Notre Dame

Thanks to the Class of 1964, the three Notre Dame High School graduates who died in the Vietnam War finally got a plaque memorializing them placed in the foyer of the school more than 50 years later.

Fashioned by VP Graphics, the display remembering Donald Judd ('61) , and Daniel Bermingham and Thomas Welker ('64) can now be seen immediately as you go in the main entrance of the school at 73 Union St. in the City of Batavia.

The story of how the memorial came to be evolved over the past several years.

Dave Reilly and Jim Heatherman, who had attended Saint Mary's Elementary School, Notre Dame ('64) and Saint John Fisher College together reconnected after not seeing each other for almost 50 years. Heatherman had become a lieutenant in the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam while Reilly had gone on to a long teaching career.

Over the course of a number of conversations, Heatherman expressed regret that he had survived Vietnam and had gotten to have a large and loving family, but his classmates Bermingham and Welker did not. Reilly, who had been writing nostalgic articles about growing up locally for The Batavian, encouraged Heatherman to express his feelings by writing his own story.

Heatherman's article* appeared in The Batavian in August 2019. It was read with interest by another '64 classmate, Jim Fix. For many years, Fix had led local tour groups on tours of Washington, D.C., for First Choice Travel, which always included a trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. At "the Wall," designed by Maya Ying Lin, Fix would highlight his classmates and include Judd, too, who also was killed in the Southeast Asian war.

A highlight of the group's time at the Wall was when Fix would have the tour members make stenciled grave rubbings of the names of Judd, Bermingham and Welker as keepsakes to remember them by.

So when Heatherman's article appeared the proverbial light went on in Fix's head. His thoughts were that his classmates and Judd had long deserved to be remembered at their high school (There had been a Donald Judd Memorial Trophy that Notre Dame and Le Roy played for in football in the late 1960s and early 1970s.). So, combining the idea of a plaque with the design of the rubbings from the Vietnam Wall, Jim Fix put a plan in motion.

In the meantime, last Memorial Day Reilly carried out a request by Heatherman, who lives in Oklahoma, to place a Marine Flag on Welker's grave in Attica -- even though Welker was a Navy Corpsman, he was caring for Marines as their beloved “Doc” when he was killed -- and a Navy flag on Bermingham's grave in Batavia. He wrote an article detailing this with photos for The Batavian. This further made up Fix's mind to get the plaque project accomplished.

After consulting with Heatherman (who asked only that “Doc” be placed by Welker's name), Fix sent out an email to his 1964 former classmates asking for donations. As you might expect, the response was overwhelming and more than enough funds were raised.

Working with VP Graphics utilizing his grave rubbing stencils and photos and descriptions from the Notre Dame Mater Dei yearbooks, Fix persevered through the COVID-19 roadblocks and completed his “mission,” so to speak, with full cooperation from the current Notre Dame administration.

It took a very long time, but thanks to some hard work and dedication by their schoolmates the three Notre Dame graduates who in the words of Abraham Lincoln,”...gave the last full measure of their devotion,” will now be remembered by those who visit Notre Dame High School.

Photos courtesy of Dave Reilly.

Previously: Memorial Day 2020: Belated thanks to a Seabee and a 'Doc'

Previously: Marine vet wishes he had 'do-over' to get to know two fallen comrades who were Notre Dame schoolmates

Below, Dave Reilly drove to Batavia Tuesday (March 23) to check out the new Vietnam Memorial for fallen members of Notre Dame High School's classes of '61 and '64.

Notre Dame was dominant Saturday against a disorganized and discombobulated Lyons at Van Detta, beating the visiting team 46-0.

Collin McCulley was 12-20 passing for 119 yards and a TD. Anthony Zambito caught seven passes for 38 yards. He also had 165 yards in kickoff returns and six tackles on defense.

Alonso Storey had the seven-yard TD reception.

Dylan Warner rushed for 105 yards on 10 carries and scored TDs on runs of 23 yards and six yards. On defense, he had four tackles and a sack.

Connor McWilliams had four tackles, five sacks, and a blocked punt that was returned for a TD.

Donato Fiorentino had seven tackles and two sacks.

Notre Dame had 312 yards total offense to 52 for Lyons.

Photos by Jim Burns.

Submitted photo and press release:

Notre Dame High School is celebrating their 70th Anniversary on May 6 with a day full of special events!

The celebration will start with re-enactment of the ground breaking followed by an anniversary mass at the school including an alumni from each decade speaking at mass. The mission club will hold a May crowing celebration at the grotto and the day will close with a “reception” celebrating 70 years.

The Advancement Committee is having a cash raffle fundraiser with a top prize of $20,000 to be drawn at the reception. More information on the 70th Anniversary Day of Celebration events will be coming in the next few weeks. Tickets for the cash raffle are on sale now.

Important in-person fundraisers, like the annual trip night event, that raise monies used for financial aid and scholarships for students are still not able to happen. The Advancement Committee is trying to come up with creative ways to still raise money and the 70th Anniversary presented an opportunity to do so.

Notre Dame Events coordinator, Kathy Antinore, says “After the success of the Ca$h for Christmas Reverse Raffle, we decided to give an even bigger cash prize correlating with our 70th Anniversary.” The school is hoping to sell 1,000 raffle tickets.

Tickets are $70 each or two for $100 for a chance to win $20,000 or one of 10 $500 cash prizes. The drawing will be held “Live” on the Notre Dame Facebook page and YouTube page on Thursday, May 6th at 6:30 p.m. during the anniversary reception. More information can be found on the school’s website and social media pages.

Interested in purchasing tickets, please contact Notre Dame at (585) 343-2783, ext. 106.

Notre Dame High School, located at 73 Union St. in Batavia, is a private co-educational Jr./Sr. high school. Recognized for the 16th consecutive year as the number one secondary school in Genesee, Wyoming, and Orleans counties by Buffalo Business First.

Notre Dame is a diverse learning community dedicated to academic excellence and rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition. For more information, please visit www.ndhsbatavia.com

Notre Dame traveled to South Seneca today as the #2 seed in the Class D1 tournament, with two losses on its record, and proceeded to upset the unbeaten #1 seed 55-48 to win a Section V title.

The Lady Irish were once again lead by sophomore Amelia McCulley who scored 30 points.  Lindsey Weidman scored 14 points. Emma Sisson had 12 rebounds, Maylee Green, 11, Weidman, nine, and McCulley, eight.

Submitted photo.

If you just looked at the score (67-50), you would think the Lady Irish had a pretty easy time of it against C.G. Finney in their Class C2 Section V semifinal game played at Notre Dame.

If you took that view, you would be mistaken. The Falcons are a small, fast, aggressive, scrappy team led by a diminutive sophomore (her height isn't listed on the roster), Jahniya Johnson, who is as dangerous outside the arc as she is driving the lane and tossing up one of her stock-in-trade floaters.

Johnson scored 35 points. But with no other Falcon presenting much of a scoring threat, Johnson couldn't carry the team alone, especially against one led its own young stars, such as Amelia McCulley and Lindsey Weidman. 

McCulley, herself just a sophomore, was also hard to stop and she scored 29 points. Weidman scored 16. Sarah McGinnis scored nine and Judah Macdonald added seven.

Maylee Green led the Irish with 16 rebounds. Weidman and Emma Sisson, who also scored six points, had 12 apiece.

The D1 championship will be decided Saturday at 7 p.m. in South Seneca. South Seneca is 13-0 and #1 seed in the division. Notre Dame is the #2 seed.

Notre Dame handily beat Alfred on Tuesday, 52-24, to advance to the semifinals of the Class D1 Section V tournament.

McCulley scored 22 points, hitting two three-point shots, and McGinnis scored 18, hitting a trio of three-pointers. She also had seven rebounds.

The Fighting Irish (10-2) will play C.G. Finney (11-2) at home, 7 p.m., tomorrow.

Tonight's schedule:

Girls: 

• Bolivar at Pavilion, 7 p.m.
• Alexander at East Rochester, 6 p.m.

Boys: 

• Pal-Mac at Batavia, 6 p.m.
• Notre Dame at Belfast, 7 p.m.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish staged a furious comeback on Saturday night, rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period to force overtime, before dropping a 4-3 decision to Irondequoit in Section 5 hockey action at Lakeshore Hockey Arena and Sports Center in Rochester.

Junior Vin DiRisio’s goal with 35 seconds left in regulation – after Coach Marc Staley had pulled freshman goaltender Frank Falleti Jr. for an extra attacker – tied the game for the Irish, who fought back after trailing 2-0 after the first period (for the second straight game) and 3-1 early in the third period.

With the loss, the Irish end the regular season at 7-3-1 and finish second to Irondequoit, 9-2-1, in their division.

Notre Dame, however, held on to the No. 1 seed for the Section V Class A Tournament due to its strength of schedule and posting six victories over teams with winning records.

“You get more power-ranking points by beating teams with winning records,” Staley said, who added that ND earned points for taking the game to overtime.

The Irish will face either Pittsford or Webster Schroeder on Tuesday night at the Batavia Ice Rink in the first round of the eight-team tournament.

Hilton and Victor, both at 10-2, are seeded second and third, respectively, while Gates/Wayne/EI/Wheatland, 9-3, is the fourth seed.

In last night’s game, Irondequoit took control early as sophomore defenseman Leo Letta redirected a shot by senior forward Bryce Billitier past Falleti at the 2:44 mark.

With senior goaltender Vaughn Letta thwarting several excellent chances by junior Gavin Schrader, Vin DiRisio and freshman Joe DiRisio, Irondequoit was able to take a 2-0 lead at 12:40 when Eli Velepec beat Falleti after passes by Billitier and Bruin Giudice set it up.

The Irish began to assert themselves in the second period as Schrader’s relentless work in the corners and rushes up the ice put Irondequoit on its heels. Falleti made a couple of sparkling saves as well to prevent the Eagles increasing their lead.

Goaltender Letta continued to come up big for Irondequoit until a Vin DiRisio slapshot beat him at the 10:23 mark with ND in a two-man advantage situation. Cooper Hamilton and Joe DiRisio assisted.

ND outshot Irondequoit 14-5 in a period marked by some hard checking and, at times, “chippy” play.

In the third period, only 32 seconds had elapsed when Irondequoit's Jordan Flynn, who was closing in to Falleti’s right, fired a cross-ice pass to Billitier, who tucked it into the open side of net to make it 3-1.

The Irish wasted little time pulling within a goal again as Joe DiRisio got one past Vaughn Letta with help from Schrader and Wyatt Krolczyk at 1:55.

ND continued to put pressure on Irondequoit but goalie Letta stood tall. When he stymied Schrader in front of the net with 47 seconds left, it looked bleak for the visitors.

After an Irondequoit timeout, Falleti headed to the bench as ND had a faceoff in Irondequoit’s zone. The move paid off when Vin DiRisio slapped the loose puck past Letta. Schrader and Joe DiRisio assisted.

In the five-minute overtime, Joe DiRisio had a golden opportunity in front of the net but, again, Letta was equal to the task. Moments later, Leo Letta skated free and drilled it past Falleti to the glove side.

With the win, Irondequoit earned the No. 1 seed in the highly competitive Section V Class B Tournament, which features four other teams with just two or three losses – Canandaigua Academy, Penfield, Brockport and Webster Thomas.

The Irish fired 39 shots to Irondequoit’s 28 after being outshot 12-9 in the first period.

“We did not play a solid first period for the second game in a row, but it’s also the second game in a row that we battled back,” Staley said. “Going down 3-1 in the first shift of the third period, a lot of teams would have folded. But this team didn’t. They showed something to each other tonight that they’re in this thing to battle right to the end.”

For the season, Schrader has 17 goals and 17 assists, Vin DiRisio has 17 goals and 13 assists and Joe DiRisio has 12 goals and seven assists. Hamilton and Krolczyk have 14 and 13 assists, respectively. Falleti has a 3.41 goals against average.

Following a frustrating 3-2 loss to Brockport this afternoon at the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex in Rochester, Notre Dame Coach Marc Staley reflected upon what otherwise has been a successful ice hockey season thus far for the Fighting Irish, who will play a final regular season game on Saturday before hosting a Section 5 Class A Tournament next Tuesday.

“If you would have said to me five weeks ago that we were going to have a season, I would have been thrilled,” Staley said. “If you said to me five weeks ago that we were going to be 7-2-1 and be the No. 1 seed in Class A, I would have said you’re crazy.”

Both the No. 1 overall seed in Class A and the Section V Division 3 championship are in reach for Notre Dame.

A victory over division rival Irondequoit, 8-2-1, on Saturday (7 p.m. at Lakeshore Hockey Arena and Sports Center in Rochester) will give the Fighting Irish the league title while a win or a tie will enable them to retain their current place as the top seed in Class A.

“We’re playing in the highest class in New York State hockey against teams (from large schools) like Webster Schroeder and Hilton,” Staley said. “I think they (Section V officials) looked at our scores early in the season when we won big (and placed us there). But I don’t care where they put us. There’s not a lot of difference between Class A and Class B.”

Today’s game showed that as Brockport, a Class B entry, burst out of the gate, peppering ND’s freshman goaltender Frank Falleti with 13 shots in the first 10 minutes and cashing in on two of them – a goal by Jeremiah Rausch at 6:54 and a power play goal by Henry Schultz at 9:58 (assisted by Rausch).

Notre Dame had a couple of great chances late in the period but the team’s leading scorers, Gavin Schrader and Vin DiRisio, were stymied by Brockport goalie Joseph Volpe. Brockport outshot Batavia 18-8 in the period.

It didn’t take long for the Irish to cut the lead in half as Schrader flipped a backhand shot past Volpe just 33 seconds into the second period for his 17^th goal of the season. Vin DiRisio assisted on the goal. ND tied the score about six minutes later when freshman Joe DiRisio made a nifty move to get past the defenseman and found the back of the net.

Brockport, now 7-3-1, responded, however, tallying what proved to be the game’s final goal with 48 seconds left in the period as Tyler Henshaw put away the loose puck in a 4-on-3 power play after Falleti had turned away shots by Rausch and Jonathan LoMonaco.

In the third period, ND drew a couple of early penalties, including a four-minute major, but was unable to capitalize. For the game, they were 1 for 9 on the power play.

Notre Dame kept the pressure on in the final seven minutes, turning a 32-27 deficit in shots on goal to a 37-32 advantage, but Volpe was equal to the task. In the end, Volpe stopped 37 shots while Falleti had 31 saves.

“It was two different games, right,” Staley said. “We were very flat to start the game and, to their credit, they’re up after the first and we had to reassess the situation. What kids are struggling with is that we can’t sneak up on anybody anymore. When you start the season 6-0, 7-1, everyone is looking for you; they’re going to give you their best games and kids are getting up to play us.”

Staley gave the team credit for clawing back from the 2-0 deficit.

“We bounced back and found some energy down the stretch, but we didn’t execute on the power play as well as we needed to,” he said. “We had chances, but their goalie played great and their defense did a nice job of clearing pucks and winning face-offs.

“We got beat on face-offs most of the night and that is a huge stat. Every face-off is eight seconds of possession in hockey. You win 20 draws a game, you’re talking about an extra three minutes of puck possession.”

He singled out the two freshman, goalie Falleti – “in a year or two he’s going to be something,” he said -- and Joe DiRisio, who has 11 goals this season.

“We have so many good players – and they're young,” Staley said. “We only lose five players (after this season).”

Submitted photo and press release:

Notre Dame High School is pleased to announce a donation of $345 to Just Kings.

Just Kings is a Batavia-based organization whose mission is to provide a voice for the local Black community. They work to educate and mentor the youth, our neighbors and ourselves as we continue to fight to end racism.

Nya Thomas, a senior at Notre Dame, led the donation drive in honor of Black History Month.

Check out the important work they do at their Facebook page.

Photo: front row, from left: Alonzo Story, Mark Sanders, McKenzie Nenni, Nya Thomas, Ben Skanly, and Principal Wade Bianco; back row: Just Kings -- Eric Ricks, Victor Thomas, Robert Thurston, Oraid Edwards, Terry Smith, Otis Thomas and Brandon Armstrong.

Brynn Walczak notched another double-double and Leah Bezon scored her 1,000th career point Saturday afternoon as the Lady Lancers beat archrival Notre Dame 52-38.

Walczak scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Bezon's 1,000th point came on a free throw in the third quarter. She scored nine points.

Taylor Augello scored 12 points. Maddie Muehlig scored five and grabbed eight rebounds.

For the Lady Irish, Emma Sisson, Maylee Green, and Amelia McCulley each scored eight points and Lindsey Weidman scored seven. McCulley had 14 rebounds.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Sophomore guard Amelia McCulley scored eight straight points in a three-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter this afternoon to lead Notre Dame to a 34-24 nonleague girls’ basketball victory over host Batavia High.

With the score tied at 24 with about 4 ½ minutes remaining, McCulley drove to the hoop for two points, and followed that with a running shot in the lane, another strong drive for two more points and a pair of free throws to put the Lady Irish in front, 32-24.

Two free throws by Emma Sisson closed out the scoring in a contest marked by numerous turnovers and poor shooting from both sides.

McCulley tallied 18 points while Sisson chipped in with nine. Lindsey Weidman added four and Maylee Green sank a three-point shot – the only three-pointer of the game – for ND.

Batavia’s top scorers of Mackenzie Reigle and Bryn Wormley were held to 10 and five points, respectively, while Haylee Thornley had three points and Tianna Rhim, Tess Barone and Rachel Wright scored two points apiece.

The Lady Devils controlled the pace of the game for the first 12 minutes, forging a 12-7 lead, before Notre Dame closed out the second quarter on a 10-1 run. McCulley scored eight in the period.

The teams combined for only 11 points in the third quarter, which ended with the Lady Irish on top, 22-19.

A basket by Sisson made it 24-19 before two free throws by Reigle, Wright’s basket and a free throw by Thornley pulled Batavia into the 24-24 tie.

Notre Dame improves to 2-1 while Batavia is 0-3.

Photo: The 12th-graders on the Batavia High varsity girls' basketball team were honored by their families and coaches on "Senior Day" prior to their game against visiting Notre Dame.

From left are: Tess Barone, Haylee Thornley, Bryn Wormley, Mackenzie Reigle, Kennedy Kolb, Bella Houseknecht and Rachel Wright.

Photo by Mike Pettinella.

Sparked by 33 points from Mark Sanders, Notre Dame opened a COVID-shortened basketball season against Oakfield-Alabama with a 65-62 win at home.

For the Fighting Irish, Jordan Welker was the only other player to hit double digits, scoring 10 points. Ryan Fitzpatrick had six and Jimmy Fanara had six.

Travis Wiedrich led the Hornets with 31 points. Gaige Armbrewster scored 18 and Kaden Cusmano scored 14.

Also on opening night for boys basketball:

• Byron-Bergen beat Alexander 47-42
• Batavia beat Eastridge 52-48
• Pembroke beat Lyndonville 56-54

In girls basketball, Elba beat Albion 63-22.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

This past Saturday the Batavia-Notre Dame boys swimming squad won eight of 12 events, including setting four meet records. 

One of the highlights was the 200 medley team of Cooper Mattice, Cooper Fix, Aaron Treleaven and Harrison Southal who set a meet and league record. 

Batavia senior Cooper Mattice was Swimmer of the Meet. 

For complete results click here.

To view and or purchase prints, click here.

Press release:

The Notre Dame High School Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of the following new members to the 2019-2020 Board: Dawn Daniels, Marty Macdonald, James Sutherland and Katie Wujcik.

Daniels, D.C., is a chiropractor at Daniels Family Chiropractic in Warsaw, where she is in partnership with her husband Terry, D.C. They are proud parents of a daughter at Notre Dame.

Macdonald is the pastor of City Church and resides in Batavia with his wife, Karen. He is a proud grandfather of a Notre Dame grad and several current students.

Sutherland, graduated from NDHS and is an employee of Crickler Vending. He resides in Batavia with wife, Tracey, and they are proud parents of two Notre Dame graduates.

Wujcik is a recruitment director at Nixon Peabody, Rochester. She resides in Le Roy with husband, Jim, and looks forward to her children attending Notre Dame.

Notre Dame High School is having a virtual fundraiser, Ca$h for Christmas Reverse Raffle, with a chance to win up to $10,000! NYS mandates and restrictions on attendance numbers, due to COVID-19, prevent the school from holding in-person fundraising events.

The Advancement Committee was challenged with getting creative to find ways to raise mone. A reverse raffle is held as part of the annual Trip Night event and is a lot of fun and always sells out, so they decided to put together a virtual reverse raffle on a bigger scale.

Notre Dame Events coordinator Kathy Antinore says “ticket sales are going well as everyone could use $10,000 right before Christmas.”

The Notre Dame Foundation raises funds to use for financial aid and scholarships for students. Those needs are greater now than ever, yet the important fundraising events can’t be held. The object of a “Reverse” raffle is to be the last number drawn.

That lucky person wins $10,000. Between the immense need and the great cash prize, the school is hoping to sell 1,000 tickets.

Tickets are $25 each and there is 20 chances to win at least your money back. Any tickets not winning a cash prize go into a second chance drawing for gift cards and other prizes.

The drawing for the last 50 numbers and all second chance winners will be “Live” on the Notre Dame Facebook page and YouTube page on Thursday, Dec. 3^rd. More information can be found on the school’s Facebook page.

Interested in purchasing tickets, please contact Notre Dame at (585) 343-2783 or email events coordinator Kathy Antinore at: kathy.antinore@ndhsbatavia.com

Notre Dame High School, located at 73 Union St. in Batavia, is a private co-educational Jr/Sr high school. Recognized for the sixteenth consecutive year as the number one secondary school in Genesee, Wyoming, and Orleans counties by Buffalo Business First. Notre Dame is a diverse learning community dedicated to academic excellence and rooted in the Roman Catholic tradition. For more information, please visit www.ndhsbatavia.com.

Notre Dame High School dominated Jasper-Troupsburg all game, winning 4-0. Autumn Mathisen earned game MVP, and scored 3 of the 4 goals of the game.

It is the first Section V title in girls soccer for Notre Dame.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Captains Arabella Rogers #23, Autumn Mathisen #22, and Rachel Nickerson #15.

Notre Dame is the Section D2 champion.

Autumn Mathisen #22 kicking her third goal of the game.

Hannah Tenney

Arabella Rogers

Coach Jarrod Clark

Autumn Mathisen #22 with a front flip throw in.

Sophi Johnston

Nya Thomas, softball standout at Notre Dame High School, has signed with Genesee Community College. Thomas is the daughter of Otis and Nicole Thomas.

Photo*: Teagyn Thomas, Nya Thomas, Nicole Thomas, Gunnar Thomas; Back row. JC Kabel Edge (her coach on her travel team), and Mike Rapone, ND's athletic director.

*Otis Thomas was in quarantine and couldn't attend the signing.

Submitted photo and information.

The Notre Dame Girls Soccer Team will play for a sectional title tomorrow night for the first time in program history.

Last night, the Fighting Irish beat Andover 3-0. Sky Colontonio, Emma Sisson, and Arabella Rogers each scored goals. Goalkeeper Rebecka Nickerson had seven saves.

The team plays Jasper-Troupsburg at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Van Detta Stadium in Batavia.

Photo and info provided by Jarrod Clark.

Notre Dame High School Principal Wade Bianco today reported that a teacher is under quarantine until Nov. 14 after being exposed to a positive case of COVID-19 on Oct. 31.

In the email to ND staff, students’ families and directors, Bianco wrote that “the Genesee/Orleans County Health Department determined on Nov. 4 that this teacher be tested for COVID-19 and quarantined until Nov. 14.”

“This teacher will continue to lead the learning for their students long distance and we will assign a substitute teacher to assist and supervise the students. Please contact me if you have any questions,” he added.

Bianco said the email was issued as part of the school’s standard operating procedure.