Alumni Association

Forever True

October, 2023

Dates to Remember

Teutonia Mannerchor Alumni Luncheon

The next alumni luncheon will take place on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. You can call Jim Eberz (412) 445-4446 or Don Gruber (412) 874-2906. The cost of the luncheon is $15 which is payable at the door. Soft drinks and beer cost extra.

The September luncheon drew a crowd of over 50 alums and guests. Once again Jim Eberz ('64) with help from his wife, Sarah, and Don Gruber ('71) made everything run smoothly.

The class of 59 was once again the largest class with 12 members. They

were joined by Joseph Wilson (standing 3rd from right, who was made an

honorary member of the Class of '59), father of North Catholic president Joe

Wilson.

While there were no first time attendees we did get a picture of Gino Mahofski, Class of 1959 Counting 50-50 Raffle Winnings.

REMEMBER THERE IS NO ALUMNI LUNCHEON IN NOVEMBER!

The Christmas Party will be Tuesday, December 12th. The cost will be $25 which covers the luncheon, the 50/50 raffle, and the Christmas gift raffle. More details in next months newsletter.

2013 Football Reunion

This past Friday, North Catholic celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the 2013 NC Football Team being named the PIAA Class A Football undefeated champions.  The coaches and players were recognized after the first quarter at JC Stone Field.  The team and their families gathered before the game for a tailgate party.  Coach Bob Ravenstahl (’72) addressed the players and Bill Murtha (’73) who was the announcer that year came back to introduce the team.

The Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce the Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Jeff Bergman (class of 1972)

Dr. Harry Brady (class of 1953)

Vince Delie (class of 1982)

General William Mall (class of 1950)

Teresa Preskar (class of 1976)

The next newsletter will have more information on the inductees. The Hall of Fame dinner and induction will be held at North on Saturday October 21st.

Alumni Spotlight

The 2023 Hall of Fame

Interested in being a featured alum in the coming months? Just let us know by clicking here.

Flashback Photo

Last Month's Flashback

This is another picture from the 1974 yearbook. That's the first girls basketball team in the history of the school. They are from left to right: front row: K. Hickey, B Lennartz, T preskar, P Rothert, J Facchino, M.S. Rozum, and s Zack (manager). The Back row: C. Benkart (manager), K. Buterbaugh, C. Holloman, N. Meyers, M.A. McGrath, A. Rozanski, K.Janosco, D. Ladesic, and N. Suchacek. (manager)

The team finished their first season as Trojanettes with a 23-5 record and undefeated in league play. Their losses were to Sacred Heart (twice) and Mt Alvernia three times.

We got a large number of responses. Carl Apel, Clyde Rombach, and Kevin Rowlands from the class of 74 responded quickly as did Mark Shepard, Kevin Bowman, Cliff Struhar from the class of 75.

Ed Scheid ('69) said, "I am going to guess that is the '73-'74 first ever NC girls basketball team, mainly because I don't recognize any body. I didn't start teaching at North until August of 75."

Kathy Janosco Smith ('75), a member of the team identified everyone and added, "Of note, although this photo is in black and white, the uniforms we were wearing were dark green! They were the Domenec High School Varsity uniforms, with a North Catholic Patch sewn over the “D”.  The decision for North Catholic to go co-ed was made too late for uniforms to be ordered for the 1973-1974 season.  Thankfully, we were all able to wear the Scarlet and Gold the next season, with NORTH emblazoned on the right side of our uniforms.

This team won their Section Title in 1974; NC Girls Basketball team were Section Champs for 10 straight years following. (There have been more than 37 NC Girls Basketball Section Champs since 1978.)  Also in 1978,  NC Girls Basketball won their first WPIAL Championship, followed by many more.  In 1980, NC Girls Basketball won their first of 8 State Championships.  So, I guess you could perhaps say that this is a photo of the genesis of the North Catholic Girls Basketball Dynasty. 

Proud to be part of that and many thanks to our coaches Don Barth and Frank Windisch."



This Month's Flashback

This flashback photo is keeping in the same vein as the last few months and if you have been following along should be an easy guess for every North Catholic alum from 1943-2023. So send us what you know about this photo.



Send your guesses to us here.

The display case just inside the entrance to the school houses memorabilia from the school's history. There is also North Catholic apparel available.

You can check out the NC gear in the spirit shop by clicking here.

Alumni Class Notes

Class of 1959

The Class of ’59 is all smiles as they cheer on the Trojans at the NC Homecoming Game.

Class of 1964

Jim Eberz and his wife are getting ready to set sail.

Class of 1974

Ron Derbis and wife Mary Ann Roth Derbis enjoy their grand kids

Joe Viehbeck knows the joy of being a grand parent.



Class of 1975

A gathering of classmates at Penn brewery for beer and BS includes (clockwise from the lower left): Dave Borgese, Sean T Mullins, Bill Young, Biff Cummings, Don Graham, Dave Florijan, Medio Monti, and Joe Cieply.

Class of 1977

Dave Marx poses with his granddaughters as they head off for the first day of school.

Class of 1978

Here's a group photo of classmates at their 45th reunion.

Class of 1979

Tru McGortey enjoys a birthday drink with his daughter.

Class of 1982

It's a wedding day kiss for Jim Quatman and his bride.

Class of 1983

Laurie Santa Williamson is with her "forever" date at a recent wedding.

Amy Larkin Palmer and her husband welcome their newest grand daughter to the family.

Class of 1987

John Mudrany and his wife are with their daughter as she celebrates a birthday.

Class of 1989

That's Molly Larkin Rottman and her husband with their son as he sets off for the homecoming dance. Their dog did not want to be in the picture and asked that he not be identified.

Class of 1993

Bill Miller and his wife Melissa pose for this selfie with their daughter.

Class of 1995

Robb Duty and his wife get ready for a visit to the Rock and Roll Museum in Cleveland.

Ben Umphrey's ready to spin some tunes on a Steeler Sunday.

Class of 1996

Brendan Delaney and his wife. He says, "we clean up pretty good."

Class of 1999

Katie Kutschbach Sweeney and husband Teddy ('00) celebrate senior day honors with their daughter.

Class of 2000

Congratulations to Russ Hartzell on his retirement from the Ohio Township Police Department. Russ and his wife, Laura Bogosto Hartzell ('99) are relocating to Sarasota Florida to enjoy the sunshine.

Dave Naberezny celebrates his birthday with his family.

Galyn Mitas and her family are on a family vacation in Greece.

Class of 2001

Joey Spehar gets ready for a birthday meal.

Gus Just catches up with his niece.

Class of 2002

Adam Schmidt and his wife offer a toast at a friend's wedding

Tony Grego and his wife pose for this picture during a family gathering

Class of 2003

Todd Delaplaine and his wife are back in town.

It's Fright Night at Kennywood for Bea Tipler Riesterer and her man.

Class of 2004

It's an end of the summer photo of Jamie Sieber Mares and her family.

Some of the Sweeney Clan celebrate. That's Katie (Dugas), Kerrigan ('08) and Elizabeth (Casey) ('87) enjoying a beverage.

Class of 2005

Anjouli Dapice and her family send us their latest family photo.

Jeanine Vento McGuire enjoys her vacation in Iceland.

Class of 2008

Pickle Ball Champions: Amy Longo Reffitt and her partner.

Class of 2009

Anthony Corcoran kneels next to his son before he sends him off to school.

Class of 2010

Before setting off for some apple picking, John c and his wife pose for this autumn photo.

Bride Emily Murtha Shepard is surrounded by her bridesmaids Missy Hunkle Davis, Shayla Mitrik, and Emily Matschner;

and here she is again with her husband.

It's a Steeler Sunday for Matt Fedzen and his special lady. Can you guess who their favorite Steeler is?

Class of 2012

Carly Dittrich Hartzell and her husband enjoy their day out before the baby arrived.

Who's having a better time at this birthday party; Megan Prybyl or her god daughter?

Class of 2013

A girl and her dog: it's Lauren Wolosik.

Class of 2014

Dom Robb and his family are among the fishes.

Class of 2015

Timon Gribbon is one proud daddy as he holds his little girl.

Class of 2020

Here's a sports report on Villanova volleyball star Elizabeth Feczko.

Class of 2022

JD Butler is one of the managers for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Class of 2023

MacKenzie Butler is a member of the Kent State marching band.

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If you know an alum who doesn't get the newsletter and would like to receive it, send us their email address and we will add them to the distribution list.

Thanks to George Pavlic('91), Joyce Velardita Rouda ('78), Caitlin Jordan ('08), Dennis Payne ('96), George Bauer ('49), Medio Monti ('75), James Beran ('66), Carmen DiGiacomo ('59), Amy Larkin Palmer ('83), George Jordan ('66), DeDe Raukauf Yoest ('81), Russ Hartzell ('00), and Jim Eberz ('64) for sending information and pictures to us.

If you have news/photos you want to share with classmates, send them to alumni news.

ALL reunion updates will ALSO be available on the school's website, northcatholic.org or by clicking here!

NC Class of 1966

The Class of ’66 has its own ‘Reunion Book!’ To view the Reunion Book: 

           Go to YouTube on any browser

           Put “North Catholic Reunion Book” on Search bar.

Slides are shown on a 7 second interval automatically or you can scan forward using the scanning bar on the lower left, 

Bob Gierl says the 60th class reunion will be October 15, 2025!

NC Class of 1973

Plans are in the works for a 50^th Reunion to be held on October 14, 2023, at North Catholic. Check your mail as the formal RSVP went out at the end of July.

Here's a rundown of events for the reunion - Mass is at 4:00 PM, a school tour will be given at 5:00, reunion activities and dinner begin at 6:00. The dinner will be catered by Rico's Catering.

Bill Murtha is the contact for any questions you may have and can be reached at 412-327-4567 or by email here. You can also check out the NCHS Class of 1973 Facebook account.

NC Class of 1983



The 40th class reunion will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the Cranberry Sports Grill at 6PM. More details to follow. Any questions, please call Bob Parey at 724-601-6742.

NC Class of 1990

Martin Miller and Leah Vaughan Quigley are still hoping to organize a class reunion. Keep an eye out for some news

NC Class of 1993

The Class of 1993 is planning a 30 year reunion in November. Stay tuned for more details.

NC Class of 1997

The class of 1997 will celebrate their 25th reunion this year. Let us know about reunion plans so we can spread the word.

NC Class of 1998

Plans are in the works for a 25th reunion this fall. Stay tuned for more details.

NC Class of 2003

The 20-year reunion will be held at Roland's Seafood Grill (in the Strip) on Saturday, October 7th. The cost will be around $25 per person. Check out the class of 2003 Facebook page.

NC Class of 2013

There may be plans in the works for a 10 year reunion. We will share details when we hear more

Military Legacy Scholarship

North Catholic has a Military Legacy Scholarship in honor of all alumni who have served in our nation’s military forces. The goal is to provide a $1,000.00 scholarship annually. To date, over $30,000 has been raised to fund this annual scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to the student provided certain benchmarks are met. Every 4 years (or sooner) it is awarded to an incoming 9^th grade student. Molly Burke ('24) is the recipient of the scholarship.

If you wish, you may make a contribution in someone's honor/memory. Donations can be made by sending checks payable to North Catholic, write "North Catholic Military Scholarship" in the memo, and mail to: 

North Catholic High School

1617 Route 228

Cranberry Township, PA 16066

ATTN: Development Office

A kiosk with the names of all alumni who have served in the military stands in the main hallway of the school. Thank you for your service.

The John Latulippe Memorial Scholarship

The John Latuilippe Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Gabriel Grindstaff - NC class of 2024. Thank you to all who have donated. 

Class of 1959 Scholarship

The NCHS Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund has awarded $5,200 Scholarships for the 2023-24 School Year to Mary Narvett and Mary Taggart-Snyder.

The Fund has awarded scholarships totaling $103,600 to twelve recipients since the inception of the Fund. Contributions to the Fund can be made at any time and should be sent to the North Catholic Foundation, North Catholic High School, ATTN: Class of 1959 Scholarship Fund, 1617 Route 228, Cranberry Township, PA 16066.

If you would like more information about the Fund, please contact Joe Blitzko(joeyblitz@aol.com), Dick Halleran (rhalleran@verizon.net), or Mike Conroy (conroy1603@gmail.com).

Class of 1965 Legacy Scholarship

The Legacy Scholarship was set up as part of our 50th class reunion by Dan Wolovich and Wayne Young and has been under the direction of Bob Colbert and Walt Quinn for the past few years.

The scholarship has helped students with the ever increasing cost of Catholic education. When we were at North, almost all of the tuition was paid by our parishes (remember having to face your pastor as he reviewed your report card?) Now the cost of tuition has fallen completely on the parents.

In order to help parents provide the great education that we received all those years ago, we need more of our classmates to step up and help keep our legacy scholarship fund growing. No contribution is too small. Thanks to classmates, DAN WOLOVICH, BILL GUBANIC and JOE MCKELVEY for their recent contributions. Dan, Bill and Joe continue to make contributions periodically through out the year. Other classmates have continued to make small monthly contributions by setting up a monthly credit card donation (read $10 to $25). The great thing about that is it's painless and adds to the scholarship fund which continues to grow. As of the beginning of April there is $45,000 in our endowment.

We are happy to announce that this year's Legacy Scholarships for this school year have been awarded to sophomore MADISON SERETTI. Madison is an honors student with a GPA of 3.9 and is the daughter of NC alum, Leslie Filip ('89) The second recipient is sophomore DONNIE SCHUBERT, a graduate of Blessed Trinity Academy. Donnie is a basketball player and carries a 3.9 GPA.  

Consider making a donation to the fund today!

You can send your check to the school with a notation that it's for the '65 scholarship fund; or If you would like to contribute a small monthly amount via your credit card, contact Amber Nicotra Morrison to set it up.



If you have questions about our efforts, feel free to contact Bob Colbert (bobcolbert@comcast.net) or Walt Quinn (quinn.walter@comcast.net)

Special Shoutout

John Mikulan is also donating 20% of the royalties from his book, The Bark of the Day to the fund.

Class of 1966 Scholarship

The Class of ’66, is proud to announce the selection of their second scholarship recipient, Dom Dixon ('27). Dom and and Andrew Scears ('26) were selected by the committee, under the leadership of Tom Balestreire. The committee is well on its way to funding its goal of $100,000 for the Class of ’66 Scholarship Fund. The Fund will be administered by the Class in conjunction with the school. We, Tom Maier, Jim Beran, Hank Marziale, Paul Ladish, and Bob Gierl have contacted many, but if you or someone you know is wishing to be included, contact Tommy, 404.358.4864, text or call.

NC Class of 1953 Scholarship

Thank you to all who have donated to the North Catholic Class of 1953 Scholarship Fund.  More than $29,000 has been raised.  The ad-hoc committee is pleased to announce that incoming freshman Gianna Fuller has been awarded the scholarship starting in the 2023-2024 school year. 

The Fund was proposed by Reg Urschler in the Spring of 2021, and an ad hoc committee was established, comprised of Reg, Charley Goetz, Bob Muth, and Vince Brogan.

The ad hoc committee urges all classmates to make new or continuing contributions to the Fund. Checks should be made payable to the “NC Class of 1953 Scholarship Fund”and sent to the attention of: Amber Morrison, North Catholic High School, 1617 Route 228, Cranberry Township, Pa 16066.

How fortunate we were to have had the benefit of the education afforded us. What a wonderful opportunity this provides to all of us and the remaining families to "invest" in a "guaranteed return on that investment" by providing a similar opportunity to current students' futures.

North Catholic hosted four Irish high school students from Saint Lawrence College in Dublin, Ireland, for an opportunity to experience another Catholic Marianist High School.

In addition to shadowing some of NC students, they were able to explore the area as well. They went to Saint Mark the Evangelist Parish for Mass, Saint Anthony's Chapel, the PA Surgery Center, and visited the Steelers Hall of Honor where they were gifted Steelers memorabilia by NC alum Kevin Colbert. They finished their week by attending the Homecoming football game on Friday and our Homecoming Dance on Saturday.

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Congratulations to Robert Staresinic, NC '24, and Anna Zahorchak, NC '24, for being selected as 2024 National Merit Semi-Finalists!

With over 1.3 million students who applied, Anna and Robert were among the 16,000 students selected nationwide. This is tremendous accomplishment and a true testament of their academic excellence, overall community involvement, and strong sense of character.

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Class of 1970 alumnus Joseph Brosky met with students for the first career presentation. Mr. Brosky's career has spanned nearly four decades with notable time with the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Brosky told the story of how he began preparation for his career in the halls of North Catholic High School.

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The Homecoming Court for 2023:

From Left: Lily Karsman, Carli Rivetti, Annie Schleppy, Rylee Kumer, Laci Fulford, and Caroline Adams.

Class Representatives:

From Left: Sophomore Representative: Chloe Karsman, Junior Representative: Mary Maloney, and Freshmen Representative: Sofia Pecoraro.

Congratulations to Rylee Kumer who was crowned homecoming queen.

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The Homecoming Dance saw NC students turn out in their finest.

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Classroom News

Honors Physics students in Mr Lind's classes participated in group activities to collect data on circular objects in order to determine the relationship between circumference and diameter.

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AP Government students participated in a mock Constitutional Convention. They each took on the role of a delegate from 1787 and researched and debated the key issues that arose in the formation of the U.S.

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Spanish Honors classes had inductions into the Spanish Honors Society. This is the school's second year of the "Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica." The society recognizes students who have chosen to complete at least three years of a language with a GPA of at least 3.8, and an overall GPA of at least 3.5 in all courses.

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Students in Ms Bucci's Visual Arts 1 Classes completed their collabrative bulletin board. The art work is created in the style of Jen Stark, who is known for her intricate layers of patterns and bold colors. Each student created two paint-drip art pieces, and then they were layered together to complete the mural.

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Drama News

North Catholic Drama Department is hard at work preparing for their production of "A Delightful Quarantine"! Performances are October 12 & 14 at 7:00 PM, & October 15 at 2:30 PM.

Trojan Sports

Football

The Trojans record stands at 3-3 and 2-1 in conference play. They suffered their first conference lost to Armstrong 21-20. Senior Jack Fennell scored 2 touchdowns and rushed for 128 yards; while Jason Siket threw for 144 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort.



Junior Brady O'Hara made his commitment to play football at Penn State. You can read the story here.

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Volleyball

The Trojanettes are the top ranked team in Class 3A. They lead section 4 and most recently defeated Ambridge, 3 sets to none.

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Girls Soccer

The girls are the third ranked team in Class 3A. Their most recent match saw them hand #1 ranked Avonworth their first section defeat moving the Trojanettes into a tie with Avonworth for the section lead. the Trojanettes are 8-2 overall and 7-1 in the section.

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Cross Country

At the Red, White, and Blue Classic the girls finished second. Gracie Plastino, Madeline Meeuf, and Alyssa Urling all finished in the top 25 to pace the team.

On the boys side, Giacom Lepore"s fifth place finish helped the team finish sixth overall.

At the PIAA state champonship, North had two girls finish in the top ten Freshman runners - Gracie Plastino and Alyssa Urling. That certainly bodes well for the future of the program.

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Tennis

Second seeded Katie Hardy lost to the top seed in the section singles championship for Class 2A after coming from behind to win her semi-final match the previous day.

In the doubles tournament, the team of Katie Hardy and Brea Kelly were defeated by the top seed in the semi-finals of Class 2A championship.

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You can follow the teams and enjoy the sports podcasts by visiting the website northcatholicathletics.org

Planned Giving

Planned giving is a wonderful way to prepare for the day we depart this life and enter into God's kingdom. By planning ahead, you can provide opportunities to young men and women by supporting North Catholic. Planned giving allows us to help continue the work of Christ and pass on our traditions and Catholic Marianist values. Gifts can be specified in one's will as either a dollar amount of a stated percentage of one's estate. A growing number of alumni have taken this step and discovered a great sense of joy and satisfaction that they are helping families. If you are interested in finding out more, please click here or contact Amber Nicotra Morrison in the Development Office at amorrison@northcatholic.org.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  

Luke 12:34

SEND YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO NORTH CATHOLIC INSTEAD OF HARRISBURG!

Taxpayers can opt to have 90% of their tax liability given to North Catholic High School or the private school of their choice through the EITC (Educational Improvement Tax Credit) Program. Funds directed to North Catholic from this program directly support scholarships for students. 

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) are two programs that can make it possible for many students to receive a Catholic education.

Interested in more information? Contact NC President Joe Wilson ('91) at jwilson@northcatholic.org or by calling (412) 321-4823.

Watch this short video to learn more how easy it really is!

Click here to watch the short video!

Many thanks to our generous EITC contributors:

COZZA ENTERPRISES

ECKLES CONSTRUCTION

FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF PA

FRANK'S PIZZERIA

GRANT STREET GROUP

HAND & SHOULDER CENTER

HUNTINGTON BANK

THE LYNCH LAW GROUP, LLC

MAHER DUESSEL

NEXTIER BANK

POINT SPRING & DRIVESHAFT CO.

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