Becky Pacetti | Brother Rice High School

9th Annual Play for Maeve

May 22, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

The 9th Annual Play for Maeve fundraiser will be held on Saturday, August 3, from 1:00-6:00 P.M. at Beverly Park. The fun-filled day for both kids of all ages and adults will include games and activities, music, raffles, a silent auction, an event t-shirt, food, and non-alcoholic beverages.

In 2005, St. John Fisher parishioners Matt and Denise (Lawler) McNicholas started The Maeve McNicholas Memorial Foundation in memory of their 2-year old daughter, Maeve, who died in the summer of 2004, just 36 hours after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. The foundation was established to help raise funds to support the research of pediatric brain tumors. Maeve’s Foundation has proudly donated nearly $600,000 to Lurie Children’s Hospital from this event alone and is honored to be an Affiliated Organization of the hospital.

Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Research Center’s endless work in hopes of eliminating pediatric brain tumors. For more information, please call 773-401-3494 or visit the website.

Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Benefits, Crusader Clips

Ciurej and Hayes Win The Bass Federation (TBF) Illinois State Bass Fishing Championship

May 22, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Changing weather conditions and an overnight storm made for tough fishing on Clinton Lake near Champaign, Illinois, last Saturday. Nevertheless, senior Jimmy Ciurej and junior Joe Hayes were able to boat three keeper largemouth bass weighing 6.8 pounds with a 14 inch limit to win The Bass Federation (TBF) Illinois State Championship.

Boat captain/assistant coach Luke Opoka ‘12 pulled out all the stops in his game plan under the tough conditions, but the fish just didn’t cooperate. The two-man team caught a few smaller fish, but they were not able to add to their total. They lost a nice lunker with just ten minutes to go before check-in. However, the three keeper bass were enough to win the tournament. The win now qualifies Ciurej and Hayes to fish in the TBF Regional Championship in October on Kentucky Lake in Murray, Kentucky, which is considered one of the top ten bass fishing lakes in the country. A win in that tournament would qualify them for the national championship and college scholarship opportunities.

The Bass Federation is the nation’s oldest and largest organized grassroots fishing organization and has developed an affiliated Student Angler Federation (SAF) component. The SAF holds state high school tournaments across the country all leading to regional championship tournaments and a final national championship.

The Brother Rice Bass Fishing Team is having another banner year and continues to add to their overflowing trophy case. Coupled with winning the Oak Lawn Tournament last October to start the season, the Crusader anglers finished number 2 and 4, respectively, in the District 230 Tournament Series final standings. In addition, they placed third in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Sectional Tournament on Wolf Lake in April and are headed to the IHSA State Championship on Carlyle Lake on May 31.

Head coach Ted Lowery’73, and assistant coaches Jim Opoka, Luke Opoka’12, and Brian Moriarty will have one more opportunity this year to put the Crusader anglers “on the fish.” The rest is up to them and we wish them well! Senior Mike Slakis and junior Joe Hayes will represent Brother Rice in the IHSA State Championship.

The team is losing a powerful lineup of graduating seniors in Bryan Lee, Matt Caulfield, Jimmy Ciurej, Mike Slakis, Joe Leitelt, and Nick Stimac. We thank them for helping to make the Brother Rice Bass Fishing Team one of the most accomplished, respected, and feared bass fishing teams in the IHSA! We hope you will be back as alumni to pass on your wisdom and help mentor our up and coming Crusader anglers. We wish you well in all that you do. Great job men! Best of luck and Go Crusaders!

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Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Athletics, Bass Fishing, Crusader Clips

Track Places 8th in Sectional; Cheatom Qualifies for State

May 21, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Marcus Cheatom’s Brother Rice school record breaking throw (56’8) at Catholic League.

On Friday, May 17, the Brother Rice track team competed in the IHSA Sectional at Downers Grove North. The Crusaders placed 8th out of the 17 team field.

Leading the way for the Crusaders and earning a trip to the state meet was Marcus Cheatom. Marcus won the shot put and placed 2nd in the discus. This is the 2nd consecutive year that he is a 2-time qualifier.

Other Sectional medalists include Eric Burke (3rd in the high jump), James Durkin (5th in the 2 mile), and the mile relay team of Brandon Hall, Chris Rozell, Shaq Ridgner, and Alex Rodriguez who placed 5th.

Marcus will compete at Eastern Illinois University on Friday afternoon, May 24, in the preliminaries, with the finals to be held Saturday afternoon, May 25.

Full Results

Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Athletics, Coach Waz's Blog, Crusader Clips, Track

Physics Trip 2009 Has Connection with Returning ISS Astronaut

May 21, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

On their 2009 trip to Florida, Brother Rice physics teacher Brother Patrick Hayes and his students met Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield at the Kennedy Space Center.

Hadfield has just returned from a five month stint aboard the International Space Station. He is known for his videos from space, including his rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

Filed Under: Academics, Alumni, Articles of Interest, Crusader Clips, In the News, Physics

Crusaders at the Beverly Breast Cancer Walk

May 21, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Brother Rice students and their families took part in this year’s Beverly Breast Cancer Walk on Mother’s Day.

The “Crusaders for a Cure” team had 36 participants and raised $1,074 for the Little Company of Mary Comprehensive Breast Health Center.

The walk began in 2000 with 30 women walking through the Beverly neighborhood. It has grown to over 10,000 walkers who collected donations of over $500,000 last year.

Filed Under: Activities, Articles of Interest, Community, Crusader Clips

Brother Rice Volleyball Beats Marist

May 17, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

The Brother Rice varsity volleyball team defeated Marist 25-19, 25-20.

Ryan Paull (St. John Fisher) had 8 kills, Andrew Wilkison (St. John Fisher) and Kevin Myren (St. Catherine of Alexandria) had 6 kills each, and Dan Hayes (St. Barnabas) had 21 assists. Brother Rice is now 26-9 overall.

This weekend, Brother Rice will host the Junior Varsity Chicagoland Catholic Volleyball Championship.

Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Athletics, Crusader Clips, Volleyball, Volleyball News

Brother Rice Lacrosse Beats Nazareth

May 16, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

The JV and varsity lacrosse teams had big wins on Tuesday, May 14. The JV team beat Nazareth 6-2 to improve to a 9-3 record. The varsity won 14-5 and improved to 8-5 in their class and 8-8 overall.

On Thursday, May 16, the JV and varsity teams will take on Lockport at Brother Rice. The JV team will be going for the first 10 win season in Brother Rice history, and the varsity looks to secure the first ever winning record for Brother Rice lacrosse and a home playoff game. JV play begins at 5:00 P.M. and varsity begins at 6:30 P.M.

Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Athletics, Crusader Clips, Lacrosse

Ja’Lon Eason Wins Scholarship to Study Language Abroad

May 14, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Brother Rice senior Ja’Lon Eason (Metcalfe School) has been awarded one of approximately 625 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarships for 2013-2014. The NSLI-Y program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly-taught languages in summer and in academic-year overseas immersion programs.

“During my four years at Rice, my passion for language and culture was sparked,” said Ja’Lon. “A mentor of mine told me, ‘Language is the key to the world.’ I took that and ran with it. I ran with it to Spanish class, I ran with it to Peru last summer, and now I’m running with it to China this summer to study Mandarin.”

The NSLI-Y scholarship will enable Ja’Lon to study in China for the summer. The scholarship covers all program costs including travel, tuition, language testing, meals, and accommodations, usually with a host family. Through his participation in the program, Ja’Lon will serve as a citizen diplomat while developing the skills necessary to be a leader in the global community.

Filed Under: Academics, Articles of Interest, Crusader Clips, Spotlights, Students

Dr. John Wakerly ’66 Joins Hall of Fame

May 14, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Brother Rice High School is pleased to announce the induction of Dr. John Wakerly ’66 to the Brother Rice Hall of Fame. On Friday, May 10, Dr. Wakerly visited the school to accept his award and address the student body. He spoke about his career path, from paper boy at age 12 to professor at Stanford University to owner of Micros Systems Engineering. He told the students that he learned “words of wisdom” from all of his bosses over the years and stressed that no matter what field one chooses, it is most important to be a “good communicator.” Dr. Wakerly also said that to be successful, one should learn to read, write, and speak well, and always “look someone in the eye and make contact.”

Dr. John Wakerly has more than 30 patents in telecommunications and networking technology. He has written more than 50 publications including engineering textbooks. He has also been a 30 year member of the faculty at Stanford University and has been a major contributor in the technology industry. Brother Rice’s Wakerly Lab was established in January 2000, thanks to the generosity of Dr. Wakerly.

Filed Under: Alumni, Alumni Feature, Brother Rice Exclusives, Crusader Clips

Brother Rice Rugby Sends Three to National Championship

May 13, 2013 by Becky Pacetti Leave a Comment

Three Brother Rice juniors have been selected to participate in the Boys High School National Invitational Championship will be held on May 16-18, 2013 at the Moose Rugby Grounds in Elkhart, Indiana. Twenty-four teams from across the country have been invited. The following Brother Rice students will be representing Brother Rice in this elite rugby competition: seniors Tim Barry (St. Albert the Great), Kevin Bresnahan (St. Christina), Brendan Brown (Most Holy Redeemer), Joe Carroll (St. Christina), Marty Cimaglia (St. Bernadette), James Gannon (St. Catherine of Alexandria), Sean Martin (Queen of Martyrs), Tim McGinnis (St. Bernadette), Derek McMahon (St. Christina), Mac Oldfield (St. Alexander), Nick Simon (St. John Fisher), Mike Slattery (Clissold), Marty Waddell (St. John Fisher), and juniors Luke Mueller (St. Barnabas), Nolan Parker (Simmons), and Nate Swanberg (St. Barnabas).

Brother Rice’s rugby team is ranked #33 in the country. The team has been the Illinois Youth Rugby Association State Champions in ‘02, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘08, and ’12. They are undefeated in 2nd consecutive regular season. The rugby team finished 3rd in the Midwest Championships a week ago, losing only to Cathedral of Indianapolis, last year’s National Champions; this was a best finish ever from the State of Illinois.

“The team has always had a strong program here in the state of Illinois,” said Head Rugby Coach David Fee. “When I took over the program 3 years ago, I always thought that we should pursue the highest levels that are out there. If winning a state championship is the highest level, then we should pursue it. If it’s a Midwest championship, then we should pursue it, or a national championship, we should pursue it. Brother Rice has supported the rugby program from the beginning, and I’m excited to see what we can do on the national stage.”

Coach Fee added, “The boys put in a lot of hard work, and this is a tough time to commit with Proms, Graduations, and other goings-on. It’s a show of character for these young men to buy into a common goal, and put in the necessary work on and off the field to make it a reality. USA Nationals, here we come!”

Filed Under: Articles of Interest, Athletics, Crusader Clips, In the News, Rugby, Students

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