31274587
The athletic achievements of 2010 were hard to forget. The Neumann-Goretti boys’ basketball team made program and school history by bringing home its first-ever PIAA championship. Other hoopsters with local ties were shinning in the national spotlight when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament came around in March. Two elevated their games by practicing with the NBA elite prior to the Basketball World Championships.
There were plenty of farewells including Neumann- Goretti girls’ basketball coach Chip Reitano and Bok’s football and baseball coach Tom DeFelice.
Of course we can’t forget NCAA men’s basketball legend Jim Phelan coming back home to be inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.
These are just some of the highlights. Here’s a look back at ’10:
January
The Anderson Monarchs, based out of 18th and Fitzwater streets, 12-and-under girls’ soccer team opened the year in Orlando, Fla., and made their national tournament debut.
Rogers “The Tiger” Mtagwa, from the 1800 block of South Taylor Street, returned to the Mecca of Boxing for a shot at the WBA featherweight championship. But the 30-year-old lost via technical knockout to undefeated Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa.
On the hardwood, Neumann-Goretti senior Michaila Hatty, of Front of Roseberry streets, announced that she would be continuing her college career at Maryland-based Washington College.
February
Packer Park native Kyle Eckel laced up his cleats for the eventual Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints, who defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17.
Local ballers garnered recognition with their respective top-25 squads just as March Madness approached. Included in the mix were Prep Charter grads Marcus and Markieff Morris at the University of Kansas, as well as Syracuse University’s Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine hailing from Neumann-Goretti.
March
In high school basketball the Neumann-Goretti boys’ squad won its second-straight Catholic League crown by defeating the defending state champions Archbishop Carroll, 75-59. The senior-laden squad nabbed its fourth title in six years, and sixth overall in coach Carl Arrigale’s 11-year tenure at 10th and Moore streets.
While many of the area high school girls’ basketball teams had already turned in their uniforms, the Prep Charter Lady Huskies were hard at work making final preparations for their PIAA Class AAA opening-round clash against Malvern-based Villa Maria Academy.
Athletes with local ties entered this year’s NCAA Tournament with expectations of being the last team standing in Indianapolis. The Morris twins went into the tourney ranked as the Midwest Region’s No. 1 seed with the Kansas Jayhawks. Neumann-Goretti grads Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine and their Syracuse Orange earned a similar distinction as the West Region’s No. 1 seed.
The Neumann-Goretti boys’ basketball team received a plethora of attention throughout the season as a top-10 team in several national polls. It all culminated with a program-first PIAA Class AAA championship. The Saints’ latest crowning moment came in the form of a 65-63 victory over Chartiers Valley.
April
Chip Reitano knew after his first practice as the Neumann-Goretti girls basketball coach back in 2000 that it was the start of something special. A decade later, he stepped down 125 career wins and six-straight Catholic League playoff appearances — both of which are all-time marks for the program.
After spending the past decade together, Neumann-Goretti seniors Al Baur, Mark Donato and Michael Riverso and their coach Lou Spadaccini were preparing to close out their journey with the perfect ending — a state championship.
Area youngsters traded passes, jump shots and lay-ups with players from Division I schools at Neumann-Goretti High School. The Philly Girls Got Game hosted its debut event with about 150 girls representing South Philadelphia middle schools. The youngsters, ranging in age from 8 to 13, received tips from players and coaches of the “Philly 6.”
May
The past and present united to celebrate Neumann-Goretti’s 1985 and ’10 boys’ basketball championship teams at its annual athletic banquet. The celebration highlighted the 1985 boys’ Catholic League Championship squad and its accomplished brethren from last season’s Catholic League, City and State championship team.
Prep Charter Huskies’ All-Public standouts LaShay Banks and Sydney Mallory made school history by signing National Letters of Intent for the fall. Banks — the school’s first female athlete to ink a Division I scholarship — selected the University of Cincinnati while Mallory picked Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Girard Academic Music Program defended its Class A crown thanks to a no-hit effort from its junior ace Dom Raia. The 15 diamond dwellers secured a sixth-straight District 12 Class A championship with a 3-2 victory over Masterman.
June
Neumann-Goretti junior Joseph DiGiacomo competed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Track and Field Championships. Statewide, DiGiacomo was ranked among the top-20 in the 800-meters.
Bryan Hughes, a self-proclaimed tennis fanatic, continued to show his love for his community, running Jedi Tennis LLC, a 2-year-old nonprofit focusing on growth and development through urban tennis.
Neumann-Goretti pitcher Jillian Murray capped her four-year run with a program-first playoff berth. Adding four All-Catholic nods, including a First Team spot as a junior, the resident of the 2800 block of South Sydenham Street called her high school career a success.
Eight local Philadelphia Catholic and Philadelphia Public League all-stars showcased their skills in the Carpenter Cup. For Neumann-Goretti seniors Al Baur, Michael Riverso and Mark Donato, along with junior Mike Zolk and sophomore Joe Gorman it provided one last chance to play together as high-schoolers. Like the previous three Carpenter Cup meetings against the Public League, the Catholic League was again victorious, 11-2.
July
Jon McAllister’s days with the Philadelphia Senators National baseball team might have come to an end, but the 18-year-old center fielder and resident of the 1800 block of Sigel Street, signed a National Letter of Intent with University of Maryland’s baseball team. As Chestnut Hill Academy’s leadoff hitter, he batted .473, with 44 hits in 93 at-bats in his last season.
Five members from the two South Philadelphia National Junior Tennis League camps traveled to the East Falls-based Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education Center to learn some valuable pointers from superstar Venus Williams. Jeremy Emami, Chazz Franchinie, Amira Davis, David Azvolinsky and Joe Franchinie spent about 30 minutes trading groundstrokes with the seven-time Grand Slam final winner.
Syracuse junior Antonio “Scoop” Jardine from the 1800 block of South Taylor Street and Marcus Morris partnered with 18 college standouts to form the 2010 USA Basketball Men’s Select team. The group spent a week engaging in valuable training sessions with the USA Basketball Men’s National team, which fine tuned for the upcoming World Championships in Turkey.
No stranger to the neighborhood, Jesse Biddle, the Phillies’ first-round draft pick, had fans wondering of how many more parades he will bring to the area.
August
Members of the South Philadelphia Soccer Club helped three of their four teams capture medals at the Keystone Summer Games.
Neumann-Goretti second baseman Mike Zolk committed to the University of North Carolina.
Hundreds at FDR Park, Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, recaptured the joys of their athletic childhoods by participating in Play Day — a partnership between SportsRadio 610 WIP and the Department of Parks and Recreation.
The local boys of Delaware Valley Senators based at 18th and Johnston finished their first year of competitive ball with two tournament titles.
September
A year removed from its first-ever playoff game, the girls’ soccer team at Neumann-Goretti started its quest for continued good fortune, with hopes of building on the program’s initial playoff splash. With most of his core players returning, coach Jim McBride was looking to build on last season’s six victories.
Central High School sophomore and local resident DreShaun Jarmon delivered big, defeating three tennis legends in a target-hitting competition at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
This year, success clung to the Delaware Valley 12-and-under Senators. Over a seven-month span, the youngsters collected 51 wins in 63 games, competed against teams from eight states and collected four tournament titles. Their journey concluded with an appearance at a prestigious invitational tournament and a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Mark Hatty, an ’07 Neumann-Goretti grad inherited the starting quarterback role for the Delaware Valley College Aggies and led his squad to victories in two of its first three games.
Hundreds of local Catholic school children enjoyed more than two dozen sports and nearly a dozen fitness-related challenges at the Nintendo Wii Fitness Lab. Neumann-Goretti became the first institution in the five-county Archdiocese of Philadelphia to integrate simulated athletic action into its curriculum.
October
Three years removed from being timid prey for their Public League foes, the Furness Falcons football team reversed their fortunes by pouncing on the Mastbaum Panthers, 21-0, which was the team’s second-straight shutout victory.
Neumann-Goretti senior Lamin Fulton made a verbal commitment to play basketball at St. Peter’s College. As a junior, he helped his Saints compile a 30-1 record, which was highlighted by State, Catholic League and City titles.
The Bok Wildcats closed out the month on a high note by winning the Public League Class AA championship game over Imhotep Charter, 41-0. Furness, meanwhile, opened the Class AAAA playoffs with a 35-0 loss to Frankford.
November
Iga Kopiec, a John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School junior, moved to South Philadelphia from Krakow, Poland in August. She adjusted to her new culture by qualifying for the PIAA AAA Girls’ Cross-Country Championships in Hershey.
Jim Phelan proved Philadelphia’s nickname, “The City That Loves You Back,” has no statute of limitations when he returned home for enshrinement into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame’s seventh class.
Local ballers prepared to make some noise in their upcoming college basketball season, including 12 from Ss. Neumann-Goretti, six from Prep Charter, three from GAMP, two from South Philly High and one for Center City’s Roman Catholic High School.
Neumann-Goretti and Southern high schools looked beyond their losinghttp://www.southphillyreview.com/sports/features/Turkey-Bowl-turns-76.html seasons to score a Thanksgiving triumph in the 76th annual Turkey Bowl. The Saints once again prevailed, 6-0.
December
After 42 years at a Passyunk Square school, renowned teacher and coach Tom DeFelice announced the current school year would be his last. The 64-year-old football coach at Bok amassed 129 victories, including 43 straight Public League regular season triumphs over 18 seasons.
World-class athlete Ryan Whiting demonstrated his abilities to local student-athletes from Bok and Neumann-Goretti. The Harrisburg native who dominated discus and shot put competitions during his decorated career at Arizona State University talked about his desire throw the shot put in the next Olympic Games.
Penn Charter junior and Packer Park resident Kenny Koplove accepted an athletic scholarship to Duke University hoping to enhance his skills and extend his family’s diamond legacy.
Nigeria’s Omowumi Rafiu came to the United States in July to become a student at Neumann-Goretti and the small forward for the girls’ varsity basketball team. With dreams of a Catholic League championship, the baller averaged more than 11 points through her first six contests.
31274632
28893687
31274537
