Athletes of the Month – March 2025

The Catholic Star Herald highlights the Diocese’s student athletes who stood out during the month of March.      

Gianna Cianfrani

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Track and Field

Gianna Cianfrani reached new heights this winter, breaking the school record in the pole vault multiple times during the indoor track and field season. In January, Cianfrani, a junior at Paul VI High School, tied 2019 graduate Carly Schmidt’s record of nine feet, six inches. In early February, she broke the record with a 10-foot jump at the Ocean Breeze Invitational. Cianfrani raised the bar another six inches and broke her own school record with a 10-6 jump on her first attempt Feb. 21 at the Bubble in Toms River to win the Non-Public A individual state championship. Cianfrani matched her career best March 2 at the state Meet of Champions as her 10-6 height placed in a tie for ninth place.

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Jahzara Green

Gloucester Catholic High School, Gloucester City

Basketball

Jahzara Green’s climb up the Gloucester Catholic High School scoring list had a few extra steps thanks to the Rams’ deep playoff run that ended at Rutgers University in the Non-Public B state final.

Green, a junior, scored a team-high 540 points this season, including 64 points during Gloucester Catholic’s four-game postseason run during March. Green led the Rams to a 26-5 record this year, which included the school’s first girls basketball sectional championship in 42 years.

Green will enter her senior year in eighth place in the program’s history in career points (1,419) and is 619 away from the school record of 2,038 points held by 1993 graduate Lisa Cermignano.

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Luke Kennevan

Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill

Basketball

Even when the shots weren’t falling or the double-teams kept him at bay, Luke Kennevan found other ways to help the Camden Catholic High School boys basketball team reach its first state championship game since 2019.

Kennevan, a senior who finished second all-time in school history in scoring with 1,694 points, was also the heart and soul behind the Irish’s outstanding postseason run, which included a pair of double overtime upsets.

Kennevan scored 515 points this season and 1,011 over the last two seasons, finishing just 79 points shy of Kyle Green’s school record. In the process, Kennevan led the team to a 24-7 record and the Irish’s 15th sectional championship in school history.

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Michael McCarthy

Saint Augustine Preparatory School, Richland

Swimming

Already a three-time state champion as a member of the Saint Augustine Preparatory School swim team, Michael McCarthy added an individual state title March 2 as he won the 500 freestyle at the state Meet of Champions at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology.

McCarthy, who will attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington next year, became the first Saint Augustine swimmer to win an individual state title since Luke Snyder won the 200 freestyle in 2016. McCarthy won the 500 free in 4:29.20 to capture the longest distance event in high school swimming. His state title was McCarthy’s second trip to the podium that day, as he earlier took fourth place in the 200 free. 

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Christian Napoli

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Track and Field

Christian Napoli ran himself into the record books this winter as the Paul VI High School senior won an indoor track and field Non-Public A state championship in the 800 meter run in a thrilling two laps around the track at the Bubble in Toms River on Feb. 21.

Napoli’s time of 1:57.25 was his best by more than a second as he edged Oratory Prep junior James Nolan by a half a second and broke his own Paul VI school record in the process. Napoli continued to shave time off in March as he posted a blazing 1:53.59 at the Meet of Champions on March 2 at Ocean Breeze Track and Field in Staten Island to capture fifth place in the entire state.

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Sammy Spaulding

Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill

Wrestling

After helping the Irish win the team Non-Public B state championship in February, Sammy Spaulding became the ninth Camden Catholic High School athlete to win an individual state wrestling title after he bested the field in the 132 pound bracket this season. Spaulding, a junior who is committed to wrestle at the United States Naval Academy, defeated Delbarton’s Ryan DeGeorge in sudden victory March 8 to finish off a 41-3 season that included his 100th career win. Spaulding finished his season with 19 straight wins. Spaulding will carry a 112-13 career record into his senior year, when he will attempt to join Taylor Walsh, Lucas Revano and Martin Cosgrove as the school’s only two-time individual state champs.