Athletes of the Month – January 2026

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

Stephen Bagocius

Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill

Wrestling

Stephen Bagocius has established steady footing on the next wave of promising wrestlers from Camden Catholic High School. Normally wrestling at 106 pounds, the freshman was 22-6 through the month of January with 10 pins and six technical falls.

Wrestling in consecutive weight classes with fellow freshman Christopher Amato (19-4) at 113 pounds, Bagocius and the Irish have established a steady one-two punch at the top of the lineup, which has resulted in 11 straight victories to kick off the 2025-26 state title defense.

Heading into February, Bagocius was tied for the team lead in individual victories with 190-pounder Jaden Simpson.

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Dani Daley

Wildwood Catholic Academy, North Wildwood

Basketball

Known as a fierce scorer on the soccer field in the fall, Dani Daley has become Wildwood Catholic Academy’s top scorer on the hardwood this winter, netting 374 points in her first 19 games of the season.

The sophomore has piled up 20 points or more in 13 games this season, as the Crusaders were 15-4 heading into February. Daley’s top performance came in a 29-point effort in an 80-50 win over Our Lady of Mercy Academy on Jan. 6.

Daley’s 19.7 point-per-game pace has her on track to be the first Wildwood Catholic girls player to crack 500 points in a season since Marianna Papazoglou accomplished the feat in 2019.

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Gia DiLeonardo

Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Newfield

Swimming

As a senior captain of the Our Lady of Mercy Academy swimming team, Gia DiLeonardo’s leadership qualities have proven just as important as her blazing fast times in the pool.

DiLeonardo, who specializes in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, has helped pace the Villagers to a 6-0 dual meet record and their third straight Cape-Atlantic League American Division title, as well as a second-place finish in the A Division of the South Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association Invitational.

In January, DiLeonardo posted times of 25.00 in the 50 free and 54.79 in the 100 free. She helped guide the Villagers to a first-place finish at both the Cape-Atlantic League and Gloucester County championships for the second straight year.

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AJ Gay

Gloucester Catholic High School, Gloucester City

Bowling

AJ Gay has truly been on a roll this season.

As the Gloucester Catholic High School’s top bowler, Gay has been the model of consistency in the Rams’ lineup.

After averaging 181 pins per game last season, the Gloucester Catholic senior has upped his game during his final season by more than 10 pins per game. Gay finished January with his strongest effort, nailing down a 674 series in a match against Salem Tech. In that match, Gay rolled games of 211 and 209 before a season-high game of 254, which was just three pins off his career high set last season. In 14 matches (42 games), Gay has surpassed 200 pins 18 times.

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Jordan Gonzalez

Holy Spirit High School, Absecon

Basketball

Holy Spirit High School’s boys basketball was one of the hottest teams during one of the chilliest months, as the Spartans went 11-2 in January, led by senior 6-foot-5 guard Jordan Gonzalez.

Gonzalez scored a career-high 28 points in a 62-55 win over Saint Augustine Preparatory School on Jan. 10 and followed up with 20-plus point games against Vineland and Ocean City. Through his first 20 games this season, Gonzalez averaged 13 points a game as the Spartans rolled to a 15-5 record, which included a victory over previously undefeated Cherry Hill High School East on Feb. 1.

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Luciano Lisanti

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Ice Hockey

Luciano Lisanti is backstopping the Paul VI High School ice hockey team to a historic season.

Lisanti, the Eagles’ senior goalie, won a dozen games through Feb. 4 by stopping 369 of 409 shots (.902 save percentage).

Lisanti has stopped 30 or more shots on six occasions this season, including a 35-save effort in an overtime victory over Bergen Catholic on Jan. 30. Lisanti has three shutouts this season, including a signature 26-save win during a 5-0 win over Saint Peter’s Prep on Jan. 5.

Since taking over the No. 1 starting goalie spot last season, Lisanti has won 19 games with a .904 save percentage. The Eagles are 15-3 through Feb. 4 and closing in on the school record for wins.