New York State Senator George Borrello announced that Nina Bartz, a recent graduate of Notre Dame High School in Batavia, was one of just four students statewide awarded a $3,000 scholarship from the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators. She is Christian and Celina Bartz's daughter.
Sen. Borrello, President of the Conference of Italian-American State Legislators, nominated Bartz for the scholarship based on her stellar academic record and extracurricular involvements.
"I am immensely proud to have recommended Nina for the James D. Conte Memorial Scholarship. She realizes the value of education and has proven that by working hard to achieve top grades and taking college courses through her school’s ACE program. She has consistently made the high honor roll and was a member of the National Honor Society,” said Senator Borrello.
He added, “she achieved all that while also participating in varsity soccer and basketball and a host of extracurricular and community activities. Nina is truly a standout student with a bright future. It is evident the scholarship panel agreed with me that her extraordinary achievements were worthy of an award.”
Nina’s plans to earn a four-year degree will start at Genesee Community College where she has been accepted as a student for the 2024-25 academic year. She plans to major in business or sports management and transfer to a four-year school after graduation.
A former Genesee Region Allstar and Sectional Champion for soccer and basketball, she has committed to playing on GCC’s Women's Soccer team for the 2024 season.
The New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators is a bipartisan organization of state Assembly and Senate members who actively promote and celebrate the state’s Italian-American community.
Each year, the organization offers two academic and two athletic scholarships. The scholarships are named in the memory of two legislators and conference members who were champions of educational opportunity, Assemblyman James D. Conte, and Senator John J. Marchi.
Nominee applications were reviewed by an independent panel from The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College, the City University of New York, who selected four scholarship recipients.
Bartz and her fellow scholarship recipients were honored during a celebration at the Legislative Office Building and during a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion at the end of the legislative session.
The Notre Dame Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of two school administrators. Effective July 1st 2024, both Lindsay Warner and Julia Rogers will take on key leadership roles for the school.
Lindsay has been appointed Principal of Notre Dame Junior/ Senior High School, and Julia Rogers has been appointed Director of Instruction, Curriculum and Assessment.
Jim Sutherland, Board President, commented, “As an alumnus and trustee, I am thrilled that we have such passionate and experienced educators leading our fine school. The board has every confidence that their deep experience, coupled with their commitment to the highest standards, will help our institution reach another level entirely. With these hires, the Trustees strongly feel that we are investing in the bright future of our school.”
About Mrs. Warner As an ND alumnus, coach, teacher, parent, and administrator, Mrs. Warner is dedicated, compassionate and committed to ensuring the success of all students and staff. She holds a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Business and Marketing Education and is NYS-certified as a School Building Leader and District Leader.
After undergraduate school, Lindsay returned to her Alma Mater were she rejuvenated the Business program and curriculum, winning awards for her innovation and instruction. Her tenure at Western NY Tech Academy also demonstrates her initiative as an educator. It supports her dedication to teamwork, as well as her support of leadership in marketing, recruitment and culture building. This past school year, Mrs. Warner served as our assistant principal. As Principal, she will continue to ensure an environment where students and staff feel valued, heard and safe.
About Mrs. Rogers A native Batavian, Julia’s family has been part of the Notre Dame community since the beginning. Her mother, Sheila Tehan Rogers, was part of our very first graduating class. Her father, Brad, coached basketball at ND. Julia has siblings, a niece, nephews and many cousins who have walked the halls and are proud students and alumni of ND.
Julia’s dedication to the vibrancy of our community is clear. She is a member of Our Lady of Mercy Parish. Julia enjoys volunteering with her church community, golfing, and genealogy. A former volunteer at the NICU at Sisters Hospital, Julia is a member of the Batavia Rotary Club, Holland Land Office Museum Board of Directors, and the Salvation Army Advisory Board and is involved in many other community outreach programs.
Julia holds a BA, an MS in Bilingual Education and a Certificate of Advanced Studies. After teaching at the start of her career 30 years ago, she quickly moved on to school administration. She served as an administrator for Batavia Middle School, coordinator of assessment and instruction, and coordinator for the community schools program, both at BCS.
Miss Rogers is excited about the opportunity to enhance Notre Dame’s strong academic program. “I am thrilled to be able to be part of the Notre Dame family. The foundation of ND’s instructional program shows the values of education and achievement. I look forward to observing and offering diverse and innovative ways to improve student learning outcomes.”
Notre Dame senior Kaitlyn Landers signed her letter of intent to continue her softball career at Keuka College today at Notre Dame High School.
Joining her for this signing were her parents, Matt and Melissa Landers; brother, Benjamin Landers; head softball coach, Otis Thomas; assistant coach, Mikey Rapone; and Notre Dame Athletic Director Mike Rapone.
Landers was a varsity call-up in her 7th-grade season and has been a mainstay with the team ever since.
Career highlights while playing for the Lady Irish include:
Genesee Region All-Star – 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024
NYS Class D All-State 2nd Team – 2021
NYS Class D All-State 3rd Team - 2023
Section V Class D1 Sectional All-Tournament Team – 2019 (as a 7th grader)
Member of Section V Class D1 Sectional Championship Team – 2023
Team Co-Captain – 2024
Genesee Region Exceptional Senior All-Star
Lander's favorite memory of playing softball at Notre Dame was winning a sectional championship in 2023.
Along with playing for the Lady Irish, Kaitlyn has played 8 years of travel softball, where she currently plays for Coach Mruczek’s 18u Edge team, and has played the last 11 summers for her local Batavia Stingers team.
In addition to playing softball, Kaitlyn was a member of the Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Indoor Track, and Varsity Outdoor Track teams at Notre Dame. Kaitlyn plans to major either in Social Work, Psychology, or Education at Keuka College.
Senior Kaitlyn Landers moves her tassel as the traditional conferring of her diploma. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Notre Dame High School graduated 36 students from the Class of 2024 Sunday afternoon at Resurrection Parish in Batavia.
Kalen Muehlig was the class valedictorian. He encouraged his classmates to be "relentless in everything you do."
Kate Ricupito was the salutatorian. She told her classmates, "Do what you love and see where it takes you. Nothing is permanent. Countless doors are open and waiting."
Interim principal Michael Rapone honored many students with awards in academics and athletics, as well as staff and parents who have embraced and helped make the school year memorable.
Jay Antinore, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jaden Sherwood were co-Man of the Year. Teresa Compton and Emma Sisson were co-Woman of the Year.
Assistant Principal Lindsay Warner presented the candidates, senior awards, and special recognition awards.
George Woodruff, class president, presented the senior gift to the school.
The top 10 students recognized were Kalen Muehlig, Kate Ricupito, Violet March, Emma Sisson, Joshua Kirsch, Owen Murray, Theresa Compton, Maria Dollas, Sophia Iovannisci, and Harold McWilliams.
The #2 seed Lady Irish leaned on ace pitcher Loretta Sorochty on Saturday afternoon at GCC to come away with the 3-0 victory over 15-seeded Andover-Whitesville.
Sorochty pitched a complete game one-hitter, allowing no runs and striking out 17 batters. Makaila Brewster took the loss in the circle for Andover-Whitesville, going 6 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and striking out 1.
Offensively for the Lady Irish, Sofia Falleti led the way with 2 hits (1 double), while Emma Sisson, Hannah Tenney and Olivia Gillard each had a hit. Sisson's hit was a triple, and she scored a run, and Tenney's base hit resulted in an RBI. Katie Landers had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 4th following Sisson's triple, which scored the game's first run and proved to be all Sorochty would need for run support. Ava Grace accounted for the lone base hit for Andover-Whitesville, with a blooper base hit over second base.
"It's good to get this first sectional win behind us, even if it wasn't as pretty as we would have liked," said Coach Otis Thomas. "We put the bat on the ball, but give credit to Andover-Whitesville for making the plays in the field to keep the score close. Loretta gave us another strong outing in the circle, and hopefully, we can give her a little more run support next time. We look forward to the next game coming up on Tuesday."
Norte Dame ace pitcher Loretta Sorochty finished her regular season career in style on Wednesday, reaching the 600 career strikeout mark in the second inning of tonight's game, and then went on to set a new ND record for strikeouts in a game with 20.
Sorochty pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout. In addition to striking out 20 hitters, she assisted on the only other out in the game by throwing out a batter in the 7th inning who bunted to her.
Offensively for the Lady Irish, Sorochty, Emma Sisson, Mia Treleaven and Gianna Falleti each had 2 hits. Sorochty had a triple, scored three runs and added two RBIs; Sisson scored two runs and had three RBIs. Treleaven scored a run and added an RBI, and Falleti scored a run and added an RBI. In addition, Katie Landers, Hannah Tenney, Olivia Gillard and Amelia Sorochty each added base hits.
Notre Dame finishes the regular season at 15-3 and clinches the #2 seed in Class D. They also finish the regular season with a perfect record in the Genesee Region at 12-0 and won the Genesee Region Division title.
Pitcher Mia Treleaven lead the offense for Notre Dame. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Press release:
Sophomore Mia Treleaven got the start in the circle for the Lady Irish tonight and pitched a gem, going seven innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs (0 earned) and striking out 9 batters while only walking one.
Brea Smith took the loss for Elba, pitching 6 innings, giving up 11 hits, 10 runs (7 earned) and striking out 1 batter and walking two.
Leading the way offensively for the Lady Irish were Emma Sisson, Katie Landers and Anna Panepento, each contributing 2 hits. Sisson also added a run scored and an RBI, Landers had a double, runs scored and an RBI, and Panepento scored 2 runs. Loretta Sorochty, Mia Treleaven, Sofia Falleti, Amelia Sorochty and Olivia Gillard each contributed hits. L. Sorochty had a run scored, and an RBI, Treleaven had a double and 2 RBIs, A. Sorochty added a run and 2 RBIs and 7th grader Gillard added a double, a run scored and 2 RBIs, along with drawing a walk.
For the Lady Lancers, Smith and Thompson each had a base hit, and Thompson drove in 2 RBIs.
The win moves the Lady Irish to 13-2 on the season and drops Elba to 7-7.
Mavrik Hall, a senior at Notre Dame High School, broke a school record in shot put at the Batavia Track & Field Invitational on Saturday that has stood for 48 years.
Hall threw 51 feet, one inch, breaking Mike Cordes's 1976 record of 50 feet, eight inches.
According to Mike Rapone, Notre Dame's principal and athletic director, Hall is a five-sport athlete who excels in football, basketball, indoor track, golf and outdoor track.
He is the defending Section V B5 champion in both the shot put and the discus.
Loni Hall, Mavrik's proud mother, said her son hasn't had a shot put coach at Notre Dame and that he is self-coached.
She said Mavrik intends to attend Columbia College in South Carolina for business, where he will also throw shot put.
Notre Dame pitcher Loretta Sorochty picked up right where she left off after Thursday's no-hitter over Elba by pitching a 5-inning no-hitter against Kendall on Friday at Genesee Community College.
Sorochty accounted for all 15 outs with 15 strike outs, only allowing three base runners via walks.
Offensively for ND, Loretta helped her cause with 3 hits (including a double and single), 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. Katie Landers and Sofia Falleti each had 2 hits for the Lady Irish, with Katie adding a double, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs and a walk, and Falleti scoring 1 run and adding 3 RBIs. Mia Treleaven and Hannah Tenney each contributed a hit, with Tenney scoring 2 runs and adding an RBI. Amelia Sorochty drew 3 walks and came around to score each time.
Notre Dame won its eighth straight game on Thursday, downing league rival Elba 13-2.
The Irish's record improves to 8-1 with the victory.
Ace, Loretta Sorochty pitched a complete game no-hitter, with 0 earned runs, two walks allowed and striking out 17 batters.
Offensively for the Lady Irish, Amelia Sorochty had 3 hits, 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Cayleigh Havens, Katie Landers and Mia Treleaven each had 2 hits apiece. Havens also had 2 runs scored, and an RBI, Landers scored 3 runs and added an RBI, and Treleaven had a double, 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. Emma Sisson, Sofia Falleti and Anna Panepento each contributed a hit.
"I'm happy with the overall performance of the team tonight, we hit pretty well, ran the bases well and got another strong performance from our ace pitcher," said Coach Otis Thomas. "It's always nice to see one of our pitchers get a no-hitter. We are on a bit of a roll now and hope we can continue it with three league games over the next couple of days."
Notre Dame pulled out the close victory over Holley at home on Wednesday at GCC.
With the score tied at 8 in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Irish scored 4 runs to provide a little cushion and ace pitcher Loretta Sorochty entered the game and sat down the side in the the top of the 7th to get the save.
Sophomore pitcher Amelia Sorochty got the start on the mound and went 3 innings, giving up 1 hit, 2 runs (1 earned) and striking out 5. Sophomore pitcher Mia Treleaven was credited with the win tonight, also going 3 innings, giving up 4 hits, 6 runs and striking out 9. Loretta Sorochty pitched the 7th inning, giving 0 hits, 0 runs and striking out 2 batters.
Houseknect went the distance for the Holley Hawks, giving up 9 hits, 12 runs (4 earned) and striking out 1.
Leading the way offensively for the Lady Irish was Sofia Falleti with 2 hits, 2 runs and 1 RBI and Penny Jo Thompson with 2 hits and 2 runs scored. Mia Treleaven had a hit (double), a run scored and 3 RBIs, Olivia had a hit (double) and 2 RBIs, Gianna Falleti and Clairissa Milliman each had a hit, 2 runs scored and an RBI, and Anna Panepento accounted for the other ND hit and added an RBI.
Walker and Church each had 2 hits for Holley, with Walker getting 2 runs scored and an RBI and Church chipping in with a run scored and RBI. Foose accounted for the other hit for Holley and scored a run.
Otis Thomas, a member of Notre Dame High School Class of 1997, has been named Head Varsity Football Coach at his alma mater.
A lifelong resident of Batavia, he attended St. Anthony's parochial school before graduating from Notre Dame, where he excelled in Football, Baseball, Basketball and Track and field.
Otis won the prestigious Nick Salvador Football MVP award twice. His basketball teams played in three sectional finals, winning in 1995 and 1997 when they won the Western Regional title, which advanced them to the NYSPHSAA Final Four. In Baseball, he was on Sectional winning teams in 1996 and 1997. His excellence as an athlete earned him recognition as ND’s Co-Athlete of the Year in 1997 and also led to his induction into the Notre Dame Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021
Mr. Thomas has held a variety of coaching positions at Notre Dame since 2009. His Football coaching experience includes being the head JV Football coach, a JV Football Assistant, a Varsity Assistant, and most recently, the varsity football defensive coordinator.
Otis has also been both the Boys' and girls' basketball JV Head Coach and a Varsity assistant for the past 8 seasons while also serving as ND’s varsity softball coach for 6 years, winning a sectional title last year.
When asked to comment on his hiring, Otis said, “ I believe in this school and everything about it. Notre Dame, my coaches, my classmates and their families, along with my own family, have made me into the man I am today. I was coached by two legendary coaches, Mike Rapone and the late Bill Sutherland, both of whom had an impact on me and are a big part of why I got into coaching. I always wanted to be the head football coach of my alma mater and consider myself blessed to have this opportunity. I will work hard from day 1 to maintain the standard and teach the culture built by those who have preceded me. Go IRISH!!
Mr. Thomas is currently employed by Aerosafe Global in Rochester as a manufacturing supervisor. He and his wife Nicole live on Otis Street in Batavia with their three children: Teagyn, Nya, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2021 and Gunnar, who is currently a seventh-grade student at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame scored three in the top of the first and sprinkled runs in the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th innings en route to the 8-2 victory in the league matchup over Pembroke.
Loretta Sorochty pitched another gem for the Lady Irish, going the distance, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs (0 allowed) and striking out 19 batters, which sets a new single-game record for Notre Dame High School.
Jayden Hootman went the distance for the Pembroke Dragons, giving up 10 hits, 8 runs (3 earned) and striking out 4 batters.
Offensively for the Lady Irish, Sofia Falleti led the way with 3 hits (including a triple) and a run scored, while Mia Treleaven and Gianna Falleti each collected a pair of hits, with Gianna adding an RBI. Katie Landers led off the scoring in the first inning with a 2-run home run (1 hit, 1 run, 2 RBIs). Also collecting base hits were Loretta Sorochty (2 runs scored) and Cayleigh Havens (1 run scored, 3 RBIs).
Offensively for Pembroke, Regan Schneider, Taylor Bischoff and Jayden Hootman each had a base hit.\
"I like how we came out strong offensively tonight, scoring 3 in the first inning, but don't like how our bats quieted down a bit after that," said Coach Otis Thomas. "I'm proud of our ace Loretta for setting a new school record for strikeouts. She was hitting her spots tonight. We have a tough stretch with 7 games in 6 days, so it is great to get a win to start the week. We have a really tough matchup tomorrow against Avon, where we are going to need not only our ace pitcher but our bats to step up as well. We are looking forward to the challenge."
Notre Dame's softball game against Heuvelton (Section X) at the Mudville Softball Complex in Herkimer on Saturday was called after five innings with the Irish leading 21-0.
Pitcher Loretta Sorochty surrendered only three hits over the five innings and fanned 11 hitters.
The Irish had 17 hits, with Mia Treleaven going 4-4, including a double, scoring four runs and knocking in a pair of runs.
Katie Landers had three hits, including a double. She scored four runs and had two RBIs. Emma Sisson, Sofia Falleti, Gianna Falleti and Loretta Sorochty each had a pair of hits. Sisson had a double, two runs scored, and an RBI; S. Falleti had four RBIs; G. Falleti had two runs scored and an RBI; and Sorochty scored two runs and three RBIs.
Notre Dame was scheduled to play Section X's Maddrid-Waddington in the second game of the Mudville Tournament but Maddrid-Waddington forfeited.
The two victories made Notre Dame the Mudville Tournament Champion for its bracket.
"I'm extremely proud of the effort shown by the ladies this afternoon," said Coach Otis Thomas "It is a great experience to play some schools from outside Section V. It was a complete team effort today with strong bats, strong pitching and nice plays in the field. It was unfortunate we couldn't get that second game in and had to accept a forfeited victory, but now we will turn our attention to a crazy schedule coming up with 7 games in 6 days starting on Monday. This upcoming week will be a big test for us."
Notre Dame beat Byron-Bergen in softball on Wednesday, 23-2.
The Irish scored 22 runs in the first inning. ND had 25 hits, and eight starters had multi-hit games.
Emma Sisson and Sofia Falleti collected four hits each. They also each drove in three runs and scored three.
Loretta Sorochty, Katie Landers and Mia Treleaven each had three hits. Landers scored three runs and had two RBIs. Sorochty had three runs and four RBIs. Treleaven scored three runs and had three RBIs.
Sorochty was the starter, going five innings and giving up three hits, two runs and recording all 15 outs on strikeouts.
Sofia Falleti touched them all in the sixth inning, driving in three runs with a blast over the centerfield fence. Submitted photo.
Batavia Norte Dame smacked around 21 hits on Friday afternoon, leading to a 14-5 win over Lyndonville in Girls Softball.
Hannah Tenney and Mia Treleaven each had four hits. Tenney had three RBIs and scored a run. Treleaven had an RBI. Sofia Falleti had a single, double and three-run blast over the center field fence. Falleti finished with three runs scored and six RBIs. Gianna Falleti contributed three hits, two RBIs and scored twice. Loretta Sorochty, Katie Landers and Cayleigh Havens each had two hits, with Landers scoring three runs and Havens scoring once.
On the mound, Loretta Sorochty went the distance, giving up four hits, one earned run and striking out 14 Lyndonville batters.
"Loretta kept us in the game once again until our bats came alive in the fifth inning," said Coach Otis Thomas. "Lyndonville is always one of the top teams in the league with a strong defense and good hitters. I'm proud of how the ladies overcame the slow start and finished strong. I'm especially happy to see the middle and bottom part of the batting order step up tonight and make significant contributions."
Notre Dame pulled out the close league matchup over Alexander behind the pitching of senior Loretta Sorochty.
Sorochty pitched a complete game, giving up just 3 hits, no earned runs and striking out 18 batters.
Emily Pietrzykowski pitched a strong game for Alexander as well, going the distance and only giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 batters.
Offensively for ND, Sorochty helped her cause with two hits and two RBIs. Katie Landers added two hits and a run scored. Mia Treleaven (double), Anna Panepento and Amelia Sorochty each contributed a hit, with Treleaven and A. Sorochty each adding a run scored. Sofia Falleti added a sac fly RBI, while Clairissa Milliman added a run scored.
"Tonight was a good test against a very strong Alexander squad," said Coach Otis Thomas. "I'm proud of the way the girls battled the entire game and can't say enough about our ace Loretta. Our bats were a little cold, but Loretta kept us in the game until we could score a few insurance runs. We have to put this one behind us and prepare for a tough league game vs Lyndonville on Friday."
Notre Dame High School, a Private Catholic Co-Educational High School located in Batavia is seeking a Principal.
The Principal serves as the academic leader of the school and is responsible for ensuring a vibrant curriculum for the students, as well as professional leadership and development for the faculty and staff. The Principal reports directly to the Board of Trustees.
The candidate promotes the essential characteristics and fundamental values of a Catholic school, possesses a Master’s degree (preferably in Administration), CAS or SAS Administrative certification and has a teaching and administrative background.
Submit a letter of interest and resume via email to trustees@ndhsbatavia.com or mail to Notre Dame High School, Attn: James Sutherland, 73 Union Street, Batavia by April 3. Notre Dame High School is an equal opportunity employer.
