Keeping you up to date on all things Hudson Catholic, past and present

MAKE HUDSON CATHOLIC

YOUR TOP CAUSE (OR ONE OF THEM)

IN YOUR

YEAR END CHARITABLE GIVING

While we are always hopeful that each of our graduates considers Hudson Catholic the worthiest of causes for their planned charitable giving at year end, we also realize there are many other worthwhile causes that vie for the same discretionary assets that you have available for gifts and donations.

So we appeal to all alumni and friends -- if Hudson Catholic is not the top cause that you donate to, please at least place The Home of The Hawks among your ‘Top Three’ charitable causes.

It is at Hudson Catholic that your gifts, no matter the amount, can have more, or perhaps the most, impact than at any other charitable cause, considering that 80% of our student body is in need of tuition assistance to attend and remain in Hudson Catholic.

Given the size of our school, at 500 students, its location in widely diverse and urban Jersey City, and its positioning as the last remaining Catholic co-ed high school in Hudson County, your individual gifts stand to be more impactful here, than if offered to larger-scale public and private non-profit institutions. So, please, at year-end, BE THE HAWK!

For Even More Impact, Make a Recurring Gift!

When you set up a monthly donation to 1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic, your gift will continue to impact current and future Hawks for years to come - all for as little as a Netflix subscription!

At hudsoncatholic.org/1964, simply enter the amount of your monthly gift, then check the box that says "Recurring" to make an impact all year long.

The Spirit of '76!

Board of Consultors member Larry Costanza '76 arranged for his classmates to gather on campus for a luncheon in The Learning Commons on December 8th. As part of their campus visit, they met with the varsity basketball team, and members of the student council updated them about student life and hosted them on a tour of the school. Ms. Sarah Barbi, Assistant Principal, also dropped by to provide an update from the Administration's perspective and remind our visitors of the impact alumni are making at Hudson Catholic. The '76ers decided to plan on raising funds to support tuition assistance for students. 

Message From The Prez

I recently stumbled upon a Hudson County Catholic High School Night pamphlet, circa 1976. Aside from making me smile as it brought me back to 8^th grade, my eyes lit up at the number of Catholic High Schools that existed across Hudson County. There were 3 All-Boys Schools- Hudson Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep and Marist. There were 6 All-Girls schools- Academy of St. Aloysius, Holy Family Academy, Holy Rosary Academy, Sacred Heart Academy, St. Dominic Academy, and St. Michael’s Regional. There were 4 Co-educational schools- St. Anthony’s, St. Aloysius, St. Joseph’s of the Palisades and St. Mary’s. That’s a grand total of THIRTEEN Catholic High School options for the students of Hudson County. Today, there is a grand total of THREE! ONE All-Boys with St. Peter’s Prep; ONE All-Girls with St. Dominic Academy; and ONE Co-educational school with Hudson Catholic.

As the school leader, I try and balance our Fundraising campaigns with Friendraising campaigns – events that are primarily created to bring alums back to 790 Bergen for some feel good moments and trips down Memory Lane with friends and faculty, rather than overt solicitations. However, as we move through December, I want to echo Gary’s appeal. December is the last month of the year and, subsequently, the last month for charitable donation write-offs with Uncle Sam.

Now, more than ever, Hudson Catholic can use your help. We are the ONLY co-educational Catholic option left in Hudson County and we are needed. Please consider making a year-end contribution to the Hawks’ Nest. You will be providing a life-altering opportunity for a young person. That’s right…you will, quite literally, change the course of someone’s life! That’s a heckuva legacy for anyone to have!

Saturday, January 6th, 12pm

Hudson Catholic vs. Seton Hall Prep

Annual High School Hoopfest

at Roselle Catholic High School

Roselle, NJ

Thursday, January 11th, 5pm

5pm Reception at Hudson Catholic

7pm Game Time

Hudson Catholic vs. Roselle Catholic

https://www.hudsoncatholic.org/heroes

Remembering Our Heroes of Hudson

Robert Nguyen '93

Robert pursued a career in law enforcement, serving the people of Jersey City on the force of the JCPD. Twelve years after graduating from Hudson Catholic, Robert, and his partner Shawn Carson, were tragically lost on Christmas night 2005 in a devastating accident on the Whittpenn Bridge in Kearney.



Saturday, April 27

Signature small plates from

Alumni Chefs, Local Restaurants

in the Hudson Catholic Auditorium

Proceeds to benefit HC academics & tuition assistance

Further Details TBA

Contact gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org for

Sponsorship Details

Friday, May 17th

Induction Event

at Hudson Catholic

Honoring the Greatest Athletes in Hudson Catholic History

Nomination forms may be completed and submitted at

https://hudsoncatholic.org/woh

through December 31st

Reunion Reminders

1974 / 1999 / 2014

(and any other classes)

Start planning now!

Contact Jill Cypher at jcypher@hudsoncatholic.org

to express interest in having / helping with your class reunion

Class leaders, contact advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

to be put in touch with the '73 Reunion Committee

for their experience in hosting their event at the school.

Far Flung Hawks

We always begin an article like this by saying “that we know of,” when it is based on information that may be incomplete or dated. Consequently, we always invite the readers to revise our knowledge about people and where they are. By doing imperfect articles like this, we are essentially inviting you to complete the article for us by writing to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org, so we can share the additions in Korrections Korner, with attribution, of course.

That we know of…………at least 13 Hawks are living outside the United States, across the European (8), Asian (4) and African (1) continents, and four are living outside the 'Contiguous 48' in Alaska (1) and Hawaii (3). Some we are able to connect with via email, for others we have only a mailing address, so we may be out of touch with them, which means they could no longer be at that address. But we do our best to track our Hawks. If you will be visiting one of these locations, we’ll do our best to put you in touch with a Host Hawk to enrich your visit. Just drop a note to the above Advancement email address.

The alpha and omega of Distant Hawks are Dennis Dussman ’72 of Fairbanks, Alaska and Luther Muhammad ’18 of Tampere, Finland.

Dennis Dussman '72

Luther Muhammad '18

Mark Bulwicz '73

Joe Molloy '73

Ivan Diaz '00

Rob Schumann '04

In between, three Hawks live in Hawaii (Lou DiLiberto ’73 on Maui, and Steve Switaj ’74 and JJ Niebuhr ’88 on Oahu), and three in Italy (Rev. Keith Pecklers ’76 in Rome, Arsenio Pandolfo ’80 in Salerno, and Mike McKnight '86 in Orgiano).

The classes of ’73 (DiLiberto, Mark Bulwicz in Dublin, Ireland, and Joe Malloy in Istanbul, Turkey) and ’86 (McKnight, Anthony DeRobertis in Cape Town, South Africa, and Pomchalit Ploykrachang in Bangkok, Thailand) each have three members living outside the continental U.S.

Ploykrachang holds the distinction of being the furthest distance away from Jersey City at 8,666 miles. Ray Ermita ‘96 in The Philippines clocks in at 2^nd furthest, at 8,614, and DeRobertis third at 7,803. Interestingly, Hawks living in Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and Finland are closer to McGinley Square than those in Alaska and Hawaii.

Filling out the ranks are Janak Bhimani ’96 in Yoshikawa, Japan, Ivan Diaz ’00 in Brussels, Belgium, Rob Schumann ’04 in Stuttgart, Germany, and Anthony Lucci ’07 in Royken, Norway.

Alumni Spotlight

Leadership, Service, Achievements

On the Horizon and on the Rise. Nicole Greco ’18 has accepted the role of Assistant Video Investor at Horizon Media. More to come on that as Nicole wades into the role.

Update on Kayla Gomez '17 from last issue's 'Spotlight': We reported that Kayla is joining Blue Origin, which is true. Her role will be as a Manufacturing Planner, and she will be relocating to Merritt Island, FL in January.

Call him 'Coach'! J-R Lynch ‘14, a former standout on the hardwood floor for the Hawks, has realized a big ambition to coach at the NCAA Division I level. After serving as a Graduate Assistant for Jersey City's Danny Hurley and the NCAA Champion UConn Huskies last year, he has moved on to his first paid coaching role, having been hired as an Assistant Coach with a recruiting role at Manhattan College. The Jaspers, coincidentally, become the next Lasallian educational institution in JR’s life. On the day after clipping the nets with the Huskies, J-R received a call from his college coach, John Gallagher, who had just been hired as head coach and was forming his first staff at Manhattan. Coming out of Hudson Catholic, Lynch scored a Division I scholarship to play for the Hartford Hawks (!) and went on to play four years for Coach Gallagher. J-R became the team's top scorer, with 1,412 points in 130 career games, averaging a team-high 16.6 points as a senior. He finished as the only player in Hartford history to amass 1,000 career points, 350 assists, and 150 steals. After his college days, J-R played basketball in Argentina and Puerto Rico. He came home and spent some time as a substitute teacher at The JC Home of The Hawks, and started a basketball skills academy in his hometown Hoboken. He then returned to UHart as Gallagher’s director of basketball operations for the 2021-22 season, before joining Dan Hurley’s UConn staff to pursue a coaching career — and a second Master’s degree. Coach Nick Mariniello, a longtime friend of Hurley, was influential in J-R’s decision to join the Huskies, reminding Lynch that the UConn opportunity was “not just any GA job" -- he’d work in one of the best programs in the nation, with some of the best coaches, and would learn lessons and develop relationships that could impact his coaching career for decades. Coach Gallagher, in announcing J-R’s hiring, had this to say about him: “He's like a son to me. His character, there might be people equal, but there's no one better. I want my son to be like J-R Lynch on and off the court…….building a program, you need guys who are fully two feet in. And he's lived his whole life, anything he does, two feet in.” His fellow Hawks would barely be surprised to hear that said of one of their own. J-R has three remaining courses at UConn, and will take them online, in order to earn a Master’s degree in Sports Management by the end of 2024.

A Case of Mistaken Identity. Rob Baker, Jr. ’96 When alerted to the fact that we erroneously included his father in last issue’s ‘Alumni Spotlight’ -- profile, photo, and all -- Rob, Jr. shrugged it off and said “Dad and I had a good laugh.” In Jr.’s case, he attended SPU and transitioned into a full-time employee in the Computer Science Department. In 2002, he joined the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office as an Officer, then transferred over to the JCPD in 2003, where he has completed 21 years as an Officer, and made Detective in 2018. He is assigned to the Background Investigation Unit where he conducts investigations on all future Public Safety hires (Police, Fire, Telecommunicators, Traffic Safety).

Advise and consent. John Zazzera ’83 has added to his roles and responsibilities as a Board member and advisor by joining the Management Board at Alliance Investments Management LLC.



A Legend. Walt Popailo ‘82 is not an ageless wonder and the oldest player in Major League Baseball. But he is an avid fan of the New York Mets (since ’75) and has gotten to realize a dream of sorts by recently participating, in early November, in New York Mets Fantasy Camp at the Mets’ Spring Training site in Port St. Lucie, FL. Walt, and other citizens, were coached by many ex-Mets, including Mookie Wilson, Wally Backman, Doc Gooden, Ron Swoboda, Turk Wendell, Heath Bell, and Todd Pratt over the course of eight competitive games with other campers, playing all positions except SS and 1B, and pitching in three games. He’ll be returning to Camp next year for the camaraderie developed with the campers and big leaguers. 

Getting the Boot. Bill Cullen ’72 has shared a rather distinctive and whimsical award he received upon retiring from the CEO role at AEGIS Insurance, in which his crew wove his business performance with his record as a prolific high school and college track star, by gifting him with a bronzed track shoe reminiscent of the era and an inscription that reads “Handing off the baton with a lead.” Very cool, and thoughtful.

Still Chasing the Scoop. Wayne Witkowski ’71, a member of the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame for his prolific sports writing during his long tenure at The Jersey Journal, since his high school days, has started a new job as Editor-in-Chief of the Pike County Dispatch (PA), fully in charge of production and budget for the weekly broadsheet covering the county seat at Milford and its 12 surrounding communities. Previously, he had reported on municipal meetings and news, the local school board and, of course his first love, high school sports. Wayne will manage an office staff of seven and will continue some of his coverage. He served previously as Assistant Sports Editor at The Jersey Journal, Slot Editor and Assistant Business Editor at The Morristown Daily Record, and as Community and Business Editor at The Pocono Record, where he also edited the weekly Pike & Monroe Life tabloid. Wayne wants to call attention to a book on boys and girls basketball lore in Hudson County, due out on December 8th, titled Hoops Hotbed on the Hudson. He was a contributing writer to the book, covering most of girls basketball history over the past 50 years, and also contributed on the boys’ side. About the book, he says: “Don't be surprised if ESPN doesn't eventually adapt it into a docudrama.”

If you have a newsworthy item or something from the present or past to share with the Hawk community, drop a note to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

Hawk Get-Together

The 1982 Hudson Catholic Soccer Team Reunites: 

first in school soccer history to be crowned

Division, Jersey City, and Hudson County Champions

The 1982 team, along with their coaches, Wall of Honor member Mr. Frank Becht, and HC Hall of Famer and Wall of Honor member Mr. John Cruitt, reunited on November 16th at Millers Ale House in Woodbridge. A lot of fond memories and stories were shared and a great time was had by all! The ’82 team was a very close-knit team and many team members remain close friends today -- they say that is all from what they learned at Hudson Catholic.

This team went 18-2-2 - a school record for wins in a season, scoring 100 goals and allowing only 31. This was a dominant team.

Pictured: Kneeling (L-R) Claudio Ippolito, Vin Russo, Phil Chianetta, Xavier Martillo; Seated (L-R) Pat Donnelly, Sandro Ortiz, Mr Frank Becht; Standing (L-R) Alex Carrion, Emilio D’Andrea, Bruno Ippolito, Jessie Ortiz, Mr. John Cruitt, Benny Rockson, Pierre Chrisaffis, Bobby England.

Focus on '82

Class President: Steve Dnistrian, who was a recent candidate for the New Jersey State Senate!

Class Valedictorian: Neil Russo, today, a highly respected OBGYN in NJ.

Principal: Brother Emmit O'Neill, FSC

Class Celebrity: Hall of Famer Jack Curry, one-time Sports Editor of The Commentator (and as LF for the Baseball Hawks, he had the privilege of covering himself!) and presently a NY Yankees broadcast analyst at the YES Network.

Special Events Editor of The Commentator: best-selling author Jim Derogatis

Top athletes: Wall of Honor member Paul Lee (Basketball & Baseball); Wall of Honor member George Macchia (Swimming); Cleveland Eatman (Football); Tom Gaynor (Basketball); the late Steve Dczinciewski (Football & Baseball); John Menke (Baseball); Joe Browne (Cross Country & Track); George Isabella (Football): Bob Just (Soccer); Joe Lamboy (Soccer); Neil Russo (Soccer); Val Miele (Wrestling); Walt Popailo (Bowling), Frank Adinolfe (Tennis).

John LoPresto and John DiGenova played in a band called Sapphire, which had a strong following.

School spirit leaders were Mauro Ferone, Lenny Cupo, and Peter Maffei.

'Pride in Our Faculty' was a theme that resonated in the class yearbook.

We are looking to 'Stay Connected' with '82 Hawks John DiGenova, John McGovern, John Menke, Phil McManus, Adel Mohsen, James Muraca, Khanh Nguyen, Sean O’Connor, Mark Pepe, Joe Pizanie, John Polak, Ed Przybylski, Larry Quish, Pete Radomski, and Luigi Scelza. Send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected or send their email addresses to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

15 Years Ago,

Hawk Football

vied for its first State Title

An improbable achievement in an improbable season, led by Coach Rob Stern, breathed excitement and school spirit into the hallways of a school that nearly wasn't, just six months earlier.

The December 2, 2008 sports section of the Jersey Journal proclaimed “EMOTIONAL RUN INTO HISTORY - Hudson Catholic gridders rise to occasion.”

Justin Damiani, Journal Staff Writer, told the saga of how, last spring, faculty, students, and Coach Stern had faced the fear of the school's possible closing. “But the school received financial assistance and remained open, allowing Stern and the Hawks the chance to do something special this football season.”

"The thoughts I had of not being able to coach the kids I love, and work with the coaches was hard," Stern said. "Lining up and getting ready to play is the easy thing. And we will be ready to take a run at a state championship.” Angel Hernandez' 26-yard field goal as time expired propelled the Hawks to a 3-0 victory over St. Joseph of Hammonton, clinching a spot in the Non-Public Group II championship game at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway.

The author wrote: ‘This special moment, however, would not have been possible if the school had closed its doors. As the Hawks and Stern take the field on Sunday morning, they will know that they will have been given an extraordinary opportunity, not only to continue their high school football careers but also win the school's first state crown. Stern was quick to point out that a victory Sunday would represent much more than some hardware: ‘I'd be real happy for Hudson Catholic and the alumni. Myself, and the faculty didn't know if we were going to have jobs. I worried about where these kids were going to go. It would be a special feeling.’ Stern also sees this as a chance to give back.”

"When you have people giving money for you to have the opportunity for an education and to play, we owe it to that group. It's our opportunity to give back. What better way to thank them," Stern said. "The winners are not the coaches, it's the alumni who went into their pockets. We won already because we are here."

“No matter the outcome, emotions will be high come Sunday for the squad that almost didn't exist this season.”

Stern added, "Hudson Catholic is a special place to be."

Well, the Hawks suffered a heartbreaking loss to Holy Cross in the State Title Game, 7-0, but that was almost anticlimactic, as the school and players were on an emotional high, being in a situation no one had dared dream of back in April. Even in defeat, this team gave a huge emotional lift to their present and all past student bodies.

A State Championship was just not meant to be for the Hawks, who finished the season at 7-4. As a result, Holy Cross earned its second consecutive Non-Public Group II championship with the lone score at 7:18 left in the game, and with the Hawks left wondering what could have been as a result of two missed scoring opportunities, including one that was called back for a mouth guard infraction!

The Hawk Heroes of this season included QB Steven Soto, WRs Brian Eatman and Labron Collins, OLs Chet Whetstone and Kadeem Williams, DL Hector Garcia, LBs Will Bustillo and Julian McCall, and DBs Melvin Davis and Angel Hernandez.

But, according to the Holy Cross coach, "the beast!" was RB Jason Hendricks who ran 36 times in the championship game, for 170 yards -- 58 more total yards than the opposing team (AND made 11 tackles on Defense). Stern called Hendricks "…….the best player in Hudson County, and…..one of the best in New Jersey." Jason finished the season with 1,790 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns (second highest total in the State), both believed to be all-time single season Hawk records.

Hendricks and Whetstone were named First Team All County, and Hendricks received HCFCA and Star Ledger Hudson County Player of the Year, and All New Jersey Non-Public laurels, and was selected to play in the New Jersey-Northeast All Star Classic. Hendricks went on to play four years at D1 University of Pittsburgh, as a Defensive Back. He was sixth nationally with six interceptions as a Junior, earning All Big East 2nd Team honors. Unsurprisingly, he was selected as Team Captain in his senior season, led the team in tackles, and earned All ACC honorable mention recognition. Hours after the completion of the 2014 NFL Draft, he was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Browns. Today, Jason is a Personal Trainer and Coach in the Pittsburgh area.

Jason Hendricks '09

Former Faculty Feature

Mr. Neil Maresca served Hudson Catholic in the late '60s and early '70s, where he taught the Freshman World Cultures course and served as the Disciplinarian for a student body coming of age in that frenetic era (that could not have been easy). Notably, he sported one of the coolest beards of the times.

Neil is the son of the late, legendary 17-year Jersey City Heights Councilman, Tom Maresca. He attended St. Paul of the Cross, St, Michael’s Union City, and Rutgers, topping off his education with a Master’s degree in British Literature from Fairleigh Dickinson.

He held teaching and administrative positions in several New Jersey private schools and public school districts, ultimately leaving the education field to work with New York City-based public relations firms, eventually establishing his own advertising and public relations firm.

Closing that chapter in his life, he returned to education, working as an adjunct instructor of English at several New Jersey colleges and universities.

At 73, Mr. Maresca retired from teaching and started writing. Today, he is an accomplished author, having had nine novels published, of historical fiction, spy drama, and fantasy genres. Look for An Italian Journey, Appointment in Berlin, Freedom’s Dawn, Angel, The Stolen Princess, Prospero, Aphrodite's War, Morning in Budapest, and The Sword of Fire to soon be added to the Library of Hawks.

Korrections Korner

In our zest to reconnect with some of our Hawks, we published Ken Emmich ‘78 and Vin Tagliaferro ‘81 as members of the class of ’79. Now you should be able to find them.

Former Faculty Joanne Smolen asked if anyone proofreads our publication before it is published, citing Classes of “12004 and 12005” in the ‘Challenge’ article. We’ve offered her the job!

Turn Your Brothers and Sisters In!

(We Need Their Email Addresses)

We lose touch with some of our graduates who move around, go off to college, start careers, get married, etc. Help us find them again and make it harder for us to lose touch. Many on this list have siblings who are Hawk alumni, so turn them in at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org or send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected to update their contact info.

FYI

Note:

If any link in this issue is not clickable,

please copy and paste the 'link' into your browser's address window

advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:

Advertise your business card here for $25 per issue

Plan a visit back to the Hawks Nest

Obtain or donate a yearbook through The Yearbook Exchange

Convey an obituary notice

Purchase Hawk gear online at:

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/newjersey/jerseycity/hudson-catholic-high-school

For Hawk Chatter on Social Media:

Facebook: Hudson Catholic Regional High School Friends, a private group with 1,300 members and climbing.

Linkedin: Hudson Catholic Regional High School page, with 400+ followers at https://www.linkedin.com/school/27080137/admin/feed/posts/

If you receive our email at your workplace, we may not be getting through to you if our email is being intercepted by your spam filter. Only you can correct that by placing us on your safe list, which would allow communications from our Constant Contact email platform to reach you.

“There may be people who have more talent than you do, but there is no excuse for anyone being able to work harder than you do.” -- Derek Jeter

Requiescant in Pace

Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur

(Life is changed, not ended)

Ronald Barkley '73

Cecilia Anna Demko,

sister of Richard ‘75 and Steven ‘79

Vincent Ortmann, Sr.,

brother of David Ortmann '82

______________________________________________

Will be remembered in our annual

Alumni Mass of Remembrance

on November 3rd, 2024