Signing Day at St. Anthony's

It was a gathering as impressive in its sheer size as what it represented. marked the start of the week-long NCAA early signing period Wednesday morning with a ceremony featuring 27 college-bound seniors in South Huntington. 

Parents, coaches and teammates gathered in the school library as each took turns celebrating the latest chapter in their life. For most teenagers, choosing a college is the biggest decision they’ve ever made.

And while not everyone on hand was actually signing a scholarship – Ivy League schools don’t offer Letters of Intent – they were all announcing a new and exciting direction in their young careers. 

“What a great day today is,” Athletic Director said. “It’s a day of celebration. It’s a day of recognizing achievement.”

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Call them high achievers. The event was dominated by two nationally-ranked Catholic league championship boys and girls lacrosse programs. Both sports won on a national level last spring, and part of that success was attributed to this rising senior class.

Thirteen senior players – a starting lineup has 12 – will go on to play at the college level, led by midfielder Anne Heagerty (Georgetown) and attack Darcy Messina (Florida).

“Not a lot of girls can say they are on a team with 12 other girls going to Division I schools,” said Messina, a four-year starter who committed to the Gators more than a year ago. “It’s a great experience.”

The program had nine players commit, including: Goalie Kieran Burke (North Carolina), attack Sean McDonagh (Harvard) and longstick midfielder Tim Stackpole (Army Prep).

“I looked at lacrosse as an opportunity to get into one of the best schools in the country,” McDonagh said of his Ivy League path. “It’s about [life] after lacrosse. It doesn’t get better than the Ivys.”

All-Long Island basketball star Symone Kelly committed to Siena over the summer, but made it official by signing Wednesday. Kelly, a power forward, was coveted by D-I coaches who liked her inside game and ability to shoot the three.

“Symone really puts a lot of effort into it,” said. “I’m glad to see it’s all turned out for her now that’s she’s signed this letter of intent.”

The hard work and achievement was impossible to miss. It was written on the college paperwork in the form of signatures and etched on the beaming faces of parents. 

      St. Anthony's 2012 College Commitments

Athlete Sport College

Kieran Burke

boys lacrosse North Carolina

Brendan Conroy

boys lacrosse Army Prep

George Deignan

boys lacrosse Binghamton

Samantha Durante

girls lacrosse Salisbury

Brittnee Frizol

girls lacrosse Catholic University

Jill Fumai

girls lacrosse American

Anne Heagerty

girls lacrosse Georgetown

Victoria Holland

girls lacrosse Brown

Brendan Hurley

boys lacrosse Binghamton

Symone Kelly

girls basketball Siena

Chandler Lulley

girls swimming Fordham

Shannon Lulley

girls swimming Fordham

Anne Lynch

girls lacrosse New Hampshire

Jonathan Lynott

boys lacrosse Stony Brook

Sean McDonagh

boys lacrosse Harvard

Darcy Messina

girls lacrosse Florida

Maggie Murphy

girls lacrosse Skidmore

Alexis Nicolia

girls lacrosse Harvard

Devon O’Connor

girls lacrosse Amherst

Stephanie Paloscio

girls lacrosse Princeton

Richard Pattrizio

baseball Franklin Pierce

Chrissy Schreiber

girls lacrosse Rutgers

Tim Stackpole

boys lacrosse  Army Prep

Keith Vita

boys lacrosse Scranton

Sal Vitale

boys lacrosse Marquette

Christian Yeager

boys swimming Harvard

Gabrielle Zutter

girls lacrosse Mercy College