October Alumni Newsletter

Walk-A-Thon Far Exceeds Goal Of $100,000

The Mercy-Xavier Walk-A-Thon on Oct. 22 was a huge success.

Both schools far exceeded their goals of raising at least $100,000, with Xavier coming in at $120,058. 

The money goes to the Xavier Annual Fund, which supports all clubs and activities, academic programs, athletic programs, and the arts.

For 25 years the Mercy/Xavier Walk-A-Thon was a spirited and competitive student fundraiser. This year the tradition was renewed. The campaign kicked off Oct. 1, and culminated with walks around the track by each class on Oct. 22.

“It was just a great day here at Xavier,” Headmaster Dave Eustis said. “After 23 years it was great to be back with Mercy in this event. A huge thanks goes out to all the donors, whether they are alums, parents, students, staff, faculty, people who just want to support Xavier and Mercy. We look forward to next year.”

It was a walk-a-thon and a game-a-thon and an eat-a-thon all rolled into one. Xavier and Mercy students were having a blast, whether they were walking on the track, playing games on the football field, taking advantage of the inflatables out front or taking their best shot at dunking someone in the dunk tank. Not to mention plenty of food vendors.

“Mercy High School was thrilled to welcome Xavier High School back to the Walk-a-Thon this year,” Mercy President Alissa DeJonge ‘95 said. “It is a wonderful event that showcases the collaboration and camaraderie between the two schools. We are blessed to have the support of both communities in making the fundraiser such a success.”

Two schools. One family.

Around The Campus

Thanking police officers and firefighters: On Thursday, Oct. 28, Xavier had a Xavier Apparel Day sponsored by the Community Outreach Committee of the Senior Peer Ministry Team.  All proceeds went to fund appreciation breakfasts for the Middletown South Fire District and the Middletown Police Department.  Four students served breakfast at police headquarter the following day. Students will do the same at the fire station. Xavier often has apparel days (the cost is $5 to get out of a shirt and tie) with the money supporting various causes.  

Helping babies and parents: Recently the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center had a campaign to collect books for parents of babies in the NICU. Enter Aedan Frazer, Xavier Class of 2023, who was an avid reader growing up, and his mother Milena, a NICU nurse at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Aedan led a book drive at Xavier in late September, during which about 430 books were brought in by students, faculty and staff. Aedan also had collected a few hundred outside of Xavier. “It was a good opportunity to help,” Aedan said. Said Milena: "Wow. Aedan and I are overwhelmed with appreciation and we are so proud to be a part of the amazing Xavier family." 

National Honor Society Induction: On Thursday night, Oct. 7, 87 students were inducted into the National Honor Society. Along with current students previously inducted the total of NHS students is 188 this year. 

Kunzelman An Eagle Scout: In mid-October Kyle Kunzelman ’24 officially became an Eagle Scout. His project at the1960 Reservoir in Wethersfield involved clearing the land, mulching the area and putting out two picnic tables at the recreation area.

Upcoming Events

Homecoming Football Reception & Game, Nov. 6: Please join us for Homecoming 2021 on Nov. 6. The game is at 6 p.m. at Larry McHugh Field vs. Notre Dame-West Haven. There is a reception in the Xavier Dining Hall at 4 p.m., with some COVID restrictions. The number of guests in the room will be limited but there are plenty of spots available. Masks must be worn when not eating or drinking. There will be hors d'oeuvres plus beer and wine, making it an adult-only occasion. Please RSVP to 860-346-7735, Ext. 737, or to [email protected].

Thanksgiving Family Mass, Sunday, Nov. 28: Join us at Xavier for a 10 a.m. Mass as we give thanks for who we are and all we have been given. Families of all faith traditions are welcome. Please RSVP to Suzanne Berry at 860-346-7735, Ext. 737, or to [email protected]. 

The 18th Arthur M. Kohs Christmas Tournament, Dec. 27-28: The yearly event is back after last year’s tournament was canceled because of COVID. The schedule -- Monday, Dec. 27: Waterford-Glastonbury, 5:30 p.m.; Valley Regional-Xavier, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28: Consolation game, 5:30 p.m.; championship game, 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 29, will be used as a snow date if necessary. 

Alumni Updates

Jim Cannata '85 works in Marketing in Charlotte, N.C. After Xavier he majored in Art at Jacksonville University in Florida. Upon graduation he landed in Atlanta and worked for a few ad agencies before moving to Charlotte in 2009. Back in 1974, after Xavier beat Mercy, raising more money in the Walk-A-Thon, Cannata and classmates Mark Catania and Jim Connolly rigged up Cannata's 1974 Chrysler with a cardboard Falcon head, tail and articulating wings. They drove over to Mercy to gloat.

Scott McGuinness '05 recently walked the stage for commencement exercises at the University of Rochester. He earned a PhD in counseling and counselor education in 2020. Ceremonies were delayed for close to a year and a half by COVID. He is an assistant professor at the school and the son of Bob McGuinness ’73.

Ben Chase '06 will have his first book of poetry, "Here To See It,"  published this summer. Chase said it has been a goal of his for about 15 years. He has a Masters of Fine Art and is the English Department chair at Christian Heritage School in Trumbull and a Seton Hall adjunct in American Literature.   

Greg Marino ’10 works for iCapital Network in a finance merger and acquisition function. Marino also worked at Cantor Fitzgerald for a while. That organization lost 658 employees in the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, one of those lives being Peter Gelinas ’86. “Cantor always was a somber place on 9/11, and all the lives lost was always hard to wrap your head around,” Marino said. “I have a lot of friends who have a deep connection to Cantor and it'll be one of those things that sticks with me forever.” Recently, on the 20^th anniversary of 9/11, he went to the site and paid his respects.

Calvin Platt '14 is a Senior Account Sales Executive with the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks had not won the title in 50 years. They were the 1971 NBA champs, led that year by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. 

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From The Archives

Soccer then ... The newspaper clipping has the date – 9/28/63 – written in the left corner. The headline: Xavier Wins First Soccer Contest, 5-1. Since this was the first year of the school, there were only freshmen on the team. The Falcons beat the Valley Regional junior varsity team. The coach was Artie Kohs. Seb Emanuele had three goals for Xavier, and Gerry Kosicki and Mike DeBaise had one each. 

And soccer now ... Xavier just completed an unbeaten season at 14-0-2 and is the top seed in the SCC playoffs, which start Saturday. The Falcons are ranked No. 1 in the CSCA large school poll and are the top-rated team by the CIAC in Class LL. 

SCC Champs Yet Again!

Different year, same results: For the sixth straight year and the 14th time overall, the Xavier varsity runners brought home the SCC title on Oct. 20. In the day's championship race, Eamon Burke '22 led the way with an individual title in a blazing 15:35.20 to pace the team to a 21-point victory over Daniel Hand. Burke's time was a personal best. Fittingly, in a season in which he continues to make his presence felt, he was named the SCC Cross Country Runner of the Year. Brody Santagata '22 also had a big race, finishing in 16:19 for fourth place. Other top finishers for Xavier, which placed six runners in the top 18 on its way to scoring 52 points, were Josh Lesniak (14th, 16:50); Jacob Kirejczyk (16th, 17:02); Alex Ushchak (17th, 17:05); and Sam Simko (18th, 17:08). Next up: the Class L Championship on Saturday.

In Memoriam

Lost And Not Yet Found