Cheers to you

As a former cheerleader, I'm happy to say there's lots going on in the Archdiocese regarding cheerleading.

Congrats go out to Father Judge's cheerleaders who took second place at the 2009 UCA High School Nationals which took place a couple weeks ago in Florida. They competed in the super varsity division, as did Archbishop Ryan. Cardinal O'Hara also competed in the competition in the large varsity division.

Check out their routines HERE. Performances are listed by squad in alphabetical order.

The All-Catholic Cheerleading Competition will be held March 8 at noon at Archbishop Carroll. High school squads from throughout the Archdiocese will compete.

Lastly, I'd like to mention Cardinal Dougherty's cheerleaders. On Feb. 26, before departing for the All-Star Cheer & Dance Competition held in Walt Disney World, the team of 22 wore special shirts they created in support of the Philadelphia Police Department. And, in honor of the recent tragedy of fallen Philadelphia Police Officer John Pawlowski, the young women are dedicating this special competition to those police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. What a nice gesture. Good luck girls!

Good Sportsmanship

Amid all the bad news that is so effortlessly accessible, it's always nice to see a good story; something heartwarming that makes you restore just a little bit of hope in society.

My boyfriend says he doesn't watch the news because "it's too depressing." And although he sometimes isn't up to speed on current events, I don't blame him.

Below is a story he would appreciate, however, as would anyone who sees joy in the little things in life and finds a deeper meaning in random acts of kindess.

This Associated Press article tells the story of a high school basketball team that truly exemplified good sportsmanship. Yes, good sportsmanship, a phrase we hardly hear anymore. There's nothing about steroids or contracts or trade deadlines or egos, just some basketball players and their coach who chose to do the right thing, even it just meant missing two freethrows.

Read the story here.

Local collegiate committments

Wednesday was National Letter of Intent Day. Below is a list of some archdiocesan athletes who will go on to compete at the collegiate level. As a Penn Stater, I am happy to see that at least two will be spending their next four (or so) years in Happy Valley!

Congratulations to all of the athletes in our Archdiocese who have received athletic scholarships. I know there are many more out there, and I hope to mention all of them in the CS&T before the class of 2009 graduates.

Until then, here are a few. All will play football, unless otherwise noted.

St. Joe’s Prep
Mark Giubilato - Temple
Mike Yeager - Colgate
Andy Marshalick - James Madison
Mike Pinciotti - Penn
Mark Arcidiacono - Penn State
Dan Casey - Brown

Roman Catholic
Tahir Basil - Lafayette
Kasseim Everett - Delaware

Archbishop Wood
Adam Citko - Delaware

Neumann-Goretti
Kadeem Custis - Temple

West Catholic
Curtis Drake - Penn State
Raymond Maples - Army
Chris Williams - Central Connecticut State

Malvern Prep
Joe Price - Villanova
Rob McCabe - Georgetown
CJ Mooney - Penn
Matt Clary - Penn *baseball*
Tim Cooney - Wake Forest *baseball*
Chris Gosik - East Carolina *baseball*
Mike Lubanski - Wake Forest *baseball*

Cardinal O’Hara
Tom Savage - Rutgers
Billy Morgan - Hofstra

Father Judge
Ryan Langdon - Delaware State
Tom Ryan - Towson
Adam Nowak - Stony Brook

Archbishop Carroll
Jack Lowney - Old Dominion
Luke Wischnowski - Sacred Heart

Lansdale Catholic
John Howell - Navy
Al Augustine - Florida State *swimming*

Cardinal Dougherty
Towanda Sutton - Rhode Island *basketball*

St. Basil’s Academy
Amanda Bachmann - Drexel *softball*
Kelli Lyons - Townsend *softball*
Dana Wright - Kutztown *volleyball*