Families, coaches, teammates, and friends turned out to celebrate Ridgefield High School senior athletes at today’s NLI Signing Day Ceremony!
RHS Athletics reports that this was the largest number of RHS athletes ever to participate in this event. Congratulations!
Daniel Bucciero, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 baseball at Fordham University. Daniel plans to explore a major in Business. Daniel is a high honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society earning a cumulative GPA of 4.363. Daniel has been a member of the RHS baseball team throughout high school, earning FCIAC All - East Team honors. Daniel has been a member of teams in Ridgefield Little League, Ridgefield Travel Baseball, Ridgefield American Legion and most recently Baseball U CT. This past summer Daniel was named All-Tournament Team for the WWBA tournament in Georgia.
Matthew Bucciero, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 baseball at Fairfield University. Matthew plans to explore a major in Business. Matthew is a high honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society earning a cumulative GPA of 4.375. Matthew has been a member of the RHS baseball team throughout high school, earning All FCIAC and All State honors. Matthew has been a member of teams in Ridgefield Little League, Ridgefield Travel Baseball, Ridgefield American Legion and most recently Baseball U CT.
Kai O’Malley, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent for Division I Men’s Swimming at American University in Washington DC. Kai plans to major in Business with a minor in International Studies. Kai is a honor roll student at RHS and has been a member of the Varsity RHS Boys Swim and Dive team all four years at RHS. He is a Captain of the Boys Swim and Dive team for the 2021-2022 season. Kai is also part of the National squad at Ridgefield Aquatic Club and has been a member of RAC since 2012. He is a Connecticut Swim Top 16 in the state swimmer as well as a Connecticut Scholar Athlete.
CJ Lauretani, RHS Class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division 1 Men’s lacrosse at Lafayette College. CJ plans to major in Film & Media studies while also pursuing an interest in Business. CJ is a high honors student with a 3.96 GPA. CJ has been a member of the Varsity lacrosse team at RHS since Freshman year and won a CT State Championship last year as a Junior. As a freshman, CJ competed on the Varsity Cross Country Team. A 4-time member of the USBoxla National Team and current member of the U17 US Indoor Lacrosse National Team, Lauretani has had the opportunity to compete internationally and this past summer won a National Championship with his Team Superstar Box Lacrosse team.
Ethan McGerald, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play men’s lacrosse at Quinnipiac University. He plans to major in business. Ethan has played varsity all four years of high school and was a member of the 2021 state championship winning team. McGerald has played on the Express North and Superstar club teams.
Andrew Castelluccio, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division1 Baseball at St. John’s University. Castelluccio plans to major in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Andrew is a high honor roll student with a cumulative GPA of 3.88. Andrew has been a member of the Varsity Baseball team for two years. He was named to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Junior All-Star team and received an Honorable Mention designation for the all FCIAC Baseball team during the 2021 season. Andrew has had a very successful amateur baseball career being named to the USA Baseball New England Team and USA Team Brave where he played with and against many future Division I athletes. Andrew has been recognized as a Rawlings/Perfect Game Preseason Northeastern Underclass All-American for the 2021 season and was named to the all-tournament team three times during the 2021 season. He is also a passionate volunteer for the Ridgefield Little League Holland Division where he coaches boys and girls with physical and mental disabilities.
Sarah Rapaglia, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in women's rowing for the University of Virginia (UVA), along with her twin sister, Katie. UVA finished 5th in the nation in 2021 in NCAA D1 rowing. Sarah is a co-captain of the rowing team at GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, where she rows for coaches Guenter Beutter (a former German and US national team coach) and Linda Leaden. Sarah began competing in rowing in 9th grade, and her results include a gold medal at the 2020 Virtual Northeast U19 Regional Championships, a silver medal at the 2020 Virtual U19 Nationals and a silver medal at the 2019 U17 Nationals. Sarah has also competed internationally at Canadian Henley. At RHS, Sarah played on the 9th grade basketball team, and she is also a long-time member of Girl Scouts. Sarah's college course of study is undecided, but she is considering studying kinesiology or environmental science. Sarah is proud to be a member of the outstanding RHS athlete class of 2022.
Katie Rapaglia, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in women's rowing for the University of Virginia (UVA), along with her twin sister, Sarah. UVA finished 5th in the nation in 2021 in NCAA D1 rowing. Katie's college course of study is undecided, but she is considering studying psychology. Currently, Katie is a co-captain of the rowing team at GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, where she rows for coaches Guenter Beutter (a former German and US national team coach) and Linda Leaden. Katie began competing in rowing in 9th grade, and her results include a gold medal at the 2020 Virtual Northeast U19 Regional Championships, a silver medal at the 2020 Virtual U19 Nationals, a silver medal at the 2019 U17 Nationals and a gold medal at the 2019 Head of the Fish regatta. Katie has also competed internationally at Canadian Henley. At RHS, Katie played on the 9th grade basketball team, and she is also a long-time member of Girl Scouts. Finally, Katie is one of the (very) few speakers of High Valyrian, a Game of Thrones language.
Julia Carrozza, RHS Class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I field hockey at the College of the Holy Cross. Julia plans to major in Biology and Health Sciences. Julia is a member of National Honor Society and a high honor roll student with a GPA of 4.625. She has been a member of the Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams all four years of high school and was named captain of the field hockey team as a junior and senior as well as captain of lacrosse as a senior. She received an All-FCIAC honorable mention her sophomore year for field hockey and helped the team to its’ first title in program history in 2020. She earned All-Defensive MVP for lacrosse her junior year. Julia received the FCIAC scholar athlete award for fall 2021. Julia has also been a member of Westchester Elite Lacrosse Club and New York Hockey Club throughout high school.
Aerin Krys, Class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play field hockey at Northwestern University where she plans to major in Biology. Aerin is a member of National Honors Society and is a high honor roll student. Aerin has been a member of the varsity field hockey and girls lacrosse team for 4 years and has been a captain of the field hockey team at RHS for the past two seasons as well as a captain for the girls lacrosse team for the 2021-22 season. She received All-FCIAC honorable mention her sophomore season and All-FCIAC East her junior season as well as earned MVP of the field hockey team her junior season. She also has been invited to attend the Rise U-19 national team camp in January. Aerin has been a member of Prime Time Lacrosse Club and New York Hockey Club throughout high school.
Julia Clavi, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to row for the University of Notre Dame. Clavi plans to major in cellular and molecular biology with a career focus in research. Julia is a high honor roll student with a cumulative GPA of 4.52. Before rowing, Julia played tournament softball for both the Brewster Rockets and RHS varsity softball as a captain and rookie of the year respectively. Clavi started rowing in the fall of 2020 for Coaches Guenter Beutter and Linda Leaden of GMS Rowing Center in New Milford, Connecticut. She and her team have competed in over a dozen regattas held across the country. Most notably, the 2021 Youth Nationals in Sarasota, Florida, 2021 Summer National Championship in Camden, New Jersey and the Head of the Charles in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Julia will continue to compete with her team at national youth regattas until she joins the Fighting Irish in the fall of 2022.
Riley Riebling, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter on Intent to swim on the women's swim and dive team at Loyola University of Maryland. She is planning on majoring in the science field. Riley has been swimming for 10 years at the competitive level at the club team, Ridgefield Aquatic Club and is now on the national team there. She also has been a member of the RHS girl's varsity swim team for four years. This year she is a captain of the high school swim and dive team. She is a high honor roll student and is a member of the National Honors Society. Last year, she was All-FCIAC and was award the CT Swim Scholar-Athlete award.
Isabel “Izzy” Redrup, class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play women’s field hockey at Catholic University. Izzy plans to major in Business. She is a high honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. She was a member of the varsity field hockey team for four years, during which she was awarded Offensive Player of the Year for both ’19 and ’20. The team won the FCIAC Champion title in ’20. She was also a member of the varsity girls ski team for three years, where she was awarded MVP for the winter ’19 season, and First Team All FCIAC in Winters ’18, ’19, and ‘20. The team earned the state champion title in ’20. She plays club field hockey in the off-season with New York H.C.
Claire Poremba, RHS Class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to row for the University of Wisconsin at Madison where she plans to major in Political Science. Poremba has been a member of the GMS rowing center varsity team for 4 years where she has earned gold in a variety of boat classes and events. She came in 2nd in the quad event at the 2020 National Rowing Championships, and in 2021 came in 7th in country for the single event. She finished 10th at Head of the Charles, the largest regatta in the world, and has become a strong competitor in national and international events.
Miranda Bonitatebus, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to swim on the women’s swim and dive team at Fordham University. Miranda plans to attend the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham. She has swam for the Ridgefield Aquatic Club for 8 years and is on the National Team. She has been a member of the RHS varsity swim and dive team all four years of her high school career and is now captain her senior year. She recently broke the 200 IM high school record and helped her team get a second place finish at the FCIAC championship. Miranda earned the All-FCIAC award the past 2 years and the CT-Scholar Athlete award for CT swimming.
Matthew Shepard, RHS class of 2022, has verbally committed to play lacrosse at Bucknell University after he completes a post graduate year. He plans to major in Finance. Matthew was a member of the varsity lacrosse team for 4 years and was the starting goalie for the 2021 Class LL state champions where he earned All-FCIAC honors. During the fall and summer, Matthew plays club lacrosse for the 2023 Eclipse AA team. Matthew is also the starting cornerback and kick returner for the Ridgefield varsity football team.
Sydney Katz, RHS class of 2022, has signed a Celebratory Letter to play women’s volleyball at Lasell University. Katz plans to major in Psychology with a minor in Coaching. Sydney is a high honor roll student with a cumulative GPA of 4.25. Sydney was a member of the varsity track team and varsity basketball team in addition to the varsity volleyball team. She was on the Ruden Report top 15 players to watch for the 2021 season and on the 3rd team all FCIAC. Sydney plays for the Northeast Volleyball Club during the winter and spring tournament season.
Trevor Girandola, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play men’s tennis at Loyola University in Maryland. Girandola plans to major in Business Economics. Trevor is a high honor roll student with a cumulative GPA of 4.45 and is an active member of the National Honor Society. Trevor just started at Ridgefield High School this year but he started playing varsity tennis as a 7th grader in New York State. He has earned the All-County athletic award in both 7th and 8th grade. As a member of the Ross School Tennis Academy in high school, he was not allowed to play on the high school tennis team. Trevor played baseball for the Bridgehampton Bees in his junior year. The team won the league with a 14-1-0 record. Trevor has been competing in USTA Tournaments throughout his high school years and just this past summer won 3rd place in a National 18U Doubles tournament. The USTA National Standings List has Trevor ranked #20 in singles and #9 in doubles in Connecticut in 18U. Trevor is looking forward to playing on the Ridgefield High School tennis team this Spring.
Eva Niemeyer, RHS class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play women's soccer at Fordham University in New York. Eva is a high honor student with a cumulative GPA of 4.67. Eva has played at Oakwood Soccer Club in the Girls Academy throughout high school and she is a member of the varsity soccer team at RHS this year. In 2021, she was selected to play in the Girls Academy Talent ID event, placing her as one of the top 30 female players in the Northeast. Eva has been playing soccer since she was 4, beginning with travel soccer in SCOR, followed by CT Rush, and finally at Oakwood. In addition to soccer, Eva is also a member of the National Honor Society, National Charity League, and student government at RHS. Eva is looking forward to continuing her athletic and academic career at Fordham in 2022.
Luke Winkler, RHS class of 2022, has verbally committed to play lacrosse at Lehigh University after he completes a post graduate year. He plans to major in Business with a minor in real estate. Luke has been a member of the varsity lacrosse team for 4 years and was a starting midfielder/attackman for the 2021 Class LL state champions where he earned 1st Team All-FCIAC and 2nd Team All-State honors. During the fall and summer, Luke plays club lacrosse for the 2023 Eclipse Lacrosse Club AA team. Luke also plays forward in box lacrosse for Team Superstar and helped them win the 2021 USBOXLA National Championship in the high school elite division played in San Jose, CA. Luke has been a USBOXLA National Team member for the past 7 years and will represent Team USA at the 2021 U17 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in Massena, NY this November.
Kai Prohaszka, RHS Class of 2022, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play men’s lacrosse at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prohaszka plans on majoring in Business with a minor in Psychology. He is a four-year varsity lacrosse starter, serving as captain for his junior and senior year seasons. Kai was a part of the 2020-2021 lacrosse season by Gametime CT. Kai has been a member of the ’22 Prime Time team for the last 6 years. Prohaszka also played varsity football for one season during his sophomore year where he accumulated 1,166 rushing yards and 10 TDs which earned him All-East. In 2019, he was ranked 28th in the country for the class of 2022 by the National Lacrosse Federation. Kai has worked with the Safe Rides program for two years where he is now an executive board member running the community service operations.
Ryan Colsey has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Men’s Lacrosse at the University of Virginia. Ryan is a member of the National Honor Society and plans to major in business at UVA. Ryan was a captain of the 2021 CT state championship lacrosse team and scored 4 goals in the championship game, earning him MVP honors. He is a member of the United States U-17 box lacrosse team and has won 2 USBOXLA national championships with Team Superstar. Ryan was ranked as a Top 40 player in his class by the National Lacrosse Federation. Ryan volunteers his time with Ridgefield Youth Lacrosse and also played football for 2 seasons at RHS.
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