1964 - 2024

60 Years of Catholic, College Prep Education

Serving the Families of Hudson County

Your Support Honors Our Past and Fuels Our Future

Celebrate Our Milestone by Giving to

The Fund for Hudson Catholic

at hudsoncatholic.org/1964 -- or --

Honoring the Greatest Student-Athletes

in Hudson Catholic History

New Wall of Honor Stalwarts

Announced

4 Hawks to Join the All Time Athletic Greats

President-Principal Terry Matthews has announced the planned installation of four all-time great Hawk athletes on to the Wall of Honor, to take place in the Joe 'Rocky' Pope Gymnasium on May 17^th, 2024 at 6:30pm.

Joining 17 athletes and 4 coaches in our Athletic Hall of Fame will be Ed Roselle '80, the greatest wrestler in school history and the first to go on 'The Wall'; Bobby England '83, a two-sport star who achieved greatness on the soccer pitch; Reggie Cameron '13, the 2013 Hudson County Player of the Year who led the 2012-13 team to its best record in school history at 29-2; and, Kristin Cunning '15, an All County three-sport star in Soccer, Volleyball, and Softball who is the second woman to be honored among the school greats and goes on 'The Wall' as the first Softball player to receive such honors.

Message From The Prez

The days at 790 Bergen Ave are flying by as Spring has arrived.  The last three months of school seem to pass by in the blink of an eye. The seniors are eagerly (and nervously) awaiting their college acceptances as they are coming in each day. Already we have acceptances to the University of Pennsylvania, University of California, UCLA, Fordham, Penn State, Fairfield, Auburn, Loyola University of Chicago, Loyola University of Maryland, Ohio State, Rutgers and Villanova, just to name a few early acceptances! And as the circle of school life continues, one of our Junior girls told me today, “I’m technically already a senior since I chose my courses today!”  

The reality of high school life is that while the four years as a whole go by quickly, the last few months of the year seem to accelerate. Easter Break in a week, then Prom, Final exams and graduation all falling within two short months!  And then come September, it starts again!  None of this is possible without the legacy our graduates have left behind and the help our stakeholders continue to provide.  As always, thank you.  

I’ll keep you posted as College Decision Day gets closer!

To Benefit

1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic

A 24-hour Fundraising Event

Total Gifts up to $20,000 will be 100% Matched

50 Donors ($10 or more) from the Classes of 2014 - 2023

will earn an added Gift of $5,000

Help Our Hawks Fly!

Your Support is Their Strength



Tuesday, April 2

Watch our All American, Tahaad Pettiford,

playing for the East Squad

in the McDonalds All American Game

on ESPN at 7pm

Wednesday, April 24

To participate, contact Mr. John Cahill of the Guidance Office at jcahill@hudsoncatholic.org

OR CLICK ON THE IMAGE

May 9, 10, 11

The Hawk Drama Society Presents

The Tony Award Winning Musical

on

The Jack Campion Stage at Hudson Catholic

Saturday, June 15th

Click on the image for details & tickets

Monday, June 17

Click on the image to register or sponsor

Reunion Reminders

1974 Planning Well Underway

Contact David Carbone '74 at

dcarbonephd@msn.com

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

Hawk Happenings

And What A Season It Was!

Coach Nick Mariniello, Tahaad Pettiford '24,

Alex Massung ’24, Keith McKnight ’25

Take a Well-Earned Bow!

This year delivered a great season, among many in school history, for Hawk Boys Basketball. It was the 10^th time in school history that Boys Basketball captured 20 wins, notable given the deliberate scheduling of the highest caliber of competition, including State and Nationally-ranked opponents. We were entertained by our two star seniors who have each signed scholarship letters to attend Division I schools -- Auburn University for Tahaad Pettiford, and UPenn for Alex Massung (pictured with Coach Nick Mariniello). We saw each of them, and a third teammate, Junior Keith McKnight, join the 1,000 Point Club, and they will have their names added to that banner in the Rocky Pope Gymnasium for athletic immortality. Never before has Hudson Catholic had three boys break the 1,000-point barrier in the same season -- 15% of all such greats to achieve the landmark in the 60 years of Hudson Catholic!

Since the inception of McDonalds All American Basketball Team Honors in 1984, Hudson County, a perennially-acknowledge hotbed of schoolboy basketball, has produced 11 such All Americans. As it happens, the first eight were all St. Anthony Friars, and the most recent three are Hawks - Jahvon Quinerly AND Louis King in 2018, and Tahaad Pettiford this year. Not even St. Anthony produced two All Americans in the same year, so there’s that for Coach Nick and The Home of The Hawks.

As chronicled in our last issue, Coach Nick added to this very special season by guiding his 500^th career high school victory, placing him among the State’s all time leaders in Wins and in Winning Percentage. In 24 seasons as a head coach (15 at Hudson), Coach Nick has produced two dozen Division I players and amassed a record of 501 Wins vs. 137 Losses, for a .785 Winning Percentage; 186-50 at Bloomfield Tech in nine seasons; 315-87 at Hudson in 15 campaigns. He received honors as the Star Ledger 2003 Boys Basketball Coach of the Year. And he is presently the President for the New Jersey Boys Basketball Coaches Association.

Tahaad’s season will not conclude until April 2^nd, when he plays for the East Squad in the McDonald’s All American Game in Houston, on ESPC, 6pm. Our team and its coaches were focused on achievements this year and it is fair to say, through the season’s ups and downs, they created great memories, many to last a lifetime.

Tenzin Choeying ’25

Accepted

into Columbia University's

highly-competitive SHAPE

Summer Engineering Program

Boys 4x200 Meter Track Team

Qualified & competed in the prestigious

Nike Indoor National Championship

at the NYC Armory, held March 8th

Jaelen Thomas, Christian Kelly, Denzel Gamble, Chad Perkins

A British Invasion, of sorts

On March 11^th, 790 Bergen rolled out the welcome mat for four university recruiters all the way from merry olde England. Schools looking to import some of our Hawks across The Pond are:

·     City University of London

·     St. Mary’s University Twickenham

·     University of Westminster

·     Brunel University London

Hudson County CYO Basketball

Invades the Hawks Nest

Vic Pianese ’75, the Coordinator of CYO Sports across all four counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Union) in the Archdiocese of Newark, reports on the Hudson County CYO Basketball Championships, six games in total, held at the Hawks Nest (nice recruiting tool!) on Saturday, March 9th. Vic added that the Nest was filled, and rocking!

·      Boys 7-8 Hoboken Catholic over St Aloysius JC

·      Girls 7-8 Our Lady of Czestochowa JC over St Joseph JC

·      Boys 5-6 St Francis Academy UC over All Saints Bayonne

·      Girls 5-6 Hoboken Catholic over St Nicholas JC

·      Boys 3-4 Hoboken Catholic Maroon over Hoboken Cath White

·      Girls 3-4 All Saints over St Aloysius

Special congrats to the Program Directors at All Saints Bayonne, Robert Kudlacik ‘94, and Hoboken Catholic, Steve Peisecki ‘01.

The Newark Archdiocese offers Basketball, Volleyball, Cross Country, and Track & Field to the boys and girls from the Archdiocesan schools and religious education programs.

Hawk Legacy

A Kahle Legacy. Among three sets of Kahle Legacy Hawk Families, sons Paul ’04 and John ’10 flank Dad Frank ’79 during a favorite father-son activity, a round of 18. Other Kahle Legacies include Frank’s brothers David ’74 and Joe ’76 who, respectively, gave us Erin ’14, and Jeffrey ’01 and Timothy ’17. Anyway you look at it, that’s quite a flock, kettle, cast, soar, or fold!

Alumni Spotlight

Leadership, Service, Achievements

(and occasional whimsy)

Athletic Competition

Hall of Famer, Again! This Sunday, March 24th, Hudson Catholic Hall of Famer Mike O'Koren '76 will be inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame at the Westin Princeton.

Each year, the NJSIAA honors the greatest athletes and coaches to come out of the New Jersey high school scene. Mike's fame brings honor to Hudson Catholic!

Mad Man. Elijah Gertrude ’23, is a member of the University of Virginia Cavaliers basketball team that was selected to participate in March Madness. Unfortunately, they bowed out in the first round to Colorado State, otherwise would have been one game away from a meet-up with everyone's Madness Cinderella, the St. Peter's Peacocks, who look to be facing another Goliath in the Tennessee Volunteers. Fittingly, the UVA game broadcast featured our favorite announcer, Jim Spanarkel '75! (read on, for more about Jim) As a Frosh, Elijah averaged 10 minutes of floor time and 3.5 points per game. He should see his playing time increase next season.

Bright Light. Zanai Jones ’21, our all-time Girls Basketball leading scorer (1,355), is a 5’6” Junior Guard on the Villanova Women’s Basketball Team that finished the season with an 18-12 record. Zanai played 25 minutes per game and averaged 6.8 points per game for the Wildcats. She is looking forward to her Senior season next year.

Blast From the Past. Steve Honsinger ’69. Before he became a high school baller for the Hawks, Steve had a claim to fame in 1964 as a member of the Jersey City team competing in the International Biddy Basketball Tournament, which made it to the Quarterfinal Round before bowing out. A young Honsinger is at top right in this 1964 weathered cutout from the Jersey Journal.

Pursuing Studies

Sustainable Career Plan. Farooq Syed ’21 is studying at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), with plans to enter the field of Environmental Consulting/Engineering. He is an HC-SPU Dual Enrollment Program grad, CPR/First Aid certified, was a Hospital Youth Volunteer as a Hawk at the JC Medical Center, and served as a Shadow Student at Bayshore Medical Associates in Jersey City. But most impressively, he spent 5 months, part-time as a Data Entry Clerk at The Law Offices of John F. O’Halloran, legendary former faculty, which undoubtedly was an education unto itself!

Professions

Business Enabler. Kenneth Bragen ’08 is a Facilities Coordinator with 11 years experience at BCB Community Bank in Bayonne.

The Art of the Deal. Andrew Bovasso ’05 is Special Project Manager at Barry Friedman, Ltd., a firm that, for the past 40 years, has played an important presence in the international art market by bringing 20^th century European fine and decorative art works to the attention of the American audience. Andrew holds a BFA degree in Photography/Fine Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art and, in his 13 years at the firm. has held positions as Intern, Gallerist, and Head of Creative.

The Professor. Gabe Chelala ’93 holds that title at both Kean University and Hudson County Community College. He earned an M.S. in Management from Steven's Institute of Technology and an M.A. in Education from Saint Peter's University.

Eye on Investments and Young Minds. Kishor Daga ’83 is a Certified Public Accountant and, in a 19-year tenure at MacQuarie Group in Philadelphia, is SVP of Investment Accounting. Proof positive that Hawks live in service to others, he has served as an Adjunct Professor (Accounting) for the past 15 years at Rowan University, and served a three-year term as a Member of the Executive Committee at the American Diabetes Association, in support of fundraising.

Honors

Community Minded. John Sasso ’88, who is an Associate Director of Business Enablement at Ernst & Young, has been named an inaugural EY America’s Corporate Responsibility Change Maker. 



Announcing an Honor. Jim Spanarkel ’73 was designated #20 in NJ.com’s recently published rankings of ‘New Jersey’s 25 Greatest Sportscasters. From the article: “The list includes some of the nation’s most prominent voices in every major sport. They’re known for their catch phrases and Jersey grit. He has called college and NBA games for more than three decades. His basketball expertise has benefitted several networks throughout his career, but he’s one of the most reliable voices when the calendar flips to March. The former Blue Devil, Philadelphia 76er, and Dallas Mav also worked color commentary and as studio host for YES Network, covering the Nets.

Mr. Speaker. Gerry McGraw ’72 participated as a speaker on a panel of Catholic Philanthropists and Leaders at the recent National Leadership Conference for Catholic Schools in Naples, FL sponsored by Partners In Mission. Partner and Founder Larry Furey wrote to say “Gerry was OUTSTANDING on our panel!”

Published

Collaborative Hawks. Joe Pagetta '90 and Louis Scarpa '86 recently worked together on a story that Joe wrote for the February print edition of America Magazine: the Jesuit Review about the Assumption College for Sisters in Denville, NJ, the only accredited college for Women Religious in the United States, founded by the Sisters of Christian Charity. The Pagetta and Scarpa families were neighbors in the Jersey City Heights for almost two decades when the boys were youths. Not having seen Lou for many years, Joe spotted a post by Lou on the Hudson Catholic Regional High School Friends Facebook page about a recent visit to alma mater, which led to a direct dialogue, then a phone call to catch up. Joe told Louis that, in addition to his work as Director of Communications at the Tennessee State Museum, he was still writing articles and essays, inviting Lou’s response: "I've got a story for you." Lou then pitched the extraordinary story of Assumption College of Sisters, where Lou serves as Director, Advancement. Over several months, Lou helped Joe set up interviews and fact-check, leading to publication of an article of more than 2,000 words and four pages in the February edition of the venerable America Magazine, which was founded by the Jesuits as a Catholic weekly review of faith and culture in 1909. You can read the story here:

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2024/01/18/college-women-religious-246952.

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

Congratulations, old friend!

Dr. Mildred Mihlon, who was instrumental while at St. Peter's University in working with Hudson Catholic and Bill Venezia '70 in designing, establishing, and executing the HC-SPU Dual Enrollment Program, now in its fourth year, and having saved 51 Hawk families over $5 milion dollars in college tuition, has been appointed as the 7th President of Felician University in Rutherford, NJ, the pinnacle of her 25-year career in education.

Blast From The Past

Goofing Around. In the fall of 1969, the illustrious gym duo of Paul Lenczuk and Frank Becht devised a new way for competitive Frosh to pass their Gym time, with all of tape and foil providing the game ball and laughs. It was called Goofball and it became an Intramural sensation! That looks like Mark Bulwicz '73 about to return the 'Goof'.

Yearbook Update

Two more Hawk Yearbooks have been digitized and added to the Yearbook Library. See the FYI section below for a click box to the site.

You can help Hudson Catholic

with 'likes' & 'shares' of our posts to your networks, from

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

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.

“It is amazing what can happen when you put your two feet in.”

-- Mr. Ed Agresta,

author, former HC Faculty and Varsity Football Coach

Requiescant in Pace

Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur

(Life is changed, not ended)

____________________________________________

Robert Bruno '79

Leonard Altamura, father of Leonard Altamura '91

Martin Browne, father of Joseph Browne '82

___________________________________________

Will be remembered in the annual

Alumni Mass of Remembrance

on November 3rd, 2024

The Office of Advancement ~ Gary, Jill & Jenine

201-332-5970 x118

Advancement@hudsoncatholic.org ~ OR ~ gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org

We Thank

Our Alumni Sponsors