We invite our community to join us for a special dinner and ceremony on Saturday, March 22nd, honoring our Stanner Hall of Fame Class of 2025!
This year, Molloy will be inducting five outstanding individuals into the Stanner Hall of Fame: MaryAnn Safrey (teacher, administrator, trailblazer), Stephen Konchalski ’62 (nationally recognized Canadian basketball coach), Andrew Kostel (elite soccer coach, mentor), Dennis Lazarus ’71 (outstanding professional achievement, life of service to those in need), and Joseph McNulty ’64 (posthumously – dedicated advocate and servant of the DeafBlind community).
Visit www.molloyhs.org/stannerhof or click the flyer above for full details or to register. We look forward to celebrating this historic event and these outstanding honorees with our community!
Congratulations, Accepted Students! Molloy Welcomes the Class of 2029
Archbishop Molloy High School was blessed to welcome nearly 2,000 visitors to its Winter Open House for Accepted Students on January 23rd! Hundreds of families visited Molloy to tour our school and learn more about our academic, athletic, Campus Ministry, and extracurricular programs. Faculty, staff, and students enthusiastically showcased Molloy while answering any and all questions from accepted students and their families.
To begin the evening, featured speaker senior Camille Munoz ‘25 spoke at the podium in the Jack Curran Gymnasium. To answer the question, “Why Molloy?” she said, “This school has not only shown me how I could be nudged to participate in activities I’m not familiar with, but also be encouraged to engage in activities I want to excel in.” Camille continued that from this, she was “able to truly discover my place and build upon my personality and interests,” and, “although high school brought about a lot of change in me, one thing that remained consistent was the familial aspect of both the staff and my peers.”
Executive Director of Admissions Ms. Heather Green-Wresch says she was “thrilled to see so many families join us for the night,” and that it was “nice to see all of the smiling faces that we’ll hopefully welcome into the Molloy family!” Director of Admissions Mr. Jonathan DiDonato ’01 shares that Open House “was an exciting event for us as it presented our accepted students and their families with the spirit and energy that is unique to Molloy!” continuing that “it was truly wonderful to welcome our next wave of Stanners!” Thank you to all who attended, and we look forward to seeing the Class of 2029 in September! In the words of Principal Dr. Penikas, “Go Stanners!”
30th Annual Stanner Games a Big Success!
On Sunday, January 12th, Molloy hosted its 30th annual Stanner Games at the 168th Street Armory in Manhattan! Stanner Games is a nationally recognized track and field meet run by Molloy’s incredible track coaches that invites thousands of athletes from New York and surrounding states. Dozens of staff, parent, student, and alumni volunteers support the event each year, with alumni representing classes from the 1960s to the 2020s. Participants compete in a huge variety of events, such as relays, hurdles, sprints, shot put, and so many more. This year, 2,866 athletes competed in 3,271 events!
The 2025 Stanner Games saw some standout performances by Molloy’s student-athletes. The top performers were: Antonio Hernandez ‘25, 1st in the High Jump; Travis Hui ‘26, 1st in the Pole Vault; Saige Swift ‘25, 1st in the Triple Jump; Jamel Rankine ‘28, 1st in the Freshman 55m High Hurdles; and Camille Munoz ‘25, Brianna Poliseno ‘25, Maria Badalamenti ‘25, and Juliette Locurto ‘27, 1st in the Shuttle Hurdle Relay. All of these student-athletes also qualified for the National Championships!
Mr. Dylan Dombrowski ‘07, science teacher and track coach at Molloy, said the 2025 event “was a smashing success.” He continued, “The meet finished ahead of schedule and there were tons of kids, parents, and coaches who thanked us for the amazing meet that was put on. As always, our amazing alumni stepped up and helped this event run like clockwork. We had alumni all the way from the 1960’s through the 2020’s who came together, and it is a testament to those who come back year after year and allow for this national caliber event to go as well as it does. On the track, we had event winners who were all national championship qualifiers. Thanks to our amazing support staff, administration, and coaching staff for all their hard work.”
Thank you to all that supervised, volunteered, and attended the event, and congratulations to all in the Molloy track and field community for another amazing year!
Photos by Cesar Munoz ‘26
Record-Setting Speech & Debate Tournament
On January 18th, Molloy’s Speech & Debate team competed at a local tournament hosted by The Mary Louis Academy. A total of 14 students competed, and a record-breaking nine students placed!
Moises Nunag ‘25 and Samara Nolan ‘25 placed 1st overall in Varsity Public Forum, while Anya Satyanarayana ‘27 and James Vanegas-Molina ‘27 placed 2nd. Ryder Lombardo ‘27 and Matthew Xiao ‘27 placed 4th in Novice Public Forum, Sameera Zaheid ‘27 placed 3rd in Declamation, and Kristina Raevsky ‘28 placed 5th out of 40+ students in Congressional Debate. In Varsity Lincoln Douglas, Elizabeth Canty ‘26 placed 1st undefeated!
As a team, Stanners placed 1st overall in Debate Sweepstakes and 3rd in Congress Sweepstakes. In all categories, Molloy placed 3rd for the day!
Moises, Samara, Elizabeth, and Kristina received their first half qualifications for the New York State Championships, and James and Anya received their second, making them the first people on the team to qualify for States this season! Congratulations, Stanners!
Congratulations to Molloy’s Tri-M Honor Society Inductees!
In December, 26 Stanners were inducted into the Tri-M Honor Society! The prestigious society is a program of the National Association for Music Education, which focuses on creating future leaders in music education and music advocacy.
The Stanners inducted in the 2024-25 school year are Susan Adhikari, Asia Alstrom, Nittya Bhattarai, Mia Bruno, Camila Burga-Alcon, Jacqueline Capra, Mackenzie Clarke, Sanjay Ernest, Tiffany Esquen, Parker Fallon, Ava Genna, Jada Hebrado, Antonio Hernandez Jr., Joseph Hoermann, Katerina Martinez, Ramon Mejia, Alexander Muntean, Jules Nohar, Samara Nolan, Kimberly Ochoa, Michael O’Neill, Ashleigh Remy, Nicholas Seibert, Nicholas Tolentino, Van Yao, and Cameron Villapaz.
Mr. Jim Sheehan ’75 shares, “Senior members of our Chorus and Band program who have been outstanding in their commitment and performance for two years or more—and who maintain excellent grades overall—have earned a spot in the elite Tri-M Music Honors Society. We are proud of them for this accomplishment, and we deeply appreciate the joy and beauty they bring to our music program.”
Campus Ministry Hosts Retreats for 8th Graders, Stanner Step Team
This month, Molloy’s Campus Ministry team has been busy hosting numerous retreats for Stanners as well as 8th graders from Queens Catholic schools!
On January 10th, Molloy hosted over 30 8th graders from Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy for a day retreat, with a theme of “Listening to God’s Call.” Students explored this concept and more through games, small group sharing, and prayer. They learned how listening to God’s call can be confusing, especially as an 8th grader, but ultimately, they can trust in God’s plan for them and truly open their hearts to His call. It was a wonderful day of community and Faith shared by students from Our Lady of Mercy and student volunteers from Molloy.
On January 21st and 22nd, Molloy welcomed back 8th graders from Our Lady of Hope Catholic Academy for a Confirmation retreat. Close to 80 students attended over the course of two days, with the retreats being led by eight outstanding Stanner student leaders. It was a beautiful experience of faith sharing and community! The theme of the retreat was “Don’t Forget! You are on a mission!” and it allowed students to take a deep dive into the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and how those gifts can support us as we live out our mission after being confirmed.
Campus Ministry also led a retreat for the First Ladies, Molloy’s Step Team, on January 14th (pictured above). An after school athletic retreat, the team focused on the theme of respect for the gifts and talents God has blessed us with. The team took time to examine ways we can use our talents as members of the Step Team to bring God’s love and light into this world. It was a great afternoon of team bonding, and family spirit! Special thanks to our Campus Ministers for coordinating these and all retreats throughout the year.
Girls Track Dominates! Boys Swimming Divisional Champs!
| Track & Field – Girls Track & Field are Brooklyn/Queens and City CHSAA Champions! Saige Swift ’25 was awarded outstanding Field Performer while breaking the meet record for the Triple Jump. Camille Munoz ’25 won the High Jump and 55 Meter High Hurdles to become B/Q and City Champion. Kirstine Perez ’26 scored second in the Triple Jump and Long Jump. Brianna Poliseno ’25 scored second in the 55 Meter High Hurdles and the Shot Put. Juliet LoCurto ’27 scored second in the High Jump and third in the Triple Jump and 55 Meter High Hurdles. Aoife Garvey ’25 and Jillian Kahn ’26 placed 2nd and 3rd in the 3000 Meter Run. Kylie Liriano-Montalvo ’25 placed 4th in the 1000 Meter Run. The 4x400m Relay Team of Emily Potkanski ’28, Maria Badalamenti ’25, Kylie Liriano-Montalvo ’25, and Gianna Gonzalez ’27 place 3rd. The 4x200m Relay Team of Emily Potkanski ’28, Brianna Poliseno ’25, Kirstine Perez ’26 and Saige Swift ’25 closed the meet as City and B/Q Champs. |
| Swimming – Boys Varsity Swimming ended their regular season on January 21, 2025 with a huge win, making them Divisional Champions! Molloy swimmers placed first in every event, including Sean Green ‘25 in the 200 & 500 Freestyle, Michael Gierucki ‘27 in the 200 IM, Josh Chariah ‘25 in the 50 Freestyle, Serge Lyashchenko ‘28 in the 100 Butterfly, Thomas Kelly ‘25 in the 100 Freestyle, and Sean Garvey ‘25 in the 100 Breaststroke. Boys Swim are also Division 2 Novice and Overall Novice Champions for 2024-25! |
| Basketball – Team records to date: Boys Varsity 9-9 | Boys Varsity “B” 7-7 | Boys JV 16-1 | Boys Freshman 12-4 | Girls JV 11-1 | Girls Varsity 1-10. |
Stanner Athletes of the Week
Week of 1/6 – 1/12: Congratulations senior swimmer Aoife Garvey ’25, who scored 20 points en route to winning both of her individual events, while also helping her two relay teams get the points needed to win the meet! Congratulations to senior basketball player Justin Munson ’25, who averaged 20.3 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and 3.6 assists per game during this week. he also won the Sportsmanship Award at the Shooting Stars Showcase on January 12th.
Week of 1/13 – 1/19: Congratulations to senior sprinter Camille Munoz ’25, who broke Molloy’s record for the 200 Meter Dash with a time of 26.87 at the Steve Borbet Invitational on January 17th! Congratulations to senior swimmer Josh Chariah ’25, who won three of his events while earning 22 points, helping the Stanners win 94-63 vs. St. John the Baptist.
Week of 1/20 – 1/26: Congratulations to junior track & field athlete Kirstine Perez ’26, who helped lead the Stanners to team titles in both the B/Q and City Championships! Kirstine had personal best performances in both the long jump (2nd place) and triple jump (3rd place). She also ran a lifetime best in the City Championship 4×200 Relay (1st in Molloy history!). Without her contributions, Molloy would not have come out on top. Congratulations to freshman swimmer Robert Shoule ’28, who won three bronze medals in four of his races while helping Molloy gain 27 points en route to the championship!
Kathryn O’Neill ’04 Serves as Guest Speaker
On Tuesday, January 14, Mr. Ed Shannon ’84 welcomed alumna Kathryn O’Neill ‘04 to speak to the students in his Criminal Justice class. Kathryn works in the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s office as the Director of Legal Training, assisting in the office’s Educational Outreach Program. The program visits high schools and gives presentations on the dangers of drugs, specifically fentanyl.
Kathryn explained to students what fentanyl is and why it is so deadly, especially among teenagers. She then answered student questions and encouraged all in attendance to be vigilant, stay safe, and offered additional resources. Thank you, Kathryn, for taking the time to visit your alma mater!
Class of 1987 alumni Andre Forte and Paolo Dizon volunteered in the “Wreaths Out” event at the US Soldiers & Airmen National Cemetery on January 11th. Andre and Paolo helped remove wreaths from the graves of 14,000 veterans interred at the oldest national cemetery in the United States.
We ask the Stanner community to please join us in prayer for Joe Corello ’52, who has started undergoing treatments for an illness. Joe sends his thanks and well wishes to all.
Molloy Remembers Mr. Robert “Bob” Jones
Archbishop Molloy High School is saddened to share the passing of former English teacher and English Department Chair Mr. Robert “Bob” Jones on January 10, 2025. Mr. Jones worked at Molloy from 1967 – 1997.
Mr. Jones grew up in Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish in Inwood. He attended the Day Juniorate at St. Bernard’s High School in Manhattan, and on September 7, 1958, he received the robe of the Christian Brothers, taking the name of Br. Joseph Damian. He graduated from Catholic University, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude, with a degree in English in 1963 and taught for two years at Manhattan College Prep. He left the order in 1965 and married Eileen McCallum.
Mr. Jones served in several roles at Archbishop Molloy High School from 1967 to 1997, including as an English teacher, English Department Chairperson, and as Molloy’s first lay Assistant Principal. Speaking about his late colleague and friend, Mr. Jim Sheehan ’75 shared, “Bob was the best teacher I ever saw. Bar none.”
Mr. Jones received a Master’s degree in English from NYU and a Master’s in School Administration from Columbia University as well as a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from Fordham University. After receiving his MSW, Mr. Jones relocated to the Palm Springs area of California, where for several decades he worked as a psychological family counselor and rose to Clinical Supervisor of Family Practice in Riverside, California. He was widely admired for his work in that field and very much enjoyed it.
Mr. Jones is survived by Eileen and two daughters, Pamela and Ellen, as well as two grandchildren, Sean and Meghan. A memorial service in New York will be set at a future date. Please keep Mr. Jones and his loved ones in your prayers.
We are saddened to share the passing of Elizabeth P. Kilkelly (January 17, 2025), mother of Michael F. Kilkelly ’76 and Francis X. Kilkelly ’80. Please keep Elizabeth and the Kilkelly family in your prayers. | Click Here for Memorial Page
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Mr. John Stephen Mehrtens ’74 (January 15, 2025), brother to Joseph Mehrtens ’77 and Thomas Mehrtens ’82. A graduate of Archbishop Molloy High School and St John’s University, he was an avid thoroughbred horse raising fan, a golf enthusiast, as well as a devoted Islander, Yankee, and Giant fan. He enjoyed a career as a repo trader with several banks, serving the longest with JP Morgan Chase. Family and friends remember him as a kind and generous person with a keen sense of humor, generosity, kind heart, and quick wit. Please keep John and his loved ones in your prayers. | Click Here for Memorial Page
