), and their boys.

Class of 2013

Patrick Rielly and his fiance are ready for their engagement party.

The Pietrone's, Nick and Natalie (Nyman), are ready for their first Christmas as a married couple.

Shawn Tunstall and his wife Lynzi Mueller ('12) and kids go for a sleigh ride with Santa.

Class of 2014

Paige Kizior and her guy pose by the tree.

Nicolette Bilicic and her special someone enjoy their traditional holiday dining out.

Class of 2015

Isabelle Dohanics sends us this Christmas photo.

Class of 2016

Tyler Zahurak was back at North for a Pitt recruiting event. Tyler is in the Pharmacy program at Pitt.

Class of 2018

That's Joe Palaski on the far right as he poses with the Introduction to Business classes to share his recent work experiences in the field of accounting.

Class of 2019

It's a role reversal with Kara Yoest and her mom, DeDe Reukauf Yoest ('81) in this Christmas picture.

Class of 2020

Tess Myers continues to lead the Lady Dukes of Duquesne University in scoring. She is also the leader in three point shots in the A-10.

Brooke Sturgis (in white) poses for this picture after addressing the freshman health class. Brooke talked about her health journey of receiving a heart and kidney transplant in 2021. Brooke is finishing her sophomore year at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) as a full-time advertising student, while working part-time for the minor league baseball team, the Savannah Bananas, in social media and digital marketing.

Class of 2022

Gia Cercone is a member of Pitt's cheer squad.  

Nathan Habrle visited North during leave from the Marine Corps. 

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If you know an alum who doesn't get the newsletter and would like to receive it, send us their email address and we will add them to the distribution list. Just send it here.

Thanks to Al Young (67), Jeff Wetherel ('66), Carmen DiGiacomo ('59), Shari Brown Butler ('82), Bob Gaertner ('57), George Bauer ('49), Heather Zahurak Malloy ('97), Joe Bradley ('69), Tony Grego ('02), J William Murtha ('73), Wayne Byerly ('65), and Jim Eberz ('64) for sending information and pictures to us.

If you have news/photos you want to share with classmates, send them to alumni news.

ALL reunion updates will ALSO be available on the school's website, northcatholic.org or by clicking here!

NC Class of 1973

Chuck Bauer writes, "We are still in the general gathering phase. We have close to 40 now in our group.  The contact email info and to get updates is [email protected]."

NC Class of 1978

The 45th class reunion will be held on September 2, 2023 at The Cabin in North Park. More details to follow. Any questions, please call Joyce Velardita Rouda at 412-322-8337 or Linda Maloney Schindler at 412-526-5763.

NC Class of 1990

Martin Miller and Leah Vaughan Quigley are still hoping to organize a class reunion. Keep an eye out for some news

NC Class of 1996

Lori Munsch Klein and Chrissy Shraeder are trying to get a 25th reunion together. Unfortunately the response has been slow. They have set up a form you can link to here. Also you can can email them information and questions here.

NC Class of 1997

The class of 1997 will celebrate their 25th reunion this year. Let us know about reunion plans so we can spread the word.

Military Legacy Scholarship

North Catholic has a Military Legacy Scholarship in honor of all alumni who have served in our nation’s military forces. The goal is to provide a $1,000.00 scholarship annually. To date we have raised over $30,000 to fund this annual scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to the student provided certain benchmarks are met. Every 4 years (or sooner) it is awarded to an incoming 9^th grade student. Molly Burke ('24) is the recipient of the scholarship.

If you wish, you may make a contribution in someone's honor/memory. Donations can be made by sending checks payable to North Catholic, write "North Catholic Military Scholarship" in the memo, and mail to: 

North Catholic High School

1617 Route 228

Cranberry Township, PA 16066

ATTN: Development Office

The John Latulippe Memorial Scholarship

The John Latuilippe Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Gabriel Grindstaff - NC class of 2024. Thank you to all who have donated. 

Class of 1959 Scholarship

The NCHS Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund has awarded $5,200 Scholarships for the 2022-23 School Year to Brianna Venturella and Shamus Straub.

The Fund has awarded scholarships totaling $93,200 to ten recipients since the inception of the Fund. Contributions to the Fund can be made at any time and should be sent to the North Catholic Foundation, North Catholic High School, ATTN: Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund, 1617 Route 228, Cranberry Township, PA 16066.

If you would like more information about the Fund, please contact Joe Blitzko([email protected]), Dick Halleran ([email protected]), or Mike Conroy ([email protected]).

Class of 1965 Legacy Scholarship

The Class of 1965 Legacy Scholarship award for the 2022-2023 school year was made to senior Kaitlyn Kenaan. She is the daughter of NC alum Dan Kenaan ('91). Kaitlyn received $1,000 to help with tuition. She is an the honor roll student. Thomas Zizan, the son of Julie (Rogalla) Zizan ('87) graduated this past June. We will award two scholarships for the 2023-2024 school year next summer.

While the Legacy Scholarship continues to grow, we do need the help of our classmates to increase the scholarship fund. When we were at North, almost all of the tuition was paid by our parishes, now the burden has fallen on the parents. Catholic education is not cheap and in order to help parents provide the great education we received all those years ago, we need more of our classmates to step up and help keep our legacy scholarship fund growing. No contribution is too small. Thanks to classmates, ED KOSS, and one in honor of BILL GUBANIC for their recent contributions. If you have questions, feel free to contact Bob Colbert ([email protected]) or Walt Quinn ([email protected])

Some of our classmates are committing to making a small (read $10, $15) monthly donation via their credit card. It's a painless way to contribute and Bob Colbert and others have been doing so for a while. As Bob said, "it's less that the cost of a bottle of wine." If you would like to contribute a small monthly amount via your credit card, contact Amber Nicotra Morrison to set it up.

John Mikulan is also donating 20% of the royalties from his book, The Bark of the Day to the fund.

Class of 1966 Scholarship

The Class of ’66, is proud to announce the selection of their first scholarship recipient, Andrew Scears ('26). The committee, under the leadership of Tom Balestreire, is well on its way to funding its goal of $100,000 for the Class of ’66 Scholarship Fund. The Fund will be administered by the Class in conjunction with the school. We, Tom Maier, Jim Beran, Hank Marziale, Paul Ladish, and Bob Gierl have contacted many but if you or someone you know is wishing to be included, contact Tommy, 404.358.4864, text or call.

Grace Lazzara, NC '24, recently led a heartwarming project within the Service Club. Grace, along with other members of the club, made beautiful fleece blankets to help members of the community who are often out in the cold and looking for warmth. The blankets were delivered to the Light of Life Rescue Mission.

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The NC Robotics Team met with General Thompson, Vice Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force. General Thompson was in Pittsburgh to celebrate the 3rd Anniversary of Space Force and hosted the team for a Q&A followed by the Penguins game versus the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The team now has a bigger picture of the operations of U.S. Space Force and the impressive career experience of a General. General Thompson also happens to be a native of the Pittsburgh area.

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As part of the Career Development Program for offering a job shadowing opportunity to a few of our North Catholic students, Grace Krotine, Tyler Lisowski, and Emma Shoemaker went to visit Westinghouse and spent the day at the local energy giant. They had the chance to sit in with engineers as they went about their work day and learn from their experiences.

Classroom News

As students got ready to start their Christmas break, students gathered for an Advent prayer service. The service offered a moment to pause, prepare their hearts and minds, and joyfully await for the gift of Jesus at Christmas.

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Band

Congratulations to the Concert Band, Jazz Band, and the Trojan Chorale who performed their Christmas Concert on December 14th.

Trojan Sports

Return to Troy Hill

As the basketball season officially kicked off at North Catholic, the Trojans had an opportunity to go back to our roots during their try-outs a few weeks ago. With this season marking the 83rd in North Catholic history, it was pretty historic and special for the boys to hold their practice at the old North Catholic High School on Troy Hill.

This gym has housed some of the great teams and players in Trojan history, and it was the perfect stage to begin this season's journey and connect the young team to the deep North Catholic Basketball tradition.

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Girls Soccer

Congratulations to Girls Soccer players Lauren MacDonald, Rylee Kumer, Lily Karsman, Gillian Kennedy, Lauren Mealie, and Simone Sharpless for being named All-Section players for the 2022 season.



Additional congratulations to Lauren MacDonald, Rylee Kumer, Lauren Mealie, and Simone Sharpless on also being recognized as All-WPIAL players.

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Football

Congratulations to JJ Iaquinta, Danny Franco, Gavin Kamody, Jack Fennell, Rylee Kumar, and Brady O'Hara on their recent recognition from the Greater Allegheny Football Conference as First Team All-Conference Players.

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Hockey

Here's the latest in PIHL Class A hockey news: Emilio Laracuente had two goals and two assists and Ryan Berry added a goal and three assists in a 6-1 victory over Wheeling Park. The icemen have a 7-3-1 record at the Christmas break.

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Girls Basketball

The Trojanettes are 6-2 following a 49-17 win over Seneca Valley. Junior Alayna Rocco's 15 points led the scoring in the nonsection victory.

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Boys Basketball

The Trojans are 4-3 heading into the Christmas break. Their most recent win was a non-section win over Plum. You can read the story here. The Trojans are ranked 5th in Class 4A.

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New Coaches

North Catholic is proud to announce that Chris Rizzo has been named as the new head football coach. Coach Rizzo is returning to Pittsburgh from Glendale, Arizona where he was the head coach at Ironwood High School. He led Ironwood to the 5A State Championship game in 2020 and has been honored as the NFL's Arizona Cardinals' High School Coach of the Week. He is a graduate of Bethel Park High School and John Carroll University.

SEND YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO NORTH CATHOLIC INSTEAD OF HARRISBURG!

Taxpayers can opt to have 90% of their tax liability given to North Catholic High School or the private school of their choice through the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) Program. Funds directed to North Catholic from this program directly support scholarships for students. 

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are two programs that can make it possible for many students to receive a Catholic education.

Interested in more information? Contact Amber in the Development/Alumni Office at 412-321-4823, x 529 or [email protected]

Watch this short video to learn more how easy it really is!

Click here to watch the short video!

Many thanks to our generous EITC contributors:

COZZA ENTERPRISES

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA

FRANK'S PIZZERIA

GRANT STREET GROUP

HAND & SHOULDER CENTER

HUNTINGTON BANK

THE LYNCH LAW GROUP, LLC

MAHER DUESSEL

NEXTIER BANK

POINT SPRING & DRIVESHAFT CO.