CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Membership increased by 23 in the Catholic High School League and Catholic Coaches Association Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies June 11 at the Fern Hill Country Club.
Ed Lauer Person of the Year: Sr. Lenore Pochelski, IHM, Bloomfield Hills Marian
Throughout her 30 years at Marian, Sr. Lenore has served as assistant principal, principal, president, and head of school. She has ensured the school’s mission and vision while preparing the young women for the world ahead. Her gift of connecting with the community has been instrumental in raising money to fund scholarships, upgrade technology, and expand and improve its physical plant.
For more than 15 years, she has served on the CHSL Executive Board that governs Catholic League athletics. “Sr. Lenore has been the voice of reason on our board every year since," said CHSL director Vic Michaels. "There is not a school motto anywhere that fits their head of school more appropriately than Marian’s does: ‘A Strong Women of Mind and Heart.’”
James Leary School of the Year: Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Everest’s mission is to teach students to be Catholic Christian leaders who are capable of utilizing their strengths, so they can fulfill the unique plan that God has for each of them. They do this through the process of integral formation, which focuses on educating the whole person.
“They are one of the most cooperative and helpful schools in the Catholic League,” Michaels said. “We salute you and thank you for the great work in the league and for your impact on our community.”
Tom Kelly Athletic Director of the Year: Meg Seng, Ann Arbor Greenhills
The athletic director at Greenhills since 2003, “Meg has been one of the most cooperative and supportive athletic directors of the Catholic League office and our schools,” Michaels said. “She has demonstrated that we are about much more than good sports in our schools; we are about good people. Meg exhibits the highest character and integrity in her work and always has all athletes and all schools in mind as she makes decisions.”
HALL OF FAME ATHLETES
Since 1976, some 364 graduated college athletes have been inducted who had outstanding high school and college careers.
Drew Beesley (Warren De La Salle 2016 & Michigan State 2020): A defensive end, he led the Pilots to the 2014 state championship. He is the career record holder at De La Salle in tackles for a loss. A four-year letter winner at MSU, he had 76 career tackles and 10 sacks. He was a three-time Academic Big 10 honoree. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He plans to pursue a career in the NFL.
Isaac Darkangelo (Novi Detroit Catholic Central 2018 & Illinois 2023): A linebacker, he was All State and All Catholic at Catholic Central. At Illinois, he led the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense with 71 tackles and second with 42 solo tackles. He graduated with a degree in communications. He plans to pursue a career in the NFL.
Kevin Glenn (Detroit St. Martin de Porres 1997 & Illinois State 2003):
He led St. Martin de Porres' football teams to the 1995 and 1998 state titles, the basketball team to the 1996 state title, and the 1995 and 1996 baseball teams to CHSL titles. At quarterback at Illinois State, he set 25 school records in his four years there. He played 18 years in the Canadian Football League, retiring in 2019 at the age of 40. He announced that he will be the football coach this fall at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
Gabrielle Green (Wixom St. Catherine of Siena 2018 & Dominican University 2022):
At St. Catherine, she led the soccer and basketball teams to multiple league titles and state district titles. During her time at Dominican from 2018-2021, she was an all-conference selection each of her four seasons. She played in more than 70 games and logged almost 6,000 minutes for the Stars. She graduated from Dominican with a degree in nutrition and dietetics. She plans to pursue a graduate MBA with an internship program in dietetics.
Brennan Kamish (Novi Detroit Catholic Central 2017 & Rutgers 2023): At Catholic Central, he led the lacrosse team to four consecutive state final appearances. He was a two-time All Catholic and All-State honoree. At Rutgers, he scored 36 goals and had nine assists, earning Big 10 all-tournament team honors. He majored in communications and economics.
Melina Livingston (Warren Regina 2018 & Penn State 2021, Michigan 2023): At Regina, she qualified for the state meet in swimming and led the softball team to the 2015 state championship. At Penn State, she led the team to the Big 10 tournament, earning three-time academic honors. She earned a degree in kinesiology at Penn State and a master's in movement science at Michigan. She plans to attend Northwestern University to study orthotics and prosthetics.
Ella Loussia (Farmington Hills Mercy 2019 & Canisius College 2023): She helped lead Mercy’s volleyball team to back-to-back semi-final appearances in 2017 and 2018. In four years and 95 matches at Canisius, she was sixth all-time in program history for total service aces with 117 and set the program record for service aces in a single season with 66. She earned Dean’s List honors consistently. She majored in marketing.
Paul Manuszak (Warren De La Salle 2017 & Detroit Mercy 2022): He led the Pilots lacrosse team to two regional championships, earning all-state and all-Catholic honors. At Detroit Mercy, he led all Division 1 college lacrosse in groundballs per game three years in a row. He was a five-time UDM Athletic Director Honor Roll honoree and a UDM valedictorian honoree. He is planning on taking a hiatus from his mechanical engineering job to travel to Belize to work as a missionary with the Society of Our Lady of the Trinity community.
Liam McDonnell (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 2019 & John Carroll University 2023): He led the Warriors to state and league championships in 2016 and 2017 and the 2019 state title. At John Carroll, he led the team to three conference championships, earning Swimmer of the Year honors twice. He plans to transfer to Ohio State to swim for the fifth year of eligibility. He majored in accounting and finance.
Ryan Pierson (Novi Detroit Catholic Central 2018 & Detroit Mercy 2022): At Catholic Central, he scored the goal that gave the Shamrocks a state soccer championship. He was named the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year. At UDM, he was named Horizon Player of the Week and accrued 4,000 career minutes in 60 games. He has an MBA degree in business administration in the area of fitness training and competing.
Jonah Venos (Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 2019 & John Carroll University 2023): An accomplished swimmer, at Brother Rice, he was a two-time state champion, two-time Oakland County champion and four-time All American. At John Carroll, he was a four-time conference champion, 10-time Division 3 All American, and 22-time all-conference honoree. He set four conference records and five school records. He hopes to go into collegiate team coaching but is also trying to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. His father, Michael Venos, is a 2014 Catholic League Hall of Fame inductee, who coached his son at Brother Rice and currently coaches the Mercy girls swim team.
Elena Welker (Dearborn Divine Child 2019 & Albion College 2023): At Divine Child, she led the basketball team to the 2019 district title and the track team to four league championships and four state regional titles. At Albion, in basketball, she was a three-time All-Conference honoree and in 2022 and 2023 she received the Myrtle Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. In track, she earned Academic All American honors and qualified for the national tournament. She plans to work as a medical assistant for one year before beginning medical school at the Homer Stryker School of Medicine at Western Michigan University.
HALL OF FAME COACHES
Carl Brock has served the Catholic League as a track and field coach since 2008. At Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard, he led the team to three CHSL titles and a state championship. At the University of Detroit Jesuit, he coached the team to two league titles and a state championship.
Jim DeJaeger has coached in Catholic schools for more than 30 years. He currently is an assistant coach at Clarkston Everest Collegiate. He has also coached at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, Redford Bishop Borgess, Redford St. Mary, Detroit Catholic Central, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, and Detroit Loyola.
Rick DeSana has served as hockey coach at Riverview Gabriel Richard as an assistant coach in 2003, then as head coach since 2008. His record is 232-171-5.
Pat Donnelly has coached basketball at the University of Detroit Jesuit since 2009. His teams have won the CHSL Central Division nine times, the CHSL championship six times, four times to the Michigan High School Athletic Association finals, winning the state title in 2016.
Dennis Janer has served as an assistant basketball coach at Farmington Hills Mercy since 2001 helping the team to a 345-127 record and five CHSL championships.
David Wilson has coached lacrosse at Novi Detroit Catholic Central since 2006. His record of 231-93 includes the CHSL and MHSAA championships in 2018. He has been named coach of the year five times. He is a member of the state lacrosse coaches hall of fame.
HALL OF FAME OFFICIALS
Kenneth Butler has served the Catholic League as a basketball official for 33 years, as a softball official for 26 years, and as a football official for 15 years. He has also officiated on the state level in softball and basketball.
Jeff Garvin has served the Catholic League as a football coach since 1995. He also has officiated football for the MHSAA, NCAA and NFL.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
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