🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Boys Basketball team.

Upcoming Events:
💥 2/2 - v. South Christian - 7:30P | Home | HOUSE ATTENDANCE COMPETITION
💥 2/3 - v. Lima (OH) - 4:30P | @ Aquinas College
💥 2/6 - v. Thornapple Kellogg - 7:00P | Home
💥 2/9 - v. Kenowa Hills - 4:00P, 5:30P. & 7:00P | All Levels

BOYS BASKETBALL IS A CUT SPORT AND WE HAVE THREE LEVELS - FRESHMAN, JUNIOR VARSITY, AND VARSITY.

Last Season Finish: 16-7

Captains: Carter Meerman, Will Vanderboegh, Matthew Sokorai, Durral Brooks

Season Highlights (as answered by the players):
💥After being road warriors to start the season, all three levels now play 8 of their next 10 games at home, including two Saturday triple headers (2/17 - Wilson Chandler Invite | Varsity ONLY & 2/24 - v. Notre Dame Prep | ALL levels)
💥Victory over South Christian, at South Christian to open up the OK-Gold Conference schedule. They play again this Friday at Catholic Central - Girls start at 6:00P and Boys start at 7:30P.
💥Zay Larthridge was averaging a double double until his injury.
💥Everyone on the roster is contributing in some form as they are starting to mesh more and more throughout the season.
💥Jack Bowen with his Euro Step, Ben Radgens with his block, Ace Natte's 3 point shot, and Will Vanderboegh play.

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Boys & Girls Bowling team.

Upcoming Events:

💥 1/29 - v. Kenowa Hills | @ Westgate Lanes

💥 1/31 - v. Forest Hills Eastern | @ Park Center Lanes

💥 2/3 - v. Hudsonville Invite | @ Hudsonville Lanes

BOWLING IS A NO CUT SPORT - ALL STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATE GET TO PLAY. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY AND ALL EQUIPMENT CAN BE PROVIDED FOR YOU, IF NECESSARY.

Season Highlights:

💥Each year, Catholic Central bowling hosts a Christmas Baker Game Tournament at Park Center Lanes. The tournament draws many of the areas top teams in an action packed all day event.

💥After a slow start to the season, Junior Owen Ott believes that the teams are really starting to come together and improving in their scores.

💥Sophia Bursley is currently in contention for All Conference for the Girls Team.

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Girls Basketball team.

Upcoming Events:

💥 1/19 - v. Cedar Springs | @ Home - 7:30 P (Teacher Appreciation Night)

💥 1/20 - v. Detroit Edison | @ Home - 2:00 P (JV @ 12:00 P)

💥 1/23 - v. Ottawa Hills | @ Home - 7:00 P (Freshman @ 4:00 P | JV @ 5:30 P)

💥 1/26 - v. Wayland | @ Wayland - 7:30 P

Catholic Central Girls Basketball is a potential cut sport. Currently the girls program has three levels of competition (Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity). They are currently ranked first in the very early OK-Gold standings.

Season Highlights:

💥 Beating South Christian in the OK-Gold opener at their place by a score of 50-40 after losing to them last year.

💥 Returning all players from last years team, minus the one graduating senior (👋 Sydney Schoenborn)

💥 In their first matchup of the season the Cougars fell to West Catholic and are looking forward to a potential rematch.

💥 The Lady Cougars finished the 2022 - 2023 season with an 13-11 record.

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Competitive Cheer team.

Upcoming Events:
💥 1/13 - Wyoming Invite | Wyoming High School - 11:00A
💥 1/17 - OK-Gold Jamboree #1 | Thornapple-Kellogg High School - 6:30P
💥 1/20 - Falcon Invite | West Catholic High School - Time TBD

Catholic Central Competitive Cheer is a cut sport and also one of the earliest of the Winter Sports to get started with practices, although their competitions come later due to the work of having to learn the cheers and skills needed.

Season Highlights:
💥The girls have a new gymnastics coach this year, and their new skills are really coming along in their routines.
💥Since their first competition the girls have been improving their scores in each round with each meet.
💥Their first conference Jamboree is next week Wednesday at Thornapple-Kellogg

New Year. New Season. Same Tradition.

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Hockey team.

Upcoming Events:

💥 1/2 - v. Grandville @ Georgetown Ice Arena - 7:30 PM

💥 1/5 - v. Bay Reps @ Southside - 7:30 PM (Alumni Night)

💥 1/6 - v. Lumen Christi @ Optimist Arena - 6:30 PM

💥 1/12 - v. Forest Hills Eastern @ Patterson - 7:30 PM

Catholic Central Hockey is a cut sport and is the earliest of the Winter Sports to get into the thick of the competition.

Season Highlights:

💥Currently 9-2 on the season with losses coming to two Super 10 ranked teams in the state.

💥Friday's home game will be a rematch against Bay Reps, the Cougars will be looking for revenge after a 5-0 loss in the D3 Showcase in Gaylord earlier this season.

💥At the beginning of the season the team holds a weekend of pre-season team bonding at the Barothy Lodge. Some of the highlights are mini sticks, jumping in the Pere Marquette River🥶, food and fellowship.

💥Goaltender Trent Goheen is currently in the Top 10 for the STATE CHAMPS! Wall Award for Top Goaltender in the state.

💥 Senior Preston Berta scored the goal "Teddy Bear Toss Goal" in this years 2-0 win over East Grand Rapids.

The Cougar Winter Athletic season continues to climb while facing tough competition. This past weekend continued the trend as many of our teams faced Top 10 competition or competed in large events in which many teams from the area are typically some of the strongest competition we will face. Check out the updates below for each sport from the weekend packed schedule.

🏒 The Catholic Central Hockey team hosted two very tough opponents at Southside over the weekend. On Friday evening, it was the Sailors of Mona Shores who came to town. After a scoreless 1st period, it was Senior Braylen Outwater who netted a powerplay goal to put the Cougars up 1-0. Mona Shores would tie the game with a goal of their own, and it was a battle of the goaltenders for the rest of the way until Senior Nate Sova buried the puck into the back of the Sailor net with just over 1 minute to play in the third period. Senior Max Moore answered the bell for the Cougars, stopping shot after shot from the Sailors in route to picking up the win.

On Saturday, the Cougars and the Byron Center Bulldogs played in the Battle for Southside. Byron Center kept their season rolling with a 5-3 win over the Cougars. Catholic Central netted THREE powerplay goals but it wasn’t enough for the high powered Byron Center team.

The Cougars record now stands at 7-2 and will be back in action this coming weekend with one game on Friday against the Hudsonville Eagles. The Eagles come to Southside for a 7:30 P start time. 

🤼   On Saturday the Cougar Grapplers traveled to East Kentwood for the EK Kent County Wrestling Classic in which Lee Braun won his weight class while Dale Gant also won his weight class as well.

The Cougars will compete in their last dual before Christmas Break when they travel to Martin High School on Friday for the Clipper Classic. The event is scheduled to start at 9:00 A.

🏀  Girls Basketball - The varsity girls team traveled to Belleview to compete in the Best of Michigan event against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard. It was a tough matchup from the start as the Cougars were down 15-10 after the first quarter of play. They stayed close until about midway through the second quarter when AA Gabriel Richard went on a 14-2 run for a 36-19 halftime advantage. In the end, the Cougars fell 56-42.

Leading the way for the Cougars was sophomore Hailey Durland with 12 points, Junior Grace McKinneyw with 9 points and 7 rebounds, Senior Kate Passinault with 8 points and 11 rebounds, Junior Emily VanTimmeren with 6 points and 7 rebounds, and Junior Lauren Meerman with 6 points.

The Lady Cougars record now stands at 1-1 and they will be home on Tuesday, December 19th to host Grand Rapids Christian. All three levels will be playing with the Freshman game starting at 4:00, the Junior Varsity game starting at 5:30 and the Varsity game tipping off at 7:00pm.

  📣  In their first meet of the season the Cougars competitive cheer team traveled to Grandville for the one of the bigger invitationals of the season.The Cougars finished in 4th place in the Division 3 bracket behind Ludington, Whitehall, and Pickney. After the first round the Cougars were in 3rd place, but unable to make up ground in the 2nd round with some unfortunate penalty points.

The cheer team will be off of competition for much of break but will return to the mat on January 6th when they travel to Comstock Park for the Comstock Park Invitational. The event is scheduled to start at 10:00 A.

Weekend Recap | 12/8 - 12/9

If you missed anything from the weekend, make sure to head over to https://catholiccentralsports.com/ and check out this weekend's Cougar Sports Recap. 

We are trying to showcase each team’s competition over the weekend for everyone to see. If you are a parent and have photos you want to share with us, please reach out to Assistant Athletic Director Brian Ciluffo at brianciluffo@grcatholiccentral.org. We could always use more photos of our athletes!

The Cougar Winter Athletic season has come out with bang with most sports already in the heat of the competition. This past weekend was no different as we saw our busiest sports weekend of the winter season so far. Check out the updates below for each sport from the weekend packed schedule.

🏒 The Catholic Central Hockey team traveled to Gaylord this weekend to compete in the DIII Challenge at the Otsego Sportsplex. The Cougars came into their games with a 5-0 record, having just knocked off last year's state runner up East Grand Rapids by a score to 2-0. This weekend would be a true test for the Cougars with two games on the schedule.

In the first game on Friday, the Cougars took on defending champion Flint Powers, with the Cougars prevailing with a 3-1 win. Goals were scored by Senior Braylen Outwater, Senior Nate Sova, and Sophomore Karsten Karlander.

On Saturday, the Cougars took some time to learn the sport of curling prior to their second game against last year’s state quarterfinalist in Bay Reps Hockey (a Northern MI hockey Co-Op consisting of 8 schools based out of Traverse City St. Francis). In the nightcap on Saturday the Cougars fought tough but ultimately fell to the Reps by a score of 5-0. 

The Cougars record now stands at 6-1 and will be back in action this coming weekend with two games, both at Southside Ice Arena. On Friday, the Cougars will square off against Mona Shores at 7:30PM. And on Saturday, the Cougars will play against Byron Center, that game is scheduled to start at 2:00PM.

🤼   On Saturday the Cougar Grapplers traveled to Lansing Eastern to compete in the the 69th Annual Don Johnson Memorial Tournament. Despite being down some wrestlers due to injuries, the Cougars did not back down. Catholic Central sent 5 wrestlers to Lansing Eastern, with FOUR of them coming back with a placement in their respective weight division.

Peter Vu - 2nd place 106lbs

Dale Gant - 1st place 126lbs

Matiss McNally - 3rd place 144lbs

Lee Braun - 1st place 165 lbs

The Cougars will host the Catholic Central Quad on Wednesday, December 15th in the Downtown Gym against Plainwell, Hudson, and Lowell. The competition will begin at 4:30PM.

On Friday, The Junior Varsity wrestling team traveled to Tri-County to compete in the Tri-County Quad. Unfortunately, we did not have any results on record at the time of print in the Weekend Update.

🏀  Girls Basketball Wins all three to open their season! In a unique schedule, the Catholic Central Junior Varsity team played first on Friday night against the West Catholic Falcons. In a very intense game with fast moving action the Cougars were able to come away victorious by a score of 53-49.

In the second game, the Freshman team played against Belding’s Junior Varsity team. It was a no doubter for the Freshman team from the very beginning as they opened up the scoring with a 10-0 run and continued to put the pressure on Belding all evening while coming away victorious.

In the nightcap, the Varsity team came out of the gate running. The Cougars' ferocious defense played a pivotal role in knocking off the Black Knights. The Cougars scored early and often and finished with a 71-28 win in their home opener. Leading the way for the Cougars was Sophomore Hailey Durland and Junior Emily VanTimmeren, each with 17 points. The Varsity team will be back in action next week Saturday as they travel to Belleville for the Best of Michigan Showcase. The Cougars will play Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and will tip off 12:30.

  🏊‍♂️ In their first meet of the season the Boys Swim & Dive team traveled to City High School for the GRPS City Sprints 2023. In an action packed event the Cougars had an awesome start at the meet this weekend!

In the prelude to the Sprints, the Dive team of Senior William Schwallier and Sophomore Josh Geer, who collectively placed 5th overall. When the Sprints started the relay team Senior Charlie Lindemann, Senior Andrew Brown, Junior Aiden Kasprzak, and Senior Sebastian Deimel landed in the Top 5 for two events. They placed 5th in the 200 Free Relay, 4th in the 200 Backstroke. The relay team consisting of Senior Charlie Lindemann, Senior Andrew Brown, Sophomore Adam Padron Balderas,, and Senior Sebastian Deimel and 5th in the 200 Fly Relay.

The Boys Swim & Dive team will be back in action on Tuesday, December 12th at East Grand Rapids. The Meet is scheduled to begin at 6:00PM.

🏀 Boys Basketball competes in “The Invite” at Calvin University. In the last event of the weekend for the Cougars the Boys Basketball team played at Calvin University against the Northview Wildcats. In a great event, in an amazing atmosphere, with limited cell service for updates, the Cougars dropped a heartbreaker to Northview after tying the game at 67 with just under 3 seconds left. After a timeout, the Wildcats were able to get an open shot as Northview hit a game winning 3 pointer as time expired.

Leading the way for the Cougars was Senior Durral “Phat Phat” Brooks, who finished with a game high 31 points in the loss. Chipping in with 15 points, while hitting key baskets at important times during the game was Sophomore Izaya Larthridge.

In the earlier action, both the Junior Varsity and Freshman team fell to Northview as well.

The Boys Basketball team will be back in action on Monday, December 18th as they play Grand Rapids Christian at Cornerstone University. All three levels will be playing with the Freshman team set to tipoff at 4:00PM, the Junior Varsity team set to tipoff at 5:30PM, and the Varsity team set to tipoff at 7:00PM.

Congratulations to the following athletes on being named the OK-Gold All Conference Team for the Fall 2023 Season!

🏐 - Sophia Allen, Maddy Ostrander, Elle Sharpe

🎾 - Charlie Lindemann

⚽️ - Maury Medina, Sean O'Rourke, Antonio Tiscareno

🏃‍♂️ - Jeb Hillary, Aiden Kasprzak, Ian Richthammer

🏃‍♀️ - Claire Marosi, Emily Tomes

⛳️ - Katie Cook, Margaret Deimel, Sofia Piccione, Kelsey Preston ,Ava Wisinski

🏊‍♀️ - Mae Braun, Lucy Cotter

🏈 - Austin Baxter, Isaac Chwalek, Mill Coleman III, Brendan Napieralski, Brendan Roehr, Kellen Russell-Dixon, Jamison Williams, Connor Wolf

🚨STATE CHAMPION AND CROSS COUNTRY FINALS MEET RECAP🏆

In what could have been the greatest week ever for a high schooler, Senior Emily Tomes clinched her legacy in Catholic Central Cougar lore by becoming the FIRST Female Individual State Champion in Cougar history!

This caps an amazing senior season for Emily, who on October 18th broke the school record with a time of 17:33 seconds, crushing the previous record by well over 50 seconds.

In the last week, Emily has committed to the University of Michigan to continue her academic and athletic career, and capped off her senior Cross Country season by winning the Division 2 State Championship on Saturday 11/4 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI.

Once again, Emily would surpass a record (her own) this season by finishing 2 seconds faster than she did on October 18th. Congratulations Emily! What an amazing senior season.

Also competing in the State Finals meet were Seniors Emily Tomes, Claire Marosi, Ian Richthammer, and Junior Jeb Hillary.

The three others who also competed put on a strong showing as well. Senior Claire Marosi finished with a time of 19:51.3, and in 88th place out of 250 competitors.

In the boys race, Senior Ian Richthammer finished with a time of 16:58.5, finishing in the top half of the Division 2 field as well at 123rd place.

Junior Jeb Hillary finished with a time of 16:31.6, good for 73rd place overall.

It's a GREAT day to be a Cougar!

Check out more about Emily's amazing finish to her season by reading the article posted by the MHSAA - https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/girls-cross-country/stories/grand-rapids-speedsters-dominate-division-2-girls-cross-country

The Cougar Fall Athletes continued their quest for MHSAA hardware as the Cross Country team and Football team continued their post season runs. Though not all the Cross Country runners will be heading to state, the Cougars will send 4 to compete. The Football team will host the District Finals on Friday 11/3, and there has been some Boys Golf Breaking News as well.

⛳️   Even though Boys Golf is a spring sport, a commitment to continue academic and athletic pursuits to a college university is deemed Weekend Update worthy.

Congratulations to Senior Matthew Sokorai who has committed to play golf and further his academic career by attending Grand Valley State University upon graduation this spring. Matthew has been a key contributor to the varsity golf team the past 3 seasons, helping to lead CC to 2 State Championships (2021 and 2023) along with a runner-up finish in 2022. The 2023 Finals Medalist followed that up with All-State honors and he has been named All Conference in each of his three years of competition.

"I’m extremely excited to start a new chapter of my life at Grand Valley, but I still need to get the job done in the spring with the guys," noted Sokorai. "I wouldn’t be in this position today without my family, teammates and coaches."

The Catholic Central community wishes you the very best as you head to Allendale in the fall of 2024. CONGRATS Matthew!!!

🏈  The Varsity football hosted the Benton Harbor Tigers in the first round of the MHSAA Division 5 Playoffs. The Cougars scored early and often in the first half of the game with the score 42-6 at halftime.

After recovering a fumble on the first offensive play of the game, the Cougars scored two plays later on a Connor Wolf to Kellen Russell-Dixon connection of 23 yards. On the next offensive possession, Connor Wolf found Jamison Williams for 43 yards on the first play. However, the Cougars were not finished and scored on a Raef Goosen 13 yard catch from Connor Wolf to bring the score to 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. On their first possession of the 2nd quarter Wolf found Goosen again, this time for 10 yards for his second TD of the night. Wolf would add two more passing touchdowns in the first half, both of them to Senior Ace Natte, who scored his first two career touchdown passes. The first was from 8 yards out and the second was from 16 yards out.

With the win, the Cougars advance to 9-1 on the season in preparation for the District Final next Friday at the CAT against Berrien Springs. The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM kickoff on Friday, October 27. Since we are in the playoffs - tickets will go to the digital phase through GoFan. The link will be posted on the Catholic Central Athletics website and social media sites shortly.

🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ Regional Final Cross Country Round Up

The Cross Country team had 4 state qualifiers, Emily Tomes (2nd overall - 17:56.54), Claire Marosi (21st overall - 19:32.05), Jeb Hillary (7th overall - 16:04.66), and Ian Richthammer (20th overall - 16:45.76). Both the boys and girls team finished 7th in the MHSAA Regional Championships.

These four runners will move on to compete at the MHSAA State Finals meet next Saturday (11/4) at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. The girls are set to race in the D2 finals at 1:30pm and the boys are set to race in the D2 finals at 2:50pm.

Good luck to our runners!

A season that started out with a lot of optimism after last year's 5th place finish, ended this past Saturday at the MHSAA Division 3 State Finals with the CC Varsity Girls Golf Team winning the program's first State Championship!  The win brings a 3rd Golf State Championship to CC in the last 3 seasons, following the boys team and their title runs in 2021 and 2023.

The weather was less than desirable at The Meadows Golf Course at Grand Valley State University, but that did not hold back the team as they ended the first day of competition 18 strokes ahead of Williamston and last year's champion Macomb Lutheran North.  As Head Coach Kim Napieralski noted after the weekend's competition:  “The good news about this weather is I have mudders for players. They don’t care about the conditions as much as some other teams perhaps. It was hard to get through the puddles of water, but they just kept playing.”

Pacing the team was Junior Ava Wisinski (76/82-158) who finished tied for 6th place out of over 100 golfers competing.  Sophomore Kelsey Preston (80/79-159) finished a stroke behind Ava in a tie for 8th place and Senior Katie Cook finished in the top 20 at 173 (87/86).  Sophomores Sofia Piccione (92/92) and Margaret Deimel (91/95) rounded out the team's scoring for a 2 day team total of 673, 12 strokes ahead of Williamston and 23 strokes better than Macomb Lutheran.

More Information posted by the MHSAA here: https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/girls-golf/stories/gr-catholic-central-earns-1st-finals-title-timpf-claims-3rd-medalist

If you missed anything from the weekend, make sure to head over to https://catholiccentralsports.com/ and check out this weekend's Cougar Sports Recap. 

We are trying to showcase each team’s competition over the weekend for everyone to see. If you are a parent and have photos you want to share with us, please reach out to Assistant Athletic Director Brian Ciluffo at brianciluffo@grcatholiccentral.org. We could always use more photos of our athletes!

The Cougar Athletes had a busy weekend handling some tough competition. The Varsity Boys Tennis team traveled to Hope College to play in the Division 4 MHSAA State Finals. The Girls Varsity Golf team traveled to Allendale to play in the MHSAA State finals at the Meadows. The Football team traveled to Houseman Field for a chance to clinch the OK-Gold Conference Championship outright with a win, and the Freshman and Sophomore Girls Swim & Dive team competed at City High in the FR/SO Invitational.

⛳️   It is only fitting that we start with our CHAMPIONS! 

A season that started out with a lot of optimism after last year's 5th place finish, ended this past Saturday at the MHSAA Division 3 State Finals with the CC Varsity Girls Golf Team winning the program's first State Championship!  The win brings a 3rd Golf State Championship to CC in the last 3 seasons, following the boys team and their title runs in 2021 and 2023.

The weather was less than desirable at The Meadows Golf Course at Grand Valley State University, but that did not hold back the team as they ended the first day of competition 18 strokes ahead of Williamston and last year's champion Macomb Lutheran North.  As Head Coach Kim Napieralski noted after the weekend's competition:  “The good news about this weather is I have mudders for players. They don’t care about the conditions as much as some other teams perhaps. It was hard to get through the puddles of water, but they just kept playing.”

Pacing the team was Junior Ava Wisinski (76/82-158) who finished tied for 6th place out of over 100 golfers competing.  Sophomore Kelsey Preston (80/79-159) finished a stroke behind Ava in a tie for 8th place and Senior Katie Cook finished in the top 20 at 173 (87/86).  Sophomores Sofia Piccione (92/92) and Margaret Deimel (91/95) rounded out the team's scoring for a 2 day team total of 673, 12 strokes ahead of Williamston and 23 strokes better than Macomb Lutheran.

🏈  The Varsity football traveled to Houseman Field to take on the Ottawa Hills Bengals in the final regular season game. In the end the Cougars came away victorious and outright OK-Gold Conference Champions with a 42-0 win.

Scoring for the Cougars were 2 touchdowns for Lucas Thelen (15 yard pass from Connor Wolf | 23 yard pass from Connor Wolf), Brock Jones (25 yard run), and two touchdowns for Kamall Hillard (10 yard run | 10 yard run), Cameron Maley (1 yard run).

With the win, the Cougars advance to 8-1 on the season in preparation for the Division 5 MHSAA playoffs. In the first round the Cougars will be hosting the Benton Harbor Tigers. The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM kickoff on Friday, October 27. Since we are entering the playoffs - tickets will go to the digital phase through GoFan. The link will be posted on the Catholic Central Athletics website and social media sites shortly.

🏊‍♀️ The Girls Swim & Dive team traveled to City High School on Saturday for the Freshman/Sophomore Invitational. In the end, the girls put on a strong showing and swam some really fast times! Placing for the Cougars were:

Lucy Cotter 1st place in diving 

200 medley relay 5th place - Maggie Doyle, Kate McNamara, Valeria Rodriguez, Mae Braun 

200 Freestyle 1st place - Mae Braun 

200 freestyle relay 6th place Mirabelle Boivin, Maggie Doyle, Barbara Padron, Ella Morrow 

100 backstroke 2nd place - Mae Braun 

400 freestyle relay 4th place - Mae Braun, Mirabelle Boivin, Valeria Rodriguez, Kate McNamara

  🎾   Mother Nature was not kind to the Boys Tennis team and their quest for an MHSAA Division 4 State Title. The two day event was hampered by rain and forced the event to be played indoors for most of the two days, which brought long waiting periods between matches for the Cougars.

Overall. The Cougars finished in 12th place with 7 points in a very competitive Division 4 Finals Meet.

In what could have been one of the most thrilling matches on the first day, 1st Singles Charlie Lindermann lost in his first round after battling back from a 5-0 deficit in the 2nd set to force a tiebreaker. It was definitely a match that grabbed the attention of many of the other players in attendance.

In 2nd Singles - Matiss McNally lost in the first round after being one of the first groups to restart outside post rain. 

In 3rd Singles - Thomas Tamae punched his way out of the first round before falling in the second round.

In 4th Singles - Axel Cummings moved the farthest for the Cougars, making it all the way to the semifinals before falling.

In 1st Doubles - Sebastian Deimel and Ben Radgens lost in the second round.

In 2nd Doubles - John Kaufman and Danny Kirk lost in the second round.

In 3rd Doubles - going the farthest for the Cougars in the Doubles flights were Jackson Dozema and Davis Vu who made it past the first and second round before bowing out of the tournament in the third round.

In 4th Doubles - Jude Miller and Paul Huynh lost in the second round.
 

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Varsity Football team.

Upcoming Events: (All start times are 7:00pm unless otherwise noted)

💥 10/13 - Senior Night v. South Christian @ the CAT

💥 10/20 - v. Ottawa Hills @ Houseman Field

💥 10/27 - MHSAA Pre-Districts (Location & Opponent TBD)

Catholic Central football is a no-cut sport and offers three levels of competition - Freshman, Junior Varsity, & Varsity.

This year marks the 113th year of Catholic Central football. The first team played in 1908. Since it's inception, Cougar football has been a part of:

💥40 Conference Championships

💥15 District Titles (7 straight since 2016)

💥13 Regional Titles (7 straight since 2016)

💥13 State Finals Appearances (Runner Up in 1978 & 2005)

💥11 State Championships (1943, 1949, 1951, 1959, 1987, 2010, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, & 2021)

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Girls Swim & Dive team.

Upcoming Events:
💥 10/17 - Dual Meet @ Zeeland West - 6:30 PM
💥 10/19 - Dual Meet @ Northview - 6:30 PM
💥 10/21 - Fr/So Swim Invite @ City High - 9:00 AM

Catholic Central Swim & Dive is a no-cut sport and offers one level of competition. If you don’t play a fall sport, this is a GREAT way to get in shape and have some fun!

Season Highlights:
💥The girls took 3rd overall at the Michigan Division III Invitational at Allegan High School.
💥The 200m Medley Relay team of Sarah Rott, Mae Braun, Kate McNamara, & Valeria Rodriguez has made the cut for the State Meet.
💥Mae Braun currently holds a state cut in the 100m backstroke and the 100m freestyle.
💥Sarah Rott currently holds the state cut in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, & 200m freestyle.
💥Senior Night was celebrated on 10/10 - Congratulations to the Seniors and thank you for your hard work! This year's Seniors are Lainey Behmer, Izzy Bocian, Brigid Byrne, Katie Krajewski, Victoria Rosario, Sarah Rott, Caylee Russo, Emma Kate Stapleton, & Maddie Vos.
💥Diver Lucy Cotter has broken her own school record TWICE so far this season!
💥Fun Fact: Catholic Central’s only Swim & Dive State Championship came back in 2015 under coaches Dave Carson and Mio Vasic. Another fun fact - Catholic Central science teacher Grace VanderMolen (‘18) was on that team!

Weekend Recap | 10/6 & 10/7

If you missed anything from the weekend, make sure to head over to https://catholiccentralsports.com/ and check out this weekend's Cougar Sports Recap. 

We are trying to showcase each team’s competition over the weekend for everyone to see. If you are a parent and have photos you want to share with us, please reach out to Assistant Athletic Director Brian Ciluffo at brianciluffo@grcatholiccentral.org. We could always use more photos of our athletes!

The Cougar Athletes had a busy weekend handling some tough competition. The football team traveled to Forest Hills Eastern for an OK-Gold showdown. The girls golf team traveled to Big Rapids for the Katke Classic and turned in a Masters’ like performance. The volleyball team had a solid day at the Mona Shores invite and the swim team reached some state cuts in the relays at the MISCA swim meet at Calvin University. All in all, a very solid showing by all those in action by the Cougars last weekend.

🏈  The Varsity football traveled across the Beltline on a rainy Friday night for an OK-Gold Showdown against the 5-1 Forest Hills Eastern Hawks. Despite the weather, the Cougars were able to control the game and came out with a 49-14 win to set up a Senior Night Showdown at home on Friday against the South Christian Sailors.

The Cougars shot out of the gate when Kellen Russell-Dixon opened the scoring with a 77 yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. After Forest Hills scored the Cougars responded with a 1 yard touchdown run from Connor Wolf. Not to be denied again Forest Hills Eastern scored again to even the score at 14. From there it was ALL Cougars as Kellen Russell-Dixon scored again from 5 yards out to give the Cougars a 21-14 lead at the half. After the Cougars blocked a Hawk punt in the third quarter Connor Wolf connected with Austin Baxter on the Cougars first pass play of the night to bring the score to 28-14. Kellen Russell-Dixon would score twice more from 42 yards and 56 yards to push the Cougars to a 42-14 lead. With 8:57 left in the fourth quarter it was Junior Brock Jones who joined the scoring mix with a 5 yard touchdown run of his own. On a night when passing was at a premium, the Cougars ground attack kept their pedal to the medal with Russell-Dixon accounting for 270 yards on the ground.

The Cougars come back home this week to host the South Christian Sailors on Senior Night at the CAT. Kick off is set for 7:00 pm. Come on out early and support your Cougars! More game information will be released as it comes into the Athletic Office.

🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️   The Varsity Cross Country traveled to Portage to compete in the Portage Invitational on Saturday.  The Cougars put up a good fight in a stacked Division II event, with teams from all over the state. On the boys side, Junior Jeb Hillary led the way for the Cougars with a 33rd place finish (16:22). Junior Adian Kasprzak (17:03) rounded out the Cougars in the Top 100 by finishing 82nd. Other strong finishes for the Cougars include:

• Freshman Mitchell Dunlap - 18:17

• Sophomore Grant Hillary - 18:49

• Junior Roben Perez - 19:22

• Freshman Mason England - 19:55

Overall, the boys team finished in 33rd in their division.

On the Girls side of the event, the Cougars were paced by Senior Emily Tomes (18:25.5) who finished 5th overall in her division. Other strong finishes for the Lady Cougars include:

• Junior Katie Ptak - 22:26

• Senior Nora Huffman - 25:14

• Sophomore Hannah Gaiser - 27:01

• Senior Ally Broadus - 28:17

Overall, the girls team finished 37th in their division.

⛳️  In a warm-up event prior to the upcoming MHSAA post season tournaments, the CC Varsity Girls Golf Team traveled to Ferris State University's Katke Golf Course to compete in the annual 2-day Katke Classic Invitational.  Day 1 saw the Cougars outpace 12 other teams in the field with a team total of 342, 16 strokes better than Farmington Hills Mercy, the Division II 2022 State Champion.  Junior Ava Wisinski and Sophomore Kelsey Preston tied for 1st place at 80 and after a 2-hole playoff, Wisinski ended the day as the Round 1 medalist.  Sophomores Margaret Deimel (90) and Sofia Piccione (92) both finished in the top 10 with Junior Claire Sullivan (97) and Senior Katie Cook (98) rounding out the team's performance for the day.

Saturday saw conditions worsen from the previous day with cold, windy and rainy weather greeting the players.  The team battled the elements all day but improved their overall score from the previous day by 6 strokes finishing at 336 for a two-day total of 678, 19 strokes better than 2nd place Mercy, which secured the team with a 1st place finish.  A second day 79 brought Ava Wisinski medalist honors at 159, 3 strokes better than teammate Kelsey Preston (80/82-162) who came in second.  Finishing in the top 10 were Sofia Piccione (92/86-178) and Margaret Deimel (90/89-179) with teammates Katie Cook (97/96-193) and Claire Sullivan (98/95-193) all helping to bring the Cougars the overall tournament championship.

Coach Napieralski and Coach Grile would like to say “Thank you” to all the parents and relatives who came to Big Rapids this weekend to support our players as they competed in difficult conditions to win on a very challenging course at Ferris State.  We've appreciated all of the lunches, refreshments, and words of encouragement throughout the season.  The team is looking forward to the MHSAA tournament that begins next Thursday at Winding Creek Golf Course in Holland.

  🏐  The Varsity Volleyball team took to the lakeshore to compete at Mona Shores on Saturday.

The Cougars started the day playing Reeths-Puffer and showed a solid team performance led by Sophia Allen and Evy Koops. Avery Lannon, Lyla Joynt, and Cara wolf were a large part of our victory and we’re very consistent in serve receive. Cougars win 25-17 25-12

The second match of the day had the Cougars facing off with rival West Catholic. A hard fought match led by Sophia Allen with 9 kills. Unfortunately, the Cougars lost in 3 sets 21-25 25-18 8-15 and West Catholic would go on to win the tournament.

Third match pitted the Cougars against host team Mona Shores. Cougars played well against a very tall MS group, but ended up falling short. Kill leaders were Sophia Allen with 10 and Elle Sharpe with 5. Maddy Ostrander and Kate Passinault had 2 blocks a piece. Clare Rybicki and Lyla Joynt lead the defense with 11 and 12 digs. Final score 22-25 22-25

Match Four started the Cougars winning streak for the rest of the day as Catholic Central played Western Michigan Christian. Another very good team performance with contributions from the whole team. Mairin Ziegler was the stand out in this match recording 4 kills including a monster overpass kill in the second set, 4 blocks, and 6 aces! Maria App had a team high hitting percentage at .500 Cougars win 25-10 25-17.

In the fifth match, the Cougars would face league rival Forest Hills Eastern. The players showed a lot of resilience and focus in this match after losing a player to an injury early in the first set. Cougars executed the game plan holding their opponent to a .047 hitting percentage. With Sophia Allen, Elle Sharpe, and Maddy Ostrander leading the offense with 7,5, and 3 kills. Kate Passinault, Maddy Ostrander, and Amelia Sharpe added 6 blocks as a group. Clare Rybicki and Lyla Joynt had 11 and 14 digs respectively. Cougars win 25-21 25-22

The Final match of the day had the Cougars face off with Portage Central. Maddy Ostrander was the offensive leader with 8 kills on 11 swings for a career high hitting percentage of .727. Sophia Berger added 5 kills and Elle and Amelia Sharpe combined for 9 kills. Brooklyn Ontiveros and Lyla Joynt lead the team in digs with 5 and 7. Cougars win 25-19 25-19.

Tournament Total Stat Leaders

Kills: Sophia Allen 35, Elle Sharpe 24, Maddy Ostrander 18

Assists : Clare Rybicki 61, Elle Sharpe 39, Lyla Joynt 13

Aces: Mairin Ziegler 8, Lyla Joynt 7, Clare Rybicki 7

Digs: Lyla Joynt 58, Clare Rybicki 28, Elle Sharpe 27

*Please note, we did not receive any photos from this event for usage.

🏊‍♀️ The Girls swim team traveled to Calvin University to compete in the MISCA swim event. With a goal in mind of achieving some state qualifying score the Cougars did just that in the Medley Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. Those relays consist of Sophomore Mae Braun, Freshman Valeria Rodriguez, Sophomore Kate McNamara and Senior Sarah Rott. Great job ladies!

🚨 Girls Golf | Team of the Week 🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Varsity Girls Golf Team team.

Upcoming Events:

10/6 & 10/7 - Katke Classic @ Katke GC (Big Rapids, MI)

10/12 - MHSAA Regionals @ Winding Creek (Holland, MI)

10/20 & 10/21 - MHSAA Finals @ The Meadows (Allendale, MI)

Season Accolades:

Undefeated OK-Gold Conference Play & Conference Champions

2nd Place Finish - American Dunes Folds of Honor

All Conference Honorable Mention (Junior Claire Sullivan)

All Conference (Senior Katie Cook, Junior Ava Wisinski, Sophomore Margaret Deimel, Sofia Piccione, & Kelsey Preston)

Weekend Recap | 9/29 & 9/30

If you missed anything from the weekend, make sure to head over to https://catholiccentralsports.com/ and check out this weekend's Cougar Sports Recap. 

We are trying to showcase each team’s competition over the weekend for everyone to see. If you are a parent and have photos you want to share with us, please reach out to Assistant Athletic Director Brian Ciluffo at brianciluffo@grcatholiccentral.org. We could always use more photos of our athletes!

The Cougar Athletes had a busy weekend putting in the miles this past weekend. Our Football team hosted Kenowa Hills for Homecoming, our Cross Country team traveled to Shepard High School for the Blue Jay Invitational. Our Varsity Soccer team traveled to Lee high school on Friday to play in a Homecoming game against the Legends. The Freshman Volleyball team traveled to Grand Haven for the Grand Haven Classic. The Girls Swim & Dive team was scheduled to compete in the D3 Invite at the Holland Aquatic Center, but backed out due to conflicts with Homecoming.

🏈  The Varsity football team hosted Kenowa Hills at the CAT on Friday evening for Homecoming 2023. The Cougars jumped out to an early lead and did not let up. The Cougars improved their record to 5-1 with a 48-3 final score.

The Cougars shot out of the gate when Kellen Russell-Dixon opened the scoring with a 58 yard touchdown run. After Kenowa Hills scored their only points of the night with a Field Goal the Cougars defense clamped down. The Cougars then scored on a 13 yard pass from Connor Wolf to Jami Williams to round out the scoring in the 1st quarter. After a Kenowa Hills safety to open the scoring in the 2nd quarter, Kamall Hilliard took the ensuing free kick to the house to build the Cougar lead to 23-3. The defense would record another safety and Connor Wolf would be responsible for two of the scores, one on the ground and one through the air, connecting with Mill Coleman III. At the end of the half, it was another Conor, this time, junior kicker Conor Neilson who booted a field goal to extend the Cougars lead to 42-3 at the half. After a Brock Jones touchdown to open up the 3rd quarter the Cougars continued to hold strong on defense, winning by a score of 48-3.

The Cougars head back to the road this week, this time going East of the Beltline and into Hawk territory as they face off against Forest Hills Easter (5-1) in a key OK-Gold Matchup. Kick off is set for 7:00 pm. Come on out early and support your Cougars! More game information will be released as it comes into the Athletic Office.

🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️   The Varsity Cross Country traveled to Shepard High School to compete in the Blue Jay invitational on Saturday.  The Cougars put on a strong showing with two athletes finishing in the Top 10 in their respective divisions. On the boys side, Junior Jeb Hillary led the way for the Cougars with a 4th place finish (16:20.7) and Senior Ian Richthammer finished 7th (16:34.4). Not to be left behind in the sub-17 minute club, Junior Adian Kasprzak (16:45.7) rounded out the Cougars in the Top 25 by finishing 14th. Other strong finishes for the Cougars include:

• Freshman Mitchell Dunlap - 18:00.3

• Sophomore Grand Hillary - 18:21.9

• Junior Roben Perez - 18:45.6

• Junior Brady Bronson - 21:03.5

Overall, the boys team finished in 3rd in their division with a score of 125.

On the Girls side of the event, the Cougars were paced by Senior Emily Tomes (18:43.8) who finished 2nd overall in her division. Other strong finishes for the Lady Cougars include:

• Senior Brianna Agon - 22:02.2

• Junior Katie Ptak - 22:47.3

• Sophomore Hannah Gaiser - 25:409.9

• Senior Nora Huffman - 26:04.1

• Senior Ally Broadus - 28:09.1

Overall, the girls team finished 12th in their division with a score of 328.

In the Junior Varsity event, it was Mason England (20:33), John Huffman (21:07), Andy Quint (24:51.1), and Yavin Fickel (25:05.9) with strong showings.

⚽️ On Friday, the Boys Soccer team traveled to Wyoming Lee to take on the Lee Legends for their Homecoming event. In a game that could have gone either way, the back and forth defensive battle was finally overtaken by Antonio Tiscareno which gave the Cougars a 1-0. The defense held strong as the Cougars won by a final score 1-0.

*Please note, we did not receive any JV/Varsity photos from this event for usage.

  🏐  Saturday our Freshman Volleyball team traveled to Grand Haven for the Grand Haven Classic event. The Cougars prevailed with a second place finish. When asking the Freshman volleyball players about what was the most exciting part beside 2nd place finish, they stated it was the wins against strong volleyball programs such as Forest Hills Northern and East Grand Rapids.

*Please note, we did not receive any photos from this event for usage.

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Varsity Boys Soccer team.

💥 Upcoming Schedule: Friday 9/29 @ 6:00P at Lee High School, Monday 10/1 @ 6:45P - OK-Gold Conference Tournament Opener at The CAT

💥 Boys Soccer team has two levels and is a cut sport - Varsity and Junior Varsity.

Weekend Recap | 9/22 & 9/23

If you missed anything from the weekend, make sure to head over to https://catholiccentralsports.com/ and check out this weekend's Cougar Sports Recap. 

We are trying to showcase each team’s competition over the weekend for everyone to see. If you are a parent and have photos you want to share with us, please reach out to Assistant Athletic Director Brian Ciluffo at brianciluffo@grcatholiccentral.org. We could always use more photos of our athletes!

The Cougar Athletes had a busy weekend putting in the miles this past weekend. Our Football team traveled to Cedar Springs, our Cross Country team hosted the Cougar/Falcon Invite at the Eagle’s Nest, our Varsity Tennis team traveled to Grandville, the Marching Band kicking off their season in Rockfords, and our Soccer team hosted East Kentwood in Hispanic Heritage Day at the CAT.

🎾 The Varsity Boys Tennis team traveled to Grandville on Saturday to compete in the Grandville Invitational. Overall, the boys won 10 matches and lost 12 against some very tough competition. Good job guys!

*Please note, we did not receive any Varsity photos from this event for usage.

🏈  The Varsity football team traveled to Cedar Springs on Friday evening for the OK-Gold Conference matchup against the Red Hawks. In a game that has provided plenty of fireworks on both sides the last three years, it was ALL Cougars in this matchup. 

The Cougars shot out of the gate and took the opening drive for a touchdown. After a Cedar Springs safety and another Cougar score, the score was 17-0 at the end of the 1st quarter. The Cougars did not stop there, as they continued to keep the pedal to the metal and grow their halftime lead to 46-7. Senior Kellen Russell-Dixon led the charge with four rushing touchdowns (2 yds, 3 yds, 12 yds, & 21 yds), all in the first half. Senior Connor Wolf connected twice with Senior Mill Coleman III for two touchdowns (33 yds & 47 yds). Senior Lucas Thelen rounded out the offensive scoring with a 10 yard run in the third quarter. By the time the smoke had settled, the Cougars were victorious by a score of 53-14. With that win, the Cougars improved to 4-1 on the season.

After two straight weeks on the road, the Cougars return home for Homecoming v. Kenowa Hills.  Kick off is set for 7:00 pm and tickets are $5/each CASH at the gate. Come on out early and support your Cougars!

Please note, we did not receive any photos from this event for usage.

🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️   The Varsity Cross Country team competed in the Cougar Falcon Invite at the Eagle’s nest on Saturday.  The Cougars put on a strong showing with three athletes finishing in the Top 10 in their respective divisions. On the boys side, Junior Jeb Hillary led the way for the Cougars with a 7th place finish (16:26.3 - SR) and Senior Ian Richthammer finished 9th (16:35.8 - SR). Not to be left behind in the sub-17 minute club, Junior Aiden Kasprzak (16:52.8 - PR) rounded out the Cougars in the Top 25 by finishing 15th. Other strong finishes for the Cougars include:

• Sophomore Grand Hillary PR - 18:05.4

• Junior Roben Perez - 19:45.7

• Sophomore Collin Carrier PR - 21:41.5

• Senior Andy Quint - 22:49.8

Overall, the boys team finished in 5th in their division with a score of 124.

On the Girls side of the event, the Cougars were paced by Senior Emily Tomes (18:32.8) who finished 3rd overall in her division. Senior Claire Marosi (19:56.8) finished 17th, while Senior Brianna Argon (21:55.4 - PR) just missed the Top 25 cut, finishing in 27th place. Other strong finishes for the Lady Cougars include:

• Junior Katie Ptak PR - 22:15.0

• Sophomore Hannah Gaiser PR - 25:40.0

• Senior Nora Huffman SR - 26:08.9

• Senior Ally Broadus - 30:28.1

Overall, the girls team finished 4th in their division with a score of 132.

In the Freshman Only event, it was Mitchell Dunlap (18:08.0 - PR) who led the Cougars by finishing 4th. Mason England (20:13.6 - PR) and John Huffman (23:14.3) also had strong showings.

Collectively, the Cougar Cross Country team scored EIGHT new Personal Records (PR’s) and THREE Season Records (SR’s) in this meet. Outstanding work to our Cross Country team! 

⚽️ The Boys Soccer team hosted East Kentwood on Saturday in our 2nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Day game. Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Catholic Central is proud to celebrate with our community who identify as Hispanic or Latino, in continuing to make our school a place where everyone is their authentic selves, in “preparing servant leaders for a Christ-centered life.” This year's theme was Cougar Comunidad.

In the end, both the JV (Score: 1-9) and Varsity (Score: 1-7) lost their matches to East Kentwood. Although the game did not turn out as Cougar fans had hoped, the bringing together of different cultures was a huge success with the presentation of Latino nation flags, cultural dancers and music, and food trucks.

*Please note, we did not receive any JV/Varsity photos from this event for usage.

  🎷 Saturday our Catholic Central Marching Band started its competitive season at the Rockford Marching Invitational. The band got off to a great start, placing 4th overall in Class C competition with a third place ranking for our color guard and a second place award for our drumline! Great work Marching Band!

*Please note, we did not receive any photos from this event for usage.

🚨Cougar Athletics Team of the Week!🚨

Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Varsity Cross Country team.

💥 Upcoming Schedule: 9/23 - Cougar/Falcon Invite @ South Christian (8:30 A), 9/26 - TK Jamboree @ Gun Lake Country Club, 9/30 - Shepard Blue Jay Invite @ Shepard High School

💥 Emily Tomes competed in the State Meet last week.

💥 Cross Country is a NO CUT SPORT - they are always looking for people to compete. It's a great way to enjoy the fellowship of their fellow students and stay in shape.

The Cougar Athletes had a light travel journey this weekend with JV tennis in action on Saturday at Zeeland East, and Friday’s action with the football team in Thornapple-Kellogg and the Cross Country team running at Riverside Park.

🎾  The JV Tennis team traveled to Zeeland East for their Quad against Zeeland East, Unity Christian, and Grand Rapids Christian. The team came away with a 3rd place finish in the event, which is an improvement from last year's finish of 4th place. Great work guys!

*Please note, we did not receive any JV Tennis photos from this past weekend's tournament for usage.

🏈  The Varsity football team traveled to Thornapple-Kellogg on Friday evening for the OK-Gold Conference matchup against the Thornapple-Kellogg Trojans. After a slow start to the game and a halftime score of 20-7, the Cougars roared to start the second half. The Cougars opened the second half with a bang, scoring 22 points in just 6 plays in just under 5 minutes of clock time. The Cougars offense was led by Kellen Russell-Dixon who rushed for 3 touchdowns on runs of 2 yards, 27 yards, and breaking free for another 82 yard scamper. KRD also caught a 13 yard touchdown pass from Connor Wolf, who finished with 2 passing TD’s and 1 Rushing TD. The final touchdown of the night for the Cougars was scored by Lucas Thelen. The Final score Catholic Central 49 and Thornapple-Kellogg 14, bringing the Cougars record to 3-1.

The Cougars travel to Cedar Springs on Friday in a key OK-Gold Conference showdown with the Red Hawks. of the year on Friday when they travel to Thornapple-Kellogg to face the Trojans. Kick off is set for 7:00 pm and tickets are $5/each CASH at the gate, but will accept GoFan tickets if purchased. Come on out and support your Cougars!

🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️   The Varsity Cross Country team competed at Riverside Park on Friday in the Ottawa Hills Invite.  The Cougars put on a strong showing with 8 of the athletes setting personal records on the course. On the Varsity Boys side of the event, Aiden Kasprzak (16:58) and Mitchell Dunlap (19:04) each set PR’s while Ian Richthammer (16:38) finished 19th overall and Jeb Hillary (16:52) finished 25th overall out of 155 runners.

On the Girls side of the event, Claire Marosi (19:39) set a PR and finished 17th, while Bri Agon also set a new PR at 22:47. Pacing the Girls was Emily Tomes (18:26) and a 4th place finish out of 129 girls.

For the Junior Varsity Cougars, Mason England (20:16), John Huffman (21:44), Collin Carrier (21:53), and Yavin Fickel (25:02).

The boys team finished 8th out of 18 teams and the girls team finished 8th out of 16 teams. Outstanding work to our Cross Country team!

🏐 Every week the Athletic Department will showcase our exceptional Student Athletes. This week, we are highlighting our Varsity Volleyball team.

💥 Upcoming Schedule: 9/12 - @ Thornapple-Kellogg, 9/14 - @ Cedar Springs, 9/19 - HOME v. Kenowa Hills (Youth Night - see info below), 9/21 - @ Forest Hills Eastern, 9/26 - HOME v. South Christian (Senior Night)

💥 Volleyball at Catholic Central consists of all three levels - Freshman, Junior Varsity, & Varsity

💥 Youth Night Information - Students who attended Catholic Central's summer volleyball camp get in FREE next week Tuesday against Kenowa Hills if they wear their camp shirt to the match. Parents - look for an email in the next few days. We are looking forward to seeing all the campers come out and cheer on the Cougars!

The Cougar Athletes traveled near and far this weekend with volleyball, boys tennis, and girls swim and dive all on the road on Saturday. The only home event was the varsity football game Friday evening.

🏐  The Varsity volleyball team traveled to East Kentwood for the East Kentwood Invite where they finished the day with 2 wins and 2 losses.

🏈  The Varsity football team welcomed the Wayland Wildcats to the CAT on Friday evening for the OK-Gold Conference Opener. Jumping out to a quick 17-0 lead, the Cougars led 35-0 at halftime with a final score of 42-7. The Cougars offense was led by Kellen Russell-Dixon who rushed for 134 yards on 5 carries and one touchdown. Through the air, Connor Wolf was 11/16 with 168 yards. He threw for 2 TDs and also ran for 2 more.

The Cougars take on their first road test of the year on Friday when they travel to Thornapple-Kellogg to face the Trojans. Kick off is set for 7:00pm and tickets are $5/each CASH only at the gate. Come on our and support your Cougars!

🎾  The Varsity Tennis team traveled to Portland to compete in the Portland Memorial Quad. When it was all complete, the Cougars went 3-0 on the day, bringing home 1st place. The Cougars won 21-24 matches throughout the day, bringing home 5 championships and 3 runner ups.

Championships were won by Thomas Tamae (3 Singles), Axel Cummings (4 Singles), Sebastian Deimel/Ben Radgens (1 Doubles), Davis Vu/Jackson Doezema (3 Doubles), Jude Miller/Paul Huynh (4 Doubles). Runners ups were secured by Charlie Lindermann (1 Singles), Matiss McNally (2 Singles), and Danny Kirk/John Kaufman (2 Doubles). Great work guys!

🏊‍♀️  The Girls Swim & Dive Team headed to Allegan to compete in the D3 Invite. Overall the girls took 3rd and swam really well, but in this meet all grades all competed against each other too and freshman took 3rd, sophomores 2nd, juniors 8th and seniors 3rd. The divers did great as well - Lucy Cotter took 1st out of all the sophomores and Ava Brown took 2nd out of the freshman.

In the swimming aspect, Mae Braun won the 200 free and 100 back for sophomores. Sara Rott won the 50 free and 100 free for seniors and Kata McNamara won the 500 free for sophomores. 

Mirabelle Boivin took 2nd in the 200 free and 500 free for freshman and Maggie Doyle took 2nd in the 100 back for freshman. Nice job Ladies!

The Cougar Athletes enjoyed a much needed Holiday weekend as we prepared for the beginning of many conference schedules across all our fall sports.

🏐 The Varsity volleyball team traveled to Grand Haven to compete in the End of Summer Bash. The Lady Cougars put on a strong showing by going 3-0 in bracket place against Leland, Ludington, and Shelby. The Cougars then knocked off Montague in the Gold Bracket semifinals before eventually falling to host Grand Haven in the Championship.

The volleyball team will be hosting their first conference match on Thursday, September 7th in the downtown gym against Wayland. All three levels will be competing with the Freshman team starting at 4:00, JV team starting at 5:00, and the varsity team starting at 6:00p. Keep up the great work ladies!

*Please note, we did not receive any volleyball photos from this past weekend's tournament for usage.

🏈 The Varsity football team welcomed a tough River Rouge team to the CAT on Friday for a non-conference showdown. In the end, the Cougars came away victorious with a 38-6 score. The Cougars jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter, backed by a FG by Conor Neilson and touchdowns by both Kellen Russell-Dixon and Jami Williams. In the 2nd quarter, it was Connor Wolf and Jami Williams again to give the Cougars a 31-0 halftime lead. Rounding out the scoring for the Cougars was Kellen Russell-Dixon again in the 3rd quarter to give the Cougars a commanding 38-0 lead. River Rouge would tack on a TD in the 4th quarter to bring the final score to 38-6.

The Cougars will be back in action on Friday, September 8th at the CAT against the Wayland Wildcats, who come into the game 2-0 in the OK-Gold Conference Opener. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm. For more information, check out Grand Rapids Catholic Central Football on Facebook or X.

Weekend Recap 8/26/2023

The Cougar Athletes were a traveling crew this weekend as Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, and Swim were all on the road to compete. 

🏊🏻‍♀️ The Girls Swim & Dive meet at Northview was canceled due to no power at Northview High School. They are hoping for a reschedule, but with that many teams it might be difficult to find a time for everyone to come together.

🏐 The Varsity volleyball team traveled to Coopersville to compete in the WMVOA Scholarship tournament. The Cougars finished pool play with a record of 1-0-2. They beat Kalamazoo Central, then tied against two very solid teams in Forest Hills Northern and Holland Christian. Unfortunately, the Lady Cougars day came to an end with a loss in the first round of the Gold Bracket to host Coopersville.

Senior Sophia Allen led the team in kills this weekend, followed by Junior Mairin Ziegler. Junior Maria App and Senior Elle Sharpe also scored some points in key moments. Defensively, the Cougars were paced by Seniors Lyla Joynt, Avery Lannon, Junior Brooklyn Ontiveros, and Sophomore Cara Wolf with their consistent prowl of the ball.

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ The varsity boys cross country team finished 4th overall and 1st in the Knights of Columbus division at the Michigan Catholic Invite, hosted by Lansing Catholic Central. The varsity team consisted of Jeb Hillary (7th place 17:17.7), Ian Richthammer (10th place 17:32.4), Aiden Kasprzak (16th place 17:49.9), Grant Hillary (48th place 19:08.5), Roben Perez (76th place 20:42.5), Brady Bronson (83rd place 21:03.7), and Mason England (87th place 21:20.0). Emily Tomes (9th place 20:41.7) and Claire Marosi (10th place 20:56.4) both earned medalist honors pacing the girls team to a 9th place team finish. Mitchell Dunlap earned medalist honors in the junior varsity race placing 10th overall with a time of 21:00.9.

⚽️ The Boys Soccer team traveled to Grandville on Saturday for a showdown with the Bulldogs. The Cougars came away victorious by a score of 2-1. Scoring for the Cougs were Senior Ben Smitley on a penalty kick and added another goal later in the contest by Junior Maury Medina. This brings the Cougars record to 1-3.

The Cougars open OK-Gold League play on August 28th at home against Wayland Union High School. JV starts at 5:00P with the varsity following with a 6:45P kickoff. Come on out and cheer them on!

🏈 The Cougar Football teams were the only athletics team at home this weekend as they played host to two different teams. The Varsity team welcomed defending 8A Illinois State Champion Loyola Academy to Cougar Stadium to kick off their season. The final score was 45-7 in favor of the Ramblers. The lone Cougar touchdown was scored through the air when Senior Connor Wolf connected with Senior Mill Coleman III for a 43 yard strike late in the third quarter.

In JV action, the Cougars fell 14-12 to a tough Lumen Christi team. The Cougars had their chance late in the game but could not continue the drive.

The Cougars look to bounce back this Friday when they welcome a tough River Rouge team to Cougar Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5:00PM. The JV team will travel to Greenville to face the Yellowjackets on Wednesday at 6:30PM