SWIMMERS GET ADDED BOOST HEADING INTO STATE PREP CHAMPIONSHIPS

Feb. 17, 2010

The St. Benedict's swim team was given a spirited word of encouragement as it headed down Route 1 to compete in the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association Championships on Wednesday.

Team captain Courtney Mosley stood up on the bus about halfway to its meet in Lawrenceville and surprised the team by reading a letter from Olympic Champion Cullen Jones. The 2002 graduate of St. Benedict's sent the correspondence to his former coach and current mentor of the Gray Bees, Glenn Cassidy, on Monday evening.

Here's an excerpt of what the Olympic Gold Medalist from the Summer Games in Beijing said to the current corps of swimmers as a prelude to the state championship meet:

"As you all begin to get mentally and physically prepared for what some of you is the biggest meet of the year, there is only one thing I can tell you to do and that's to have fun. Yes, I know its sounds cliche, but it is the truth. I always tell myself the day I stop having fun with swimming is the day I hang up my goggles.
The most common question that I get traveling to different places is, 'How did you keep it together - millions of people watching; all that pressure on you to perform and not to let down your family, your country and your teammates?' Well, if I thought about it like that, I probably would still be on the block in Beijing! 'It must have been so hard to keep your cool and do what the team needed you to do.' Of course I was nervous - I was scared to death. But here is what they don't tell you - that it is normal and healthy.
Some of you might be scared to death right now, and that's OK. There was only one thing that I kept telling myself as my mantra - 'The hard part (training) is over, now is the fun part.'
All year we listen to our coaches and do the training...and race. You are at the fun part, there is no reason when you step up on the block that you should not be ready and calm enough to perform at your best. Although, I was scared out of my mind, the Olympics was the most fun I've ever had with my career. So feel confident that all the training that you have done this year will get your hand on the wall.
The SBP Hive Family and Alumni have your back! So go out and have a good time and make us proud, we know you will.
Go Gray Bees!
Cullen J"

Cassidy said the team remained reserved after absorbing the words from Jones, but he knew his former pupil made a point to his current team.

"His willingness to give back to the team in this type of way is tremendous," said Cassidy. "It had a very positive impact on everyone."

After hearing Mosley recite the inspirational words from Jones, the team renewed their thoughts on the task at hand - the State Prep Championships. And coach Cassidy's club responded by going out and shattering last year's performance.

Although the team matched last season's performance by placing third in the A Division standings, the Gray Bees posted a whopping 119 points, 58 points better than a year earlier. They also moved up in the overall standings (both A & B Divisions combined) from 7th last year to 3rd this time around.

Gio Urquilla, who became the first swimmer to win an Essex County Championship since Jones graced the pool here in 2002, had the best showing of any swimmer in Cassidy's arsenal.

Urquilla placed third in the 100-yard breast stroke (1:05.34) and aided the 200-yard freestyle team (with Charles Evans, Kieran Lenahan and Courtney Mosley) to another third-place effort with a team best time this year of 1:33.27.

The junior also finished 6th in the 100-yard freestyle with a personal best of 50.17. Mosley did likewise in the 50-freestyle by registering his best time of the year with a 22.86 for a sixth-place finish.

At meet's end, 23 personal bests were established by Gray Bees swimmers, an improvement Cassidy has been seeing all season long.

"This season went very, very well," said the coach, who loses only 4 of 45 swimmers to graduation. "I didn't expect to make the kinds of improvement we've made and I think the kids like what they see and will continue to push themselves to achieve greater things in the years to come."

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URQUILLA: THE NEXT GREAT SWIMMER TO COME OUT OF THE HIVE?
Junior wins two events as Gray Bees excel at county championships

Feb. 2, 2010

Giovanni Urquilla came to St. Benedict's three years ago expecting to play soccer.

Things, however, never materialize on the pitch for Urqullia, who, since his freshman year, began putting his sole focus on swimming.

Call it a blessing in disguise.

Urquilla, a junior, will leave next year as the most accomplished swimmer at St. Benedict's Prep since Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones began his rise to prominence at The Hive.

"It's really amazing," said Urquilla. "I wanted to do both (soccer and swimming) when I got here and didn't make the soccer team. That allowed me to concentrate just on swimming and definitely is the reason I'm where I'm at now."

The junior boosted his resume by becoming the first St. Benedict's swimmer to win a title in the Essex County Championships since Jones was a senior in 2002. Jones went on to star at North Carolina State before becoming an Olympic champion in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

Urquilla drew a tremendous amount of inspiration from Jones when the alumnus returned to campus in the Fall of 2008, just shortly after winning his Gold Medal. Jones even took a dip in the school's pool with the swimmers and water polo team after an assembly was held in his honor.

Urquilla, then a sophomore, challenged Jones to a mock race in the pool. He got an advantage of diving off the blocks while Jones stayed in the water and gave the up-and-coming Gray Bees star a lead of nearly half the length of the pool in the race to the other side. Urquilla was amazed at the power and speed as the Olympian sped passed the young swimmer as if he was just treading water.

"It was incredible," recalled Urquilla. "From that point on, I wanted to be able to go faster and hopefully someday go just as fast as him. It was amazing."

Urquilla has used Jones as his inspiration and drive since that day and even one-upped his Olympic hero last Saturday by doubling in the Essex County Championships. Jones didn't win any individual titles as a junior at St. Benedict's - albeit losing to a record-setter in Verona's Daryl Northrop in the 2001 county meet. Jones went on to shatter Northrup's record a year later in the 50-yard freestyle, a mark (21.17) that still stands today.

"Gio came down to the pool that first day and got in the water and immediately we knew we had a talented swimmer," said St. Benedict's coach Glenn Cassidy. "His freshman year he proved us right by establishing himself as an all-around swimmer and has improved dramatically over the (last two) years."

Urquilla won the 100-yard freestyle and breaststroke titles at the natatorium on the campus of Seton Hall University. He was seeded second to the freestyle and posted a winning time of 50.22, edging the top-seeded Christiano Quieroz (50.34) of Verona.

"It was really happy and surprised that I won the freestyle," said Urquilla, who posted a personal best time in the race. "I wasn't expecting it and to go out and win was a great feeling."

Urquilla came back later in the day to capture the 100-yard breaststroke by touching the wall in 1:05.12, which was more than two seconds faster than the second place finisher.

"He brought home our first gold medals since 2002 - that's a long drought," admitted Cassidy, who also coached Jones. "This is a huge accomplishment - he has reinvigorated this whole team. It is tremendously exciting to watch and be a part of Gio's progress and success."

Notes: Urquilla also helped two relay teams establish their best times this season at the county Championships. The 200-yard medley relay team, which consists of Charles Evans, Urquilla, Ian Brown and Courtney Mosley, finished 4th with a time of 1:48.98. The 200-yard freestyle relay team placed third by posting a 1:33.55 and included Evans, Kieran Lenahan, Urquilla and Mosley.

Mosley also placed third individually in the 50-yard freestyle with a personal best of: 22.87.

The Gray Bees placed fourth overall in the team standings with 120 1/2 points. But, more importantly, every single swimmer in Cassidy's arsenal posted a personal best time in at least one event.

"It really was a great day overall. What more could I ask for as a coach? It really was a day to treasure," said Cassidy. "But we have hard work ahead of us to continue this trend of improvement that we've seen this season as we head into the State Preps and Easterns."

The State prep Championships will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16, at Lawrenceville and the Eastern Stats Championship will be held Feb. 26-27 at LaSalle University in Pennsylvania.

"I am very proud of this entire team," added Cassidy, "and I look forward to the other surprises that they have in store."

--By Ron Jandoli
--Photos by Mike Scanlan

FENCING TEAM MAKES QUICK WORK OF MONTCLAIR KIMBERLEY
Swimmers readying for the county championships

Jan. 26, 2010

The Gray Bees fencing team sprinted out of the gate on Tuesday against Montclair Kimberley.

Coach Jeff Austin's club won the first four bouts, which included a sweep by the Sabre contingent, and never look back in posting a 21-6 verdict in Shanley Gym.

"We have a stable lineup right now," said Austin, whose team raised its record to 6-2 by registering the highest point total of the season. It's also the best start Austin '96 has had in his four years as coach - and he has done it with a group that consist of only one senior in the starting lineup.

"We have a very young team that is gaining confidence and one that I'm confident in," said the coach.

Junior Tashon Little started the domination against MKA with a 5-1 victory in the opening bout. The Sabreist was one of five fencers who went 3-0 on the day. But perhaps no one was as dominant - Little, the complete aggressor, gave up just three points the entire day.

Fellow Sabreist and sophomore Jamar Victor also went unbeaten. Foilists Elliot McFarland, another sophomore, and junior Nick Walker, along with junior Epeeist Darran St. Ange, all completed the day with 3-0 marks.

The swimming team traveled to Jersey City to take on St. Peter's in a tune-up for Saturday's Essex County Championships.

The Gray Bees won the medley relay with Mike Ciociola, Gio Urquilla, Ian Brown and Courtney Mosley. The quartet turned in a time of 1:51.47.

Gavin Mulholland (2:09.21) and Brian Baez (2:27.53) established personal bests in the 200-yard freestyle, while Eric Enriquez did likewise in the 200 IM with a 2:25.79; and Kiernan Lenahan posted his best time of :55.84 in the 100 free.

Coach Glenn Cassidy's squad now has its focus set on the county championships, which are set for 9 a.m. Saturday at Seton Hall University. Gio Urquilla is ranked first in the 100-yard breast stroke and second in the 100 freestyle, while the 200-yard freestyle relay team is ranked second.

ST. BENEDICT'S TRACK & FIELD TEAM HIGHLIGHT BUSY SPORTS WEEKEND AT THE HIVE
Swimming and hoop teams victorious on the road; fencers compete in Cetrulo Tourney
Wrestling team suffers tough loss at home

Jan. 10, 2010

The Gray Bees Indoor Track & Field team scored a huge upset by winning the Essex County Relays on Sunday at Seton Hall University.

St. Benedict's finished first in the 4x200-meter relay, the team high jump and team shot put to score a dramatic 47-46 victory over West Orange. Matt Taylor, Leighton Smith, Kalonji Foster and Martin Otieno led the 800 to a winning time of 1:33.25, edging Irvington by .36 of a second.

The high jump pair of Kenyon Wright and Kalonji Foster posted a combined winning height of 11-6, while Ryan Rhodes (a meet best 48-10) and Nigil Whyte (45-10 1/4) fashioned a cumulative mark of 94-81/2 to claim top honors in the shot put. Read more...

Coach Glenn Cassidy's swimming team also pulled off a stunning victory on Saturday over Poly Prep after defeating the Hun School on Friday.

The Gray Bees swimmers traveled to Brooklyn and handed Poly Prep its first setback of the season by pulling out a 49-45 victory. The victory wasn't realized until a scoring error was caught, which turned what Cassidy thought was a loss into a victory.

"There was a mistake in the relay scoring," explained Cassidy. "We thought we lost (the meet) by 2 until their coach noticed the mistake."

St. Benedict's (2-2) got of to a slow start and was trailing until the sixth event when Charles Blackshear-Evans won the 100-yard freestyle with his best time of the year with a clocking of :57.53.

Courtney Mosley won the 50 free in :24.59 and Giovanni Urquilla won the 500 free, touching the wall in 5:30.82. The two also combined with Michael Ciociola, Blackshear-Evans to help the 200 freestyle relay produce an exciting finish with Blackshear-Evans out-touching the Poly Prep team by .01 second and won the race for the Gray Bees in a time of 1:40.81. That was the race where the scoring error was made before being corrected at the end.

Coach Cassidy's team also won the day before with is most solid effort of the year, beating Hun, 124-41. The Gray Bees dominated in its own pool and won all but two events and swept all three places in the 50-yard freestyle and 100 fly. Courtney Mosley won the 50 free in :24.15, while Ian Brown won the 100 fly in 1:01.80.

The basketball team played in the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children Festival at Kean University and rolled 95-63 victory over Our Savior of New York on Sunday in Union.

Myck Kabongo, who had a team-high 19 points, sank back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 15-3 run that gave St. Benedict's a 34-16 edge early in the second quarter.

Kabongo also handed out six assists, while Gilvydas Biruta added 18 points, Mike Poole chipped in with 17 and Xavier Munford added 10.

The St. Benedict's fencing team traveled to Morris Knolls to compete in the 45-team Cetrulo tournament on Saturday in Rockaway.

Coach Jeff Austin's Epee contingent of Rodrigo Bergamasco (A Strip), Darran St. Ange (B Strip) and Kristopher White (C Strip) combined to take place sixth placed for the Gray Bees best showing of the tournament.

The wrestling team staged its first home dual meet of the year and hung tough throughout, but dropped the final four bouts and lost a 43-25 decision to Seton Hall Prep on Saturday in Dalton Gym. Read more...

URQUILLA BEST OF THE PERSONAL BESTS FOR SBP

Jan. 3, 2008

Gio Urquilla highlighted a day of personal bests for the St. Benedict’s swimming team at the Essex County Championships.

  Urquilla, a freshman with unlimited potential, swam two personal bests – in the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard freestyle – to lead a Gray Bees team that continues to improve each time out for coach Glenn Cassidy.

  St. Benedict’s, which placed ninth in the meet on Thursday, combined for 37 swims at Seton Hall University. Of those, 25 were recorded as personal bests for St. Benedict’s swimmers.

“We may not be good enough to win, but we’re showing improvement and that’s all you can ask for,” said Cassidy.

Urquilla may have to re-think his outlook as a part-time swimmer. He was the lone swimmer to medal in the meet for the Gray Bees, placing fifth in the 200-yard IM in his fastest competitive time yet, touching the wall at 2:16.10.

The fabulous freshman, who could be the next Brandon Jarrett in the making – coming to St. Benedicts’s to play soccer and excelling at another sport – also swam a 54.04 in the 100-yard freestyle, besting his previous fastest by more than a second.

“I think this is a kid (Urquilla) who has a tremendous amount of talent and is just starting to realize it,” said Cassidy, who would like to see his star pupil take the next step and get some full-time tutelage. “With year-round training, he can be something special.”

  St. Benedict’s also had a few other notable accomplishments in the pool at Arthur Imperatore Natatorium in South Orange. Angel Maldonado scored points for the Gray Bees in the 50-yard freestyle, while Tom Conte just missed medaling in the 500 freestyle by placing eighth.

Two swimmers who couldn’t even swim when they came to St. Benedict’s – Harquan Rasberry and Achille Dossekou – also continued in their surprising accomplishments. Rasberry shaved 11 seconds off his previous best in the breast stroke, the same event Dossekou scored points in by placing in the top 12.

MEDIA FRENZY CONVERGES ON ST. BENEDICT'S

Aug. 12, 2008

After Cullen Jones helped the American's shatter the world record in perhaps the most scintillating 4X100 freestyle races in Olympic history, nearly every major media outlet stormed the doors at St. Benedict's.

First there was New York's CW11, waiting early Monday morning for Jones' former Gray Bees coach, Glenn Cassidy, only six hours after historic race half-way around the world in Beijing.

"I didn't even get to bed until about 3 a.m. I was so excited I couldn't sleep," said Cassidy, who coached Jones just as his world-class career was beginning to take shape from 1999-2002. "When I woke up, I had a text from (CW11) and turned on the TV and saw them in front of the school."

Cassidy, who lives in Union, hurried to reach the school in time for the next broadcast by CW11 and reporter James Ford. Then there were subsequent visitors from NBC, CBS, UPN9 and RNN, all wanting to see where Jones, the only African American swimmer to hold a world record and just the second to ever win a Gold Medal, honed his skill.

"It was all surreal," said Cassidy, Director of Student Life at St. Benedict's whose day didn't end until well after 8 p.m. "Everyone wanted to know about Cullen. I felt like a father talking about his son. This has just been an unbelievable couple of days."

Click here to watch one of the videos that came from the swarm of media that found their way to 520.