Athletes of the Month – April 2025

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

Marissa Gras

Holy Spirit High School, Absecon

Lacrosse

Marissa Gras’ raw athletic ability helped her become not only a steady goaltender on the Holy Spirit High School girls lacrosse team, but also the program’s all-time leader in saves.

Gras, a soccer player by trade, took up lacrosse during her sophomore year when the team had an opening at goalie. Since then, the Spartans senior has been tremendous, making her 200th career save on senior night against our Lady of Mercy Academy on April 14. Two games later, Gras made nine saves in a tight 9-8 victory over Lenape to break Piper Martin’s record of 209, which was set in 2022.

Through April, Gras made 61 saves as Holy Spirit was 7-4, and she had 223 saves for her career. Gras will play soccer next year at Rowan College of South Jersey, Cumberland Campus.

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Sophia Greenwood

Paul VI High School, Haddonfield

Golf

Make it back-to-back championships for the Paul VI High School girls golf team as the Eagles bested the field for the second straight year at the 26th annual Camden County Commissioners Cup on April 29.

Held at Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood, Sophia Greenwood of Paul VI won the individual girls title by shooting a 90, leading the Eagles to the team title.

Greenwood started her season strong by carding a 48 at the nine-hole Moorestown Invitational on March 24. She finished the month even stronger by shooting a season-best 41 (five-over-par) on March 30 in a win over Lenape to give Paul VI a 7-1 record.

Greenwood, a senior from Medford, will attend Lehigh University next year.

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Anthony Hermenau

Holy Spirit High School, Absecon

Lacrosse

A steady goal-scorer since he was a freshman, Anthony Hermenau became the latest addition to Holy Spirit High School’s 100-goal club in boys lacrosse.

Hermenau needed just six goals to reach the milestone entering the 2025 season, and he accomplished the feat in just his third game on April 4 with a hat trick in an 8-7 victory over Clearview.

Hermenau has posted five hat tricks on the season, including a five-goal game against Lenape on April 24, which matched a career high. Hermenau scored 25 goals and assisted on 11 more in the month of April and stood at 119 career goals heading into May. He will play Division II lacrosse next year at Coker University in South Carolina in the South Atlantic Conference.

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Braeden Lipoff

Gloucester Catholic High School, Gloucester

Baseball

Braeden Lipoff’s season started red-hot. The junior catcher hit .655 in the month of April as the Gloucester Catholic High School baseball team began its quest for a third consecutive state title.

In his first 10 games of the 2025 season, Lipoff hit safely in every game, contributing 20 hits and 15 RBIs while scoring 12 times. The East Carolina University commit uncorked a 5-for-5 effort April 26 against Saint Augustine Preparatory School at the Downbeach Coaches vs. Cancer showcase in a battle of the two top-ranked teams in the state. Lipoff homered twice that game and drove in seven runs in a 14-5 victory to help keep the Rams rolling on an undefeated season.

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Jack Kelly Lyons

Camden Catholic High School, Cherry Hill

Golf

The Camden Catholic High School boys golf team had a fantastic showing at the 26th annual Camden County Commissioners Cup thanks to stellar shooting by junior Jack Kelly Lyons.

Kelly Lyons fired an eight-over-par round of 80 at Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood on April 29 to capture second place individually while helping the Irish take second place in the team standings in a field of 17 schools.

In nine-hole matches this season, Kelly Lyons has posted a score of 39 on several occasions, including back-to-back games on April 24 and 28. His 39 against Pennsauken on April 28 was the best score of the match.

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Kristen Wareham

Wildwood Catholic Academy, North Wildwood

Softball

Kristen Wareham’s hot bat at the top of the order has helped Wildwood Catholic Academy surge up the standings this season.

The senior catcher carried a .606 batting average into May, hitting safely in all of the Crusaders’ first 10 games. With a small bench, Wareham’s defensive play has been a crucial part of Wildwood Catholic’s game plan each outing as she forms the battery with pitcher Emma Johnson.

Wareham has helped lead the Crusaders to a 5-5 record by driving in 14 runs through April 30. She started the season with a bang with nine hits in her first two games, including a career-high five-hit effort in a 23-0 win over Pleasantville.