February 4, 2022 | Issue #22
Alumni Spotlight - Alan McKinney '85 & Alex Balazs '89
Alan McKinney ‘85 has fond memories of watching his cousin, John Walker ‘80, playing on Knights of Columbus Field and then attending socials in the cafeteria. He loved and wanted to be a part of the EC camaraderie long before he was able to attend himself. When he arrived on campus for the first time as a student, he knew only two people but as a member of the football team, he was pulled right into the thick of the EC experience immediately. He credits Coach Mike Sheck as being one of the most influential people in his life, driving him to be and do his best, and not to let the words of anyone affect his performance. Al was honored to wear the number 44 jersey his junior and senior year, which he felt represented the community of Elyria Catholic. He said, “When 44 scores, the whole EC community scores!” Al led the Panthers to two consecutive Division III State Championships in 1983 and 1984. He was also a Class AA State Champion in the long jump and the recipient of the Elyria Catholic Lou Rotunda Award for his performance in athletics, academics, and activities. Al received the Lorain County Golden Helmet Award and was eventually inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame and the Lorain County Track and Field Hall of Fame. Although Al could attend any school, he chose the University of Cincinnati because he wanted to help a team rise from mediocrity to be one of the best in the nation. Although that didn’t come to fruition, he never second-guessed his decision based on the lifelong friendships he has with his former teammates.
Al was a recipient of the Brig Owens Award for outstanding back and ranked 5th in the school’s history for all purpose yardage at 4036. Al earned his B.S. in Sociology and signed to play with the Cincinnati Bengals. Shortly thereafter, he decided he wanted to be a part of America’s team and joined the US Army. Al completed nine tours of duty and was deployed in both Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. His tours included posts all over the world in South Korea, Oklahoma, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Germany, Arizona, Kentucky, Colorado, South Korea for a second time, and Washington State. Al earned seventeen medals and awards during his 22 years of service. He retired from the Army to the Tampa area where he attended Keiser University and earned a B.A. in Psychology. Once a Panther, always a Panther (okay, a Bearcat too!) Al moved back to the Elyria area and proposed to his wife on the 50 yard line of Knights of Columbus field in the fall of 2020. Al is looking forward to spreading positivity to everyone he meets through motivational speaking.
Alex Balazs '89

Alex Balazs ‘89 describes himself as an introvert who fell in love with coding before he attended Elyria Catholic High School. He participated in a coding class in 6th grade and discovered his passion. Alex says, “Elyria Catholic provided him with a safe environment where I came to understand what support felt like. The theology courses, conversations with teachers, and interactions with classmates all taught me how to think and contributed to my success as a leader today.” Alex attended Kettering University and earned a mechanical engineering degree but took all of his electives in software coding. His first job at Zeiss Humphrey Systems involved engineering for corneal mappers and other optical equipment, but he quickly found a way to focus on the software in those projects. In the late 1990s, he worked for several Internet software start-ups in the San Jose area. He relocated to Boston for a while and now resides in the San Diego area where he has worked for Intuit for the past 22 years, the past four years as Senior Vice President - Intuit Chief Architect. As an executive leader, he only regrets having less time to code. Alex, grateful for the

support he received from his family and at Elyria Catholic, believes in providing support for underprivileged populations and provides assistance to Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code, and Women in Tech. He is also an advisory board member for Tech Women @Intuit. Alex is married with a 16 year old son and is grateful for the lasting friendships he formed at EC. He is still in touch with nearly twenty of his Elyria Catholic classmates.
 
Philanthropy & Engagement News
Here’s the Deal…
Save-the-Date: April 9, 2022 @ EC Coliseum
Watch for full details coming to your inbox this week!
In Loving Memory
Beverly
Lorensky Breehne
Class of 1975

Geraldine “Gerry”
Manzo Latvala
Class of 1961
John
James Homoki
Class of 1966
Janice
Lacerna Kovach
Class of 1994
Camille
Fritz Fuehrer
Class of 1962
Robert
Kretschmann
Class of 1970
Frank
Anderson
Class of 1957

Rosemary Kretschmann, and son, Robert Kretschmann ’70
Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was established by the Kretschmann family in honor of their mother, Rosemary, and their brother, Robert. Throughout her life Rosemary embodied Christian values through her unfailing faith in God, hope in all things possible and boundless love for her family and others. She sacrificed much to provide her children with a Catholic education at St. Patrick’s in Troy, Ohio, and St. Jude’s and Elyria Catholic High School in Elyria. All of her children (Kathy ’64, Don ’67, Joanne ’69, Bob ’70, Jerry ’71, and Fran ’73) graduated from Elyria Catholic.

Robert Kretschmann ’70 earned a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton and eventually served Rockwell Automation for 37 years. He was named the Leonardo da Vinci Engineer of the Year in 1989, earned two IEC 1906 Awards for his work on the International Electrotechnical Commission Standards Technical Committee, and is listed as an inventor on 75 patents. Robert was a member of the IEEE, and has served as a mentor to many young engineers.

This scholarship is intended to assist a student who is interested in committing to and strengthening his/her values through furthering his/her Catholic education at Elyria Catholic High School.
Gifts to the Rosemary Kretschmann, and son, Robert Kretschmann '70, Memorial Scholarship can be made by visiting:
elyriacatholic.com/memorial-giving or by mailing checks to the Philanthropy & Engagement Office at Elyria Catholic High School, 725 Gulf Rd. Elyria, OH 44035.

Frank Anderson '57 funded
Class of 1957 Scholarship with 76 Gifts

Frank Anderson ‘57 has been sending monthly gifts to Elyria Catholic for the Class of 1957 Scholarship Fund since 2015. Other members of the Class of 1957 have also contributed to the fund, but it is Frank’s monthly gifts that have catapulted the fund over its endowment threshold. The scholarship will now be used to help support an Elyria Catholic student every year, forever. Frank retired as the Paint Department Manager at Ford in 1989 and moved to the mountains of Tennessee to enjoy retirement. While there, he and his wife, Rosemary, helped to establish the first Catholic Church in northeast Tennessee, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Mountain City. Frank also helped students learn to read at the elementary school on its campus. Frank and his dog, Elway, a golden retriever, provided many therapy visits to patients in a local hospital. Frank and Rosemary have ten children, twenty-three grandchildren, and eighteen great-grandchildren who visit on a regular basis.
‌
Year of the Panther
Help name the Panther
As part of our year-long celebration of the Year of the Panther, help give our Panther a name! We are now accepting suggestions at elyriacatholic.com/yotp. All names should be gender neutral and we appreciate your creativity and support! The top three names will be voted on by school administration. Thank you for showing your Panther pride!
Panthers Prowl with Pride
Tradition Doesn’t Graduate!
Congratulations to three of our seniors who recently signed their National Letter of Intent to play volleyball and football this fall. Ashley Garapic '22 will be attending Bluffton University, Jack Budinger '22 will be attending the University of Findlay, and Ian Woodyard '22 will be attending Hillsdale College. Your Panther family can't wait to watch you succeed as EC Alumni at the collegiate level.
2020 Girls Basketball Team

The 2019-2020 Girls Basketball team returned to the Coliseum last Friday before the girls game against Lutheran East. 

In March 2020, they made it all the way to the final four of the State Tournament and were ultimately sent home due to COVID-19 before being given the opportunity to compete.

While each coach and team member was announced, the EC family showed their support for their accomplishments that have not gone unnoticed over the past two years. 

Not only were these team members invited back to Elyria Catholic, but their friends and families were as well for a reception and unveiling of the Final Four banner. The ceremony was followed by a 57-34 win over Lutheran East. Congratulations girls and coaches and thank you for your continued representation of Elyria Catholic on and off the court. There's nothing better than being a Panther!
Diya Saigal '23
Began the EC Culture Club. Read how Diya is Prowling with Pride
Mark Dyson '23
Plays the piano and brings peace to others! Read how Mark is Prowling with Pride
Owen Volney '22
Volunteers at the St. Agnes Food Pantry. Read how Owen is Prowling with Pride.
Ashley Taylor '23
Cares for horses. Read how Ashley is Prowling with Pride.
Inside the Panther classroom
Anatomy & Physiology

The Anatomy & Physiology classes wrapped up their study of the muscular system this week by putting their knowledge of the muscles of the body to the test!

In the first activity, they each choose a yoga pose they could safely perform and identified 5 motions within that move, along with the joints and muscles involved. They presented their poster to the class and had to hold the pose for 5 seconds.

In the second activity, they were tasked with drawing the anterior and posterior muscles of the upper body on t-shirts. They needed to make sure their muscle fibers were going in the correct direction and include labels for each of the muscles they drew.

We have some talented students in Anatomy & Physiology and it was so fun watching them work through these this last week!


Panther getting in shape!
Campus Ministry
Reunions
Class of 1967 will be celebrating their 55th Class Reunion on Saturday, August 13, 2022. Dinner will take place at Elyria Catholic at 6pm. For more information please contact Chris McArtor at chrismcartor@aol.com.

Class of 1972 will be celebrating their 50th Class Reunion on September 9 and 10, 2022. The weekend includes a Golf Outing on September 9 and Mass with tour at EC followed by the reunion dinner at The Foundry on September 10. For more details please contact Brian Powers ( ) for the golf outing and Ed Eisbrenner (ed@eisbrennerpg.com) for general information.

Class of 1977 will be celebrating their 45th Class Reunion next fall! On Friday, September 2 the 1977 class is invited to take a tour of the school at 6pm followed by the home football game against Midview High School. The ‘76 championship team will be recognized prior to kickoff. Please keep an eye out in February for more information regarding other reunion events taking place Labor Day Weekend. Questions for the class of 1977 Reunion can be directed to your class officers; Dennis Baluh at baluhd@yahoo.com , Kim Wilhelm at ksw045@gmail.com orTerri Harrington at tharrington@willburt.com.
Athletic Department News
Support our Panthers and Community
ELYRIA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
ELYRIACATHOLIC.COM