Athletic News

Senior Athletes Honored

Darren Rydzewski

Tru Wilson

Mike Kostuch

Josh Wilk

Patrick (PJ) Desmet

Kevin McKay

Brother Kevin Gilhooly Senior Athlete of the Year: Darren

Rydzewski. Darren played four years of football, wrestling, and baseball, and was one of the very few three-sport athletes in the Class of 2016. He is attending Macomb Community College. Tony DeSantis Man of the Year: Tru Wilson. One of the top athletes in the school, Tru played football for four years, wrestled for three years, and played baseball for one year. He played in the January 2016 Semper Fidelis All-American football game. He is walking on at the University of Michigan.

Brother Robert Carnaghi Lasallian Spirit Award: Mike

Kostuch. Mike played four years of baseball, the last two on varsity, and two years of tennis. Mike was a strong supporter of his fellow Pilots in all their endeavors. He is attending the University of Detroit-Mercy. De La Salle Scholar Athlete: Josh Wilk. Josh played four years of football (quarterback), four years of hockey (goalie), and one year of baseball. He graduated with a 4.10 GPA. He was planning to play football at Michigan Tech, but instead accepted the Evans-Gill Scholarship and will be attending the University of Michigan.

De La Salle Distinguished Athlete Award: Patrick (PJ) Desmet

and Kevin McKay. Patrick (PJ) set numerous records in the pool, and was the 2016 Champion in the 100 Butterfly. An outstanding teammate and leader, PJ will be continuing his swimming career at Denison University in Ohio. Kevin played four seasons of varsity basketball, and broke the school record during the season for most points in his basketball career. He will be continuing to play basketball at Central Michigan University. These students were honored at the June 2016 Alumni Golf Outing.

Athletic Awards at a Glance

Br. Kevin Gilhooly Athlete of the Year Award: DLS Scholar Athlete Award: Presented to a Presented to a student-athlete who has excelled in student-athlete who has excelled in the classroom one or more sports. and in his sport. Tony DeSantis Man of the Year Award: DLS Distinguished Athlete Award: Presented to Presented to a student athlete who is an all-around a student-athlete who has excelled in his sport. student, and who has worked hard in and out of the classroom. Br. Robert Carnaghi Lasallian Spirit Award: Presented to a student who is a dedicated supporter of his fellow Pilots. How the award winners are selected: Coaches and staff members nominate young men for each award; a committee of administrators, staff, and coaches then reviews the nominations.

Athletic News

Pilots Win 4th State Baseball Championship

The De La Salle Collegiate 2016 Varsity Baseball Team won the MHSAA Division 1 Baseball Championship on June 18, beating Saline High School 7-6 in the title game at Michigan State University. Head Coach Matt Cook said, “This was one of the best high school baseball games you will ever see played. The game had a little bit of everything: great pitching, defense, and clutch hitting. Those were two excellent baseball teams that played for the state championship. Saline was a very good team. I just couldn’t be happier for our team, especially our seniors, with the way the game turned out.” The win was Coach Matt Cook’s first championship as head coach, since taking over the job in 2011.

The 2016 championship is the fourth baseball title for DLS. The Pilots won in 1993, 2000, and 2009, and reached the title game in 2012 against Hudsonville. DLS beat Saline 3-2 in 2009. The Pilots began the 2016 playoff run with a come from behind 4-2 win over Fraser for the District Championship, and a 5-0 Regional Championship win over Grosse Pointe North, a perennial rival in playoff action. The Pilots beat CHSL rival University of Detroit Jesuit 6-1 in the quarterfinal, and stunned Traverse City West (38-3) in the semifinal 3-1. Matt noted the strong senior leadership. “We only had five seniors on the team but all played an integral role. Our seniors - Matt Held, Charles Dunavan, Darren Rydzewski, Robert Zurawski, and Michael Kostuch - did a fantastic job of mentoring and bringing the younger players along. There was never a hint of jealously. They only wanted what was best for the team. They always put team first.” The Pilots finished the 2016 season at 28-13, and had a 10-10 record in the CHSL. “The foundation for our program is the work that we put in during the offseason,” said Matt. “We had tremendous ‘buy in’ during our winter early morning workouts, and it paid off during the playoff run. Our goal in the offseason is to make us mentally and physically tougher, so when the June playoffs come around, we are ready to perform.”

Athletic News

Golf Team Continues Run at State Finals

The DLS Varsity Golf Team, under Veteran Coach Doug McKay, returned to the state finals for the 20th time since 1994, finishing fourth behind Catholic Central, Grosse Pointe South, and Grand Blanc. Jon Brillati, ‘16, and Anthony Comito, ‘18, earned Division 1 All State Honorable Mention; Jon set a school record for the best finish by an individual on the second day of the state finals, with a 148. The Pilots faced Catholic Central during CHSL play, and Grosse Pointe South in regional competition and district competition. In the Regional Championship, Anthony Comito took first place individual overall, and Justin McCown, ‘19, took third as the Pilots edged Grosse Pointe South, the District Champions. The Pilots were third at Districts. The team also won the Macomb County Golf Championship for the third straight year, finishing one stroke ahead of second place Utica Eisenhower/Ford II. Jon Brillati, Nico Ciavaglia ‘16, and Anthony Comito earned All-Macomb County honors. In the CHSL, the Pilots had away wins at Brother Rice and Cranbrook, and finished with a 6-2 CHSL record. In 16 tournaments, the Pilots had 16 Top Ten finishes. Overall, the Varsity Golfers earned All-State, All-Academic Team honors, and Joe Taras, ‘16, earned All-State, All-Academic Individual Honors. Coach McKay said, “The 2016 DLS Golf Season was memorable for a number of reasons, but mainly this year because all the players contributed during the course of the season, not just one or two. It was truly a team effort with some of the best chemistry amongst the team that I have ever had, and the results show the effort - one of the best seasons ever.”

Coach of the Year

Congratulations to DLS Varsity Swim Coach Jim Singelyn, ‘90, named the Division 2 Swim Coach of the Year by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA). The Pilots just missed taking the Division 2 Title at the MHSAA Finals in March 2016, and were consistently ranked in the state’s Top Ten during the 2015-2016 season. Jim is student teaching Social Studies at De La Salle this semester, with Thaier Mukhtar.

New Hockey

Coach

Craig Staskowski, a high school hockey coach for the last 12 years, took over as the Pilots’ head varsity hockey coach in May, following the retirement of longtime coach Dan Barry. Barry retired after the 2015-2016 season, after 13 years as the Pilots’ leader. Most recently Craig was head Coach for Rochester United, where he’s had 11 All-Staters, and two players named to the state Dream Team. A Social Studies teacher at Warren Woods Middle School, Craig has been a hockey official for over 20 years at all levels, and is Vice President of the Michigan High School Hockey Coaches Association.

Athletic News

Spring Sports Highlights

Track

Seven DLS Trackmen represented De La Salle Collegiate at the MHSAA Division 1 Track and Field Finals after qualifying at the May Regional Meet.

• Junior Kevin Lee –200 m. • Junior Allen Stritzinger –110 m. hurdles, 300 m. hurdles • Junior Brendan Sulkowski, sophomore Semaj

Shelton, sophomore Robert Kroll, and junior

Jack Skrzycki – 4 x 400 m. relay. • Sophomore Semaj Shelton –400 m. • Senior Myles Charley –Long Jump Allen Stritzinger received All-State Honors for his fifth place finish in the 110 hurdles.

The track team prepares to leave for Regionals.

The team finished third at regionals, and second in the CHSL Championships. Allen was CHSL Champion in the 300m hurdles; he also set a new school record at 39.12 during the season, breaking Alex Guyon’s 2010 record. The 4 x 400 relay team that ran in the MHSAA Finals also won the CHSL Championship and the Macomb County Championship, earning All-Macomb County First Team honors. For the second time in three years, the Freshmen won the Freshmen Invitational held at Catholic Central.

Lacrosse

The 2016 Varsity Lacrosse Team had a tough schedule, coming together at the season’s end with strong wins. Those wins propelled the Pilots into the Regional Quarterfinals, with a 10-6 win over Walled Lake Northern, and a thrilling double overtime semi-final win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 9-8, to advance to the Regional Finals. • Paul Manuszak, ‘17, earned CHSL All Catholic and All Macomb First Team. Paul also received All State Division 2 First Team honors. • Tom Hernandez, ‘17, earned CHSL All League, and All Macomb First Team; • Nick Dobreff, ‘16, earned CHSL All Academic, and All Macomb First Team. • Grant Chaffee, ‘18, and Ben Westphal, ‘16, also earned All Macomb First Team.

Hockey

The DLS hockey players were active this summer, playing in various tournaments, and finishing the 2016 summer with a 3-2 win over the Catholic Central Shamrocks. The Pilots’ summer record was 12-0-3. The team was practicing during August in preparation for the Cranbrook Fall League.