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Looking Back - The Importance of Your Xavier Education
I frequently see alumni at athletic events, restaurants, airports, out shopping, or when they stop by the Alumni Office to visit or attend a class reunion. The conversation that follows is always similar. They want me to know how important the years spent at Xavier were for them and how the values, morals, discipline, and superb classroom instruction were instrumental in preparing them for college and life beyond. As the conversation continues, they usually talk about the importance of "brotherhood" during their years here and how most of their close friends today are still classmates or other alums. It's very gratifying to hear these comments and realize that, for the most part, we have done an excellent job over the years instilling our motto of "Be a Man" in the hearts and minds of our graduates.
If your feelings are like most of the graduates I converse with, please help us to continue this tradition of excellence for generations to come. Give back to the best of your ability and help other young men experience that same special education you received during the four most formative years of your life while a student at Xavier High School.
Your Alumni & Development Director,
Rich Feitel
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Xavier Students Finally Win the Walkathon Competition
After being soundly beaten by Mercy High School for the last four years, the Falcons recorded their first victory in the Walkathon competition. The final tally was Xavier $197,237 - Mercy $186,400. Both schools smashed the previous record of $156,000 held by Mercy in the 2024 competition.
Xavier trailed by nearly $20,000 going into the final week but rallied behind an influx of sponsorships secured by students, faculty, and alumni to pull off the win. Sixteen students and faculty raised more than $1,000 with junior Peyton Secondino winning the individual competition with a total of $5,225.
Congratulations and thank you to all who participated in this spirited competition.
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Cross Country, Football, and Soccer Team Updates
Cross Country: The Xavier Cross Country team recently capped off a spectacular CIAC season, winning our 10th consecutive SCC Championship and 7th consecutive Class title. Led by a very talented group of sophomores and three Senior leaders, the team showed tremendous grit in defeating #5 ranked Amity at SCCs, followed by #3 ranked East Lyme a week later at the Class championships. Of note, the Falcons were trailing defending State Open runner-up by a score of 62-49 with 1 mile to go at Wickham Park. Over the final 1000m, however, the athletes thought of their teammates, their coaches, and the rich tradition of Xavier Cross Country as they fought for every point. When the dust settled, they were victorious by a score of 57-59, earning the program's state record 25th Class title.
After rain forced the State Open to be postponed until Monday, the team took 2nd place in a close race with Greenwich (1st) and, again, East Lyme (3rd). In fact, with 100m to go, we were trailing East Lyme by 10 points, yet strong finishes by all of our athletes resulted in huge last-second changes in the scoring, earning the team a well-earned Runner-Up title, this senior class' best State Open finish yet.
The team travels to Thetford, VT on Saturday for the New England Championships, where we are projected to finish within the top 5. Wish our Men the best of luck!
Football: The Xavier football team continues to struggle. They are currently 1-6 with three games remaining on their schedule. The injury bug plus the lack of depth at every position has left coach Sean Marinan searching for answers. The team heads to Hillhouse this week and he is hoping to get things back on track.
Soccer: The Falcons finished their season with a record of 15-3-2 and were champions of their SCC Division. They lost to Fairfield Prep in the semi-finals of the SCC Tournament 1-0 when they had 3 shots on goal go off the crossbar and lost in the second round of the Class Championship to Ridgefield 4-2.
There were 5 players on the team that earned conference honors. Andrew Sobieski was selected as SCC Conference Player of the Year while he, Corbin Engleman, and Evan Stone made the All-Conference First Team. Jacob Nardelli made Second Team.
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Special Donation Challenge to the Classes of 2000 to 2021
A generous graduate from the Class of 1972 really wants to see us hit the 20% participation level for alumni giving this year. To help drive us to this goal, he will match all gifts from new donors from the Classes of 2000 to 2021 up to $100 per alumnus until the total of new contributions reaches $10,000!
If you value your Xavier education and have been meaning to donate to your alma mater but just haven't gotten around to it, here's an opportunity time to do it. Your contribution $10 becomes $20, $25 becomes $50 and $50 becomes $100, and as a new donor, it automatically moves us closer to our participation goal!
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Alumni Ambassadors Approved as New Name for Class Reps
The first social/organizational meeting for Class Reps was held at Xavier High School on Thursday evening, October 23rd. More than 40 alumni attended this event with another 30 who have committed to serve unable to attend due to conflicts or distance from Xavier.
After an hour of socializing, the first order of business was to accept a recommendation from an alum to change the name of the position from Class Representative to Alumni Ambassador. The title change gives alums greater flexibility to communicate with graduates that may have been good friends or teammates at Xavier but were not in the same class. It is also considered the title of choice by most colleges and universities. The recommendation was well received and unanimously accepted without further discussion.
A review of duties and responsibilities for Alumni Ambassadors followed. They are:
- Promote the mission, goals, and ideals of XHS
- Serve on your reunion committee if it's a reunion year
- Donate at least $50 to your alma mater (less than $1 a week)
- Promote alumni events/fundraisers and encourage alumni participation
- Serve on at least one alumni committee annually if distance permits
- Monitor the activity of your classmates and other graduates as best you can and share interesting news for alumni briefs and articles to be included in Xavier publications.
Events planned so far for 2025 are Career Night for Juniors, Mercy/Xavier Alumni Social, Alumni Children's Easter Egg Hunt, Young Alums Golf Outing, Xavier Golf Classic, and Houli Day (Campus Clean-Up). Dates for each of these events will be announced in the December issue of the Alumni E-News and promoted in future issue of this publication.
Still could use more Alumni Ambassadors, especially from the 1990's and 2000's. Also open to suggestions for other events now that we have more manpower to plan and work them. Feel free to contact Rich or TJ at the Alumni & Development Office to sign up or offer a suggestion for an event (860-346-7735, Ext 732 or 733).
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Some New and Old Items on the Xavier "Wish List"
There are several items we would love to purchase to improve the quality of our academic, athletic, and spiritual programs, but just can't afford them within our current operating budget. If you see something on the list below that gets your attention, and you would like to direct a tax-deductible donation to purchase any of these items, please call Rich Feitel (office: 860-346-7735, ext. 732 or cell: 860-324-1689).
- New player benches for soccer and football on the turf field - $1,700 each (6 needed)
- HP Elite G11 high performance notebooks for teachers - $2,000 each (5 needed)
- Uniforms for the Xavier E-Team - $50 each (20 needed) or $1,000 for the entire team
Still need a new wrestling mat at a cost of $15,000. Can do it with multiple donors of $1,000 or more.
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IN MEMORIAM
We honor the lives and legacies of our dearly departed alumni, family members, and friends, whose impact on our community will forever be greatly appreciated.
- Charles Cerreta, father of Nick Cerreta '01
Each month we remember those who have died recently and those who are called to our attention. Please keep them, their families, and friends in your prayers. The full list of alumni, faculty, and staff memorials is on the webpage at MEMORIALS.
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