By S. Quinn DeJoy and J. Murrer     

Jul. 24, 2019:  By the end of the summer, eighteen Broncos from the class of 2019 will be heading off to continue their athletic careers at the college level. More than one-third of the recruits will run track, three will play squash, three will play lacrosse, and the remaining five will compete in swimming, crew, soccer, and baseball.

Bronxville athletes will be playing for both big and small colleges and universities.  Ten Broncos will compete in Division 1, including Yale, Columbia, Stanford, the University of Virginia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Berkley, Villanova, and the Naval Academy, and eight will compete in Division 3 athletics at Middlebury, Wheaton, Bowdoin, Amherst, the University of Chicago, and Washington and Lee.

McKenna Stoltz, captain of the Bronxville squash team both junior and senior years, will join Cornell’s squash team in the fall. Stoltz, along with Julia Curran and her sister, Molly, were the only three girls to play in the Boys’ Mixed Division in the FairWest Public School League.

“I played on the high school team at Bronxville, which I loved, but junior squash was not always a smooth path and had a lot of ups and downs,” said Stoltz.  “Starting in ninth grade, I felt a lot more pressure because college was on the horizon. I was training a lot and working hard, and it was challenging mentally. In the end, I ended up at the right school and right place.”

McKenna’s decision to play at Cornell was influenced by the fact that Cornell hired a new coach for the women’s squash team last year.

“I became interested in Cornell my sophomore year because they hired David Palmer, a former world No. 1 player, so their program had a resurgence. There is lot of energy--it is new and exciting, and I liked that about Cornell.”

Catherine Faville, a three-year varsity soccer player who earned All-League and All-Section honors both junior and senior years, is headed to Wheaton College in the fall. In high school, she was a top scorer for the Broncos and is looking forward to playing at the next level.

“It is going to be a change in pace from high school soccer,” said Faville. “Physically, it will be a lot more demanding. My coach has given me a workout routine for the summer. Going in, I expect to work myself up to be a good player and good fit for the team, but right now I’m happy to be a part of the team.”

Faville was recruited by more than 20 schools but eventually decided on Wheaton.

“I liked Wheaton because of the campus, and the people there were nice and friendly. I thought the coach was amazing, and it was a better fit for me than everywhere else.”

Seamus Watters, a three-season athlete throughout high school, played football, ran indoor track, and played lacrosse during ninth and tenth grades. In his junior year, he decided to stop playing lacrosse and focus on track. That decision paid big dividends.

Watters earned All-State and All-American honors in track in the spring and was a member of the sprint medley relay team that won the 2019 National Championship.  He holds the Bronxville School record in the indoor 55m hurdles and the outdoor 110m hurdles and was a member of the 4x200m relay team that set the school record.

Last summer, after a very successful outdoor season, Watters set the recruiting process in motion.

“I reached out to some colleges and just filled questionnaires,” said Watters. “All you have to do is submit an official time, and if that time is up to par, then they will invite you for a visit. They also look at your past times and see your progression.”

Watters was looking for warmer weather and definitely wanted to compete in a Division 3 program, so when the coach at Washington and Lee reached out to him, he committed to their program.

Every recruited athlete has a different story to tell, but in the end, the 2019 Bronxville athletes will make their mark at colleges and universities across the U.S from Maine to California. Through hard work and determination, they have excelled in high school athletics and hope to continue to do so in college.

Below is a complete list of the Class of 2019 recruited athletes.

Natalie Weiner, track, Berkeley

Caroline Brashear, track, Yale

Clio Dakolias, track, Columbia

Zip Malley, baseball, Middlebury

Alex Rizzo, track, Naval Academy

Matt Rizzo, track, Stanford

Seamus Watters, track, Washington and Lee

Timmy Cushman, swimming, Dartmouth

Rachael Peacock, soccer, Bowdoin

Catherine Faville, soccer, Wheaton

Isabel Sondey, lacrosse, Columbia

Anneke Pulkkinen, lacrosse, University of Chicago

Gigi Chrappa, track, Amherst

Charlie Preusse, squash, Bowdoin

Lily Vorbach, crew, Villanova

Fiona Jones, lacrosse, Amherst

Julia Curran, squash, University of Virginia

McKenna Stoltz, squash, Cornell

Go Broncos.

Pictured at top (rotating):  (1) The D2 state championship team (L to R): Natalie Weiner, Maeve Sullivan, Clio Dakolias, and Caroline Brashear (photo by David Ryan); (2) lacrosse captains (L to R) Anneke Pulkkinen, Isabel Sondey, and Fiona Jones (photo by Jane Ircha); (3) national champions in the SMR (L to R): Seamus Watters, Tommy O’Connell, Matt Rizzo, and Alex Rizzo (photo by C. Rizzo);  (4) Catherine Faville (in red) (photo by Jeff Faville; and (5) Tim Cushman (center) on the podium at the state championships (photo by T. Cushman). 

By S. Quinn DeJoy and J. Murrer

Jul. 17, 2019:  While many high school athletes aspire to play at the collegiate level, it takes incredible talent, enormous amounts of time, and true dedication to play a sport in college. Eight members of the Bronxville High School Class of 2015 just graduated after competing in collegiate sports for four straight years.

Former Bronxville lacrosse players Liam Lynch, Charlie Tarry, and Ted Forst recently graduated after playing Division I lacrosse.

Liam Lynch (center) playing for Fairfield University. Photo submitted by Karen Lynch. 

Lynch, who earned All-League and All-Section honors in high school and was part of the 2014 Bronxville State Championship team, went on to a very successful lacrosse career at Division 1 Fairfield University. 

As a faceoff specialist, Lynch was on the squad all four years. This past year, after being sidelined with a preseason injury, he appeared in all twelve games and as a starter in the last four. In the 2019 season, Lynch took over 100 draws against the top faceoff specialists in the country.

In May, Lynch graduated with honors from Fairfield’s Dolan School of Business.  He was on the honor roll every semester, including the Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll. He recently started his career in finance as an equity salesperson at SunTrust Bank Corporation.

Charlie Tarry, a captain for the Bronxville varsity team who received multiple honors including USILA All-American recognition, played both close defense and long-stick midfield during his four years at Princeton. He was in the starting rotation every year, missed only four practices, and never missed a game because of injury. 

In his sophomore year, Tarry traveled to Portugal for community service projects and three games against the English National team. This past May, he was nominated for and invited to play in the USILA North-South Senior All-Star Game in Sparks, MD. 

"It was a great honor to be part of the team,” said Tarry. “Playing and representing Princeton was the highlight of my four years there."

Tarry graduated in June with a degree in economics and is working as a consultant in New York City.

Ted Forst, a Bronco captain who received Academic All-American honors in high school, played four years at Yale, making to the NCAA finals twice. In 2018, the Bulldogs won the NCAA National Championship for the first time in Yale’s history with a win over Duke, and in 2019 Yale made it to the finals, where the team lost to Virginia. In that championship game against Virginia, midfielder Forst assisted on a goal.

Former Bronco teammates Forst and Tarry met up at Princeton in March for a regular season game. In that game, the Bulldogs prevailed over the Tigers 15-10.

Charlie Tarry (No. 4) guarding former Bronxville teammate Ted Forst (43) in the Princeton-Yale game at Class of 1952 Stadium in Princeton on March 23, 2019.  Photo courtesy Robert Goldstein.

Vivian Mroz (left center) with her coach and teammates at Canisius College. Photo by Susan Mroz. 

"I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to continue my athletic career as a college athlete,” said Mroz. “Athletics has opened so many doors on and off campus. It showed and taught me what it means to make a meaningful and lasting impact in your words and actions. Being a Golden Griff for four years was one of the best things I could have asked for. Much love and gratitude to my teammates, coaches, and athletic staff."

In total, seven athletes from BHS Class of 2015 showed enough drive and determination to complete four years of competition in college. 

Others who competed include Chrissy Simon, Delia Hayes, and McLeod Abbott. Their accomplishments are listed below.

Chrissy Simon, tennis, Johns Hopkins

• Won all her matches in 2019, both doubles and singles.
• Tied for 15th in school history in career singles wins (38).
• Majored in economics and was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll for the past two years.

Delia Hayes, cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field, Boston College

• Competed all three seasons for four years. 
• As a senior, Hayes:
• Set a PR in the 6K (21:24.8) at the ACC Cross Country Championships.
• Set a PR in the 3000m indoors with a time of 9:52.93.
• Ran a PR of 5:17.00 in the mile at the Ocean State Invitational and placed second in the 5000m at the Stonehill Skyhawk Invitational.

McLeod Abbott, squash, Bates College

• Team captain for two years with a career record of 39-35.
• Named to the NESCAC Winter All-Sportsmanship Team junior year.
• Helped Bates finish second in the NESCAC his junior year and fourth during his senior year. Bates finished 21st in the U.S.

  Killian Donohue, soccer, Dickinson College

  • At Bronxville, captain for the 2014 State Championship team.
  • During her four years in college, played in 59 games, starting in 46.
  • Played in all 17 games her senior year, scoring 3 points.
  • Dickinson finished the season 11-4-4, placing 4^th in the Centennial Conference.

Go Broncos.

Pictured at top (rotating):  Charlie Tarry (No. 4) (photo courtesy Princeton University Men's Lacrosse); Vivian Mroz diving for Canisius College (photo by Susan Mroz).