Five O'Hara Hawks leaving the nest
Apr. 2—Five Cardinal O'Hara High School seniors, including a trio of Niagara County products — signed national letters of intent at a ceremony on Tuesday in the school gymnasium.
Lockport's Henry Smith will run track at D'Youville; Lewiston's Sam Torrie will play football at Brockport; and Youngstown's Sydney Mountain will play basketball for Five Towns College on Long Island.
Track coach Robert Cathcart said Smith is not only a very talented runner, but a well-rounded athlete.
"Henry has been an integral player on the Cardinal O'Hara boys basketball team, track team and of course the No. 1 runner on our cross country team," Cathcart said through a press release. "This year, he won it all in the Monsignor Martin Cross Country championship. He accomplished these feats while running on teams that were not complete so he had to endure some of his toughest training runs alone with no one else to push him. This speaks to the character and determination of this young man."
"He is a member of the National Honor Society and his achievements in the classroom are worthy of the same high regard as his achievements on the sports field. I see nothing but good things in his future and believe that D'Youville is lucky to have him as a student-athlete."
Football coach Shaquille Dudley praised Torrie.
"Sam will be going to Brockport to study environmental science and ecology and play football," Dudley said. "He has been a participant on the O'Hara football team for two years and was named first team All-Catholic as a junior. Sam has brought a lot of charisma and passion to our program. He has knack for finding a silver lining in all opportunities. I am looking forward to seen his growth over the next couple of years as he has tremendous amount of potential."
Torrie is also a member of the O'Hara bowling team, had a staring roll in the school musical and is a member of the Connect Life Club.
Nick O'Neil, girls basketball coach, had similar words about Mountain. A team player, the coach noted she is an important part of the team and was critical to its overall success. This year marked the third consecutive year O'Hara won the Msgr. Martin title.
"Sydney is a great all-around player who is very smart and knows offense inside and out," O'Neil said. "She helps coaching and hopes to coach someday. She's a team player whose hard work and dedication are one of the best I've ever known."
Sydney is president of the National Honor Society and active in many clubs at O'Hara.
Also signing were Kenmore's Gianna Padula, who will play girls basketball at Keuka College, and Tonawanda's Luke Martinez, who will play football at St. John Fisher.
